 NPR reports... In mice and one person, scientists were able to reproduce the altered state often associated with ketamine by inducing certain brain cells to fire together in a slow, rhythmic fashion... The finding also could be a step toward finding non-drug methods to control states of consciousness... The team used a tool called optogenetics, which Deisseroth helped invent. (As opposed to binaural beats, which use sound, optogenetics) uses light to control the firing of specific cells in the brain. As a result, the team was able to artificially generate this rhythm in the brains of mice.
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 The concept of Binaural Beats was first discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove in the early 1800s(1), when he mounted tuning forks at different frequencies at the end of tubes that went into listeners' ears. The listener perceived a third frequency, which was a difference between the two tones. This concept was mostly just a curiosity until the 1970s, when Dr. Gerald Oster wrote a scientific article that fully outlined the phenonenon(2). In the 50 years that followed, there has been much research on the topic, and this blog outlines the scientific studies which have tested the efficacy of binaural beats on everything from pain management to curing insomnia, making people more focused or relaxed, helping with ADHD, and many more outcomes, depending on the frequencies programmed.
 It is well established that binaural beats can affect states of mind by "programming" the frequency of the brain. However, can binaural beats also be used to affect the physical body? For example, can binaural beats trigger the endocrine system to produce and release molecules into the bloodstream? Can they connect the mind to the astral plane, or induce an out of body experience? Over the years, there has been much written about the special powers of binaural beats. Some of it has been supported by scientific studies, and some of it must be tried by the listener to determine if it works or not. In this blog we will explore some of the "edge cases" for the usage of binaural beats to induce different states of mind and body...
 Download for iOS or Android now! As a followup to the free Binaural app (with over 100,000 downloads), this is the app version of the "Nature Meditation" album, as it combines nature sounds and brainwave entrainment with binaural beats and isochronic tones into one fully-customizable platform to bring you closer to nature and guide your brainwaves into states that you program yourself. Learn more about this app.  The latest release from Meditation Treks is out on mp3 album, including Spotify, iTunes, and all the usual streaming providers. Binaural Nature Meditation is the culmination of years of field recordings and months of editing and mastering. The first four tracks are specific meditations recorded from Mother Nature: The rainforest of Costa Rica, The thunderstorm of Texas, The Waves of the Caribbean, and the La Fortuna Waterfall. As if this 5 hours of nature sounds wasn't enough, the album includes four additional tracks: Sleep, Relax, Create, and Focus, which are edited versions of the first four tracks + binaural beats for those brainwave states in the title. The last track is a mix of the nature sounds.
The 2015 album, Sleep, offers four different Guided Meditations for Sleep: Fall Asleep, Fall Asleep with the Light, Take a Nap, and Induce a Lucid Dream. Get in touch with your spirit, which never sleeps, as your body relaxes in bed. Stream ore purchase it now from Bandcamp, or below...
The first album, Guided Meditation Treks Volume 1, is available on bandcamp, and can now be streamed right here in this blog post. This album makes meditation easy. Grab your earbuds (for the binaural beats), sit on a chair, sit on the floor, or lie on your back. Close your eyes and enjoy one of these four meditations right now. Released in 2012.
With over 100,000 downloads, Binaural is currently the most popular app from Guided Meditation Treks. Of course, it's the free one. I am working on a pro version with a "next-level" programming experience for Binaural in the mean time. Some of the feedback I get through this website is used to craft the next releases of my apps, as well as address bug fixes on existing apps. Some of the messages are simply messages of gratitude, which I love. These are some of my favorite feedback messages from users of the Binaural meditation smartphone app: "I am very impressed with the app, they way it is set up it is user friendly and just the functionality as a whole is amazing. Whether your a beginner or a seasoned user of this type of technology, it is useful and helpful for all. Love and light to you and may you continue to help in bringing us together as one with the Universe. Thank You Thanks so much I believe in you people.  Binaural Beats Help the Brain One of the fundamentals of Guided Meditation Treks is the concept of brainwave entrainment with binaural beats. Most of the meditation programs offered through this site implement some form of "binaural beats," which is a technology scientifically shown to steer your brainwaves towards certain frequencies. With this technology, your mind can be coaxed into becoming sleepy, focused, relaxed, or even creative. Binaural Beats are embedded into Guided Meditation Treks albums, but I have also been offering a smartphone app called "Binaural" which lets you generate these tones on your own. Now, I've released a web app that does the same thing! This online app lets you generate your own binaural beats using nothing more than an HTML5-enabled web browser!
