Personal Development for Smart People TM
Paraliminals - Personal Development on Autopilot
For two years now, readers have been asking me if I could recommend any good meditation or relaxation CDs. Unfortunately, most of the guided meditations I own are only so-so, and my all-time favorites are no longer available, so I couldn't offer much of a recommendation. In fact, Erin and I have discussed developing our own meditation programs, since there's such a strong demand for them.
During the summer, however, I had my first encounter with Paraliminals. They're unlike any other meditation CDs I've tried, and they've produced many tangible benefits for me beyond the temporary relaxation effect.
First I'll explain what Paraliminals are and exactly how they work. Then I'll share my personal results with them over the past 3 months.
What Are Paraliminals?
Perhaps you're familiar with subliminal audio programs, which contain hidden messages below the threshold of conscious awareness. I've listened to many subliminal audio programs over the years, and I can't say any have had much value. Paraliminals, however, are something entirely different -- despite the similar sounding name, Paraliminals don't include subliminal messages at all.
When you listen to a Paraliminal session, you hear two distinct voices -- one in each ear. To get the desired effect, you have to listen with stereo headphones, but since these are relaxing, meditative programs, you won't be listening while driving a car anyway.
Each ear receives a unique message tailored to a different hemisphere of the brain. Rather than a series of repetitive affirmations, the messages are intricate and valuable in themselves. They include instruction, advice, and creative visualization exercises.
You might think that listening to two different voices at once would be confusing or overwhelming. But the way it's done is actually very relaxing. The Paraliminals don't begin with both voices immediately. First you're led through a few minutes of relaxation with music and nature sounds. By the time the second voice kicks in and the two voices split into separate stereo channels, you're already in a state of deep relaxation. Also, the voices typically alternate phrases from one ear to another. When they overlap it's only for a few seconds at most. You needn't try to follow the two voices simultaneously. Just zone out and let the information and ideas passively flow through your consciousness.
A typical Paraliminal session is about 20 minutes. Some are longer, some shorter. Many of the Paraliminal CDs include two separate programs -- an A program and a B program -- so that provides some additional variety.
Each Paraliminal CD has a particular theme based on some aspect of personal development, such as overcoming procrastination, improving your memory, breaking addictions, conditioning new habits, improving relationships, attracting financial abundance, and so on.
Here's the complete list of Paraliminal CDs:
- Anxiety-Free
- Automatic Pilot
- Belief
- Deep Relaxation
- Dream Play
- Get Around To It
- Holiday Cheer
- Ideal Weight
- Instantaneous Personal Magnetism
- Memory Supercharger
- New Behavior Generator
- New History Generator
- New Option Generator
- Perfect Health
- Personal Genius
- Positive Relationships
- Prosperity
- Sales Leap
- Self-Esteem Supercharger
- Smoke-Free
- 10-Minute Supercharger
- Youthful Vitality
There are also 4 new CDs that were developed after the original collection:
- Break the Habit
- Creating Sparks
- Peak Performance
- Talking to Win
I own the complete collection, including the 4 bonus CDs. I've listened to most of the CDs multiple times. There are only two I haven't yet listened to: Holiday Cheer and Smoke-Free. I don't need the latter because I've never smoked, and at the time of this writing, the holidays aren't upon us yet. With the possible exception of Smoke-Free and perhaps Ideal Weight (if you already maintain your ideal weight), all the Paraliminals are universal and should appeal to anyone. My personal favorites are Deep Relaxation, Automatic Pilot, Belief, Prosperity, Perfect Health, and Get Around To It. My #1 favorite is Belief, which I've heard more than a dozen times.
Holosync Technology and Binaural Beats
Every Paraliminal includes Centerpointe Research Institute's trademark Holosync technology. Centerpointe is known for its enormously popular meditation CDs, and Holosync is the reason. Holosync employs a technique called binaural beats, which were first discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. Here's how it works:
When you hear a different frequency tone in each ear, your brain will actually perceive two other "phantom" frequencies which are the average and the difference of the two original frequencies. For example, a 500 Hz sound in one ear and a 510 Hz sound in the other ear will cause you to perceive a 505 Hz tone that pulses 10 times per second. This happens normally in nature when two sound waves of different frequencies interact, but the human brain also produces this effect internally, even when each sound is isolated to a single ear. If the two sounds are close enough in frequency, the brain will produce these binaural beats. Under the right frequency and volume conditions, you'll be able to perceive them consciously, so it isn't merely a subliminal effect.
