Binaural beats are associated with all kinds of mysterious abilities. They are audio files, typically on CDs or in MP3 form and played in stereo. Each ear is played a track with a small frequency difference between the two. Due to the need to listen in stereo - effectiveness is best when using headphones. The beats are low frequency tones typically 1000 to 1500 hertz. The two tones have a small difference in frequency which the brain puts together to form a single beating tone. These beats can influence the brain in subtle ways known as entrainment of brainwaves.

The beats and their application for creating special states of consciousness have been well documented. The most common application is probably increased relaxation. This is done by lowering the brain frequency to induce relaxation. There are more controversial applications of course too. These can be more physiological effects such as enhancing hormone production, reducing sleep requirements and improving our capacity to learn. These are pretty desirable abilities.

They have also been successful when used to help recover repressed memories, by helping focus and stimulate the brain. One concern in this application however is that by stimulating the brain it may lead to the creation of false memories. Another great application is the treatment of addictions. This sort of treatment is very promising as it involves changing the brain's frequencies instead of powerful drugs which may have very significant side effects. The use of binaural beats to treat addiction has been known to greatly reduce mild anxiety which is often suffered by addicts.

The more mysterious applications for binaural beats include inducing lucid dreaming, attempting out of body experiences, astral projection and past regression.