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Being interested in both the areas of technology and self-development, it was inevitable that I would find a combination of the two. This led me to try out various ways of using external means to bolster my efforts. This started with the Binaural beats and continued until I found Learning Strategies. True to their name, their focus is on providing various means for improving learning ability and thus improving your life.
Although this review is of the Paraliminals, I did get my start with them on the PhotoReading course. Having been satisfied that this is a company that stands by its product and doesn’t skimp on quality, I decided to try the Paraliminals.
I decided to get the complete library, simply because if they work then I’d want them all and if they didn’t, I wouldn’t be out any expenditure. The satisfaction guarantee surrounding them made for an attractive offer.
When they arrived, they were in a case perfect for keeping nearby on a shelf. I keep mine near my computer, but that’s unnecessary as I’ll get into later.
The Presentation.
The Paraliminals themselves are audio sessions about a half-hour in length which provide a relaxation and guided imagery session on a particular topic. The topic range from breaking unwanted habits, to opening up for more positive relationships, to enhancing memory, to setting your beliefs and priorities to take you where you want to go.
The technology of the Paraliminals alone bears mention. If you are familiar with binaural beats (as I mentioned in the article linked above), they are used in the Paraliminals, and they also make use of NLP techniques, using a novel innovation. Instead of reducing the volume of the imagery and suggestions, they are right at normal volume and you can hear them plainly. This was a huge benefit for me, as I never could trust subliminal media enough to relax. I would be nervous that there would be unwanted suggestions present and that would short-circuit the whole matter.
The how-to.
Using the Paraliminals is rather easy. With each CD there is a small instruction booklet which will give you things to consider before playing. Oftentimes it will say to formulate one or two things to keep in mind, but this is not necessary for most of them.
At a basic level, it’s as simple as “put on your headphones, and pop in the CD”. Listen as the speaker (Paul Scheele) gently guides you into the relaxation and then into the actual “learning” phase. After the learning phase, you are brought back up and the session ends.
For me, lugging the CDs around wasn’t an attractive idea. So, I converted them all to digital format. If you are concerned about what audio compression does to binaural beats, you needn’t worry. Most binaural beat recordings don’t suffer from compression. Here I ran into a bit of a problem: When I went to convert the discs, I was unable to find them listed on any database, and every Paralaminal CD is in at least 4 parts. (This has a positive aspect that I’ll cover in a moment.) I did find it a bit tedious converting 26 CDs and having to name all of them manually, but at this point I am so glad I did. One other note while I’m on a bit of a roll with the griping: Having the Paraliminal split up into 4 segments is a mixed blessing. I could have put forth more effort and joined them using Audacity or some other tool, but I decided that enough was enough, and just set playlists.
The real advantage of how they are split, however, is that you can set one on the “Learning” track, and have it repeat while you sleep. Let me clarify: The “Learning” track is the real core of the Paraliminal session. Everything else is basically getting you to a relaxed and receptive level or bringing you back out. No need to worry about such things when you’re already asleep. If you’re clever, you can use your mp3 player to create a playlist that will guide you into sleep and then play “learning” tracks over and over.
The effect.
I must admit that I went into the Paraliminals knowing some of what to expect. Part of the PhotoReading course I got was a Paraliminal specifically devoted to helping to assimilate the PhotoReading system. In my humble opinion, Paraliminals are worth it if only for the relaxation and rejuvenation that you get when you listen to a session. The fact that you are working on your development just makes it all the sweeter.
On that score, I have found them to be incredibly useful as aids. I am especially fond of the “Dream Play” Paraliminal, which helped me to rediscover my nighttime dreams, and the Automatic Pilot paraliminal, which is excellent for setting a goal or destination, and aligning yourself to make sure you get there. “Peak Performance” is also quite good for lighting a fire under you when you want it.
A quick note: Around the same time that I got rid of soda, I started making healthier choices about my diet. Specifically, trading in burritos for salads at lunch. This was aided by use of the “Ideal Weight” Paraliminal. Although I had stopped routinely listening to it when I got rid of soda, it is far from a wild idea to think that it helped.
I have noticed that the effects are cumulative: When you make use of a Paraliminal for a while, it conditions you to maintain the effects. At that point, I find I don’t need to listen to that particular Paraliminal as much, and only listen to it once in a while to “keep up”.
The bottom line.
If you’re having a difficult time finding time for traditional meditation, or you like the idea of using an outside aid to give your current practice a boost, I’d heartily recommend the Paraliminals. The money-back guarantee makes it a no-brainer.
Paraliminals at Learning Strategies (not an affiliate link).
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