Review: Sirius Mind State Optimizer

This is a review of the Sirius Mind State Optimizer, otherwise known as the Sirius light and sound machine, or Sirius mind machine.

This was my first "mind machine," a lose term for electronic units that help you achieve a particular brainwave pattern or a particular mind state using LED strobe lights and pulsing tones.

The Sirius Mind State Optimizer, in the $99 to $150 range, depending on where you find it, is a good entry-level machine for first-timers to this technology. 

One of the cool features about the Sirius light and sound machine is that you can play music through it, and its LEDs will blink in time with the music. It's called ColorPulse Mode. I was eager to try this feature.

I plugged in my portable CD player with a favorite album (Shastro's "Shambala" (whose first track is a wonderful, relaxing 23 minutes long)), used a patch cord to hook that to the Sirius Mind State Optimizer, and plugged my headphones and goggles into the Sirius, and it all worked fine.

The light beat along to the music perfectly. At first, it was kind of annoying. Which immediately brought me to the easy adjustability of the unit. The sound and lights could be coordinated to infinite degree, so I turned the lights down low. The louder the music got, the brighter the lights got, so there was still a range of brightness throughout the time.

It took awhile to get used to it, but when I did, it was very enjoyable. The sound quality through the unit was excellent. And you can't go wrong with anything by Shastro. (I LOVE "Shanay.")

Another feature is called AudioStrobe. The Sirius light and sound machine is designed to work with AudioStrobe-encoded CDs, which are encoded with signals that control the lights. You're told to look for the AudioStrobe logo and ask your dealer for a list of available titles.

It also has a user function called MicroPulse Mode. "Micro" in this case is short for "microphone." It picks up the ambient sound in the room, perhaps what's coming out of a stereo, and pulses along with that.

Theoretically, with this MicroPulse feature, you could take your Sirius light and sound machine to a concert, and have your own little LED light show while the musicians play. (I can't imagine many people actually doing that, but to each his own ...)

The instructions talk about setting aside a little time each day to use the Sirius light and sound machine as a meditating tool -- say, 15 minutes in the early morning each day before you do anything else. This is a time when you can reach a calm, focused awareness, a place where your creativity flows.

You could also use the unit as you listen to learning programs, self-help and visualization programs too.

But probably its main purpose is that of a meditation aid. The instructions include excellent advice for meditation, with a 7-day plan to get you started. I really liked that they included that in the instructions -- very simple, clear suggestions for meditating along with the Sirius unit -- suggestions that you could follow for a lifetime.

The Sirius Mind State Optimizer has 21 preset sessions. Here are a few:

The quality of the unit seems to be excellent. It's well-packaged, and has a nice, handy black carrying case, so you could easily take it with you when traveling.

This whole technology is new to me; it was fun to check it out. Read more about it at 3 Pound Universe.

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