Holysync - Attention Arky

[raven]

Hi. I'd love to continue our discussion of Holysync technology. Thanks.

Suzy

[Arky]

Hi Suzy, I'm actually just about to log off and go to bed (it's 2am here in the UK!), but let me know what you'd like to know and I'll tell you what I can :)


J.

[raven]

Hi J,

Your posts are most interesting and informative. It's great we have the internet and can communicate with like-minded people all over the globe.

You spoke of the powerful transformation potential of this technology and I'm interested in exploring it. I've learned an awful lot over the years but I'm lagging in terms of application and upgrading my thought processes, reactions, behavior, etc. In other words, I find myself stuck in self-defeating patterns and I'd like to elevate myself spiritually.

I have a couple of Hemisync cds and I think a set of Holysync tapes too. I don't know what the difference is.

Thanks!

Suzy

[Arky]

Thanks, Suzy, I'm learning, just as we all are. Life is one big collection of learning experiences, don't you think? Given a thirst for understanding various aspects of life, it's amazing what one can learn!


Re' Holosync differs from Hemisync stuff in that, as I mentioned in my other posts, Hemisync and other similar products generally aim to entrain the brain into a particular brainwave state where one can experience relaxation, deep meditation, subconscious suggestibility, or clarity of thought etc.

Holosync also uses essentially the same entrainment technology but where it differs is in it's specific intention to increase awareness. On a very simplistic level, what we are talking about here is bringing the workings of the subconscious mind into conscious awareness. Now, I'm painting with very broad brushstrokes here, so any pedants reading this, please don't point this out because I know I'm not being laser-accurate and detailed here, at this point. I'm just talking about the fundamental concept of what Holosync is aiming to achieve.

So, again, speaking simply conceptually for a while longer, one can conceive of the subconscious workings of the mind basically corresponding with the slower, higher-amplitude, brain waves, which are Theta and Delta. The conscious workings of the mind, on the other hand, approximately correspond with the faster, shorter-amplitude brainwaves - Alpha and Beta.

There is a piece of equipment, well-known in the world of brainwave research and brainwave entrainment circles, that's called a 'Mind-Mirror'. Basically what this does, with the aid of electrodes placed on the cranium, is measure the spectrum of brainwaves including Delta, Theta, Alpha and Beta, displaying all of these simultaneously, as a symetrically-presented horizontal bargraph. So, at the top of the display screen, there are bars going to the left, from a point in the centre of the screen, and bars going to the right from the same centre of the screen. The left hand bars relate to the Beta brainwaves being generated by the left hemisphere of the brain, and the right hand bars relate to Beta brainwaves from the right hemisphere of the brain. Then, as you look further down the screen, there are more layers of bars, in the same arrangement, but the lower one looks down the screen, the bars correspond to slower brainwaves Theta, Delta etc. I hope this description makes sense!

The measurements are made in real time and the display is thus continually updating itself, moment-by-moment, so the participant can actually watch the difference in brainwave output from each hemisphere of his or her brain, in real time, on each brainwave frequency.

You can see a video clip of a modern-day master of brainwave states, Ken Wilbur, who has been trained by many spiritual masters in various forms of meditation. What the following video clip shows is nothing short of incredible - there are very few people alive today who can do what Ken does in this video clip. However, that's not actually the reason I'm showing you this clip - my point is simply to show you what a Mind-Mirror actually looks like, and how it works. All of this is to provide a foundation for the rest of our discussion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFFMtq5g8N4


[Continued next post:]

[Arky]

[Continued from previous post]


So, if you've watched the clip, you'll see how the bars flicker, second-by-second, and how, ordinarily a human being does not produce an equal amount of brainwave activity in on each of the brainwave frequencies (actually, when people say 'Gamma', 'Beta', 'Alpha', 'Theta', 'Delta', it makes it sound as though these are individual brainwave frequencies but they are just 'bands' of frequencies - clusters that researchers have found correspond with certain subjective conscious and unconscious psychological states. There is no actual boundary between, say Theta and Delta, just as there is no boundary between infrared light and the portion of the light spectrum that is visible to the human retina).

So, why should anyone care if human beings don't produce an equal amount of brainwave activity in each of the brainwave frequency bands? Well, recall that I mentioned that researchers have found that the higher frequencies tend to correspond to psychological states involving things that your average human being is conscious of. So if I'm in a Beta state, I will probably feel highly aroused (not sexually, I mean very 'switched-on', 'in-the-zone' etc.). However, too high a Beta state and I might feel nervous or anxious (and , indeed, this can occur in Alpha, to some extent). Alpha relates to conscious awareness, too, but also relates to very clear, yet relaxed thinking, including that experienced during meditation. Conversely, if one is in Theta and Delta, these tend to relate to deep meditative or even sleeping states where your average human being will be largely unaware of what they are thinking, or may recall only scattered or seemingly-disorganised thinking (dreams etc.). Skilled individuals, who have learned to enter Theta and Delta while remaining truly conscious at the same time, are sometimes able to access deep subconscious thoughts, or, in the case of Theta, some people claim to be able to access the so-called 'Akashic records' - the repository of all knowledge, past present or future.

