A Collection of Sacred-Magick.

Com < The Esoteric Library

Trance
frommagictotechnology
SecondEdition

DennisR.Wier

TRANCERESEARCHFOUNDATION
LAYTONVILLE,CALIFORNIA

Copyright2006TranceResearchFoundation,Inc. AllRightsReserved SECONDEDITION

Publishedby TranceResearchFoundation,Inc. P.O.Box84 LaytonvilleCA95454 www.tranceresearch.org LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationDataonfile withthepublisher.

[L.06051213]

ISBN10:1888428392
Firstpublished1995TranceMedia,Inc.SAN2988569 Republished2006byTranceResearchFoundation,Inc. Cover: JohnWilliamWaterhouse TheMagicCircle cour tesyofArtResource/TateGallery,London.

Contents
Preface............................................................................5 TheMagicandMysteryofTrance................................9 CommonandUncommonTrances...............................31 ASuggestedModelforTrance.....................................47 PathologicalTranceandAddiction............................123 TranceAnalysis..........................................................152 ContemporaryHypnosisandTranceTechnology......185 MagicandTranceTechnology...................................205 Glossary......................................................................241 Bibliography...............................................................245

A maker of idols is never an idolater.

OLD CHINESE SAYING

Preface

When I was ten years old, I was fascinated by mathematics and anxious to escape listening to my parentsargue.Ilearnedthatbyfocusingmymindon solving algebra problems I could enter into a beautiful universe where tough problems had possible solutions. My interest was so intense and myconcentrationsodeepthateventhoughmyfather mightcomeintomyroom,talkoraskmequestions,I wouldhavenorecollectionatallofhisevenentering myroom.BothmyfatherandIweresurprisedthat thisoccurred,andwhenitoccurredregularly,itwas accepted as normal, part of my personality, and forgotten. Later,incollege,IfoundthatIcoulddomybest workinnoisycafes. Itdidnotrealizeatthattime thatmypowerofconcentrationwasaformoftrance. When I began the practice of meditation (transcendental meditation) in 1965 I found that I likedtomeditate,andIoftenjokinglycalledmyselfa meditation junkie. After several years of

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meditationpractice,Ibegantoteachmedication. I became fascinated by these altered states of consciousnessastheybegantobecalled. Iwentto Indiathreetimestolearnmoreaboutyoga,mantras anddeepmeditation techniquesfromvarious yogis, swamis,lamasandsufis. Atsomepoint,Idiscoveredmagic.Ifoundthatby settingupsomepatterns,doingsomemeditationand then braking the patterns that it was possible to causethingstohappeninreality. Iwasintrigued butfrightenedofthisdiscovery,andIdecidednotto use it in my personal life. I did, however, write a shortpapercalled HomotopyandCybernetics which madetheconnectionbetweentrancestate,magicand certainphysicalpatterns. While pursuing my profession as a computer software developer, I realized that I had become addictedtocomputers,and,inacertainway,toall hightech toys. Some of my colleagues were profoundlyaddictedandwouldspendlongcontinuous hoursinadeeptrancecreatingsoftware,debugging programs, and investing neat software tools. I watched their physical, mental and emotional conditions deteriorate as they preferred a relationship to a computer to a relationship with a person. My brilliant colleagues in their technical tranceslookedandsmelledlikebathlessstreetpeople or hopeless drug addicts. Partly because of my interest in addiction, I started a newsletter called Technophiliacs Anonymous, which addressed the

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problem of addiction to technology. After a few issues, I begantorealizethataddictionandtrance wereverymuchrelated. In1990,myinvestigation intotrancebeganinearnest. During the decades of the 80s and 90s, in many parts of America, the interest in magic and shamanism increased. I feel that the model for tranceidescribehereisbothpreciseenoughandrich enoughto be used asatypeoftrance engineering technologywithpracticalapplicationsinmanysocial and psychological areas as well as in religion, spirituality,magicandtheoccult. MeditationisatooloftheNewAgepagans. Drug andalcoholproblemsareeverywhereinpartbecause the nature and addiction has not been well understood. The world is becoming more nationalistic, and there areconstant report of cults andfanaticsgoneberserk. Iknowthatwhatseemstobeunrelatedphenomena magic,addiction,nationalism,meditationstates areactuallyonlysomeofthenaturaleffectsoftrance. Whatiamtryingtodowiththisbookistoshowwhat ifeelaretherelationshipsbetweenthesephenomena andtheircommonbasisaccordingtomydefinitionof trance. This book is basically the product of my own interestsandinclinations.Itwaswrittentoexpress whatIfeelmustbetrueabouttrance.Iwaitedfora long time before writing this as I was certain that

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whatIknewmustbecommonknowledgesomewhere. Perhapsitis,butIwasnotabletodiscoveraclear expression anywhere of the general relationships I feelareobvioustome,norcouldIfindaforumfor presentingmyideasabouttranceandmymodelfor trance. So, I thought that perhaps I should write downmyobservationsandideasinafullerwayand peoplewhoareinterestedintrancecouldmakeofit what they will. I must state that my model has grownoutofmyownpersonalinnerperceptionsand realizations and not from any particularly specific scientific or academic research. This is one of the reasonsthemodelishighlyspeculative.Sobeit. DennisR.Wier Brutten,Switzerland 24November1994

TheMagicandMysteryof Trance

Since1965Ihavebeenengagedintheresearchof tranceprivately,personallyandpracticallyal thoughduringthistimeIwasnotalwaysawarethat itwastranceIwasresearching.AndIusetheword research not in a particular scientific or academic sense,butmoreinanempiricalsense. Theresultsofmyresearchintrancecomedirectly from my personal meditation experience over the past30years. Describingone'spersonalexperience ofmeditationisnoteasy.Explainingwhatthatexpe rienceisaboutisevenmoredifficultbecausespoken orwrittenlanguageisnotanefficientvehicleforde scribing subtle, delicate and ephemeral inner phe nomena.Explainingwhyaspecificinnerexperience occurredisevenmoretricky,firstbecauseitissub jective and second because the reasoning of causes lacksobjectivity.WhatIhavedonehereistousemy skillsinsystemsanalysistoanalyzemyinnerexperi

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ences andto express theresultsof this analysis in some type of rigorous way. My professional back groundasacomputersystemsanalystmaytendto makethis bookseem abittechnical inplaces. In deed,whatIhaveattemptedtodointhisbookisto analyze in a systems analytical way my own personalrealizationsthrough30yearsofmedita tionastowhata'trance'is. I assume that an arcane subject as trance might have a limited readership. Many mystic types are likelynottobesystemsanalysts,althoughsomeare. Many psychologists these days are social psycholo gists although some are not. Often psychologists havelittledeepmeditationexperience,andalthough manyusewordprocessors,theyarelikelynottobe familiarwithpracticalsystemsanalyticaltechniques. Inaddition,becausetranceisapotentiallycontrover sial subject insofar as I am discussing magic, shamanism and witchcraft and so on, in the same pagesasIdescribeatechnicalmodelfortrance,some academic psychologists may perfunctorily dismiss this entire work as unscientific or superstitious. I hopetheykeepanopenmind. Themagicians,shamans,channelersandwitches those who have practical experience with trance mightnotappreciatewhattheymayperceiveasmy lack of a proper or traditional appreciation for or mentionofearthSpirits,GodsandGoddessesandso on.ItistruethatIdonotmakemanyreferencesto Godortovariousspirits,butoneimportantresultof

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mytheoryisthatthepracticalexperienceoftrance cannowbedisconnectedfromallthosetraditionalas sociations. I humbly suggest that those with deep practicalexperiencewithtraditionaltrancepractices examinetheirbeliefsystemsinlightoftrancetheory and ask themselves if they are examples of good tranceengineeringpractices. Icanalsounderstandthatitmightnotbeveryin terestingforawitchtoreadtechnicalmaterialbutI feelthatunderstandingsomeofthetechnicalaspects oftrancecanimmeasurablyhelp awitchto accom plishhergoals. There are many people, institutions and organiza tionsinthisworldwhohavealongtermvestedand even a vital interest in maintaining and protecting certainbeliefsortrances.Todisturbthesebeliefsor trancesiscertainlynotmyintent,butitisinevitable thatunderstandinghowtranceworkswillhavetwo effects. First, for those who create trances, under standingtrancetheorywillenablethemtomakebet ter,stronger,morecompellingandmoreinteresting trances.Second,forthosewhoareentranced,under standing trance theory will show them what they mustdotobreaktrancesandhowtoavoidbecoming ensnaredbythem. Noonecanescapeatrancewho has either desire or fear, and this is true for both thosewhocreatetrancesaswellasforthosewhoare entranced.

A Collection of Sacred-Magick.Com < The Esoteric Library

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Thisbookisabitabstractandthereareonlyafew practicalexercisesmentioned.Indeed,Ihavenotset aboutheretomakeanynewagetrancepsychology selfhelpworkbook.Whatmyintentwasandstill isistoexpressasclearasIcansomeofthebasic ideasofmymodelfortrance.Forme,atechnicaland analyticaldescription is the best way, but I realize thatthisdescriptionmightnotbeforeveryone.Ican onlysaythatyoudon'tneedtobeamathematicianin ordertounderstandtheconcepts,butifyouwanta preciseexpositionof my trancetheory, I havedone mybesttoprovideonehere.Ihavetriedtopresent myideasabouttrancesimplyandsimultaneouslyon several balanced levels while maintaining a consis tentclarityofpresentationinlinewithmypersonal experience. Tranceisaninterestingsubjectforseveralreasons. First,tranceisaphenomenonwhichcanbediscov eredeverywhere,andinnearlyanysocialsituation,if youknowwhattolookfor.Second,untilnow,there wasnomodelfortrance,sotrancesweredifficultto identify or to classify; the difficulty in identifying trancehasgivenrisetoacertainmysteryaboutwhat a trance was. Furthermore, many people have abusedtranceandthereforeithasacertainnegative reputationnodoubtoriginallyfromMesmer,Sven galiandRasputin. Indeed,forsomepeople,justto mentionthewordtrancegetsthemnervous. Often, thereasonforthisreactionistheassociationofthe lossofvolitionwithtrance. Whatcanbemoreun

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nervingthansomethingyoucan'texplain,likeanun knownmysteriouspower,whichhasthepotentialfor makingyouweakwilled? Tranceisalsointerestingbecausetraditionallyitis an important component of ancient, primitive and modern religious, ritualistic and magical practices. Certainly many ancient priests, as well as modern day western mystics, channels, yogis, techno shamansandwitcheswouldbelessintouchwiththe sources of their knowledge without practicing some sort of trance through meditation, ritual, dance or music. Inspiteofthefactthatallmeditationprac ticesusetranceinducingprocedures,itiscleartome that most meditators have only vague ideas about whattheyaredoingwithtranceandhavenoknowl edgeofthetheoreticalbasicsoftranceletalonethe extent of potential effects. Many meditators might insistthatmeditationisnotatrancebecauseofthe badconnotationsofthewordtranceandbecausethey lackthetechnicalknowledgethisbookprovidesinor dertorecognizewhattheyaredoingwhentheymedi tate.Somereligiousmeditationteachersbelievethat ifyoumeditatelongenoughyouwillgetluckyand 'have grace', but they themselves do not know why yougetlucky. Onceyouknowwhatatranceisandhowitispro duced,itwillbeobviousthatallmeditationpractices invoketrance. Byall,Imeanfromtheyogisinthe Himalayastothenewagegurusandwesternyogis, witches, shamans, technowizards and even those

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whousetrancebutdonotcallittrance.Mostmedi tators have no theoretical model for their practice; generallytheydonotneedtounderstandhoworwhy meditation works. They just need to do it and it works.Itiscertainlypossibletomeditatefordecades withoutknowinghowmeditationworks,justasitis possibletodriveacarwithoutknowinghowitworks. Justasyoucanbeabetterandsaferdriverifyou learnsomeoftheunderlyingtechnologyofautomo tiveengineering,youcanalsobeabetterandsafer meditatorbylearningsomeoftheunderlyingtechnol ogyoftrance.Likewise,ifyouareashamanorchan nelerwhoentersintotrancetocontactplantorother energies,itmakesalotofsensetounderstandwhat youaredoingsothatyoucandoitbetterandsafer. Ifyouareapracticingmonk,priest,yogi,witchora magicianyouknowthatmanyofyour practicesin volvewillful ritualandboth inner and outward re peated actions. Reevaluating these processes with trancetheorywillimproveyourtechniqueandhelp maketheseprocessesmoreeffective. Onceyouareawareoftheessentialconditionsfor trancethentheeffectsoftrancedonotneedtobeput intermsthathavenothingtodowiththeunderlying technology. Likeasophisticatedcardriveryouwill becomeawarethatthecolorschemeofthecarorthe softnessorsmellsoftheinteriorleathershavenoth ingtodowithitsbasicautomotivefunctions.

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Justasautomotiveengineershaveacertainrespon sibilitytowardsthosewhousetheircreations,those whoknowinglycreatetrancesforothersalsobeara certainresponsibilitytowardsthosewhocomeunder their influence. I hope to make you aware that amongthemanyworldwideorganizationsandinsti tutions which promote or maintain certain beliefs and trances, there are many who practice what we might call unsafe trance engineering techniques. Onequestionthatshouldbeseriouslyaskedis: To whatextentshouldpeopleandorganizationsbeliable fortheresultsoftheirconsciouslycreatedtrances? Tranceisusedinmanyformsofcontemporarypsy chotherapy.ThemodeloftranceIdescribeherewill havepracticalimplicationsfortherapistsandothers whousetranceinmedicalorpsychotherapeuticset tings. Whatmakestranceevenmoreinterestingisthatit issocontroversial.Therestillaresomepsychologists whoclaimthatthereisnosuchthingashypnosis.In part,andperhapsforgoodreason,therehasnotbeen any consistent and wellaccepted definition for trance. WhatIhopetodointhisbookistodefine anddescribetranceinsuchawayandwithsuchpre cision that it will be relatively easy to determine whenatranceis,orisnot. Perhapsthenresearch canproceedinamorerobustwaytoexplorethedif ferences in the types of trances that exist, rather thandebatewhetherthereissuchathingasatrance ornot. Thatis,ifthemodelisgoodatall,itcanbe

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usedasapracticalanalyticaltool;and,themodelcan berefinedasneededinthefuture. Iwouldliketopointoutthatthemodelisnotaso cialpsychologicalone,butperhapsmorelikeacogni tivebehavioralone,anditmightprovideatheoretical basisforfutureresearchintotrancephenomena. I would like to give you some of my personal re searchhistorywithregardtotrance. Ididnotbeginmyresearchintotrancewithahy pothesis about trance. I was more interested in learning what characterized advanced meditative states. Overaperiodofseveraldecadesofmedita tion,Iexperienceddeepmeditativestates.Irealized that these deep states have specific and unusual characteristics, but I did not know how to describe them specifically nor what they were. Were these statesasocalledalteredstateofconsciousness?Was ithypnosis?Wasitmerelyanhallucination?Ireally lovedtomeditate.Wasthisstatethentheresultof sometypeofpsychicaddiction?Astheyearswentby, IalsorealizedthatIhadtoadmitthatIwasperson allyaddictedtomeditation. Becauseofthisrealiza tion, I concluded that addiction must share some commonality with meditative states. This observa tionwasintriguingtome,becauseIfeltthatastate ofdeepmeditationwasadesirableconditionand,on the contrary, an addiction was a condition to be avoided.

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I began to look for the common characteristics of meditative states, trance and addictions. I quickly realizedthattherewasneitherawellacceptedmodel meditation states nor for addiction nor for trance. Becauseitseemedintuitivetomethattheymightbe related,Icametotheconclusionthatbothmeditation andaddictionmightbetypesoftrances,butIdidn't reallyknowwhatatrancewaseither. Ithoughtthatsurelyifanyoneknewwhatatrance was,itshouldbethepsychologistswhohavestudied hypnosis. I thought that psychologists accept the phenomenaofhypnosisandusetranceasatherapeu ticandinvestigativetool.Iquicklydiscovered,how ever,thattheycouldnotdefinetranceinarigorous wayeither.Iwaslookingforaspecificationoftrance everybitasrigorousasIwouldexpectfromaspecifi cationofacomputerapplication. WhatIfoundwasthatthesubjectofhypnosisand tranceisfullofcontroversy;somepsychologistsclaim thathypnotictrancecanbeexplainedbyothersocial phenomena,andthereforearguethatthereisnosuch thingashypnosis. Inspiteofthiscontroversy,Ibe gantostudywhateverhypnosismightormightnot be,andfromtheremyinvestigationsledmetostudy NLP informally and then to study hypnotic theory andphenomenaingeneralandinpassingtolearna bitofthehistoryofhypnotismandtoreadsomecur rentresearch.

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Iwasnotinsensitivetothefactthatdeeptrances canhaveprofoundeffectsonreality;asthishasbeen proventomemultipletimespersonallythroughmy ownpracticeofmeditation.Moreover,oneoftherea sonsatheoryforhypnosisortranceissodifficultto design is that such theories must explain certain physiologicalphenomenathatseemtoborderonmag ic, such as making warts appear and disappear, or enablingsubjectstorememberpastlives,ordisplay knowledgeofeventstheycouldnothavepossiblyper ceivedbytheordinarysenses,orexhibitingphysical strength or mental skills not normally within their abilities. Thosewhohaveperfectedtheabilitytogo intodeeptranceandutilizetheseabilitiesseemingly atwillhaveheldafascinationbythescientificcom munity,thereligiousaswellasforordinaryfolksfor thousandsofyears. IknewthatifIpursuedmyinvestigation,Iwasget tingintoareasthatarefullofmystery,controversial andhighlycharged:meditation,hypnosis,addiction, trance, altered states of consciousness, magic, witchcraft, religion and social control psychology. Withmysystemsanalyticalprofessionalperspective tunedtorequirerigorousspecificationssufficientto designacomputersystem,whatIdiscoveredwritten by psychologists about trance and hypnosis didn't makeawholelotofsense. What is a trance? According to the dictionary, a tranceis a"dazeora stupor,a prolongedandpro foundsleeplikeconditionorastateofmysticalab

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sorption." Some psychologists define trance as a stateofarousedattentivefocalconcentrationwithdi minishedperipheralawareness.Ingeneral,atrance isdefinedasastateoflimitedawareness.Theseold definitionsmightbeworkableforsomepeople,butit iswhollyinadequateasareallypreciseorpractical definition.Inmostwaysthesedefinitionsaresimply misleading.Yet,thesedefinitionsareagoodplaceto startasanyinordertobuildupamoreprecisedefi nition, in spiteof thefact that these definitions do not address the issue of the connection between tranceandtheunderpinningsofrealityofinterestto yogis,shamansandwitchesamongothers. Ifatranceisastateoflimitedawareness,thenthe typesoftrancewouldinclude,butwouldnotbelimit edto,concentration,meditation,addiction,hypnosis andperhapsincludepsychoticdelusionalstates.Im pliedliterallybythedefinitionisthatanythingshort ofenlightenedawarenessistrance. Ineverytypeofordinaryconsciousnessthereisal wayssomeformoflimitedawareness.Whenyouare concentratedonaproblemyourawarenessisneces sarilylimitedtotheproblem.Whenyoureadabook, thisone,forexample,youmustbeinatypeoflight trance.Inmeditationstates,theattentionisgeneral lyinwardandthelimitthenexcludestheworld,often includingtheawarenessofyourownbody.Inaddic tions the awareness is circumscribed by behavioral impoverishment.Inhypnosis,theattentionisonthe hypnotist. Psychotics have limited awareness as

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well;thereforeitcouldbearguedthatpsychoticsare inatranceofsomesort.Sleepitselfisalimitationof awareness;therefore,fromthisolddefinition,sleepis alsoatrance.Youcanprobablythinkofmanyother socialandpsychologicalbehaviorsthatwouldsatisfy thedefinitionoftranceasastateoflimitedaware ness.Ineverycaseofthesetypesoftrance,thedefi nitionseemstowork: thereisasocalledlimitation of awareness. If we include every case of limited awareness as being evidence of a trance, then we must surely either revise our intuitive ideas about tranceormakethedefinitionmoreprecise. Whatiswrongwiththisdefinitionisthatalimita tionofawarenessisbothanessentialcomponentof trance,aswellasaneffectoftrance. Therefore,to definetranceintermsofanylimitationofawareness isnotreallyhelpfulfromasystemspointofviewbe causeitmixesthecauseoftheconditionwithitsef fect. Whatishelpfulinordertounderstandtranceisto conceptuallyseparatethatwhichisdoneinorderto createatrancefromtheknownresultsoreffectsof thattrance. So,weshallfirstlookatwhatwaysa tranceiscreated,howwedoit,andsecond,weshall catalog and characterize what happens in a trance andwhattheeffectsareandseeifwecanclassifythe effectsinsomeway. Tomakethisanalysiswewillneedtomakemany assumptionsandleaps. Buttheseassumptionswill

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hopefully all be made explicit, and I will try to require you to make few leaps of faith. I must caution you, however, that the model for trance whichIproposehere should bedescribedashighly speculativefromascientificoracademicpointofview since I make many assumptions about cognitive processeswhichmaybeonlypartiallyknownatthis time. There is currently among the cognitive behavioral types a big discussion as to what consciousnessis.Iavoidthiscontroversybycallingit awarenesswhichIneverdefine.Iamawareofthese controversies,butIamnotattemptingtoresolvethat particularcontroversy. Itmaybethatthemodeldoesnotnecessarilyadd newknowledge. Whatthemodeldoesistoofferan explanationofcertaintypesofwellknownandsim plephenomena.Itisfairlywellknownthatifyoure peat some thought often enough then it eventually becomesboringandyouthinkaboutsomethingelse. Wedon'tneedtoknowwhat consciousnessistobe aware of this rather mundane and common experi ence. Themodelproposesthatthemechanismofrepeat ing a limited set of thoughts is the fundamental mechanism for creating a rather large but specific class of trance. The model basically describes this mechanism and then explores some of the implica tions.

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Inordertodiscusstheideaofalimitationofaware nessmoreprecisely,letusborrowsomemathemati calideasandassumethatanylimitcanbedescribed by a boundary of some sort which circumscribes a space. Thisboundaryisinastateoffluxbutisal ways closed dividing the space in two. Moreover, thereisanimplicationthattheboundaryconstitutes atypeofmeasureonthetopologyoftheclosedspace. Thatis,somehowwecandescribehowbigitisand howitchanges,asthoughitwereatypeofsurface. In a trance, the thoughts which exist within a boundaryofawarenesstendtorepeat.Thatistosay, when a boundary severely limits choice for a sus tainedperiodoftime,thentheclinicalcharacteristic oftrancewillbecomemoreprevalent. Largebound aries also contain patterns of repeated thoughts. But,becausearepetitionisnotfrequentinsuchlarge boundaries of awareness trances are not usually identifiableassuch. Although myspecific interest isin the boundaries which exist in human cognition, it is important to touchthetoesofthelargestboundarywhichcircum scribes the trance we all live in. Ancient Vedic philosophersidentifiedthelargestboundaryofallas the mahamaya: the Great Illusion or Universal Trance. The Mahamaya is the Reality that we all livein,anditisalsoatrance,althoughitisaverybig oneweallweallseemtoshare.

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TheImportanceofTrance AlthoughtheMahamayaorUniversalTranceisim portantinphilosophicalaswellasinamagicalsense, mostofusdonotoperateonthoseabstract,mystical, magicalorphilosophicallevels.Letussetitasidefor a moment while we continue to develop the funda mentalcharacteristicsoftrancebecausewhatwedis coveronthepersonallevel,insideus,probablyhas implicationsontheuniversallevelaswell. WithinthisMahamayathereareagreatnumberof choices. Thechoicesareeverythingthatmayexist. ItmaybedifficulttorecognizetheentireRealityasa trance,solet's go to theotherend ofthe spectrum wherechoiceislimitedtotwo. Whenacarsalesmanistryingtosellyousomething hedoesnottellyoutochosebetweenbuyingandnot buying.Hetellsyoutochosebetweenthegreencar andthebluecar.Bylimitingyourchoicesthesales man enables your action and potentially frees your moneyenergy. Asalesmanmayconvinceyoubytheskillfuluseof manytranceinducingstrategies.Hemaydiscourage yournaturalinclinationtoexploreawiderrangeof possibilitiesorbelittleotherpossibilitiesandhemay associatepleasantpersonalmemorieswiththechoic eshewantstogiveyou.Hemayclaim,forexample, thatdrivingthegreencarislikerememberingwhen youwereplayinginashimmeringfieldofgreengrass onthatlovelywarmsummerday.Attheconclusion

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ofhisinductionyoumayreallyfeelthattheonlyrea sonablechoiceshouldbebetweenthegreenoneand theblueoneandyoureallydopreferthegreencar. At that moment youarein atrance, you have lost yourwillpowerandyourjudgmenthasbeenviolated along with your memory. You make an arbitrary choicewithinthesalesmagiciansuniverse,payyour moneyenergy and probably feel good about your choice. It is reasonable in this reality to have limits and limited choices. Without limits, reality becomes chaotic and sometimes may become frightening for thosewhocannotunderstandwhatishappening. When we can tolerate uncertainty and chaos we havemoreoptionsaswellasmorepainanddisap pointment.Oneoftheunderlyingreasonsfortrance istoeliminatepartoftheglobalawarenessandtore ducethechaostoamorereasonableandlesscompli catedsetofchoices.Trancehelpstoreducethechaos thatisattachedtovariety. Tranceisthementalconditionwhichmakesitrea sonable to accept limited choices. Trance restricts primitivechaosorchlinthonicenergyandhelpsusto harnessthatenergyinthesamewaythatasalesman harnessesourmoneyenergyinordertocreateasale. Inrestrainingthechaos,energymaybefocusedinto thecreation. Trance,therefore,hassomethingtodo with energy utilization and the potentiation of cre ation.Thisisanimportantpoint.

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It is important to study trance in order to under standhowwemayincreasetheawarenessofourop tionswhileweareinmanyinevitabletrances,and,at the same time, to understand the inherent limita tions of trance as a process to defeat ignorance. Tranceisatwoedgedsword:itallowsustofocusour awareness,enablingustoaccomplishmanywonder ful things, and on the other hand it inhibits broad awareness,disablingchoice.Itisimportanttounder standthattrancesinlifeareascommonasgrainsof sandandmorenumerous. Thestudyoftranceisalsoesoteric.Thatis,thereis acomponentoftheknowledgeoftrancethatishid den. Itisonepartofthenatureoftranceitselfto hide and to be esoteric. One natural boundary of trancedividesawarenessintotheconsciousandthe unconscious.Thisisonereasontranceisesoteric. Thedivisionbetweentheconsciousandtheuncon scious is the most scary division of all. We know aboutonebutnotabouttheother.Attherootofthis fearisthefearofdeath;itisthefearofthelossofthe ego,andthesubmergenceofthe"I"intotheprimor dialchaos.WhatIhopetoshowinthisbookisthatif youcanunderstandhowtranceworks,thenyouhave thepossibilitytopenetratethisveilbetweenthecon sciousandtheunconsciousinacertainway.Thatis, thereisatechniqueofbothlosingtheegoandregain ingitagain.

