Transcendent Light Sessions
With the Roxiva RX1 light machineWhat is the Roxiva RX1 light machine?
The Roxiva RX1 light machine uses precisely controlled flickering light, in conjunction with carefully crafted stereo effects, to carry you gently and safely from your everyday waking state into amazing states of consciousness. These are immersive journeys into beautiful imagery and blissful moods.
This light machine exists at the edge of things, in that liminal space where art meets science. It offers a gateway to other worlds, for those curious enough to explore.
The author Arthur C Clarke once wrote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The RX1 is certainly an advanced technology, and the effects are indeed magical.
You are in control: just open your eyes to find yourself back in the room, calm and relaxed. Behind closed eyelids the light conjures beautiful visions, and stimulates feelings of wonder, clarity and peace. Not only is it fun, but it makes you feel good afterwards too!
Embark on a visionary journey with the Roxiva RX1 light machine, and find yourself delightfully transported.
What is the experience like?
Unique sequences of pulsing light play across your closed eyelids, paired with original soundscapes delivered through the audiophile quality headphones. When this special composition meets your senses a new experience arises, one that is unique to you at that time, because like all true art it only arises in that moment of perception.
The experience is hard to describe, but some have likened it to being inside a fractal kaleidoscope, or gliding through symmetrical crystal rainbows of sacred geometry. You might see colours you cannot name, and glimpse beauty that only silence can gesture towards. And all this is going on in your mind’s eye, at least in part your own effortless creation.
Your face is bathed in the glow of the light, and the gentle flicker leads your awareness through wondrous visions. The frequencies of the pulses entrain your brainwaves and allow the slower alpha and theta waves to dominate, usually found during deep meditation and the hypnagogic reverie between sleeping and waking.
How does it work?
Different states of consciousness are associated with different brainwave patterns. High frequency and variable Beta waves dominate when you are in everyday waking consciousness; when you are thinking or using language. The slower more regular Alpha waves dominate as thought fades into states of deep relaxation and meditation. Slower still, Theta waves are found in states of visionary reverie.
The RX1 depends on a natural aspect of the human brain called the frequency following effect, or brainwave entrainment. When your brain receives a stimulus at a certain frequency, it allows the brainwaves to change to match, and the change in brainwaves gives rise to a corresponding change in your mood and state of consciousness. The light stimulates specific brain wave patterns often associated with joy, intuition, creativity and meditation. At the same time, the flickering light upon your closed eyelids creates a rich visual experience and the audio carries you beyond the everyday world.
So by presenting your brain with specific frequencies of sound and light, the RX1 leads you on an immersive journey into beautiful imagery and blissful moods.
Join the (Roxiva) Illuminati!
Transcendent light sessions with the Roxiva RX1 are a visual and aural joy, which lead you into delightful moods and amazing states. So we invite you to come and discover it for yourself, and join the (Roxiva) illuminati! Side effects may include: incredulous wonder, infectious enthusiasm, astral travel, psychic discovery, union with the totality, and abundant fun. Close your eyes, relax, and enjoy.
What is the process?
You will complete the safety questionnaire in advance of coming. On arrival we’ll show you around the float centre and to a dedicated therapy room. We’ll talk you through the process, and you’ll have an opportunity to ask any questions. You will lie down on a comfy mat on the floor, snuggle under a blanket if you like, and get comfortable. Then put on the headphones, relax, and close your eyes… when you are ready your guide will start the session.
Allow the light and sound to transport you away from the world for a while, through beautiful imagery and blissful moods, and gently back again.
Return to find yourself relaxed and revitalised. After your light session you can chill out in the lounge and help yourself to a complementary cup of organic tea. Take your time to return to the world gently.
Enhanced and upgraded!
Great news: now up to three people can experience a light session at the same time, so you and two other friends can embark on a journey with the light together! We also have three float pods, so all three of you could do a light session followed by a float – ah, bliss. Plus we have increased the duration of the light sessions to 50 minutes, so you will drift even further into wonder and relaxation.
Is the light suitable for me?
