Shed some light...

[CraigT]

I've been giving quite a bit of thought to the visual side of things lately and I'm trying to work out what's real and what matters.

There's discussion of the virtues of various colors, with various supporting arguments. Apart from some very isolated and specific instances (bilirubin in infants, etc.) I have found little to support any real significance to color. Interesting is that some of the supposed characteristics are highly counterintuitive - i.e. blue for relaxation when in fact blue is at the high frequency/high energy end of the spectrum and is reported to affect seratonin/melatonin in a manner that would be expected to be energising and prevent sleep.

A further area of confusion regarding colors is the light soures and at what point a color may actually be said to exist. An incandescent light source radiates a relatively continuous spectrum. LED are pretty much monochromatic, in that they emit a relatively narrow band. Flurorescents use multiple phosphors, each relatively narrow band, to simulate white light. What I'm wanting to know, if color really serves any significant purpose other than aesthetics, is whether a color created by mixing primaries really is that color.

For example... A red LED's output may be at 660nm, while a green LED may output at 560nm. Shine both on a white surface (or in your eyes) and you will see some sort of yellow/orange. Unsurprisingly, an orange LED will emit at about 610nm, or roughly half way between the red and the green. My question is, using a red and a green LED is there really any light at 610nm 'out there' or is the appearance of orange purely an internal fabrication of the viewer's mind. If it is an internal construct, could one expect to receive any benefit ascribed to (for example) orange light?

Waveshape and pulse duration are also discussed. Apart from a couple of reports that pulse (square) switching causes harmonics that may conflict with the desired intent, I can find nothing to suggest that there's really anything that matters beyond repetition frequency.

I'd love to hear people's opinions on the visual side of things - colors, open eye vs closed eye, peripheral, LED cluster shape, light boxes, near vs far light placement, ganz feld, focused or diffuse, brightness, pulse duration ... whatever.

Thanks,
Craig

[Marisa]

Hi Craig,

I've been giving quite a bit of thought to the visual side of things lately and I'm trying to work out what's real and what matters.

There's discussion of the virtues of various colors, with various supporting arguments. Apart from some very isolated and specific instances (bilirubin in infants, etc.) I have found little to support any real significance to color. Interesting is that some of the supposed characteristics are highly counterintuitive - i.e. blue for relaxation when in fact blue is at the high frequency/high energy end of the spectrum and is reported to affect serotonin/melatonin in a manner that would be expected to be energising and prevent sleep.

Blue does inhibit melatonin production so it's not great for sleep, however, it is still good for relaxation because you don't need melatonin for relaxation. I do realize that serotonin turns into melatonin once it gets dark but I'm not sure that blue would block serotonin even though it blocks melatonin. In some ways, it would seem logical that it would since serotonin becomes melatonin ... however, serotonin is not melatonin and so blue may not have any effect on serotonin levels.

A Ganz field does not produce a frequency so it won't have any entrainment effect on brainwaves.

Here's what I've found out about LED Colors:

Blue :

• Better for people with photosensitivity
• Enhances Alpha/SMR (10 to 13 hz)
• Increases relaxation
• Blocks melatonin - so not best for sleep

Red:

• Produces optimal EEG in the band of 17 - 18 Hz.
• Can suppress Alpha
• Increases vigilance
• Stimulates Beta waves

Green:

• Increased SMR (15 Hz)
• Increases relaxation

Amber:

• Works best for SMR
• Red & Green together produce Amber

Brightness = stimulation. Changing brightness can increase attention.

http://mindplacesupport.com/Download...idealcolor.pdf

Good Topic!

M.

[TomC]

Ya, very nice topic.

Personally, I don't find that colour has any entrainment value, but a bit of color variety adds a lot of entertainment value imop.

Overall, I have found that the Proteus tru-white glasses seem to work best for me. Depending on how bright I tune them, I can still see a lot of colours with my eyes closed.

I don't like to use any glasses with open eyes. Looks too fakey, and I don't see any patterns.

Just my opinion, and I'm sure different people will get different results so I think you just need to try different options and see what works best for you.

Cheers,
TomC

[CraigT]

Marisa, Tom, thanks for your comments.

There's quite a few lists of color cause and effect around, including many based on magickal correspondences. There can be little doubt that color elicits certain emotional responses, what is in question is the biological/psychological aspect - whether exposure to light energy of a certain wavelength has a particular effect or whether "being in the presence of orange" is what matters. Is a green LED and a red LED truly the equivalent of an amber LED?

Much of the color research has focused on decor - much for behavioural management in institutions - to what extent can knowledge of the effect of the color of a large painted wall be translated into expectations of a brief flash of light a few millimetres behind closed eyelids? When we perceive a flash, at what point are we cognisant of its color?

As far as I can tell, entrainment to a repetitive stimulus is a genuine physical phenomena while color response is primarily psychological, a learned behaviour. What this means to me is that use of color in BWE sessions is predominantly aesthetic - mood setting and theatrics.

