Neuroprogrammer 2, Procyon, Thought Sounds

I did my first 'neuroprogrammer'-sourced session this evening. OK, I only did a small part of one, but enough to get some idea of it.

To make this happen I opened NP2 software and listed the preset sessions. I plugged the cord (1/16 jack) from my computer headphone port into the auxilliary port of the Procyon, then plugged in the headphones and goggles. I changed the mode on the Procyon to "AS" (audiostrobe, as that is what is encoded in the NP2 file(s)). And then I pressed play on my computer, for that NP2 session.

The sound is certainly better. It's my understanding that MindPlace's "Proteus" unit, which was released prior to the Procyon, is actually way better with sound, just not as advanced with light. One assumes their next product will combine the best of those worlds. In the meantime that is why I got NP2 software, so I could handle the sound in great detail.

The light is only red and green (no blue) because that is what the AudioStrobe format (which NP2 is putting out so that the Procyon can read it for the goggles) defaults to. Maybe AS will upgrade their own options at some point but for now that's the tradeoff. It was ok. I mean the colors were not as interesting but the sound was better. I would say it was equal as a result.

I was using the NP2 present "Hypnotic Relax Example" because I had begun by looking at the session file, considering when I'll have time to begin building one of my own to start experimenting. I did not expect any preset to be all that great frankly so I did not intend to do a whole session, just to maybe sit through 10 minutes of something, anything, and see what the difference was between using this as a session-source vs. the Procyon's stuff.

I noticed at one point that I had just suddenly shifted into serious trance and felt good. I interrupted myself to pull off my goggles and lift up my laptop screen so I could see what the session was doing at that point.

It was just at a change point, just before-during-after that point somewhere, about two (2) minutes in. All the various things going on are at 12 Hz and 10 Hz; the 12 had finished a cycle of coming down from 14 Hz and the 10 had finished a cycle of coming up from 8 Hz. On the other side of the point they had shifted the other way, the 8 starting a ramp toward 12 and the twelve starting a ramp toward 9.

I stopped the session at that point as I was interrupted by "the real world", which apparently is filled with people who think me sitting around in the dark with headphones and matrix-like reflective shades flashing colored lights is kind of odd.

(What I really need is a black light Crowley poster just to freak everybody out.) (Just kidding.) (I'm really not 16 anymore, I swear.)

I actually wondered why I would respond so well to this compared to the sessions I've done with the Procyon presets. I hypothesize that my being more geared to sound as a primary sensory, and perhaps that this multi-track session had only two tones but more cross-confirmation of those tones between the various track options, maybe that made some difference.

(On the left: frequencies are up the left side, timing is across the bottom.)

Next topic: Thought-Sounds:

I got a chance to look this over. Interesting approach they took here. Basically, they provide you all these nice sounds but they are only 6 minutes long each! They provide you software to help you loop them. (I will see if Audacity will let me loop it also.)

I haven't yet listened to any of them, but if the descriptions are any clue, I may need some Nag Champa incense, Ingo Swann paintings, and maybe some feathers and crystals when I do. Heh. I think it'll be cool though.

PJ

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Today's Miscellany

A few links to science papers/links:
http://www.northwest-neurofeedback.com/articles.html

I was minding my own business when my buddy Steph sent me a ref to this woman who is into Paleo eating (in short: lowsugar wholefoods) AND neurofeedback. What a great find! How many of us can there be? Except she knows what she's talking about and I don't, but let's not be picky. I'm learning. (And I'm just not bringing up the recent pesto pasta-breakdown ok.)

I have finished reading everything on the Transparent Corp public site, private members site, and their NP2 documentation (which is considerable), as well as everything I can find on the MindPlace public site, and the Procyon documentation. Excuse me while I rinse off my brain now, that is too much too fast. Unfortunately nearly all of this is "proprietary" documentation. It's even put into files you cannot copy from just to make it even more complicated to take notes in a text file. So it's not easy for me to condense what I am learning into my blog for my friends since I didn't even have a way to summarize it for myself as I went along. Grrr.

I'm having a frustration moment about a couple things. Minor trivia but still.

Procyon's product document just throws in as a tiny note like oh-by-the-way that whatever audio it is playing is automatically 'modulated by the video settings'. Well that set me back. What is the point of deliberately customizing audio and video--often to be pointedly different--if the video then tromps all over the audio? I want to do specific experimentation and hypnotic anchoring and controlling these things separately is important as a result. Maybe it isn't always. Maybe it's just if you do the audio there, not if you import it. I hope.

Update 6/19 ungodly hour AM: you can 'patch through' your own audio and it won't affect that. It only affects (as you choose) tones you create yourself in the editor.

I have a ton of vastly more useful and specific info that I will work on dredging out of myself over the next week.

PJ

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