#Brainwave Technology

[mastergarryblogs]

The Next Tech Gold Rush: Why Investors Are Flocking to the Brain-Computer Interface Market

Introduction

The Global Brain-Computer Interface Market is undergoing transformative growth, driven by technological advancements in neuroscience, artificial intelligence (AI), and wearable neurotechnology. In 2024, the market was valued at USD 54.29 billion and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 10.98% in the forecast period. The increasing adoption of BCI in healthcare, neurorehabilitation, assistive communication, and cognitive enhancement is propelling demand. Innovations such as AI-driven neural signal processing, non-invasive EEG-based interfaces, and biocompatible neural implants are enhancing the precision, usability, and real-time capabilities of BCI solutions. Growing investments in neurotechnology research, coupled with regulatory support, are accelerating industry advancements, paving the way for broader clinical and consumer applications.

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Brain-Computer Interface Market Overview

Brain-Computer Interface Market Driving Factors:

Surging Demand in Healthcare Applications – BCIs are transforming neurorehabilitation, prosthetic control, and assistive communication, benefiting individuals with neurological disorders such as ALS, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy.

Advancements in AI & Machine Learning – AI-driven brainwave decoding and neural signal processing are improving the accuracy of BCI systems, leading to enhanced cognitive training and neurofeedback applications.

Expansion into Consumer Electronics – Wearable BCI technology is gaining momentum in brainwave-controlled devices, VR gaming, and hands-free computing.

Government & Private Sector Investments – Increased funding in non-invasive neural interfaces is supporting BCI research and commercialization.

Military & Defense Applications – BCIs are being explored for drone control, pilot augmentation, and direct brain-to-computer communication for enhanced operational efficiency.

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Brain-Computer Interface Market Challenges:

High Development Costs – The cost of R&D and complex neural signal interpretation hinders scalability.

Regulatory & Ethical Concerns – The use of neural data raises privacy and cybersecurity issues, necessitating stringent data protection measures.

Hardware Limitations – The variability in electrical noise, signal fidelity, and device usability poses significant engineering challenges.

Key Brain-Computer Interface Market Trends:

1. Non-Invasive BCIs Gaining Traction

Non-invasive BCIs are dominating the market due to their ease of use, affordability, and growing consumer adoption. Wireless EEG headsets, dry-electrode systems, and AI-powered brainwave analytics are revolutionizing applications in mental wellness, cognitive training, and VR gaming.

2. Brain-Computer Cloud Connectivity

BCIs integrated with cloud computing enable real-time brain-to-brain communication and remote neural data sharing, unlocking potential in telemedicine and collaborative research.

3. Rise of Neuroprosthetics & Exoskeletons

Innovations in brain-controlled prosthetics and robotic exoskeletons are restoring mobility to individuals with severe motor impairments, fostering independence and quality of life.

4. Neuromodulation & Brain Stimulation Advancements

The development of brain-stimulation-based BCIs is expanding therapeutic applications, aiding in the treatment of depression, epilepsy, and PTSD.

Brain-Computer Interface Market Segmentation:

By Type:

Non-Invasive BCIs – Holds the largest market share due to its widespread use in rehabilitation, gaming, and consumer applications.

Invasive BCIs – Preferred for high-precision neural interfacing, primarily in neuroprosthetics and brain-controlled robotics.

By Component:

Hardware – Accounts for 43% of the market, including EEG headsets, neural implants, and biosignal acquisition devices.

Software – Growing rapidly due to AI-driven brainwave decoding algorithms and cloud-based neurocomputing solutions.

By Technology:

Electroencephalography (EEG) – Largest segment (55% brain-computer interface market share), widely used for non-invasive brainwave monitoring and neurofeedback.

Electrocorticography (ECoG) – Preferred for high-fidelity neural signal acquisition in brain-controlled prosthetics.

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) – Emerging as a viable alternative for real-time hemodynamic brain monitoring.

By Connectivity:

Wireless BCIs – Dominating the market with increasing adoption in wearable smart devices and mobile applications.

Wired BCIs – Preferred in clinical and research settings for high-accuracy data acquisition.

By Application:

Medical – Leading segment, driven by applications in neuroprosthetics, neurorehabilitation, and neurological disorder treatment.

Entertainment & Gaming – Expanding due to brainwave-controlled VR, immersive gaming, and hands-free computing.

Military & Defense – BCIs are being explored for combat simulations, brain-controlled robotics, and AI-assisted warfare.

By End User:

Hospitals & Healthcare Centers – Holds 45% market share, expected to grow at 18% CAGR.

Research Institutions & Academics – Significant growth driven by increasing investments in brain signal processing and neuroengineering.

Individuals with Disabilities – Rising demand for assistive BCI solutions, including brain-controlled wheelchairs and prosthetics.

