Profound Meditation Program 3.0 by iAwake Review
Welcome to this thorough review of the Profound Meditation Program 3.0 by iAwake. I was quickly intrigued by the depth of detail and professionalism on the PMP website, but perhaps most importantly the tone of it. Their mission appears to genuinely be about spiritual growth and improving ones sense of inner peace, clarity and purpose.
Of course, I was equally interested in the fact that this appeared to be an entire program of audio tracks ranging from the gentlest to the deepest brainwave states, with supposedly new technology, for a fraction of the cost of similar programs. It is more like purchasing the entire package of Holosync (a few grand) or all of LifeFlow levels 1-10. “Fraction of the cost” is quite literally an accurate statement here.
Then, I noticed someone I personally know had a testimonial on the sales page. Not a guru. Not a marketing persona in the business. Just a cool guy I’ve met in the context of a retreat who is deep into inner work and knows his stuff.
So I knew I had to dig into this. Getting back to the tone of the site:
Many sites and products in this niche flash cars and money and “manifesting.” They stress the do-no-work nature of their magic quick fix product, that will turn you into a Buddhist monk (still with cars and $) with the playing of an audio track or reading of an ebook.
It emphasized the fact that meditation is a serious discipline. It referenced important concepts like the potential discomfort involved in meditation, i.e. the bringing up of unconscious material, the retraining of the nervous system and “overwhelm.” Audio tracks, tools and suggestions for dealing with this are included in the program. I immediately felt like I was being treated like an adult.
Finally, iAwake also provided a 20 minute free demo, which I now realize is the full first track of the program. Enjoying it greatly, and being experienced with meditation and such programs to compare it to, I knew I wanted to go through the whole Profound Meditation 3.0 experience.
Download a Free 20 Minute Track From the Program
Review Format
Although I could probably jump to the more advanced tracks, I feel the best way to review the course will be to go through the whole thing start to finish. The review will follow this format and be written as I do each.
Go through the instruction booklet and review how the program is introduced and structured.
Spend at least a week with each of the 3 “levels” of the course, adhering to a practice regimen suggested by the introduction (assuming there is one, which I expect)
By the way, if you want to grab the free demo first before reading this whole thing, you can download the 20 minute demo here.
So let’s dive in.
PMP Instruction Manual
Well, this is certainly beyond what I was expecting. This is not a little intro to the tracks or how to plug headphones into your iPod.
What you have here is a full blown ebook on meditating in general, in the context of using the brainwave tracks which are obviously the crux of the program. Some of what the manual includes:
- An explanation of the various tracks in the course
- Establishing your own regimen with the tracks based on your level, as they can be mixed and matched. Suggested trajectories based on your experience and how much time you have
- How to observe when you are feeling “overwhelm” and what to do about it (included are releasing tracks, for rest and recuperation before continuing).
- Discussion of different styles of meditation. Postures, hand positions and more.
- Different techniques you can use to enhance your meditation, actually exploring some well established traditions.
- Using meditation to explore internal “stuff” for clearing, healing, and growth. Consciously exploring it, which is a different internal posture and emphasis than more “just being” or observing type of meditations. Both are valuable if not critical to true growth.
- A lot more
There is more depth on these topics than you would expect. You are going to get specific techniques, practices and concepts that prove valuable completely independent from the actual tracks themselves.
Continuing and expanding on the tone of their website, this manual is no joke in terms of treating meditation as a disciplined practice. I love that they recommend an hour of meditation as a daily goal, where I have often heard things like “15 minutes a day.” It’s true that this can be highly beneficial, and of course anything is better than nothing. For real depth and growth on the level this course is gearing towards however, that is not going to cut it. I’ve always felt was more rooted in not intimidating people or trying to make things sound like a quick and easy fix.
Now, let us take a look at the tracks included with the course and how the manual suggests they be used.
The Meditation Tracks and Their Structure
There are 3 “levels” of a general intensity, with 3 tracks each that also increase in depth. They are 20 minutes each and make for a progressive hour at each level.
This of course means that a new user can start with just the first track of level 1, getting 20 minutes of the most gentle version possible and acclimate to it.
This provides an excellent way to build up tolerance. The 20 minute chunks are also a great way to customize your routine. Perhaps you want to do 40 minutes by putting 1-1 on repeat before going to 1-2, and so on.
The releasing tracks are there if at any point one feels “overwhelm.” This is a broad term that can be experienced differently for many people, but is one of those things that when it happens, you know. A lot of unconscious material is brought into consciousness in order to be processed when doing any serious inner work, but the use of brainwave tracks often really kicks this into gear. Many people have never had a true taste of this, because they do not go deeply enough to get to the states that these tracks facilitate.
To my knowledge, this is a unique feature and clearly a smart one. It is one thing to just take a break from brainwave meditation, but quite another to have specific tracks and exercises meant to facilitate this overwhelm state.
Between the various levels of depth, the inclusion of releasing tracks, and the extremely detailed manual of how to use all of it, you have a very comprehensive and safe program here for anyone regardless of their degree of experience.
Now, let’s dive into using the tracks themselves and my experience with them.
Profound Meditation Program Level 1
The soundtrack
The first thing I noticed was that all three tracks have the same sound, which is a very consistent raining outside/running water effect. There are no bells, tones, screaming monkeys or anything that jumps out from the steady timbre of the water. While some would say variety is a plus, I feel that when it comes to meditating, cool and interesting sounds that grab my attention are not exactly what I am looking for.
Because the sound is consistent, it simply absorbs as being part of the environment. It does not engage the mind in a way that grabs its interest, which I feel is important. Also, it helps to nullify any outside noises that can have a similar distracting effect.
