Sound & programs · 12 MIN READ · 8 SOURCE QUOTES
Human Plus and function commands
Human Plus, written H-Plus or H-PLUS, is a series of Hemi-Sync recordings from the Monroe Institute that teaches a practical skill through a short learned cue. Each title is built around one function, such as Attention, Relax, Sweet Dreams, Off-Loading, Speak Up or Light Foot, and each function has a function command: a few words beginning with the word Plus, such as Plus-Focus or Plus-Relax, Relax. The publisher states the aim simply: Human Plus recordings teach you to bring on the benefit of a selection whenever you wish, rather than only while the recording is playing.
The method has two stages. In a short preparation exercise and then the function exercise itself, Hemi-Sync frequencies and a quiet guiding voice, Monroe's own on the Attention album, bring you into a receptive state in which, the publisher says, an Access Channel opens. There you rehearse the function and tie it to the command. Afterward you say the command silently when you want the function: before a speech, during a study session, at bedtime. The Institute's function cards, copyright 1988, say most functions take at least two minutes to move into place, that most results are subtle, and that installing a function may take three or more sessions.
The catalog runs from attention, relaxation and sleep to speaking, memory, the senses and body-focused functions. Workshop leaders, teachers and therapists wrote about it in the Hemi-Sync Journal, usually alongside Gateway or Metamusic. Their reports are practitioner accounts and participant surveys rather than controlled trials, and body-related cards such as Brain: Repair and Maintenance carry a note that H-PLUS is not intended to replace conventional medical diagnosis and treatment.
Human Plus teaches a short spoken cue, the function command, that you learn once with Hemi-Sync and then use on your own, without the recording.
Key points
Two steps: learn the function, then trigger it with a cue
First you listen to the learning recording, which uses Hemi-Sync frequencies and a quiet voice to bring you into a receptive state and rehearses the function with you. Then you use the function command in everyday life, silently and without the recording. The publisher's FAQ draws the contrast with its other lines: Human Plus teaches you to bring on a selection's benefit whenever you want, while Mind Food and Heart-Sync titles mostly deliver theirs while you listen.
The command is a few trigger words that begin with Plus
The cards print each command in capitals. Plus-Relax, Relax belongs to Relax, Plus-Fade, Fade to Off-Loading, Plus-Theme, Dream, Sleep to Sweet Dreams, Plus-Calculate to Buy the Numbers, Plus-Lighter, Lighter to Light Foot, and Plus-One, Awake, Alert, One, One to Stay Awake. Attention uses Plus-Focus, and the brain exercise uses Plus-Flow Better. Commands are short enough to recite silently in the middle of a day, which is how one Journal participant used one when she felt anxious.
A set routine: dim room, very soft sound, voice centered
The 1988 cards give the same setup for every function: a dimly lit place where you will not be disturbed, lying down or sitting with your head supported; an empty bladder, loose clothing and a blanket; a stereo player with headphones and left-right balance; and sound so soft that you can just barely hear and understand the voice, balanced until it seems exactly in the middle of your head. Do the preparation exercise first, unless you already know other Human Plus functions, and play the function exercise at least a day later.
Expect a short delay and subtle results
The Effectiveness Pattern on the cards sets modest expectations. At the very minimum, most functions move into place no earlier than two minutes after the command is given, and most results are subtle rather than dramatic. The cards advise against waiting and watching for results, which they say only delays the application. If nothing at all is noticed, repeat the process; it may take three or more sessions to install the function. Several cards add that an installed function is permanent and the command simply enhances its effect.
Functions are meant to be combined
The cards say the greatest results come from using functions together, limited only by your creativity, and each card lists suggestions. Nervous before a speech: use Relax with Speak Up and Reset. Doing a sleep function exercise: do Plus-Relax, Relax first. Working on numbers: reinforce Buy the Numbers with Relax, Attention, Imprint, Recall and Think Fast.
The catalog covers attention, sleep, speech, senses and the body
The booklet's cards range from Attention, Relax, Reset and Speak Up to Stay Awake, Wake/Know, Sweet Dreams and Restorative Sleep; Buy the Numbers, Imprint and Recall; five Sensory functions for hearing, seeing, smell, taste and touch; Light Foot, Eat/No Eat, and De-Hab for releasing unwanted patterns; and body-oriented exercises such as Circulation, Brain: Repair and Maintenance, De-Tox and the Emergency functions. Wake/Know, quoted below, is for working on a problem during sleep.
