Frequently asked Questions

What is Optamind audio technology?

Optamind is a sophisticated form of neuro-audio technology allowing the listener to easily enter various desirable states, and creating many desirable mental, emotional, and spiritual changes, through entrainment of electrical patterns in the brain. This creates a synchronization, or balance, between brain hemispheres, enhancing mental/emotional health and mental functioning. In the process, new neural connections are created between the right and left brain hemispheres, leading to what is known as "whole brain functioning."

In addition to states such as accelerated learning ability and enhanced creativity, Optamind can help a listener easily enter and benefit from states of deep meditation, until now accessible only to long-time meditators practicing many hours a day for many years.

Optamind audio tones are delivered to the nervous system using a low carrier frequency stimulus, masked by pleasant music and environmental sounds, which drives the nervous system to progressively higher levels of functioning. Through precise sound patterning based on over twenty years of research, Optamind creates a "push" in the brain which causes the brain to reorganize at higher levels of awareness and functioning, in much the same way a runner gives his or her body a physical stimulus to cause it to reorganize at higher levels of physical ability.

Typically, listeners show impressive improvements in emotional health, a whole range of mental abilities, self-awareness, ability to meditate deeply, personal motivation, sense of spiritual connection, and a number of other areas.

Optamind is based on research done at Mt. Sinai Medical Centre, the Meninger Clinic, and a number of other research facilities. This technology is currently used by over 100,000 people around the world.

Does this technology really have the ability to enhance longevity and anti-aging?

Yes. In 1998, Dr. Vincent Giampapa, Director of the Longevity Institute International, and one of the world's leading authorities on anti-aging, provided some remarkable findings related to this technology, and specifically using it for deep meditation, and how this impacts upon human physiology. Clinical evidence shows this technology increases levels of DHEA and Melatonin in the listener. These two bio-chemicals are now known to play a crucial role in protecting the body against the effects of aging and environmental stressors. In addition, it has been proven to lower levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol is capable of reducing immune function and putting the body at risk for a number of deadly conditions.

Do I need any special audio equipment to use Optamind?

Any stereo headphones and CD player will work fine. Of course the better the quality of equipment, the better the sound quality. Overall, equipment quality will not hinder the effectiveness of the Optamind technology, so it's not necessary to spend a lot of money on audio gear. In some of the deeper levels of the program you may want to upgrade to equipment that can handle the lower carrier frequencies we use, but in the beginning any stereo CD player, including walkman-types, will work. As you progress in the program, we will notify you when you get to a level where better equipment is necessary.

Do I NEED to use headphones with these CDs?

Yes. The Optamind technology is a stereo effect in which we place certain frequencies in each ear, targeting certain parts of the brain. Stereo because the sound will bleed from channel to channel. Always use stereo headphones for ANY Optamind soundtrack.

Can I listen to Optamind using a Digital Music Player, iPod, or MP3 Player?

We don't recommend compressed formats like mp3 for your Optamind soundtracks. Compression can diminish the effectiveness of some binaural beat technologies like Optamind. The best way to do this however, is set your MP3 output to maximum quality, or at least 320KBps.

Is Optamind affiliated with any religious or political organization?

Optamind is not affiliated with any religious or political organization, nor is there any philosophy or belief system you must adopt to use our program (other than that it is possible to be happier and more highly functioning).

Does the Optamind program replace conventional meditative practices?

The Optamind Program takes the listener to the brain wave patterns of deep meditation in a way that creates for the listener an accelerated meditation practice similar to that achieved by practicing many hours each day for many years. Participants experience the same classic developmental and evolutionary mileposts as in a traditional meditation practice, but in an accelerated time-frame. Many traditional meditators are at first unwilling to believe this but after working with the program for a short time, they are very often quite amazed how their meditations will be deeper, richer and more fulfilling.

Can the Optamind technology help me become smarter?