What's interesting about binaural beats is that they can supposedly "entrain" brainwave patterns, meaning that your brainwaves will synchronize with the beats if the beats fall within a certain range. So by manipulating the individual sound frequencies in each ear, binaural beats can automatically adjust your brainwave patterns to "dial in" to a certain frequency and stay there. This effect happens automatically and doesn't require conscious effort.
Various brain frequencies are associated with different states of consciousness, including beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Beta is your normal waking state. Delta is the stage of deep, dreamless sleep. Alpha and theta are states of deep relaxation where improved concentration, memory, and creativity are commonly experienced -- they're also states associated with dreaming. I'm not privy to the exact frequency settings used by Holosync's binaural beats, but I have to imagine they target somewhere in the alpha-theta range.
Now the theory is all well and good, but if you've been reading my site for a while, you know I don't put much faith in theories unless I test them personally. So does it actually work? For me that's a definite yes, and many others have reported positive results with Holosync-embedded audio programs as well. I've regularly listened to guided meditations since 1991, and I have a large collection of cassette tapes, CDs, and MP3s. But this is the first time I've tried anything with Holosync technology, and I was amazed at how effective it is. I've listened to the Paraliminals dozens of times now, and without a single exception, they've always put me into a deeply relaxed, meditative state within the first few minutes. It doesn't matter if I'm really keyed up when I begin, if I'm distracted, or if I don't pay attention to what I'm hearing -- they've worked every single time. I've never experienced a guided meditation that was so consistent in its effect.
Usually I don't even notice the binaural beats because they're blended with music and nature sounds. If I intentionally listen out for them, I can sometimes detect them, but mostly I just focus on the narrating voice or zone out completely.
Deeply Relaxing
The first Paraliminal I listened to (in August) was Deep Relaxation. The title is certainly accurate. After listening to this CD, I felt extremely peaceful and relaxed without feeling drowsy. I later discovered that all of the Paraliminal CDs I listened to are extremely relaxing -- I think that's a natural consequence of the Holosync technology.
The best part is that the relaxation effect is entirely passive. You don't have to go through complex deep-breathing rituals or long-winded visualization exercises to enter a state of deep relaxation. You can just zone out and let the binaural beats work their magic. I must admit to being a little annoyed for not having discovered this sooner -- it makes the meditation audio collection I've built over the past 15 years seem a lot less exciting.
Reboot Your Consciousness
After listening to Paraliminals regularly since August (at least 5 sessions per week), I primarily think of them as a mental reboot. When I'm feeling drained or tired, a 20-minute Paraliminal session refreshes me more than a 20-minute power nap. The Paraliminals are more consistent because they work every time, whereas with a nap I sometimes wake up groggy or don't fall asleep if I'm too keyed up.
When I finish a Paraliminals session, I feel very relaxed but not sleepy. Most of the time, I feel alert and wide awake as soon as the session ends. But sometimes I'm not fully alert yet at the end of a session because I'm still coming back up. In that case I just take a deep breath and stretch for a few seconds, and full alertness returns within the minute. It's similar to coming out of a hypnosis session -- I need a moment to regain full awareness of my body and my surroundings. After that I feel well-rested and wide awake.
The Ultimate Caffeine Replacement
As you may already know, I'm not a daily caffeine consumer. I used to drink several cups of coffee a day, but I kicked the habit a long time ago because I found that caffeine made me too jittery and unfocused. When I drink coffee, my activity level soars -- I barrel through tasks in rapid succession. But at the end of the day, I have to admit I didn't accomplish anything of major value. Caffeine causes me to overload on busywork like email, web surfing, socializing, and other unproductive tasks.
Despite the negative side effects, I still missed the action boost that caffeine gave me. My best substitutes until now were a power nap, a brisk walk, some calisthenics like push-ups, listening to music, or a rapid Tony Robbins-esque physiology change. Those are all semi-effective pick-me-ups, but aside from the power nap, the effects are too short-lived, sometimes just a few of minutes.
Paraliminals have done a beautiful job of filling this void. After every session I enjoy a lingering aftereffect that usually lasts a couple hours. The Paraliminals provide a noticeable concentration boost that allows me to steadily flow through my work while still maintaining my priorities -- that delightful state of flow.
For me this effect translates directly into practical, down-to-earth results. During a period of a few weeks when I used Paraliminals once or twice a day, I completed several key projects that required a lot of focus and concentration, definitely much faster and at a higher level of quality than I would have otherwise. The most visible of these was the launch of the new discussion forums, which have been a huge success. Most people didn't see the behind-the-scenes work required to coordinate the launch with 30 volunteer moderators.