Anyway, I digress. What all of the above has been leading up to is this:

As the mind mirror so clearly illustrates, most people have a sort of 'bottle-neck' between the busy brainwave activity that corresponds with conscious awareness, and the busy brainwave activity that corresponds to subconscious awareness (and autonomic processes relating to homeostasis, such as your heart beating, your digestive processes etc., but these don't concern us in the present discussion).

This 'bottle-neck' illustrates what most people already realise, in layman's terms, and what Freud based psychonalysis around: the powerful workings of the subconscious mind, of which people struggle to catch a glimpse but which is generally only available to them through symbols in their dreams, even though the subconscious mind may, without their conscious awareness, powerfully dictate their day-to-day behaviours, neuroses, phobias etc. If there was some way to open up that bottle-neck of consciousness; some way to make it easier for the conscious mind to witness the workings of the subconscious mind, wouldn't that be a potentially massive step forwards in a person's life? To finally peel away the layers of psychological debris that lurk in the minds of each and every one of us, just as psychoanalysis seeks to do. Incidentally, it should now come as no surprise to you to know that hypnosis seeks to place the subject in a Theta brainwave state, in order to access the workings of the subconscious mind, and to plant 'seeds' there, hopefully positive ones, to bring about positive changes in an individual's life. However, planting seeds in another person's mind is hugely risky because the hypnotist themself has his or her own jumble of psychological and emotional issues and thus they cannot remain absolutely neutral, even though they would swear that they can. Yogis often remark that they consider hypnosis as trespass into the mind of another, and something which, consequently, should never be done.

Well, coming back to the 'bottle-neck' in consciousness between conscious and subconscious aspects of the mind, what Holosync seeks to do is place listeners into a deep Delta state (so deep that, even in stage 4 sleep, most average people rarely access it). What is so special about Bill Harris' approach with Holosync, though, is that while one is placed into deep Delta, the soundtrack simultaneously ensures that the listener's brain engages in alpha brainwave activity. So, put another way, Holosync seeks to encourage subconscious and conscious brainwave activity to occur at one and the same time, on a regular basis. Over a period of approximately 7 years (the time it takes to listen, daily, to each of the 48 graduated carrier frequencies - 4 stages of carrier frequencies for each of 12 levels), the continual 'marrying' of subconscious and conscious brainwave states, in a predictable manner, eventually leads to a great integration in thinking. What is so fascinating about this is that this greater integration in thinking can apparently be witnessed, on a neurophysioloigcal level, using medical brain-scanning techniques, with alpha wave activity, over time, gradually becoming prevalent further and further forward in the cortex.

Subjectively, what is also remarkable is that one becomes increasingly aware of one's own 'automatic thinking', so that habitual thought patterns which are unresourceful and do not serve your own best interests can be 'witnessed' as they occur, and you can take control of them, eliminate them, or modify them to be more resourceful. It's a beautifully elegant and effective marriage of neurophysiological evolution and cognitive psychology. Since the world around us is, essentially, 'neutral', it follows that any meaning we attribute to anything that happens to us is exactly that - whatever we label it as. If someone steps backwards onto my foot, i can think, "she did that deliberately", or I could think "she didn't notice I was stood here". We make hundreds of thousands of these judgments and distinctions daily - becoming increasingly aware of them is massively empowering!


Sorry if I've rambled on a bit - this subject is so expansive, and intertwines with so much
in the realms of psychology, spirituality, ...well, basically with everything in the sphere of human experience, that one could literally discuss it ad infinitum. But where would that get us? There's no point in just talking about this stuff - the only way to truly appreciate it is to experience it first-hand :) As I said in my post in the other thread, Holosync ain't cheap and I freely acknowledge that - there are literally thousands of personal development products on the market, each one claiming to be the best thing since sliced bread. I was very very aware of this fact when I was considering whether or not to go ahead with Holosync, and, to tell you the truth, I found some of the claims rather difficult to fully believe, and I nearly turned away from it, afraid of being scammed by yet another product with a truckload of empty promises.

I'm so, SO glad I didn't. I've been doing it for only 2 of the 7 years so far and it has already changed my life. I am so much more ware of my own thought processes, and I'm so much more relaxed. And I don't mean 'relaxed', in the sense of being chilled just because I meditate, as such, though of course this plays a significant part. I also mean relaxed as in so much of the tension in our daily lives is the result of unconsciously thinking unresourceful thoughts. When you take the lid off a big chunk of this automatic B$, it is incredible how much tension begins to melt away from your life. Actually, I would highly recommend you buy a copy of Byron Katie's Loving What IS - it's a mainstream, easily-accessible, application of concepts of non-attachment, and falacious thinking, underlying threads of which can be traced back to enlightened individuals of all spiritual traditions, from time immemorial. It's a fantastic book and what it teaches you is facilitated and amplified a thousand times by the regular use of Holosync. What is so beautiful about the effects of Holosync is that a lot of the negative or unresourceful subconscious stuff that bubbles away in the darkest corners of your mind seems to automatically resolve itself - it's like there's a part of the mind that somehow knows how best to resolve these, without necessarily even needing you to consciously attend to it. What you can attend to, by 'developing your cognitive witness', is the day-to-day automatic thoughts which shape your personal experience of the world so much more profoundly than you can imagine, until you actually start watching and modifying them and see the results.


