Gamma Mind Enhancement Technology Experiment

June 13th, 2007

I'm in the process of testing a new mind enhancement program for my company and decided to post my observations about the experiment so visitors to this site can read about the progress.

The mind enhancement program is designed to induce heightened Gamma brain activity to trigger a variety of results including but not limited to rapid development of expanded awareness, increased intuition, lucid dreaming, miscellaneous psi abilities, the achievement of higher states of consciousness, and many other fascinating possibilities.

Studies in recent years have turned up very intriguing results about Gamma activity. Research by the Division of Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham indicates that Gamma activity is related to perception and consciousness, as well as higher mental activity. Another research study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrated that Tibetan monks with 15 to 40 years of daily meditation practice exhibited much higher levels of Gamma activity not only while actively involved in certain forms of meditation but also while not meditating. As you can see, the potential results of using properly designed Gamma technology are quite exciting.

We've tested many versions of the Gamma program over the past few years, gradually refining the technology to make each version even more effective than the last. I believe this version will be the final one, but I am trying not to have any expectations prior to testing it because I don't want my expectations to trigger results based on the placebo effect.

Whenever a study is conducted to test any form of mind enhancement technology, it becomes very difficult to rule out the placebo effect because many of the results are subjective and can be influenced by the participants’ own pre-formed expectations. Steps are taken to minimize or eliminate the chance of this type of interference. Most research studies are conducted in a double-blind manner to ensure the participants are unaware of whether or not they received the treatment or the placebo.

For example, when we tested one of our other products several years ago, everyone in one half of the group was given a CD with a form of brainwave technology embedded beneath the sounds of rain, and everyone in the other half of the group was given a CD containing the same sounds of rain but no brainwave technology. Since the brainwave technology is undetectable when masked by the sounds of rain, the CDs that included the technology sounded exactly the same as the CDs that included only the sounds of rain, and nobody knew whether they had received a CD with the brainwave technology or without it.

The participants also didn't know what the predicted results were. In that particular case, the technology was designed to provide deep relaxation, improved sleep, and other benefits, but the participants were not provided with a list of "possible benefits" in advance. This ensured that even the subjective reports were not influenced by any preconceived notions about what the technology was supposed to do.

Due to the nature of my position with the company and the fact that I'm the one who developed the Gamma technology, I'm already aware of its potential benefits and therefore can't completely eliminate the placebo effect. My own personal results won't be taken into consideration in any formal study of the technology, so this experiment is solely to satisfy my own curiosity and to provide visitors to this web site with a peek at how the mind enhancement technology works. To present a fair account of the experiment, as individual results manifest I'll do my best to explain how each result may be due to the use of the technology versus how it could have been caused by other factors.

Today I'll provide a quick explanation of how the experiment will be conducted. Tomorrow I'll post an entry describing the first day's results and observations.

Length of experiment: I'll test the technology for a minimum of 30 consecutive days and will post frequent updates about the results. Depending on what kind of results I've noticed by the end of that 30-day timeframe, I may or may not decide to extend the experiment. Most of the results I described above take longer than 30 days to appear, which is why it takes so long to thoroughly test this type of technology.

Equipment: The technology is delivered to the brain via audio, so the experiment requires very little in the way of equipment. The only necessary tools are a CD player and a pair of good-quality headphones. I use a Philips Expanium EXP313 portable CD player and Bose Triport headphones.

Time requirements: The audio is 30 minutes in length. For this experiment, I'll be listening to the CD once per day. I'll start the listening session at approximately 10pm each night in order to be as consistent as possible about the timing.

Environmental considerations: Because flickering light or movement within a person's visual range can affect brain activity, I'll sit in a completely dark room with my eyes closed. My neighborhood is very quiet and the headphones block out most external noise so I don't expect any outdoor noise will disturb me.

Whenever I listen to any mind enhancement CD or meditation CD, or while I use biofeedback software like Healing Rhythms, I typically sit cross-legged on a Gomden, which is a type of meditation cushion. (You can view a picture of a person using a Gomden here.) It's not necessary to sit in that position for the Gamma technology to have an effect. It's simply a matter of comfort and personal preference. I occasionally use a kneeling bench like the one in this photo, but I've been using the Gomden more often lately and I’ll stick with it for the duration of this experiment.

Reporting of results: I'll keep track of results in several different categories, including:

1. Physical (immediate physical effects as well as any physical effects that occur throughout each day)

2. Mental (changes in concentration, attention, thinking speed, memory, differences in thought patterns, etc.)

3. Emotional (changes in mood, variations from typical emotional responses, etc.)

4. Dreaming (anything related to dreams)

5. Psychic (anything that can be classified as psi related)

Stay tuned tomorrow for the results from Day 1 of the Gamma Mind Enhancement Experiment.