operator kos wrote:
The spinning cage thing immediately reminded me of the Dreamachine of William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Ian Sommerville.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine
The device uses the flicker effect to create brainwave changes in the viewer. I met a guy once who had a helmet which produced similar effects couple with sound frequencies. Never got to see the thing in action, which is probably for the best. He *cough* may also have been a member of the OTO, Temple of Set, and military intelligence.
I built a dreamachine once from heavy paper. Fairly easy, there are patterns all over the internet, except obtaining a 75 RPM turntable can be tough these days. It actually makes a stunning art piece, I made another for ornamentation with colored tissue paper in the slits.
When I tried meditating with it I got some interesting color and pattern effects, but no deep trance. But then again I don't go into trance easily.