The quality is also high, no weird compression or unnatural character to the sound.
One thing that grabbed my attention a bit away from the meditation is that the first track seems to have a very long, slow fade out after a sudden drop. Obviously I have not counted it while meditating, but it feels more like minutes rather than seconds. My brain is pretty accustomed to the beginning of a fade meaning a track is over, so this pulled at me. After a few listens, I decided to simply use this as another part of the meditation and notice how my system reacted to it and just allowed that all to take place. It is only the first track of level 1 that seems to do this. Perhaps there is a specific reason for it, but this would be the only thing approaching a “con” I could find with the soundtrack itself.
The Experience
Honestly, I was not expecting to feel much from level 1 of this course, given that I have been doing this type of work for a while and had built up to meditating with deep level brainwave tracks.
To my pleasant surprise, this was not the case, but this in no way implies that the tracks are super intense and should be approached with caution.
As someone with a lot of experience with meditation, as well as experience with products to “enhance” it, I would say I am well attuned to whether or not something is actually creating a tangible effect vs. a placebo effect.
Good brainwave products I have used put me in a particular zone. To varying degrees of depth depending on the level of the track, I get in a particular space where though fully conscious and awake, I am fully immersed in the inner experience to a point that is almost sleep like. Simple tasks like opening the eyes, speaking, or even normal speed thinking feel overly effortful from within this state.
It is a bit difficult to put into words, and a similar effect obviously can and does happen without brainwave tracks, but there is a particular quality about it with them. As long as the track is playing once I am in this zone, it very much helps keep me in there for the duration. If I start resisting and look to come out to engage my mind in some story or worry about the day, I feel the tension against the track which often pulls me right back into the meditation. This is a very good thing. Not only is it working whatever magic the track is supposedly working behind the scenes, it is keeping me on track.
So does iAwake level 1 have this affect on me?
Absolutely, and with an interesting quality to it that I would rank better than other experiences so far.
Sometimes words like “push” and “pull” are used in describing brainwave meditation experiences, referring to the way the tracks can feel like they moving you into a certain mental/physical state. This naturally is a bit difficult to put into words, but it is a tangible, experiential effect of the track leading you in a certain direction. How intense this is, and most importantly, how much one resists it greatly influences both the experience and the after effects.
None of the tracks in level 1 have any of the forceful “push” effect for me, but a great sense of “pull” – the best way I can describe this is like something coaxing or enticing you inward, to a deeper meditative state, than something trying to force you there.
There is a feeling place I am familiar with as I move deeper into the state of pure experience, “no mind,” or whichever term you like, and I feel these tracks flowing in that direction. I can also feel them influencing me in the direction I described above, where it is a deeper brainwave state where the body is relaxed in an almost half-asleep stage where the urge for movements, fidgeting, opening of the eyes and so on not only cease, but to even consider them feels effortful. This is a beautifully restful place from a physical standpoint, and depending on which direction you are going in, and can also be extremely fertile ground to move more deeply into emotional processing.
My friend’s descriptive words that the iAwake site published sum it up well and succinctly, so I will quote him here:
Less push, awesome pull. I’ve never stuck with any of the other programs because they didn’t feel natural, i.e., my brain was being pushed into a state that didn’t necessary correspond to the one that was needed at the time, and my mind doesn’t like being pushed. PMP 2.0 was already better than anything out there (not only) in that regard, but 3.0 is in a different league. I can only describe this in terms of feeling: With 3.0, I feel invited to go where I need to go. Close to perfect.”
I can also say that, particularly with a full hour of meditation, the effects last for a good while after the actual process is over. Obviously the whole point is for this work to have an effect on your day to day life, and the impact of such a meditation practice can be both huge and subtle at the same time. In this case though, I am talking about actually being in a certain “zone” for a while after the sessions. It is a heightened awareness and presence. There is also a better sense of focus, as well as a calmness and centeredness.
Any “Cons”?
Meditation like this can and will bring up unconscious material, memories, energy and so on that can be unpleasant. This IS a good thing in the sense that this is the only way for this content to truly process and heal. However, this is something to be aware of and be prepared for. Some of this can be uncomfortable, and show you things you have been repressing. It can make you feel a bit drained or disoriented from time to time, just like any exercising that leads to true growth and improvement.
I have a lot of experience with this by now, and have a lot of practice in embracing this process (“Just Allow It” being the best training course for this) that I can’t be the best gauge for.
This is why I am so impressed with the instruction manual, which discusses this and presents practical methodologies for handling this in a mature and healthy way.
There is also the whole structure of the shorter, gentler tracks and inclusion of the releasing tracks, which leads me to this:
Why I Can Recommend PMP to Just About Anyone
Because of the structure of this program, the attention to detail in the manual and the option for a very gentle approach: The 20 minute beginning track, which is not high intensity but still very much effective, the releasing tracks, the techniques given and the suggested regimen programs, I would feel OK with recommending this to most people.
Of course, if you are concerned with brainwave entrainment in any way, or have certain mental or physical health conditions, you should consult a professional in person. Generally speaking though, the way this is setup is such that I would feel comfortable with a total newbie, a friend or family member with no background in such things, to get started with this program if it was intriguing to them. I would not be fearful of them over doing it or jumping in to something too intense or being ill-prepared, I would simply tell them to be sure to check out the manual and follow the beginner trajectory.
It is a great way to get started with meditation, which I think everyone should do at least a small amount of in their life.
Well, we haven’t gotten to level 2 yet, but I would say this is more than enough for now!