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AScientificPointofView Irealizethatmydefinitionoftrance,asitevolved frommypersonalexperiences,maydifferfromdefini tions that are more usual, so I want to review the subjectatsomelengthhere. Thewordtranceispopularlythoughtofasdescrib inganunusualstateofmind. Tranceisusuallyun derstoodtobeanalteredstateofconsciousness,and notthenormalone.Andthewordtranceisoftenas sociated withthe wordhypnosis. Bothwordshave negativeconnotationsinthesensethattheyimplya lossofconsciousindividualwill.Thenegativeconno tationsmayleadmostpeopletobeunawareoftheex tenttowhichtranceexistsinallareasoflife. Even moreimportant,trancetechniquescanandareused inadvertisingandsocialcontrol.Don'tyouthinkitis time you learned to identify those techniques that othersusetotakeawayyourconsciouschoice?Mak ingyouawareofthesetechniquesisonemainpur poseofthisbook. Gilligan(1987)seesthetranceconditionasbiologi cally essential for all human beings. He says that trance is experienced in daydreaming, dancing, lis teningtomusic,readingabook,watchingtelevision, andcanbeinducedthroughrhythmicandrepetitive movement (dancing, running, breathing exercises, etc.),throughchanting,meditation,prayer,grouprit uals,etc.;byfocusingattentiononanimage,anidea, the sound of someone's voice; through relaxation,

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massage,warmbaths,etc.;andthroughdrugssuch asalcohol,cannabis,ortranquilizers. Alteredstatesofconsciousnessisatermusedtode scribeallkindsofmentalstates. Thetermbecame necessaryperhapsbecausesomanypeopleweretak ingdrugs,doingmeditation,practicinghypnosisand magic. Modern communication TV especially madepeopleawarethattherewereyogisinIndiaand witch doctors in South American jungles who each hadtheirwaysofenteringanalteredstateortrance. The term altered state was an attempt to circum scribe these special mental phenomena in order to haveamorewelldefinedareaforscientificresearch. Accordingtomostmodernclassifications,atranceis atypeofalteredstate. ButIbelievethatsomany termsonlytendtoconfusewhatisreallygoingon. Ibelievethatwearemoreinvarioustrancestates thannot.Tometranceisarelativelycommonmen talstateandthereappearstobeacontinuumfrom whatmaybecallednormalthinkingtointense,deep andextraordinarytrancestates. Because the nature of such a continuum has not beenwelldefined,therehasbeenconsiderableconfu sionoverthelast200yearsastowhatatranceis, whathypnosisis,whatmeditationis,andwhatad diction is. It is as though arbitrary boundaries of consciousness were to be constructed which would somehowenablepeopletosay: "That'snotatrance; that'sonlyhypnosisandtheseareallalteredstatesof

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consciousness." One current scientific view, for ex ample,isthathypnosisdoesnotreallyexist,anditis grouped in the same category as leprechauns and witchcraft;thatis,abeliefstructurewhichpresum ablycanbeexplainedbyotherwellknownprocesses. This'skeptical'conceptionofhypnosiswasproposed byTheodoreSarbinin1950asasocialpsychological alternativetoboththeParisandtheNancyschoolsof thoughtaboutthenatureofhypnosis.Thisskeptical conceptioncontinuestobeasubjectinacademiccir cles;asrecentlyas1992Wagstaffsuggestedthatit wouldbebettertodisregardallthestandardrefer encestotranceoralteredstatesandtostickwithex planations from a social and psychological perspec tive.Ifpsychologistswereconvincedthattheymust abandon the term, perhaps that is one reason that "trance"isnowamusicalgenre. Historically,atrancewasthetermthatwasusedto describe certainstatesthatyogis, spiritualistmedi umsorchannelersmightgointoinordertoperform theirparticularlyextraordinarybehaviors. Mostly,oneassociatestrancewithsometypeofhyp noticstateofmind,andIwillneedtoexploreboth hypnosisandtranceinsomedetailbeforedescribing myownideas,primarilybecausehypnosisandtrance are seemingly so closely related, and there are so manypopularmisconceptionsastowhathypnosisis orisnot.

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Trance and hypnosis are commonly associated terms.Tranceisalsothetermusedbycertainspiri tualist mediumsand yogis in describing meditation statesandotherphenomenathatpsychologistmight refertoas'dissociative'becausesomethingaboutthe personalityofapersoninatranceappearstobesplit offfromtheusualresponsepatterns. Oneresearcherinhypnoticphenomena,Orne,dis coveredthatthereareuniquecharacteristicsexhibit edbyapersoninatrance.Ornemadethisobserva tionfromhighlyconsistentverbalreportsofhypno tizedsubjectsandfromvariousclinicalandempirical studies.Ornecalledthisalterationoffunctiontrance logic.Trancelogicreferstoasetofcharacteristicsof mentalfunctionsthatarespecificallyfoundindeep tranceasopposedtolighttrance. Trancelogicincludesanalterationinlanguagepro cessingaswellasadecreaseincriticaljudgementof languageprocessingandinincreasedtoleranceforin congruity as well as interpreting words much more literally. Besidesthe 'skeptical'school of thoughtwhichbe lievestrancephenomenacanbeadequatelyexplained bythesocialpsychologicalconceptsofbeliefandcom pliance,thereareothertheoriesoftrancethatpro pose that trance generally represents some kind of psychologicalregressiontoanearlierdevelopmental state,orthattranceis'contactwiththeunconscious mind'orthatdeeptranceissomehowaselectiveuse

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ofonehemisphereofthebrain. Somepsychologists (JanetandlaterHilgard)wouldcharacterizeatrance as a dissociative state because the personality ap pearstobedistinctfromtheusualornormaloneand thisperceptionhasgivenrisetothecognitivedissoci ationtheory. Thetheoryofthe'FantasyPronePer sonality'ofT.X.BarberandhiscolleagueSherylWil son suggests loose correlates between naturally vi sionary individuals with a rich innerlife, and with thenaturalcapacitytoproduceextraordinarypsycho somaticresponses,yetwhoareperfectlyabletodis tinguishtheirvividfantasylifefromreality,andwho exhibitpronouncedhypnotizabilityandvariouspsy chicabilities. Althoughclassichypnosisresearchhasdemonstrat edthatpeopleresponddifferentlytosuggestionsun derdifferentconditions,alackofamodelfortrance isprobablyresponsibleforthefactthatrelativelylit tleworkhasbeendonetodeterminetheprecisede tailsofhoweachsuggestioneffectoccurs. Whenaphenomenasuchastrancelacksamodelto explainwhatitisandhowitworks,peoplearefreeto makeup stories and to imputea magic, a mystery andafeartotrancephenomenawhichistotallyun necessary.Themagicandmysteryoftranceisexcit ing,butfearandignoranceofitgivespowerequally to both the healers as well as to the unscrupulous whocanexploittheentrancedtotheirownprofit.

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CommonandUncommon Trances

OurUnconsciousTranceStates Areyouawarethatyouareinalighttranceasyou readthesewords?Mostpeopleslipinandoutofvari ouskindsoftrancestateshundredsoftimesduring whatiscalledthenormalwakingstate.Tranceisa specialtypeofdissociationthathelpsustoorganize and process information automatically. You would not be able to really understand the written print marksonthispageunlessthereexistedothertypes of mental processing going on which organized the writtenpatternsandlinkedthemtopriormemories orassociations.Theseothermentalprocessingactiv itiesarehappeningunconsciouslyrightnow. Some peoplewouldsaythatthisunconsciousprocessisan othertypeofawareness.Gurdjiefftaughtthattobe comeawarethat youareasleep isthefirststepin waking up. If you are interested in being able to modifytheseunconsciousmentalprocesses,itises

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sentialtobecomeawareofthetrancesyouarein;in fact,insomesenseyoucancountyourtrances.Mak ingyouawareofwhatsomeoftheseunconsciouspro cessesareandhowtheygotthereandhowtheycan bemodifiedisonepurposeofthisbook. Therearegoodtrancesandbadtrances.Thereare light trances, deep trances, shortterm trances and lifelongtrances.Therearepainrelievingtrancesand pain producing trances. There are healing trances andpathologicaltrances.Thesearejustafewareas wherecommontrancescanbefound: hypnosis,mu sic,TV,meditation,addictions,religionsandwork. Sowhatisatrance?Tomanypsychologistsatrance isastateoflimitedawareness. Somepsychologists wouldalsocharacterizetranceasaformofsleep,or dreamlikeawarenessorakindofalteredstateofcon sciousness.Certainlytrancehaslongbeenassociated withhypnoticstates,andwiththealteredstatesof consciousnessofdervishes,shamansandyogis.Med itationdoesproducestrongtrancestates. However, inmyopinion,trancestatesaremuchmorecommon thanisnormallybelieved. Wecanalsocountday dreamingasatrance,aswellaswatchingmoviesor television. Manyrelationshipswithpeopleseemto havetrancelike qualities: love relationships,power relationships,relationshipswithcharismaticpeople, relationshipswithgurus,shamansandsoon. Com ingintocontactwithdrugaddictsorpsychoticsoften seemstoinvokestrangetrancestates.

A Collection of Sacred-Magick.Com < The Esoteric Library

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Formanydecades,trancehasbeenassociatedwith parapsychologicalexperiences.AccordingtoWilliam Jamesandotherresearchers,aMrs.Piperanordi nary woman in most circumstances could enter intoatranceandgiveinformationthatwasbothac curateandwhichshecouldnothaveordinarilydis covered.Forexample,once,whenastrangervisited herforthefirsttime,shewentintoatranceandde scribedhisdeadfather,sayingmanycorrectthings, suchasthefactthathehadabaldspotwheremen arenotusually bald, onthe rightsideof thehead. Shepointedtothatplaceandthestrangersaidthat anaccidenthadindeedmadehisfatherbald,asym metrically, at that spot. Mrs. Piper also told the strangermanyotheraccurateanduncommondetails, suchasthepetnamewhichonlyhisfatherhadused forhim,andthewayinwhichhishalfbrotherdied (Hodgson). Laubscher, an anthropologist, tested a South Africandivinerreputedtohavemarvelousabilities. Laubscherwenttoadesertedplace,checkedthatno onewaswithinhisvision,tookapursewrappedin brown paper, buried it, put a brown stone above it andagraystoneabovethat.Thenhegotintohiscar anddroveasfastashecould60milestowherethe diviner lived. He asked the diviner what he had done. Thedivinerbegantoperformaseancedance. Aftersometime,hedescribedthepurse,thebrown paperitwaswrappedit,andprecise,accuratedetails ofboththebrownstoneandthegraystone. There

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aremanyothercaseswhichhaveindicatedtheexis tenceofaconnectionoftrancewithparapsychological phenomena. InAmerica,psychichealersarelikelytopreparefor healing by meditation or prayer; in many parts of Africa,preparationforpsychichealinginvolvesapro longedritualdance.Dervishestwirl. Iftheunusualtrancestateofashamanorayogiis desirable,thenwemightbetemptedtobelievethat all trance states are desirable states. What might distinguishthetranceofayogifromthetranceofa drugaddict?Whatisthedifferencebetweenatelevi siontranceandthetrancethatweexperiencewhen daydreaming? It is possible to enter into trances whichrelievepain,suchaswhengoingtoadentist whouseshypnosistoproduceanesthesia. Ifcompulsivedrinkingoreatingcouldbeshownto betrances,anargumentcouldbemadethattrance can produce involuntary selfdestructive behavior andthereforeamodelfortrancemightindicateways tocontrolsuchbehaviors. HypnoticTrances Thetypeoftrancestudiedmosthasbeenthehyp notictrance.MiltonErickson,thegreatpsychothera pist,hadwonderfulandnearlyimmediatepsychologi calcuresinagreatmanyofhispatients. Histech niquewascalled"Ericksonianhypnosis."Manypeo pletriedtoexplainwhatitwasthathedid,because inmanycases,hispatientsclaimedthattheywere

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not hypnotized and they were not in any kind of tranceatall. Erickson'srecordeddialogswereana lyzedforyearstotrytofindoutwhatitwasexactly thatmadehisformofhypnotherapysosuccessful. RichardBandler,JohnGrinderandothersweresuc cessfulinfinallyanalyzingandmodelingErickson's techniques. They devised what they called "neuro linguisticprogramming,"alsoknownasNLP,which is based primarily on Erickson's techniques. With NLPitisrelativelyeasytohypnotizeapersonandto keepthatpersoninatrancestatewithouttheirbeing aware that they are in fact in a trance. The tech niqueofpacingandleadingasubjectfromarichor variedsetofthoughtstoalimited,internalandim poverishedsetofthoughtsisawellknowntechnique usedconsciouslybyhypnotists,advertisers,salespeo ple,preachersandpoliticians. ManystagehypnotistsuseEricksonianorNLPde rivedhypnotictechniquesinordertoinducetrance. TV hypnotists on daytime television can induce a tranceafteronlyafewminutesofseeminglyinnocu oustalk. Duringthistime,thesubjectcanbegiven posthypnotic suggestions to alter behavior and per ceptioninpeculiarwaysduringtheTVshow.Stage hypnotistsoftenhavedramaticshowsinwhichpecu liarandunusualphysiologicalpowerscanbedemon strated. Televisionadvertisersandthedesignersofcommer cials are aware of the techniques of Bandler and

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Grinderandusethemoftenincommercials.Forex ample,commercialswilloftenattempttoinvokepast memoriesandindoingsoeffectivelyassociatepleas ant or strong memories with their products. Cigarette and liquor ads are especially keen touse these types of associations, and, in essence, they abusetheconsumerbypromotingtheconnectionof healthyassociationswiththeirproducts.Thetrance inductionpotentialoftelevisionmediaiswellknown andisoftenusedformanipulatingconsumertastes. It should be no surprise that political candidates knowtheymustbeabletosuccessfullyusethehyp notic power of television in order to win elections. Howeverusefultelevisionisforcommercialandso cialcontrolreasons,itcannotbereasonablyargued thatusingtranceinordertopromoteapoliticalagen da,isintheend,reallysociallybeneficial. Salespersons,preachersandpoliticiansareaware ofordinaryhypnotictechniquesandoftenconsciously useNLPorEricksoniantechniquesinordertopro motetheirownagendas.Asyoutalkwithasalesper sonorlistentoapreacherorpoliticianontelevision youmightneveradmitthatyouwereinatranceof any kind. Haveyou ever spaced out listening to a preacher? Politicians? Computersoftwaresalesper sons?Thenyou'dbetterlearnmoreabouttrance. Some professional sales training institutes un abashedly teach hypnotic techniques to their sales trainees.Itiscleartothemthatifabuyerisputinto a hypnotic trance then it is much easier to sell a

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product.Andthisistrue,butonlybecausethebuy er'scriticaljudgementisdisabled.Becausetheethics ofusingsuchtechniquesontheunawareisquestion able,somestates,likeCalifornia,havelawsthatgive youtherighttocancelmajorcontractswithin24or 48 hours of signing. Supposedly, this gives you enough time to "wake up" from your unconscious state.Thelawissilent,however,onunwrittenorca sualcommercialcontracts. Sohowcanyoutellifyouareinoneoftheseordi nary,unconscioustrances?Youareinatrancewhen yourattentionislimitedandthereisacertainrepeti tionofthoughts.Inanextremecase,yourattention issolimitedthatitfeelslike"tunnelvision." The repetition of thoughts might be mantras, songs, re peating fantasies, or even the math calculations of balancingyourcheckbookbeforeyoumakethatpur chase.Thatsongyoucan'tgetoutofyourheadindi catesatrance. Concentration,whenthemindisfo cusedonaspecificproblemorthought,isalsoaform of trance. You could characterize the fundamental natureoftrancecyberneticallyasanawarenessloop, oracircularflowofconsciousness. This looping, or circular flow of consciousness, is wellknownasamechanismforinducingtrance.The repetitionofmantras,thewhirlingofdervishes,the chantinganddrummingofshamans,therepetitionof TVcommercialsallinducedifferenttrancesbylimit ing your attention and overloading your mind with repeatedthoughts. The purposesmaybe different,

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theresultsmaybedifferent,butinmyopinionthe differenceintheresultingtranceismainlyofdegree. Fromasystemsanalyticalpointofview,thelooping ofawarenessiseasytodescribeandseemstobeat the causeofawidevariety of trances. In myown personalexperienceitappearsthattheloopingalone isthenecessaryandsufficientconditiontoinducea dissociatedcondition.Takingtheloopingasthesin gularcauseoftranceseemstoofferanexplanationof awidevarietyoftrancelikephenomena.Inaddition, thissingularconditiongroupsawidevarietyofphe nomena into the definition as trance or trancelike phenomena.Oncethisgeneraoftranceortrancelike phenomenahasbeencircumscribed,thenitremains todenotethedifferentiaandconditions. WhetheryouarepassivelywatchingTVfootball,or engaging in rational rigorously precise thoughts, or havinganemotionaljoltofreligiousfervor,orfeeling patrioticpassion,orifyouareanaddictofanykind, orifyouhavethecompassionlessmindsetofamass murderer you are in a trance. Why? Because all thesestatesencourageafixed,narrowattentionspan andtheyallrewardtherepetitionofanimpoverished setofthoughts.Itisimportanttoidentifyallofthese statesastrancebecausetheyallpromotealimitation of attention. Because of this limiting of attention, trancecreates unawareness ora"sleeping state" in thoseareasoflifewheretheattentionisabsent.Be causethethoughtsarerepeating,thelimitingofat tentionbecomesfixed,andcanthereforealterpercep

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tion. That is, new information might not be pro cessed correctly. For example, if the repeating thoughtis"everythingIseeisblue,"andtheeyesare shownaredobject,theneventuallytherepeatedidea inthemindwillmaketheobjectseemblueanditwill bebelievedtobeblue;andredwillnotbeseenorif seen,notbelievedasreallyred. Brainwashingand propagandatechniquesusethefactthattherepeti tion of a thought can result in its eventual accep tance.Manytypesoftrances,butnotall,promotea singlemindednesswhichcanbecomeselfdestructive. Someofthesetrancescouldbedescribedaspatholog ical. Thegeneraoftrancemustincludeawidevarietyof trances, some of which are manifestly pathological andotherswhichaddarichnesstolifeandwhichcan beappreciatedasspectacularormagical.Whatchar acterizes this differentia? What are the conditions forapathologicaltrance,underthisdefinition? Manytypesoftrances,ofcourse,arenotpathologi cal.Suchtrancesareusedtoenhancecreativity,re lation,problemsolving,alteringsensations,altering perception,creatingpleasure,humor,enhancingdeli cateandsubtleunderstanding,tofindnewwaysto understandexperience,toperceiveoldthingsinnew ways, to have new pleasures in life, to create the couragetochangerelationshipsandinthepersonal mysteryoflifeitself.Thesenonpathologicaltrances alsoarecreatedthroughthenarrowingofattention,

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andtherepetitionofthoughtstocreatepersonalpow er. It is wellknown that the skillful use of trance, whether hypnotic or meditation, can increase tele pathicsensitivitiesandotherabilities.Janet,ahigh lyrespectedpsychiatristandresearcherintheearly days of hypnosis, reported extraordinary telepathic successwithhypnosis.Dukhan&Raotesteddozens of students of a guru in India for psi. They found that postmeditationthe studentscored significantly higherinpsihittingthaninthepremeditationcon troltests.Therehavebeenmanyotherresearchers reportingsimilarfindingsoverdecades. Oneoftheimportanteffectsofanormaltranceisto temporarily decrease body awareness and to tem porarilydisablememory.Withlessawarenessofthe bodyandofthepast,thereisanincreaseincreative potential. Latent problem solving skills may come intoexistenceeasierwhenthelimitationsofthebody andmemoryaredisabled. Shorttermtrancestates areoccasionallydesirabletoincreasecreativityand problemsolvingpotentials. Whatmanypeople callconcentration is actuallya trance. When the mind is concentrated on under standingsomethingneworsolvingadifficultproblem itmaymomentarilybecomedissociatedandallowan increaseincreativeproblemsolvingskills. Participatory sports such as basketball, football, swimmingandsoon,requirethattheparticipantre

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peatmovements.Therepetitionofthesemovements combinedwiththelimitingofattentionrequiredby therulesoftheparticularsportorskillwouldproba bly produce trance. In most cases, the trance will causebothadecreaseofbodyawarenessandallow forproblemsolvingskillstoemerge.Itisthesesec ondaryeffectsofnaturaltrancewhichmaypartially underlie the popularity of sports in general and to givetheimpressionthatsportshelptocreatevalu ablebutnonspecificskills. Computer games can also be used to produce trances. Computergamesareinteractive,andthat meansthattheynarrowtheattentionandfeedback stimulationtotheplayerwhichengagestheiratten tion even more. When players are in the types of trancesthatacomputergameproduces,theplayers becomesusceptibletohypnoticsuggestions. Insomecomputergames,forexampleEndorfunby TimeWarner,subliminalmessagescanbeintroduced tolureplayersintotrancestates. Subliminalmes sages such as "I expect pleasure and satisfaction," and "It's okay for me to have everything I want", however,canleadplayersintoaddictivestates.That is,playerswhomaybeunhappyorangryorfrustrat edinlifecouldbecomepsychologicallydependenton the positive strokes of some subliminal messages. Ontheotherhand,subliminalmessages,suchasthe above,promotingunrealisticexpectationswilleven tuallyonlyproducedisappointment,frustrationand

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anger.Isthissimplybadtranceengineeringorisit deliberatetranceabuse? Underthe1990BroadcastingAct,televisionandra diocompaniescannotproduceprogramsoradvertise mentsthatexploitthepossibilityof"influencingthe mindsofpersonswatchingwithoutthembeingfully awareofwhathasoccurred."However,nosuchlegis lationexiststoregulatethecomputerindustry.Itis notthecomputeroranymedia,however,thatisat fault; it is the willful exploitation of an induced trance. Oncethemechanicsoftranceinductionbe come wellknown, it may be that a reading of the 1990BroadcastingActwouldincludeeventhechoice ofwordsusedbyactorsinasitcominasmuchassuch scriptswhenwrittenhypnoticallymaybeused to influence social, commercial and political beliefs. Evendirectmailadvertisingreceivedinyourmailbox containshypnoticallywrittenscripts.Areyouaware ofthis? Itisalsowellknownthatwhenyouareinatrance yourattentioncanbedivertedeffectivelyenoughto produceanesthesiasufficientfordentalworkorsome typesofsurgery. Lamazenaturalchildbirthbreath ingtechniques usestheresultingnarrowedspanof attentiontohelpreducepain. Thisnarrowingofat tention,theconcentrationofthemindonmaintaining thebreathingpatterns,divertstheattentionfromthe physical pain sensations during childbirth with the resultthatthemotherbecomeslessawareofanyun comfortable sensations. The power of a mind in a

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trance can do things which it ordinarily cannot do. Giving birth painlessly is only one example. Con sciouscontrolofbreathingpatternsisusedbyyogis, aspranayama,forexample,inordertoinfluencethe mindortoinducealteredstates. Trance can also be used to reduce psychological painsuchasanxiety,fear,worry,aswellastheuni versalWeltschmerz. Insteadofconsciouslyaddress ingthecausesofthepain,trancecansuccessfullydi verttheattentionsothatoneisawareofneitherthe pain nor of the causes of pain. While the use of tranceforspecificinstancesofanalgesiamaybeben eficialforsurgeryorinemergencysituations,theuse oftrancetoavoidsituationsofalongtermorperma nent duration impoverishes life and prevents new possibilities. It is the use of trance in this latter sensewhichmakestranceintoaformofaddiction. Hypnotictranceisonlyonewaytoremovepain.Al cohol, drug, religion, work, consumption, and TV tranceaddictionscanalsobecountedasotherways ofremovingpain.Ibelieveaddictionsofallsortsare forms of pathological trances a central purpose of whichispaincontrol. Iftranceisdefinedasfixedorlimitedthinking,then nearly all human activities create some type of trance.Theboundedcirclesofthinkingthatkeepus in trances are countless. The entire "ordered uni verse"isatrance.Butthereisanescapistspleasure inremainingintranceandadeephumanfearofthe

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chaoswhichcanresultiftherewerenotrance"order" tolife. Socializationitselfistheprocessofputtingaperson intoalongtermtrance.Youdonotgotoworknaked because of socialization. The socialization process startedbyparentsandcontinuedbyreligioustrain ing, schools, universities, the military and employ ment in different ways all create a multiplicity of longtermtrancestates,theresultofwhichputsyou inaboundedcircleoflimitedbutsociallyandcultur ally acceptable activity. Without these longterm tranceslifewouldbemorechaoticandperhapsyou wouldbemorepainfullyawareoftoomanychoices. Everychoicewemakelimitsouroptionsandmakes lifeseem more manageable. When westick to our choicesatallcostsweareinapathologicaltrance. Bybecomingawarethatweareinthesetrances,we maybegintorealizethatwecanalsochangethemin morecreativeways. ItisasGurdieffsaid: towake up,wemustbecomeawarethatweareasleep. ReligiousTrance Thepracticeof religion for millennia hasinvolved thepracticeoftranceandusedavarietyoftrancein ducingactivity.Prayer,meditation,chantingallwill inducetrance.Theeffectoftrancewhentakentoex tremesandinthehandsofexpertscanproducemany magical effects, including the healing of the body, knowledgeofsecrets,thediscoveryofhiddenknowl edge,knowledgeofthefuture,aswellashavingan

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influenceontheweather,onsocialbeliefsandonthe outcomeofwar.Inaddition,religioustrancecanpro duce an easy tolerance and acceptance for many of life'sinevitabledisappointments. Therearereligioushealerswho,bymeansoftheir special meditative trances, can perform spectacular healings including psychic surgery on others. Suchhealersmaycertainlybeenviedforthesepow ers. Yet,unfortunately,eventhemeditativetrances conductedfromthealtrusisticmotivationsofapious devotiontoaGodorGoddesscanbecomepathological if they become an end in themselves. By knowing howtoidentifypathological trances aswellashow theyarecreateditispossibletoavoidthem. Faith,orbeliefinasetofideasorparadigmswith out evidence, often indicates, unfortunately, faulty judgement, faulty memory, and possibly hallucina tions. Sincethesearecharacteristicsoftrance,the profession of a faith or belief can presumably be tracedtoarepetitionoflimitedideasandtheresult ingdissociativetrance. Ingeneral,itcanbesaidthatfaithandbeliefarein dicativeoftrancesinwhichareductionofemotional painawarenessisthegoal. Iwouldbesurprisedif theprofessionoffaithandbeliefdidnothideahid dendepressionforwhichanaddictivetrancestateis ameliorating. Religions which encourage and promote personal demonstrationsoffaithandbeliefoftenareattempt

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ingtocreatesimilarconditionsthatmightbeassoci atedwithasinglemindeddevotiontoGod,butvery oftenwhatisreallyproducedseemstobeverymuch likeanaddiction.Addictionsdoproducedeeptrances and trances with relatively stabile characteristics. But, however seemingly powerful the addictive trancesare,andhowconvincinglyitmayappearthat thoseinreligiousaddictivetrancesareextremelyde votedand singlemindedtowardstheirguru, Godor Goddess,thenatureofanaddictivetranceisalways selfdelusion,deceptionanddestruction. Charismatic religious leaders often have stabile trances and such stabile trances can affect people who come into their sphere of influence as though theyhadmagicalpowersorhadtappedintopowerful energiesofanunknowntype.Theseenergiesormag icalpowersaregeneratedbytrance.Theyhavesimi laritiestoaddictivetrancesbutdifferentinanimpor tantbutsubtleway. ThetrancemodelwhichIde scribeinthefollowingpagesshowsthesedifferences.

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ASuggestedModelforTrance
Introduction

Thefieldisopenfornearlyanyonetoproposeathe ory of hypnosis. If thereal work of science begins onceacommunityofworkershasadoptedaunified theoretical paradigm (Kuhn, 1962), then, arguably, therealworkofthescienceofhypnosishasnotyet properlybegun. Solongasthereisnounifiedtheo reticalparadigmtherealityofhypnoticstatesisput intoquestion(Wagstaff,1991).Wagstaffalsoargues fortheneedofachangeinterminology. At present, there seem to be two majorschools of thoughtonthenatureofhypnosis: theneodissocia tive, and the socialpsychological. The neodissocia tivemodeldiffersfromthesocialpsychologicalmodel inthatitisasystemsmodelanddoesnotassumea "purpose"tohypnoticallysuggestedbehavior. McClelland and Rumelhart (1986) recognize that thinking and problem solving are a result of what they call "parallel distributed processing". Hilgard * The current model is available at www.lulu.com/trance

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too suggests parallelprocessingas ausefulconcept (Stava&Jaffa,1988). Ihaveasimplemodelfortrancewhichusestheidea ofparalleldistributedprocessing,butinsuchaway thatmaybeusedinasystemsorinanautomated measurementenvironment.Iwillrephrasesomecur rent problems in hypnotic theory, describe some pathological trance conditions and some possible therapeuticinterventionstrategies. Theideaisnot toreplacetherapistswithcomputersystems,butto explore the theoretical implications of such a paradigm.Theimplicationsofthetrancemodelsug gestpracticalapplicationsinresearchandinthera py. Itisobviousthathumancognitiondoesnotfunction thesameasanelectronicparalleldistributedproces sor. However, limitations in adapting information systemstheorytohumancognitionmaydependpart lyonthefactthatatpresentthereisnoreliableway todetectthepresenceofadiscretethoughtinaspe cificindividualataspecifictime.Ifthereweresuch a technique then the following theoretical model mightalsobeusefulinanexperimentalcontext. Trances,asdefinedbythismodel,arenotdifficultto produce.Infact,bythisdefinitiontrancesarequite common. Strong, spectacular and longlasting trances have popularized the false notion that all trancesarespecialstates. Themodelimpliesthat spectacular trances can be produced through the

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modification of specific conditions that produce trance. Thestrengthofatrancecanbeobjectively measuredbyusingthismodel.Inthefuture,theap plicationoftheprinciplesdescribedbythemodelmay enabletheresearcherortherapisttodesigntrances forspecificpurposesandtoobjectivelymeasurethe results. Elements of Thought AtthispointIwillnotdefine'thoughts',butmerely notethattheyexist.Togainmaximumscope,Iwill usethewordthoughttoincludefeelingaswell.AsI develop the model, a more complete definition for thoughtmayemerge.Thereasonforthisapproachis thatwithoutasystemframeworkalreadyinplacea definitionofthoughtwouldbepremature.However, wecanmakesomegeneralobservations. We know that when we are awake we have thoughts.Weknowthatwethinkaboutwhateverit isthatisimportanttous.Ifsomethingisveryimpor tant,wewillthinkaboutitmoreoftenthanifitisnot importanttous.Wemaynotknowwhatisabsolute ly important, and, for many reasons, we might not thinkatallaboutwhatistrulyvital. Whetherim portantornot,trueornot,vitalornot,ourthoughts repeat. Ithinknoonehasevercountedtheirthoughts,but wecanassumethataspecificthoughtwillrepeata countablenumberoftimesoveraspecifictimeperiod.