I don't wish to bore you but there is a lot more I would be happy to explain about this stuff, both neurophysiologically and psychologically. If you'd like to know how these soundtracks entrain the brain to particular brainwave frequencies, I'm happy to go over that with you (and some other interesting neurophysiological changes that occur as a direct consequence of this) . However, it would, perhaps, be better if I stick to just answering any specific questions you might have!


J.

[raven]

Wow - this is so fascinating. I have a set called Awakening, which you must be familiar with. I don't see that there are any accompanying instructions. The problem is that I don't have a cassette player any longer so I'll have to pick one up to get started with these tapes, which I believe are the first level.

I've heard of Byron Katie's book. I'll order a copy right away. I'm reading A New Earth right now.

I relate to all you said regarding habitual thought patterns and increasing awareness. I'm going to do more research on the Holysync program.

I really appreciate your thorough explanation. Do you have a background in psychology?


Suzy

[Arky]

Hello again, Suzy. First, let me apologise - I wrote the above post when I was tired and, looking back at it now, it's not very well organised - just a brain-storming session! LOL

With regard to the explanation, yes, I majored in psych at uni (and it so happens that I found my bio/neuro-psychology modules the most interesting of the entire 3 years), but, to be fair, Bill Harris provides his participants with a great deal of literature on the ins-and-outs of Holosync, so I haven't 'generated' all of the above details myself. I wouldn't want to take credit for that, because Bill is so generous with his additional literature. My psych background does help me to draw together related topics and integrate them with the Holosync info though.

Yes, I am familiar with Awakening. The course is laid out as follows (with carrier frequencies that gradually descend, as you progress through the course levels):

*Free trial disc - this has Bill's narrative throughout the soundtrack but it is nonetheless a full 30minute session of Holosync, at beginners' level. You should still go ahead and request the trial disc because Bill narrates a lot of information on this disc, similar to what I have been trying to explain.

*Awakening Prologue - you pay for this one but this is considered the real 'trial' because you use it for 6 months and see if you experience any benefits - most people definitely do. I did.

*Awakening levels 1-4

*Purification levels 1-4

*Flowering levels 1-4


Each individual level tends to last for 6-9 months of regular daily listening. The last few levels take approximately 12 months each.

There are periodic special offers, where one can buy all 12 levels at a much-reduced (but still significant) price. However, please note that there is no obligation to do this. If you like, you can use Holosync for a year, then buy another level, then another year later, buy the next level, and then, if you choose, never buy another one again. ...The thing is, though, it's so darn good that within the first 6-9months, most users realise they are onto a very good thing and do not wish to stop short of the whole course. Some people begin to experience results within the first few weeks, others take longer. It all depends on how your brain has been conditioned, nourished, stimulated, even traumatised etc. up until this point in your life, as a natural result of living your life. It took me a good 9 months before I realised I was generally much calmer (I've always been pretty calm, but this was much more profound - a much deeper and all-encompassing sense of ease and much reduced tendency to react to daily adversities of life). That's the weird thing about Holosync - the results tend to be subtle and yet, at the same time, extremely deep and profound. It's the weirdest thing to find a technology that really is, yes, really capable of actually affecting your psychological functioning, and in an incredibly positive way. Despite being so profound, these changes have a tendency to 'creep up on you', until you suddenly become aware that you are not as you once were. This increased 'integration' of thinking is wonderful. I'm now on Awakening Level 2 and I noticed a couple of months ago that I've had some profound realisations about a couple of things in life (sorry, but they're personal stuff, or I'd share!) and although this may be a coincidence, I feel the deepening levels of the soundtracks are probably contributing somewhat. My realisations have been a kind of integration of different facets of the things in question, so that I have 'seen' common threads that underly them, the net result being that a clarity has literally 'snapped' into place, in an instant, that has forever changed my entire view of each of the things in question. What fascinates me here is that, although it may just be a coincidence, there is a parallel between these quite-moving experiences and the underlying neurophysiological changes which are associated with regular use of entrainment technologies - i.e. greater integration of cognitive functioning. Personally, therefore, I don't feel my recent experiences are a coincidence.




The 'levels' differ from each other in terms of their carrier frequencies.