By Region:

North America – Leading with 40% market share, driven by strong investments in neurotech research and medical applications.

Europe – Projected to grow at 18% CAGR, supported by technological advancements in neural interface research.

Asia Pacific – Expected to expand at 21.5% CAGR, fueled by increasing adoption of consumer BCIs and AI-driven neuroanalytics.

South America & Middle East/Africa – Emerging markets witnessing gradual adoption in healthcare and research sectors.

Competitive Landscape & Recent Developments

Key Brain-Computer Interface Market Players:

Medtronic

Natus Medical Incorporated

Compumedics Neuroscan

Brain Products GmbH

NeuroSky

EMOTIV

Blackrock Neurotech

Notable Industry Advancements:

March 2024: Medtronic unveiled an advanced invasive BCI system for Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy treatment.

January 2024: NeuroSky introduced an EEG-based wearable for neurofeedback training and mental wellness.

April 2023: Blackrock Neurotech launched an ECoG-based brain-controlled robotic prosthetic arm, enhancing mobility for individuals with disabilities.

February 2023: Brainco developed an AI-powered BCI system for cognitive performance enhancement in education.

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Conclusion & Future Outlook

The Global Brain-Computer Interface Market is poised for exponential growth, driven by rapid advancements in neural engineering, AI integration, and consumer-grade BCI applications. With increasing investment from healthcare institutions, tech firms, and government agencies, the BCI ecosystem is set to expand beyond traditional medical applications into consumer electronics, defense, and education.

Future developments will likely focus on:

Enhancing non-invasive BCI accuracy for mass-market adoption.

Strengthening cybersecurity protocols for neural data protection.

Advancing AI-driven neurocomputing for real-time brainwave analysis.

As regulatory frameworks mature and accessibility improves, BCIs will continue to reshape human-machine interaction, revolutionizing healthcare, communication, and cognitive augmentation.

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[turiyatitta]

Morgan O. Smith’s Awakening Journey

A Featured Story in Brainz Magazine & Insights on Spiritual Awakening I am honoured and thrilled to share that I’m on the cover of Brainz Magazine this week! In my exclusive interview, titled “Morgan O. Smith’s Awakening Journey – How Yinnergy Meditation Was Born”, I discuss the personal path that led me to create Yinnergy Meditation. This journey has been transformative, from my own awakening…

[esotericworld]

DARPA Brain Technologies: Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) This is some pretty old tech source. Wonder what kind of psychedelics though? The ElectRx program aims to help the human body heal itself through neuromodulation of organ functions using ultraminiaturized devices, approximately the size of individual nerve fibers, which could be delivered through minimally invasive injection.

Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) Looks like they're beating Elon to the punch here. The NESD program aims to develop an implantable neural interface able to provide unprecedented signal resolution and data-transfer bandwidth between the brain and the digital world.

Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) The N3 program aims to develop a safe, portable neural interface system capable of reading from and writing to multiple points in the brain at once. Whereas the most advanced existing neurotechnology requires surgical implantation of electrodes, N3 is pursuing high-resolution technology that works without the requirement for surgery so that it can be used by able-bodied people.

Six Paths to the Nonsurgical Future of Brain-Machine Interfaces

Nonsurgical Neural Interfaces Could Significantly Expand Use of Neurotechnology Targeted Neuroplasticity Training (TNT) Matrix Shit The TNT program seeks to advance the pace and effectiveness of cognitive skills training through the precise activation of peripheral nerves that can in turn promote and strengthen neuronal connections in the brain. TNT will pursue development of a platform technology to enhance learning of a wide range of cognitive skills, with a goal of reducing the cost and duration of the Defense Department’s extensive training regimen, while improving outcomes.

Neuro Function, Activity, Structure and Technology (Neuro-FAST) The Neuro-FAST program seeks to enable unprecedented visualization and decoding of brain activity to better characterize and mitigate threats to the human brain, as well as facilitate development of brain-in-the loop systems to accelerate and improve functional behaviors. The program has developed CLARITY, a revolutionary tissue-preservation method, and builds off recent discoveries in genetics, optical recordings and brain-computer interfaces. Restoring Active Memory (RAM) The RAM program aims to develop and test a wireless, fully implantable neural-interface medical device for human clinical use. The device would facilitate the formation of new memories and retrieval of existing ones in individuals who have lost these capacities as a result of traumatic brain injury or neurological disease.

[springtrapsspringlockedbussy]

just woke up from what feels like me getting shakes upside down in the pear wiggler and had a cup of coffee (:

since help wanted (to me) is canon in machine theory, this does mean nolan probably has an existential crisis seeing springtrap in the funny vr game but also just. i don't think he'd have a fun time. he's essentially seeing what COULD'VE happened to him that day, alongside seeing his own husband depicted as being mangled into a monster that just. i know he's probably taking off the vr headset and crying.

