- What are the effects of Binaural Beats?
- What does it feel like to use them?
- What benefits can they bring to my life?
This post will show you the actual physical & mental effects – with me as the willing crash test dummy.
By now you've probably researched brain wave entrainment and some of the best value brain wave toys, but you may be wondering what it actually feels like to use binaural beats.
This is a totally valid question – and when I first started out I couldn't find any valid answers with real-life experiences.
But hopefully this play-by-play account of my experience will help you to understand the real effects of binaural beats – and let you decide if it's something *you* want to try.
Pre Test Thoughts
I'm about to start a 30-minute Binaural Beats session, and will jot down the thoughts and feelings I experience throughout with a pen and paper.
For this test I am using the $9.95 Creativity Boost MP3 download from BinauralBeatsMeditation.com – so for about the cost of a cinema ticket / bottle of wine / takeaway (etc) you'll be able to replicate my results.
This download is designed to produce Theta brain waves in the brain, which is the level of deep relaxation, meditation, drowsiness and REM sleep (low Theta).
This meditation is designed to stimulate the brain and increase levels of creativity.
The details say that it's “ideal for artists, writers and musicians suffering a creative blockage, and for marketers and other persons requiring instant “outside the box” inspiration”.
I should expect to feel deeply relaxed, have some ideas or insights, experience some pretty vivid visualisations, and maybe even remember some stuff I've forgotten.
Let's see what happens.
Effects Of Binaural Beats – The Test
1) The first thing I notice is the relaxing but very mystical music. It's all deep pads and swirling sounds… all very deep zen-like. It's nice, and immediately I start to feel more chilled out.
2) I become aware of a slight humming noise in the background. This is the sound of the binaural beats working, although it is barely perceptible, especially after a few minutes. Unless you're trying to focus on it, you'll forget about it shortly after noticing it.
3) Now the track seems to go deeper, taking me down to another level. I feel compelled to breath deeply and relax.
I feel a little hypnotized, almost, and start taking deeper, slower breaths.
4) About three minutes in, I “come to” for a moment and realise that I just got lost for a minute or two. My muscles feel loose and I'm beginning to develop a sense of peace of mind. Awesome.
5) By now, maybe five to seven minutes in (I forgot to check, and binaural beats are notorious for distorting your sense of time) I am in the realm of my subconscious.
I'm also aware that this is in no way down to conscious efforton my part.
In fact, it kind of feels like laying on a lilo out in the ocean… Just a gentle relaxation, bobbing along, with my mind elsewhere. By now, I'm really enjoying it.
6) The next stage feels like a definite shift of consciousness – a tangible deepening of the feelings I've experienced so far.
I also sense that I have a half-conscious choice to make over which direction to take this session – I can either let my mind slow down even further, allowing it to quieten totally and continue to relieve my tension; or, I can allow my brain to start operating at a “higher level”.
This is quite tricky to explain, but basically I sense a powerful background feeling which contains free-flowing, positive thoughts and beliefs I have about my goals and dreams.
It's a real form of inspiration and confidence that is within my grasp. I can either go with that and do some conscious visualisation, or I can just “let go” and let my mind be quiet and deeply relaxed. The choice is mine!
7) I start by letting go and relaxing further. By about ten minutes in (estimate), I now have an unshakable sense of relaxation.
I feel happy and positive inside too. I can tangibly feel the energy inside my body, which brings with it a sense of warmth and peace, and I can even sense my heartbeat and pulse as the blood pumps through my body.
Weird, but most definitely pleasant. I'm not even really aware I'm listening to binaural beats anymore. I'm just kinda floating with the music 😉
8) I just checked my watch. I'm sixteen minutes in. I'm not sure where the past few minutes went, but I definitely wasn't “conscious” of them.
By now, there has been an unmistakable uptake in my endorphin production. I feel awesome; really happy, contented, and even a bit powerful (though it shames me to say it!)
Although I'm really chilled, I now feel alert in this new realm . It's a strange (but fun) combination. I feel like I could happily either go to sleep or spend hours working.
It's hard to convey, but I could either have loads of energy, or no energy at all. I get the sense it's totally up to me. Which, I accept, sounds totally random and “new-age” 😉
9) I open my eyes for a bit and look around the room. Wow! The colours are much more vibrant, and when I look around I see things and objects for what they are, I don't see “labels”. I am viewing the world from my new consciousness.
It might sound strange, but I looked at my huge plant and sofa for a little while, just appreciating them “as they are”. It's quite humbling, in a weird sort of way.
10) Suddenly I feel the urge to let my mind race away: It's flying through images and ideas related to my work and achieving my goals.
Strangely, it's not really like thinking, as I don't feel in total control of it. Instead, it's like stepping back and allowing my brain to empty it's channels and reveal golden inspiration.
This feels really good and I notice really being filled with confidence, like I can't wait to get out there, write a ToDo list and put my plan into action
(Note – I've practiced visualization a lot, which is why this stuff pops up in my brain a lot. Have a look at this post for more on visualization and binaural beats.
11) Ah, the ideas are really gushing now. A couple of minutes from the end, my mind “dumps” on me several ideas relating to my work, and also reminds me that I forgot to email somebody back yesterday.