Brain entrainment, as you are probably aware, relies on an intriguing propensity of the brain that was enthusiastically researched during the 1970s. Basically, if, for the purposes of this explanation, we take deep Delta waves as an example, then we can say that these might be at around 4hz (4 cycles per second). If you looked at a sine-wave form of these on an oscilloscope, you'd see the curves peaking 4 times per second, and troughing 4 times per second.

So, we would be aiming to induce the brain into a brainwave state of 4 cycles per second. Here's how entrainment works:

Remarkably, if one plays a soundwave to one ear, and a different soundwave to the other ear (which is why you must listen using headphones, in order for entrainment to work), the brain notices the difference between the 2 soundwaves and does something very interesting: it alters its brainwaves to match the harmonic discrepancy between the 2 soundwaves.

So, in order to achieve the 4hz in our example, we could send a tone of, say, 160hz to one ear and 156hz to the other, giving our desired discrepancy. Alternatively, we could use 574hz and 570hz etc. etc. The many possible permutations for achieving the 4hz discrepancy are almost limitless.

Now, the above is what the basic findings of all this research were. However, Bill Harris had the insight to ask questions to himself about all of this, and to experiment with himself and his (willing!) friends. He reasoned that although there were many possible frequency-pairs one could choose to use for any given cycle-discrepancy (e.g. 4hz for deep delta), there just might be a different effect on the brain in other, less-obvious, ways, depending on what carrier frequency was chosen. In other words, there might be some difference between, say 160hz-156hz pairing and 574hz-570hz, or whatever. This possibility was apparently overlooked by many researchers, who were primarily interested in simply achieving a desired brainwave state and investigating how these various brainwave states correlated with subjective states of consciousness (incidentally, if you want to read a fascinating personal account related to research on brainwaves, but related to neuro-feedback, rather than to the entrainment technology we are discussing in this thread, please check out the following link: www.biocybernaut.com/about/discovery/part1.htm#nav1top).

Well, what Bill found was rather amazing. Using slower carrier frequencies, he found there were much more profound effects on the brain. Whenever the brain is engaged in the entrainment process, it 'notices' the frequency discrepancy between each of the two ears, and alters its brainwaves accordingly, as we've already covered, but as it does this, it also secretes various neurochemicals - (in very simplistic terms, some of these might be familiar as endorphins etc. The lower the carrier frequency, the greater the tendency for these to be released by the brain. Note that all of this is completely harmless, BTW - endorphins are also released if one does exercise, for example. The point for our discussion is simply that this is an interesting effect - clearly, the brain reacts more intensely to lower carrier frequencies, even though they may have identical discrepancy between the left and right soundwaves, and produce identical overall brainwave frequency entrainment - e.g. 4hz Delta in our example). Also note that this tendency for the brain to release endorphins tapers off as the brain becomes accustomed to listening to a given carrier frequency over the course of a few months. Stepping down to the next level of carrier frequencies results in the endorphin levels becoming more elevated again, and so on, each and every time you begin a new level.

However, what Bill also discovered was that there was a subjective difference, too. Using the lower carrier frequencies, he describes the feelings as very intense indeed, with him feeling pretty spaced-out as a result, until, over a period of time, his brain grew accustomed to these frequencies. He also noted that the lower the carrier frequencies, the more his (and his friends') subconscious material was thrown into turmoil - which led to a very emotionally-challenging period of time, dealing with a virtual avalanche of uncomfortable psychological debris.

It is because of his inspired thinking, and subsequent observation, that his course is quite unique in offering this gradation of carrier frequency levels, so that the brain gradually becomes accustomed to lower and lower carrier frequencies, without leaving participants feeling spaced-out, or emotionally-drained, by jumping straight down to the lower carrier frequency stuff, right from the outset (which Bill is at pains to point out, would not be a particularly enjoyable experience, even though almost everyone who hears about his experiences seems to want to go ahead and make the same mistakes, just to see what the intensity is like!).

In summing up, it is important to recognise the difference between entrainment frequencies and carrier frequencies.

*Entrainment frequencies are, as described, the net discrepancy between each of the soundwaves that are played to each ear, and are consequently what the brain 'tunes' itself in sympathy to. Entrainment frequencies are basically what put you into a meditative state.


[Cont. below]

[Arky]

[Cont. from previous post]

*Carrier frequencies are, in a sense, independent of entrainment frequency, since they can be varied over a wide range while nonetheless maintaining an equivalent discrepancy between one another, and thus achieving the same overall entrainment frequency that you'd see if you had electrodes on your head to measure your brainwaves. Carrier frequencies have quite profound influences on brain physiology, that are not necessarily overtly apparent if you are only measuring brainwave frequencies. However, using more advanced MRI scanning of the brain, differences in levels of activity in various parts of the brain would be more evident, depending on what carrier frequencies were being used.


Entrainment frequency and carrier frequency are not seperate, they are different aspects of any chosen pair of left hand and right hand frequencies.