Visit the binaural web app.  Open Source iOS sample app Last month, I made the Binaural apps FREE for both iOS and android. I've now taken it a step further and made the algorithms open source. You can now go to my github page and download fully working sample apps that generate binaural beats and isochronic pulses. Then, you can use these algorithms in your own apps. If you end up using any of this code, give ma shout, and maybe I'll feature your app on this blog!
Even though software development can be a great meditation, I thought a technical description of the code would go too deep for a meditation blog, so instead, I'm posting that detail on my personal blog, which you can find here. Here's the source code for iOS. Here's the source code for Android. Or you can just download the app here and not worry how it works!  Binaural was my first app created for both Android and iOS. It has been for sale for 99 cents for the last year. Well, after making a brand new update to the iOS version of the app this week to allow a custom volume control, I've decided to go ahead and give this app away for free!
You can feel free to use the binaural app for iOS or android to create your own guided meditations. After all, the world needs more meditation! These apps will allow you to generate your own binaural beats, as well as learn about the concepts of brainwave entrainment, brain frequencies, and binaural beats technology. Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy the gifts! If you've already purchased this app in the past, thank you for your support to help me cover the costs of enrolling in the apple & android developer programs. They are not free! Binaural for iOS can be found at the Apple App Store Binaural for Android can be found a the Google Play store  It's time for the season of giving! I am going to give away some special gifts this month, and the first one I'm giving away is nature sounds! The Sleep app for iOS comes with a set of nature sounds to help sooth you to sleep, but the app has an in-app purchase to more than double the library of nature sounds. Previously, the expansion pack cost $3.99, but I have just changed the app today to make the expansion pack FREE! This means, if you buy the Sleep App for iOS, you have the option to expand the library of nature sounds for free!
Every nature sound on the app can be looped to infinity! Stay tuned for another gift from me to you in a couple of days! While the 'gift' in this post only comes to users of the Sleep App, the next one will be a 'no purchase necessary' gift to all!  Binaural for Android My app, Binaural, is now available for Android. I've taken all the feedback I've recieved from the iOS version of this app and incorporated it into the Android verison. Binaural lets a user directly enter frequencies they wish to use to generate their own binaural beats and isochronic pulses. In addition, the Android version of the app includes a background noise track to help put the binaural beats in the background behind soothing noise.
Also, if you don't want to do the research yourself as to which frequencies are conducive to the various brainwave states, this app includes a series of presets. At the click of a button, you can dial up a frequency to tune your chakras using either the tuning fork frequencies or the solfeggio tones. The app also includes an array of other brainwave patterns, such as Focus, Creativity, Relaxation, Sleep, Chanting, Intuition, Astral Travel, Healing, Alpha State, Intelligence, and Euphoria. When you click on one of these settings, you will also learn for yourself what these frequencies are. The binaural app is all about teaching you what binaural beats are and how they work in addition to allowing you to experience them for yourself. Enjoy!  When I released the Sleep App, I included a link in the app to purchase SleepPhones, which are a set of headphones made by this company to specifically feel comfortable to wear as you sleep. They seemed like a complement for my product. With that, I submitted a guest blog post to them on sound healing frequencies that can only be utilized through headphones. This technology is called binaural beats, and I use binaural beats for all of my albums. This post discusses how to use binaural beats to bring your brain into the two specific frequencies of sleep -- delta and theta, with the use of the SleepPhones and my new Sleep App.
Read More...  (Texas, December 2015) – Guided Meditation Treks, a spoken word meditation sound healing project created by Russell Eric Dobda, has released a new iOS App and mp3 collection entitled “Sleep” to help listeners fall asleep quickly, enjoy a power nap, or induce a lucid dream.
The app and album are built on a foundation of several looped nature sounds such as rain, waterfalls, drone noises, birds, and other sonic soundscapes to wash over a cluttered mind and put it into a relaxed state. Binaural beats and isochronic pulses, sound healing technologies scientifically shown to alter brainwave patterns, are mixed atop the nature sounds to induce the brain into the frequencies of sleep. To top it off, the soothing and almost drowsy soft voice of Russell leads you through mindfulness practices that will have you out cold in no time or flying through the air in a vivid lucid dream if you choose.  Here's a short and sweet 10-minute interview with Naturally Savvy, where we talk about why guided meditation is a great entry point for people who want to try meditation but aren't sure where to start! Listen Here.