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Forexample,thethoughtthatissymbolizedbymoth ermayrepeat156,792timesoveraperiodofalife time.Ontheotherhand,thethoughtthatissymbol izedbyfathermayrepeatonly14timesovertheperi odoftimefrom7:16amSundayuntil16:45Monday. Why count thoughts when they seem to spring to consciousnessandthendisappearentirelyasifobey ingunknownforces? Whycountspecificthoughtsif theyhavesuchashortlifeandspringfromsucha deepanddarkwell? Whycountthemiftheyarea partofacomplexsequence,andhavetheirownun knowable agendas? Ephemeral thoughts have no weightormass,andtakenoutofcontext,theymay seemtobeofverylittleimportance. There is also the problem of measuring thoughts. Althoughitisobviousthatwehavedistinctthoughts, itisnotyetpossibletocountthemreliably.Wecan notsaywithcertaintythatanygivenpersonhadan extraordinary number of thoughts about "chickens" or "Jesus" and what an extraordinary number of thoughtsmightmean.Ontheotherhand,thereisno reliable mechanism known at present to be able to saythatanygivenperson"neverthoughtaboutZanz ibar." Thoughtsarealsodifficulttocategorize.Whatdoes itmeantothinktheword"hair,"forexample? The multipleassociationsofaword,itsdependencyonits changing contexts as well as the subjective condi

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tions,allmakemeasurementandcategorizationdiffi cult. Thoughts, Thought Objects and Brain Waves Asitfunctionsthebraingeneratesminuteelectrical charges.Presumably,theseminuteelectricalcharges representsomeofthecomponentsofthoughtsorbear somerelationshipwithwhatwesubjectivelyexperi enceasthoughtobjectsorstatesofawareness.These electricalchargesformavarietyofwaveswhichhave beenidentifiedasfollows: Beta Waves Betawavesarethemostcommonofthebrainwave patternsthatoccurwhenawake.Theseoccurduring periodofintenseconcentration,problemsolving,and focusedanalysis.Thefrequencyofbetawavesisbe tween1330Hz(cyclespersecond). Alpha Waves Alphawavesaremostcommonwhenwearemental ly alert, calm and relaxed, or when daydreaming. Thefrequencyofalphawavesisbetween812Hz. Theta Waves Theta waves occur when we are mentally drowsy and unfocused, during deep calmness or relaxation, asforexamplewemakethetransitionsfromdrowsi

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nesstosleeporfromsleeptothewakingstate.The frequencyofthetawavesisbetween47Hz. Delta Waves Delta waves occur primarily during deep sleep or states of unconsciousness. The frequency of delta wavesisbetween0.54Hz. Brain Wave Synchronization and the Frequency Following Effect 2000yearsagoPtolemyandApuleiusnotedthatdif feringratesofflickeringlightshadaneffectonstates ofawarenessandontheproductionofepilepsy. In thelate1920sitwasdiscoveredthatwhenlightwas playedontheclosedeyelidsanechoingproductionof brainwavefrequencieswasproduced. In1965Grey usedastroboscopetosendrhythmiclightflashesinto theeyesatarateoffrom1025Hz. Hediscovered thatthisstimulatedsimilarbrainwaveactivity. MorerecentresearchbyBudzynski,Oestranderand others, in the use of brain machines suggest that photicordirectelectricalstimulationofthebrainin thethetarangeappearstofacilitaterapidlearning, producedeeprelaxation,euphoria,anincreaseincre ativity,problemsolvingabilityandisapparentlyas sociatedwithenhancedconcentrationandaccelerated learning.

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Itseemsasthoughthereisamechanisminwhich the repeated stimulation can produce effects which arealsodemonstratedbytrance. Measuring Thoughts Itisnotyetpossibletomeasurewithbothprecision andaccuracy,theoccurrenceofaspecificthoughtina specificpersonataspecifictime.However,recentre search at Yale University with functional magnetic resonanceimaging,orfastMRI,isdemonstratingthe possibilityoflocatingwhereinthehumanbrain,cell activity is greatest for specific stimulations. Fast MRIorotheradvancedtechniquesmayinthefuture enableresearcherstomeasurethoughts. New technologies such as computerized electroen cephalographic(EEG)frequencyanalysis,EEGtopo graphic brain mapping, positron emission tomogra phy,regionalcerebralbloodflow,singlephotonemis sioncomputedtomographyandnuclearmagneticres onanceimagingallowmoresophisticationtobeused intheongoinginvestigationoftheneurophysiological processesofcognitivefunctioning.Aspecificthought mayormaynotcontributesufficientenergytoallow detection by oneor more ofthe instruments above. However,apowermapstudyoffractaldimensional analysisofEEGconductedrecentlyattheInstituteof Hypnosis in Tokyo, seems to indicate that the dis cretemeasurementofphysiologicalchangesofaware nessispossible(Kawano,1995).

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Itseemsasiftherearethreecurrentdirectionsof inquiry:theneurophysiological,thesocialpsycholog icalandthecognitivebehaviorialist.Theneurophysi ologicalapproachdoesnotyethaveamappingfrom physiologicalmeasurementstohumanthought.The socialpsychologicalapproachcanmeasurethegross subjectiveandsocialeffectsofthoughtsbutthisap proach seems to lack precision and provoke contro versy. Cognitivebehaviorialistsapparentlyusesys tems concepts and analytical techniques, but until now,tranceseemsnottobeasubjectforthem. One researcher in trance, Orne (1959), concluded that objective correlates to the hypnotic condition werenottobefoundinavailablephysiologicalmea surements. Orne concluded that he would have to use verbal reports of subjective experience rather thanrelyonobjectivemeasurements.Orne'sconclu sionsseemtohaveledmanycurrentresearchersto basemuchoftheirresearchonthesubjectivereports ofhypnoticsubjects.Perhapsthelackofthedevelop ment of a hypnotic or trance theory which has not beenbasedonOrne'sassumptionsisduetothefact thatphysiologicalmeasurementsofthoughtssimply do not exist at this time, nor did they exist when Ornemadehisconclusions. Ifthoughtsarebasedonoursensesandonthepro cessesofphysicalorgans,itmaybearguedthatour thoughtshavetheirrootsinthemuckandoozeofdi gestion, reproduction, circulation and respiration; and,althoughthesechlinthonianprocessesarecycli

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cal,noneof themareregular,norareanyof these processesfullyunderstood.Whatwasperhapseasier for research psychologists although finally less precisewastoturnawayfromthephysicalfounda tionsofcognitionandtodealwithmorepalatableand abstract concepts based on social and psychological models. Our thoughts are fundamentally based on our healthandthequalityoftheenergywhichisavail ableformentation.Ourthoughtsareindirectlyinflu encedbyenvironmentalmechanismsthatarenotyet fully recognized nor understood. Our thoughts are dependentonfactorswhicharenoteasytomeasure andnoteasytodescribe. Whenawarenessislowor morelikeananimal,ourthoughtsmaybemoreeasi lycorrelatedtoavarietyofphysiologicalcauses.But, when awareness is high or abstract, our thoughts seem to take paths which are not directly derived fromphysiologicalcausesalone. Yet,sequencesofthoughtsformtomakesentences andsentencesformtomakeconcepts.Bodiesofcon ceptsarethebuildingblocksofabstractknowledge. Thoughts as feelings underlay thesocial fabric and driverelationships.Itisthepatternsofsequencesof thoughtsthatareimportant,andrepeatedpatterns giveaweightedimportancethroughtheirnaturaloc currence. Inthismodel,thoughtsarenotonlywordsorsen tences;thoughtsmaybe nonverbal,visual,sensual,

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tactile,abstract,auditory,etc.Cognitivebehavioral istscallthesethoughtobjects.Thebasicideaofthe modelistobespecificastothephysiologicalfounda tionsofthoughtformeasurementpurposesandtore defineexplicitlytherelativelyabstracttermsofpsy chology.Thisleavesroomforthepossibilitythatspe cificthoughtswillonedaybemeasuredandthatthe resultsofthese measurementswillbe processed by computers.Themodel'stheoreticalconceptsassume theobjectivemensurationofthoughtmustbedefined insuchawaythatthereisnoroomforambiguity. The Model Definitions Throughout this article the following symbols are used. sisusedtospecifyathoughtsequenceofanarbi trarylength. eisusedtospecifytheawarenessofs. cisusedtospecifyaclosedloopofthoughts.Ingen eral,cisarepeatingsubsetofs. disthecollectivelatentawarenessthatiscreated byc.disalsoreferredasthedissociatedtranceplane (sometimesreferredtoastheDTP)ofc. Subscripts on these symbols are meant to denote specificinstancesofthem.

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Thoughts Asusedhere,sdenotesathoughtorthoughtobject whichcanbeuniquelydescribedbyasetofphysiolog icalmeasurements. Subscriptsons,suchass1,s2, etc.denoteaspecificsequenceofthoughtswhichoc cur sequentially in relative increasing time order without specifying the time interval. Aspecific se quenceofthoughtsmaybedenotedsuchasS=(s1, s2,...,sk). Everypersonknowswhatheorshethinks.Butnot asinglepersoncanrecordeverythoughtasitoccurs. Symbols,suchaswords,orsentences,canberecord ed. Picturescanbepaintedwhichmayrepresenta groupofthoughts,butthethoughtsthemselvescan notbepainted.Onemightimaginethatapoemora stream of consciousness utterance or a word salad more accurately represents thoughts as they occur, butitismorelikelythatsuchrepresentedthoughts are only a subsequence of the actual recorded thoughts. Energy and Awareness We assume that there is an attenuation of the awareness of a thought during the transitionto its successorandthatattenuationoccursforphysicalen ergyconservationreasons.Whileawarenessiswhol lydependentonthephysicalenergyavailableforcog nition,themodelseparateswhatmaybetermedraw

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cognitiveenergyfromanawarenesswhichisbound toaspecificthought. edenotesameasureofanindividual'sawarenessof athought.eisasetofmeasurementsthatuniquely describesameasurablephysiologicalcondition,nota subjectivereport.Theawarenesse1isgreatestwhen theenergyofconsciousnessisats1,butitshouldalso be possible to measure the residual awareness e1 whenconsciousnessisats2.Iwilldenotethissecond measuremente1(s2),andnotetheidentity,ei(si)=ei. Whatthismeansisthatwhenwethinkthoughts,the thoughtsdon'tlast. Theynaturallyfadeaway. The fadingawayofathoughtasawarenesstransitsfrom onethoughttoanotherfollowsanattenuationfunc tion. Transitionsfromonethought,satoanother,sb,oc curwheneb>ea(sb),bydefinition. Oneimportant measurement is the average transition value eg whichoccurswheneb>eg>ea(sb).egisnotacon stantvalue. Thoughtsfadeawayorbecome"uncon scious"dependingonsomephysiologicalvalueswhich arealwayschanging. egisthatpointofawareness whenonethoughtchangesintoanother. We assume that there is an attenuation of the awareness of a thought s1 during the transition of awarenesstoitssuccessors2. Thisattenuationre sultsinpredecessorthoughtsbecominglatentspecifi cally when e1(s2) < eg. When we have a new thought,weforgetabouttheoldthought.

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Attenuationofathoughtate1(s2)<egdoesnotnec essarilyimplythate1(s2)isan"unconscious"state. Wecansometimes,undersomeconditions,keepold thoughtsinourheadsaswellasnewthoughts. Thresholds, Conditions and States Wenowconsiderwhatismeantbyastateofaware nessK.Whenevereiswithinadefinedsetrangeof values,K1<e<K2,thereareassociatedtwothresh oldsofawareness,K1andK2,orconditionsofaware ness,K1<e,ande<K2. Withintheseawareness conditionboundarythresholds,anindividualsaware nessisdescribedasbeinginaspecificstateofaware ness. AnotherwaytolookatKisasasetofmeasurable enabling or disabling physiological conditions. For example,Kmaybealimitinwhicheisdisabledfor criticalthinkingandenabledforhallucination.Such avalueforKwouldcircumscribestatesofawareness inwhich"trancelogic"wouldalsobefound. Notethatwhileeisdefinedasamultidimensional vector ofunknowndimension,thethresholds Kare also setsof values. The conditions"less than" and "greaterthan"arenotoperationsonscalars,buton the multidimensional vector e, so conditions should beinterpretedsoastounambiguouslyplaceeeither withinoroutsideacorrespondingthresholdrange. In the normal awakened condition, we do have thoughts.Ifwecouldrecordthemall,wewoulddis

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coveronelongfuzzysequenceofthemstarting,per haps, at birth, and ending, perhaps, at death. We would be awake during only some portions of this longthoughtsequence.Otherportionswewouldnot. If our awareness threshold at birth is Ka and our awareness threshold at death is Kw, and we focus onlyonthoughtsthatwehaveduringtheawakecon dition, Kb, of consciousness, then the sequence of thoughts within the awareness interval (Ka, Kw), wouldappeartobediscontinuous. However,withinthecontinuousawarenessinterval (Ka,Kw)areamultiplesetofawarenessstateswhich areinterestingtoresearchers. Wecanlistsomeof themgrossly: awake,sleep,dreaming,alteredstate ofconsciousness(ASC),trance,etc.buttheseterms arenotsufficientlydefined atpresenttobeableto discriminatebetweenadjacentstateswithbothpreci sionandaccuracy.(Tart,1992)Itwouldbehelpfulto know precisely which physiological measurements comprisethecomponentsofavectorewiththesmall estdimensions,suchthatasetofconditionsofdis crimination,K,wouldunambiguouslydefineaspecif icstateofawareness. Thought Sequences Ifs1isathought,thenthenextthoughtwemight have,s2,issomehowconnectedwiths1.Presumably, s2willbefollowedbyafurthersequenceofthoughts, s3,...,sk,until,atlast,weareovercomewithsleep. At that point, we hypothesize that an awareness

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threshold,Ks,hasbeenbreached,andthatsk+1,..., sm,arethoughtsthatwemayhavewhenouraware ness is outside threshold Ks, that is, when we are asleep. Awarenessthresholdsaremultidimensionalandat presentimpreciselydefined. Forexample,itisnot knownpreciselywhat"sleep"is,norwhatASConeis inwhenoneseemstobe"asleep."Forexample,ifone activethoughtprocessei(si)>Kswhileatthesame timeanotheractivethoughtprocessej(sj)<Ks,isone unconscious, hypnotized, dreaming, asleep or in an ASC?TheanswerwoulddependonhowtheKvalues ofeachstatearedefined.Thegeneralsocialpsycho logicalabstractionsforASCsarecurrentlytooimpre ciselydefinedtobeusedinamodelfortrance.What isimpliedisthattermsdenotingsocalledstatesof consicousnessarearbitrarilydefinedbasedontheir relativeoccurance. Sucharbitrarydefinitionsimply social and cultural factors determine what "uncon scious"is. Ourthoughtsrepeat. Wehavesimilarexperiences fromdaytodayandmostofuswithamemoryseem tolearnsomethingfromourexperiences. Learning presumestheexistenceofmemory. Ifwetakethissingularlongsequenceofthoughts, andcollectallthethoughtsthatarethesame,wewill find several different patterns, some of which are abovesomearbitrarythresholdofanawarecondition

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and others will be below that same threshold of awareness. Forexample,takingwordsasthoughts,ifwecould collectallinstancesthatapersonthoughttheword "home"wewouldfindthatsomewordswouldpreceed "home"andotherwordswouldfollow"home". Ifwe counted these words which preceded or followed "home" we could arbitrarily group the words with highcountsas"consciouslyassociated"andthewords withrelativelylowcountsas"unconsciouslyassociat ed,"therebytransforminga conditionof association intoanarbitrarycategoryofastateofconsciousness. Associations Whenwethink,thenourawarenessgoesfromone thoughttoanother.Anotherwaytolookatthisisto saythatonethoughtisassociatedwithanother. If we assumeaprobabilisticmodelforanassocia tionfunction,wecouldsaythattheprobabilitythatsi wouldbefollowedbysjispi(si).Althoughprobabilis tic models lose information, association linkages based on probabilistic models (Wier, 1967) or ma chineswhichusefuzzylogiccansuccessfullysimulate human behavior to some degree only to the extent thataconditionofassociationcorrespondsreliablyto acategoryofanarbitrarystateofconsciousness. Hebb'slearninglaw,"Letusassumethenthatthe persistence or repetition of a reverberatory activity (or trace) tends to induce lasting cellular changes

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thataddtoitsstability...WhenanaxonofcellAis nearenoughtoexciteacellBandrepeatedlyorper sistentlytakespartinfiringit,somegrowthprocess ormetabolicchangetakesplaceinoneorbothcells suchthatA'sefficiency,asonofthecellsfiringB,in creased"impliesaphysiologicalbasisforassociation. Channels Thesetofpotentiallyassociatedthoughtsandtheir probabilitiesforwhichpx>0representsthechannel forsx.Channelsmaybenarrowinthecaseofafew x, or under conditions which restrict choice. For a giventhoughtthereisadomainofpossibleassocia tions. Going the other way from sx, there is a set of thoughts,sa,...,sb,forwhichsxisthepattern;that is,therangeofspecificthoughtswhichhavethesame domainofpossibleassociations. Whileasingularthoughtisofsomeinterestbecause itisthefoundationofourdiscussion,itisnotasin teresting as the regular association of thoughts we knowaspatterns. Fromthepointofviewoftrance,thepatternsofa thought may be used to trigger or evoke a specific thoughtsequence. Memory Thereverseassociationsaofsiiscalledthememo ryofsi.

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Dissociation Thereisactuallynothingnewabouttheconceptof dissociation,whichisdefinedas"thesplittingoffof certainmentalprocessesfromthemainbodyofcon sciousness with various degrees of autonomy" (Hil gard, 1977, 1992). This definition, however, is too vagueforourpurposes.Thisdefinitionseemstocir cumscribe at least three types of phenomena all of whichcouldbetermed"dissociation,"butwhichare functionallydifferent.Thethreetypesofdissociation are abstraction, autonomous multiprocessing and trance. Dissociationisthemechanismbywhichprocessing becomes distributed to dominant and latent se quences.Whenbothdominantandlatentsequences arecontinuingatthesametime,thenthereisparal lel processing. The latent sequence becomes the trained automaton. Multiple parallel information processing,withorwithoutawareness,seemstobeat thebasisofinfluencingcognition,affectandbehav ior. Whatdistinguishesthedominantfromthelatentse quencesofdissociationisthedisablingorenablingof certaincognitivefunctionsfromthelatentsequence. Abstraction as a type of dissociation Whenthesequenceofthoughtss1,...,si,...,sk,oc cursoftenenough,theindividualmayrememberthat s1wastheprogenitorofsk.Therefore,theremaybe

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thereverseassociationsktos1aswellasthepattern associations1tosk,suchasa"linkedlist."Whens1 next occurs, thechannelwill be modifiedsuchthat thereisagreaterprobabilitythattherewillbeadi rectassociations1toskaswellass1tothes2se quence.Thatis,thesequences2...sk1continuesbe lowthethresholdofawareness,andawarenesscon tinuesdirectlyfroms1tosk.s1mightrepresentthe abstractsymbolofthes2...sk1sequence. Thisdissociation(abstraction)functionisafunda mentalbasisforlearning. Itseemsthatforreasons ofenergyconservation,latentsequencesaremoreef ficientthandominantsequences. Thatislongerse quencesofthoughtsmayexistlatentlythancanexist dominantlyforthesameexpenditureofphysiological energy.Inexistinglatentlysomecognitivefunctions, suchascriticalthinking,aredisabled. The maximum rate at which the dissociation (ab straction) function may be implemented as well as the maximum length of latent sequences may be a basisforanaccuratemeasureofthoughtprocessing efficiencyorintelligence. Similarmeasuresareap pliedtoelectronicparalleldistributedcomputersys tems.Abstractioninthemindissimilartoa"linked list"incomputerterminologyinsofarasonethought may be linked to multiple groups of thoughts. We have,throughourexperiences,abstractedfromphys iologicalfunctionstoconcepts.Thisabstractionpro cesstakesplaceasaverylargenumberofsmallab stractionswhichtakeplaceduringalifetime. Itis

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possibletoaccesstheunderlyingprocessesthatform a given abstraction by selfreflection, memory or analysis. Dissociation(autonomousmultiprocessing)isaspe cialfunctionofcognitioninwhichawarenessissplit intotwoportions,withthedirectsequence,s1tosk continuing as the dominant, conscious, aware se quence,andthes2tosk1sequencebeingsubdomi nant, subconscious, or latent sequence. Simultane ouslyreadingthisbookandscratchingyourarmisan exampleofthistypeofdissociation.

Trance Generating Loop Thought sequences, thought associations, thought patterns,andabstractthoughtsarequiteimportant typesofpatterns,butthereisanotherpatternwhich is evenmoreimportant to thestudy of trance, and which I define as the "trance generating loop" or sometimesreferredtoastheTGL. The dissociation which comes about from trance generating loops is at the basis of trance. This is nothingnew. Thehypnotistintonesrepeatedlythat we are relaxed and happy. The shamans drum dronesoninamonotonousbeat. Thealcoholicfol lowsonedrinkbyanother. Whatperhapsisnewis namingalloftheserepeatedloopsascausaltoaspe cifictypeofdissociationthatisuniquelycharacteris tic of trance. The dissociation of trance is not ab

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stractionanditisnotatrueautonomousmultipro cessing. Letussaythatathought,s1,isfollowedbyaknown sequence of thoughts, s2, ..., sk, ..., sn for which a subsequenceeventuallyrepeats,sothatskrs1.This thoughtsubsequence,C=(s1,...sk),ofkelementsI call a trance generating loop (TGL). Thought se quencesofthislooptypeincludeeverytypeofthink ing which starts and ends with the same thought. Hypnotic inductions are specific instances of trance generatingloops,buttrancegeneratingloopsinclude muchmorethantraditionalhypnoticinductions. Wecandefinesomesimplemeasuresonathought sequenceC=(s1,...,sk)asfollows:IfCisatrance generatingloopwithkelements,kissimplytheele mentsofC.TherepetitionsmofCisthenumberof timesCisrepeated.

Trance
Whenconsciousnesstraversesc1,thereisaprimary awarenesse1.Whenconsciousnessprogressestoc2, awarenessise2,butthereisalsoaresidualaware nessofe1whichisdenotedase12.Attheendofthe secondrepetitionofc,m=2,andatthesamethought c1 there exists the primary awareness e11 and the secondarylatentawarenesse12. Atm=3,wehave atc1,thenewprimaryawarenesse11aswellasthe residualawarenesse12ande13.Ifthereisanatten uationoftheawarenessattheendofeachrepetition

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thene11>e12>e13. Atthesametime,thetotal awarenessatc1attheendofmrepetitionsmustbe the sum of all the partial awareness Se1m. Each thought,ci,inthetrancegeneratingloophasanasso ciated awareness sum, Seim, which consists of the originalpart,ciofthetotalawarenessplustheresid ualawareness Seim ci. This termrepresentsthe dissociated partofciand for all iinctheresidual awarenessisdefinedasthedissociatedtranceplane (DTP)ofc,or,symbolically,d=Semc. Thecollective latentsum awareness,of c,denoted asd,whenofsufficientcollectiveenergywillbesub jectivelyexperiencedapartfromthetrancegenerat ingloop.Itisthisseparatesubjectiveexperiencewe defineastrance,athirdtypeofdissociationwhichis distinctfromabstractionandfromtheautomaton. Dissociation as abstraction is an energy efficient cognitionforprocessingpatterns.Dissociationasau tomaton allows continuouspatternsto be processed autonomously without awareness. Dissociation as tranceisanenergymodificationofawarenessinor dertoprocesspatternsinnewways. Trance will occur under several conditions. It is helpfultodiscusstheseconditionswithoutregardto the specific content of the trance generating loop. Theappearanceofdifferenttypesoftranceordiffer ingASCsoccursbecauseofachangeintheunderly ingconditionsoftrance. Thiswill becomeclearas theeffectofvaryingconditionsisdiscussed.

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Limited Loop Length When the number of elements of c is very large, thereisabsuchthate1(cb)=0fornt<bandei(ca)> 0fora<nt<b.Whenn>nt,cisindistinguishable fromssinceanyloopingofcwillnotcontributesuffi cientenergytobringaboutadissociation. Tranceismosteasilyestablishedbytrancegenerat ingloopswithn<nt. Sufficiency of Repetitions Whenm,thenumberoftimescisrepeated,istoo lowthendislessthancandtrancewillnotoccur.As m becomes larger, d increases, until, at a certain pointawarenessmayalternatebetweentheplanesof sandthedissociatedtranceplane. Subjectively, a person becomes able to repeat c whileatthesametimeentertainingslightlydifferent other thoughts. These slightly different other thoughtsappeartobe"normal",butaccordingtothis model, they take place in the dissociated trance plane,andthereforearedissociatedthoughts. Ifmissufficientlylargebeforethe"otherthoughts" intervene,thensufficientenergycanbegeneratedto produceastabiledissociatedtranceplane.However, ifmisloworif"otherthoughts"intervene,itispossi ble to produce multiple overlapping dissociated tranceplanes. Lighttrancesareproducedwhenmislow.Forex ample, music consists of many trance generating

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loops consisting of the multiple rhythms and melodies. As one listens to one specific rhythm or melody, when a certain value of m is reached, the melodyis'learned'andadissociatedtranceplaneis produced. Whenthedissociatedtranceplaneispro ducedsomecognitivefunctionsaredisabledandthe 'conscious' mind is attracted to or picks another melodytolistento.Thepatternrepeats.Theeffect, mentally, is that the listener goes from one trance generatinglooptothedissociatedtranceplanetoan othertrancegeneratingloop,etc. Bothmultiple butcountabletrancegeneratingloopsanddissoci atedtranceplanesexist.Althoughthetrancegener atingloopsarebasicallyconstanttheyarepartof themusicthedissociatedtranceplanescomeinto existenceandthendisappearastheminddissociates on each trance generating loop, the cognitive func tionsaredisabledandthemindfallsbackintorecog nizing another aspect of rhythm or melody. It is thesemultipledissociationssurfingonthedissoci atedtranceplanes,sotospeakthatgivespleasure tothelistener. It should also be mentioned that as the mind is traversingonetrancegeneratingloop,itcancertainly beattractedtoanothertrancegeneratingloop. At tractedmeansthattherewasaninterveningdissoci ationaswellasadisablingofacognition. Inthese lighttrances,thedissociation,andtheestablishingof thedissociatedtranceplane,thedisablingofacogni

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tionandtheterminationofthetrancemayhappen quiterapidly,withinfractionsofasecond. Whatthetrancemodelprovidesisthestructureof alltrancesevenatthemillisecondlevelaswell asmajordecadelongtrances. Thetrancemodelim plies that there are many trances, some of which werenotpreviouslyrecognizedasatypeoftrance. Constancy of the trance generating loop Tranceswhicharealreadyestablishedmaybemodi fiedby substituting elements in c. When elements are substituted c r c', then the dissociated trance planewillalsochange. Solongascremainsconstant,thedissociatedtrance planeappearstocoincidewithcandisindistinguish ablefromit.However,wheneverthereisaperturba tionofc,orasubstitutionofanyoftheelementsofc, thatiscrc',thenthedissociatedtranceplanewill thensubjectivelyappeardistinctorseparatefromc'. Trances may be interruptible by increasing the numberofelementsinthetrancegeneratingloopor bymakingsubstitutionstospecificnewelementsofc whichresultinadecreaseoftheenergyofthedisso ciated trance plane. This is not necessarily a straightforwardoperation;merelyaddingelementsto the trance generating loop or making substitutions mightonlyresultinfantasiesorhallucinationsand behaviorchangesbasedonthosehallucinations. In terruptingatrancemeansdestroyingthedissociated

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trance plane and reintegrating awareness in the s plane. The existence of the dissociated trance plane de pendsfirstofallonthe"loop"structureofc.Second, the persistence of the dissociated trance plane de pendsonsomeminimumvalueformforanunper turbedc.Third,themannerofsubstitution,therate ofsubstitutionandtimingofcrc'mayeffecttheper sistenceofthedissociatedtranceplane. Thedissociatedtranceplanealsohasaboundaryin thesensethatthedisablingormodificationofsome cognitivefunctionslimitsorchangestheareaofcon sciousnessinthedissociatedtranceplane.Theshape ofthisboundaryisquiteimportant. Insomecases the dissociated trance plane boundary excludes awareness of the body. In extraordinary cases the boundarymayevenincludetheawarenessofperson alitiesthathavedied.Thisboundaryofthedissociat edtranceplaneisveryflexibleandcanchangerapid ly.Itcanalsobemodulated. Persistence of Latency For any specific thought ci, as mentioned above, thereisanassociatedawarenesscomponentei.This awareness component attenuates or becomes latent overatimeinterval(t0,tx). Thatis,forsomelarge valueoftx,thereisassociatedwitheachthoughtci anawarenessfunctiona(ci,t),suchthata(ci,t0)=ei anda(ci,tx)<e,anarbitrarysmallvalue.