So Holosync not only encourages the brain to experience deep Delta and conscious Alpha at one and the same time, but it also gradually affects brain physiology, as it progresses into ever-deeper levels of carrier frequency. This is quite unique in the marketplace and is why you hear of people like myself experiencing profound and positive results, even though we may never have experienced such results with competing products. Hopefully, I have now clearly explained why :)

The above still isn't a complete description, by any stretch of the imagination. If you're a glutton for punishment and would still like more, I'm happy to oblige but I realise this isn't exactly 'light reading' ;)


Oh, by the way, if you have 'Awakening Prologue', you should have two 30 minute soundtracks (I've only ever used it on CD but I imagine the two soundtracks are probably placed on each 30minute side of a 60minute tape).

The first soundtrack to listen to is called 'The Dive' and it gradually takes the brain down from Alpha, through Theta, to Delta. (this might seem confusing because I've told you Holosync attempts to make the brain experience Alpha and Delta at one and the same time, but I will explain that in a later post, if you'd like me to). The Dive soundtrack is necessary because if you try to just play a delta-entrainment soundtrack to the brain without using the dive, then, depending on what brainwave state it is already in, from your hectic day, the brain might interpret the discrepancy harmonic of the soundtrack (e.g. 4hz etc.) as a higher harmonic, which would mean that it would entrain to a higher brainwave frequency that is a multiple of the intended entrainment frequency, resulting in you not going all the way down to Delta. So, do always listen to The Dive soundtrack for the first half an hour, and then immediately turn the tape over and listen to the 'Immersion' soundtrack which picks up where the Dive left off, and keeps you down in Delta. If you like, you can listen to Immersion 2 or 3 times, consecutively during your meditation session, though most people find once or twice to be quite adequate, and you will not necessarily accelerate your progress by listening to the soundtracks for greater lengths of time each day. I generally listen to the Dive, then twice, consecutively, to Immersion. I am lucky that I have Holosync on my iPod, so I just set up a simple playlist to sequence the soundtracks like this, automatically. Still, you'll be fine with the tape you have, so don't worry.

If the tape is unlabeled, to tell you which track is which (though I doubt it would not even have 'Side A' or 'Side B' marked on it!), then the current soundtracks have more sounds on the Dive than they do on the Immersion soundtracks. For example, with the current Awakening soundtracks, the Dive has the sound of crystal chimes on it, along with rain, whereas the Immersion track only has the rain and no chimes. I don't know if this differs from the slightly older tape versions you have.


J.

[Arky]

BTW, you mentioned you are reading Tolle's 'A New Earth' - that looks very interesting, and absolutely in tune with my kind of thinking, so thanks for bringing it to my attention - I think I'll check it out. Judging by the publisher's blurb, it looks to be extremely complimentary to the more-simplistic (but, actually, that's exactly why it's so powerful) Byron Katie stuff. I think both of them will probably be enjoyed by both of us! The 'ego' is such an intriguing and devisive little entity, don't you think? Causes so much turmoil, and on so many levels! :D


J.

[raven]

Hi Arky,

Thanks for taking the time to supply with all this information. I'm finding this very fascinating. As I mentioned, I have the Awakening series. I actually called Holysync yesterday and told them I had the tapes and would have to find a cassette player and they offered to upgrade me to cds, which I was very pleased about. When I purchased the program, several years back, I received a lot of follow up communications from the company, which I'm not sure I kept. Anyway, I'll have the cds with some instructions and Holysync also offers support.

I read your posts quickly and will have to print them out and read them in depth. My knowledge of brain waves isn't very extensive and I have to study your info slowly and carefully.

You may also want to check out the videos of Tolle's teleseminars at www.oprah.com. In case you don't know, which you may not being in the U.K., Oprah has been hosting a series of weekly teleseminars through her website. On a given night, 500,000 or more people can join the classes. All the classes can be viewed on the site. I'm also able to listen to the talks on satellite radio while in my car. Too bad I can't listen to the Holysync cds while driving!

Have a great weekend. I have some raw lectures on my agenda. I don't know if you're familiar with Dr. David Jubb and Matthew Grace. Dr. Jubb is speaking tonight at a raw foods store and cafe and Matthew Grace is speaking tomorrow at a Whole Foods store.

You're welcome to e-mail me if you would like.

Suzy

[Arky]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Oprah seminars - you're right, I wasn't aware of those. I'll take a look when I have some spare time.

I have heard of Jubb - I have one of his books 'Jubbs' Cell Rejuvenation', but I must be honest - my impressions upon reading it were that he was trying to use long, scientific-sounding words, purely in order to make his assertions sound more impressive. Perhaps this is a little unfair, and I'm not averse to using long words myself, when I feel they're appropriate, so perhaps I'm being hypocritical. I'll let you read his stuff and draw your own conclusions. I don't doubt that he is very knowledgable and does a lot of good work with his clients. Let me know how you get on with those lectures!

