*** Warning: Is MP3 Deleting Your Subliminal Messages?

If you listen to subliminal programs on your computer, iPod or other digital device, there’s a good chance you may be deleting the subliminal messages when you import – and thus destroying any chance of results.

Have you ever wondered how such a tremendous amount of music and other sound can fit into those tiny devices? For one thing, the sound is compressed. You may think that means it is squished together, but it does not. The MP3 format, for example, compresses the sound so that nine tenths of it is actually removed! The one tenth remaining comprises only the most "noticeable" sounds.

A subliminal audio program is comprised of a series of messages that are not heard consciously because they are covered or “drowned out” by a masking sound such as a mountain stream, ocean waves or music. In the case of a high quality subliminal, those messages go directly to the subconscious mind, the true source of change, while bypassing the conscious mind.

But it is only those masking sounds that are actually “noticeable.” So MP3 keeps only those water or music sounds and deletes most of the subliminal messages. It may sound almost the same but you should not expect any results!

Here is a quotation from a technical article:
“Some Background on MP3: It was one of the first compression technologies to make use of a science called psychoacoustics. Rather than trying to preserve every bit of data ..., psychoacoustics analyzes the characteristics of an audio sample and preserves only as much as the human ear and mind are likely to perceive.” -- From an article on microsoft.com by Galan Bridgman

Another article says,
“MP3 ... uses an audio coding technique based on psychoacoustics - the study of how the human brain perceives sound - which has found that it simply can't process a lot of the information the ear picks up. MP3 removes these redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal. ... The human ear is good at hearing mid-range pitch noises, but no so good at high or low pitched noises. These can be heard - but not well enough for the details to be accurately distinguished. These bands can therefore be heavily compressed without any noticeable affect on overall sound quality using a technique known as perceptual coding. Where two sounds occur at the same time, MP3 records only the one that will actually be picked up by the ear. Similarly, a quiet sound immediately following a loud one can be removed, since this wouldn't be picked up anyway. Sounds are also compressed in stereo - if a sound is identical on both stereo channels, it's only stored once - but it appears on both channels....” -- from PC TechGuide

This article speaks of “little loss in quality,” but not “no loss of quality,” and "little loss in quality” is one thing for a music listener but a very different matter for someone listening to subliminals.

The article speaks of "compressed without any noticeable affect on overall sound quality," but remember that subliminal messages are not "noticeable" with the conscious mind, though on the better subliminals, they do register effectively with the subconscious. Also the omission by MP3 of high and low pitched sounds and simultaneous sounds can greatly diminish effectiveness. The writers here are talking only about music, where all that matters is what is heard "noticeably."

So stay away from MP3, AAC and other compressed formats. But there is a way you can listen on your computer and most personal music players. The AIFF and the uncompressed WAV formats can preserve all the sounds, though the programs take much more space. (AIFF is always uncompressed but WAV comes both ways, so if you use WAV be sure it is in the uncompressed mode. If it does not specify, you should assume it is compressed and so not usable for subliminals.)

Do not attempt to expand a previously compressed file as in most cases the compression permanently removes data which is not restored by expanding it.

Even so called “lossless” formats are only called that because a smaller percentage of the sound is lost, but they would decrease effectiveness. Avoid listening on the Dolby setting on your player, as it also deletes some of the data.

Here’s how to import safely. In iTunes go to Preferences> General> Import Settings and use the "Import Using" menu to choose the AIFF format (most recommended). Then import your subliminal CDs. When you sync your iPod, what it contains typically remains identical to what is in iTunes. Then before you import music you can go back to Preferences and set it to a compressed format such as MP3 or AAC so the music won’t take up too much space. (AAC is best but either will do.)

Be wary of companies that actually issue subliminals on MP3. Any high quality, full featured program with a rich mixture of layers and frequencies would be damaged by deletion of the very material that makes them powerful. Simple little no-frills programs may be offered on MP3 because they are so rudimentary that they have little to lose. But (1) they are probably too simple to provide you with much benefit in the first place, and (2) what they do have is further diminished when MP3 deletes the less noticeable sounds, which are of course the subliminal messages. Some purveyors may not be knowledgeable themselves about this technical reality or they may be attempting to pull the wool over your eyes.

While many of the weaker subliminals provide little or no results, no matter what you do, if you stick to top quality and follow these importing guidelines you should reap the benefits.

For more information about MP3, go to the links below to read the complete articles from which we have quoted:

“Windows XP Supports MP3” by Galan Bridgman
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/windowsmediaplayer/expert/bridgman_october01.mspx

PC TechGuide
http://www.pctechguide.com/11sound_MP3.htm

Copyright 2009, Alphasonics International