The
Mind Mirror grew out of a tradition within neurofeedback that investigated
meditation and altered states with the objective of monitoring and enhancing
those states. It was originally developed in England in 1976 by a physicist
and Zen Master, Maxwell Cade, with the assistance of electronics engineer Geoffrey Blundell.
At the time, it was unique, a frequency analyzer that could monitor both
hemispheres of the brain across different brainwave frequencies. It
resembled a modern-day computer tablet but it used analogue electronics and
displayed 14 frequency bands using 16 LEDs. It was enclosed in a wood
cabinet with a handle for carrying about. Its portability allowed those
using it to take it directly to people that the developers were most interested
in studying– meditators, mystics, psychics and
healers. It provided moment-to-moment pictures of mind states and graphic
profiles of these states. It was also a feedback device that could guide
the user to achieve these advanced states. Anna Wise was a follower of
Cade and through books (The
High Performance Mind: Mastering Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and
Creativity, and The
Awakened Mind: A Guide to Harnessing the Power of Your Brainwaves)
and workshops popularized this approach as an aid to meditation and the
development of an awakened mind.
As
computer technology evolved, the original Mind Mirror morphed into a digital sampling unit that interfaces with a
computer and software to do sophisticated analysis of brainwaves and associated
states of consciousness. Versions of the Mind Mirror can be found in all
major neurofeedback softwares, but the original concept is most fully developed
in the Vilistus System that has a clear lineage back to Cade and Wise.
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