[When Cool Tools subscriber James Tierney recommended an audio CD that supposedly "balances and focuses the brain," I was skeptical. My skepticism deepened when I visited the publisher's web site and found additional CDs that supposedly induce lucid dreaming and out-of-body experiences. With minimal expectations, I ordered the "Concentration" CD. When I opened the package, the picture on the front of the jewel case looked like a throwback to the 1970s, and the "brain-wave maps" on the back seemed totally spurious. Still, when I played the CD the phased synthetic sound was quite pleasant. "It sounds as if we're sitting in an airplane," one of my coworkers remarked when she walked into my office. I did find that it is a highly effective mask for environmental sound, and helped me to ignore distractions in a noisy office. I asked James if he had tried any other products from the same source. --CP]

They sure have a lot, many of which sound like hokum, but "Concentration" is the one that works for me, and has been reliable over the decades. Long ago I tried their music CDs purporting to increase creativity and didn't find them helpful. Their cat-napper has been a reliable tool for me over the decades: sometimes I am low energy and just need a catnap to re-energize. Within half an hour it gets me to sleep and wakes me back up, alert and full of energy.

-- James Tierney

Concentration
$20
Available from New Mind

Manufactured by New Mind