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Arapidly attenuating functionwillprevent trance from developing because an insufficient amount of energy would be available to create enough latent awarenesstodissociate. Functionswhichattenuate relativelyslowwillresultintrance. Hypnoticsmay promoteadecreaseintheattenuationratesofsuch awarenessfunctions. Speed of Loop Fortrancegeneratingloopsofncomponentswhich aretraversedintimet,thereisanaveragespeedof looping,v.Whenvisrelativelyhightheeffectofthe attenuationfunctionsbecomesmoreimportant.Con versely,whenvisrelativelylow,theeffectonthecre ateddissociatedtranceplaneoftheattenuationfunc tionsbecomesless. Fromapracticalpointofview,whatthismeansis that whenever you do a task with few components relatively rapidly, you are more likely to develop a trancethanifyouweretodothesametaskslowly. Toputitanotherway,anadvertisementwhichisde livered at a slightly quicker pace would likely be more effective due to the result that more people wouldbecomedissociated.Thesameeffectwouldbe expectedforhypnoticinductions. Ineverydaylifemanypeoplefeelrushed,asthough therewaslittletimetodoeverythingcompletelyor satisfactory.Aslongasthetaskstobedonedon'tre peatthentranceislesslikely.Butifthetaskstobe

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donearerepetitiveandrushed,tranceisquitelikely todevelop.Itisprimarilyforthisreasonthatpeople whoworkwithcomputersarelikelytoentertrance quite easily, especially when they are rushed and whenthetaskstodoarerepetitive. Nature of the dissociated trance plane The dissociatedtranceplane requires less energy than the corresponding trance generating loop and thereforesomecognitivefunctionsareinhibited.The energyconservationprofileofthedissociatedtrance plane enables abstraction and learning as well as multiprocessingtooccurwithgreaterefficiencythan intheplaneofs. Itisduepartlytotheenergycon servationnatureofthedissociatedtranceplanethat critical thinking, intellectual processes, judgments, accurate recall, decisionmaking are all inhibited. Awarenessofthebodymaybereducedandanalgesia maybepresent. Selfobservationisenhanced. Hal lucinationsmaybepresent. Whatcanbeasourceofconfusiontoresearchersis thefailuretorecognizewhendissociationstarts. It wouldbedifficulttoassessdissociationbymeansof subjectivereportingbecausewithverystrongdissoci atedtranceplanesmanyintellectualprocessesarein hibited, such as decisionmaking and other critical functions. Selfobservation,itself,isacharacteristic ofdissociation.Therefore,inmanycasesthesubject would not even realize when dissociation had oc curredbecausethesubjectmustbeslightlydissociat

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ed in order to selfobserve. It is for these reasons thatprecisesubjectivereportingofdissociationisun reliable.Incasesofmicrodissociationsuchaswhen listeningtomusic,itwouldbeimpossibletorelyon subjectivereporting. Toshowthis,thereaderisin vited to listen to some music and to identify the trancegeneratingloopsaswellasthedissociations. Makeacheckmarkwhenthedissociationoccursand describewhatyourminddoesassoonasitisdissoci ated.Youcanrealizewiththisexamplehowdifficult relyingonsubjectivereportingisforindicatingdisso ciation. Stability of the dissociated trance plane Thedissociatedtranceplanegenerallyisnotstabile. Normally, it is easily interrupted and it collapses. Forexample,ifyouseesomeonewhosegazeisfixed, you can assume they are in a trance. If you say, "Hey,areyouinatrance?"theysnapoutofitquite easily. Oftenapersonwillsnapoutofatrancebe cause they start to think using disabled cognitive functions.Assoonassomecognitivefunctionsarere quired the dissociated trance plane will normally vanish. Thedissociatedtranceplanebecomesstabilewhen thereisasecondaryordertrancegeneratingloopcon sistingofthedissociatedtranceplaneandtheorigi naltrancegeneratingloop.

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Potentiated dissociated trance planes and constructive trance generating loops When the dissociated plane changes from DTP r DTP'thereisimpliedachangeinthecorresponding TGLrTGL'. WhenTGL'doesnotexist,andcomes intoexistence,theTGL'iscalledconstructive.Like wise,whenaportionorasectionofatrancegenerat ing loop is enabled, a corresponding dissociated tranceplaneispotentiated. The conditions under which dissociated trance planesarepotentiatedarecalledtriggers. Asimpletriggerwordforaposthypnoticactionmay beawordwhichisasubsetofatrancegenerating loop.Thetrancegeneratinglooppotentiatesadisso ciated trance plane as the association on this word andevokesaninternalstate. TheDTPmaychange to DTP' or construct a TGL' containing an action. Thusthesequenceforaposthypnoticsuggestionistr TGLrDTPrDTP'rTGL'raction. The Measure of Trance Force Eachoftheelementsofcihasanassociatedaware nesscomponentei.Theawarenesscomponenteiisa vectorofmeasurementsoneofwhichcomponentmea surementsisthetranceforce,W(ei). IftheaveragevalueoftheW(ei)islessthanavalue Wo,thentrancewillnotdevelop.Thereasonisthat thesumofthepartiallatenciesdispartiallydepen dentonWoinsuchawaythatalowWowillnotcon

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tributetherequiredlatenteffectinordertoproduce trance. Theenergy,W(e),requiredtosustainawarenesseis asmallbutmeasurablebiophysicalquantity.Theen ergy,W(k),requiredtomaintaindisalsosmall,and, ingeneral,whens=c,andn=0,W(k)<W(e).How ever,foralargenandfortrance,disgreaterthanc. Inthiscase,sisprojectedorreflectedonthetrance energyplanedandtheprojection,s',ismaintained withaminimumofenergy.Thetranceforceappears toincreaseastheefficiencyofmaintainingatrance increases,thatis,whenadissociatedtranceplaneis maintainedeasily.Inhypnosis,aneasilymaintained dissociated trance plane is often called a 'deep trance.' Inadeeptranceonewouldexpecttomea surearelativelystrongW. ItisastrongWwhich givesthesenseofweirdnessorotherworldlyquality todeeptrance.Morethananyothercharacteristicof trance,itisthisweirdtranceforce,whichIwillde note hereas the WTF, whichis remarkableasone definingcharacteristicofintensedeeptrance. Thetranceforcemightnotbea'force'or'energy'in theordinarysenseofphysics.Thetranceforceoccurs only as a result of the existence of the dissociated tranceplane.Themorestabilethedissociatedtrance plane,themoreintensethetranceforce. Thenoticeableintensityofthetranceforcedepends on several conditions. First the dissociated trance planemustbestabile,becauseitisdifficulttonotice

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anytranceforceifthereisnoconsistency. Second, the area of the dissociated trance plane must be large. This could mean that the dissociatedtrance planewasverysharporelongatedaswhenthemind isconcentratedorthedissociatedtranceplanemay beverylargeaswhenthemindhasbeentrainedby decades of meditation. Either way, a significant tranceforcewillexist. Onewaytocreateastrongtranceforceistomakea secondary or derived trance generating loop TGL r DTPrW,thatis,torewardastrongtranceforcewith anincreaseintheeffectivenessofthetrancegenerat ingloop.Wecallthisasecondaryordertrancegener atingloop. Secondaryordertrancegeneratingloopsareimpor tantindeephypnotictraces,addictionsandadvanced yogicstates. Thetranceforce,whenitcanbesustainedasina deephypnotictrance,hasimportantcharacteristics. Since intense trance forces will involve large and stabile dissociated trance planes these dissociated tranceplaneswillalsobepotent. Thatis,theywill tendtoconstructderivativetrancegeneratingloops and potentiatedissociatedtranceplanes. It is this potentiatingeffectofthetranceforcewhichgivesthe feeling of weirdness and which can cure warts, amongitsothersocalledmagicaleffects. Agrippasaid"theaffectionofthephantasy,whenit vehementlyintendsitself,dothnotonlyaffectitsown

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properbody,butalsoanother's.Soalsothedesireof witchestohurt,dothbewitchmenmostperniciously withsteadfastlooks..." Healsosaid,"philosophers advisethatthesocietyofevil,andmischievousmen beshunned,fortheirsoulbeingfullofnoxiousrays, infectsthemthatarenearwithahurtfulcontagion... the society of good, and fortunate men be endeav oured after, because by their nearness they do us muchgood." The feeling of weirdness can also be felt during many kinds of occult activity. It may be common wherethereisaperceptionofspiritsorghosts.Itis thisfeelingthatmakesyourhairstandonend. It maybethattheintensetranceforceisrelatedtobio energyorisderivedfromunknownchemical,electri calormagneticsystemeffects. Whatmayhelptofurtherdescribethetranceforce anditseffectsisthefollowingspeculation.Normally, weliveinthemahamayawhichmaybeaverylarge tranceforcefield.Weareaccustomedtolivinginthis field,soitestablishesourfeelingofnormalcy.When a person is in a very deep trance a locally intense tranceforceiscreatedwhichmayinterferewiththe localeffectofthemahamaya. Itistheinterference whichgivesrisetotheweirdnessandtothesenseof unreality. When a deep trance is created for the purpose of making a wart disappear, the intense trance force createdaltersthelocalfieldinsuchawaythatthe

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wartcannotsustainitself. Theexactmechanismis unknownbutitmayberelatedtoprojectedbioener gy or derived from unknown chemical, electrical or magneticsystemeffectscausedbythetranceforceor amodulationofthisforce. Weirdnessitselfcanbeexplainedasaderivedcom plex of biological, electrical, chemical and magnetic systemchangesexperiencedsubjectively. Whenatranceforcecanbesustainedthenitwillbe possible to determine how and in what way the tranceforcecreatesorinterfereswithlocalbioener gy,chemical,electricalormagneticsystems.Because in most normal situations the dissociated trance plane isnotconsciouslysustainable, exceptindeep trance, the trance force will not often be created. Whenthetranceforceiscreatedbydeeptranceitis oftennotunderverygoodcontrol,andthereforethe exacteffectofaspecifictranceforceisdifficulttode termine.Notonlythat,butthelackofagoodmodel fortrancehasmadespeculationastothenatureand characteristicsofthetranceforcetoouncertainuntil now. Oncegoodobjectivemeasuresof trance havebeen established, including the existence, range and shapes of a dissociated tranceplane as well as the tranceforce,itshouldbeeasiertofindcorrelations betweenmeasurementsonthetranceforceandobjec tivelyverifiablephysicaleffects.

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Thefirstcharacteristicofthetranceforceisthatit tendstobringintosympathyoralignmenttheother tranceforcesinotherbodiesorareas.Thisistheal chemical 'as above so below' magical phenomena. Onecanhypothesizethatthetranceforceisatypeof biomagnetic energy which potentiates sympathetic phenomena. It is theoperation of the tranceforce whichcauseswartstodisappearbyhypnoticsugges tion,for example. Itisthe operation ofthe trance forcewhichcausessympatheticmagicalphenomena tooccurasaresultofritualmagicordeepmedita tion. Thetranceforcepotentiatestrancegenerating loops. Asecondcharacteristicofthetranceforceisthatit maybeusedinasensatemodeinwhichitis'aligned' withothertranceforces. Theyogiormeditatorwho doesthis becomesawareof remote phenomena and thethoughtsofothers. Specifically, for example, the large extended and quiescenttranceforceofayogimaybehavelikeacar rierovertimeandspaceasmuchasthemahayanais acarrier. Changesinremotebioenergy,electrical, chemical or magnetic systems may perturb or alter the quiescence of this carrier and transmit intelli gencetotheyogiwhoisawareofthemeaningofsuch subtle changes in the trance force. Such changes would alter the yogis dissociated trance plane and construct knowledge as trance generating loops of hiddenevents. Thesetrancegeneratingloopswould appeartosuchayogiasrecurringdreams,orideas

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whichpersistedincomingintoconsciousness.These constructive trance generating loops also have this loopingqualityandthatisonewaytheycanbeiden tified. Thereforethetranceforcegenerallyisbothlikean extensible sense and an extensible organ of action. Magicians, yogis, witches, shamans and others at tempttogainmasteryoverthetranceforcethrough meditation,ritualandsacrifice.Toexpressthegoals of magicians, yogis, etc. in my terms, they hope throughvariouspracticestofindthemagicalformula ortrancegeneratingloopwhichwillcreatetheproper dissociatedtranceplaneoralteredstateofconscious ness and develop over time a stabile dissociated trance plane and then to develop conscious control over and anincreaseofthetrance force whichwill enablethemtobothbeawareofsubtlephenomenaas wellastoexerciseadegreeofcontrolovertheuni verseoratleasttheirlocalportionofit. Creatingdissociatedtranceplanesandtranceforces overwhichapersoncanexercisesomeconsciouscon trolseemstobeamatteroftimeandpersonalener gy.Itwouldbeimportantnottowastetimeorener gyonpracticeswhichareineffectiveorwhichproduce undesirableeffects.Theimproperuseormismanage ment of trance technology can easily produce all of thesymptomsofpathologicalbehaviorincludingad dictionsandhallucinations.Iwouldsuggest,infact, thatweallwishtobemastersofouruniverse,but,in fact,wehavebeenseducedeitherthroughmisman

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agementoftranceoroutrighttranceabuse,intovari oustypesofpathologicaltrancesincludingawideva rietyoftranceaddictions. Oneoftheproblemsincreatingatranceisthatthe dissociated trance plane always causes a cognitive disabling. That is, as soon as you do something whichgetsyouintotrance,you'lose'control.This,to manypeople,islikemagic,anditcanbefrightening. McKenna describes a commonality of both schizophrenicsandshamansinthat"theymaydevel opafixedideationonanarrowcircleofsignificant ideas,omens,orobjectsoftenbecomingsointenseas toresultinsleeplossorautohypnosis."Thecognitive disablingthatisproducedalongwithvividhallucina tions may be responsible for the death and rebirth symbolismoftenfoundinshamanisticinitiationsand inthefullymanifestedshamanictrance. Creating A Trance To summarize the chronological steps of a trance creation: 1. Normalthinking;thatis,thoughts,s,donot exhibitanyrepeatingloops. Inmodernsociety,this isprobablymorerarethanhopedfor. 2. Atrancegeneratingloopstartsforaninduc tionperioduntilthelatenteffectbecomesstronger, that is, the dissociated trance plane is created and canexistapartfromthetrancegeneratingloop.

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3. A dissociation shift occurs at precisely the time when the strength of the dissociated trance planeexceedsthatofthetrancegeneratingloopand becomes noticeable when the underlying c is per turbedtoc'. 4. Awareness shifts to the dissociated trance plane. Thetrancestarts. Inthiscase,trancelogic occurs in the dissociated part. Thought sequences which the person experiences are experienced in trance. Learningtendstobeacceleratedandthink inglesscritical.Hallucinationscouldbepresent,de pendingonthecontentoftheoriginalloop,candpri ortriggers. 5. Thetrancegeneratingloopstopsorisinter rupted. Depending on several factors, awareness may shift to s. Whenthis occurs, we say that the trance has ended and that one is "awake." The tranceisterminated,andawarenessshiftsfromthe dissociatedtranceplanetos.Thedissociatedtrance planedisappears.Trancelogicstops.Thereremains apotentiatedtrance,atraceofthedissociatedtrance planewhichisabstractedandunconscious.Thispo tentiatedtranceisthepotentiateddissociatedtrance planeandanyc'sequences. 6. Post trance effects that is, constructive trancegeneratingloopsmayoccurwheneverthe potentiated dissociated trance plane is triggered by anappropriates.

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Identifying the trance generating loop Identifyingatranceisforemostaneffortinidentify ingtheoneormoretrancegeneratingloopsthatin ducethetrance.Thefirstdifficultyistorealizethat thetrancegeneratingloopmaynothaveanycontent atallsimilartowhatthetranceappearstobeabout. Thetrancegeneratingloop,afterall,merelyinduces thedissociativeexperience. Theseconddifficultyin identifying the trance generating loop is that often therearenohumantermsavailabletoaccuratelyde scribethe"thoughtobjects"whichconstitutethecon tentofthetrancegeneratingloops.Athirddifficultly isthatthedissociatedtranceplaneimpliesapartial lydisabledcognitionandawareness. Afourthdiffi culty is that trance generating loops may be of ex tremelyshortduration. Ibelievethatthesedifficul tiesareattherootofafailuretounderstandwhat tranceisallabout. Theexactcontentofthetrancegeneratingloopisof tennotsoobvious. Forexample,readingabookor watching television in which a long story is told "seems" to be the primary trance generating loop withalargenumberofelements. Thebook orthe videotapewhichseemstoberesponsibleforproduc ingthetrancecanbeplayedorexperiencedoverand over. Itwouldseemthatthereforethebookorthe videotapeitselfwastheprimarytrancegenerating loop.Itisnot.Itisthesecondaryordertrancegener ating loop. Thesequence of input in the case of a bookortelevisionimagesisnotaclosedloop,butonly

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alinearsequence,s. Ifthisweretheonlycognitive sequence then by definition of the model, trance wouldnotoccur. It is known by measured changes in alpha states that an ASC occurs within 30 seconds or so of the commencementofwatchingtelevision. Theprimary trance generating loop in this case is not the ele mentsinthelongstorysequence,s,butistheloop betweentheimageonthescreenandthephysiologi calreactionsoftheviewerwhichproducesthedesire tocontinuetheexperience.Thatis,theviewerlooks attheimagesonthescreen,associatestohisownex periences,andthisassociationaccesscreatesadesire toresolveorrepeattheactualexperience.Theview erthereforecontinuestolookatthescreeninorderto obtainfulfillmentofthisdesire.Thistrancegenerat ingloopisquiteshortandisthemostimportantloop which induces the trance associated with television viewing. Broadcastingnoiseorimageswhichdonot createtheassociationsorwhichdonotcreateadesire toresolveorrepeatanaccessedassociationwillnot createthedesiretocontinuetolookatthescreen.In suchacasetherewouldbenotrancegeneratingloop and therefore no trance. Thosepeople whoare al readyinanaddictivetrancecould,ofcourse,befasci natedbysimplevideonoise. The Experience of Trance The collective latent sum awareness d is experi encedinsomesenseasrealduringtranceinspiteof

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thefactthatdisderivedfromanexternalsource.In thecaseoftelevision,thetrancegeneratingloopcre ates the trance effect and the continuous television images,s,aresubjectivelyexperiencedwhileinthis trance,thatis,theawarenessoftheviewerisfrom the dissociated plane and not the generating loop. Theeffect ofthetrancehelps tocreate theillusion thattheimagesare"other,"thatis,thatthetelevi sionimageshaveanindependentreality. Iftheviewingofthetelevisionimageswerenotdone fromthedissociatedtranceplane,viewingtelevision would be exhausting and unrewarding. However, viewingtelevisionwhileintranceisrelaxinganden joyable because energy consuming critical functions aredisabled.Thatistosay,whenyouwatchtelevi sion,trancelogicisoperant. Trance Logic TrancelogicisdefinedbyOrne(1959)asanability tomixphysicalperceptionswithhallucinationsand Bowers(1983)contendsthattrancelogicisaformof dissociation,whichleadsmetoconcludethattrance logicoperatesindbutnotins. Iftrancecanbecreatedusingatrancegenerating loop thenthe content of the trance generating loop canbe"learned"assoonasdissociationoccurs.That is, the energy requirements to maintain the trance generating loop becomes substantially less as soon dissociation occurs. Less energy requirements im

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pliesthatsomecognitivefunctionsaredisabledand thatsomeothercognitivefunctionsmaybeenhanced. Thechangeintheenergyrequirementsoccursinany trance,butismoreobviousindeeptrance. Theimplicationsofachangeinenergyrequirements areasfollows: 1. 2. tions Criticaljudgementisdecreasedordisabled Thereisachangeinbodyawarenesssensa

3. Thereisanincreaseinliteralismandprima ryprocessthinking(imagesandsymbolsmorethan words)increases. 4. Hypermnesiaorperceivedenhancedrecallof memories;oramnesia,selectiveforgetting. 5. 6. 7. 8. Disablingorlimitingofvolition Inaccuratesenseofreality VivificationorHallucinations Fixedattention

9. Involvement in inner processes or contact withtheunconsciousmind. 10. Othercognitivechanges Whenanyoftheabovecharacteristicsoftrancelogic arepresent,theexistenceofatranceispresumable. Todeterminemorecharacteristicsofthetrance,itis necessary to discover the trance generating loop of the trance. When trance generating loops involve

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triggers,itisimportanttodeterminethetrancegen eratingloopsoftheunderlyingtrances. Ordinary Trances Trance can be produced by the repetition of mantras, by chanting, by exposure to any repeated images. Regular drumbeats will produce trance. Formalhypnoticinductionswillproducetrance.Pac ing or mirroring or imitating the gestures, body movements or affect of one person by another will producetrance.Complexhumanandordinaryactivi tysuchasfallinginlove,beingabsorbedinaTVpro gram,marchinginaparade,andevencommutingto workallinvolvetrance. Trance,whenitdoesoccur, occursbecausetheenergyrequirementsofthedisso ciatedtranceplanearelessthantheenergyrequire mentsoftheprimarytrancegeneratingloop. Many ordinaryactivitieswouldbeimpossibleifitwerenot fortheenergyconservationeffectsoftrance. Why is energy conservation important? I believe that energy conservation in the trance generating loop allows energy usage in the dissociated trance plane.Thisenergyusageallowstheboundaryofthe dissociatedtranceplanetochange. Whatpsycholo gistshavenotedascharacteristicsoftrancelogicare onlypartlytheresultofthischangeinthetopology and energy usage of the dissociated trance plane. Thetranceforcecomesintoexistencepartlyasare sultofincreasedstabilityofthemodifieddissociated tranceplane.

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Spontaneous Trance Occasionallyapersonwillseemtoslipintoatrance withoutadiscerniblereason.Daydreamingisanex ampleofthis.Therearemanypotentiateddissociat edtranceplaneswhichcanbetriggeredbysequences orsubsequencesofthetrancegeneratingloopswhich producedaspecificdissociatedtranceplane. Partly dissociatedtranceplanesarerelatedtolearningand partlytotheautonomousnervoussystem,thereforeit ispossibletocauseafullydevelopedtrancebyinvok ingpriortrancestatesthroughsubsequencesofthe trancegeneratingloops. Professionalhypnotistsare fully aware of this fact. To analyzewhy a sponta neoustrancedevelops,itisonlynecessarytolookfor triggersontrancegeneratingloops. Spiritual Trance In the case of c = the mantra, Om Mane Padme Hum,theelementsofcisfour,and,ifyourepeatthis mantra108times,thistrancegeneratingloopwould haveloopsof108. ATibetanLamamaysay,"One repetition may not be enough to achieve enlighten ment,but100,000repetitionsof108maybeenough." Inthiscase,theloopsofcmustbe10,800,000topos siblyachieveenlightenment,orcertainlyanASC. Ifthestrengthofthetranceorthedurationofthe effectofthetrancedependspartlyonthenumberof repetitionsandnotonthecontentofthetrancegen eratingloop,thentherearetwopossiblereasonsfor

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theexistenceoftranceswithspiritualcontent. The firstreasonisthatdissociationproducesahighpo tentialforhallucination. Thesecondreasonisthat motivatingaspiritualseekertogeneratetrancegen erating loops with high repetition counts may be morepossiblewhenthecontentisrelatedtotheeffect onewishestoproduce.Ifyouwantto"see"God,then itwillbeeasiertouseanameofGodonlybecause youwillbemoremotivatedtogeneratetrancegener atingloopswithhigherrepetitioncountsthanifyou weretorepeat"lightbulb"or"bananaskin".Howev er,themodelimpliesthatveryhighrepetitioncounts of"bananaskin"willalsoenableadevoteeto"see" GodoratleastGodlikebananaskins. Idonotwishtobespecificallyprovocativebutthe somewhatmechanicalnatureoftranceseemstowork regardlesswhetherthecontentofthetrancegenerat ing loop relates to Allah, Buddha, Christ, Hitler, ElvisPresley,theEarthSpiritorZoraster. Thecontentofthetrancegeneratingloopdoesnot affect the primary production of the dissociated trance plane; however, once the trance starts then the content of the trance generating loop will have hypnoticeffectswhenspecificelementsofthetrance generating loop triggers other dissociated trance planesorwhentheprimarytrancegeneratingloopis modified. With certain other conditions already mentioned large dissociated trance planes will haveassociated

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strongorintensetranceforceswhichpotentiateother trance generating loops. These constructive trance generating loops will indeed be magical, but again havenothingtodowiththecontentoftheprimary trancegeneratingloops.Falselyassociatingaspecif ictrancegeneratingloopwithanintenseand'magi cal'tranceforceissimplyignoranceofhowtrancere allyworks. Pathological Trance Whenadissociatedtranceplaneisproducedwhich is so strong that some cognitive functions are dis abledoverlongperiodsoftime,inappropriatebehav iors,hallucinations,limitedoptionsandmanyother characteristics of pathology will be seen. When a trance cannot be terminated due to multiple sec ondaryordertrancegeneratingloops,inmyopinion theconditionispathological. GodandMummylovesme,anditsvariationsmay beatrancegeneratingloopforsomepeople. While thenumberofelementsisfive,thistrancegenerating loopinsomecasesmayhavebeenmentallyandemo tionally repeated more than 10,800,000 times. In suchcasesoflargenoftheprimarytrancegenerating loop,Iwouldsuspectthataverystrongdissociated tranceplanecouldbeproducedalongwithconcomi tantpotentialhallucinationsbothnegativeandposi tive of all kinds. It seems to me that the operant mechanismforASCsaswellastrancebasedpatholo giesisthebasictrancegeneratingloopstructureand

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thepersistenceandstrengthoftheresultingdissoci atedtranceplanes.Thelatencyoftheunderlyingab stractionsareresponsibleforthecontentoftheASC. Asafinalexampleofhowatrancegeneratingloop may start in traumatic situations: a man rapes a woman.Thewomanrepeatssomesequencec"thisis nothappeningtome"mentallyoremotionallytoes cape herfearandthe pain. Thetrance generating loop creates a dissociated state. The dissociated tranceplanecreatesthesubjectiveexperiencethat"it isnothappeningtome,"andthewomanexperiences therapewhileinatrancestate.Thephysicalexperi ence however is still happening, and these experi encesperturbthetrancestate,thatis,crc'andsec ondaryandtertiarytrancegeneratingloopsanddis sociatedtranceplanesarecreated. Thetrancestate operateswithtrancelogic,thatis,learningisacceler atedanduncritical. Whentherapeisoverandthe trance is terminated, theassociatedabstractedpat terns,the"anchors"and"triggers",remainpotential torecreateboththedissociatedstatesaswellasthe physicalexperiences. Presumablytherapeuticinter vention depotentiates the triggers and dissociated tranceplanes.Fromthepointofviewoftrancetheo ry, therapeutic intervention for rape victims must startbeforesecondaryordertrancegeneratingloops areestablished. Ifsubsequentexperimentsprovethatthissystems approachispatent,thenextensionstothemodelto more accurately describe specific social, psychologi

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cal, pathological conditions and therapeutic strate gieswouldbeanextstep.

