See moving color behind closed eyes
Auralis is a light and sound meditation app for iPhone. It flashes your phone's rear light at a steady rhythm against your closed eyelids while matched audio plays. Within a few minutes most people see shifting color and geometric pattern. Two sessions are free to use as often as you like. The other five are a single $19.99 purchase, with no subscription required and no trial to cancel.
How a session goes
- Make the room darkPut headphones on and lie down. The darker the room, the stronger the effect.
- Hold the light closeClose your eyes and rest the phone 5 to 10 cm from your face, rear flash toward you.
- Let it runColor and pattern build over the first minutes. Nothing appears on the screen: what you see is your own visual system responding to the rhythm.
Seven sessions, from four minutes to twenty-one
| Session | Length | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| WanderFree | 10 min | An open, drifting session under alpha-range light. The best place to start. |
| SleepFree | 21 min | Audio that winds down from beta toward delta for the end of the day. Use it in bed with the lights off. |
| Unwind | 4 min | Soft alpha-range light and atmospheric sound for a break between things. |
| Flow | 12 min | A slow, steady pulse at the edge of theta. Works on a speaker as well as headphones. |
| Deep Calm | 21 min | The long session, with slower theta-range audio, for when you want to go further down. |
| Meditate | 10 min | A theta binaural track to sit with. Headphones matter most here. |
| Focus | 10 min | Beta-range binaural audio for the start of a work block. |
Every session holds its light rhythm steady between 5.5 and 12.5 Hz, because steady rhythm is what produces the visuals. The slower and faster bands named above come from the audio. How it works.
What it costs
Free
Wander and Sleep, as often as you like. No account, no card, no countdown.
$19.99 once
All seven sessions and any added later. It never renews.
$2.99 a month
The same sessions, if you would rather not pay up front. Cancel any time in Settings.
US prices. Other storefronts charge their local amount: see pricing.
What Auralis is and what it is not
A way to relax
Ten or twenty minutes lying down with something absorbing to watch behind your eyelids. No sitting still, no trying to clear your head.
Not a drug experience
Research has found flicker can produce simple geometric imagery as vivid as some psychedelics on one narrow measure. It is not a psychedelic trip. Auralis does not pretend it is.
Not a medical device
It makes no claim to treat anything. If you have photosensitive epilepsy or a history of seizures, do not use it. Safety.
Coming from Lumenate?
Lumenate does more: a much larger library, guided voice sessions, an Android app and a light mask. Auralis does the core experience, light and sound behind closed eyes, for a fraction of the price, paid once. We wrote an honest comparison, including where Lumenate is the better choice: Auralis vs Lumenate. There is also a roundup of every flicker app we could find.
On the App Store
Questions
What will I actually see?
Most people see color first, often purple, blue or warm orange, then moving geometric shapes: grids, spirals, tunnels and lattices. It varies between people and between sessions. Some people see mostly color. It usually builds over the first few minutes.
Do I need headphones?
For most sessions, yes. Binaural audio needs each ear to hear its own tone, so it disappears on a speaker. Flow is the exception: its pulse is in the sound itself.
Is there a free trial?
No. That is deliberate. Wander and Sleep are free with no time limit, so you can see the colors before you pay anything. Nothing turns into a charge later.
Is it on Android?
Not yet. Auralis is iPhone only.
Who should not use it?
Anyone with photosensitive epilepsy, a personal or family history of seizures, or a known sensitivity to flashing light. Do not use it after alcohol or other substances, or while driving. Full safety notes.