[joelekm]

You Won’t Believe What this ai Revealed From People’s Dreams | Ai Vault

In this video, we explore the groundbreaking intersection of artificial intelligence and dream analysis. Can AI decode our subconscious thoughts better than Freud or Jung? With advancements in machine learning, brainwave mapping, and natural language processing, AI is now capable of identifying patterns in our dreams that were once impossible to detect. From analyzing dream reports to recreating dream imagery, we dive into how AI is revolutionizing our understanding of the subconscious mind and what this means for psychology, mental health, and even creativity.

[instantedownloads]

Hemi-Sync: Harnessing Brainwave Technology for Peak Performance

Another brain enhancing system for those who are realizing that its the mind and how the body and thoughts are connected to the direction of our lives. Learn and study and apply this program Hemi-Sync: Harnessing Brainwave Technology for Peak Performance. The Gateway to Altered States of Consciousness Hemi-Sync (Hemispheric Synchronization) represents one of the most sophisticated applications…

[fraoula1]

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 & 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞?

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are revolutionizing communication, healthcare, and technology by allowing direct interaction between the brain and machines. But as BCIs evolve, so do concerns about security and privacy. Could brainwave hacking become a real threat?

In this video, we explore how BCIs work, their applications in healthcare and gaming, and the potential risks of brainwave hacking. Learn about vulnerabilities, ethical concerns, and the security measures needed to protect our most personal data—our thoughts.

watch more https://youtu.be/GqN69jJd4II

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[healthtrekadventure]

ZenCortex

ZenCortex is a cutting-edge wellness technology designed to enhance brain health, focus, and relaxation. Utilizing advanced neurotechnology, ZenCortex offers personalized brain training exercises to improve cognitive performance and mental clarity. Whether you're looking to reduce stress, improve concentration, or boost overall brain function, this device uses gentle brainwave entrainment to optimize mental well-being. Its compact and user-friendly design makes it suitable for use at home or in the office, helping you achieve a calm and focused state in just a few minutes a day.

Unlock your brain’s full potential with ZenCortex, and experience the benefits of enhanced focus, reduced stress, and improved cognitive health.

👉 Learn more about ZenCortex here!

[brainwavetechnologies]

Brainwave Technologies: The Best Project and Training Center in Nagercoil, Leading the Future of Innovation

Established in 2016, Brainwave Technologies has emerged as a trailblazer in software and electronic project development, offering creative and cutting-edge technology solutions. Conveniently located at Second Floor, Veppamoodu Junction, Nagercoil - 1, we are committed to excellence and continuously strive to drive the tech landscape forward. As the Best Project and Training Center in Nagercoil, Brainwave Technologies is the ideal destination for both clients seeking custom solutions and students pursuing top-notch tech training.

Our Core Expertise

At Brainwave Technologies, we excel in three primary areas:

Software Development: Our team crafts tailored software solutions that address the unique needs of each client, ensuring projects are both functional and aligned with their vision.

Electronic Projects and Products: We design and implement advanced electronic systems that enhance efficiency and reliability, whether for industrial, commercial, or specialized applications.

Training and Development: Our training programs empower the next generation of innovators, providing students with up-to-date, practical knowledge in software and electronics. With courses designed to keep pace with industry trends, our students gain the skills they need to succeed.

Why Choose Brainwave Technologies?

Our dedicated team of professionals ensures high-quality results by staying current with advancements in technology. This commitment to continuous learning enables us to deliver impactful, future-ready solutions to our clients and keep our students at the forefront of the tech industry.

Join Us in Shaping the Future

Brainwave Technologies invites you to be part of our journey as we lead the way in technological innovation. Whether you’re a business looking for inventive solutions or a student eager to learn, our team is here to support your goals. Join us at the Best Project and Training Center in Nagercoil, where technology and opportunity come together to create a brighter future.

[neuphony9]

Neuphony is India's pioneering EEG wearable device. It uses advanced technology to measure brain activity and provide insights into cognitive functions. This innovative device offers personalized brain training programs, helping users improve focus, memory, and overall well-being.

