Fine Tuning Frequencies

Totally Subjective Look at Binaural Beats | Read Time: 6 min

Stumbling on binaural beats felt like an epiphany. It was late, and i was tossing and turning under a pale moon in Portugal. My mattress lumpy, and a raging excitement for the coming day was keeping sleep at bay. In the morning i'd be combing the ports, trying to find passage across the Atlantic. Opening my laptop, i began browsing the net, looking for interesting rabbit-holes to distract me from my insomnia. In some esoteric corner of the web i found a forum where people posted their accounts of astral travel. Over the previous years i had become bored of my analytical, and practical perspectives, and had opened myself to more metaphysical, wu-wu ideas. This was right up my alley. Out of body experiences had always been a point of interest, but peoples stories of exploring the astral realm at will took things to the next level.

One poster noted how the use of binaural beats had aided in getting their mind to the right mental state to leave their body. In response, another member shared that using of the audio phenomenons while they slept helped trigger lucid dreams. That piqued my interest, and i started digging further. What were these beats and where could i find them?

While i did not find much information regarding binaural beats, i did find plenty of tracks to listen to on youtube. All i understood was that using headphones is mandatory (because two different frequencies are sent to each ear). Aside from that, i was in the dark. Seeing as i had only a few nights to camp out in my host's apartment, and wi-fi would not be available across the ocean, i seized the opportunity. Choosing a track promising lucid dreams, i grabbed my headphones, switched off the light, pointed the laptop screen to the wall to avoid the glow from the streaming video, and hoped for the best.

i was on a strange boardwalk in a beach town, struggling with a broken laundry machine. As my frustrations and temper rose, a thought crept into my mind, "Why are you fighting with this stupid machine, when you're asleep on a floor in Lisbon?" Stupefied, i paused. Was i dreaming?

Abandoning my basket of dirty laundry, i sprinted to the handrails enclosing the pier and leapt to the sky. In my experience flying in dreams is never as advertised. At best, you could describe it as long, enormous jumps. One of the most fascinating things about dreams, specifically lucid dreams, are the rules. It seems so absurd that laws like gravity still come to play within such a surreal, and malleable space. But we'll save the conversation regarding dreams, and the rest of this one, for another time.

The immediate success of my lucid dream had me convinced about binaural beats. Of course i knew the results could have come from simple confirmation bias, and that the frequencies had nothing to do with it, but when i woke i was all in. The following evening i took the next step and prepared for the astral. i chose an appropriate playlist, looked up some more tips, and readied myself to leave my body. Compared to my lucid dreaming experiment, this was an absolute failure. High atop a throne of expectations i tossed, turned, and fell to an inevitable slumber. A dreamless one at that. i did, however, wake feeling more rested than i had in a long time. Which is worthy to note, considering the lumpy air-mattress i was lucky to have slept on.

The window for me to make any further attempts closed, when i shifted myself to a small seaside town the following day. Within twenty four hours i was sailing out from the Mediterranean. During the many nights i spent keeping watch i'd often reflected on the lucid dream and possibility of potential expeditions into the astral realm. i couldn't wait to explore further.

It wasn't until almost a full year later, while spending a winter in Oaxaca, that binaural beats reverberated back into my life. i was at work, looking for something peaceful to listen to on youtube when my algorithms made an unexpected, yet helpful suggestion. To my surprise there were a myriad of other tones and applications with binaural beats aside from lucid dreaming and (alleged) astral travel. Amongst the possibilities were tones for meditation, calm, anti-anxiety, focus, and creativity. While my accommodation did not have suitable wi-fi to attempt more lucid or astral adventures, i could explore some of the tracks more appropriate for workspaces during the day. Prone, as i always am when inspired, i did no further research and dove straight in. i chose an audio playlist for focus and creativity and set off to work. At some point i noticed a transition from track to track and glanced to a clock. My work had remained uninterrupted for over an hour and a half, a huge accomplishment for a daydreamer such as myself.

And again, as it was after my first attempt in Portugal, the success had me convinced. While it might be wishful thinking, it felt as if neurologically my brain had been operating in a different manner. Some people have compared it to being on a mild psychedelic, others a gentle stimulant (depending on what kind of wave frequency chosen). Things felt smoother, thoughts came faster, from the click of a button i had experienced a seamless drop into a flow state.

There were more benefits to my work session than just the focus. You see, i find silence wildly uncomfortable. Perhaps because i suffer from tinnitus, but i think the discomfort seeds from a feeling of wasted opportunity to listen to something beautiful in quiet situations. Finding the right music for work can be a little difficult. The older i've gotten the more i find myself distracted by too much melody, or lyrics. I've always been a fan of ambient artists (Hiroshi Yoshimura, Brian Eno, Basinski, Aphex Twin to name a few) but with such lush and beautiful music i spend too much time grappling with indecision of which to choose. My indecisiveness can dominate work sessions. One of my favourite things about moving to binaural beats was removing my choice. i know the frequencies or effects i'm going for, and set off.

Unfortunately, the use of binaural beats does not always provide as advertised. Not every session is as good as my first, though many are. i'm not sure what to attribute that to exactly, it’s not as simple as pressing play and letting the track do the work. Was it my state of mind? My intentions? Was it that i was relying on free youtube videos, and the quality from one to the other was questionable? Likely a combination. What binaural beats have affirmed for me above all else was the power of placebo, and benefit of routine. Knowing what i am going to listen to, having those sounds associated with focused work sessions, subtracting variables of choice, and having calm, relaxing music, without melody, definitely makes a difference.

While utilising binaural beats i've had success with flow and focus, eureka creative moments, as well as rest and relaxation. Aside from a few lucid dreams, i've noticed a surplus in depth and fluidity within day-dreams and brain storms during and after using the more esoteric tones. i love the feeling of time slipping by me, and what i perceive as added neural activity, almost caffeinated like. If these experiences are all due to the power of suggestion or confirmation bias, i am unbothered. Am i better overall? i like to think so, but i suppose that's not for me to say. i do know that i like binaural beats. i love that they've increased my curiosity in things like light, sound, and breath therapies and the knowledge that we don't need to always need to look outside the body, or our mind for the effects we seek. But most of all, i love that they've added a little mystery and magick into my life.

Thanks for reading

-Mr Write

PS: Did this pique your interest about binaural beats at all? Check out my essay Binaural Beats, Isochronic Tones, and Solfeggio Frequencies- a No Brainer for a far more objective, and informative look at audio phenomenons. And while you're reading, consider listening to my own binaural beat Salty Breath on the Shoreline! You can find it on all streaming services, as well as youtube! Wazoo!