The Journey to Wild Divine Biofeedback Software & Hardware for PC & Mac: The Passage
|
Our Price: $298.00 Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days Buy 3rd Party: from $229.00 (click here) Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Product Reviews of The Journey to Wild Divine Biofeedback Software & Hardware for PC & Mac: The Passage
Product Review: Finally -- Turn Your Computer Into a Wellness Tool
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very unique product that uses biofeedback on your computer to teach relaxation and breathing skills. The graphics are spectacular, and provide the basis for visualization training while you learn how to calm yourself, meditate and manage your physiology in order to reduce stress, make your heart healthier and improve your quality of life.
The game moves at a measured, calming pace. Users that are used to the frenetic, hyper pace of videogames will at first be frustrated by the pace. The first time I sat down to try it, I could do very little; after some practice, I can now experience much of the product, and I feel better in the process.
The navigation can be challenging at times, but there are a lot of resources (and free tech support) to help you find your way. Just go to the Wild Divine's web site and look around.
This product is not for everybody, particularly anyone who buys it expecting it to help them "hurry up and relax." But then again--who's ever heard of "hurrying up and relaxing"? If you really want to learn how to manage your heart, mind and body to help you live better/longer (or if you're into yoga or meditation), The Journey is a tool unlike any other that's out there right now.
Product Review: Fine until the Light Stone quits or you lose the disk!!
Summary: 3 Stars
The game is fun but it doesn't always recognize the lightstone. A message comes up to the effect that it is connecting to the lightstone and remains on the screen, never loading the program.
The problem is not the lightstone which still works fine with "Particle Editor." The website provides a driver download which did not help me at all, nor did it appear to help many of the owners who wrote to the help forum about the same issue. Part of the problem is that the forum does not appear to be monitored any longer.
Whatever you do, don't lose your disks! The automated "customer support area" will direct you to a download page that either doesn't download or shows up with the infamous "page not found" error message. Several people have added comments telling them about the link but no response has come back.
Reaching Customer Service via email is also a big zero. I wrote to them a week ago giving them a valid registered serial number and asking what I had to pay to get a new disk. I have not heard back and do not anticipate a response. Their very beautiful website is all about selling and unfortunately NOT about resolving issues with their products.
Product Review: For beginners
Summary: 3 Stars
I like this product but think it's best for people starting out with meditation or calming techniques. I thought I was a begiinner to these things but I do have a little experience and the biofeedback exercises were too easy for me. I got through the whole game in about 4 hours. Other than the difficulty level it's beautifully illustrated, easy to install, everything works well and I really enjoyed the soundtrack. The setup of the exercises within the game is very imaginative and intuitive. Overall I think it's very well done, I just didn't learn anything relaxation-wise.Product Review: Fun way to learn to relax
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this game since March 2004, and I really enjoy it. The gameplay feels a lot like "Myst", with beautiful rendered scenery and a variety of styles of music chosen to match the events. However, instead of intellectual puzzles, the events are based on the biofeedback techniques being taught in the game. They come in three basic types: relaxation events, "energy raising" events (good for helping to get motivated on a drizzly morning), and "heart breath" events, which help train your heart to beat with increased variability based on your breathing. These last seem to be helping with my mild arrhythmia. There are also non-biofeedback events which teach visualization and "subtle body" techniques, which are interesting. If you're looking for a first person shooter like "Unreal Tournament," this game isn't for you. But if you liked Myst, or are interested in yoga or philosophy, or if you're really stressed and looking for something to help manage the overwhelming feeling everyday life can cause, this is a good pick. For about three times the cost of a typical computer game you can get something that actually helps improve your outlook and health even when you're not playing the game (at least, that has been my experience). And the planned sequels will be less expensive, because you won't have to buy the hardware again. There's also an extremely supportive online community at the company website at http://www.wilddivine.com.Product Review: Good for controlling your states of mind - not so much for meditation
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this product for my 12-year old son to entice him into meditation. I am sure the game will be doing a good job at that even though he hasn't started yet. There is gameplay, beautiful graphic and good biofeedback.
However, as a meditation teacher I would like to raise one thing: Biofeedback is good for getting into meditation but for 'real meditation' it is more a hindrance than a help.
Why is this so? All 'real' meditation aims at a state of oneness - ultimately at oneness with the divine. Biofeedback by its very nature prevents this state of oneness because it always keeps the part of our mind awake that judges ourselves and asks questions like, 'do I do this correctly?', 'can I do this better?' While these questions are valuable when starting out with meditation they need to be abandoned later on as the meditator and the object of meditation (mantra, visualisation, breath etc.) merge.
The journey to the wild divine is a valuable tool to learn to relax and invogorate your mind/body and learn certain breathing techniques in order to accomplish that. For that reason it can be compared to the warming-up exercises of an athlete or of the finger exercise of a pianist. I do not want to down-play how important mind-control is.
It can not teach you, however, the meat and flesh of meditation - the abandonement into something that is utterly uncontrollable, mysterious and the fulfillment of our deepest dreams. No biofeeedback device can give us information about how loving and wise we are. These states will only develop in us when love, devotion and surrender become the main focus of meditation - just like a pianist can never produce beautiful music from perfect finger technique alone. Biofeedback - by its nature - is essentially self-centred and thus - when used as the sole means of development - prevents the emergence of any true form of spirituality.
Why only three stars? Because the set came without a user manual. I think for this price tag the manufacturers should have included a beautiful little booklet to explain to the novices of meditation and biofeedback what this is all about. Also, not all the exercises are self-explanatory.
Update: Now my son, my husband (who is also an experienced meditator) and I have spent many hours playing. My son - to my joy - loves this game. Many of the exercises are relatively easy for him - or at least after a little guidance from us - BUT THIS GUIDANCE IS NOT PROVIDED BY THIS GAME. I find it hard to imagine how a complete novice should find this out just by trial and error.
The relaxation exercises, however, are extremely hard. I have decades of meditation experience and work as a relaxation teacher. I know I am not bad at relaxing because I can put myself consciously too sleep. I can also start dreaming while I am totally conscious. However, in order 'to open the doors' in this game I need to focus for 30 to 40 minutes, sitting absolutely motionless with breath suspended to be hardly detectable. One single deeper breath, one single joyful thought that 'I am nearly there' and immediately the door closes. My husband doesn't do any better.
My son cracked this problem by lying on the sofa, finger sensors on his hand and really tries going to sleep and not looking at the biofeedback. It still takes him 15min that way.
So, I am just writing this as a little warning about how difficult this game is. I think a couple of other revieweres who are very experienced in meditation as well attested to the same difficulties.