Get ahead in Silicon Valley: Upgrade your mind with a brain buzzer
One device applies electric currents to your head to help you meditate while another encourages you to breathe more deeply - Silicon Valley is abuzz with entrepreneurs offering gadgets to help you 'upgrade your mind'
At the San Francisco consciousness hacking monthly meet-up, about 150 personal development geeks are crowding around hi-tech consumer devices that promise a more relaxed you. There is a brain stimulator called Thync, released in June, that applies an electric current to the head to deliver calming vibes, and a breath-monitoring device that looks like a stone, called Spire, that alerts you if you have failed to take a deep breath recently.
There is also a virtual reality meditation environment called Harmony, which its developer would love to commercialise, where a user puts on goggles to help with their chakra visualisation. Conversations bubble up. "I tried meditation but I never really got there and gave up," says Richard, an IT specialist on a quest to improve his quality of life through technology and science. "What tech do you use to help you?"
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