Podcast Summary

The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance

Episode: The Machine That Flicks on Your Brain in 30 Seconds | Biohacker Tools : 1373
Host: Dave Asprey
Guest: Rafael Gianfrancesco
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave Asprey dives deep into the cutting-edge world of vibroacoustic and light-based brain entrainment technologies with expert healer and innovator Rafael Gianfrancesco. The conversation centers on how devices like Roxiva leverage sound, vibration, and flickering light to rapidly induce altered mental states, enhance resilience, accelerate trauma release, and even “flick on” the brain in as little as 30 seconds. The discussion covers both the mystical roots and modern scientific understanding of these tools, their use in elite performance settings, and their unique capacity for self-healing, spiritual connection, and neuroplasticity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Light, Vibration, and Healing—Past and Future

• Forgotten Healing Modalities: Historically, flickering light was used to treat various conditions, including epilepsy, until pharmaceuticals became mainstream ([00:03], [16:24]).

  “They actually used to use flickering light to treat a lot of conditions, including epilepsy. And then the drug companies created drugs and all of a sudden it became not profitable to do it any other way.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [00:03, 16:24]

• All is Vibration: The foundation of life and healing is vibration, explained through concepts from cymatics, sacred geometry, and ancient traditions.

  “In this universe, everything has a vibration. So we are a vibration. We are an all eternal soul vibrating down to a density that can be in this material world.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [05:56]

2. What Is Vibroacoustics?

• Definition: Vibroacoustics use sound-induced vibrations to create bodily coherence and alter brain states.

  “It uses sound to create movement...when they put water on a speaker and vibrated and the water makes all these gorgeous patterns and cymatics.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [04:30]

• Integration With Meditative Technologies: Combining vibration and flickering light produces faster access to deep meditative states by shutting down the default mode network (DMN).

  “...get them into such a coherent state, they will realize who they really are and wake up to their potential.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [03:59]

3. Accessing Altered States Rapidly

• Manual vs. Technological Pathways: Achieving “oneness” through breathwork and mantra meditation can take 20 minutes, but with tech like Roxiva, the state is ‘instant’ ([09:54], [10:33]).

  “About 20 minutes on my own, depending on what’s going on...But [with the technology] instant. You just see people when they lie down on the bed, they just…I like to just go. And…it’s shutting off the default mode network.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [09:54, 10:33]

• State Change and Dependency: Tools can empower self-driven state shifts, or create dependency if overused without integration ([08:26], [24:44]).

4. The Neuromechanics: Frequencies, Harmonics, and System Design

• Targeting Brainwave States: Roxiva uses coordinated light (100-200 Hz from LEDs) and vibroacoustic signals (5-100 Hz) to target a spectrum from delta to gamma, including rare epsilon and lambda states ([13:39], [13:52]).

  “What we’re doing is we’re introducing certain signaling to the brain...from epsilon to lambda...and it actually creates a loop where they loop into each other.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [12:44]

• Hemispheric Integration: With 16 independently controlled lights, the device can induce rapid hemispheric communication, akin to EMDR “on steroids,” leading to remarkable resilience improvements in elite populations (U.S. Air Force pilots) ([14:52], [15:45]).

  “People do say it feels like EMDR on steroids, because when they get on the device, the hemispheric communication is so fast.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [14:52]

5. Human Resilience and Performance

• Elite Use Cases: The U.S. Air Force is studying how flickering light and vibroacoustics can “up-train resilience” in fighter pilots ([15:45], [16:24]).

• Altered State as Performance State: Resilience, high performance, and flow states are all forms of altered consciousness ([16:02]).

  “Resilience is an altered state. High performance is an altered state. Fast response time, flow state. All of the use and desirable states are altered states because the average normal boring state is none of those.”
  —Dave Asprey [16:02]

6. Psychedelics, Trauma, and Consciousness Technology

• Comparisons and Cautions: Devices offer a rapid, repeatable means to reach states that used to require years of spiritual work or psychedelics—but users must avoid the “bliss junkie” trap and focus on integration ([23:10], [24:44]).

  “State change is just something that we do. ...having a way to turn on the endogenous chemical factory in our body without needing a drug to do it, we’ve been doing that forever.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [24:44]

• Psychedelics and Technology: Integration with substances like ketamine shows promise in clinics; the device lowers drug dosage needed and creates a safer, more targeted neuroplastic window ([35:44], [36:13], [36:52]).

