A mind machine (aka brain machine, in some countries called a psychowalkman) uses pulsing rhythmic sound and/or flashing light to alter the brainwave frequency of the user. Mind machines are said to induce deep states of relaxation, concentration, and in some cases altered states of consciousness that have been compared to those obtained from meditation and shamanic exploration.
The process applied by these machines is also known as brainwave synchronisation or entrainment.
Mind machines work by creating a flickering ganzfeld. Since a flickering ganzfeld produces different effects from a static one, mind machines can often also produce a static ganzfeld.
A mind machine is similar to a dreamachine in that both produce a flickering ganzfeld. The difference is that a dreamachine can be used by several people at once, but generally has less technical features than a mind machine.
Famous quotes containing the words mind and/or machine:
“The bourgeois treasures nothing more highly than the self.... And so at the cost of intensity he achieves his own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed by God, as he prefers comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that deathly inner consuming fire.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
“He is no more than the chief officer of the people, appointed by the laws, and circumscribed with definite powers, to assist in working the great machine of government erected for their use, and consequently subject to their superintendence.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)