What Type Of Light and Sound Mind Machine Do You Need?
By Michael Landgraf
Ask yourself what you need a light and sound mind machine for…
If you need to relax, you do not need an expensive machine.There are many instruments available that will meet your needs. These units cost between $175 and $250. Most of these instruments contain sessions in the beta, alpha, theta and delta brain states.
Most are made of hard plastic while others are of metal. Both are durable, have very few moving parts and should last for years. These light and sound machines are simple to operate and are perfect for beginners or for those of us looking only for basic sessions.
Often times I will take one of my basic units that have open-eye lightframes with me on camping trips. Not that it is needed in the great outdoors. Sometimes it is nice to combine the outdoors with a light and sound experience. Especially after a session. Or how you prepare for your session. Anyway, I dropped a unit in a stream once. It was soaked, but after drying out for a day and a half, it worked just like new. So yes, basic brain machines may be construed as ‘beginner’ systems, but they are very dependable!
If you are interested in mind exploration, then get a light and sound machine that offers a variety of built-in sessions. Most have space available for you to custom design your own sessions, like the DAVID Delight brain machines from Mind Alive, Inc. Adding the DAVID Session Editor software to your Delight system will enable you to design personal light and sound sessions that you easily create and download to your mind machine.
Probably the greatest advantage to having a more advanced model is the fact that most all of them include multi-color light stimulation. Having a choice of colors, generically acknowledged that warmer colors like red and orange are more effective with higher brainwave frequency states like beta and cooler colors like green and blue for meditative and insightful states. Pure white color remains the most popular choice as it’s stimulation is applicable to all the general brainwave states.
It all depends on what you want light and sound sessions for and how much you are able to spend. Based on quality, effectiveness and features, these are my recommendations for mind machines based on cost: Under $200. the Proteus; under $300. the DAVID Delight; under $500. the DAVID Delight Pro; and for those of you meditative explorers seeking ‘timelessness’ look no further than the DAVID Delight Pro mind machine.
I do not believe there are that many quality sound only instruments or MP3s available. By quality I mean possessing the ability to keep the mind entrained for prolonged periods of time. There are two MP3 downloads that are worth the investment. The Virtual 515 mindmachine and Ocean Sleep. These MP3s are excellent for using with either headphones or speakers, enabling listeners to walk around while enjoying their brainwave entrainment sessions instead of having to remain stationary (as when doing light and sound sessions) and for creating the desired “atmosphere” in a room or fairly large area. They are also beneficial to those who are light sensitive or are unable to use light and sound because of possible adverse effects.
Copyright: Michael Landgraf (2012) Granada Hills, CA. All rights reserved.