  “Lower the amount of ketamine that we need to give someone and create a mental environment using the light stimulation...When they’re on the ketamine, they lose that body sensation, the pain. But because of the vibroacoustic lounge...things just start floating out.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [36:13]

7. Dealing with Trauma: The Body-Mind Connection

• The Issues in Our Tissues: Trauma isn’t just mental; it’s stored in the body’s fascia and tissues. Vibroacoustic stimulation, coupled with safety (through the vagus nerve), enables safe trauma release ([38:05], [38:43], [49:02]).

  “When you do that, cymatics on the cellular structures, things just start floating out. It just releases. My favorite term is the issues in our tissues.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [38:05]

• Importance of Safety and Anchoring: Coherent vibration paired with light maintains safety, especially for those with high trauma or anxiety ([48:03], [49:02]).

  “We’ve been able to formulate a series of sessions...[that] increase the tolerance to it. And at the same time, we’re giving the signals to the body, stimulating the vagus nerve. Everything’s okay.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [48:05]

8. Scientific and Mystical Roots

• Lineage and Science: Rafael draws from both energy medicine (Barbara Brennan lineage, Egyptian color healing) and contemporary science, blending frameworks for consciousness with hardcore data ([06:38], [07:07]).
• Philosophy of Modern Healing: There’s a tension between materialist science and the awe/magic that drives meaningful transformation ([23:10], [25:35]).

  “We have killed him [God]...he meant our idea of awe and wonder at the universe...we’re just losing the magic. And that’s what this brings back.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [23:10]

9. Technology Details and Accessibility

• Device Specs & Cost: Roxiva’s light-only module is $5,500; the vibroacoustic bed is $3,900. Integrated protocols and group modes allow multiple people to benefit at once. No subscriptions—lifetime journeys included ([54:48], [56:34]).

  “You get 200 journeys resident on the lamp and you get free forever new journeys from us. We don’t have any subscription model.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [54:53]

• Stackability: The system pairs well with other biohacking modalities (red light blankets, compression, neurofeedback) for tailored, multi-layered interventions ([58:03], [58:19]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Healing and Technology:

  “Having a way to turn on the endogenous chemical factory in our body without needing a drug to do it, we've been doing that forever.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [24:44]

• On Modern Skepticism:

  “You can't disprove something by saying it's not possible, because that would make you dumb...What happens when you take a dogmatic angry skeptic and you put them on a Roxiva?”
  —Dave Asprey [25:35, 27:48]

  “A lot of them cry because they connect to something that they haven't been able to reach in such a long [time]. Tears are such a beautiful thing.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [27:48]

• On Trauma and Frequency:

  “The higher you vibrate, the harder it is for the bugs to stick to you. Okay, so disease is unhappiness, energetic vampires, all of these attachments…when you vibrate really high, things like cancer can't live in your body.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [28:57]

• On Science and Mysticism:

  “Real science has a lowercase S, which means we're curious about it and we're looking for things that don't match our current story so we can have a better story.”
  —Dave Asprey [25:35]

• On the Speed of Transformation:

  “Everybody that got on the device said, I just went where it takes me 30 minutes to go in 30 seconds.”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [50:45]

• On Device Accessibility:

  “No subscription model. We're not a company. Please. Who needs another damn subscription?”
  —Rafael Gianfrancesco [54:53]

Important Timestamps

• 00:03–00:38 – Lost healing modalities and the war against alternative treatments
• 03:52–06:14 – Inducing transformative states, energy medicine background
• 09:54–10:33 – How quickly technology can induce altered state versus manual meditation
• 13:39–15:45 – How Roxiva's vibroacoustic and light system targets specific brain frequencies and its applications in elite performance (Air Force pilots)
• 16:02–16:42 – High-performance states as altered states; resilience explained
• 35:44–38:05 – Pairing technology with ketamine in clinical settings for trauma and addiction
• 48:05–49:02 – Importance of safety, vagus nerve anchoring during light/vibration sessions
• 50:45–51:52 – Instant altered states and applications in remote viewing, consciousness competitions
• 54:48–56:34 – Tech accessibility, price, group applications, and party mode
• 58:03–58:49 – Stacking modalities for enhanced effects

Final Takeaways

• Roxiva and similar technologies enable rapid, profound changes in brain state, opening new possibilities for healing, performance, and spiritual exploration—without the lengthy training or risks of psychedelics.
• The fusion of ancient wisdom (energetics, sacred geometry), personal transformation practices, and advanced tech is redefining what's possible for self-healing and peak performance.
• Integration and intention are crucial. Tools can give access but must be paired with self-awareness and responsible use to avoid dependency or bypass the real work of growth.

To learn more or try Roxiva, visit Roxiva.com (use code DAVE for savings).