Optamind has been known to enhance mental functioning on a number of levels. Its ability to increase synchronous neuro-electrical activity between the two hemispheres of the brain, and its ability to drive the nervous system to higher levels of functioning over time, naturally brings with it the potential for some rather remarkable improvements in cognitive functioning. Learning ability, creativity, problem solving ability, focus and concentration, memory, and intuition are among the areas typically showing improvement.

Is the Optamind technology totally safe?

Optamind, while considered highly powerful, is totally safe when used properly. This technology has been used since the 1970's by thousands of people around the world, and no one has ever reported any harm whatsoever as a result of using it. We are taking you into naturally occurring brain wave patterns you enter everyday during each 24-hour period.

As part of the healing process stimulated by Optamind, you may experience some emotional upheaval from time to time. We have found that this upheaval is generally of no greater consequence than whatever amount of upheaval you may be already creating in your life. Since the end result is a dramatic lessening of conflict and upheaval in one's life, the small amount of upheaval you may experience is well worth it.

Can I listen to the soundtracks while I do other things?

You should listen to the soundtracks sitting down, eyes closed. Other use is less effective. If you wish to have a second listening session on a given day, you could then listen while doing some other task. Since the soundtracks put you in an altered state, never listen while driving or operating equipment.

How much time do I have to spend listening?

We suggest listening one hour each day, but many people use it more because it is so pleasurable and so self-reinforcing and they feel so good when they are finished that they want to do it more. And, there are some people who say they don't have enough time and they do it less. These people, of course, progress more slowly than those who do it more regularly.

I have hearing loss. Will the program work on me?

As long as you have some hearing, they will work. And, you do not need to have equal hearing in each ear. Any hearing in one ear will be enough. People have even reported results when the hearing was entirely by bone conduction.

How long before I experience results?

Everyone is different. Some people call after one or two days to tell us of dramatic shifts they have experienced, but for most people things happen more gradually. This is not a "thirty-day miracle" like many programs claim to be. Asking "when will the results show up" is kind of like asking your running coach "when will I show results from my daily running?" Actually, the Optamind sound technology will begin to create change the first time you use it, but you may not notice the changes for a few weeks or even a few months. It is, though, impossible to expose yourself to this stimulus on an on-going basis without dramatic positive changes happening, anymore than it would be possible to jog everyday without your body changing. So be patient. Deeply rooted conditions can take time to work through, but if you persist, they will change.

What about deeper levels of the program?

How do you go to the deeper levels?

How many levels are there?

A simple way to describe the dynamics of using The Optamind Program would be to say that we are giving the nervous system a stimulus of a very precise nature that it cannot handle the way it is currently structured. The brain responds by creating a new structure that can handle the Optamind input stimulus, in much the same way a runner gives his body a physical stimulus beyond its ability to handle, pushing the body to create a new physical structure that can handle the physical stimulus, which we call getting in shape.

While you are listening to the Optamind soundtracks used in the program, your brain is creating new neural pathways between the left and right hemispheres. After approximately four months of practice with Awakening, the initial level of the program, the brain will have completed its creation of the new neural structure needed to handle the stimulus it's been receiving. (It is the creation of this new structure that is responsible for the positive changes in mental abilities, emotional health, stress level, and self-awareness people experience in the program.)

Just as a runner running a mile each day for several months reaches the point where running that mile will no longer push him into better condition, the Optamind stimulus from Awakening will no longer push the nervous system to further changes once the brain has created the structure necessary to handle the input it is receiving.

If, at that point, you find yourself saying, "Wow! This is amazing, and I want to continue this process," you can choose to move to the second level of the program, Awakening Level 2. In Awakening Level 2 we make the Optamind stimulus more powerful. This creates still deeper meditation, new positive changes, and new improvements in mental and emotional health.

Then, after approximately six months in Awakening Level 2 (during which the brain is once again pushed to create a new and more highly functioning system), the brain once again comes to the point where all the changes needed to handle this increased Optamind stimulus have been created in the brain. At this point, if you again feel you want to continue, you would now be ready for Awakening Level 3.

