What if you could decide exactly what mood you were going to be in and when? If you could fine tune your brainwaves so you could concentrate better at work or relax more on your day off? With brainwave synchronization, you can. But how does it work?

Neurons, or brain cells, send signals causing electrical activity to different parts of the brain. This electrical activity is what researchers have named brainwaves. Different waves are associated with different mental states and can be stimulated to change a person’s state of mind. Brainwave entrainment is the practice of changing one’s brainwave pattern to a specific frequency by stimulus with the corresponding frequency to adjust mood and concentration levels. This article will discuss and explore the history of brainwave entrainment and the different techniques.

In 1839 a man named Heinrich Wilhelm Dove noticed that if you play a different tone that blends naturally in each ear it creates a beat that is not actually there. Dove called these perceived beats “Binaural Beats”. When he discovered the beats, they were considered an oddity of the brain and nothing more. Research continued on the potential to use binaural beats as a diagnostic tool for finding auditory and general neurological problems but, because the brainwave wasn’t discovered yet, no one originally considered a side effect of these beats being mood and concentration enhancement.

Hans Berger discovered Alpha brainwaves in 1929 and researchers found the strength of brainwaves could be driven beyond normal frequency using flickering lights. This process is called “Photic Driving”. Less than twenty years later, in 1942, Dempsey and Morrison discovered that repetitive physical stimulation could also affect the brainwaves while in 1959 Dr. Chatrian noticed auditory entrainment in response to fifteen clicks per second administered to the subject.

In the 60s, brainwave synchronization became a tool rather than a strange phenomenon of the brain and in 1973 Dr. Gerald Oster wrote an article for Scientific American called “Auditory Beats in the Brain”. In his paper, Dr. Oster discussed the differences between binaural and monaural beats. He noticed that monaural beats got extremely strong cortical responses (electrical activity in the brain that is responsible for synchronization) though binaural beats produced very little neural response. In conclusion, Dr. Oster stated that binaural beats could be useful in diagnosing neurological disorders while monaural beats would be useful in entrainment of the brainwaves. Read more…

I think I’ve actually talked about consent to non-consent before. But I posted a question about forced sexual encounters on FetLife and wanted to talk about it again.

A commenter said:

And actually, no Dominant can force that. The sub/slave has the right, always to say NO to absolutely anything.

And:

if one has agreed to do something, then it’s not “forced,” is it? The problem with this question is the whole idea of “forced.” There’s two options. You don’t want to do it, any way , shape or form. But you do it anyway because you have agreed to submit to that person, and have agreed to obey their commands. Still, it’s not “forced.” It’s the slave’s choice/decision to comply with their Master’s commands. If they don’t want to do it, say NO, then are made to do it against their will, after saying NO, then they are being forced. In that case, someone should be arrested, in my opinion.

I was excited, at first, seeing the part about it not being forced. I agree with that. If you’ve agreed to obey and then submit to something you really don’t want to do because you agreed to obey you’re not being “forced”, per se.

It’s the part about forcing a slave who gave up the right to say no to do something against her will being being worthy of a 911 call I have a beef with.

I know what society’s law says where I live. Consent is not a defense. BDSM is assault. No one can own another human being. Slavery is illegal. According to society, I have the right to walk away whenever I choose and if He attempts to take away that right by force or violence He can be (and will be, if He’s turned in) prosecuted. And if I hadn’t wholeheartedly and uncoerced given Him the right to force me to do things against my will, I would agree with that.

But by giving me the right to walk away whenever I choose, aren’t they also giving me the right to choose to stay against my will? By giving me the right to be free of persecution and chains, aren’t they giving me the right to take them upon myself should I so choose? By allowing me to be my own person, aren’t they, too, allowing me to become who my lover wants me to be?

And why is it wrong if I choose to do it by coercion, now that I’ve given consent to being coerced, instead of the way so many of us do it in “vanilla” relationships?  Read more…