Hi Ian, by "void" i mean the state wherein all thought seems to cease, complete stillness and silence. 

  Many of the books that i've read over the years which talked about meditation, seemed to stress this state as the end all to what meditation is about.   Many have said to avoid or let go of any and all images, thoughts, feelings, etc. that arise in meditation--particularly the ones really influenced by Eastern teachings or teachers seem to emphasize this.

  I would call this the more purely Yin aspect of meditation, and while i see it as a necessary part of the process, i also try to stress the more Yang aspect of meditation, which some call prayer, and also using what Bruce calls the Interpreter.   

  The "Perceiver/Observer" could said to correspond to what we call the right brain side to us, and when we polarize to that state, the "Void" is experienced.   It is purely Feminine, pure Receptive and feeling in nature--it's easy to lose conscious awareness in this state and to "fall asleep". 
For some, particularly those over polarized to the Yang (like many men), at first it's helpful to experience this state to help gain a better balance.   For those who are already too Yin to begin with (like many women), well while the "Void" is quite attractive to them, they need more active Interpreter/Yang/Left brain reorientation to gain a greater overall balance and Wholeness. 

  The "Interpreter" part of us, could be said to correspond to what we call the left brain aspect.  It is the active, doing, thinking, choosing, creating, and differentiating part of us.   

  They're always connected, but in most people there tends to be an imbalance.   As i've said oft here, many times the state wherein we are more predominantly and consistently polarized too, we tend to put on either a unconscious or conscious pedestal.   This can be seen in the long time schism and conflict between the West and East, or between women and men.   It seems that on a whole, the West has mostly emphasized the Interpreter aspect, the more active, and the East has mostly emphasized the Perceiver/Observer aspect, the more passive and receptive.    

  Other times, when we are actively trying to incorporate or integrate the side we tend to lack a balance of, we sometimes put that expression on a pedestal because we sense on some level that this will help to make us more Whole. 

  I see both all the time, and its a projection of our own inner imbalance but yet we're also seeking balance/merging.   

   This issue ties in a lot with meditation, and really with every aspect of human life. 

  In meditation, i rarely use any of my Hemi-Sync CD's anymore, but lot's of times when i meditate, i can feel that moment when i come into the Hemi-Sync state, it has a distinct feeling and shifting quality to it.   I both simultaneously "expand" and contract at the same time, if that makes any sense.   It's a state wherein i'm both receptive--observing and also actively participating.   

  Toning/chanting in relation to meditation:    I'm curious as to other people's experiences and intuitions regarding using Toning/Chanting as an energy gathering and balancing aid in meditation?   

   It's funny, but even though i really like and vibe with much of the Cayce material, which recommended Toning as an aid in meditation, i didn't take it seriously for awhile.   I thought to myself, "well how can making sounds with your throat really accomplish anything?" 

The Cayce readings recommended a more intuitive approach to toning/chanting, and didn't recommend a particular mantra or name, etc to be repeated as found in some other belief systems.    There were certain chants mentioned more often as helpful (maybe even more universally so?), than others, such as OhhMmmm  and ArrrEeeeOhhmmm, but often people were given suggestions to experiment and feel different vowel sounds, to use one's intuition and experiences as a guiding force.   

   Later on, i came across toning/chanting via The Monroe Institute and various sources and authors connected to same.    As anyone who has used the in home Gateway set, or has gone to a Monroe Institute program knows, toning is a definite part of the energy gathering process used there in order to go more deep and to get more clear. 

To show how dense i can be, even then i still didn't take it seriously and didn't seriously practice it for awhile.   Oh, i tried it out here and there but didn't really let myself experience and get lost in it. 

  But, i was slowly but surely starting to understand how the body relates to the Soul, and how both relate to Spirit.    I was beginning to really get an inkling of an oft repeated concept in the Cayce readings, which emphasized time and time again, a necessary balance between the body, the mind (not the intellect, but more relating to Soul), and the spiritual (Spirit).   

   I was already making some necessary body adjustments by changing my diet more and more and incorporating more exercise, motivated mostly by the ideal "the body is the Temple, and a strong, healthy, and balanced body allows for a greater and more clearer expression of Mind and Light within the physical, not for yourself so much, but to be of better service to others ideally."    Course, there was more selfish motives too, after all who likes to experience dis-ease, of which i had some challenging experiences with. 

   Anyways, for whatever reason, i started to become more open and receptive to the idea of seriously incorporating Toning/Chanting into my meditation practice.   

  I started to more seriously practice it, particularly in the intuitive way that Cayce's guidance oft recommended.   

  I started noticing a definite clearing/balancing and expanding going on, the more i sincerely practiced it.    I realized that the physical, etheric, and emotional bodies were particularly affected and that these bodies being slower vibrating in nature, and tending towards more blockages were being helped by Toning. 

  I realized that toning seems to directly affect the Endocrine glands in the body, which are the interface centers which relate to the nonphysical consciousnesses within us (but we being materially minded, often translate at first to be "without"). 

   The potentially balancing, activating, and clearing affect of Toning became more obvious and immediate to me when i took the Gateway Voyage program at The Monroe Institute.    At different points in some of my meditations, i noticed a very distinct and very noticeable heating affect and feeling going on with my physical body.   

  It seemed like the molecular vibrations were becoming greatly speeded up in the actual physical vibratory range, and this was translating as a greater and greater feeling of warmth and heat, even though TMI kept the place rather cool and normally one's core body temp. drops when one is still for more than 20 or so minutes at a time.   

   A few other people in our group, also reported some of this very noticeable heating affect.   I realized for myself, when i was in that more receptive state of meditation, i was listening more to guidance about which sounds to tone, in which patterns, in changing the pitch, etc.    It was like my endocrine glands were 7 strings, and i was plucking them in different patterns, and strengthening, clearing, balancing these and creating more harmonious and clearer connections between them as a Whole.   

   Anyways, as i've said, i'm interested in other people's experiences and intuitions regarding this particular meditational aid.    Has the practice of same, helped you personally?   Are there certain patterns you particularly found helpful?    Have you also had the noticeable heating sensation of the body during and/or after toning?    Did it help you to explore the nonphysical more clearly?