[helthcareproducts]

Cortexi Revolutionizing Hearing and Brain Health

[turiyatitta]

Exploring the Mystical Depths of Meditation

Insights from a Neurofeedback EEG Assessment On Friday, November 22, I had the unique opportunity to undergo a neurofeedback EEG assessment to evaluate my brain’s activity during meditation. This fascinating experience was facilitated by neurofeedback expert Alex Ni, the CEO of Divergence Neuro Technologies. The results revealed something extraordinary: my brainwave patterns reflect those of an…

[sbcdh]

“Oh gosh the fire. Yes it was truly a tragedy. You know, HECA79 was the prototype for the new regulation model. Well, haha, new for the time. It was the seventies after all. It really is fascinating. She was the first one we put in the class N tanks. Fascinating technology for the time, clever as the dickens. You see, the insides of the tank were to be lined with a thin layer of magnetically laminated gold calcite particles that formed a reflective lattice under electrical stimulation. A gold plated one-way mirror for brainwaves! I’m sure you understand, it was the best we could do for 1983-”

“So you subscribe to the, uh, equipment malfunction theory?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh. Terribly sorry. Equipment malfunction? As I recall, it functioned quite well.”

“So you believe the fire was caused by something else?”

“The fire? Oh. Well, I’m not quite sure. I don’t know the exact specifications, but if I recall correctly, there were all sorts of firebreaks and engineers and junior-engineers stationed all around –all helmeted, mind you– to make sure that sort of thing never happened.”

“And yet.”

“And yet. Indeed…Well, between you and me, I think It was one of the junior engineers.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh yes. We were a bit of a maverick bunch back then. Reagan gave us all that research money, but, well, its always a bit different when the wheels hit the pavement haha. Oh. Oh. I hope I haven’t gotten anyone in trouble. They were nice lads all. Well, some of them were Germans, but nice lads.”

“We are more interested in your observations of HECA79. I was told you were able to directly observe her during the incident. If there is anything you can tell us, please, speak loudly enough for the tape to hear.”

“Oh! Oh gosh. You know, I completely forgot we were being taped haha! And you caught all of my rambling! Well, I think I can help you out. Oh yes. Now. You must understand. A good half of this is going to be embellished. You know how memories go, you always get more heroic looking back as time goes on haha. But yes, I think I can help you out. Ah, where should I start?”

“What was the first thing out of the ordinary that you noticed?”

“Her lips were moving.”

“Is that out of the ordinary?”

“By gosh for a plutophant yes! At full emmanation, there is no part of them that is not the market! Every neuron soaked in hypno-amphetamine rocket fuel! Most of them –if you’ll pardon my language sir– shit their tanks the moment their Id touches the sub-finantial background grid! What do you think half those tubes are for! A plutophant in full emmanation doesn’t have a braincell to spare to keep their sphincters closed, much less perform something as complex as speech!”

“I see. Could you make out what the asset was saying?”

“Oh no. No, I’m afraid not. I can’t read lips. Back in those days, they were hooked up to a helmet, and then the helmet read the delta-wave patterns, and then printed that on magnetic tape. That way, we could feed the tape to some lob-, ah translators, and have them interpret the feed.”

“When did her lips start to move? What time of day?”

“Funny thing, almost exactly at 12:03. I should have been off at lunch, but I was procrastinating. I had a crossword I was right on the edge of solving. It was one of those big words that goes all the way across the page. TIMEPIECE. I remember that clear as day.”

“Interesting. I have here that equipment registered the fire almost exactly seven minutes later.”

“Oh dear. Do you understand what that means sir?”

“No, please, enlighten me.”

“Is that a schematic of the N class tank you have there? Hand it over. Thank you sir. So. Back in 1983, we didn’t have any of the fancy digital equipment we have now. Well, we did, but not to the same degree. Most of our equipment was good old analogue. You see this module here? These weren’t part of our system. No, we were waiting on the replacements to show up.”

“And, what is that part?” 

“Think of it like the uh, ah yes, the carburetor in a car. It keeps everything balanced. Keeps the subjects metabolism steady so they don’t chew through the drugs too fast, keeps the tank at the ideal temperature for chemical reactions, without boiling the subject like a lobster haha. But the key is, it was completely mechanical. But at the end of the day, it's just a bunch of tubes full of fluid that move based on pressure differentials.”

“Which means?”

“Well, heat would throw it off.”

“Here, I think we have a schematic. Now, doctor, this is very important. I need you to explain to me exactly how the machine malfunctioned, and how it would affect HECA79.”

“Well technically, it wasn’t malfunctioning at all. It was functioning correctly, just under less-than-ideal circumstances. Oh, haha. Yes, haha, but thats not what you’re looking for haha. Yes. Well. What side did the fire hit it from? Do you know?”

“This one here.”

“Fascinating. Well. Then, the apparatus would have uh, hm. Oh dear.”

“Doctor.”

“It would have spiked the hypnostimulant feed, while introducing impurities.”

“Which means?”

“I- I haven’t the slightest idea. It would've been deadly, I can assure you that. But its as if…Its as if you had a car, coasting in neutral, downhill at terminal velocity, and then you switched gears to high gear, and then slammed the gas while spraying rocket fuel into the intake.”

“Could we ask you to write a full report on your speculation?”