Where practitioners have used it
Hemi-Sync Journal authors describe Human Plus in an overnight dream workshop that opened with Sweet Dreams; in a trading-psychology workshop, where participants used commands to neutralize limiting beliefs; in a communications professor's superlearning workshops, alongside Metamusic; and in case reports, such as a student working in a radio studio who used Attention, Off-Loading, Speak Up and Reset.
The same logic as the learned cues in Gateway
Gateway already trains cues. The count to ten brings the body toward Focus 10, and Monroe told a Gateway group that once the fear is gone you can go to a level simply by thinking of it. Human Plus makes that kind of learning the subject itself and aims it at everyday tasks, with the same ingredients: a prepared state, Hemi-Sync frequencies and a short signal you can use without the tape. It is a separate series with its own preparation exercise, not a Gateway wave.
In their own words
Quotes are checked word for word against the recordings and documents they come from. Bracketed words correct transcription errors; “…” marks an omission.
“Most results are subtle rather than dramatic. Waiting and watching only delay the application. If no results whatsoever are noticed, repeat the above process (1-6). It may take three or more sessions to install the Function. Greatest results are achieved when H-PLUS Functions are applied in combination with each other. These are limited only by your own creativity.”
“Keep exercise sound at a very soft volume, so that you can just barely hear and understand the voice, but no louder. Tune the left-right volume so the voice sounds exactly in the middle of your head. Use the Preparation Exercise first, unless you have prior learning in other H-PLUS Functions. Use the actual Function Exercise at least one day after learning the Preparation Exercise.”
“I began to feel very anxious and instinctively recited the Function Command for the Off-Loading tape in my mind: “Plus-Fade-Fade.” Minutes later I found myself saying very emphatically, through my tears, that I wanted to get back the eagerness for life I had had as a little child. … For instance, when I used Attention it was as if someone opened the top of my head and breathed fresh air into it. All of my senses snapped open!”
“I chose Human Plus Sweet Dreams for the first tape, stopping it where the instructions say, “and now go into deep sleep.” This allowed them to get their bodies comfortable, become accustomed to the headphones, and have the experience of a voice guiding them into sleep. Learning the H-PLUS Function Command—Plus-Theme, Dream, Sleep—gave them a cue to use at home. We also used the Command before each dream set to reaffirm the intention to remember dreams.”
“Other than the effects produced by the low-frequency binaural beat stimulation, it is the high level of participation required—mental focus, personal choice, and willingness to use the Function Command—that makes the H-PLUS system so effective in helping people create desired change.”
“The “here and now effect of Hemi-Sync is good,” she said, but it was hard to remember to use the reinforcing [H-PLUS] Function Commands such as Plus Focus, Plus Flow Better, and Plus Imprint in everyday life. “Applying the Plus Imprint code while learning Greek vocabulary did not seem to be really fruitful,” she reported.”
“Reading about the Hemi-Sync technology of the Monroe Institute in spring 1988, I was intrigued from the outset. My students ordered a variety of the Mind Food and H-PLUS learning tapes. The rapid results were amazing. Attendance at a Gateway Voyage that summer led to a quantum leap in my personal growth and teaching style.”
“Function Command: PLUS-SLEEP, HELP. Purpose: This H-PLUS Function exercise is for use during sleep to learn to wake up and know the answer. Application: Provides a means to permit the total self to resolve problems and decisions during the sleep period. After Function command, state or visualize the condition requiring consideration, then relax and sleep. The solution will be forthcoming soon after awakening. Use as needed.”
Important things to consider
Learn the function before you try to use it
A command is only the end of the method. The cards assume you have done the preparation exercise and then the function exercise, and the publisher says each Human Plus title opens an Access Channel in which the function is learned. Reading Plus-Focus on a page installs nothing. Do the learning recordings as instructed, then start using the command in the situations they name.
Follow the instructions for your edition
The 1988 cards describe cassettes, with separate preparation and function exercises a day apart. Current albums such as Attention come as two tracks: listen to the preparation track once or twice, then the function track once or twice, begin using the command during appropriate activities, and keep playing the second track for reinforcement until you feel confident. The publisher's listening tips say to follow the instructions included with your purchase.
The hard part is remembering to use it
A 2010 Journal case study quotes a participant who found the Hemi-Sync experience itself good but struggled to remember the function commands in daily life, and who did not find one use, Plus Imprint for vocabulary, fruitful. Treat that as ordinary. Choose one function and one recurring situation, such as the start of a reading session, and say the command there every time before adding more.