 Clease a Drama Cycle Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~Albert Einstein
Here's a guest blog post I wrote on SelfGrowth.com about drama cycles, and how you can cleanse your own drama cycles with my new app for iOS! Read More...  Ganesha: remover of obstacles Someone out there owns the url meditation.com. Instead of hoarding it to themselves for only their specific products and services, they have opened it up so that people like me can create practitioner accounts and make guest blog posts. That's the spirit of cooperation and abundance that we all preach as yoga and meditation practitioners. In that spirit, I have written a guest blog post on the topic!
You can read it here... “Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.” ~ Lao Tzu  The new album Think you aren’t any good at meditation? Wondering how to find the time to meditate? Too much going through your head to focus? Sit back and relax while you watch the images in your mind’s eye and connect with your higher self using this new meditation app for iOS. As a follow up to the previous Guided Meditation Treks and Binaural apps released earlier this summer, tune into the latest release, Guided Meditation Treks Volume II. Four new spoken word guided meditations combine guided image therapy with binaural beats, soothing sounds of nature, and this time ambient music help you to work through real-life situations and improve your outlook. "Cleanse a drama cycle” will help you work through an old pattern and use new ways of thinking. “Program a Quartz Crystal” will show you how to use your intention to metaphysically program a physical quartz crystal to run the program of your intention. “Ask Your Higher Self a Question” was the meditation that helped the author, Russell Eric Dobda, change careers. It will help you find the answer to that burning question you've been asking yourself, whatever it may be. Finally, “Send Helpful Thoughtforms to Another” is a guided meditation that will show you how to use your thoughts to help another person. Remember, thoughts are things.  Screenshot from the new app This app was previously available as downloadable mp3s, but the iOS app versions allow you to control the volume levels of the individual components of each meditation to custom-tailor the sound to your preferences. Download the app or get the original mp3’s today at the Guided Meditation Treks website. These apps will help you create a space for meditation any time or any place with a smartphone.
 Here's the next in my series of guest blog posts to promote my new iOS Apps for Binaural and Guided Meditation Treks V1. This one is about the technology that is behind both of them: simple sine waves. It outlines how these tones are not only fundamental to EVERY sound we hear, but also how they have been scientifically shown to induce healing and different states of consciousness! Read more on RelaxMeOnline...
 My second guest post this week is on Brainwave Booster, hosted by another guy who is really into meditation technology. We will soon be collaborating on some future projects together! In the mean time, here are my thoughts on the placebo effect, a force that can be used for healing, as well as a force that can be used to inhibit healing. It might sound strange or outlandish, but you have the choice of how you can use it! Read More...
 This week, I joined Lisa Wagner on her Epic Meditations podcast. We talked about so many great subjects in a short timeframe, including meditation, guided meditation, intention, binaural beats, and even a little bit about travel and silent disco. Give a listen to her interview me as we go deep!
 This is my first of a series of guest blog posts as part of my publicity push for my new iOS apps, released this week. This article discusses the sometimes taboo subject of healers who charge for their services. This applies to any type of healer, from a musician to a clairvoyant to a yoga instructor to even those healers we don't question sending money to: doctors. The concept comes back to a simple measurement: energy exchange. Read the article on Top Guided Meditations...
Press Release: Sunday, March 1, 2015 www.guidedmeditationtreks.com “It is wisdom to know others; it is enlightenment to know one's self.” ~Lau-tzu  Guided Meditation Treks has released two new meditation apps for iOS. The first is an app version of the debut album, “Guided Meditation Treks Vol 1.” Four meditations of spoken word, binaural beats, isochronic tones, pink noise, and nature sounds help you connect to your higher self. The app allows volume control of each element as you take treks to “Meet Your Spirit Guide,” “Reprogram a Counterproductive Thought Pattern,” “Heal a Relationship,” and “Manifestation.”  The second app is a do-it-yourself tool called “Binaural,” which empowers users to generate their own binaural beats and isochronic tones. The app links to a reference sheet that discusses these sound healing technologies, which have been scientifically proven to alter listeners’ brainwave patterns and reduce stress, induce sleep, increase focus, help you relax, and increase creativity. From there, users are taught about the different frequencies and how they induce different effects on the listener. By understanding this technology, users are empowered to create their own tones to use in their own meditation practice or share with others.
Contact info@guidedmeditationtreks.com for more information  Here is a short lecture from the 2012 that explains in simple terms what binaural beats are, how they are used in guided meditations, and how you can create your own binaural beats using free software! It is presented by the founder of guided meditation treks Russell Dobda. Listen to the lecture...
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