A Collection of Sacred-Magick.Com < The Esoteric Library

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PathologicalTranceand Addiction
NormalTrances I make an assumption about what is desirable in life,andIshouldstateitexplicitly.Iassumethata robustlifeisalifeofvarietyandwideoptions,and that an impoverished life is a life with few options andlittlevariety.Lifenaturallycontainslimitsand limitshelptorestrainchaosandthustofreeacer tainkindofenergy.Althoughtherearemanypeople oftheopinionthatalllimitsarebad,Ifeelthatlimits alonearenotbad,infact,limitsarenecessarytoem power creativity. However, certain types of strict limitsinlifeseemtoimplythepresenceofapatho logicalstateoratleastdelusionsaboutlackofper sonalpower.Thereisadelicatebalancebetweenthe limitswhichempowerpersonalgrowthandthelimits whichcrushhumanspirit. Onewaytofindthisbalanceistorealizethatwithin any personal psychological reality there is a set of changingstimuliandresponsepotentials.Abehavior isapairofspecificstimuluswithitsresponseanda behaviorresultsinanewstimuluswhichjoinsother stimuliincreatingthepersonalpsychologicalreality. Theoretically,theresponsesthatmayexistforagiv

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ensetofstimulicanbecounted.Thenumberofsuch potentialresponsesisoftenthoughtofasthe"rich ness"ofaperson'slife. Arelativelylownumberof potential responses or options indicates a relatively impoverishedreality. Ahealthy,normalpsychologicallifeseemstobeone inwhichthereisarichsetofstimuliandarichsetof responses. Furthermore, the pattern of behavior tendsnottoberigidlyrepetitiveandthisrichvariety seemstoallowbothpersonalgrowthandtostimulate othersintheirownsearchforvarietyandrichnessin life. On the other hand, an addictive personality couldbecharacterizedasoneinwhichtherearefew responses and the pattern of behavior is generally repetitive. WhatIfindtobeinterestingistoapplytheprinci plesoftrancetheorytoawidevarietyofindividual andinstitutionalbehaviorsthatappeartoberigidor repetitivethatis,presumabletrancesandtryto determinewhatthetrancegeneratingloopsareand what the characteristics of the dissociated trance planesareandhowonemightdescribeanycreated tranceforces. Apersonhasthepotentialtobeinanormaltrance assoonastheirattentionislimited. Ordinarycon centration, when the mind is focused on a specific problemorthought,setsoneoftheconditionsfora normaltrancetooccur. Intensepleasure,whenthe mindisengagedinjoyfulorexcitingrepetitiveactivi

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ty,setsaconditionfortranceandmay,formanypeo ple,becomeatrance.Whenoneisdaydreaming,with nospecificdirectionof thethoughts,withacertain repetitionofthoughts,oneisinanormaltrance.The generalcharacteristic of these normaltrance states seemstobethatthoughtsrepeatandthereisalimit ing of attention; however, they can be easily inter rupted. Whatmakesanormaltrancenormalispri marilythatitiseasilyinterrupted. Thatis,specifi cally, disturbing the trance generating loop makes thedissociatedtranceplanecollapse. Dependingon many factors, such as the presence of secondary trancegeneratingloops,orifthedissociatedtrance planeisstabileenoughsothatdisturbingthetrance generatinglooponlymakesmoreordifferentdissoci atedtranceplaneshallucinationssuchtrances wouldappearlessnormalandmoreweird.Certainof themwecantermpathologicalandwecandescribe themintermsoftrancetheory. Sharing Normal Trance Wesharetrancesfortheeffectsoftrance;thatis,for the effects brought about by an altered cognition space. Withlessawarenessofpainwhetheritisemotional, physical or ontological, and with less awareness of thewidevarietyofchoicesthatexistinanenabled reality,thepersonintrancehappilychoosesamong animpoverishedandsmallersetofoptions.

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Life,perhaps,wouldbetoodifficultifpeoplewere always aware of their bodies, always had a perfect memory and always made perfect judgements and werealwaysawareoftheinfinitepossibilitiesoflife. Becausemostpeoplecannotstandpain,becausemost peoplefearchaos,uncertaintyanddeath,mostpeople enter into social, institutional and mutual personal trances in order to reduce awareness. Perhaps, in the not too distant past, life was uncertain in timesofwar,orinhunger,poverty,fearandabuse situationsanditmadesensetohideandtocreate trancebysingingourselvessongs,orsayingprayers, orbyputtingourmindsoncertainconstantimagesor visions.Thisisindeedhownaturaltrancesarecreat ed;andtheusualreasonistohidefromsomething. Byamutualtrance,Imeanthateachofusinvari ouswaysandbysocialbehaviorsupportsanimpover ishedawarenessinothers.Ourpurposesinsupport ingimpoverishedawarenessare: tobeabletohave some peace ourselves, to reduce the noise and the pain. Again, the reason for this is to reduce our awarenessoftherealityofchaosandescapethepain ofthehumancondition.Thereisalsosomepleasure inenteringtranceinspiteofthefactthattrancere ducesawareness. If we speak of degrees of trance, it is my opinion thatthereisonlyadifferenceindegreebetweenpas sively watching TV, ordinary rational thought and rigorousscientificthought,religiousfervor,addictive states,andthestatesofmindbelongingtomassmur

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derers.Allofthemindstatesaboverepresentdiffer ingdegreesoftrancestates. Thereisalsoastrongsimilaritybetweenaddictions, hypnotictranceand"alteredstatesofconsciousness." Allofthese"nonnormal"statescomeaboutfirstby theprogressivenarrowingofperceptionandthelim itingofawarenesstoasingle,oratmostveryfewob jectsofattention.Thenarrowingofattentioncanbe inducedbydrugs,chanting,television,etc. Second, an association must be made which connects every attempttomaketheattentionwidertoaneffortto make the attention more narrow. This association willservetoconcentrateattentionontheobjectsof attention. Third, when the association is strong enough,theoriginalimpulsetonarrowattentioncan beremoved.Thereasonisthatthestrongassociation already created will continue the attention toward thefewobjects. Tribes, cults, societies and nations inculcate re stricted social behaviors through trance, training, customs and laws because it requires simply too muchcognitiveprocessingtounderstandtheunusu al. In the abysmal past, the unusual were simply killed. Nowadays trance helps to limit awareness and therefore the more unusual have more of a chancetoexist. Thisinitselfisprobablyapositive evolutionaryphenomenon. Itmayseembizarretoadvocatethedevelopmentof more intense trances and limited awareness and

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moreimpoverishedrealitiesasaglobalsolutiontoso cialills,yet,withdrugaddiction,religionsandtelevi sionisn'tthatpreciselywhatseemstobehappening? Let'sunderstandwhatitiswearereallydoingand doitmoreefficiently! InAmerica,wheremorethan 95%ofthehomeshavetelevisionandthedailyaver agetimespentinfrontofatelevisionisinexcessof five hours, peoplemay believethemselves to be in formed,buttheirrealitiesareimpoverished. Whenpeoplewalkaroundwiththeirvirtualreality helmets,trancemusicreverberatinginthevacuumof innerspace,theymaybelievethemselvestobe'con nected' to the Host and King of the information mountain, but they will be only aware of a certain limitedclassoftoxicatmosphericdischarges,andso cial inequities. They will beunaware of their own abuse. Inlieuofafearlessawarenessofanenrichedlife, mostpeoplehavechosenthewayoftrance.Letitbe. Trancelessawarenessisnotforeveryone. Habits Ahabitusuallyisalongandcomplextrancegener atingloopandthereforewhendoneonlyafewtimes representsaweaktrance,thatis,atrancewithan unstable dissociated trance plane. Yet, when the habitisdonehundredsorthousandsoftimes,thebe havior may become compulsive and appear like an addiction. In such a case, there is a more stabile

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trance force with constructive trance generating loops. Socially or economically reinforced habits such as shakinghands,smokingcigarettes,havingsexinthe missionaryposition,wearingclotheswheninsociety, answeringthetelephonewhenitrings,flushingthe toilet after it is used, coming home after work and turningtheTVon,allrepresenthabitsthatareso ciallyoreconomicallysupportedinmostcountriesof this world. Often the individual effort needed to break such trances is more than is possible to do. Suchsocialhabitsortrancesrepresentdeeptrances with trance force components and secondary order constructivetrancegeneratingloops. Tobreaksuchtrancesincreasestheawarenessofin dividualchaos,uncertainty,andpain. Thesenseof chaos, or fear, uncertainty and pain is thereaction thatiscausedbyattemptingtochangeormodifythe tranceforce. One could characterize this situation as an en trancementbymagic. Onemustbequitecourageoustoattempttomodify atranceforce.Inaddition,thetranceanalysisneed edtobreakatranceisoftenacomplicatedanddiffi cult undertaking. There is also no guarantee that eveniftheunderlyingtrancegeneratingloopswere knownitwouldbepossibletobreakthetranceeasily.

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Love Trances Loveisahumanemotionwhichiscreatedsocially oftenthroughaperiodofcourtshipandintimacy,de sireandfantasy,physicalcontactandorgasm. Thecourtship,whenitexists,oftenortypicallyoc cursduringprimarytranceinductivesocialsituation suchasdancing,listeningtomusic,etc. Thesepri maryinductivesocialtrancesituationsmayproduce manyofthedisabledcognitiveconditionscharacteris ticoftrance,includingfaultyorfailedmemory,hallu cinations,fixedattention,lackofvolition,inabilityto makejudgements,increasedselfobservation,dissoci ation,etc. Love also has secondary inductive characteristics, insofarascourtingindividualsoftenspeakoffamily, feelings,etc.Thesesubjectsoftencontaintriggersto priortrance states. Forexample,when twopeople speakofpersonalexperienceswithintheirownfami lyexperiences,theymayusewordswhichtriggerpri ortrancestates.Courtingandpettingalsomaytrig gersomatictrances.Heavypettingwilltriggerprior somatic trance states including dissociation, lack of volition,fixedattention,etc. Whenpettingiscoupledwithphysicalreleaseorre laxationsuchasorgasm,thereisestablishedasec ondaryordertrancegeneratinglooptoenablethese trancestates. Thetrancegeneratingloopofloveischaracteristic ofanaddictiveorhypnotictranceinthesensethat

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thepathwayofthesecondarytrancegeneratingloop contains some external or physical component, and thedissociatedtranceplaneleadsbacktothephysi calcomponent. There are many types of love trances. Some love trancesmayalsohavehighcomponentsofthetrance force but usually there are secondary order trance generatingloopspresent. The Social Effects of Narrowed Perceptions Wisepeoplehaveknownthatthingsdon'tlast,that "allisvanity." Thepainanddisappointmentsoflife tendtoteachareceptivemindthat"allthatglitters isnotgold."Maybeitissimplyradioactiveanditis killingyou. Inordertomakewisedecisions,itisnecessaryto haveawiderstateofawarenessandconsciousness, and not a narrow one. It is necessary to have an overviewofthelongrangeconsequencesofourdeci sionsandnotthenarrowoneswhichcomefromthe immediate satisfaction of personal desire. With so many desirable objects in the world, and so much newinformation,howdoweincreaseourawareness andwisdom? Manykindsofconsciousnessraisingactivitiestryto promotethepossibilitythatthereareotherwaysto seeortounderstandlife.Inalargerfieldofaware ness of possibilities, a more mature and integrated

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awarenesscandevelop,resultinginlessfearofchaos aswellasamoreopenpotentialofbeing. Psychologistsandpsychiatriststrytowidentheper ceptionsoftheirclients,topromotenewwaysofhan dling stress and uncomfortable feelings without es cape or denial. It is these wider perceptions, with more robust psychological options of action in life whichenricheslife,andnotnecessarilymoremateri alpossessionsinlife. Psychically, the narrowing of perception and the limitingofoptionsormakinganobjectofthesources ofpersonalhappiness,personalsalvationandperson albettermentgivesrisetoideassuchasheaven,God, aSaviour,acultofpersonality,brandloyaltyandpa triotism.Generally,thenarrowingofperceptionpro duceshypnotictrance.Insevereorpathologicalcas es, the narrowing of perception produces paranoia, schizophrenia,violence,andaddictionsofallsorts. Makinganobjectoutofourperceivedsourceofhap piness, salvation and betterment also promotes the ideathatthereare"good","moral",or"ethical"things andbehaviors. Thatis,thereistheperceptionthat some 'things' are better than other 'things'. And thereforesomethingsareworse,oreven"sinful."It is often believed by some people that dope is bad, guns are bad and money is "the root of all evil". Thesebeliefsaboutdope,gunsandmoneycomenatu rallyfromtheideathat"thingscouldbebetter,and theworldwouldbeawholelotbetterif(dope,guns,

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ormoney)didn'texist." Thereisreallynojustifica tion for empowering an object or a thing with the qualitiesofgoodorevil,exceptinthecaseofanar rowedperceptionandhallucinatedprojections.Butit ispreciselythisnarrowedperceptionorthehalluci nated projections from the dissociated trance plane ontotheobjectwhichcausesdysfunctiontoarisein thepsyche,intheindividual,andinallsocialinstitu tionsandintheenvironmentitself. Learningsomethingnewutilizesdissociationasab straction,butemployingthehallucinatedprojections fromthedissociatedtranceplaneisnotlearning. Sometimesitisarguedthatcallingathing"good"is merely a shorthand way of saying something more complexandashorthandwayofprovidingasortof synopsis,savingtimeandavoidingadetaileddescrip tion.The"good/bad"judgementismerelyawaythat an experienced authority can communicate thebot tomlinetosomeone,withoutneedingtogothrougha tediouslistofconditions,andassumptionsthatun derlietheultimatejudgement.Ofcourse,theexperi encedauthoritycanhavefalseexperience,orhavea hiddenagendawhichmakesanyjudgementscoming fromsuchanauthorityimmediatelysuspicious.Fur thermore,theconditionsmaybefalselyenumerated, and the logicsupportingthe"good" judgement may alsobefaulty.Usually,peoplefindthemselvesargu ingthe"goodness"ofathingonpreciselytheseterms: thatoneortheotherhasfaultyassumptionsorfaulty logic, or has a hidden agenda which biases percep

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tion. Someonemayultimatelyadmitthattheyonly havea"belief"thatthethingis"good,"orthattheir judgementismerelyapersonalopinionwhichcannot besupportedbythefacts. Whentherearemultiple hallucinatedprojectionsontoobjects,peopleandsit uations,onebeliefwillcompetewithallotherbeliefs, argumentswillaboundbetweenonegroupwiththe HolyWritagainstanothergroupthatisdivinelyin spired. It is quite simply lunatics arguing among delusions. Theselfsearchingindividualsnaturallywishtoes capethismadness. Somewillevolvetonewforms. Manywillescapebydroppingout.Droppingoutoften takes an addictive form. Alcohol, drugs, religion, work,overconsumption,andTVareonlyafewofthe moreobviousformsofaddictions.Inmanycasesthe dropping out takes the form of a desire to be in a trancewhichisinducedorsupportedbysubstances likealcoholanddrugs,orbysocialformssuchasreli gion,work,consumption,orbymoreindividualforms suchasTV,love,overeating,violenceetc. Economic Effects When the individual suffers, the family suffers. Dysfunctional, droppedout, individuals in addictive trancesplacetremendouspressuresontheirfamilies. As individuals experiencing the results of family members going through addictive behaviors are themselvesstressed,itisnowonderthatfamiliesdis integrate. Whenfamiliesdon'tdisintegrate,thereis

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often the side effects of child and spouse abuse or moreserioussocialcrimes.Disintegratedfamiliesre sultinhomelessornomadicgangs. Nomadicgangs arecommonincitiesandaresymptomaticoftheun derlyingdysfunction.Citiesbecomemoredifficultto managewhenfamilyandindividualdysfunctionbe comewidespreadandaffectssocialinstitutions. Af terall,thesocialinstitutionscanonlyreflecttheindi vidualsthatrunthem. Former Governor Lamb of Colorado has identified thedysfunctionalinstitutioninhisownstateandrec ognizesthesameinstitutionaldysfunctionsonalllev elsofgovernment. Widespreadindividualandinsti tutionaldysfunctiondestroyssocialassets.Dysfunc tiondestroyspeople,jobs,theconnectivityoftheso cialfabricandthepertinenceofinstitutions.Institu tionsceasetobeefficientandthemselvesbecomedys functional. While social resources and government assetscansupportdysfunctionalinstitutionsintimes of chaos, in extreme cases and over the long term, these resources and assets eventually are depleted, wornout,usedupandbecomeuselessorselfdestruc tive. Thischaracteristicofextremelydysfunctional institutionsismorecommoninthirdworldcountries. Socialdysfunctionscanallbetracedbacktotheper niciouseffectsofhypnoticandaddictivetranceatthe individuallevel.

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Pathological Trances Addictioncanbebetterunderstoodifwethinkofit notmerelyas"substanceabuse,"orperformancead diction,butasaformofanimpoverishedrealitythat ismaintainedbyatrance.Limitedawareness,tunnel vision,thespecialcharacteristicthatidentifiesadys functional,impoverishedreality,alsoidentifiesatype oftrancestatethatmaybealsoacharacteristicofall addictions. Whilepathologicaltrancesarenotatalldesirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a pathological trance or are engaged in trying to get othersintotrance.Itispreciselypathologicaltrance, nottheyogictrance,thatpermeatesmostofourwak ingsocialreality. Itseemstomethatoncewecan identifythesepathologicaltrancesonapersonaland sociallevelwecantakestepstoavoidthem. Perhapsthemostimportantaspectofpathological tranceisthatitcreatesanunawarenessora"sleep ingstate".Whenyourthoughtsarelimitedinvariety andyourattentionbecomesfixed,thefixationalters perceptions,cancreatedreamstates,visionsandhal lucinations.Inthissleepingstateyouareunawareof newinformation. Entrancedbythestreetmagician, you are unaware that the pickpocket has removed yourwallet.Thepathologicaltrancestatecancreate illusionswhichdonotexistandcausethefailureto perceivewhatdoesexist. Notalltrancesarepatho logical;thetrancestateofayogicanbeatooltoillu minatewhatisnotnormallyperceived.

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Addiction Itisestimatedthatover95%oftheAmericanpopu lationhaveoneormore"addictions."Suchaddictions include drug and alcohol addictions (now termed "substance abuse" to include cocaine, psychedelics, caffeine,nicotine,aswellasalcohol,sugar,chocolate and junkfood), TV addiction, workrelated addic tions,sexandloveaddictions,foodrelatedaddictions, computeraddictionsandotherbehavioralorperfor mance addictions. Addictions commonly share the characteristic that a socially dysfunctional behavior ispresentandtheaddicthasprogressivelyfewerand fewer performance options resulting in an impover ished reality. High percentages of addiction are foundnotonlyinAmerica.TheexSovietUnionhas itsproblemswithvodka.IndiaandtheMiddleEast havetheiropiumaddictsandSwitzerlandandJapan havetheirworkjunkies.Thepersonallifedisruption and social costs are welldocumented and the costs areprobablywellunderestimated. Alcoholaddictionisaworldwidephenomenon.Even strictIslamicandHinducultureshavetheirshareof alcoholics.Alcoholiswidelyavailableinallindustri al nations and cultures, including the exSoviet Union and Japan. Alcohol addiction is merely one waythataddictionmanifests,yetthesocialcostsof alcoholaddictionaloneareimmense. Drugaddictiontooisaworldwidephenomenon.The drugsmaychangedependingontheculture,thelaw andtheseverityofpunishment.Inthecaseoftobac

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co,ithasbeenshownthatnicotineismoreaddictive thanheroin,yetinmanypartsoftheworldthecon sumptionofnicotineisnotonlytolerated,butactual lyencouraged.Thelongtermhealtheffectsoftobac couse,whilewidelyknown,areignored. Theuseof drugs, whether nicotine, caffeine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana,designerdrugsorsugarhas,likealcohol, longterm,immensesocialcosts. Drug Switching The fact that addictions can be substituted some whateasilymaygiveaclueastoatherapeuticap proachtoaddictionsingeneral.BandlerandGrinder haveshownthataprocessofpacingandleadingcan, overtime,limitawarenessandinducetrance. With appropriateconditions,itmaybepossibletopaceand lead addictivepersonalities into a wider and richer reality. In this sense, addicts can be "deprogrammed," without programming them into another addiction. The general goal is to program theminarichtypeofrealitywherethesubjectofa pastaddictionexists,butalongwithamuchmorenu meroussetofattractivepossibilities. Whenthisoc curs,itwouldbequiteimpossibletodistinguishapri oraddictfroma"normal"personbybehavioralone. Itiscertainlynotdesirabletonegativelyreinforcead dictivesyndromes.Todosorunstheriskofmodeling "drugswitching"whichisnotatruecure. Itisknownthatoneaddictioncanbesubstitutedfor another. Forexample,alcoholicscanbeinducedto

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tradetheiralcoholaddictionsforatypeofquasireli gious addiction (Alcoholics Anonymous). Alcoholics Anonymous(AA)programsarealso"successful"with sexandloveaddicts,overeaters,Synanon,etc.Some heroinaddictscanbeinducedtoswaptheirheroinfor methadonetreatment. Therapistsknowthataddic tionsareoftenfoundtogether,suchascigarettesand alcohol,andthatthepersonalitywhichisaddictedto one substance or practice can be induced to either addotheraddictionsortoswapthemforothers. It is often thought that addictions come about throughthestressofmodernlife,throughchildhood experiences, through trauma and disability, or that theymaybegeneticallyinfluenced.Nooneseemsto knowforcertain,perhapsbecauseaddictionsareso prevalentitisnotpossibletoknowwhatanonaddic tivestateislike. Agreatdealofinconsistentsocial,religious,person al,economicandpoliticalenergyisspentinattempt ingtoridtheworldofthesubstanceofanaddiction. Exceptforsocietieswhichemployruthlessandabso lutemethods,theenergyspentinridingtheworldof the"sinfulsubstances"doesnotseemeitherverysuc cessfulnorcosteffective. Thereareargumentsthat theantisinfulsubstancezealotsmaythemselvesbe dysfunctionalinaddictiveandpathologicalways.

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Religious Addictions Religiousaddictionsseemharmlessenough.A1990 studyof113,000peoplearoundtheUnitedStatesby the Graduate School of the City University of New York found that 90% of Americans identify them selvesasreligious.BornagainChristians,scientolo gists,Islamicfundamentalists,Jehovah'sWitnesses, Masons, Baptists, Buddhists, Hindus, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Jews, and Mormons usually havenootherbadhabitsthanoccasionallybeatingon abookorsellingsomething.Sincethereligioushave fewerother"bad"habits,andseemtopromoteacer taintribalsocialadhesion,religionsarenotusually thought of as being symptomatic of problems, but rather,perhaps,aspartofthesolution.Ontheother hand,religiousaddictionoftencarrieswithitanin transigenceandintoleranceofdifferentpointsofview that can be as dangerous as a drug addict with a loadedgun. Whenreligiousfervoriscombinedwith theruleoflawandarmedwithdeadlyforce,religious addicts effectively prevent the evolution of a better typeofhumanbeing. Religiouscultsoftenusemethodsthat willinduce trance.Peerpressure,confessionaltypesoftestimo nials, sense deprivation, lack of contradicting testi mony,hysteria,hyperemotionalismallcontributeto constrain awareness and to increase suggestibility. Repetitioncontinuedovertimewillgiverisetotrance states,whichwithsecondordertranceloopscancer tainly become addictive. Confession, for example,

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usedasacatharsis,isasecondorderstressrelieving tranceloopwhichreinforcesthebelieftrancestate. Addictioncanbebetterunderstoodifwethinkofit notmerelyas"substanceabuse,"orperformancead diction,butasaformofhypnotictrancethatismain tainedbyasecondordertranceloop.Limitedaware ness, tunnel vision, the special characteristic that identifiesadysfunctional,impoverishedreality,also identifies these types of pathological trance states thatmaybealsoacharacteristicofalladdictions. Meditativetrancestates,relatedtohypnotictrance states,canalsobetermedasaddictiveiftheyarean endinthemselves.Religiousfervor,asastatewhich feedsuponitselfwithoutend,isalsoquitedefinitely anaddictioninthedefinitionofthemodel. Certain political and power syndromes also may be termed addictiveiftheyhavethecharacteristicthatresults inanimpoverishedreality. Thetranceaspectofaddictiondeservessomecom ment. Inextremeaddictionstheremaybenootheraware nessexceptthedesirefortheaddictivesubstanceand howtogetit.Presumably,itisbecauseofthelimited awarenessona"substance"thatgotsuchsubstances such a bad name. It is not easy or convenient to blameapatternoraprocess,sincepatternsandpro cessesaresohardtoidentify,anddon'toccupyeither spacehaveweightorcanbetaxed.

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Addiction to Television Thetranceinductionpotentialoftelevisioniswell known and is used commercially for manipulating consumertastesaswellasotherideas.Howeveruse fultelevisionisforcommercialandcontrolreasons,it cannotbereasonablyarguedthatpromotinganim poverishedrealityis,intheend,reallysociallybene ficial.Orcanit? TheaddictiontoTV,forexample,comesaboutfirst byhavingamildinterestinaspecificTVprogram, andthenarrowingofperceptiontotheTVscreenand listeningtothevoicesandmusic,watchingthescenes as they develop. Second, pleasurable associations through the use of triggers within the program should stimulate fantasies, hallucinations and dreamsasameansofescapefromeverydayrespon sibilitiesorstress.Ingeneral,ifaviewerlikesaspe cific program, this association is easily made. TV producers spend a lot of effort to make TVproduc tionspleasurableandescapist.Third,whenthereis nomorestressandnomoreeverydayresponsibilities thepleasurethatcanbederivedfromwatchingTV mustbehighenoughsothatitisimmaterialwhether theuseofTVisspecifictostressremovalornot.The addictiontoTVwillthenbeestablished. Work Addictions Thepersonwhocanputlong,continuoushoursata difficultjobmayonlybecapabletodoingthisifina

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trance. Thepleasuresofanengagingjobcanpro ducefeelingsoftimelessstates.Repetitivejobsnar rowtheattentiontoonlytheworkathand. Partof themindisengagedinthejob,butanotherpartof themindisfreetodream.Thedreamstateproduced is exactly characteristic of trance. In this dream state,theworkisbeingperformed,buttheworkeris notnecessarilyawareofworking.Hemaybevisual izing a beach, having sexual or power fantasies or other hypnoidal and hypnotic dreams. The worker seemsaware,butisreallyinatrancewithreduced awareness. Workaddictsarealmostreveredfortheirdevotion tothedutytowork. CalvinandZwinglihavecon vincedentiresocietiesthatthepersonwhoworksand makesmoneyisclosertoGodandhasmostassuredly hasaneternalleaseinoneofheaven'splushiercom munities. Employersloveworkaddictsbecausethis devotion enhances profit. Work addictions are not limitedtoanyoneparticularindustry. Asaprofes sional computer consultant, I have seen how some employersshamelesslyexploitwillingcomputerpro grammerswhoareaddictedtocomputers. Tranceintheworkplacemakesiteasiertocontrol informationandemployees.Ifanemployeeonlydoes thejobinfrontofhisnoseandknowsneitherwhat othersaredoingnorhowtheydoit, thatemployee willneverbecomeathreattotheownersofthebusi nessnorraiseembarrassingsocialorpoliticalques tions.Onepresumesfalselythattheownersof

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a business would be the only ones who would be aware of what their business is really doing. Yet, owners are themselves in trance and many times keeptheirattentionsonlyonthe"bottomline."They, too,maynotbeawareofthesocialorenvironmental impactsoftheirbusiness. Unfortunately,oneofthe disastroussideeffectsofmosttrancesisthattheynot onlyinhibitawarenessbutalsotheydisablecommu nication. Onecannotcommunicatewhatoneisnot awareof. Workrelatedaddictionsfirstrequirethattheper ception is narrowed to the work or to workrelated thingsandactivities.Second,nonworkrelatedactiv ity should be perceived as a source of stress, i.e. somethingtobeavoided.Therewardsofworkshould belimitedtotheperfectionoftheworkitself,sothat work is the means to the end. Finally, when the workpleasureortheperfectionpleasurecansustain itself, the reason for work can be progressively re ducedorremoved.Thestressproducedwillserveto drive theworkerharderintohis work,rather than reducehisproductionorconcentrationonwork. Organizational Effects of Trance The most serious social side effect of pathological worktrancesistheresultingreducedawarenessand disabledcommunication.Communicationofinforma tion is critical for any system to function. Human systemsaswellascomputersystems,ecological,bio logical,politicalandsocialsystemsandmoreallre

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quireclear,accurate,timelycommunicationofinfor mation in order to function properly. The lack of clear,accurate,ortimelycommunicationbetweenin dividualsisthebasisformisunderstandings,disap pointments,hurtfeelings,resentment,andviolence. The human, economic, agricultural, industrial and socialsystemsthatrelyonpeoplewhoareinpatho logicaltrancewillhaveanddohavedisastrousbreak downs. Pathologicaltranceisunfortunatelyalmostuniver sally encouraged withinbusiness,military andgov ernmentalorganizations.Themoreanemployeecan withsinglemindeddeterminationexecutetheorders and policies of his organization, the more that em ployeeisrewarded,promotedandrespected.Single mindedness,however,isindicativeoftranceandpos sibly a pathological trance. And the existence of a trancealwaysimpliesthatthereareareaswherethe employeeisunaware. Therefore,thesingleminded nessthatisrewardedinmanylargeinstitutionsac tually contributes to longterm organizational dys function. Whenorganizationsinadvertentlyencouragetrance intheiremployees,andsincetrancedisablescommu nication,thentherecanbenosurprisewhythereare systemdysfunctionsinbusiness,themilitaryandin government. When,unlikeayogi,wedonotchooseourtrances, andweareunawareofthetypesandnatureofthe

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pathological trances in our lives, then there are thingsweareunawareof. Whatweareunawareof causes more human suffering than the sometimes painfulknowledgeofthetruth.Onegoalofarobust lifeistobeasawareaspossibleofourrealoptions. When our unconscious pathological trances cripple ouroptionstheresultisoftendisasterandtragedyin our personal lives, our society and in the environ ment. Related to work addiction is a phenomenon more akintowhatpeopleoftenappreciateas"artisticin spiration"orartisticdrive.Anartistmayspendlong hourswithaprojectwhichconsumeshisenergy,per hapsstresseshisfamilyandfinallyresultsinacre ation.Whatdistinguishesthisartisticdrivefromad dictionisthattheartisticdriveisnotaclosedloop. That is, eventually the behavior comes to an end. However, if the behavior had no end, but repeated withaneventualdecreaseinresponseoptions,thera pistswouldtermthebehaviordysfunctionalandper haps even "addictive." If the behavior had no end other than a "life style," for example, a therapist couldreadilyidentifythebehaviorasanaddictionof asortwhichdoesnotend. Ifthegoaloftherapistsistranceterminationand enrichmentofreality,itisalsointerestingtoconsider the type of society that might become when we all wakeup.