I'm very pleased to hear that Centerpointe have agreed to upgrade your Holosync tapes to CDs, that'll make it so much more convenient to listen to them, particularly if you decide to listen to the Immersion soundtrack more than once per session. I've been voraciously reading, listening to, and (importantly) contemplating many things related to evolving my awareness etc. over the past couple of years and I can honestly say that although many things have contributed to my journey so far, Bill Harris and his Holosync program have been the single largest influence on my personal development to date, and I have much to thank him for in that regard.


J.

[raven]

Hi Arky,

Jubb has a few books out. I have Secrets of An Alkaline Body and Lifefood Receipe Book. I've heard that criticism of David. Some don't think his theories are scientifically sound. I don't know whether he wrote most of his books or whether his former wife, Annie, was mainly responsible. He's certainly an interesting guy and serves some very tasty (but overpriced) food in his shoppe. He works a lot with Irish Moss and makes the world's best smoothies. I don't know if I'll make it to his talk today. The location is about an hour's drive and the friend who agreed to go with me hasn't called. David gives free lectures in his care every Tuesday and Thursday and I can stop in on my way home from work so it may not be worth it to make the drive by myself.

I honestly am not clear on how I'm going to start using the tapes but I'll re-read your posts and the instruction booklet. If I pick up a cassette player, I can get started with the tapes until the cds arrive. Do you always listen with headphones?

I very much want to evolve my awareness and break through conditioned thinking, ego dominance, excessive thinking and other non-productive thought processes which don't contribute to living an authentic and productive life. I've been inching along for many years and am looking forward to the fast track. I'm not saying that there are any shortcuts but I'm thankful for a technology which can assist in this journey.

I need to catch up on the Tolle videos myself. Have you ever read the Commentaries by Nicoll?

Suzy

[Arky]

Do you always listen with headphones?

Yes. ALWAYS. There simply isn't any point in listening to it without headphones unless you just find the audible parts of the soundtrack (rain and chimes) relaxing to have on as background music during your day. Personally, I prefer not to over-listen to the audible aspects in that manner as it'll only serve to irritate me when I hear it again during my proper meditation sessions with headphones (not that I would really be irritated by something that trivial, but you see my point, nonetheless, I'm sure!).




I very much want to evolve my awareness and break through conditioned thinking, ego dominance, excessive thinking and other non-productive thought processes which don't contribute to living an authentic and productive life. I've been inching along for many years and am looking forward to the fast track. I'm not saying that there are any shortcuts but I'm thankful for a technology which can assist in this journey.


It's sounds very much as though we are kindred spirits, as I completely recognise the same sentiments in my own path.


Holosync obviously isn't 'magic', but it's definitely the closest thing I know of to achieving that aim, save for neurofeedback, which some claim is even faster, in certain respects, although it doesn't necessarily achieve all of what Holosync does, and vice-versa. They each have their pros and cons (we can get into that a little, if you like).




I need to catch up on the Tolle videos myself. Have you ever read the Commentaries by Nicoll?

Haven't heard of Nicoll - care to expand upon that..? ;)

Thanks for theheads-up with the Tolle book. I've been aware of him for a couple of years, but have never felt particularly drawn to him (I've been listening to quite a bit of Adyashanti, though). However, your mention of 'A New Earth' spurred me to check it out on Amazon and now I'm reading it, I 'm enjoying it very much. I'm only up to Chapter 3 but I like the way he discusses structure and deconstruction of the ego. Very eloquent and accessible. One sentence, in Chapter 2, that I really appreciate is:

"By a monstrous act of reductionism, the infinite depth of who you are is confused with a sound produced by the vocal cords, or the thought of 'I' in your mind, and whatever the 'I' has identified with."

Tolle's eloquence is superb.


J.

[raven]

Hi Arky,

I'm glad you're enjoying Tolle. His message resonates with me. I'm looking forward to having some free time when I can view the teleseminars. There's another live teleseminar tomorrow evening. I think it's at 9:00 p.m. EST, which I know is very late in the U.K.

I did go to both the David Jubb and Matthew Grace talks. I enjoyed Dr. Jubb much more. I didn't learn anything from Grace but it was still nice to be an environment where people are interested in learning about raw foods. His talk was very basic and geared towards beginners. I'm not really on board with Natural Hygiene either.

I nearly picked up a cassette player (an archaic piece of equipment at this point) to try my tapes tonight but it didn't seem to make sense to invest in one so I'll wait for my cds. Can you upload them to an MP3?

Nicoll was a Theosophist and wrote a series of books called the Psychological Commentaries, perhaps in the 40s or 50s. I'll look for some further info.

Have to get going. I'm looking forward to receiivng my cds. Yes, I'm interested in the differences between biofeedback and Holysync. I've seen some type of portable biofeedback device advertised as of late.

Suzy

[hawaiigal]

I have found this discussion really interesting.

I am completely nerve deaf in one ear. Would I still be able to gain benefit from these CD's?

[raven]

Hi Hawaiigal,

Welcome to the thread! I'm not able to answer your question but I'm sure Arky is. If you go to the Holysync website, you can order a demo cd for free and see how that works for you. The company also offers support and you can discuss your situation. I don't know whether the technology is based on different sounds in both ears.