“Frankly sir, I am as intrigued as you are. You would have to hold my wrists to keep me from writing on this. Fascinating.”

ENCLOSED: FINAL READOUT OF HECA79

"BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD"[Phrase repeats over twenty thousand times.]

[joelekm]

You Won’t Believe What this ai Revealed From People’s Dreams | Ai Vault

In this video, we explore the groundbreaking intersection of artificial intelligence and dream analysis. Can AI decode our subconscious thoughts better than Freud or Jung? With advancements in machine learning, brainwave mapping, and natural language processing, AI is now capable of identifying patterns in our dreams that were once impossible to detect. From analyzing dream reports to recreating dream imagery, we dive into how AI is revolutionizing our understanding of the subconscious mind and what this means for psychology, mental health, and even creativity.

[h-sleepingirl]

Essay: Hypnosis is Irrational

For PSYCHOSPIRITUAL: A Spirituality/Hypnokink Essay Jam

This is an essay about bonfires, Quaker meetings, Judaism, and the entirely transcendent nature of hypnosis. I'm sorry in advance to philosophers and scientists. Don't come for me until you've seen God in the ceiling through your fluttering lashes!

--

Rationality is a core value of modern western society. Materialism and objective, evidence-based science are seen as the gold standard for how to view the world around us. It’s easy to see why -- this approach has catapulted humanity forward over a relatively short period of time, technologically and philosophically. Finding the truths of the universe through hard evidence and math is extremely compelling and much more logical than basing our views off of conjecture or old religious texts.

Hypnosis entered public western consciousness in tumult. Franz Mesmer’s animal magnetism clearly worked, and he had theories of why, but they didn’t hold up to scientific rigor. Really from its inception, hypnosis has been fighting to be seen as legitimate as a medical practice, and as compatible with evidence-based science.

It’s not that it doesn’t make sense that hypnotherapy fights so hard to be accepted as a “real” discipline, or that it needs to go through studies to be practiced on patients. We value medicine that is objectively safe and effective -- for good reason.

That being said…

I am not anti-science. But I do think if we don’t acknowledge the methodology’s limitations, we are being dishonest and misleading -- with ourselves and with those we teach.

Here’s the thing: We are not doing therapy with our partners. We don’t need to be beholden to these limitations. Not in our theory, and especially not in our practice.

We are free -- more free than any other practitioners of hypnosis -- to accept and celebrate its irrationality.

And when we stop trying to shoehorn our experiences into being understandable, we are free to explore and experience unbelievable things.

--

In terms of spiritual beliefs, I would describe myself as a skeptic-leaning agnostic. I think that how you are raised is a major religious influence on you, and I happened to be raised in an atheist household. Despite branching off from my family and taking spiritual exploration seriously, I would never confidently say “I believe in God” or “I believe in magic,” nor that I am even particularly convinced by my handful of difficult-to-explain experiences.

While my spirituality intersects with hypnosis, I am not here to tell you that hypnosis is the result of God or magical forces -- and I’m not here to define how hypnosis fits into “magic” or vice versa. I think that too is a kind of rationalization -- it’s trying to explain something nebulous in a concrete way, trying to fit it into a box.

I don’t think that calling hypnosis irrational should cause us to seek alternative, definitive answers outside of science. I think that we as humans need to be comfortable not knowing, not labeling -- a space that can be very uncomfortable for us, but one that ultimately allows us to have less-filtered subjective experiences.

Subjective experiences are the core of hypnosis. No matter what method is purported to be “objectively” best, the one that you should actually use is the one that makes your partner feel trance most intensely. Science simply cannot anticipate, direct, or account for the subtlety of the subjective experience of hypnosis.

Scientific tests cannot accurately measure anything about hypnosis, because hypnosis relies almost entirely on the softest variables: the interpersonal relationship and biases we have, the way a person is feeling or primed on a given day, the slightest changes in tone or delivery or nonverbal language. We might say that standardized hypnosis is a completely different activity from the hypnosis that we practice with real partners.

A brainwave-measuring machine cannot communicate the intricacies and depth of a trance. I would not be surprised, if I was hooked up to an EEG, that many of my “trance states” would not produce expected effects on the device. Even physically observable signs of trance do not tell the whole story -- I can be having an intensely hypnotic internal experience while appearing completely awake. There is simply not an objective way to tell when I am hypnotized -- it is completely based on my own feelings.

And yet, with shocking accuracy, my partner can tell the exact moment that I slip into trance, even if I give no discernable outward response. When pressed, he often can’t identify what the signal is -- it is very, very subtle, if anything.

It is a moment where his focus on me melds into my experience, into my mind.