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Ifyoureallywanttogetintoapathologicaltrance and stay there, here's a general recipe. First, you mustimpoverishyourrealitybyremovingalldistrac tionsandlimityourawarenesstoasingle,oratmost averyfewobjectsofattention.Thisnarrowingofat tentioncanbehelpedalongbythepassionsinspired bydrugs,trauma,byjoiningsomereligiousorpoliti calmovementsorbystayingathomeandwatchinga lotoftelevision or computer screen. It would bea goodideatogetridofdistractionslikekids,maga zinesorbooksespeciallybooksthatgiveyouop tions or make you think about other possibilities. Second,youmustconvinceyourselfthatalloptions otherthanyourchosenperfectideal,ofcourseare "evil" and every attempt that your monkey mind makestohavevarietymustbecrushedandthatyou mustkeepyourmind"pure"andonlyallowthoughts about your chosen passion. This mental trick will servetoconcentrateyourattentionfirmlyontheob jectofyourmonomania. Asecondorderloopwhich reinforcesorrewardsyourmonomaniainsuchareg ularandconsistentwaythatevenpaindoesnotdeter you,will'fix'yourtrance.Youwillthenbeentranced inapathologicaltrance. Whilepathologicaltrancesarenotatalldesirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a trance or are engaged in trying to get others into trance.Itispreciselypathologicaltrance,nottheyo gictrance,thatpermeatesmostofourwakingreality. Itseemstomethatoncewecanidentifythesepatho

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logicaltrancesonapersonallevelwecantakesteps toavoidthem. Iftranceisdefinedasfixatedthinking,thennearly allhumanactivitiescreatesometypeoftrance.The boundedcircles of thinking that keep usintrances are countless. The entire "ordered universe" is a trance.Butthereisanescapistspleasureinremain ing in trance and a deep human fear of the chaos which canresult if therewere notrance "order" to life. Terminating Addictive Trances Startatanyplaceinyouraddictivetrance. Addic tive trances reward an impoverished thoughtset. Youcanhelpreduceanyaddictionbyrewardingthe enrichmentofyourthoughts.Thismeanstoexpand thevarietyofyourthoughtswithouttryingtoremove the thoughts you think are the problem. Continue expandingandenrichingyourthoughtswithnewand stimulatingideas,peopleandexperiences.Whenthe varietyofyourthoughtsbecomesrobust,ideaswillbe selfgeneratingandtheaddictivetrancewillnatural lyceasetoexistbydefinition. One effective way is to find the trance generating loopandreplaceoneelementinthatloop.Waituntil thedissociatedtranceplanechanges,thenreplacea secondelement.Continueuntilthesecondorderdis sociatedtranceplaneisunstableenoughsothatyou canattacktheprimarytrancegeneratingloop.Once

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youdestroy the primary trance generating loopthe addictivetrancewillstop. Pathological Trance and Psychoses Limited awareness, the special characteristic that identifiesadysfunctional,impoverishedreality,also identifiesatypeoftrancestatethatmaybecharac teristicofaposthypnoticstate. Certainlythosewho havedelusionscanbeconsideredtobeinatranceof somesort.Butofwhatsortisit? Compulsive repetition, memory defects leading to varioustypesofamnesias,faultyregistrationandre call and reactive confabulations and misidentifica tions resulting in disorientation can suggest some schizophrenicpsychosesoravarietyoforganicbrain disordersorapathologicaltrance. Evenaneurotic'sinabilitytoabandonoldanddisad vantageous patterns of reacting can suggest that a repetitive and compulsive behavior is due to some type of pathological trance. That is, it may not be enoughtopointoutorinterpretunconsciousmental contents without simultaneously investigating the possibility of trance generating loops, secondary trancegeneratingloopsandexaminingthenatureof thedissociatedtranceplanesandtranceforcesthat arecreatedbysuchloops. Itisknownthatsimpleanduncomplicatedrepeti tive behavior can be terminated through vigorous stimulationexceptwhenthereisagrossdefectofat

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tention.Trance,too,canbeterminated,exceptwhen thedissociatedtranceplanecontainssecondaryloops or when multiple dissociated trance planes exist whosecombinedtranceforcecomponentsexceedthe energyavailabletothenormalegostructure.Insuch cases,tranceterminationisverydifficult. Since, normally, trance reduces both body aware ness,memoryfunctions,judgement,etc.itisnotat alldesirabletoindefinitelyprolongtranceortocre atehabitualtrancestates.Todosoincreasesthepo tentialthatthebodyoregostructurebecomesdam agedandthatsubsequentactiondoesnotcorrespond toreality,i.e.becomesdelusional. Althoughtempo rarytrancestatesareinfactessentialtoanintelli gentadaptationtolife,prolongedtranceproducesa varietyofeffectssomeofwhichcanbetermedpatho logical but some others can be termed remarkable and extraordinary. Distinguishing between normal and pathological trancecanbedetermined by mea suringandanalyzingthenumbersandextentofdis sociated trance planes and their associated trance forcecomponentsrelativetothenormalegostructure anditsenergyneeds.

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PathologicalTranceand Addiction

Normal Trances
Imakeanassumptionaboutwhatisdesirableinlife, andIshouldstateitexplicitly. Iassumethataro bustlifeisalifeofvarietyandwideoptions,andthat animpoverishedlifeisalifewithfewoptionsandlit tlevariety.Lifenaturallycontainslimitsandlimits helptorestrainchaosandthustofreeacertainkind of energy. Although there are many people of the opinionthatalllimitsarebad,Ifeelthatlimitsalone arenotbad,infact,limitsarenecessarytoempower creativity. However,certaintypesofstrictlimitsin lifeseemtoimplythepresenceofapathologicalstate or at least delusions about lack of personal power. Thereisadelicatebalancebetweenthelimitswhich empowerpersonalgrowthandthelimitswhichcrush humanspirit. Onewaytofindthisbalanceistorealizethatwithin any personal psychological reality there is a set of changingstimuliandresponsepotentials.Abehavior isapairofspecificstimuluswithitsresponseanda behaviorresultsinanewstimuluswhichjoinsother stimuliincreatingthepersonalpsychologicalreality.

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Theoretically,theresponsesthatmayexistforagiv ensetofstimulicanbecounted.Thenumberofsuch potentialresponsesisoftenthoughtofasthe"rich ness"ofaperson'slife. Arelativelylownumberof potential responses or options indicates a relatively impoverishedreality. Ahealthy,normalpsychologicallifeseemstobeone inwhichthereisarichsetofstimuliandarichsetof responses. Furthermore, the pattern of behavior tendsnottoberigidlyrepetitiveandthisrichvariety seemstoallowbothpersonalgrowthandtostimulate othersintheirownsearchforvarietyandrichnessin life. On the other hand, an addictive personality couldbecharacterizedasoneinwhichtherearefew responses and the pattern of behavior is generally repetitive. WhatIfindtobeinterestingistoapplytheprinciples oftrancetheorytoawidevarietyofindividualand institutional behaviors that appear to be rigid or repetitive_thatis,presumabletrances_andtryto determinewhatthetrancegeneratingloopsareand what the characteristics of the dissociated trance planesareandhowonemightdescribeanycreated tranceforces. Apersonhasthepotentialtobeinanormaltranceas soonastheirattentionislimited. Ordinaryconcen tration,whenthemindisfocusedonaspecificprob lemorthought,setsoneoftheconditionsforanor mal trance to occur. Intense pleasure, when the

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mindisengagedinjoyfulorexcitingrepetitiveactivi ty,setsaconditionfortranceandmay,formanypeo ple,becomeatrance.Whenoneisdaydreaming,with nospecificdirectionof thethoughts,withacertain repetitionofthoughts,oneisinanormaltrance.The generalcharacteristic of these normaltrance states seemstobethatthoughtsrepeatandthereisalimit ing of attention; however, they can be easily inter rupted. Whatmakesanormaltrancenormalispri marilythatitiseasilyinterrupted. Thatis,specifi cally, disturbing the trance generating loop makes thedissociatedtranceplanecollapse. Dependingon many factors, such as the presence of secondary trancegeneratingloops,orifthedissociatedtrance planeisstabileenoughsothatdisturbingthetrance generatinglooponlymakesmoreordifferentdissoci ated trance planes _ hallucinations _ such trances wouldappearlessnormalandmoreweird.Certainof themwecantermpathologicalandwecandescribe themintermsoftrancetheory.

Sharing Normal Trance

Wesharetrancesfortheeffectsoftrance;thatis,for the effects brought about by an altered cognition space. Withlessawarenessofpainwhetheritisemotional, physical or ontological, and with less awareness of thewidevarietyofchoicesthatexistinanenabled

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reality,thepersonintrancehappilychoosesamong animpoverishedandsmallersetofoptions. Life,perhaps,wouldbetoodifficultifpeoplewereal ways aware of their bodies, always had a perfect memory and always made perfect judgements and werealwaysawareoftheinfinitepossibilitiesoflife. Becausemostpeoplecannotstandpain,becausemost peoplefearchaos,uncertaintyanddeath,mostpeople enter into social, institutional and mutual personal trances in order to reduce awareness. Perhaps, in thenottoodistantpast,lifewasuncertain_intimes ofwar,orinhunger,poverty,fearandabusesitua tions_anditmadesensetohideandtocreatetrance bysingingourselvessongs,orsayingprayers,orby puttingourmindsoncertainconstantimagesorvi sions. Thisisindeedhownaturaltrancesarecreat ed;andtheusualreasonistohidefromsomething. Byamutualtrance,Imeanthateachofusinvarious ways and by social behavior supports an impover ishedawarenessinothers.Ourpurposesinsupport ingimpoverishedawarenessare: tobeabletohave some peace ourselves, to reduce the noise and the pain. Again, the reason for this is to reduce our awarenessoftherealityofchaosandescapethepain ofthehumancondition.Thereisalsosomepleasure inenteringtranceinspiteofthefactthattrancere ducesawareness. Ifwespeakofdegreesoftrance,itismyopinionthat thereisonlyadifferenceindegreebetweenpassively

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watchingTV,ordinaryrationalthoughtandrigorous scientific thought, religious fervor, addictive states, andthestatesofmindbelongingtomassmurderers. Allofthemindstatesaboverepresentdifferingde greesoftrancestates. Thereisalsoastrongsimilaritybetweenaddictions, hypnotictranceand"alteredstatesofconsciousness." Allofthese"nonnormal"statescomeaboutfirstby theprogressivenarrowingofperceptionandthelim itingofawarenesstoasingle,oratmostveryfewob jectsofattention.Thenarrowingofattentioncanbe inducedbydrugs,chanting,television,etc. Second, an association must be made which connects every attempttomaketheattentionwidertoaneffortto make the attention more narrow. This association willservetoconcentrateattentionontheobjectsof attention. Third, when the association is strong enough,theoriginalimpulsetonarrowattentioncan beremoved.Thereasonisthatthestrongassociation already created will continue the attention toward thefewobjects. Tribes,cults,societiesandnationsinculcaterestrict edsocialbehaviorsthroughtrance,training,customs andlawsbecauseitrequiressimplytoomuchcogni tive processing to understand the unusual. In the abysmalpast,theunusualweresimplykilled.Nowa days trance helps to limit awareness and therefore the more unusual have more of a chance to exist. Thisinitselfisprobablyapositiveevolutionaryphe nomenon.

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Itmayseembizarretoadvocatethedevelopmentof more intense trances and limited awareness and moreimpoverishedrealitiesasaglobalsolutiontoso cialills,yet,withdrugaddiction,religionsandtelevi sionisn'tthatpreciselywhatseemstobehappening? Let'sunderstandwhatitiswearereallydoingand doitmoreefficiently! InAmerica,wheremorethan 95%ofthehomeshavetelevisionandthedailyaver agetimespentinfrontofatelevisionisinexcessof five hours, peoplemay believethemselves to be in formed,buttheirrealitiesareimpoverished. Whenpeoplewalkaroundwiththeirvirtualreality helmets,trancemusicreverberatinginthevacuumof innerspace,theymaybelievethemselvestobe'con nected' to the Host and King of the information mountain, but they will be only aware of a certain limitedclassoftoxicatmosphericdischarges,andso cial inequities. They will beunaware of their own abuse. In lieu of a fearless awareness of an enriched life, mostpeoplehavechosenthewayoftrance.Letitbe. Trancelessawarenessisnotforeveryone.

Habits
Ahabitusuallyisalongandcomplextrancegenerat ingloop and therefore whendone only afewtimes representsaweaktrance,thatis,atrancewithan unstable dissociated trance plane. Yet, when the habitisdonehundredsorthousandsoftimes,thebe

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havior may become compulsive and appear like an addiction. In such a case, there is a more stabile trance force with constructive trance generating loops. Socially or economically reinforced habits such as shakinghands,smokingcigarettes,havingsexinthe missionaryposition,wearingclotheswheninsociety, answeringthetelephonewhenitrings,flushingthe toilet after it is used, coming home after work and turningtheTVon,allrepresenthabitsthatareso ciallyoreconomicallysupportedinmostcountriesof this world. Often the individual effort needed to break such trances is more than is possible to do. Suchsocialhabitsortrancesrepresentdeeptrances with trance force components and secondary order constructivetrancegeneratingloops. Tobreaksuchtrancesincreasestheawarenessofin dividualchaos,uncertainty,andpain. Thesenseof chaos, or fear, uncertainty and pain is thereaction thatiscausedbyattemptingtochangeormodifythe tranceforce. Onecouldcharacterizethissituationasanentrance mentbymagic. Onemustbequitecourageoustoattempttomodifya tranceforce.Inaddition,thetranceanalysisneeded tobreakatranceisoftenacomplicatedanddifficult undertaking.Thereisalsonoguaranteethatevenif theunderlyingtrancegeneratingloopswereknownit wouldbepossibletobreakthetranceeasily.

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Love Trances
Loveisahumanemotionwhichiscreatedsociallyof tenthroughaperiodofcourtshipandintimacy,de sireandfantasy,physicalcontactandorgasm. Thecourtship, when it exists, often or typically oc cursduringprimarytranceinductivesocialsituation suchasdancing,listeningtomusic,etc. Thesepri maryinductivesocialtrancesituationsmayproduce manyofthedisabledcognitiveconditionscharacteris ticoftrance,includingfaultyorfailedmemory,hallu cinations,fixedattention,lackofvolition,inabilityto makejudgements,increasedselfobservation,dissoci ation,etc. Lovealsohassecondaryinductivecharacteristics,in sofar as courting individuals often speak of family, feelings,etc.Thesesubjectsoftencontaintriggersto priortrance states. Forexample,when twopeople speakofpersonalexperienceswithintheirownfami lyexperiences,theymayusewordswhichtriggerpri ortrancestates.Courtingandpettingalsomaytrig gersomatictrances.Heavypettingwilltriggerprior somatic trance states including dissociation, lack of volition,fixedattention,etc. Whenpettingiscoupledwithphysicalreleaseorre laxationsuchasorgasm,thereisestablishedasec ondaryordertrancegeneratinglooptoenablethese trancestates.

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Thetrancegeneratingloopofloveischaracteristicof anaddictiveorhypnotictranceinthesensethatthe pathwayofthesecondarytrancegeneratingloopcon tainssomeexternalorphysicalcomponent,andthe dissociated trance plane leads back to the physical component. There are many types of love trances. Some love trancesmayalsohavehighcomponentsofthetrance force but usually there are secondary order trance generatingloopspresent.

The Social Effects of Narrowed Perceptions

Wisepeoplehaveknownthatthingsdon'tlast,that "allisvanity." Thepainanddisappointmentsoflife tendtoteachareceptivemindthat"allthatglitters isnotgold."Maybeitissimplyradioactiveanditis killingyou. In order to make wise decisions, it is necessary to haveawiderstateofawarenessandconsciousness, and not a narrow one. It is necessary to have an overviewofthelongrangeconsequencesofourdeci sionsandnotthenarrowoneswhichcomefromthe immediate satisfaction of personal desire. With so many desirable objects in the world, and so much newinformation,howdoweincreaseourawareness andwisdom?

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Manykindsofconsciousnessraisingactivitiestryto promotethepossibilitythatthereareotherwaysto seeortounderstandlife.Inalargerfieldofaware ness of possibilities, a more mature and integrated awarenesscandevelop,resultinginlessfearofchaos aswellasamoreopenpotentialofbeing. Psychologistsandpsychiatriststrytowidentheper ceptionsoftheirclients,topromotenewwaysofhan dling stress and uncomfortable feelings without es cape or denial. It is these wider perceptions, with more robust psychological options of action in life whichenricheslife,andnotnecessarilymoremateri alpossessionsinlife. Psychically,thenarrowingofperceptionandthelim itingofoptionsormakinganobjectofthesourcesof personalhappiness,personalsalvationandpersonal bettermentgivesrisetoideassuchasheaven,God,a Saviour,acultofpersonality,brandloyaltyandpa triotism.Generally,thenarrowingofperceptionpro duceshypnotictrance.Insevereorpathologicalcas es, the narrowing of perception produces paranoia, schizophrenia,violence,andaddictionsofallsorts. Makinganobjectoutofourperceivedsourceofhap piness, salvation and betterment also promotes the ideathatthereare"good","moral",or"ethical"things andbehaviors. Thatis,thereistheperceptionthat some 'things' are better than other 'things'. And thereforesomethingsareworse,oreven"sinful."It is often believed by some people that dope is bad,

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guns are bad and money is "the root of all evil". Thesebeliefsaboutdope,gunsandmoneycomenatu rallyfromtheideathat"thingscouldbebetter,and theworldwouldbeawholelotbetterif(dope,guns, ormoney)didn'texist." Thereisreallynojustifica tion for empowering an object or a thing with the qualitiesofgoodorevil,exceptinthecaseofanar rowedperceptionandhallucinatedprojections.Butit ispreciselythisnarrowedperceptionorthehalluci nated projections from the dissociated trance plane ontotheobjectwhichcausesdysfunctiontoarisein thepsyche,intheindividual,andinallsocialinstitu tionsandintheenvironmentitself. Learningsomethingnewutilizesdissociationasab straction,butemployingthehallucinatedprojections fromthedissociatedtranceplaneisnotlearning. Sometimesitisarguedthatcallingathing"good"is merely a shorthand way of saying something more complexandashorthandwayofprovidingasortof synopsis,savingtimeandavoidingadetaileddescrip tion.The"good/bad"judgementismerelyawaythat an experienced authority can communicate thebot tomlinetosomeone,withoutneedingtogothrougha tediouslistofconditions,andassumptionsthatun derlietheultimatejudgement.Ofcourse,theexperi encedauthoritycanhavefalseexperience,orhavea hiddenagendawhichmakesanyjudgementscoming fromsuchanauthorityimmediatelysuspicious.Fur thermore,theconditionsmaybefalselyenumerated, and the logicsupportingthe"good" judgement may

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alsobefaulty.Usually,peoplefindthemselvesargu ingthe"goodness"ofathingonpreciselytheseterms: thatoneortheotherhasfaultyassumptionsorfaulty logic, or has a hidden agenda which biases percep tion. Someonemayultimatelyadmitthattheyonly havea"belief"thatthethingis"good,"orthattheir judgementismerelyapersonalopinionwhichcannot besupportedbythefacts. Whentherearemultiple hallucinatedprojectionsontoobjects,peopleandsit uations,onebeliefwillcompetewithallotherbeliefs, argumentswillaboundbetweenonegroupwiththe HolyWritagainstanothergroupthatisdivinelyin spired. It is quite simply lunatics arguing among delusions. The selfsearching individuals naturally wishto es capethismadness. Somewillevolvetonewforms. Manywillescapebydroppingout.Droppingoutoften takes an addictive form. Alcohol, drugs, religion, work,overconsumption,andTVareonlyafewofthe moreobviousformsofaddictions.Inmanycasesthe dropping out takes the form of a desire to be in a trancewhichisinducedorsupportedbysubstances likealcoholanddrugs,orbysocialformssuchasreli gion,work,consumption,orbymoreindividualforms suchasTV,love,overeating,violenceetc.

Economic Effects
Whentheindividualsuffers,thefamilysuffers.Dys functional, droppedout, individuals in addictive

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trancesplacetremendouspressuresontheirfamilies. As individuals experiencing the results of family members going through addictive behaviors are themselvesstressed,itisnowonderthatfamiliesdis integrate. Whenfamiliesdon'tdisintegrate,thereis often the side effects of child and spouse abuse or moreserioussocialcrimes.Disintegratedfamiliesre sultinhomelessornomadicgangs. Nomadicgangs arecommonincitiesandaresymptomaticoftheun derlyingdysfunction.Citiesbecomemoredifficultto managewhenfamilyandindividualdysfunctionbe comewidespreadandaffectssocialinstitutions. Af terall,thesocialinstitutionscanonlyreflecttheindi vidualsthatrunthem. FormerGovernorLambofColoradohasidentifiedthe dysfunctionalinstitutioninhisownstateandrecog nizesthesameinstitutionaldysfunctionsonalllevels of government. Widespread individual and institu tionaldysfunctiondestroyssocialassets.Dysfunction destroys people, jobs, the connectivity of the social fabricandthepertinenceofinstitutions.Institutions ceasetobeefficientandthemselvesbecomedysfunc tional.Whilesocialresourcesandgovernmentassets can support dysfunctional institutions in times of chaos,inextremecasesandoverthelongterm,these resources and assets eventually are depleted, worn out,usedupandbecomeuselessorselfdestructive. Thischaracteristicofextremelydysfunctionalinstitu tionsismorecommoninthirdworldcountries.

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Socialdysfunctionscanallbetracedbacktotheper niciouseffectsofhypnoticandaddictivetranceatthe individuallevel.

Pathological Trances
Addictioncanbebetterunderstoodifwethinkofit notmerelyas"substanceabuse,"orperformancead diction,butasaformofanimpoverishedrealitythat ismaintainedbyatrance.Limitedawareness,tunnel vision,thespecialcharacteristicthatidentifiesadys functional,impoverishedreality,alsoidentifiesatype oftrancestatethatmaybealsoacharacteristicofall addictions. While pathological trances are not at all desirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a pathological trance or are engaged in trying to get othersintotrance.Itispreciselypathologicaltrance, nottheyogictrance,thatpermeatesmostofourwak ingsocialreality. Itseemstomethatoncewecan identifythesepathologicaltrancesonapersonaland sociallevelwecantakestepstoavoidthem. Perhaps the most important aspect of pathological tranceisthatitcreatesanunawarenessora"sleep ingstate".Whenyourthoughtsarelimitedinvariety andyourattentionbecomesfixed,thefixationalters perceptions,cancreatedreamstates,visionsandhal lucinations.Inthissleepingstateyouareunawareof newinformation. Entrancedbythestreetmagician, you are unaware that the pickpocket has removed

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yourwallet.Thepathologicaltrancestatecancreate illusionswhichdonotexistandcausethefailureto perceivewhatdoesexist. Notalltrancesarepatho logical;thetrancestateofayogicanbeatooltoillu minatewhatisnotnormallyperceived.

Addiction
Itisestimatedthatover95%oftheAmericanpopula tionhaveoneormore"addictions." Suchaddictions include drug and alcohol addictions (now termed "substance abuse" to include cocaine, psychedelics, caffeine,nicotine,aswellasalcohol,sugar,chocolate and junkfood), TV addiction, workrelated addic tions,sexandloveaddictions,foodrelatedaddictions, computeraddictionsandotherbehavioralorperfor mance addictions. Addictions commonly share the characteristic that a socially dysfunctional behavior ispresentandtheaddicthasprogressivelyfewerand fewer performance options resulting in an impover ished reality. High percentages of addiction are foundnotonlyinAmerica.TheexSovietUnionhas itsproblemswithvodka.IndiaandtheMiddleEast havetheiropiumaddictsandSwitzerlandandJapan havetheirworkjunkies.Thepersonallifedisruption and social costs are welldocumented and the costs areprobablywellunderestimated. Alcoholaddictionisaworldwidephenomenon.Even strictIslamicandHinducultureshavetheirshareof alcoholics.Alcoholiswidelyavailableinallindustri

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al nations and cultures, including the exSoviet Union and Japan. Alcohol addiction is merely one waythataddictionmanifests,yetthesocialcostsof alcoholaddictionaloneareimmense. Drugaddictiontooisaworldwidephenomenon.The drugsmaychangedependingontheculture,thelaw andtheseverityofpunishment.Inthecaseoftobac co,ithasbeenshownthatnicotineismoreaddictive thanheroin,yetinmanypartsoftheworldthecon sumptionofnicotineisnotonlytolerated,butactual lyencouraged.Thelongtermhealtheffectsoftobac couse,whilewidelyknown,areignored. Theuseof drugs, whether nicotine, caffeine, heroin, cocaine, marijuana,designerdrugsorsugarhas,likealcohol, longterm,immensesocialcosts.

Drug Switching
Thefactthataddictionscanbesubstitutedsomewhat easilymaygiveaclueastoatherapeuticapproachto addictions in general. Bandler and Grinder have shownthataprocessofpacingandleadingcan,over time,limitawarenessandinducetrance. Withap propriateconditions,itmaybepossibletopaceand lead addictivepersonalities into a wider and richer reality. In this sense, addicts can be "deprogrammed," without programming them into another addiction. The general goal is to program theminarichtypeofrealitywherethesubjectofa pastaddictionexists,butalongwithamuchmorenu

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meroussetofattractivepossibilities. Whenthisoc curs,itwouldbequiteimpossibletodistinguishapri oraddictfroma"normal"personbybehavioralone. Itiscertainlynotdesirabletonegativelyreinforcead dictivesyndromes.Todosorunstheriskofmodeling "drugswitching"whichisnotatruecure. Itisknownthatoneaddictioncanbesubstitutedfor another. Forexample,alcoholicscanbeinducedto tradetheiralcoholaddictionsforatypeofquasireli gious addiction (Alcoholics Anonymous). Alcoholics Anonymous(AA)programsarealso"successful"with sexandloveaddicts,overeaters,Synanon,etc.Some heroinaddictscanbeinducedtoswaptheirheroinfor methadonetreatment. Therapistsknowthataddic tionsareoftenfoundtogether,suchascigarettesand alcohol,andthatthepersonalitywhichisaddictedto one substance or practice can be induced to either addotheraddictionsortoswapthemforothers. It is often thought that addictions come about throughthestressofmodernlife,throughchildhood experiences, through trauma and disability, or that theymaybegeneticallyinfluenced.Nooneseemsto knowforcertain,perhapsbecauseaddictionsareso prevalentitisnotpossibletoknowwhatanonaddic tivestateislike. Agreatdealofinconsistentsocial,religious,personal, economicandpoliticalenergyisspentinattempting toridtheworldofthesubstanceofanaddiction.Ex ceptforsocietieswhichemployruthlessandabsolute

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methods,theenergyspentinridingtheworldofthe "sinfulsubstances"doesnotseemeitherverysuccess fulnorcosteffective. Thereareargumentsthatthe antisinfulsubstancezealotsmaythemselvesbedys functionalinaddictiveandpathologicalways.

Religious Addictions
Religiousaddictionsseemharmlessenough. A1990 studyof113,000peoplearoundtheUnitedStatesby the Graduate School of the City University of New York found that 90% of Americans identify them selvesasreligious.BornagainChristians,scientolo gists,Islamicfundamentalists,Jehovah'sWitnesses, Masons, Baptists, Buddhists, Hindus, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Jews, and Mormons usually havenootherbadhabitsthanoccasionallybeatingon abookorsellingsomething.Sincethereligioushave fewerother"bad"habits,andseemtopromoteacer taintribalsocialadhesion,religionsarenotusually thought of as being symptomatic of problems, but rather,perhaps,aspartofthesolution.Ontheother hand,religiousaddictionoftencarrieswithitanin transigenceandintoleranceofdifferentpointsofview that can be as dangerous as a drug addict with a loadedgun. Whenreligiousfervoriscombinedwith theruleoflawandarmedwithdeadlyforce,religious addicts effectively prevent the evolution of a better typeofhumanbeing.