Have you lived in Hawaii all your life? My daughter is looking doing her next tour in the military in Hawaii.

Suzy

[Arky]

I have found this discussion really interesting.

I am completely nerve deaf in one ear. Would I still be able to gain benefit from these CD's?

That's an interesting question. I'm trying to recall where/when I heard Bill Harris make mention of this, and I think it might be in his demo CD, but some kinds of deafness are still possible to use Holosync technology with. I'm not certain whether your kind is amenable to this but I suggest you ring their technical support line and ask. They're very friendly and helpful. In the meantime, I'll dig out my old demo disc and see what Bill says about it there.


Provided there is some way of getting the brain to acknowledge a signal in each of its olivary nuclei, then the technology has a good chance of functioning successfully. As I understand it (and I might be wrong), the technology is not specifically dependent on the ears, per se', for transmission of the signals, it's just that they most readily lend themselves to the left-right seperation requirement of the technology.



I nearly picked up a cassette player (an archaic piece of equipment at this point) to try my tapes tonight but it didn't seem to make sense to invest in one so I'll wait for my cds. Can you upload them to an MP3?

Because of the very precise structure of the waveforms in Holosync, it is recommended that users do not compress them to MP3 format, because MP3 is a very 'lossy' format which is far from accurate and discards a lot of information which is deemed inaudible to the human ear, under normal music listening circumstances, but which can compromise important parts of the Holosync tracks. Now, this isn't to say that if you went ahead and compressed them to MP3, you would fail to experience the desired entrainment effect, but there is a lot of high frequency material, in addition to the low-frequency entrainment elements, which would very probably suffer quite dramatically. Personally, if I'm paying top dollar for good soundtracks, I don't wish to compromise them in any way whatsoever, so I choose to follow the advice - which is why the only portable MP3 player I ever use for the purpose is an Apple iPod, rather than a competing product, because the iPod is one of the very rare machines which will allow playback of uncompressed .wav files - in other words, basically the 'exact' contents of a CD, to all practical intents and purposes.


Yes, I'm interested in the differences between biofeedback and Holysync. I've seen some type of portable biofeedback device advertised as of late.

Ok, I'll post a bit about this soon, but I'm off shopping shortly so it'll have to wait until I get enough time. I'm no expert on neurofeedback, however, I do know the basics and enough to draw clear distinctions between the entrainment and neurofeedback.


J.

[raven]

Hi Arky,

Thanks for more great info. I assumed that frequencies would be lost by uploading to an MP3 player. I'll pick up a cd player and some good headphones.

Suzy

[hawaiigal]

Hi Arky and Suzy!

Mahalo for your replies! I looked on the Hoysync website's FAQs and in answer to the question "Will this work if you have hearing loss" I was a bit discouraged as they didnt actually address total deafness but said that if you had the slightest amount of hearing it would work (which I do not have)
I rang through to their support number and they said they consider that the magic of Holysync is transferrred via vibration and it should work theoretically however they do not have enough information regarding this - so I should try it and see if it works and take advantage of the guarantee if it does not. So that was a little more encouraging!

I am getting the Demo CD first and see if that seems to make a difference. In your opinion - if my hearing was good, would I be able to tell from that whether it is for me?

Suzy I have been on the Big Island for 4 years now although I lived on Kauai through the nineties. Do you know which Island your daughter will be based on?

[raven]

I hope the cds work for you, Hawaiigal. At least you can try them risk-free. I just received my cds and have to pick up a cd player so I can get started.

I don't know where my daughter may be stationed in Hawaii. I'll find out whether she knows. Do you have any information or recommendations about life on the islands? Thanks.

Suzy

[hawaiigal]

I hope the cds work for you, Hawaiigal. At least you can try them risk-free. I just received my cds and have to pick up a cd player so I can get started.

I don't know where my daughter may be stationed in Hawaii. I'll find out whether she knows. Do you have any information or recommendations about life on the islands? Thanks.

Suzy

Hi Suzy - thanks - since we will be starting at the same time maybe we can keep in touch regarding progress etc.? I am very keen to try the cds - just hope they will work - they sound great! I am 51 and am getting forgetful and things are not clicking when I need them to...I will think later about what should have transpired etc...I want to keep my brain healthy too!

Hawaii is a wonderful place to live - great climate - friendly inhabitants! All the islands differ alot, different paces mainly I guess. If you have any specific information you are after let me know...

There are army bases on Big Island, Oahu and Kauai - not sure about Maui?
Let me know where she will be based. :)

[raven]

Good morning (or whatever time it is in Hawaii). We're about the same age and I have many forgetful moments too. That's not the main benefit I'm hoping for from the cds though I certainly would like to improve my short-term memory. Things have gotten so bad that by the time someone picks up on a phone call I've dialed, I've already forgotten who I've called.