Whenever I notice myself feeling too keyed up, stressed, distracted, lazy, or unfocused during my workday, I now take a 20-minute break for a Paraliminals session. Invariably I'm able to return to work with a high level of energy, focus, and concentration. I'm hard pressed to think of a better way to spend a 20-minute break, assuming I plan to return to work afterwards.
If you're in a situation like me where your real-world results depend heavily on your ability to focus on priorities and concentrate for extended periods of time without succumbing to distractions, I think you'll find Paraliminals an immensely valuable tool.
Put Your Results on Autopilot
What about the actual content of the Paraliminals sessions? Can they really offer benefits such as weight loss, increased financial abundance, better relationships, etc?
As an individual I can only offer anecdotal evidence, but given that caveat, I feel confident saying the Paraliminals had a strong performance-boosting effect. Over the past 3 months, I had a general sense that I was doing better in many areas, but there was one incident that pushed me off the fence and gave me enough reason to believe Paraliminals can yield a lasting conditioning effect.
On November 11 I was scheduled to present an all-day Internet marketing workshop for the Las Vegas National Speakers Association. This would be a challenging presentation requiring solid organization, lots of online research, dozens of PowerPoint slides, a handout, and some well-planned interactive segments. I needed a good week to properly prepare, but unfortunately my schedule had gotten so overloaded I was only able to block off two days. To finish in time, I'd have to work very long hours, and even then I'd have no time to rehearse the program. To make matters worse, I'd already been working many long days in a row, including weekends, and I was coming down with a cold from pushing myself too hard for too long. While Paraliminals make a great midday refresher, they're no substitute for a day off.
My thinking was turning negative because I really wanted to do a good job on the presentation, but I felt I just didn't have enough time. I knew I had to keep my attitude up, but the oppressive time crunch didn't give me many options. In order to pull off a decent presentation in the available time, I'd have to put myself in a state of believing I'd do well no matter what, even though the external evidence suggested my performance would be weak. I wouldn't even know if my presentation would fit the allotted time until I was actually delivering it, and that realization only added to my uncertainty. This caused me to start having wonderful thoughts like, "Why on earth did I ever agree to do this workshop?" I still wanted to do it, but I didn't care for the conditions.
I'm well acquainted with belief conditioning techniques, but in practice it takes a while to make a belief stick, more time than I had available. So out of desperation more than anything else, I turned to my Paraliminals collection because I figured worst case, they'd at least help me stay alert and focused during the long hours ahead. Throughout my marathon prep session, I took breaks every few hours to "jack in" for another Paraliminals reboot. I decided to focus on two programs in particular: Belief, to condition the belief that I would present the workshop to the best of my ability and enjoy the process; and Perfect Health, to stave off my cold as long as possible.
The restorative effect of the Paraliminals definitely helped. It allowed me to work long hours while feeling alert and fresh the whole time. I still felt a bit frazzled from the time crunch, but with each session I came away with a stronger belief that my presentation would go well. My cold symptoms also grew milder over time, and after about 24 hours, I was symptom-free.
The night before the presentation, I was only able to squeeze in 2 hours sleep. I had all my physical materials ready, but having never rehearsed the presentation even once, I was going to have to come up with all the spoken content on the fly. The workshop was 9am to 4pm, and I only had 67 slides, so my PowerPoint wasn't so granular I could merely read each slide. I had to explain lots of detail, tell stories, and construct examples along the way. All that information was in my head somewhere, but I never had time to organize it on paper or my computer. This meant I was going to have to trust my subconscious to feed me the right info, in the right order, and at the right time.
When I arrived at the venue, the conditions were far from ideal. First, the room was hard to find. Secondly, it was very long and thin, like speaking down a tunnel. The back row was far enough away that I'd need to use a hand mic. And thirdly, behind the speaking area was a wide-open room with dining tables where we'd later have lunch, so I'd be speaking with this awkward open space right behind me. Many of the pro speakers in attendance groaned as they entered the room, recognizing that it was far from an ideal venue. And lastly, my laptop couldn't get an Internet connection in the room, so I had to borrow someone else's laptop with a satellite connection. Virtually nothing about the setup was what I anticipated.