I jot the ideas down, happy. There's no way I consciously remembered this, or thought about them…
… the ideas just “popped in” themselves.
12) The Creativity Freeflow Binaural Beats come to an end. I “snap out” of my trance and come back to the room. My immediate thought is “I feel serene and peaceful and pretty damn happy. Sweet!”.
Not bad for thirty minutes of sitting on the sofa with headphones on, not bad at all…
Effects Of Binaural Beats – Two Hours On
By now, two hours have passed since listening to the recording. Here's how I feel:
- I definitely feel clear minded, relaxed and happy, but I'm also alert, focussed and have a deep sense of excitement for the day. This is not how I felt when I woke up, I promise!
- There's a pronounced feeling of well-being inside of me. Imagine how you feel when you wake up on a Sunday and have an awesome day planned and no worries about work at all – it's kind of like that. There's no stress or anxiety knocking around at all. I just feel pretty sweet. Pretty cool.
- There's a lot of “good energy” kicking about inside of me. I'm eager to get my work done and achieve a lot today.
- I've had a few really good ideas about my business. My girlfriend also sent me a text message about some troubles she was having at work, and I was able to give her a solution that made her feel happy and upbeat again really quickly. This inspiration is contagious!
- Overall, I feel upbeat, calm and inspired. It's not like I've taken a load of powerful drugs and I'm “buzzing”, it's more like I just feel at my natural best; in the flow, so to speak.
Final Thoughts On The Effects Of Binaural Beats
Well, that brings us to the end of my experiment. I hope you enjoyed reading about the effects of binaural beats.
Having read this back, my experience does seem a… little over the top – but this article was honestly written from the notes I took when using the binaural beats, and it is a true reflection of my experience.
If you are intrigued to go on your own creative adventure, head on over to BinauralBeatsMeditation.com and grab your own beats.
It takes a bit of practice until you can choose whether to “visualise” or “just relax” when listening to binaural beats, but both journeys are fun, relaxing and rewarding.
If you've liked the sound of my experiences, give them a try yourself and give your mind a well-deserved break / adventure.
So… the million dollar question…. Did it make me more creative? Well, in short, yes, it did. While I didn't invent a renewable energy source or stumble upon the formula for alchemy or cure world poverty …
… I did have a few really good ideas about my music projects and this blog, which seemed to come from somewhere “beyond me”.
These Binaural Beats may not turn you into Einstein overnight, but they'll help you to be the best you can be at the moment.
Next up:
Take a listen to a sample of Creativity Boost
Or – read my comprehensive findings on the 5 top Brainwave recordings.
Karie says
Thank you very much, I greatly aptcreiaped this guided meditation. Since some days I do it : the first two days I listened to without headphones, it was well. But for 3 days I pratice with headphone, it is more powerful.This evening I listened to after my Qi Gong session and I was going so deeply, that I asleeped. When I am awakening at the end, I was well. After dining, I was feeling a great feeling of joy, happiness and gratitude to the Universe/our Father-Mother God.In my work yesterday, I realized that my perceptions were more powerful than usually.To summarize, I am delighted by this experience. (By the past I tried several tools to enhance the capacities of the brain. They were -all- different and interesting (the last one : ” Brain evolution system”) but not enough for me, because it was like if there is a “lack”..)With the meditation of Gerald I’m feeling connected like when I am in meditation/prayers/invocation. It seems that this meditation is a link in “+” to stay in touch permanently. It is my feeling at this hour !Be blessed for this great work.
Daniel says
Wotcha Lawrence. Cheers for this, it’s really insightful. I’m very intrigued by binaural beats and I’m just downloading a selection of beats by a chap called Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, who seems to be a bit of whizzkid on this subject, to give it a go myself. Back in the old days of orchestral music and earlier, instruments were tuned to C 528Hz, which is called the Solfeggio Scale. The 7 notes in this scale harmonize with the 7 main chakras of the body. This is the same frequency that binaural beats play it supposedly. Now I am rather wary of some of this new age shimsham but this kinda makes sense. I was also persuaded by the fact that the Beatles and the Beach Boys tuned to this scale which has definitely pushed my beyond the realm of skepticism. I remember being at uni and listening to Golden Slumbers on the abbey road album and being in a very blissful state of mind and not to sound soppy, but really finding contentment with my life. It was really powerful stuff, so I’m hoping i have a similar experience!? I was also reading about the fact that most music created by the music industry plays at a different frequency and usually has themes based on more baser human urges, sex, money, violence and wotnot and I was wondering what your thoughts were concerning the distortion and corruption of binaural beats for rather nefarious means…?
bbfreak says
Hey Daniel, good question. The music industry, especially the pop and commercial dance genres definitely use sound formulas to make people want to let loose; feel sexy and want to dance, and to feel happy and excited. I’m not sure how conscious producers are of this because most are copying chords and sounds and reinterpreting, transposing and innovating on the sounds of other big tracks, but certainly some of the most successful musicians are aware of the way in which frequencies affect people’s mood. No doubt groups like the Beach Boys and The Beatles were ahead of their time and experimenting with the frequency response process to infiltrate the minds of their listeners. I would add Pink Floyd, ELO, Hendrix, and Prince to that list too. Let me know how you get on.