HOW TO GET THE BEST VISUALS WITH LIGHT & SOUND MACHINES…

One of the most common questions I get about light and sound machines is about the light show. Where do all the colors come from? How come I don’t see all those colors any more? Why do I see just one color?…

To answer these questions, there are many factors to consider. The first consideration is the quality of the light. If you are using dim light, you probably won’t see much of anything except a flicker effect. This means that all you see is a slightly pulsing field of light. When you use the newer ultra bright LEDs, you get rich colors and patterns.  White usually produces the greatest array of colors. Red is otherwise the most energetic color, and you see lots of different colors using red. With other colors, you tend to see colors of the rainbow on either side of that color.

When using yellow for example, you generally see orange, yellow, and green. With blue, you see green, blue, and violet. White incandescent light also produces spectacular visuals.

The Synchro Energizer, made in the early 1980′s, was tops in generating a fabulous color and visual display. It used white incandescent light shinned through a clear “round shaped” piece of plastic. This diffused the light all around the eye. Some light glasses use a “milk white” filter which diffuses the light throughout the eye, refracting the light towards the center of the eye because of the curve of the plastic filter. The color display is thus subdued. Of course not everyone cares about seeing a wonderful color show when they use light and sound. At the same time, when I bought my first machine for $8,000, I would never have spent that kind of money if the light show were not extraordinary. I find that people tend to use their machine more frequently when the light show is spectacular, and therefore will consequently derive more benefits.

A newer generation of light glass colors been initiated using two colors, or bi-color. Blue and red combo is one, and another is red and green. Red and green, for some reason produces some very interesting colors. The color show is more hallucinagenic-type colors versus when white is used. People comment quite a lot using red and green combo, they truly like it.

Yet another factor in the light show is using true sine waves, not sinusoidal, also produce some very fluid visuals. Machines typically are manufactured in a fashion that turns the light on, then off. This is called a square wave. Sine waves, on the other hand, gradually increase in intensity to full illumination, then gradually decrease. Sine waves are what occur in nature, but are also much gentler on the eye when doing a program. You may have noticed when doing a sleep session where the light flicker is very slow, it can be uncomfortable at times, especially if the light is too bright. With sine waves, the eye remains more comfortable as the sine wave action is more fluid and gentle. Sine waves also produce a more fluid visual effect which is hard to describe. The new Innerpulse allows you to select sine waves. Also the Future Mind utilizes sine waves.

The time of day you use a session also impacts the light show. You will see more colors doing a session during daylight hours versus at night. This happens because the light receptors in the eye shift function from daylight to night. The cones which occur in the center of the eye process colors and are most active during daylight. When the sun sets, the cones are not active, and the rods which occur outside of the center of the eye more in the periphery become active. They do not process color, but instead process intensity of light.

You can produce greater colors and patterns at night and a greater sense of dimensionality in the light show during the day by doing eye exercises at the beginning of your session. All you need to do is move your eyes clockwise several times, then counterclockwise several time right at the beginning of your session. You will be very impressed at the results. The color display will not only be enhanced, but also the visuals appear much more 3-D!

Another important element in the visuals comes vis a vis the music you select to listen to when doing a session. Music directs the visuals you actually see in an extraordinary way. Your eyes are not the actual agent that produces visual, but instead it is your brain that produces the visuals. When you select any particular music which “pushes your buttons,” the visuals change dramatically. It is irrelevant which style of music you choose, except that higher frequencies of sound have a more energizing effect on the brain. The third octave above middle C on the piano is where the ear is the most sensitive. Higher frequencies that that produce more overtones, and even though the ear actually hears frequencies up to 20,000 to 24,000; the ear is sensitive to frequencies as high as 40,000 Hertz. So, you may not hear the sound, but your ear is still processing the sound in those higher realms.

Using standard headphones however limits the frequency range, because the electronics inside the headphones can’t process the lower and higher frequencies in the first place. You can spend up to $10,000 on headphones, however check out Sennheiser because they have a good frequency range, and are also very comfortable.

An even better technology for increasing the high frequency range is vibrational transducers. Separate from headphones, you put two transducers on the forehead with a runner’s-style headband.

Tactile information is processed by a completely different part of the brain, and brings a more engaging focused experience to your session. Vibration also increases the harmonics you experience in the higher frequency range. Specifically you get more of the frequencies generated above 20,000 Hertz! The Neurophone and also the Echofone are great delivery systems for this technology.

When you introduce higher frequencies into the light and sound experience, you begin to enter an arena called “synaesthesia.” Synaesthesia is a mixing of the senses. You might start to see colors from hearing sounds, or hear sounds by being introduced to colors.

AudioStrobe CDs were created specifically to amplify the synaesthetic experience. Not all machines are configured for AudioStrobe, but you truly enjoy these CDs because the light show follows the music.

An incredible synaesthetic experience can easily be induced by introducing aromatics to your session. Studies using the Mind Mirror have shown that aromas very quickly and effectively influence your brainwave state. Try smelling any aroma during your session, and the colors and patterns will immediately change and take you on a very different type of experience.

The music you choose distinctly impacts the light show. When it comes to introducing music you can use popular music to induce “flash-back” memories of eras gone by. Gregorian chants work well to put you in a religious or contemplative mood. Baroque music helps organize your mind and gives you lots of energy. Classical, Impressionistic, and Romantic music are great for drifting and bring forth imaginative states.

Not all aromas are created equally. High quality aromas smell like having that fruit or flower right in your hand, as if you were smelling it fresh. No chemical smell should be present either.

Quality aromas also last a very long time the effect lingers for quite some time because they are concentrated. If you smell the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon, the effect lasts only about 30 seconds. If you smell a quality lemon aroma, the effect lasts for up to five minutes!

You will find hundreds of different scents available, so how do you choose? It is best to stick with “single tone” aromas and not use blends. Men tend to prefer aromas created from the lower part of plants such as barks; while women tend to prefer the aromas generated from efflorescences of plants and trees such as flowers. Citrus is generally energizing while lavender is used for relaxation. There are aromas which induce romantic states such as gardenia, rose, and ylang ylang. For focus, peppermint is often used. You can even induce joy with aromas such as blood orange.

Try lining up several aromas to use during your light and sound adventure. Here is an example of how to proceed for a “romance-type” session. Line up the aromas in a precise order that you have pre-determined for a specific effect and where you can easily reach them while hooked up to your machine. Smell each aroma in the order you have set them up and wait about five minutes before smelling the next aroma. For a romance session, first use lavender to relax and let go, then use pepperment to focus on the type of person you would like to meet, then use ylang ylang to generate a romantic response to that person, finally use frankincense to meditate on achieving that goal. You can set up many different types of sessions by being creative. Also pick romantic music to set the mood for your session and finally the type of light and sound program which best represents the brainwave state appropriate for you.

Finally you can use foods to help enhance your experience. So how can eating an orange, or drinking a cup of coffee impact the visuals? You will never know unless you try of course, but this helps the synaesthesia overall.

Foods have very different effects on different people. But here are a few examples based on my personal experience and how foods effect me. You will have to find out for yourself what works the best, however, whole foods, picked when ripe, unprocessed are the best ones to use.

For a focus session, try drinking a cup of expresso! For romantic sessions try tropical fruit. Freshly picked ripe apricots are an aphrodesiac for me. When I drink orange juice freshly squeezed picked ripe from local trees, I feel suddenly extremely alert.

Well that just about wraps it up on ideas for you to increase the visuals while using light and sound machines.

Enjoy your sessions!

Copyright: AVS Journal, Michael Landgraf, Publisher (2002) CA. All rights reserved.