The light is not suitable for everyone. Your medical history and current health situation might mean that you cannot use the light. It is necessary to lie down on a mat on the floor for the light session, so you must be able and willing to lie down on the floor and get back up again without assistance. There are a number of other reasons you might not be able to use the light, including if you have had a stroke, head injury, seizure, are pregnant, or are currently on prescription medication. You must read the terms and conditions carefully for full details of whether the light is suitable for you. It is very important that you do this before booking, because all light session bookings are final and cannot be rescheduled or refunded under any circumstances.
This sounds awesome – When can I do it?
We are pleased to be able to offer sessions with the Roxiva RX1 light machine for your transcendent delight. These journeys into deep relaxation and transcendent spaces only take place at specific times on specific dates. Tickets are limited to three people per session, so be sure to book in advance, and don’t miss your flight! You can find out when the next RX1 light event is taking place by choosing the session you are interested in below.
Transcendent journey
This is a great introduction to the light if you’ve never experienced it before, and with something new to discover every time, a perennial favourite to keep coming back for. Blending an emerging sense of deep relaxation with an unfolding progression into beautiful landscapes, you are carried on a magical sojourn, far from the everyday world.
Psychonaut’s adventure
Increase the intensity and travel deeper into other realms, with stunning visuals and powerful brainwave entrainment. You are a pioneer on the frontiers of consciousness. Great for the visionary explorer, willing to surrender the ego and discover what treasures lie beyond.
Meditating monk
Fusing the latest technology with an ancient practice, we open into the most peaceful of states. Elevated and entranced, come and join the eternal fellowship… and remember you have always been there all along.
Light plus float equals Amazing!
Follow up your light session with a float to discover the powerfully complementary effects. The deep relaxation you feel in the float pod allows thoughts to slow down, and the slower alpha and theta brain waves to dominate. Choose a light session followed by a float, and you will begin your float from the deeply relaxed state the light leaves you in. The float creates a space of profound peace without the distractions of the world, in which the effects of the light experience can further unfold and develop. Light plus float is more than the sum of its parts. Explore that unique synergy at Float in the Forest.
if you want to float as well, make sure you have checked your chosen float time is available before booking the light session, because all light session bookings are final and cannot be rescheduled or refunded under any circumstances.
Feel free to call 01594 715215 and we can help you book in!
The history of Hypnagogic light
The power of flickering light has been used by humankind for millennia to enter visionary reveries and transcendent states of consciousness.
Anyone who has gazed into the flickering flames of an open fire will be familiar with the ability of light to soothe our mood and guide us into meditative spaces. Over the centuries the surprising power of specific frequencies has been discovered and rediscovered.
Around 200AD Ptolemy found that he began to see patterns and colours and felt a dawning state of euphoria when flickering light produced by the spokes of a spinning wheel played across his face. In the 16th century Nostradamus would receive visions as he watched the sun through closed eyelids while waving his spread fingers to interrupt the light.
In the early 1800s the phenomena of flickering light became the subject of scientific experiments: Purkinje wrote of experiencing spirals, crosses and stars when waving his hand between his eyes and a gaslight, Brewster discovered similar results running alongside railings in low sunlight, and Helmholtz described what he termed ‘shadow patterns’. Perhaps the first application of the flicker effect in a clinical setting occurred in late 19th century France, when Pierre Janet shone light through the spokes of a spinning wheel to increase relaxation in his patients at the Salpetriere hospital.
Electronics and brainwaves
The power of flickering light really began to be understood with the invention of the EEG in the 1920s, which brought the ability to directly measure the effect of different stimuli upon brainwaves. In 1934 Adrian and Matthews used a car headlamp and rotating wheel with spokes to discover the natural ability of the brain to follow the rhythm of the flickering. They found that when a person sat in front of the light with closed eyes their alpha rhythm would become coordinated with the pulses of light. A flurry of experiments followed, exploring the physiology of what was called at the time “the flicker following response”.
The invention of the electric stroboscope in the late 1940s allowed greater precision in the timing of the light, and enabled a pioneer of brain science named William Grey Walter to conduct studies with thousands of test subjects. The 1950s was a period of advancement in the understanding of brain waves, with Grey Walter exploring the correlations between the physical effects of flicker stimulation upon the brain and the subjective experiences it produced, and publishing a popular account of his findings in his book ‘The Living Brain’. Around the same time Kroger and Schneider noticed that some radar operators were entering trance states while watching the rhythmic flashing of the dot on the screen. They built the first electronic clinical photic stimulator which they called the “Brain wave Synchroniser” in order to study the effect further.
