Question
I have seen ads for "The Euphoria Tape" for years on the internet.Do you know if it is effective,or is it just snake oil? If you aren't familiar with products like this,could you suggest an impartial website that is?
Thanks
Answer
Hi, Michael.
I did a search for the Euphoria tape on the internet. It looks like it uses some sounds to stimulate feelings of ecstacy in the brain.
I don't know anything about it personally. Clearly it's possible to use sounds (or other sensory input for that matter) to produce states of relaxation, pleasure, peacefulness, etc. Biofeedback machines can be used to train the mind to produce certain states or suppress certain states. There are also mind complex mind control practices (I don't know any of them) to do similar things.
Since you wrote to me in the category of meditation, I wonder if you are thinking about meditation as a way to learn these ways of producing pleasurable states. Many people first approach meditation wondering if it is possible to really have some peacefulness, joy and love in ones life. Meditation may be seen as a technique, like yoga, for doing this.
To me, however, this meditative work really starts by questioning and examining carefully how the difficult states of body/mind that we usually experience come about. For example, if someone does not have warm relationships with others, it can be a rush to feel emotional ecstasy, but of course that is only a temporary patch. It goes much deeper to start examining the feeling of isolation from people, or of irritation or anger with others.
This meditative examining calls for an open presence that allows the internal workings of the mind and body to become noticeable. It seems to require putting aside my usual interpretations and reactions and in fact then sheds light on those interpretations and reactions as well.
Well, I don't want to ramble on, since this might not have anything to do with what you are asking about. But if you do have some questions about what I've said, or if you would like to look at what is behind your motivation for experiencing "ecstasy", please feel free to write back here.
Best wishes,
Jay Cutts
