Hypnosis

*Important: Please note this is a review of the Holosync DEMO, not the program itself*

A few weeks ago, Centerpointe announced a free demo CD of Holosync, their brainwave synchronization technology.

Since the Holosync program is pretty pricey, a free sample CD (advertised as a 29.95 value) seemed like a good idea. I sent off for the demo, read over the email info they sent along, and waited. It arrived quickly enough, and I eagerly popped it into my sound system, plonked on the headphones, and prepared to be entrained and entranced.

I was severely disappointed.

Rather than the sort of full-featured demos we’ve gotten used to from software and hypnosis vendors these days, the Holosync demo amounts to a 48 minute advertisement.

If they value *this* at $29.95, I’m have to question the actual value of their $160 intro level program.

I’m also left questioning their ethics; more on that later.

[click to continue...]

Pzizz is a nifty little bit of brain-hacking software, with one goal — improving your napping habits.

A calming voice, soothing hypnotic suggestions, ocean waves, chimes, music, and brainwave entrainment methods are combined to lead you into the other-worlds of sleep and back out again, all of it in the space of 20 minutes or so, the perfect power nap.

This is good stuff. Really. Very pleasant to listen to, relaxing, effective.

If you’re looking for advanced brainwave software, this isn’t it.

Pzizz isn’t exactly flexible. You can’t change the frequencies, the music, or even edit the suggestions. But Pzizz’s limitations are part of the charm. Just click a button (ok, two buttons) and listen.

There’s no figuring out whether I need alpha or delta waves, no worries about ramping, no decisions to make about which background file to listen to. Most of them are so complex that by the time I’ve figured out what I want to listen to, I’m stressed and nap-time is long since over.

That’s not to say Pzizz doesn’t have options: you can adjust the volume of the voice and music, as well as the length of the nap.

But it’s primary selling feature is in its automated variability; Pzizz never generates the exact same sound file twice.

If you’ve ever used a relaxation soundtrack repeatedly, you know how familiar it can become. Over time, it becomes predictable, boring, and even annoying; I learn to tune them out fairly quickly, and after a while, I find myself avoiding listening at all.

To avoid the “tuning out” issue, Pzizz uses an algorithm to vary the sound files it creates. No two “naps” are generated in exactly the same pattern. The suggestions, the music, the patterns of waves, the timing … all of it varies from file to file. At the same time, the tone and feel of the nap files remains the same, helping to create a sense of consistency and routine.

Currently there are two modules for the program… the original energizer nap, and a sleep induction module, which doesn’t wake you back up. The the developers promise that more modules are in the works.

You can listen to the files from within the software itself, export them to your MP3 player, or burn them to a CD.

Pzizz will set you back 29.99 for one module, 49.95 for both. It seems a bit on the pricey side (I’d like to see the add on module priced closer to $10) but not prohibitively expensive. Compared to the cost of similar individual entrainment/hypnosis sessions (which commonly run from $20-40 each) it’s quite reasonable, considering there really are infinite variations.

And its a perfect choice if you’re wanting to experience brainwave entrainment/hypnosis assisted relaxation, without the complex choices involved in the full blown entrainment software.

There’s a demo version of the software available (limited to 5 minute nap samples) and two full MP3 samples available for download. Or just hop on over and pick up the full version.

Check them out, and let me know what you think!

*Update 7-20-07: When this review was written, I had no affliliation with pzizz. But I finally decided that if I loved the product *this* much, I might as well be an affliliate. So, tada! You can now nap well, AND support your favorite tweaking blogger with your purchase of Pzizz!

I was about to turn in for the evening, when I realized that I’ve been too busy drafting future posts these last few days, and forgotten to send out a current post. So here’s a quickie… rough and fast. Enjoy it while it lasts!

This week’s episode of Supernatural Science (produced by the BBC, aired locally by PBS) was a wee bit disappointing for the pseudo-science junkie in me. There wasn’t much debunking going on, other than the general idea that hypnosis itself is some supernatural oogity-boogity power.

Still, in spite of the low oogity factor, the program fascinated me in, largely because it echoed so many of my own ideas about hypnosis. (I’m usually interested in 3 types of ideas.. those that support my own views, those that contradict views, and those that are brand new to me.)

Anyway — here’s a rough summary of what I found reinforced/clarified by the program.

• Scientists argue about exactly whether or not hypnosis is a specific/unique brain state or not. In my opinion, hypnosis is probably less a specific state, but a means of reaching a type of state - one which includes heightened suggestibility, a focused attention, and a shut down of all peripheral distractions.
• People can reach the same or similar states of suggestibility through other methods, including the use of rhythm, placebo, trust in authority, or placebo, drugs, and a few other things I’m sure I’ve forgotten. Interesting to me personally is the “authority” angle… which was dramatized quite well in the program, with references to the famous Milgram experiment.
• The ability to plant the “right” suggestions is probably more important than the skill of hypnotic induction. This takes a lot of the oogity boogity black magic out of hypnosis, but it also suggests that care in choosing a hypnotist is extremely important.
• The oft-repeated truth that “you can’t be hypnotized to do anything you wouldn’t normally choose to do” is only a half truth -- as someone on the program said, a hypnotist may not convince you to shoot your mother, but he might convince you that your mother is the devil, and the devil must be killed.
• The ability to plant suggestions through both hypnotic and other means can be abused by religious cults and political leaders. It can also be a problem in some forms of therapy, where false-memories crop up, which in some cases has lead to the breakups of families and even criminal charges, when the memory was actually planted (usually unintentionally) by a therapist.

One of the most dramatic hypnotic examples demonstrated on the program was that of surgery with no anesthetic - It’s quite impressive to watch video of someone undergoing surgery while fully conscious, aware, and under no anesthesia… I think there’s a video of this on YouTube that I’ll try and dig up tomorrow. I may go back and add a few links, as well… but this is it for now.

Just for general information.. I’ve been on both sides of the hypnosis equation, with a lot of success. But I’m *NOT* brave enough to try the surgery thing!

Mind Stereo: A Software Review
Download the Demo

I’ve checked out a lot of mind-tweaking software over the years, and… well… to be honest, they’re usually over hyped, awkward to use, and don’t really do much, *if* they even run at all. Some seem to work, but turn out to be so technical that I lose interest before figuring out how to use them.

Mind Stereo from Transparentcorp is a pleasant exception. It does what it promises, and it does it simply and smoothly. MS takes your music, adds brainwave entrainment features to it, then and spits the tune back out at you through your monitor, headphones or speakers.

Brainwave entrainment may be a mind-numbing phrase, but it’s a pretty simple concept. The brain produces and processes a lot of electricity, in wave-like patterns — thus, “brainwaves” . The frequency of the waves varies according to the person’s activity and state of mind; calm, active, meditative, etc.

The nifty part is that it works in reverse… when exposed to wave-like rhythms, the brain will sync up and fall into step. It matches the new wave frequency, and creates the state associated with it.. ie, relaxed, energetic, and so on. That’s why certain types of dance music and dance-floor lights can put you in a sort of trance. Entrainment is a well proven and researched subject, so and I’ve used entrainment for relaxation, meditation, and treating those gawd awful headaches I’m prone to.

But getting back to the software… [click to continue...]