I was devastated when Omni shut down. While the magazine made stale and stodgy science look like a lot of fun it also poked and prodded at the fringes of science, covering topics that few “serious” science and technology journals would touch: flying saucers, cryptozoology (i.e. Big Foot, The Loch Ness Monster, and so on), extrasensory perception (E.S.P) and more were common fare in Omni, and I devoured them like a fat kid might take on a triple-scooped cone of Rocky-Road.
 Omni Cover at for Jan. 1991 issue (Courtesy of Wikipedia) |
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Thatis not to say that I believe green skinned aliens are, as we speak, abducting clairvoyants and mutilating innocent cows while Sasquatch and Nessie watch with bemused interest. I do, however, believe that there are many unanswered questions snubbed by mainstream science for being too controversial.
I also believe that Manis next evolutionary step is not tied to technology, as some believe, but lays dormant within us, waiting for some environmental trigger or confluence to present itself. I know, it sounds like Iive watched one too many episodes of Heros, but Iive had these beliefs long before the shows was a glimmer in its creatoris eye.
So you might imagine my joy upon finding and reading an article on hypnosis in a recent issue of Discover; the March, 2007 issue, I believe. Itis the Graceis Gravity Maps issue. (The issue number/date does not appear anywhere on the magazine. Probably due to using a white font on a white background. It happens.)
The article, Blinded By Science, written by Bruno Maddox, recounts a recent experience he had with a hypnotist on a late night flight to Cincinnati. (Great article Bruno!) In the article Mr. Maddox mentions a device called a Pzizz which is supposed to help induce a hypnotic state from which you awake feeling refreshed and raring to go.
Of course, being the techno-bohemian that I am, I Googled Pzizz and was surprised to find that not only does Brainwave Enterprises still make and sell a Pzizz device, but also software that works on any iPod, Mac, or PC. So, now, along with becoming a physical training coach, a karaoke machine, and a party in a box, your iPod can help you reach nirvana, or at least catch a power-nap before the next big meeting.
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