Really, there have been countless times in hypnosis that I feel with total certainty that my mind is being read or that I am reading my partner’s mind. It’s shocking, and sort of maddening, and I have heard from many others that they’ve experienced the same thing. Our urge is to say, “Well, that’s a result of unconsciously reading microexpressions, of knowing a person’s nonverbal language intimately, of having a robust internal map of a person, being good at anticipating hypnotic responses, linguistic cold reading tricks.” That’s rationalizing, and it’s all very logical and certainly has some element of truth to it -- but it causes us to say “OK, case closed,” and sigh in relief that we can dismiss the question and no longer be faced with it.

The reality is this: Those are guesses. They are probably pretty good guesses, but I believe we fall into this trap of assuming the logical-sounding guesses we make are objectively correct, even in the absence of evidence.

Ostensibly, the vast majority of “answers” we have about why hypnosis works are just that -- theories, models, best guesses. Science doesn’t even have a singular accepted answer on whether hypnosis is an altered state. Often, working within a given theory (or two) gives us structure and allows us to perform more effectively. But when we really think about the nature of hypnosis, the truth is that we really don’t have much of a solid idea why and how it works.

That’s uncomfortable. I’m not pushing that because it’s the cold, hard truth, or because accepting it is some form of mental asceticism (nor spiritual gateway). I’m saying it because living in that liminal space of irrationality will actually change the way you do and experience hypnosis -- because it frees you from the limitations of feeling like everything we do has to make sense.

--

I have my own theory about why we want to make those logical guesses: Because it feels embarrassing to say we are hypnotists and yet there are things we don’t understand. Because we are afraid of judgment if we say we are actually mind-reading or doing magic, even as a shorthand for a complex invisible process. I think these are unconscious biases -- a result of seeing ourselves as rational people in a rational world. Spirituality is seen as lesser and fake -- entertaining the idea of magic gets you labeled as immature or crazy.

But when you try to remove your biases and think about it, it is crazy that we use just our words to make people forget things, hallucinate things, have orgasms, experience dissolution of the ego. And we don’t really know why.

True curiosity and wonder are hypnosis’s best friends. New subjects who struggle to experience trance or suggestions often are stuck because of their expectations -- they feel like they know what is supposed to happen, so when their experience doesn’t line up, they perceive it as failure. It’s why one of the best ways you can set a person up for “success” in hypnosis is to really cultivate a sense of curiosity, of not being judgmental of their experience, of not assuming they know what is happening.

Even still, this model of trance often has the subject experiencing wide-eyed wonder while the hypnotist actually holds the esoteric knowledge of what’s going on behind the curtain. But in my opinion, the real magic happens when both parties are prepared to question everything they know, to be surprised, to not take for granted, and to observe without rationality.

My most treasured memory is one that I keep close to my chest. Briefly: it was at a hypnosis-friendly bonfire on the autumnal equinox. My partner and I embraced and for an hour had a completely shared experience, wordless and hypnotic and bizarrely spiritual. Neither of us were “driving” -- we were both passengers, almost like being possessed. No drugs were involved, just the two of us in the right place at the right time, able to let go of the feeling that we were “crazy” or being illogical, or that we knew what was going to happen. We were both really shaken by it.

That ultimately led us to being able to have trances, occasionally, where we mutually let our guard down and play without the usual “rules.” We can’t do it intentionally, but sometimes we hit on little pockets of magic, and then the trance becomes like spellcasting, and spellcasting isn’t bound by the laws that supposedly govern hypnosis.

We know that hypnosis is influenced largely by how we expect it to work. We give pretalks to set expectations that often function as suggestions, boundaries, and definitions: “All you need to do to be hypnotized is pay attention -- it’s OK if your thoughts drift.” “Hypnosis might feel different from what you expect, like floating or sinking.” Even: “You can always come out of trance if you need to.”

I believe my partner and I are on similar pages about whether magic is “real.” The word “maybe” does a lot of heavy lifting in my worldview. It’s really more about being open to different perspectives, and playing in different models. So if we can dip into a perspective where hypnosis behaves a bit more like magic -- or otherwise irrationally -- then that actually, literally changes the way hypnosis works.

This is the true nature of hypnosis -- it is a shapeshifter. If you define hypnosis as a science or as a spiritual practice, it works either way. So if you can change the beliefs you inhabit, you will experience wildly different trances. And it may be irrational to assign spirituality and magic to it, but it is not absurd.

--

In this way, belief and perspective is actually where a lot of the nature of hypnosis sits.

After the “bonfire incident,” I was motivated to do some spiritual seeking, and I started going to Quaker meetings. Quaker meetings are simple but intense: People get together in a room and sit silently, opening themselves up to “messages” from within their own hearts or outside themselves, and if they feel moved to share a message, they stand up and speak it. There is no discussion, just completely passive listening and speaking.