But despite the adverse conditions, to my surprise I felt totally Zen about the whole thing -- no stress or nervousness to speak of. I was wide awake, alert, refreshed, and calm, much like I felt immediately after a Paraliminal session, even though I didn't have time to do one that morning. As my intro was being read and I was about to begin my presentation, I felt my confidence soaring for no reason I could fathom. I didn't even have time to prepare an opening, so I had no idea what the first words out of my mouth would be until I delivered them. My PowerPoint slides would help provide some structure, but for the most part I was about to begin an all-day extemporaneous presentation.
My logic told me not to expect to do well under these conditions, but I felt totally secure and certain I could do a fantastic job. My presentation went exceedingly well, and the audience overwhelmingly loved it. Somehow I spent just the right amount of time on each slide, and I hit my time targets within a 5-minute window -- I've never experienced anywhere near that level of accuracy for a totally unrehearsed presentation. I had a great time and fully enjoyed every minute of it, even though I never knew what I was going to say from one minute to the next. The best part is that the presentation was very effective. I received lots of follow-up questions that showed the audience was keenly interested, and several NSA members began launching their own blogs the week after the workshop, so it definitely had an impact.
During and after the presentation I received extremely positive feedback. People even told me they loved the humor, all of which was spontaneous and unplanned. I was just being myself.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, the audience included the owners of two different speakers bureaus. Afterwards they both independently told me the same thing: "You're a $10K speaker." That means they believed I could get bookings at $10,000 for a one-hour keynote -- and be a good value for the money. In fact, one of those bureaus, the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, now represents me, and they issued a press release to announce it only 4 days after my workshop. I'd never done a paid speaking engagement before this point -- the NSA workshop was for no fee -- but now I'm being promoted at $10,000 per speech. And based on my performance in the NSA workshop and considering other $10K speakers, I have to step back and conclude that's a fair price.
I wouldn't want to put myself in a time crunch situation like that again, and I've since restored the balance to my schedule. But looking back I'm certain the Paraliminals helped me reach a level of performance beyond my reasonable expectations. Even when I'm over-prepared, I often feel a little anxious before a formal speaking engagement, but at the NSA workshop I felt totally confident the whole way through. I think the repeated Paraliminals sessions conditioned me to internally know that I would succeed, so when I arrived at the event, my prior conditioning took over and put my performance on autopilot. I was able to deliver a high-impact, high-quality presentation because the Paraliminals helped me enter a state where I believed I could do it.
Our beliefs have a powerful impact on our lives. If you can get yourself to believe you'll perform well, lose weight, increase your income, overcome procrastination, and so on, you'll find a way to make it happen if it's within your human capacity to do so. This is the level where I think Paraliminals work best. With repeated listenings they condition you to believe you'll succeed, which ultimately creates a positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
I hope you didn't mind the long story, but I wanted to share the whole experience. Think of it like an extra blog entry. :)
Experience Paraliminals for Yourself
If you'd like to try Paraliminals for yourself, Just visit the Learning Strategies web site for complete ordering details.
The CDs include a 30-day money-back guarantee. Try all the Paraliminals you want for 30 days, and if you don't find them effective, just return them for a full product refund. I think you'll be convinced of their value after your first listening session.
30-day money-back guarantee
I own the complete Paraliminals Ultimate You Library plus the 4 bonus CDs. What I like about having the whole collection is that I can focus on a handful of Paraliminal CDs that fit my ever-changing situation, such as I did when preparing for my NSA workshop.
In addition to impressing me, which is not remotely easy if you consider the low success ratio I have when evaluating products, Paraliminals have also been recommended and endorsed by Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, and even Grammy winner Chaka Khan. After 3 months of regular listening, I'm still doing 5-10 Paraliminal sessions per week. I grabbed an old 1GB iPod Nano I wasn't using and stuffed it with the whole Ultimate You Library as well as the 4 bonus Paraliminals -- the whole collection easily fits in less than 1GB of space -- so now I use that iPod as my dedicated Paraliminals listening device.
Download the Free PDF to Learn More
Want more information about Paraliminals? Download the 15-page PDF booklet to learn more. If you don't have time to read the PDF now, you can print it out for later.
Even after 3 months of regular usage, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of Paraliminals' potential. It's wonderful to see myself hitting a new level of performance with so little effort, an experience which takes some getting used to. I don't believe Paraliminals are a substitute for hard work by any means, but I do believe they're an effective performance enhancer that can help you draw upon untapped inner resources. I expect to be listening to these CDs for years to come -- the concentration boost I enjoy after each session is reason enough. It's rare I encounter a product I like as much as this one, so I hope you'll take the opportunity to see what Paraliminals can do for you.
