Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Limpag: Use your phone to hack your mind By Max Limpag Celltalk
BINAURAL TONES. Do you believe binaural beats can actually influence the state of your mind in such a way that you are able to relax, focus, meditate, or boost your brain power?
I have a nagging suspicion this is a monumental joke worthy of Belbo, Diotallevi and Casaubon in Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum — that all these talks on the effect of binaural beats on the mind are as true as the Tres was to the Diabolicals.
Or it just might be a case of the placebo effect — being told you can influence your mind by listening to the tones influences your mind.
Still, I’ve been getting by with two hours less sleep since I started listening to it. I am can sleep “on demand” by playing the relaxation mp3 clip in my phone. I’ve been able to power-nap better by playing any of the mp3 clips.
Maybe the improvements I am experiencing right now are the result of the confluence of different life hacks: more time in the gym, better eating, less time in front of the TV set, etc. Or it could be the adrenalin rush unstopped by my being pumped up over projects I’m doing right now. But then again, maybe not.
But a newsroom colleague swears she was able to sleep better by listening to binaural beats. Another described the experience as “mind-altering.”
Whether you believe it or not, it doesn’t hurt to try. The least you get are mp3 files of pleasant white noise, which can be relaxing.
DOWNLOAD AS MP3. You can listen to the binaural beats in I Dose, which streams the mp3 file, in your PC or laptop. The site says you have to use headphones to be able to properly listen to the binaural beats.
I Dose, however, only streams the mp3 file and does not allow you to download it. Streaming is okay if you have a fast Internet connection and you want to listen only in your PC or laptop.
But many, I’m sure, would want to be able to download the files into their mp3 players and phones so that they can listen to it without having to sit in front of a PC or laptop.
To download the binaural tracks from I Dose, open the .m3u file that gets downloaded when you click on the links to the different “mind states” that you want. Open the .m3u file using a text editor and you will find the link to the mp3 file in I Dose.
Copy the link and paste it into Firefox’s location bar. If Firefox 3 plays the file instead of downloading it, go to (in Windows) Tools >Options >Applications and look for the entry on mp3 or audio files in the content type column. Change the action to Save File.
After changing the entry, you should now be able to download the binaural tracks in mp3 format.
Use a Bluetooth connection or your phone’s data cable to transfer the mp3 files into your phone. Listen to the files using your headset, not your phone’s loudspeaker.
