Re: Help needed creating sessions
It's hard to make conclusive statements as concerns the human brain, the most complex machine in the known universe. Especially because people have vastly different ways of processing information and associations.
What is known is that in humans around 30% of the cortex is devoted to visual processing whereas for sound it is only about 3%. It is also very apparent after a session using photic stimulation that your perception of color and vision have been greatly altered.
Personally, I adopt some fairly basic strategies in creating sessions. I basically divide them into 3 primary parts. In the first part I want to 'get attention', create novel and interesting patterns, and send out cascades of complex stimulation. Think of this like the opening songs in a concert, they set the stage and getcha rocking.
After 6 to 8 minutes or so, the changes slow down and the 'ballad' numbers start. This is the chill out, working part of the session. The patterns and audio settle down to relatively static purposeful settings. The brain is primed for these after the intense open segments.
There is a lot of thought that goes into how best to encapsulate the intention of the session, given the available tools. However, generally simple stimulation characterizes this stage. An important element however is to ramp away from the target frequency periodically, even doubling or halving it.
Think of these like 'sleep spindles'. In fact generally looking at the overall structure of sleep stages is useful. These are the most ordered brainwave patterns we know of and a lot of data about them has been gathered.
It is a broad topic and individual preferences play a large role. For instance, I greatly prefer strong 'drone' elements in audio but with synchronized movements. Binaural beats qualify as this type of stimulus. In the opening stages though isochronic tones are more suitable. That is using the onboard tools. Adding music or composing specially designed music is a whole other arena.
The final part of a session varies according to the intent. It can be a 'return to baseline' or 'leave'em wanting more' or 'drop off to sleep'. It depends on what you plan to do after the session really.
I feel (and many would agree) that the onboard sessions on the Procyon are very classic examples of balancing stimulation and visuals, with a bit of audio spice thrown in to taste. Studying them (as you can by opening them in the editor) is helpful.
Phase is normally used to create alternating lights from left to right. The Procyon glasses aren't wired for that though. On the Procyon slight phase differences are good to create 'trailing' color effects by slightly offsetting the lights. Phase is alignment. So when the lights are in phase they flash together. When they are 180 degrees (127) out of phase they flash in alternation. So say you have Red at 1hz with 0 phase and Green at 1hz with 127 phase. It would flash Red, then Green, then Red, the Green, etc. Overall at 2hz because the Green beats are 'between' the Red beats.
Now if you put them really close together like Red 0, Green 6, Blue 12, then you would get like 3 quick flashes which creates a more interesting visual than if the lights all flash together. Note that as long as they are really close the 'spike' for the purpose of entrainment is still present.
DC Offset is good for creating 'solid' fields of color like a Ganzfeld (google it). It is also good to not drop out colors entirely, like keep them on but still fading in and out a bit, just not all the way to black. This is the 'contrast' nature. Note that Amplitude and DC Offset are linked. When you increase DC Offset above 127, say to 150, you at least want to reduce the Amplitude by the same amount of the offset, in this case 150-127 = 23, for Amplitude you set 255-23=232. Otherwise the lights will 'clip' that is cut off the top of the wave, like flattening the top of a sine wave. VSD helps to show this and my videos on it explain it I think. (been awhile since I made them)
Below 127, DC Offset does crazy things that are hard to visualize but still useful once you have a handle on it.
It's really a lot to write about in one sitting (much less read) but I want to provide as much help as you want, and it benefits other Procyon users probably, so I don't mind. But I don't want to provide more than you can process or use at one time.
If you know something I don't, speak up! If maybe I know something you don't, ask away!
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