Aura: Meditation & Sleep, CBT

Hi everyone, first off let me say this. I very rarely give a 5 star review because I believe everything could improve in one way or another. But Aura falls into the 5 star category. I am new to meditation. When I say that I mean consistent meditation. In the past I made the mistake that many have and tried to blank my mind and after a few failed attempts I gave up. So now a few years later and a bunch of technological improvements I began reading into the types of Buddhism and Taoism and meditation in general. I’ll try one app and come to a stop with it then it asks me to fork over 300 a year. I love meditation I love learning but I am not a wealthy man. 300 pays all my bills. Well I stumbled onto Aura and I love it. There not just one or two meditations and video from the owner telling you all the wonderful things you’ll get from the app if you pay the 300. I did the 7 day trial on aura and loved it. There’s stuff here for anyone. Anyone from beginner to expert. And meditation isn’t the only things here. There’s stories,mood trackers you can actually click on your current mood and be given suggestions for what meditation I could use for that particular mood. But enough rambling. Ooh wait they also offer the monthly payment plan too. So no locking you in for a year. So Aura…. Keep up the great work.

I did not continue after the free trial, although it is very tempting. I may come back later and try it again. It has meditations,prayers, soundscapes, positive information they call therapy which lasts a few minutes, breath work, hypnosis, ability to adjust the nature sounds or music in background of meditations, and even choose which nature sound you prefer, white or pink noise adjustment. I hate all the nature sounds in meditations so really appreciate I can mute them. Sometimes the content creator will add a bird or something but it was pretty minimal. You can follow content creators you like. There are live events. You can create playlists, like morning music and evening music. I saved some morning music that I really enjoyed using in the morning. It is very extensive content and it seems they have included a lot of genres. I would change one thing. Generally the sleep stories and meditation did not work for me. However one night, I think I went to sleep because I was just exhausted with no memory of the meditation I used. Unfortunately the next night I was unable to find what I used before, as I wanted to try it again. I gave it 5 stars because they have done a great job with this type of app. I wish it worked for my sleep like it seems to work for most people.

I’ve tried many sleep apps the last few years, and there were some that helped to some extent - but none have helped as much as the hypnosis tracks on Aura! There are dozens - maybe hundreds - to choose from, and I can tell within a minute or two if one is “speaking to me.” In the trial period, I was already figuring out which individuals I wanted to follow and which ones I wished I could permanently delete. In the past, lying with my eyes closed “trying” to sleep would just wind me up and make me feel agitated. Listening to the hypnosis audio that I like takes me to a place of openness and relaxation I’ve never before experienced. I can’t explain it; I just know it works for me. Instead of chasing sleep for literal hours, I generally fall asleep before a 30 min hypnosis audio is complete. I do still wake in the night at times, but I listen to another (or the same) hypnosis recordings, and I fall back to sleep quickly. The only downside is the cost, but if you have chronic insomnia like I have, it’s a small price to pay for a good night’s sleep. (Annual membership paid in advance works out to about $4/month, which is a bargain for what you get. To make it even a sweeter deal, my partner gifted me with an annual premium membership! He is awesome - and so is Aura!!