Brainwave Journeys - Review ThoughtStream

Review: ThoughtStream
Performance Feedback System

ThoughtStream System is an excellent meditation tool

I had an opportunity to try the ThoughtStream Performance Feedback System (or biofeedback unit) over the weekend.

This was my first experience with a biofeedback unit (other than the Wild Divine game, which uses biofeedback to move through the various components of the game).

ThoughtStream measures minute changes in the conductivity of the skin. Changes in skin resistance directly correspond to changes in stress or relaxation levels, which are reflected in your mood or feelings.

According to the user guide (which is excellent, by the way), "Every thought, mood and action ... is directly reflected in changes in perspiration, muscle tension, pulse rate, respiration, blood pressure, etc." Of course, these changes are usually so subtle we don't notice them.

ThoughtStream Performance Feedback System What's cool about ThoughtStream is that you get immediate and positive reinforcement as you relax more and more deeply.

The feedback is in the form of 8 LEDs on the front of the unit, which change from red to orange to yellow to green the more deeply you relax. You also receive feedback, if desired, by listening through headphones to a tone that goes lower and lower the more you relax.

As I listened to the tone with my eyes closed, I imagined it going to the next lower tone, and said to myself, "Deeper ... deeper," and it would soon change to the next deeper tone. Within 10 minutes or so, my LEDs had turned from all red to all green, an indication that I had relaxed fully.

This was on Level 8, the easiest level. Had I left the unit on, it would have then automatically gone to Level 7, which would require deeper relaxation on my part.

As it is, ThoughtStream remembers that I completed Level 8 successfully and will start me on Level 7 next time. (In case you're wondering if the Level system is easy to progress through, the user guide says very few people get all the way down to Level 1.)

You can listen to relaxing music or nature sounds or nothing at all rather than listen to the biofeedback tone, and check on your "performance" using only the LEDs as your guide. When you finish a sesion, you can press the Start/Stop button to see the lowest level of relaxation attained during that session.

A chart provided helps you keep track of how you are progressing over weeks or months.

This is an easy-to-use biofeedback device, and I think it's a great aid for meditation. I found that it kept me focused on relaxing more and more, which of course, is what you want to do when you're meditating.

I find all these cool tools at my favorite "brain" store: 3 Pound Universe!

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Check out my other reviews!

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Awakened Mind System

Lucid Dreaming Series DVD by Hemi-Sync

Dream Maker DreamMask

Brainwave Journey 4-CD set

The SO Chord

I Create Reality: Beyond Visualization

Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional

Sirius Mind State Optimizer