Body-related functions are practices, not treatment
Some cards, such as Circulation, De-Tox: Body and Emergency: Injury, are framed around the body. The Brain: Repair and Maintenance card carries a note that H-PLUS is not intended to replace conventional medical diagnosis and treatment, and suggests telling your physician so that any progress can be evaluated. Treat these as relaxation and attention practices alongside medical care, never instead of it.
Listen where it is safe
The learning recordings are meant for sitting or lying quietly, not for driving or operating equipment. The publisher's listening tips say to consult a physician first if you have a seizure tendency or an auditory or mental condition, to avoid combining Hemi-Sync with other devices that affect brainwaves, and to stop if you feel unusual physical or mental discomfort.
Reports are self-ratings, not trials
The trading-workshop leader surveyed participants a month later and found a very strong correlation between how strongly they held their convictions when using the commands and how effective they rated the command. Those are participants' own ratings: they show that commitment and reported results go together. No controlled trial of function commands appears in the sources, and calmer focus or better sleep could come from relaxation, practice and expectation as much as from the cue.
Add functions slowly and track what you notice
The cards encourage combining functions, but each one is learned separately. Learn a second function when the first feels reliable. The Relax card suggests learning your personal stress patterns, such as tension in the facial muscles, shoulders or back, or nervous laughter, so you can tell when they ease. A short note after each use shows over a few weeks whether the cue is doing anything for you.
Common questions
What is Human Plus (H-Plus)?
Human Plus is a Monroe Institute series of Hemi-Sync recordings that teach you a short spoken cue, the function command, for a particular purpose such as focus, relaxation, sleep, speaking or remembering dreams. You learn the function once, in a prepared state with Hemi-Sync frequencies and a quiet voice, then use the command on your own whenever you want the function, without the recording. The Institute's booklet collects the exercises on printed cards copyrighted 1988, each with a command, a purpose, an application and instructions. The current Attention album is voiced by Monroe and runs about an hour.
What is a function command, and how do I learn one?
A function command is a few words, beginning with Plus, that you tie to a function during a learning exercise. Plus-Relax, Relax goes with Relax, Plus-Fade, Fade with Off-Loading, and Plus-Theme, Dream, Sleep with Sweet Dreams. To learn one, you do the preparation exercise and then, at least a day later in the 1988 routine, the function exercise itself: a dim, quiet room, a very soft voice centered in your head, Hemi-Sync frequencies and a guided rehearsal that the publisher describes as opening an Access Channel. Then you start using the command in daily life. A dream-workshop leader taught Plus-Theme, Dream, Sleep as a cue for home and for each dream set.
How long does a function command take to work, and what if I notice nothing?
The cards' Effectiveness Pattern is explicit. Most functions move into place no earlier than two minutes after the command is given, most results are subtle rather than dramatic, and waiting and watching only delays the application. If you notice nothing at all, repeat the whole process, because installing a function may take three or more sessions. For the current Attention album the publisher adds that the effect may or may not be immediate and grows stronger with use. A 2010 case study found the commands hard to remember in daily life.
Which Human Plus title should I start with?
The sources do not rank the titles, but they give clues. The publisher's FAQ uses Attention as its example of a function you can bring on when you are not playing the recording, and the current Attention album opens with a preparation track. The Relax card describes itself as a way to cope with stress, think clearly and prep for other functions, and recommends Plus-Relax, Relax before any sleep function exercise. A dream-workshop leader began with Sweet Dreams. Whichever you choose, do the preparation exercise first, learn one function properly, and give it a few weeks before adding another.
Is a function command the same as an affirmation?
No. An affirmation is a statement you repeat or hear. A function command is a short cue that you attach to a function while you are in a prepared state, then use later by itself. That is why the cards and the publisher insist on the learning exercises: saying Plus-Focus without having learned the Attention function is only saying words. Gateway's Affirmation, spoken at the start of every exercise, is a different thing, a statement of purpose that frames the session rather than a cue for one function.
Does Human Plus work, and is it safe?
People describe using it for attention, relaxation, sleep and dream recall; one early user called the results amazing, and a 2010 case study found one use unfruitful. The evidence is practitioner reports and participants' own ratings, such as a trading workshop's survey of how effective people rated the commands. No controlled trial of function commands appears in the sources. The cards say results are usually subtle, and body-related cards state that H-PLUS is not intended to replace conventional medical diagnosis and treatment. The publisher advises consulting a physician first with a seizure tendency or an auditory or mental condition, not listening while driving or operating equipment, and stopping if you feel unusual discomfort.
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