If you have heard about neurofeedback therapy and what it can do to help solve problems related to brain function, such as ADHD, or ‘attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’, epilepsy, anxiety, or any other issue you are dealing with, you may have heard the suggestion that you do a brain mapping session before you start neurofeedback treatment. There are a few reasons you might want to consider a brain mapping, or Quantitative EEG session.

Quantitative EEG uses the same type of equipment that is used for neurofeedback sessions. The QEEG device will simply read your brain’s signals to gather information about how your brain is working. Most of the time, a QEEG session will involve your doing a few different things that cause your brain to function in different ways. You might read aloud or complete math problems in your head, or you may simply have a conversation. Your brain waves will send out signals that the technician can read on the display.

What do these signals tell the technician? Well, they reveal certain patterns, from which the technician can tell how your brain is working. For instance, the can brain produce something called sleep spindles, which are a particular EEG pattern that is produced when you are asleep. If your brain is putting out these sleep spindles when you are awake, that can indicate a problem.

Another thing that technicians can read in your QEEG is whether you have a problem with epilepsy. In fact, if you are considering neurofeedback as a solution to your epilepsy or other types of seizure problems, you may want to have a QEEG done before you begin the process. The brain map from these sessions can help target your therapy and make it more effective.

Brain mapping can tell experienced technicians many details that will help with your therapy. In fact, it can reveal important information about your health, like whether you are sleep deprived. Your brain patterns can reveal much about how your brain works, and having a QEEG brain map done before you begin neurofeedback treatment can be very helpful to your therapist.

However, you should be aware that a QEEG is not always essential to the success of your neurofeedback treatment. A qualified therapist may be able to evaluate your brain function in ways that are less expensive than a QEEG, which can cost anywhere from $650 to $2,000 per session.

Ask the therapist or clinician you are considering whether they feel that your issue warrants a QEEG. If the cost is not a concern for you, or if you have a serious condition that calls for a preliminary assessment, such as a seizure disorder or traumatic brain injury, you might want to proceed with the brain mapping procedure.

By: Clare Albright

With all the guided meditation CD products on the market today you might think that they are a sure fire way to revolutionizing your life, right? Well, yes and no…

Are you confused? Let me explain: The benefits of meditation are undeniable. I mean, for literally thousands of years now meditation techniques have been helping people to develop a state of tranquility, calmness, and inner peace, and also to help them grow as a person on many levels.

Ok, so because meditation can be highly beneficial, it stands to reason that listening to guided meditation CD’s should also be highly beneficial as well right?

Well, that all depends on a few different things:

1. What is your purpose for meditating?
2. The quality and effectiveness of the guided meditation you listen to

Now, for the sake of this article I am just going to assume that most people are looking to meditate to become more relaxed, reduce stress and to work towards achieving an overall state of well being in their lives. That would be pretty good right?

To achieve this, you would actually be pretty safe in purchasing a large percentage of the guided meditation CD products on the market today, simply because they are typically made up of soothing music and sometimes have a person guiding you with words into a meditative state. So far so good.

Will these products work? Generally speaking yes. If you listen to them on a daily basis and practice meditating with them you will definitely get benefits, as long as you are effective at focusing and quieting your mind down into a deeply relaxed state.

Now, this is where a lot of people run into trouble! They simply cannot allow their minds to ‘let go’ or to keep the ‘mind chatter’ at bay long enough to actually quiet their mind and receive the benefits they are seeking from doing the meditation in the first place…

So if you are the type of person that has trouble focusing on things, relaxing and keeping your mind from being overactive (which is a large percentage of the population!) then purchasing the usual type of guided meditation products can actually be a bit of a waste of time and money for you! I mean, over time you might be able to get better at meditating and get some benefit, but the cold hard reality is that a lot of people get fed up with the whole thing and give up before they have really gotten anywhere…

Now, how can you overcome this common problem with meditation? Simply by choosing to practice using a specific type of guided meditation, that is scientifically based, proven and can in fact be guaranteed to guide your mind down into the deep meditative states of mind that you are seeking!

Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Well, the type of meditation I am talking about uses special audio technology to ‘train your brain’ using scientifically based frequencies woven into soothing sound tracks that will after just 6 minutes of listening to them, will guide your mind into specific brainwave frequencies that provide you with all the amazing benefits of meditation!

The best part is, because this type of recording is engineered to guide your mind automatically into the right brainwave state, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you are meditating effectively or not… The hard work is all done for you! You just simply put on your headphones, kick back relax and listen and let your mind be taken where it needs to go!

By: Terri Hill

You can use astral projection binaural beats, but actually never manage to induce the out of the body experience that you desire. The truth is that this method is powerful since it can bring about the astral body separation from the physical one easily and quickly, but this cannot happen if you do not get involved in the process completely. Just lying on the bed and thinking about different things will not do the trick. You have to consciously aid your brain into producing the beneficial alpha theta waves that will allow you to get in the right mode for entering the astral plane.

The first thing that you need to do when preparing for an induction with the use of astral projection beats is to get the time and setting right. The main concept of the out of body experience is that your body falls asleep while your mind stays fully conscious and awake. Thus, it is not a good idea to start the process when you feel sleepy or even tired. It is best to have the induction after you have taken a nap or a good night sleep. The preparation of the setting might seem unimportant to some, but the process from relaxing to entering the theta brain mode and then the travel to the astral plane can take quite a lot of time and any discomfort or the slightest interruption may force you to start all over again. It is best for you to lie down on a comfortable bed or couch in a quiet gloomy room. It is important to have all devices that can disturb you such as mobile phones and alarm clocks turned off. Make sure that no one will interrupt your trance. Most astral experience practitioners prefer to get covered with some sort of throw to get perfectly comfortable – the blanket or bed quilt will give you a sense of safety that you need to have.

Once you have lied down conveniently you have to achieve a perfectly relaxed state of both your mind and body. Remember that you must not fall asleep. There are a number of techniques that can help you relax – clearing your mind from all thoughts and breathing more slowly will definitely help. It is best to put on your headphones and let the astral projection binaural beats do their work immediately after lying down. These produce alpha waves as well as theta ones with the former adding the relaxation process.

The astral projection binaural beats will let you enter the theta phase – the state of trance formally known as sleep paralysis. In this state you will feel that your body is heavy and that you cannot have full control of it, but your mind is perfectly awake and conscious. It is of great importance for you to feel calm during this stage and not to panic. As long as you feel pleasant sensations and keep being relaxed you will be able to accomplish the separation of your astral body from your physical one. You have to use all your senses to feel this change – the visualization often helps you overcome the initial startle that your spirit comes out of your body.

By: Colin Edwards