Muse headband

Anybody use the Muse headband ? If so, have a review? Thnx.

Yes, it's a fun device. Don't expect it to have a dramatic effect on your practice, but it might revitalize your enthusiasm for meditation.

Thanks Christopher. When you have a moment, would you mind providing a little detail as to why it does not have a large effect on your practice?

My experience was that my sits while using the muse headband were not noticeably better or worse than when I was not using it. I don't think the technology has quite reached it's full potential yet, so I don't feel my concentration or lack thereof was always reflected accurately in the score. It measures something, but I'm unsure what that something says of one's practice. There also seems to be considerable individual variability for how one responds to the muse. For me it falls in the same camp as Heartmath's emwave2 or binaural beats. These are fun things that I continue to use on occasion, but I can't say with confidence that they have significantly advanced me down the path (although I know others feel they've derived great benefits from these things and I don't discount that).

While I was a resident at the Center for Mindful Learning, we collaborated with the guys at Muse. They provided us with a few of the normal muse models to play around with, they also gave us a few specialty models that were designed to collect data to enhance the next generation of the muse headbands. I don't remember all of the details, but I think the first generation of muse headbands uses an algorithm based on measurements gathered from a sample of novice meditators using a certain technique. As they get more data from a wider range of meditators, the algorithm and thus the product itself will improve. Some of the other residents really enjoyed using the muse, others were not as enthused, and I think over the course of a few weeks the initial excitement sort of waned. So, the guys from muse are awesome guys with a cool business and their product could help a lot of people establish a meditation practice and thus be a great service to the world, but if you already have an established practice, don't expect the muse to have a profound impact on your life. I imagine a lot of cool things on the horizon from the creators of muse, but again, I have found that different "spiritual devices" are mostly helpful in that they get people interested in actually practicing, which is were the real progress happens.

Thanks Christopher for your thoughts! I remember speaking to Gary Weber about the Muse headband, and he also felt that the technology is only starting to come around. There are some folks working on an EEG machine that can detect activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which is highly correlated with brain activity in the default mode network. Also, Jud Brewer et al published an interesting paper on using real-time fMRI for feedback during meditation. That paper is here . They also focused on PCC activity.

Poked around the Muse website. Not entirely sure what they are measuring with the headband.

Recent WSJ article focused on Muse and using EEG biofeedback for meditation training. Includes quotes from Jud Brewer, Richard Davidson, et al.