I found this to be an extremely potent spiritual environment. We weren’t meditating, per se, just going quiet. Sitting silently for an hour with no other stimulation was luxurious, and felt quite a bit to me like a kind of trance.

I went regularly for a few months. I never spoke, but I did listen. There was one meeting I remember vividly where I was sitting and thinking about something, and at that moment, a woman stood up, and shared a message that was very close to what I was pondering over.

Then another woman stood:

“I know sometimes in this room,” she said, “we feel like we are all thinking the same thing when someone shares a message. This is one of those times for me.”

There was no fear of judgment, nor proclamation of metaphysical experience. It was just a statement of fact.

Quaker meetings taught me to be curious. If the bonfire opened the door, Quaker meetings honed my ability to be irrational. There was a period while I was going regularly where I was seeing wonder in the world at every turn -- a leaf falling on my back felt like a tap on the shoulder, the wind felt like a whisper.

And when my partner and I were doing hypnosis, my rigid belief system became so flexible that I was utterly open to suggestions about my experiences. He would tell me things and I believed them completely, almost like being on a drug, or completely enchanted. We were doing serious magic back then, tempting reality to peel back and reveal the “truth” underneath. It was intoxicating, and it certainly had an element of danger.

As intense as it was, I found this magic to be frustrating too, because I wanted to understand the nature of it -- I wanted to understand hypnosis so badly, and I wanted so badly for magic to be real. I thought that maybe there was a facet of hypnosis that I’d been missing -- some spiritual facet -- that would take me one step closer to an objective, unified, overarching hypnosis model.

I was right that I had been neglecting to think about spirituality with regard to hypnosis. But of course the idea that was leading to some overarching truth was a red herring. The real truth is that there is no overarching truth -- hypnosis can be seen from many models and perspectives, but there isn’t a singular “correct” one.

-- 

I have written extensively about how I feel this is core to hypnosis -- both in educational articles, an upcoming book, and in a personal essay about Judaism. My Jewishness is critically important to me, and has taught me a lot about the value of diverse perspectives, including on the spectrum of rationalism versus spirituality or mysticism.

By some, religion is often seen as incompatible with science (or rationality) -- unprovable mystical forces, an unseeable omnipotent creator. But there have been a number of important rationalist thinkers throughout history, across world religions.

Judaism’s most famous is probably Maimonides -- Moses ben Maimon. He lived in Spain in the 1100s, a time and place where Jewish mysticism was thriving. Maimonides was both a scientist and a deeply religious, learned Jew. One of his greatest contributions to the culture was in codifying Jewish law and practice in the common tongue to make it accessible to the average Jew at the time. In doing so, his rationalism made a great impact in Judaism as a whole.

Maimonides brought Aristotalian philosophy into Judaism, which came with a full rejection of the supernatural -- with the exception of God as transcendent creator. (The creation exists, so it must have been created.) One of his major theological tenets was that there was no conflict between the scientific and the teachings of Torah -- that the revelations of God were completely compatible with science. To Maimonides, for example, angels were not supernatural beings, but a metaphorical personification of the natural forces of the world. There are “angels” for why the wind blows, and “angels” for why we are held stuck to the earth.

If something appeared to be at odds with the natural order of the world -- whether it was from Torah or a perceived miracle -- Maimonides said that was our own lack of understanding, both of science and of the “secrets” of Torah. Essentially: everything that seems irrational has a rational explanation.

There are pros and cons to this, in my opinion. First, it’s neat, elegant, and sensible -- and I think it’s compatible with a measured view of hypnosis. Hypnosis is real -- no one is disputing that -- and while it has unknowable parts to us at our current point in history, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it behaves counter to the natural order of the world.

But I think Maimonides contradicts himself. If you claim to be humbled by the secrets of the world and revelation, why would you so vehemently reject that the world might behave differently than you understand or expect?

How can we claim to “know” the natural order of the world in any capacity beyond what we can observe? How can we claim that our observations are universal or objective?

If we can’t know, we can only experience, explore, experiment. It is brutally human -- reaching out to the world with our limited five senses and our remarkable consciousness. By the nature of us being humans, our explorations will all produce different perspectives and models, all of which have an element of truth to them because all of our experiences are “real,” true experiences.

Hypnosis operates necessarily with/on the human brain -- two unique human brains -- so we each see a unique, limited facet of it. By talking, playing, and connecting with each other, we learn about other facets and perspectives which influence our internal models of it. On a larger scale, as a community, we create, bend, and break rules about it as our community experience evolves. We actually change what hypnosis is, how it works, and how to do it.

Even in just 15 years, I have seen firsthand how hypnosis changes as the community changes. If you look back at historical sources about hypnosis, you can see that we do something radically different nowadays -- which we think of as more sophisticated, but then again, historical hypnotists were doing amazing things too.

