Binaural Labs
With so many binaural recordings available, how do you choose the right one? And what sets ours apart from the rest? In our research, we found many recordings to be too distracting, either because certain elements were mixed too loudly, or because they included distracting, cheesy music! Some also include 'sounds of nature' which can also be very distracting, especially if you are trying astral projection, or lucid dreaming, you may not want to be transported to the rainforest or to the beach! Thirdly, the vast majority of available recordings appear to be rather short, many only 10-20 minutes long. This is nowhere near long enough to achieve an altered state of consciousness, or to immerse yourself in deep meditation. So, here are the various features of our 'binaural collection':
• Firstly, our binaural recordings are around 1 hour and 18 minutes in length. This should give plenty of time to drift off into another state of consciousness and spend some time there. Our recordings are not just short loops, repeating over and over again, they are created using varying cycles and complex, randomised elements which means that the sound is constantly changing but in very subtle ways. This keeps the sound interesting enough to hold your mind's attention, but is never so distracting as to cause you to 'notice' the changes.
• Each level of consciousness (e.g. beta, theta etc) is not just one specific frequency for everybody, but encompasses a range of frequencies which will vary from person to person, and over time too. Our binaural beat frequencies slowly speed up and slow down within the range of a particular level on consciousness, thereby 'catching' your brain's frequency, encouraging the two hemisphere's of your brain to become synchronised, and then stay synchronised as the rate of the pulse slowly changes. Simply put, there is just enough subtle variation in speed to keep you brain
'paying attention' to the synchronisation, therefore avoiding the possibility of it drifting out of sync due to boredom!
• Another common element in these recordings is white noise. This is the kind of 'static' you hear between channels on your television. It is effectively, 'all-sound' at once, an equal amount of sound at every possible frequency. It sounds like a kind of harsh hissing. This kind of sound is useful because as your mind achieves a hypnogogic state, it will start to form sounds out of that noise. However, white noise is not particularly relaxing to listen to, especially when it is mixed too loud. We have used pink noise, which is softer, and we have mixed it subtly as well as slowly filtering it and fading it in and out, and gently moving around. This stops it from sounding harsh, adds to the hypnotic effect of the overall experience, and still provides ample food for your hypnogogic mind!
• Rather than adding melody or music which can be distracting, we wanted to find a way of including some harmonic elements to the otherwise rather jarring sound of the binaural carrier tones. This helps to create a meditative sonic environment which is comfortable, engaging, hypnotic yet never distracting. To achieve this, we set up a complex chain of effects and treatments which generatively produce a randomly changing harmonic bed, which is musically related to the binaural carrier frequencies. The result is a dreamy soundscape formed of many complex, constantly shifting tones and harmonies in which the relaxed mind can hear all kinds of 'phantom' sounds which are not a part of the recording. Some people will hear angelic voices singing, while others may hear distant birdsong, in fact, almost anything the mind desires!
• A further element, featured only in the 'Theta' recording is a fluttering pink noise section which begins after about 45 minutes. The reason for this is to represent and encourage the 'vibrational' state of out of body experienced as described by all astral-projectors, including Robert Monroe in his seminal book, "Journeys Out Of The Body". The effect is subtle, fades in and out and flutters at around 20 cycles per second (20Hz). For more information on the subject of out of body experience, we highly recommend reading the above mentioned book.
On top of all these elements, being audio professionals, we have taken great care to mix these recordings with subtlety, care and finesse. Our aim, to create the most effective, engaging, and enveloping of binaural recordings. We use a combination of high-end, vintage analogue equipment alongside the latest in cutting-edge technology to sculpt a deep, three dimensional soundscape. If you would like any further information about our products, feel free to drop us a line at: info@binaurallabs.com
We would also love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or requests for future products. Please send us your experiences too, they will help us to improve and develop our products and hence, your experiences!
Finally, although we cannot guarantee that these or any other recordings will work for you (as everyone is different), every care and effort has been taken to make them as effective as possible, including many personal tests and experiments, to achieve just the right balance of ingredients. Of course, our products and services are not intended to diagnose or treat any illness or disorder. Always consult your doctor no matter what alternative methods you may employ. While completely safe, if you suffer from epilepsy or any other mental disorder, please consult your doctor before using any brain entrainment products.
Sweet dreams!
The Binaural Labs team.