The sales guy at the local electronics store thought I was quite mad yesterday when I spent 15 minutes with my closed eyes pressed up to their high-intensity LED display, repeatedly pressing the test buttons to make the lights flash, but it was certainly an interesting exercise. With eyes closed the only thing I could see in a brief flash was red (what was left after passing through eyelids), while I could quite plainly see any of the colours if they remained on long enough and as they stayed on longer, any color would gradually become grey (white). It seems that the white-balance mechanism is a significant factor.

I can see I'm going to have to get an EEG. So much of this is educated gusesswork, and when I look at research on the net, I really do wonder how many people have really been tested under controlled circumstances to arive at some of the conclusions that are published out there. I find this particularly amusing in regard to special frequencies of light and sound that supposedly have very specific effects - is someone really going to tell me that there is credible research and testing to support the assertion that 2.67Hz is associated with the intestines? That's 2.67Hz, not 2.57Hz, 2.57Hz is the bladder! (Frequency source: http://www.lunarsight.com/freq.htm)

I always look forward to some nice soothing entrainment to settle my agitated neurons after a sortie into the realms of the "not-quite-as-well-known-as-we-like-to-think.

Cheers,
Craig

[Marisa]

Marisa, Tom, thanks for your comments.

There's quite a few lists of color cause and effect around, including many based on magickal correspondences.

And that can be quite confusing because there are so many correspondences. The only significance I can see with the magickal correspondences is perhaps a symbolic representation.

There can be little doubt that color elicits certain emotional responses, what is in question is the biological/psychological aspect - whether exposure to light energy of a certain wavelength has a particular effect or whether "being in the presence of orange" is what matters.

I haven't studied much on color, just the odd thing that I've read here and there about certain colors affecting people psychologically (like you said). I vaguely recall reading about how certain colors were used in correctional & psychiatric facilities to calm the inmates. So, I'm guessing that certain colors have a tendency to affect the general public in a certain way.

I also think that some colors affect us in more individual ways. I'm thinking of how we all have favorite colors and perhaps those have an emotional affect on us.

Is a green LED and a red LED truly the equivalent of an amber LED?

That's a good question.

Much of the color research has focused on decor - much for behavioral management in institutions - to what extent can knowledge of the effect of the color of a large painted wall be translated into expectations of a brief flash of light a few millimeters behind closed eyelids? When we perceive a flash, at what point are we cognisant of its color?

That paper that Robert wrote on the subject does cite some research in this area - but it's just on a few of the basic colors, probably because the technology for other colored LEDs hasn't been around long enough for more research in this area?

As far as I can tell, entrainment to a repetitive stimulus is a genuine physical phenomena while color response is primarily psychological, a learned behaviour. What this means to me is that use of color in BWE sessions is predominantly aesthetic - mood setting and theatrics.

Keep in mind that our psychological state does affect our brain chemistry and subsequent brain waves.

The sales guy at the local electronics store thought I was quite mad yesterday when I spent 15 minutes with my closed eyes pressed up to their high-intensity LED display, repeatedly pressing the test buttons to make the lights flash, but it was certainly an interesting exercise.

LOL I can just imagine it.

With eyes closed the only thing I could see in a brief flash was red (what was left after passing through eyelids), while I could quite plainly see any of the colours if they remained on long enough and as they stayed on longer, any color would gradually become grey (white). It seems that the white-balance mechanism is a significant factor.

Have you noticed that there is a difference in the color depending on how tightly you close your eye lids?

I can see I'm going to have to get an EEG. So much of this is educated gusesswork, and when I look at research on the net, I really do wonder how many people have really been tested under controlled circumstances to arrive at some of the conclusions that are published out there.

I find it difficult to trust the results of research from a company that is selling their product and conducting research based on their product. How could it not be biased?

I find this particularly amusing in regard to special frequencies of light and sound that supposedly have very specific effects - is someone really going to tell me that there is credible research and testing to support the assertion that 2.67Hz is associated with the intestines? That's 2.67Hz, not 2.57Hz, 2.57Hz is the bladder! (Frequency source: http://www.lunarsight.com/freq.htm)

I've seen some reliable information on a few specific frequencies, but it mostly has to do with things that affect the brain/mind such as ADD, Addictions, trance and so forth.

Another thing to take into consideration is that not all people respond to the exact same frequency in the exact same way, which is why in the AVS programs - we use a range of frequencies within the target group (Alpha, Beta etc.). So, while one person may respond to 10 Hz, another will respond better to 10.5 or 11 Hz.

I always look forward to some nice soothing entrainment to settle my agitated neurons after a sortie into the realms of the "not-quite-as-well-known-as-we-like-to-think.

Thankfully neuroscience is becoming a more popular study and more information is being printed and made available to us!

M.