What the heck is Zygon?

In one of many thrifting trips past, I came across a curious cassette tape. It was named Aboriginal Dreamtime: Fantastic Journeys, and my thoughts immediately went to screenplays, radio dramas and being read aloud to as a young student. Needless to say, I snatched it up. Today I finally have the time to explore the company responsible for these tapes! So, to begin, what the heck is Zygon?

After a stressful day at work, I put on my space age shades, plug in the "Dreamtime" tape, and program my SuperMind TM computer for a "heavy-duty" Theta session. As I punch the start button I'm reminded of NASA's virtual reality machines. Those billion dollar video games that transport your consciousness into an artificial computer world... [Source]

Zygon began business in 1986, and quickly became "the leading mind technology company" of the time. Zygon's mission? To create tools that let people access hidden powers of the mind, thus allowing you to achieve your "full potential". What, are they going to tell me I'm stuck in the Matrix next?

The breakthrough discovery made at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) was that accessing this vast data-bank of information was a trainable skill and by using specific rigid protocols information could be downloaded from what was termed the “Matrix” on demand (yes, we coined the term long before the movies). [Source]

...Moving on, Zygon acquired a very significant company as it grew: PSI TECH. PSI TECH was founded in 1989, and ushered forth the use of Technical Remote Viewing (TRV) technology. Its first client was the Defense Department of the Pentagon, which established PSI TECH's reputation in the private sector. Following its acquisition by Zygon, however, TRV tech began adaptation for civilian use. In this capture from 2003, some old PSI TECH products are shown as available for purchase. There's even a capture of TRV University, which looks like some lost Flash media. Maybe something to explore later?

When it came to Zygon's product offerings, things were no less whimsical in nature. On their Spanish Discogs account, it seems they mostly offered meditation cassettes, in addition to some miscellaneous music and ESP mastery tapes. We can also see the three Fantastic Journeys tapes here; Aboriginal Dreamtime, Cetacean Mind Link and Near Death Experience. Purely out of curiosity, I managed to snag a Cetacean Mind Link copy while doing my research.

Via ebay search, I also managed to find this Zygon Journal of Religion and Science from September 2001. I feel like whatever is in this journal would melt my brain in a bad way. Thankfully, Zygon also offers cassettes for learning basic French or Italian! Say what you want about the credibility of their "Matrix" mind tech, they have some decent range in their library.

Which leads me to the last interesting tidbit on Zygon: their FTC complaint! Scrolling through the advertisements included in this complaint, there are many promises of breakthroughs, increasing your mental power, and even some phooey-looking health supplements. Did I mention they claimed they could easily help you stop smoking? Yeah. That's part of the FTC complaint. They said listening to their tapes would have an effect on people's smoking behaviors, help them lose weight, improve their cognitive functioning... all the promises of a really good self-help scheme. I won't go through the entire complaint, but in essence, Zygon got caught red-handed lying about the efficacy and capabilities of their product.

And that's where I'm leaving this deep dive. Although I have two of their tapes, I recently discovered that my cassette player broke, so I need a replacement player before I can do that. Regardless, here are the synopses for the two tapes I have.

Aboriginal Dreamtime: Fantastic Journeys

The back of the tape reads:

"You're alone in the remote outback of Australia. It's night . . . off in the distance you hear something. The sounds are like voices, whispers of some ancient time set adrift on the wind. You feel an overwhelming sense of peace and beauty surrounding you. The sounds become stronger . . . they beckon you. You cannot resist. Your body becomes light and you feel yourself rise, then disappear into the sounds of the night." Welcome to the amazing universe of Zygon mind adventures called "Fantastic Journeys." Developed exclusively for use with the SuperMind, these unique MindWare soundtracks guide you on magical adventures deep into the far reaches of your imagination.

Cetacean Mind Link: Fantastic Journeys

The back of the tape reads:

"Imagine you're a Cetacean (whale or dolphin) swimming the oceans with a remarkable ease... you are floating... free... a part of the water and the waves... you hear the call of the whale and you are enveloped by an inner peace. You become one with the consciousness of the sea and your mind links with perhaps the most intelligent species on the planet."