Hypnosis as a thing evolves as we explore it more -- as we explore each other more -- and push its boundaries.

We can’t pin down what it is. We can’t model it. But we can participate in it.

It is transcendent -- as Maimonides and Aristotle say God is transcendent; utterly beyond us.

--

Part of my experience of being hypnotized really intensely is a deeper acceptance of what I am feeling or thinking, moment to moment. It is a kind of radical acceptance that what my brain is doing is important and real. It’s not that I don’t understand that I’m hypnotized, or that I don’t make any critical judgments about what is happening. It’s just partially that if I feel something “weird,” I don’t dismiss it out of hand.

When I am in deep trances, weird stuff often happens. I get spontaneous sensory hallucinations, I get stray thoughts that can blindside me.

Occasionally, I have this unmistakable feeling that I am “seeing God.” That felt like a crazy thought to me the first time I had it -- like a person of capital-F “Faith” would have. It didn’t suddenly make me believe in a higher power, but I was left with that feeling that I had touched something divine while my partner murmured into my ear and took control of me.

Hypnosis is not just transcendent by nature or in a vacuum -- it feels transcendent. It feels like nothing else in this world; it completely transcends language and the realm of usual experience.

It makes sense that when faced with this kind of experience, it makes a skeptical person like me feel for a moment that there might be something more, something ineffable. It makes sense that when I have spiritual experiences with hypnosis, it feels innately spiritual to me.

But also it is true that hypnosis is simply very weird.

Why do I feel like I am connecting with divinity in deep trance? Why do I feel certain that my partner and I are reading each other’s minds? Why have I felt a quality of presence or possession?

I can believe it or disbelieve it all I want. I can rationalize it in any way I want. You can relate to me, or think less of me and judge me. But none of that takes away from what my experiential truth is.

What hypnosis feels like is not just more important than what it “is,” that is what it is. The subjective experience that we inhabit is hypnosis. 

Humans are moved by weird, irrational, transcendent experiences. Those are the times our worldview is affirmed or shaken. For those of us who are spiritually open to the idea that the materialistic world might be more than it seems, these moments are bright sparks of light, motivating, inspirational.

Hypnosis does this to me all the time. I am constantly amazed by it. I truly believe the only reason we look at it as a mundane phenomenon is because we assume our world is mundane -- we take it for granted.

But it is not mundane. It is two people communicating in such an intimate way that it behaves like a psychoactive drug. It is striving to know another person so deeply that you innately understand what they are thinking and feeling and you don’t know why. It makes the impossible seem possible; it makes magic feel 100% real.

That’s not some perspective that is out of touch with reality. That is the grounded view of hypnosis.

We are allowed to have crazy experiences with this art. Our main job is not trying to sell people on the idea that it is real. We work so hard to portray ourselves as sane and grounded -- we imitate therapists who need to have an answer to skeptics walking into their office. I think that at a certain point when we are doing intimate hypnosis we are allowed to say, “OK, I know this is real, and you know this is real, so let’s drop the bullshit and acknowledge that what we are doing is actually completely crazy.”

Hypnosis is amazing. It is just amazing. I am not saying that it is completely impossible to understand -- I think it is fair to say at this point that my life’s work is trying to understand it and communicate that understanding. I am saying that we need to not cut ourselves off from amazement, from confusion, from wonder, from not-knowing -- those are crucial to understanding, even crucial to science.

It is a form of respect to the art and to our partners to inhabit a space where we don’t know, to relax our egos and say that hypnosis is more than we can comprehend. To listen -- to ourselves or our partners -- when weird stuff happens.

Hypnosis will grow with us as humans if we let it. We have the opportunity to open ourselves to it, to greet it curiously, and to truly surrender to our exploration.

--

Sleepingirl (they/she) is a hypnokink educator with over a decade of experience on both sides of the pocket watch. They’re the author of several books, many articles (patreon.com/sleepingirl), and LearnHypnokink.com (a guide through the foundations of improvised hypnosis).

Their body of work in hypnokink is extremely extensive and spans many mediums -- see everything at https://sleepingirl.info/.

[kujakumai]

Never going to be over that with Kaiba's obsession with virtual reality + AI + corporate branding + creating a mass surveillance state means that the YGOverse is rapidly sliding towards cyberpunk dystopia. Implicitly all of ygo appears to take place in the last few years of mostly-normality before the incipience of a hi-tech corpro-dictatorship.

"In the year 1999 business-tech prodigy Seto Kaiba, whose corporation already owned an entire city, first introduced the technology to directly intercept and read people's brainwaves, which he sold as a children's toy that everyone bought," is the opening paragraph of backstory for a game that takes place 50 years later and primarily concerns replacing your limbs with cyberware while hacking a mainframe from a back-alley gutter and doing a fake drug called fragjazz.