After the initial level Awakening, there are twelve additional levels. Each new level is more powerful than the last, taking you to deeper levels of meditation and greater positive change.

Awakening, however, is a complete, stand-alone package and you are under no obligation to continue to deeper levels unless you are convinced the positive changes you are experiencing are well worth the investment.

It is true that in traditional meditation falling asleep is a no-no?

Yes, because if you are asleep you cannot practice your technique and therefore are not meditating. However, with Optamind, traditional focusing is not necessary because Optamind does the work for you. This bothers those who think all progress should involve some kind of pain or supreme effort, but what can we say?

What do I do about the mind babble?

Mind babble is the sometimes bothersome mental "talk" that floods the awareness of the meditator. Although advanced meditators don't experience as much mind babble as less experienced meditators, anyone at anytime is subject to having a busy mind dominate their attempts to relax into a peaceful state of mind. We usually suggest a simple "witnessing" approach; observe the thoughts as they arise, but don't emotionally attach to them. Allow the thoughts to surface, and allow them to move on. Thoughts in meditation represent stresses in the nervous system bubbling to the surface, taking the form of random thoughts as they break the surface of the conscious mind.
Actually, mind babble is no big deal, especially when meditating with Optamind. In traditional meditation, if you let your thoughts carry you away you are no longer focusing and therefore no longer meditating. For this reason, traditional techniques tell you to immediately go back to your point of focus as soon as you notice you have been distracted by your thoughts (or anything else, for that matter). With Optamind, the technology will keep the brain in the proper state and push it to change whether you become lost in your thoughts or not.

What if I feel mentally or emotionally overwhelmed?

Overwhelm is a reaction some people have to the experience of flushing out unresolved mental and emotional material. It arises from subconscious levels of resistance to the process of releasing that material. For most people, overwhelm plays a minor role in their development; it's a temporary experience, and usually dissipates as you continue to use your CDs. Sometimes the overwhelm itself can reveal helpful information regarding the changes happening on the subconscious level

Can children use this technology?

We typically don't recommend Optamind for children under 13 years. Up until that age the nervous system is still in the developmental stage. While there's no known harm associated with Optamind, we still suggest caution when it comes to children. There have been parents of children with various kinds of learning or developmental disabilities who have elected to use Optamind with their children. Often, the parents report various levels of improvement in functioning through Optamind. In these instances we've suggested monitoring the children carefully.

How long before I notice something happening?

The answer to this question depends upon the individual more than the technology itself. We understand the cause and effect relationship between working with Optamind and improved mental and emotional health, the same way we understand the cause and effect relationship between exercise and improved physical health. But as with exercise, it's difficult to establish a time frame within which everyone will experience a particular level of "fitness". There are many subjective, personal factors to take into account, and not all of them are consciously evident. Normally, people go through an acclimation period as they begin the program. During this time, many things can be experienced, or very little at all may happen. Either way, the real changes usually begin after this period which normally lasts two to six weeks for most people. As the nervous system begins to reorganize itself to handle the level of stimulus your soundtracks are feeding it, various changes in mental and emotional health begin to anifest. It is virtually impossible to expose yourself to this stimulus on an on-going basis without positive changes happening, just as it is impossible to jog everyday without your body changing. So be patient. Deeply rooted conditions can take time to work through, but they will change.

Why do you use rain and Tibetan bowls on the soundtracks?

Rain is an ideal sound for our soundtracks for several reasons. It does an excellent job of masking the sound of Optamind. It also creates what is called an "aural ganzfeld" which is a non-patterned "pink noise" that your brain eventually learns to "tune-out." The Tibetan bowls are used to enhance your enjoyment. These bowls are used in some traditional meditative forms as a means of occupying the conscious mind, allowing the brain to drop into a deep state of consciousness with less "effort." No bowls are used on Depth to allow you to maintain that deep delta brainwave state without any sounds other than the rainfall.

Home - Order - Meditation - Optamind Technology - FAQ - Articles - Blog - Contact Us