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Religious cults often use methods that will induce trance.Peerpressure,confessionaltypesoftestimo nials, sense deprivation, lack of contradicting testi mony,hysteria,hyperemotionalismallcontributeto constrain awareness and to increase suggestibility. Repetitioncontinuedovertimewillgiverisetotrance states,whichwithsecondordertranceloopscancer tainly become addictive. Confession, for example, usedasacatharsis,isasecondorderstressrelieving tranceloopwhichreinforcesthebelieftrancestate. Addictioncanbebetterunderstoodifwethinkofit notmerelyas"substanceabuse,"orperformancead diction,butasaformofhypnotictrancethatismain tainedbyasecondordertranceloop.Limitedaware ness, tunnel vision, the special characteristic that identifiesadysfunctional,impoverishedreality,also identifies these types of pathological trance states thatmaybealsoacharacteristicofalladdictions. Meditative trance states, related tohypnotic trance states,canalsobetermedasaddictiveiftheyarean endinthemselves.Religiousfervor,asastatewhich feedsuponitselfwithoutend,isalsoquitedefinitely anaddictioninthedefinitionofthemodel. Certain political and power syndromes also may be termed addictiveiftheyhavethecharacteristicthatresults inanimpoverishedreality. The trance aspect of addiction deserves some com ment.

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Inextremeaddictionstheremaybenootheraware nessexceptthedesirefortheaddictivesubstanceand howtogetit.Presumably,itisbecauseofthelimited awarenessona"substance"thatgotsuchsubstances such a bad name. It is not easy or convenient to blameapatternoraprocess,sincepatternsandpro cessesaresohardtoidentify,anddon'toccupyeither spacehaveweightorcanbetaxed.

Addiction to Television
The tranceinduction potential of television is well known and is used commercially for manipulating consumertastesaswellasotherideas.Howeveruse fultelevisionisforcommercialandcontrolreasons,it cannotbereasonablyarguedthatpromotinganim poverishedrealityis,intheend,reallysociallybene ficial.Orcanit? TheaddictiontoTV,forexample,comesaboutfirst byhavingamildinterestinaspecificTVprogram, andthenarrowingofperceptiontotheTVscreenand listeningtothevoicesandmusic,watchingthescenes as they develop. Second, pleasurable associations through the use of triggers within the program should stimulate fantasies, hallucinations and dreamsasameansofescapefromeverydayrespon sibilitiesorstress.Ingeneral,ifaviewerlikesaspe cific program, this association is easily made. TV producers spend a lot of effort to make TVproduc tionspleasurableandescapist.Third,whenthereis

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nomorestressandnomoreeverydayresponsibilities thepleasurethatcanbederivedfromwatchingTV mustbehighenoughsothatitisimmaterialwhether theuseofTVisspecifictostressremovalornot.The addictiontoTVwillthenbeestablished.

Work Addictions
Thepersonwhocanputlong,continuoushoursata difficultjobmayonlybecapabletodoingthisifina trance. Thepleasuresofanengagingjobcanpro ducefeelingsoftimelessstates.Repetitivejobsnar rowtheattentiontoonlytheworkathand. Partof themindisengagedinthejob,butanotherpartof themindisfreetodream.Thedreamstateproduced is exactly characteristic of trance. In this dream state,theworkisbeingperformed,buttheworkeris notnecessarilyawareofworking.Hemaybevisual izing a beach, having sexual or power fantasies or other hypnoidal and hypnotic dreams. The worker seemsaware,butisreallyinatrancewithreduced awareness. Workaddictsarealmostreveredfortheirdevotionto thedutytowork.CalvinandZwinglihaveconvinced entiresocietiesthatthepersonwhoworksandmakes moneyisclosertoGodandhasmostassuredlyhasan eternal lease in one of heaven's plushier communi ties.Employersloveworkaddictsbecausethisdevo tionenhancesprofit.Workaddictionsarenotlimited to any one particular industry. As a professional

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computerconsultant,Ihaveseenhowsomeemploy ers shamelessly exploit willing computer program merswhoareaddictedtocomputers. Tranceintheworkplacemakesiteasiertocontrol informationandemployees.Ifanemployeeonlydoes thejobinfrontofhisnoseandknowsneitherwhat othersaredoingnorhowtheydoit, thatemployee willneverbecomeathreattotheownersofthebusi nessnorraiseembarrassingsocialorpoliticalques tions.Onepresumes_falsely_thattheownersofa businesswouldbetheonlyoneswhowouldbeaware ofwhattheirbusinessisreallydoing. Yet,owners arethemselvesintranceandmanytimeskeeptheir attentionsonlyonthe"bottomline."They,too,may notbeawareofthesocialorenvironmentalimpacts of their business. Unfortunately, one of the disas troussideeffectsofmosttrancesisthattheynotonly inhibitawarenessbutalsotheydisablecommunica tion.Onecannotcommunicatewhatoneisnotaware of. Workrelatedaddictionsfirstrequirethatthepercep tionisnarrowedtotheworkortoworkrelatedthings and activities. Second, nonwork related activity shouldbeperceivedasasourceofstress,i.e.some thingtobeavoided. Therewardsofworkshouldbe limited to the perfection of the work itself, so that work is the means to the end. Finally, when the workpleasureortheperfectionpleasurecansustain itself, the reason for work can be progressively re ducedorremoved.Thestressproducedwillserveto

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drive theworkerharderintohis work,rather than reducehisproductionorconcentrationonwork.

Organizational Effects of Trance

The most serious social side effect of pathological worktrancesistheresultingreducedawarenessand disabledcommunication.Communicationofinforma tion is critical for any system to function. Human systemsaswellascomputersystems,ecological,bio logical,politicalandsocialsystemsandmoreallre quireclear,accurate,timelycommunicationofinfor mation in order to function properly. The lack of clear,accurate,ortimelycommunicationbetweenin dividualsisthebasisformisunderstandings,disap pointments,hurtfeelings,resentment,andviolence. The human, economic, agricultural, industrial and socialsystemsthatrelyonpeoplewhoareinpatho logicaltrancewillhaveanddohavedisastrousbreak downs. Pathological trance is unfortunately almost univer sally encouraged withinbusiness,military andgov ernmentalorganizations.Themoreanemployeecan withsinglemindeddeterminationexecutetheorders and policies of his organization, the more that em ployeeisrewarded,promotedandrespected.Single mindedness,however,isindicativeoftranceandpos sibly a pathological trance. And the existence of a trancealwaysimpliesthatthereareareaswherethe employeeisunaware. Therefore,thesingleminded

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nessthatisrewardedinmanylargeinstitutionsac tually contributes to longterm organizational dys function. When organizations inadvertently encourage trance intheiremployees,andsincetrancedisablescommu nication,thentherecanbenosurprisewhythereare systemdysfunctionsinbusiness,themilitaryandin government. When,unlikeayogi,wedonotchooseourtrances, andweareunawareofthetypesandnatureofthe pathological trances in our lives, then there are thingsweareunawareof. Whatweareunawareof causes more human suffering than the sometimes painfulknowledgeofthetruth.Onegoalofarobust lifeistobeasawareaspossibleofourrealoptions. When our unconscious pathological trances cripple ouroptionstheresultisoftendisasterandtragedyin our personal lives, our society and in the environ ment. Relatedtoworkaddictionisaphenomenonmoreakin towhatpeopleoftenappreciateas"artisticinspira tion" or artistic drive. An artist may spend long hourswithaprojectwhichconsumeshisenergy,per hapsstresseshisfamilyandfinallyresultsinacre ation.Whatdistinguishesthisartisticdrivefromad dictionisthattheartisticdriveisnotaclosedloop. That is, eventually the behavior comes to an end. However, if the behavior had no end, but repeated withaneventualdecreaseinresponseoptions,thera

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pistswouldtermthebehaviordysfunctionalandper haps even "addictive." If the behavior had no end other than a "life style," for example, a therapist couldreadilyidentifythebehaviorasanaddictionof asortwhichdoesnotend. Ifthegoaloftherapistsistranceterminationanden richmentofreality,itisalsointerestingtoconsider the type of society that might become when we all wakeup. If you really want to get intoa pathological trance and stay there, here's a general recipe. First, you mustimpoverishyourrealitybyremovingalldistrac tionsandlimityourawarenesstoasingle,oratmost averyfewobjectsofattention.Thisnarrowingofat tentioncanbehelpedalongbythepassionsinspired bydrugs,trauma,byjoiningsomereligiousorpoliti calmovementsorbystayingathomeandwatchinga lotoftelevision or computer screen. It would bea goodideatogetridofdistractionslikekids,maga zinesorbooks_especiallybooksthatgiveyouoptions ormakeyouthinkaboutotherpossibilities.Second, youmust convinceyourself that alloptions _ other thanyourchosenperfectideal,ofcourse_are"evil" andeveryattemptthatyourmonkeymindmakesto havevarietymustbecrushedandthatyoumustkeep yourmind"pure"andonlyallowthoughtsaboutyour chosenpassion. Thismentaltrickwillservetocon centrateyourattentionfirmlyontheobjectofyour monomania.Asecondorderloopwhichreinforcesor rewardsyourmonomaniainsucharegularandcon

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sistentway thateven paindoes notdeteryou,will 'fix' your trance. You will then be entranced in a pathologicaltrance. While pathological trances are not at all desirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a trance or are engaged in trying to get others into trance.Itispreciselypathologicaltrance,nottheyo gictrance,thatpermeatesmostofourwakingreality. Itseemstomethatoncewecanidentifythesepatho logicaltrancesonapersonallevelwecantakesteps toavoidthem. Iftranceisdefinedasfixatedthinking,thennearly allhumanactivitiescreatesometypeoftrance.The boundedcircles of thinking that keep usintrances are countless. The entire "ordered universe" is a trance.Butthereisanescapistspleasureinremain ing in trance and a deep human fear of the chaos which canresult if therewere notrance "order" to life.

Terminating Addictive Trances

Startatanyplaceinyouraddictivetrance.Addictive trances reward an impoverished thoughtset. You canhelpreduceanyaddictionbyrewardingtheen richmentofyourthoughts.Thismeanstoexpandthe varietyofyourthoughtswithouttryingtoremovethe thoughts you think are the problem. Continue ex pandingandenrichingyourthoughtswithnewand stimulatingideas,peopleandexperiences.Whenthe

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varietyofyourthoughtsbecomesrobust,ideaswillbe selfgeneratingandtheaddictivetrancewillnatural lyceasetoexistbydefinition. One effective way is to find the trance generating loopandreplaceoneelementinthatloop.Waituntil thedissociatedtranceplanechanges,thenreplacea secondelement.Continueuntilthesecondorderdis sociatedtranceplaneisunstableenoughsothatyou canattacktheprimarytrancegeneratingloop.Once youdestroy the primary trance generating loopthe addictivetrancewillstop.

Pathological Trance and Psychoses

Limited awareness, the special characteristic that identifiesadysfunctional,impoverishedreality,also identifiesatypeoftrancestatethatmaybecharac teristicofaposthypnoticstate. Certainlythosewho havedelusionscanbeconsideredtobeinatranceof somesort.Butofwhatsortisit? Compulsive repetition, memory defects leading to varioustypesofamnesias,faultyregistrationandre call and reactive confabulations and misidentifica tions resulting in disorientation can suggest some schizophrenicpsychosesoravarietyoforganicbrain disordersorapathologicaltrance. Evenaneurotic'sinabilitytoabandonoldanddisad vantageous patterns of reacting can suggest that a repetitive and compulsive behavior is due to some type of pathological trance. That is, it may not be

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enoughtopointoutorinterpretunconsciousmental contents without simultaneously investigating the possibility of trance generating loops, secondary trancegeneratingloopsandexaminingthenatureof thedissociatedtranceplanesandtranceforcesthat arecreatedbysuchloops. Itisknownthatsimpleanduncomplicatedrepetitive behaviorcanbeterminatedthroughvigorousstimu lation except when there is a gross defect of atten tion.Trance,too,canbeterminated,exceptwhenthe dissociatedtranceplanecontainssecondaryloopsor whenmultipledissociatedtranceplanesexistwhose combinedtranceforcecomponentsexceedtheenergy availabletothenormalegostructure.Insuchcases, tranceterminationisverydifficult. Since,normally,trancereducesbothbodyawareness, memoryfunctions,judgement,etc.itisnotatallde sirabletoindefinitelyprolongtranceortocreateha bitualtrancestates.Todosoincreasesthepotential thatthebodyoregostructurebecomesdamagedand thatsubsequentactiondoesnotcorrespondtoreality, i.e.becomesdelusional. Althoughtemporarytrance statesareinfactessentialtoanintelligentadapta tiontolife,prolongedtranceproducesavarietyofef fectssome ofwhich canbetermedpathologicalbut someotherscanbetermedremarkableandextraordi nary.Distinguishingbetweennormalandpathologi caltrancecanbedeterminedbymeasuringandana lyzingthenumbersandextentofdissociatedtrance planesandtheirassociatedtranceforcecomponents

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relative to the normal ego structure andits energy needs.

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TranceAnalysis
How does this slightly abstract and mathematical theory become practical? When we are confronted withourownmentalbehaviororsomeoneelse's,we might want to determine if there is a trance, what kindofatranceitisandwhatkindsofcharacteris ticsthespecifictrancemayhave.Youmightwantto changethetranceinsomeways.Butbeforeyoucan changeatrance,youneedtoknowhowtorecognize one. Inlearningtranceanalysis,Isuggestthatyouuse yourself as the subject before attempting to use tranceanalysisonothers.InthischapterIwillgive you several examples of ordinary trances and how theyarecreatedandchanged. Recognizing a Trance Tranceoccurspartlyasanaturalresultofamore efficient utilization of cognitive energy. A trance makesiteasyforthebraintodomultiplethingsat thesametimeandtodosomeofthosethingsmoreef ficiently.However,indoingmultiplethingssimulta

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neouslysomethingsaredonewithdifferentmental functionsenabledordisabled.Itisbecausesomecog nitivefunctionsaredisabledthattranceseemsscary tosomepeople. Some cognitive functions are always changed in a trance.Bylookingforthesecommonchangesincog nitiveenergyutilizationwecanbecomeawarethata tranceexists. Characteristicsoftranceincludethefollowing:dis ablingofjudgment,disablingorlimitingofvolition, decrease of body awareness including eye fixation andimmobility,anincreaseinthevividnessornum berofvisionsorhallucinations,inabilitytoperform somementalfunctionsandincreasedabilitytoper form other functions. I do not want to imply that thereisalwaysanabsolutedisablingofjudgement, etc. Theremayalsobeanenablingofamoreaccu rate or more perceptive judgement, for example. However, if a person is utilizing a specific level of judgementwhennotinatrance,then,thatlevelis differentinatrance;and,sofarasitisdifferent,the new level of judgement represents a disabling of judgementfromthepriorlevel. Forexample,aper son may be incapable of performing mathematical calculationswhileinanordinarystateofawareness, but may perform mathematical calculations exceed inglywellwhileinatrance. Iwouldsaythattheir ordinary mathematical capabilities have been dis abledwhileintrance,leavingthequestionastowhat

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their mathematical capabilities are while in trance open. Thesecharacteristicsoftrancemightnotbeobvious ifapersonisinadeeptrance. Thereasonisthat when a person is familiar or habituated to trance, moreconsciouscontrolispossible. Thecharacteris ticsabovemustbethoughtofasindicativeoftrance. Mymodelfortranceseparatesthecauseoftrance (trancegeneratingloops) from theeffectsoftrance. Because the model is both more abstract andmore precise than a sociopsychological model, the word trancenowmustincludeawiderrangeofbehaviors than when it specifically referred solely to a deep hypnotic trance, a medium's trance, a spiritualist tranceandothertypesoftrances. Thewordtrance continuestoincludetheseexoticanddeephypnotic and mysterious trances, but explains and describes such trances as being dependent on certain condi tionswhichhavebeendescribedinthemodel. Fromadiagnosticandanalyticalpointofview,we cannowtakethecharacteristicsoftrancelogicasbe ingsuggestiveoftheexistenceoftrance. Thatis,to bemoreexplicit,thenecessaryandsufficientcondi tionfor tranceis thepresenceofa loopwhichpro duces the dissociative trance, and the dissociative trance causes the disabling of some cognitive func tions. The disabling of some cognitive functions makestheappearanceastrancelogic.Therefore,the

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presenceoftrancelogicissuggestiveoftheexistence ofdissociativetrance,i.e.trance. Thefollowingisapartiallistofcognitivefunctions whichhavebeenshowntobemitigatedbytrance: Memory Memoryistheabilitytoaccuratelyrecallanexperi ence.Whenmemoryisdisabled,accuraterecallfails. Whenmemoryispartlydisabledelementsofremem bered experience may be absent, reversed, or there maybenewelementsfromassociatedexperiences. Theremayalsobeanenhancedrecallofmemories, includingvivification. Whenevermemoryisnotaccurateatrancemaybe presumedtoexistintheabsenceofothercompelling explanationssuchasorganicdiseases. Hallucinations When mental organizing functions are disabled, sensationmaybeorganizedaroundpreexistingphys icalorsubtlestimuliwhichmaybesubjectivelyper ceived asfantasy, visions, daydreams, or hallucina tion. Hallucinations are not necessarily the result of a pathologicalprocess.Theymaybealsotheresultofa processwhichdisablesagrosssociallyacceptablecog nitiveprocessandenablesmoresubtlecognitivepro cesseswhicharenotclosetothestatisticalmean.

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For example, when multiple dissociative trances have been created, hallucinations and vivid images andfantasiescanreadilybeexperienced. Whenego awareness is established in one of the dissociated trance planes and the hallucinations of the second dissociatedtranceplaneare'remembered',thenthere isatypeofreality whichisimposedon thesecond dissociated trance plane. If one is experienced in trance,andthedissociatedplanesarenonaddictive, therealityofthesehallucinationsareneverbelieved, butinaddictivetrancesorintrancesinwhichthere arestrongtranceforcesandwellestablisheddissoci atedtranceplanes,Icouldimaginethatthepresence ofsuchmultipledissociatedtranceplaneswouldbe experiencedasfrighteningorconfusingandathera pistwoulddiagnoseapersonexperiencingsuchmul tipledissociatedtranceplanesasexhibitingpatholog icaldelusions. Ontheotherhand,themereexistenceofmultiple dissociatedtranceplaneswiththepresenceofhallu cinationorvividimagesmaysimplyrepresentanen hancedsubtleinnerperception.Inordertoascribea meaningorassociationtohallucinatedvisions,itis necessarytowatchthehallucinationsforsometime. The presence of hallucinations is suggestive of trance,buthallucinationsdonotnecessarilyindicate pathological delusions except when a person is un awareofwhatishappening.

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Inhibition of body movement Whenthereislesssomaticawareness,theremaybe involuntarymovements,or,intheabsenceofstimula tion, body movements will appear to be inhibited. Limbcatelepsyisanexampleofthis. Trancemayabsorbtheattentionsostronglythatso maticawarenessisdisabled. Limbanesthesiaisan exampleofthis. When there is an inhibition of body movement, a rigidityinthelimbs,oralackofbodyawareness,a trancemaybepresumed. Fixed attention Likewise, when eye movement and attention is fixed,tranceispresumptive.Itisoftenthecasethat whentheattentionisinwardeyefixationisasideef fect. Lack of volition Whenapersonlacksvolitionorwill,tranceissug gested. Tranceisamoreefficientutilizerofenergy, andthereforedisablesinefficientprocesses.Onecan alwayspresumethatthereisatrancewhenthewill isabsent;however,themerelackofvolitiondoesnot giveaclue,usually,astowhatthetranceisabout.

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Ability to learn Somecognitivefunctionsareeitherincreasedorde creased by trance. The ability to learn may be in creasedordecreased.Achangeintheabilitytolearn issuggestiveoftrance. Inability to make critical judgements Whentheabilitytomakecriticaljudgementsisin hibited,thentrancemaybepresumed.Whenapopu lation has an inability to make critical judgements withrespecttotheirleadersorpoliticalrepresenta tives,acommontranceispresumptive. Self-observation Selfobservationisoftenenhancedintrance,owing tothedissociationandliteralism.Selfobservationis indicativeoftrance. Dissociation Thesubjectwillbedissociatedintrance,butmayor maynotbeawareofthefactofdissociation. Often, andbecauseofalackoftraining,whenonebecomes aware that one is dissociated, then the dissociation terminates.Withtraining,itispossibletobeaware that one is dissociated without terminating the trance. Oneimportantcharacteristicofanytranceisthatit createsdissociationandthinkingoccursinthedisso ciatedtranceplane.

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Literalism Theliteralinterpretationofwordsisindicativeofa trance. Lawyers,computerprogrammersandmany bureaucratsoftenareliteralintheirinterpretationof words.Itwouldseemthatthisindicatesatrance.A trance analyst would look for a trance generating loop. Trance force (Weirdness) Whenunusualormagicaloccurrencestakeplace,or whenthereisacertainunusualatmosphere,orwhen thereseemstobeaparticularcompulsiontoengage inaspecificbehavior,thismayindicatethatastrong tranceforceispresent.Strongtranceforcesindicate either constructive trance generating loops such as posthypnotic suggestions are being carried out or that the effects of a wellestablished dissociated la tentplanearebeingfelt.Ifitcanbeestablishedthat the sensations are due to external causes, then a tranceoriginatingfromsomeexternalsourcecanbe presumed. When, as is far more likely, the sensa tions are due to internal causes, then a hypnotic trance is likely and the presumed "trance force" is morelikelytobeanhallucinationratherthananex ternaltranceforce. Determine the trance generating loops Onceit has been determined that a trance exists, thenextstepistodeterminethetrancegenerating

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loops:thatis,attempttoanswerthequestion:what arethecognitiveloopswhichcausethedissociative trance? Trancegeneratingloopsarenotparticularlyeasyto discoverinsomespecificcases,butdiscoveringthem arecriticallyimportanttounderstandingthenature ofatrance. Trance generating loops can come into existence, createatrance,changetoanothertrancegenerating loop, modify or deepen the trance and then change again. Trance generating loops can change quite rapidly.Eachchangewillalsochangethedissociated trance plane. Because of this rapidly changing as pect, it can be difficult toperceive or to record the trance generating loops in one session. However, with patient observation an analyst can determine themajorloops. Thereisoftenonetrancegeneratingloopinsimple trances. However, deep trances always have sec ondaryordertrancegeneratingloopsandtheymay becomplexbecauseofmultiplechangesintheunder lyingtrancegeneratingloops. Primary Order Trance Generating Loop In certain cases thoughts repeat in loop patterns. These looping patterns are important for learning andabstraction. Theloopingpatternsofawareness generate secondary awareness planes which for the mostpartliecoincidenttoandwithinthecognitive

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plane.Trancegeneratingloopsdonotneedtobever bal thoughts. Some loops are mantras, drumming, pacing and leading for an hypnotic induction, the stimulusandresponseoftelevisionviewingandad dictivebehavior.Thecontentoftheloopisnotneces sarily a factor in generating secondary awareness planes,althoughitcouldbe.Thecriticalaspectisthe repeating pattern which is the necessary and suffi cientcondition. Withincreasingnumberoftimesaloopisrepeated, as wellasotherconditions, thesesecondaryaware nessplanesmaysplitoffordissociatefromthecogni tiveplane. Thisisquitenormalandhappenswhen somethingis'learned'.Itisthenormal'multiprocess ing' aspect of thinking. In this process, for energy conservation reasons, some cognitive functions are disabled.Theresultingawarenesswhenthesecogni tivefunctionsaredisabledhasbeencharacterizedas tranceawareness,andthisisdefinedasthe'dissoci atedplane.' First order trance generating loops are often the patternsdevelopedinearlychildhood. Secondary Order Trance Generating Loop Asecondaryordertrancegeneratingloopisaloop which promotes the continuation of the first order trance generating loop. For example, a hypnotist maygivesuggestionswhichpromoterelaxationand thedeepeningofatrance.Suchsuggestions,coming

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astheydowithinthedissociatedconsciousness(dis sociatedtranceplane)ofthesubjectrepresentaloop from the dissociated trance plane to the first order trance generating loop which may be, for example, thesubjectprogressivelyrelaxingasthevoiceofthe hypnotistisheard.Theprogressivelyrelaxedstateof thesubjectpromotesthecontinuationofthedissoci atedtranceplane.Ifthissecondaryordertrancegen eratinglooppersistslongenough,asecondarydisso ciatedtrance planewillbe created. Whenthesec ondarydissociatedtranceplaneiscreatedandcanbe sustained,thenthesubjectisinadeeptrance. Inatraditionalhypnoticinduction,itistherepeat ed words "You are becoming sleepy and relaxed" whichinduceadissociatedtrancestate.Inthedisso ciatedtrancestatethesubjectuncriticallyhearsthe wordsanditisthefactofbeingcognitivelydisabled thatallowsthesubjecttobecomesleepyandrelaxed. Thisistranceabuse;thatis,purposefullycreatinga disabledstateandthentakingadvantageofit.What is important to realize is that it is the repetition alonewhichinducesthedissociatedtrancestate,and noothercondition.Thecontentaboutgetting"sleepy and relaxed" has absolutely nothing to do with the creationofthedissociatedtrancestate. Chanting Chanting is defined as the rhythmic repetition of wordsorsoundsandincludessingingandtherecita tionofpoetry.

