I used H/S Awakening Prologue for two months, then switched to Awakened Minds for the following reasons:
-—Subsequent H/S levels are now almost $300.
—I suspect that the impact of H/S's lower carrier frequency is hyped
—I did not require H/S support services and found that much of the written support material was repetitive.
—I found the "bonus" H/S CD's (Longevity, Oasis, etc.) to be so bland and New Agey as to be unlistenable.
—I don't find affirmations to be particularly useful.
What I like about Awakened Minds:
—I prefer the sound of rain to the gongs-and-rain and musical offerings of H/S
—It 's flexible with its time, from 25 minutes to 2 hours (as is H/S, to be fair).
—It's affordable, and I'm not paying for all sorts of things I just don't want.
—The website is less hyped.
Basically I used H/S, and now use Awakened Minds, with my usual meditating techniques. I find that a "plain old" meditation practice improves life in countless ways. I can't say how adding binaural beats has improved my practice except that my sessions are quite a bit longer than they used to be, and with meditation, there's a lot to be said for "quantity."
One reason I think the binaural beat technology has been so effective is that some of its promoters virtually "promise" results if you just use it, and they offer support to get you through it. Those who teach meditation technique, however, don't usually promise or hype the results. But I suspect that for many people—certainly not all— just meditating for an hour every day using one of the many available meditation techniques would bring the same results — if they just DO IT. Forking over lots of money for promised results adds a powerful incentive to just do it.
I may well have not given binaural beat technology its due, but I'm sure other writers have and will. In any event, I'm very happy to have it, and open to changing my mind about its effectiveness as I continue to work with it.
I am curious myself to hear reactions to binaural beat technology from people who have already had very positive experiences with "regular" meditation, as well as anyone who can comment on the higher levels of H/S.