The Dream Machine
William Burroughs was another contemporary of Gray Walter who was drawn to the hallucinatory effects of flickering light described in ‘The Living Brain’, though for different reasons. He and Brion Gysin saw the potential of it as a means of exploring the nature of consciousness, and perhaps even as a tool for enlightenment. Gysin persuaded his technically minded friend Ian Somervielle to come up with a simple solution to produce flickering light in the 8-12 Hz alpha range: a cardboard cylinder with precise slots cut in it, sat on a record turntable, with a bulb hanging inside. They called it the Dream Machine, and it became popular among artists, musicians, and explorers of consciousness on the fringes of the culture during the 1960s and beyond.
Brainwave Entrainment
Scientific research into the physiological and psychological effects of flickering light continued, meanwhile the work of Burroughs and Gysin influenced many who were drawn to explore the effects of flickering light in their own direct experience. Technology developed, and by the late 1980s it was possible to buy a variety of electronic ‘mind machines’ which used light, and in some cases sound as well to achieve ‘brainwave entrainment’ (the new term for the same natural ability of the brain to follow rhythms in external stimuli). In those pre-internet days, information on tools for self exploration was shared in physical newsletters sent to subscribers in the post, and one such was Michael Hutchinson’s MegaBrain report. This included articles on the latest research, such as studies of the brainwaves of Buddhist monks during deep meditation, and first hand reviews of the mind machines that enabled users to share similar states.
During the 1990s a subculture grew up around the mind machines, with enthusiasts of the technology providing opportunities for others to experience their effects at festivals and events. Those who had experienced the benefits for themselves often wanted to share those benefits with others, and to spread awareness of the devices. The advent of virtual reality added to a growing interest in the power of technology as a tool to explore and change the nature of our consciousness and our relationship with the world. With the burgeoning internet, ideas and technologies of virtual reality gradually penetrated popular culture, and other technologies such as biofeedback and brainwave entrainment were carried along with them, under the umbrella term of ‘cyberdelics’.
Lucia No 3 Light
Austrian doctors Dirk Proeckl and Engelbert Winkler blazed the trail of using 21st century technology to deliver brainwave entrainment with light. Engelbert had a near-death experience as a child which fostered a fascination with the healing and awakening that can accompany ‘seeing the light’, and a desire to be able to bring that power into his practice of psychotherapy. His friend Dirk, a neurologist, had made a lifetime study of altered states of consciousness. Together they built a stroboscopic light machine which they called the Lucia Light to use with their patients. With further development they made the third iteration of the device commercially available in 2012: the Lucia No 3 Light.
Will from Float in the Forest first experienced the Lucia No 3 Light at the 2017 London Cyberdelic conference thanks to Mat Harvey of Mount Analogue. It stood out from the various virtual and augmented reality devices because it empowered the user to explore their own unique inner spaces, rather than imposing a world from outside. Will realised that this was something special which could complement floatation very well.
The evolution of the hypnagogic light machine
The amazing experiences produced by the Lucia No 3 Light inspired the development of more hypnagogic light machines, making those kind of experiences more accessible to more people. 2014 saw Guy Harriman develop the Ajna Light in Thailand, and Jimi Simpson brought out the Pandora Star in the UK in 2015. Dirk and Englebert made a more portable version of the Lucia light available in 2018: the Lucia No 3 Light Home Portal. Then in 2021 Jimi Simpson and Lance Carter integrated stroboscopic light and precisely timed audio into their new device: the Roxiva RX1.
Roxiva RX1 Light sessions are available at Float in the Forest!
We are delighted to invite you to discover the transcendent delights of the Roxiva RX1, a state of the art light machine with integrated audio to enhance the experience. Light and sound are combined to produce powerful brainwave entrainment, and to gently carry you into experiences of wonder and beauty. Embark on a journey with the Roxiva RX1 light machine, and find yourself delightfully transported.
Floating times:
Wed - Sun 10am-8pm
By appointment
Mon - Tue closed
