Just wanted to share a project I just finished. The Dreammachine.

It consists of a piece of cardboard tube with specially calibrated holes in it placed on a record player with a lightbulb hanging inside. The machine spins and doles out light at an interval that syncs one's brain hemispheres (much like binaural beats but visually rather than through audio) One views the sphere with closed eyes.

From the sellers of the pre-made rolls...

"The Dreamachine was conceived by artist painter and writer Brion Gysin, along with his friend Ian Sommerville, in the early sixties. It is the first object in history designed to be viewed with closed eyes.
The Dreamachine simply consists in a cylinder with holes cut into his sides and placed on a turntable. A lightbulb is suspended on the center of the spinning cylinder, and the rotation lets the light to pass through the holes at a constant frequency, situated between 8 and 13 pulses per second. This frequency range corresponds to the 'alpha waves', electrical oscillations naturally present in human brain when the eyes are closed and no stimuli are processed, e.g., when there's a relaxed and effortless alertness, and while meditating."(importantrecords.com)

Patterns of color begin to quickly appear and change. The longer one looks at the machine the more intense it gets. A session is ended by opening one's eyes.

So far I've spent a maximum of 20 minutes with the machine and the patterns occurring became quite complex and definitely put me into a low-level meditative state. Enjoyable creative meditative replacement for TV when used in conjunction with music. A great way to relax and get in a creative headspace.

Here are links to plans to build your own. Or buy a printed roll and cut out the holes yourself.

Plans to make your own

Premade Dreammachine Roll

or for the rich among us Buy a premade aluminum model

Aluminum Handmade Dream Machine

very very cool. thanks for this post this, No Knowing. I'm gonna definitely try making one asap!

That's cool. Can you maybe post a video link of the thing in action?

I used to make and sell these machines, 20 odd years ago. They work very well.
Although limited with the visual patterning, they are a wonderful relaxation/trance aid.

A few tips on manufacture:
Use an old 70's 33/45/78 turntable and strip all the unnecessary parts off it...only the table, motor and switching needs to stay (couple of $ at a flea market).
Plastic plumbing pipes and bends can be used to construct the bulb hanger. The wiring can be integrated into the power source.
A base can be constructed out of cheap 2x1" wood to house the turntable and light source assembly.
A wooden (or similar) stabilizing ring can help with slotted strobing card cylinder.
Varying the size of the strobe cutouts can vary the visual patterning.


Switching between 33-45-78 rpm can cause very effective visual transitions. A real 'wooah' effect.
If possible, use a variable voltage switch instead of the manual/linkage switch for rpm transitions.


I used to really enjoy the field of red spikey tomatoes... (users will know)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe57yuW4hFo

^^Video of Dream Machine at art Exhibition by the Creator, Byron Gysin

Hehe already found this video on youtube. Looks cool. Never seen these before

Brion Gysin's Dream Machine is a brilliant device. I made one of these a few years back as part of a school project. For those who are unfamiliar with the subject I highly recommend this documentary on Gysin and the Dream Machine called "FlicKeR".

i discovered this effect while riding a bus at sunset. It went through a long corridor of trees and the sun was right behind them at eye level. The speed of the bus, intensity of light and spacing of the trees gave a damn good approx of the flicker effect and I instantly began to see fractal, and by the time the bus was out of the corridor, had begun full on visionary-ness. I began researching this effect and found the machine. aNot sure if it still exists, but if ya go to the wikipaedia entry for dream machine, a link to an online flash generator is (was) there. Its not really bright enuf on my moniter to work, but still cool. The most important thing is light intensity.
Something else, epileptics stay away! This kind of thing can induce seizure ala pokemon.

These devices are wicked. My friend made one with an old turn table and we enjoyed it in his bathroom. It's fun to put different things over your eyes and seeing what comes. I recall putting a dollar bill infront of my eyes and seeing a floppy disk, a bird, and other such fun anomalies. Thank you for reminding me of this experience!

This is a youtube video that claims to simulate the effects of a dream machine. I must say I didn't get much out of it. It bears no comparison to a DMT trip, at least not for me.

For those that have used a dream machine how does it compare?

Dream Machine Simulator