If my daughter goes to Hawaii, I'll definitely visit her. Right now, she's in Florida and it's a short and inexpensive trip. I'm not as comfortable with the thought of her being so far away. Life on a military base doesn't necessarily reflect the surroundings and I'm hoping that she will have a wonderful experience in Hawaii.

Arky, I hope you'll join us soon.

Suzy

[rawstrength]

Hey everyone! This is a fascinating discussion. I'm hoping that I can cure/diminish my social anxiety through biaural beats. According to wisc tests, I have a "nonverbal learning disorder," which is basically like a really really mild version of autism.
Today I downloaded some free biaural beats online. I listened to them for 30 minutes, starting with 10 minutes of 12 hz, then 10 minutes of 6 hz, and finishing with another 10 minutes of 12 hz. I downloaded the beats from http://www.jetcityorange.com/meditation/binaural-beats.html and listened to them on my ipod.
This was my first time every trying biaural beats. I'll keep doing them everyday, and post some updates here when I experience any benefits/harm (hopefully not harm!)

[raven]

Hi RawStrength,

Welcome to our discussion! I know little about binaural sound technology for brainwave entrainment and I'm sure you found Arky's description fascinating. From what you describe, this technology should help you. Arky explained the differences between Holysync and other programs and he did emphasize that you'll lose the benefits if the sounds are compressed, which I assume is the case by listening online. He may correct me if I'm off base. If you go to the Holysync website, you can order a free demo cd which is an intrroduction but contains a full 30-minute session. If you decide to buy the beginner's set, you get free support and can have your personal concerns addressed.

I have my own learning issues, i.e., ADHD. I'm easily distractable and have problems staying on task. I used the cds for the first time last night and this morning. I don't know whether it's good or bad but I decided to rest after this mornng's session and slept much later than usual.

Good luck with your binaural experiment!

Suzy

[raven]

I don't know whether anyone else has been using this technology. I'm very grateful for Arky's detailed explanations and the Holysync company also offers free support, which I've been taking advantage of. My feeling is that eating raw food puts you in a higher vibrational state and the Holysync tapes are a wonderful adjunct to further accelerating one's vibrational growth and brain integration. If any of you are interested but hesitant to use the cds, there are tons of free articles and downloads posted in the Holysync site. Check out the Blog and Articles links.

For me, stillness has always been challenging and I've been able to sit quietly for the past few days while listening to the cds.

Suzy

[hawaiigal]

Hi Suzy

Glad to hear you are enjoying the CDs - is this the Prologue series? I have been doing alot of reading and researching regarding the Holosync and have ordered the CDs - I cant wait for them to arrive. I also downloaded the binaural sounds free 14 day demo by Transparent which RawStrength mentioned in her post. I have been using this daily for the last 4 days. And, I already have an interesting story!

Today I realised that I had lost the diamond out of my engagement ring - I have been married for 15 years and have always treasured my ring...and it was just...gone! I was so sad as I felt I would never be able to find it - it could have been anywhere and it is only a very small diamond about the size of a grain of rice...I spent an hour on my hands and knees looking everywhere in my house where I thought it may be...then decided to "Ask the Universe" while meditating (using the Binaural sound)...I got a very strong clear message of where to look for it - in my bed...the pattern on my sheets made it difficult - but I just seemed to KNOW it was there somewhere and kept looking - I found it! You have no idea how happy that made me and it was the weirdest feeling - I just Knew I would find it there - no questions - and it could have been any of hundreds of places. The message was loud and clear.

I cannot wait for the Holosync CDs to arrive now! from all accounts they sound like they are the very best available. Very exciting! Please let me know how you are finding them.:) :) :) :)

[raven]

Hi Hawaiigal,

Thanks for sharing your story! You put the Law of Attraction into play. I can imagine how thrilled you were to find your diamond.

Yes, I have the Prologue series. I have one more week of listening to Immersion (I believe) for 30 minutes and then I'll start listening the the Dive also, for a total of one hour. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

I wanted to tell you about my daughter's move to Hawaii but you're not able to receive e-mails through this site. You're welcome to send me an e-mail, if you wish.

Suzy

[Eva]

Wish I had time to read the most recent posts -- can't wait to read them when I have more time in a few days. This discussions has been very interesting for sure. I shared information about this with my mom.

Can anyone tell me if this would still be useful (or maybe even extra useful) to someone who is new to "this sort of thing"?

My mom might be interested, and well, I might be too. Seems pretty pricey though or I would have just jumped up and ordered. :P

[raven]

Welcome, Eva. It's nice to discuss this fascinating topic with so many raw friends.

I'm new to this too and everyone starts at the first level and gradually moves through higher levels of the program. Why not order the free introductory disc? If you decide to order the first level, that will take you through 4-6 months and you can decide whether you want to go further once you complete that level. The company will send you a lot of free cds after your first order and they offer unlimited free support.

Suzy

[Eva]

Cool -- thanks for responding. :) Sounds like a good idea... Will let you know when we get the free disc if there's something worth sharing.