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Because chanting involves voicing sound, it is so maticandaural. Becausechantingisarepetitionofelements,theel ements(words)canbecountedandtheybelongtoa limited set. The words are the trance generating loop. When the chant is learned, and repeated several times, consciousness dissociates intothe automaton consciousnesswhichrepeatsthechantandtoasec ond awareness process. The automaton conscious nessiscognitivedisabled. Thesecondawarenessis somatic disabled so far as voicing sounds is con cerned. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomain tain the chant, and part of the cognitive energy is usedtomaintaintheautomaton,thetrancegenerat ingloop.Theremainingsomaticenergymaybecome insufficienttomaintainsomaticawarenessandsome anesthesiamaybepresent.Theremainingcognitive energy may become insufficient to maintain some cognitivefunctions(suchasattentionandorjudge ment)andwhatmayappeartobesuggestibilitymay bepresent. Ifthecontentofthechantcontainsem bedded hypnotic suggestions, in those cases that thereisadisablingofjudgementandvolitionthere willbeanincreaseinthetranceforcewiththeresult thatthehypnoticsuggestionswillbecarriedout. Let'slookatacoupleofotherwayschantinginduces trance. The Greeks used a rhetorical device called

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epanodoswhichmeans"theroadback."Withepana dos the pattern to say is: "a is b and b is a" like Shakespere's"fairisfoulandfoulisfair."Thetrance generatingloopis"Fairisfoul." Thesecondrepeti tionofthetrancegeneratingloopisinareverseor der. The reverse trance generating loop is similar (andshort)enoughsothatwhenthesecondreversed trance generating loop is completed a comparison withtheprimaryresidualawarenessbegins. "Com parison"inthisinstanceisthebeginningofmultipro cessing. Theresidualawarenessislargerinthere versed paradigm of epanados than the residual awareness of a simple multiple repetition of the trancegeneratingloop,soepanadoswouldbearela tivelyeffectivedeviceforinducingtrance. AnotherGreekrhetoricaldevicealsoeffectiveforin ducingtranceistheepistrophe. Inthisparadigma phraseendswiththesameterm.Thisparadigmcan beusedinaclassicalhypnoticinduction,forexample: Asyousitinthechairyoucloseyoureyes. Asyoulookatmeyoucloseyoureyes. Asyourelaxdeeperyoucloseyoureyes. Asyoutrytomoveyoucloseyoureyes. Thetrancegeneratingloopinthiscaseistherepeti tion of a epistrophic pattern terminating with "you close your eyes." Again, as the mind hears one phrasesimilartoapriorphraseamentalcomparison ismade.Theoperationofmemoryinthecomparison mode amplifies the residual awareness and causes

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dissociation. After some repetitions the awareness will be cognitive disabled in the dissociated trance planeinatranceandthetrancegeneratingloopwill be"youcloseyoureyes." Most religious groups, from the Hari Krishnas to the Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim monksanddevotees,allusechantingaspartoftheir devotional practices. When it is understood how trancesaregenerated,itmayberealizedthatthereis nothingmagicalinchanting. Noristhereanything significantormagicalinthecontentorwordsofspe cificchants.EvenwhenIndianschantforrain,ifthe chantloopisrepeatedenoughtimesandifthereis dissociationwithasufficientlystrongtranceforce,it ispossiblethat a strongpotential for rain couldbe created. Drumming Drummingisdefinedastherhythmicrepetitionof soundsonaninstrument. Becausedrumminginvolvesmakingsound,itisso maticandaural. Becausedrummingisarepetitionofelements,the elements(beats)canbecountedandtheybelongtoa limitedset.Thebeatsarethetrancegeneratingloop. Whenthedrumbeatislearned,consciousnessdisso ciates into the automaton consciousness which re peatsthebeatandtoasecondawareness. Theau

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tomatonconsciousnessiscognitivedisabled.Thesec ondawarenessissomaticdisabled. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomain tainthebeat,andpartofthecognitiveenergyisused tomaintaintheautomaton. Theremainingsomatic energymaybecomeinsufficienttomaintainsomatic awarenessandsomeanesthesiamaybepresent.The remainingcognitiveenergymaybecomeinsufficient tomaintainsomecognitivefunctions(suchasatten tionandorjudgement)andwhatmayappeartobe suggestibilitymaybepresent. Shamans,NewAgehealers,witchesandothersoften usedrummingtocreatetrancestates. Theeffective useofdrummingfortrancewouldmostlikelyinvolve rhythmswhichareattractive,whichrepeat,yetdiffi culttofollowortounderstand. Somerhythmsare moreeffectivethanothers. Somerhythmsaremore effectiveforsomepeoplethanothers. Drumming, unless it is a single monotonous beat, consists of several trance generating loops. Each phraseofthedrummingrhythmrepresentsasingle trancegeneratingloop. Injazzdrummingorreggae orinothergenre,therearemanytrancegenerating loops. Asonelistenstoonetrancegeneratingloop onceortwice,therewillbeadissociation.Inthedis sociatedtranceplanetheawarenesscontinuestolis ten to the drum beats but in a dissociated state. When awareness hears a second trance generating loop that too produces a dissociated trance plane

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slightlydifferentthanthefirst.Asthejazzorreggae beatcontinuestheawarenesssurfsalongthechang ingdissociated trance planes. For each dissociated trance plane there is a corresponding trance force, anditisthecombinedtranceforcesofallthedissoci atedtranceplaneswhichgivespleasure. Music Music,orratherlisteningtomusic,isdefinedasthe listeningtoarhythmicrepetitionofnotesormelody. Listeningtomusicinvolvesanattentiontosound. Becausemusicisarepetitionofsoundelements,the elements(sounds)canbecountedandtheybelongto alimitedset.Thesoundsetisthetrancegenerating loop. Whenthemusicisheardsufficienttimestobecome familiar, consciousness dissociates into the automa tonconsciousnesswhichfollowsthesoundandtoa secondawareness. Theautomatonconsciousnessis cognitivedisabled. Thesecondawarenessisaurally disabled. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomain taintheattentiononthesound,andpartofthecogni tiveenergyisusedtomaintaintheautomaton. The remainingsomaticenergymaybecomeinsufficientto maintain somatic awareness and some anesthesia maybepresent.Theremainingcognitiveenergymay becomeinsufficienttomaintainsomecognitivefunc

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tions(suchasattentionandorjudgement)andwhat mayappeartobesuggestibilitymaybepresent. Therecanbenodoubtthattrancesareinducedby musicofallkinds. Therhythmsofthemusicneed only be sufficiently charming to maintain interest andbepleasantenoughtoallowthelistenertodisso ciate. Eachrhythmloopisatrancegeneratingloopandso iseachmelody. Asmusicisplayed,thesemultiple trancegeneratingloopsgiverisetoasmanydissoci ated trance planes. When the dissociated trance planes aresufficientlycoincident to each other, the tranceforcewillcomeintoexistenceandthemusic willhaveatranceeffect.Ifthemusiccreatesnonco incident dissociated trance planes the trance force will be weak, and there will be a tendency for the trancetobreak. Marching Marching is defined as the rhythmic repetition of steps. Becausemarchinginvolvesmovement,itissomatic. Becausemarchingisarepetitionofelements,theel ements(movements)canbecountedandtheybelong toalimitedset.Themovementsarethetrancegen eratingloop. When the march is learned, consciousness dissoci atesintotheautomatonconsciousnesswhichrepeats themovementsandtoasecondawareness. Theau

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tomatonconsciousnessiscognitivedisabled.Thesec ondawarenessissomaticdisabled. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomain tain the march, and part ofthe cognitiveenergy is usedtomaintaintheautomaton. Theremainingso maticenergymaybecomeinsufficienttomaintainso matic awareness and some anesthesia may be present.Theremainingcognitiveenergymaybecome insufficient to maintain some cognitive functions (suchasattentionandorjudgement)andwhatmay appeartobesuggestibilitymaybepresent. Marchingisapowerfultranceinducer.Bycombin ing marching with music and rhythmic drumming along with the simultaneous delivery of repeated hypnoticsuggestionsaspartofamarchingchant,or suggestionsgivenbythedrillmaster,itispossibleto createhighlymotivatedarmieswithoutpersonalfeel ings. Dancing Dancing is defined as the rhythmic repetition of steps. Becausedancinginvolvesmovement,itissomatic. Becausedancingisarepetitionofelements,theele ments(movements)canbecountedandtheybelong toalimitedset.Themovementsarethetrancegen eratingloop. When the dance is learned, consciousness dissoci atesintotheautomatonconsciousnesswhichrepeats

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themovementsandtoasecondawareness. Theau tomatonconsciousnessiscognitivedisabled.Thesec ondawarenessissomaticdisabled. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomain tain the dance, and part of the cognitive energy is usedtomaintaintheautomaton. Theremainingso maticenergymaybecomeinsufficienttomaintainso matic awareness and some anesthesia may be present.Theremainingcognitiveenergymaybecome insufficient to maintain some cognitive functions (suchasattentionandorjudgement)andwhatmay appeartobesuggestibilitymaybepresent. Dancing combined with appropriate hypnotic sug gestionsandanchoringwithsomatictriggerscanbe usedforcreatinglovetrances. Triggers Whenatrancegeneratingloopisrepeatedforwhich there has been established a strong dissociated tranceplane,thatis,adissociatedtranceplanewith atranceforce,thenthereisastrongtendencyforthe dissociatedtranceplanetobecreatedwheneverthe triggerisinvoked. Many hypnotic inductions are done by the skillful use of triggers. NLP practitioners call these "an chors"whenasomaticassociationismadetoadisso ciatedstate. Advertisersusemusicaljinglesandvi sualanchorssuchascompanylogostoinvoke brandrecallandthesubsequentproductdesire.

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Complex Trance Generating Loops Atrancegeneratingloopcanbethoughtofasarep etitionofwords.Andyet,eachwordalsohasamean ing.Awordisalsotheresultofanunderlyinglearn ingprocess. Forexample,atrancegeneratingloop canbe:IknowmyMomreallylovesme.Thistrance generating loop could conceivably be repeated by someone and repeated often enough will produce a trance. However,thewordMomisitselfthetrigger ofanunderlyingtrancegeneratingloop. Whatdoes Mom mean? In order to answer this question, we wouldneedtodiscovertheunderlyingtrancegener atingloopforMom. Characterize the Dissociated Trance Plane Itisimportanttoassessthedimensionsofthedisso ciatedtranceplanesandtoestimatethetranceforce whichwillcertainlyexist.Therearetwowaystoes timate the dimensions of the dissociated trance plane. First,thepossiblecontentofthedissociated tranceplanemustbeassessed;second,theboundary ofthedissociatedtranceplanemustbedetermined. Thecontentofthedissociatedtranceplaneincludes that which results from additional perceptions, un usualabilities,orincreasedsensitivities.Thebound aryofthedissociatedtranceplanecanbeestimated by discovering what cannot be in the dissociated tranceplane.Bydescribingwhatisinthedissociat edtranceplaneaswellaswhatcannotbeinthedis

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sociatedtranceplane,anestimateofthedimensions canbemade. Trancesalwayscausealimitingofattention.What attentionislimitedtoissometimesnotthepurposeof thetrance.Oftenthepurposeofatranceistoelimi nate awareness. For this reason, it is important, whentranceispresumedtoexist,toexamineandto enumeratewheneverpossible,whatisbeingexcluded fromegoawareness. Estimate the Trance Force Thetranceforcewhichiscreatedbythedissociated tranceplaneispartiallytheresultofcognitiveenergy conservationprocesses.Forexample,thedissociation whichoccursinhandlevitationfreessomecognitive energyandthissameenergyisdivertedintomuscle movementandrigidity. Itmaybepossibletomea surecomponentsofthetranceforcebydetermining howmuchcounterforceisneededtopreventhandlev itation. The energy at which dissociation ceases would provide an approximate relative measure of sometranceforcecomponents. The trance force is present when there is any trance. That is, as soon as the dissociated trance plane comes into existence, then there is a trance force. The energy needed to break the trance is a measureofthetranceforce. Withafirstordertrancegeneratingloopthetrance forcesarequitesmall.Withsecondordertrancegen

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erating loops there is a second dissociated trance planeandasecondtranceforcewhichisduesolelyto theseconddissociatedtranceplane.Itisthecombi nationofthefirsttranceforcewiththesecondwhich provide astabiletranceandanorderof magnitude increaseinthetranceforce.Whensustainedorpos siblyinsomewaysmodulatedwepostulatethatthe tranceforcecanaffectotherbiologicalandnonbiolog icalsystems.Themechanismisnotknownhowthis occurs.Thereseemtobesimilaritiesbetweentrance forcesandelectromagnetisminthesensethattrance forcespropagatesomehow. Ifthisisthecase,then thetranceforceswouldgiverisetoanewtechnology verysimilartothetechnologywhichhasarisenfrom Maxwell,Lorentz,Teslaandothers. Types of Trance Becausetheprimaryinductionprocessmayoccurei therinthecognitiveplaneorinthedissociatedplane andthesubsequentperceptionmaybefocusedonei ther internal or external processes, trances may be categorized into several major types, depending on thecombination. Ordinarythoughtobjectsareimpulsesinthebrain whichreflectinsomesensetheprocessesandsensa tions that occur in the body. No restrictions are placedonwhatathoughtisnorwhatasenseis.The cognitiveplaneisthetheoreticalplaneofawareness whichisderivedfromthoughtobjects.

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Whenthenumberandstrengthsofthedissociated planesexceedsthatoftheprimarycognitiveaware nessplane,thesenseofself,the"I",switchestothe dissociated trance plane, which is often called a trancestate.Somecognitivefunctionswhendisabled exhibit'trancelogic'. Sensations and mentations which occur in trance may occur either from external stimulation (voice, imageswhichareseen,sensationswhicharefeltby the body) or from internal stimulation (memories, voices,visions,feelingsandemotions).Thesesensa tionsmayoccurineitherthecognitiveplaneorinthe dissociatedplane,andgiverisetodifferenttypesof trance. Thereareseveraltypesoftrancewhichare impliedbythemodel.Eachtypedependsontheloca tionofthetrancegeneratingloopandthelocationof thepersonsegoawareness. Meditation Trance Thefirsttypeoftranceischaracterizedbyagener atingloopinthecognitiveplanewithinternalstimu lationwhichisperceivedfromthedissociatedplane. Meditation,mantraandinnervisualizationsareex amplesofthistypeoftrance. Onemaycallthisthe meditationtypetrance. In order to induce a meditation trance all that is necessaryistorepeatsomesequenceofsoundsora mantraoratriggerwordmentally.Aftersometime, therewillbethesubjectivedissociatedexperienceof

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whatappearsasordinarythoughtwhileatthesame timethemantrawillbeheardorexperienced,possi blyfaintlyorfromfaraway.Thedualityofthesub jectiveexperience,thatisofarepeatingloopaswell as apparently ordinary thoughts is a meditation trance.Theapparentlyordinarythoughtsareactual lyoccurringinthedissociatedplane,sothethoughts arenotordinary. Somemeditatorsifinterruptedin thisstateexperienceamildshockorinvoluntaryre flexasthedissociatedtranceplanecollapses. Thereisadangerinmeditationtrancewhichmay notbeobvious,andIwanttodiscussthatnow. Many meditation groups will begin a meditation silently,andthen,atsomepoint,themeditationlead erwillbegintospeak.Sometimesthesubjectwillbe aprayerandsometimesitwillbemeditationinstruc tion. Whenever you are meditating, all of your thoughts occur in the dissociated plane. Your ego consciousnessisinthedissociatedplane,andwhena meditationleaderspeaks,thesuggestionswhichare givenhaveahypnoticeffect. Themeditationleaderisinsertingothersequences whichwilleitherdestroythedissociatedtranceplane orthesesequencesmaychangethedissociatedtrance plane. Perhaps you havehad the following experi ence:youhavebeenmeditatingwithagroupforthir tyminutesorsoandthenthemeditationleaderbe ginstospeak.Youmighthavefeltajoltorshockas thedissociatedtranceplanecollapsed,oryoumaynot

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havebeenawarethatthemeditationleaderspokeat allasyouweresodeepinthemeditationtrance,that is, your awareness was in the dissociated trance planeandsomeofyourcognitivefacultiesweredis abled.Whatdidthemeditationleadersaytoyou?If themeditationleaderwasskilledinmakinghypnotic suggestionshecouldusetheopportunitytoprogram youinbeneficialways,waysthatenabledyoutogain moreconsciouscontroloverthetrance.Ontheother hand,ifthemeditationleaderwereunskilled,orhad ahiddenagenda,hemightinadvertentlymakedis turbingsuggestionsorsuggestionswhichhadtheop positeeffect,suchas:"wearenolongertenseandthe sicknesswefeelhasleftourbodies,"or"Iletgoand dieforyou,LordGod."Suchsuggestionareanabuse oftrance.Becausetheyareheardbythedissociated ego,someofyourcognitivefunctionsaredisabledand alloftherangeofhypnoticeffectscantakeplace. Itmay be for thisreason thatshamans andyogis prefertomeditatealoneandfaraway from people. To be specific: the danger for you in meditating aroundpeoplewhotalktoyouisthatwhattheysay probably will have an hypnotic impact on you whetheryouagreewithit,orlikeitornot. When someonespeakstoyouwhileyouaremeditating,the meditationtranceeasilybecomesahypnotictrance. Specifically,tousetrancetheorytoanalyzethesitu ation:

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Meditationisaformoftranceinwhichthedissoci atedegoawarenessisinthedissociatedtranceplane. Somecognitivefacultiesaredisabled.Thereisoften a secondary order trance generating loop from the dissociatedtranceplanetotheprimarytrancegener atingloop(themantraormeditationtask).Whenev eranyonespeakstothisdissociatedego,either: 1.Thesecondaryordertrancegeneratingloopisin terrupted. 2.Thedissociatedtranceplanecollapses. 3.Theprimarytrancegeneratingloopisinterrupted bytheinsertionoftheexternalvoice. or 1.Theexternalvoiceisheardbythedissociatedego uncritically. 2.Thedissociatedtranceplaneischangesslightly duetotheexternalvoice. 3.Aconstructivetrancegeneratingloopiscreated by the changed dissociated trance plane. The con structive trance generating loop may become a 'posthypnotic'action,dependingonthecontentofthe externalvoice,thecognitivefacultiesthatweredis abled,thestrengthofthetranceforceandthecontent oftheconstructedtrancegeneratingloop. Thatis,whilemeditation is a trance,itcanvery easilychangetoahypnotictrancewheneversomeone beginstotalktoyouwhileyouaremeditating.

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Becauseoftheinherentdangersinhypnotictrances, Iwouldsuggestthatwheneverameditationtranceis desired,thattheremustbenoexternaldisturbance. Or, toput itinanotherway, if youaremeditating and someone begins to speak with you, open your eyes and stop meditating. Unless, of course, you don'tmindwhattheysuggest. Ifameditationleaderwishestousetrancetheoryto deepenandstrengthenthemeditationtrancethrough ashorttermhypnoticprocedure,thenthefirstand last suggestions should be "continue meditating." Suggestionsmaybegiventodeepenthemeditation trancebyestablishingsecondaryordertrancegener atingloopsoverwhichthemeditatorhascontrol.But Ifeelitisanabuseofthemeditatorforanyonetover balizehypnoticsuggestions. Hypnotic Trance Thesecondtypeoftranceischaracterizedbyagen eratingloopinthecognitiveplanewithanexternal stimulation which is perceived from thedissociated plane. Hypnosis,televisionviewing,movies,music, drivingacar,playingadrumareactivitieswhichare examplesofthistypeoftrance. Inshort,thisisthe hypnotictrance. Traditionalhypnotictranceinductionuseddecades agorequiredtheoperatortorepeataformulaorto makepasseswiththehands.Trancewasinducedby meansofthissecondaryordertrancegeneratingloop

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andthedissociationofthesubjectoccurredwiththe ego awareness moving in to the dissociated trance plane. Ingeneral,hypnotictrancesarequitedangerousif the content of the external stimulation is not con trolled. It is specifically because some cognitive functions aredisabled that suggestionsfromexternalsources have their effect. Suggestions can alter the trance forces which have been generated by the energy changesincognitivefunctioning.Thesetranceforces will have farreaching effects when the intensity of theseforcesishigh. Onceit is realized how hypnotic trance is created andused,theanswertothefrequentlyaskedques tion:"Canyoubemadetodosomethingagainstyour will when you are in a hypnotic trance?" is yes. Thosewhosaynoeitherwanttoabuseyouhypnoti callyortheydon'tknowwhattheyaredoing. Addictive Trance Thethirdtypeoftranceischaracterizedbyagener atingloopinthedissociatedplanewithanexternal stimulation which is perceived from thedissociated plane. Addictions of all kinds are characteristic of thistypeoftrance. Themaindifferencebetweenahypnotictranceand an addictive trance is in the location of the trance generatingloop. Anyinnerrepetitiveprocesswhich

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takesplaceinacognitivedisableddissociatedplane (anunrealizedunresolvedemotionaltrauma,forex ample),andwhichisstimulatedbyormodulatedby externaltriggersisanaddictivetypeoftrance.Hyp notic trances have their trance generating loops in thecognitiveplane,butaddictivetranceshavetheir loopsinthedissociatedplane. In the beginning of this book, I mentioned that I was addicted to meditation. When one meditates, thatisameditationtrance. Whensomeonetalksto you while you are in a meditation trance, it very quicklybecomesahypnotictrance. Whenyoubegin tomentallyrepeattheexternalstuffyouheardwhile you are in a hypnotic trance, you begin to believe. Andwhenyoustarttobelieve,thenyougointoaad dictive trance which is addiction. This means that your primary trance generating loop is now in the dissociatedplane,andyouregoisalsointhedissoci atedplane,andyouwillhavemuchlesscontactwith reality.Inotherwords,yougetstuck.Inspiteofthe factthataddictivetranceisfundamentallydisabling suchtrancescanseemverypleasurable.Whenaper sonisinadeephypnotictrancewithsuggestedanes thesia,aknifecutcanbeperceivedasapleasurable experience,wheninfactitisdamaging. Whenthe generatingloopisinthedissociatedplane,asinan addictivetrance,theknifecutcanbeexperiencedas apleasurewhichitisdesirabletoreexperience. Addictive trances are the posthypnotic types of tranceswhereonecannevergetenoughofthetrance

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experience because fundamentally you are living in anhallucination. Addictivetrancesarethetypesof trancesthatconsumerswhowatchalotoftelevision canbein.Theyarethecompulsiveshoppersforex ample. Perhaps they watch a lot of television and theyhavethisurgetobuysomething;yet,thebuying ofitdoesnotsatisfytheurgesotheybuysomemore. Basically, from a trance analysis point of view, the consumer is trying to fulfill the hallucination of a need.Theyaretryingtoshootthehallucinatedtiger witharealgun.Thatis,therereallyisnoneed,but the consumer, in this trance, hallucinates the need andtriestofulfillitbybuyingsomething.Thetrance generating loop occurs in the dissociated trance plane, but requires some external stimulation, like buyingsomething,inordertocompletethesecondary trancegeneratingloop. Other types of addictions can be analyzed in the sameway. Analcoholicmayhavethefollowingtypeofstruc ture:thetrancegeneratingloopwhichoccursinthe dissociated plane contains a painful idea or experi enceorhallucinatedvisionalongwithadenialofthe painful idea connected with drinking alcohol. This loop occurs in the dissociated plane, that is, in a trance.Theegoperceivingallthisisinthedissociat ed plane which is created by this loop. Physically drinkingalcoholhelpsreinforcethedenialofpain.In fact,theinebriatingeffectofthealcoholcreatesboth pain and its anesthetic denial of the pain. Thus,

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there is a connection between an external act (the drinking)andthecontentofthedissociatedplanein whichthetrancegeneratingloopexists.Otherstruc tures are possible, including multiple dissociated tranceplanes,andloopswithothercontentaswellas secondaryloops. Centric Trance Afourthtypeoftranceischaracterizedbyagener atingloopinthedissociatedplanewithaninternal stimulation which is perceived from thedissociated plane. Centric trances contain multiple dissociated tranceplanesinsomeofwhichthetrancegenerating loopsarefound. Thesetypesoftrancesareusually quite complex and often generate strong trance forces. Psychosisissometimescharacteristicofthis typeoftrance. Ingeneral,aloopinthedissociated planemeansatypeofselfinducedhypnosisisbeing created in which the ego awareness is totally in volved.Itisatrancefullofillusions,delusions,and hallucinations.Bodyawarenessisataminimumand somaybecompassion. The nature of centric trances implies that strong tranceforcesarecreated.Thisisnottosuggestthat everyonerunoutandtrytogenerateacentrictrance, buttheprogressivetrainingofthemindmayenable some individuals to create strong centric trances whichcanbeterminatedatwill.

A Collection of Sacred-Magick.Com < The Esoteric Library

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Highlydevelopedegos,drivenindividualsona"mis sion,"certainkindsofvisionaries,artists,orselfpro claimedmessiahs,etc.arelikelytobeinsuccessful centrictrancesinwhichthetranceforcesaresoin tensethattheysweepupothersintheirtrancebypo tentiatingdissociatedtranceplanesandconstructive trancegeneratingloops,oftenoverdistances. Movie stars,gurus,saintsand"Malechauvinistpigs"could allbethoughttobeinthesecentrictypesoftrances, andthereareothers. Summary of Trance Analysis Mental phenomena can be analyzed in terms of trance. Inorderto dotranceanalysis,thefollowing steps shouldbetaken. 1. On the most obvious level, the trance analyst must look for obvious signs of the presence of a trance.Thesehavebeenenumeratedaboveaschar acteristicsoftrancelogic.Thesemaybemostobvious whendeeptranceexistsaswellastheperceptionof anintensetranceforce. 2. Once it has been determined that a trance (or trances)exist,thetranceanalystmusttrytodeter minetheunderlyingtrancegeneratingloops. 3. Foreachtrancegeneratingloop,thedissociated tranceplanemustbedescribed.Especially,thedura tionandtheboundaryofthedissociatedtranceplane

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andadescriptionofwhatisinthedissociatedtrance planeaswellaswhatisspecificallyexcluded. 4.Foreachdissociatedtranceplanethereisassoci atedatranceforce.Thestrengthorintensity,dura tionandeffectofthetranceforcemustbeestimated anddescribed. 5.Secondordertrancegeneratingloopsmustalsobe describedaswellasthedeepeffectsofanytriggers withintheloops. 6.Oncethetrancegeneratingloopsanddissociated trance planes are specified along with the trance forcesthenthetypeoftrancesareimportanttoiden tify. Beingabletorecognizeatranceandtobegintodis coversomeoftheunderlyingcharacteristicswillen ableyoutobegintochangeandtoattempttotermi natesomeofthetrances.

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ContemporaryHypnosisand TranceTechnology
Dissociation Thereisactuallynothingnewabouttheconceptof dissociation,whichisdefinedas"thesplittingoffof certainmentalprocessesfromthemainbodyofcon sciousness with various degrees of autonomy" (Hil gard, 1977, 1992). This definition, however, is too vaguetobeusefulfordescribingtrance.Specifically Hilgard's definition seems to circumscribe at least threetypesofdistinctphenomenaallofwhichcould betermed"dissociation,"butwhicharefunctionally differentinimportantways.Thethreetypesofdisso ciationareabstraction,autonomousmultiprocessing andtrance. Dissociation generally is the mechanism by which mental processing becomes distributed to dominant andlatentsequences. Whenbothdominantandla tentsequencesarecontinuingatthesametime,then thereisparallelprocessing.Thelatentsequencebe comes the trainedautomaton. Parallel information

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processing,withorwithoutawareness,seemstobea fundamental,distinct and commontype ofdissocia tion.Acommonexampleofparallelinformationpro cessingiswhenyouarestirringacupofcoffeeand lookingaroundtheroom. Thisisnotatrance. The dominant sequenceis lookingaroundtheroomand thelatentsequenceisstirringthecoffee.Itbecomes anobvioustrancewhenyourattentionbecomesfixed ononespot,andbecomesobviouslydeeperwhenyou cannotstiryourcoffee. Abstractionisanothertypeofdissociationinwhich asymbolisusedforaconcept. Thesymbolisdomi nantandtheconceptislatent.Abstractionisacog nitivemethodofsavingenergy.Itisnotatrance.It canbecomeatranceundercertainconditionshowev er.Forexample,theword'table'isanabstractionfor acertainclassofobjects.Whenthewordtableisre peatedoftenenough,slowlyandwithsuchemphasis thataccesstothelatentcontentbecomesincreasingly fascinating and absorbing, a trance is produced. Wordswitharichlatentcontentworkbetter,butthis examplecanshowyouthatitistheprocessandnot thewordthatproducesthetrance. Whatdistinguishesthedominantfromthelatentse quencesofdissociationisthedisablingorenablingof certaincognitivefunctionsfromthelatentsequence. To distinguish the above definition of dissociation fromotherideasofdissociation,Iwouldagreewith Hilgard(1977)thatdissociationisanormalaspectof

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informationprocessing.IwouldnotagreewithBar tisandZamansky(1986)thatdissociationisan"in consistency"betweenanindividual'sperceptionofan eventandotherconcurrentbehavioraland/orcogni tiveaspectsofthesameevent.Ipartiallyagreewith Spiegel (1986) that dissociation is a condition in whichspecificsubsetsofmaterialexcludeothersub setsofmaterialfromconsciousawareness. Iwould agreewithBersteinandPutnam(1986)thatdissocia tionincludesnormalandabnormalexperiences,but not that it was a continuum, and I would disagree wholeheartedlythatdissociationitselfispathological. Belief and Compliance Wagstaff(LynnandRhue,1992)suggestedthatit wouldbebettertodisregardallthestandardrefer encesto"trance,""alteredstates"andsoonandtoex plainthephenomenonofhypnosisfromasocialand psychologicalperspective.InWagstaff'sviewhypnot icphenomenaarebetterexplainedthroughthecon ceptsofbeliefandcompliance. Frommypointofview,beliefandcompliancethem selvescanbe explained as social phenomena which occurduetotrancegeneratingloopswhichoccurover timeandtothedissociativestateswhichresultwhen everthecollectivelatentsumsofthesetrancegener ating loops gain enough energy to produce appear ancesseemingtoberealitiesseparatefromtheorigi natingtrancegeneratingloops.Theactualcontentof thetrancegeneratingloopinahypnoticinductivesit

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uation(armlevitation,forexample)isdifferentfrom thecontentofatrancegeneratingloopinatelevision commercial(brandrecognition,purchasemotivation, brandloyalty,forexample),whichisagaindifferent fromthetrancegeneratingloopsinreligious,political or scientific activities. Yet, all trance generating loopshavethepotential,undercertainconditions,of creatingtheappearanceofaseparatereality.Inmy opinion,itisnotnecessarytostudyarmlevitation, brandloyalty,andnationalismasseparatephenome na. Thequestionisnotwhetherhypnosisexists. Hyp notictranceisacognitiveconditionwhichhasmea surablephysiologicalconsequences(Kawanoandoth ers), although the techniques for measurement are onlynowbeingdevelopedinasophisticatedmanner. Hypnosis is also a phenomena which can be ex plained asa veryspecifictypeoftrancewithinthe suggestedparadigm.However,thepresentparadigm alsosuggeststhatsocialpsychologicalconceptssuch asbelief,compliance,expectationandsooncannotbe usedasexplanationsfortrance. Abelief,forexample,occurswheneveratrancegen eratingloophassufficientenergytoproduceadisso ciation and the appearance of a separate reality. Sinceasocalledhypnoticstateisalsotheresultof trancegeneratingloops(induction)andtheresulting dissociation,theconceptofbeliefcannotlogicallybe usedtoexplainhypnosissincebeliefisitselfanother

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exampleofthesamephenomenon. Thesameargu mentcanbemadeforcompliance. Thereisnoneedtointroducemoreandmoreterms to describe trance and other altered states of con sciousness.Itissufficienttousealreadyknowncon cepts such as thoughts, thought objects, awareness and dissociation, but to define them in such a way that they describe systems phenomena. A wellde finedsystemmodelfortrancecanhelptoprovidea unifiedtheoreticalparadigmforhypnosis. Whether the underlying terms and their phenomenological consequencescanbeaccuratelymeasuredcanbeleft fordevelopingfuturetechnologies. How professional hypnotists create trance AccordingtoHammond(1990),writingintheHand bookofHypnoticSuggestionsandMetaphorsforthe authoritativeAmericanSocietyofClinicalHypnosis, theseare the techniqueswhich are used by profes sionalhypnotistsandclinicalhypnotherapiststoin duce trance and how these specific techniques are viewedfromatranceengineeringperspective. Create positive expectancy CreatingpositiveexpectancyiswhatWagstaffcalls compliance. Ingeneral,aclientwhohasaproblem andwhocomestoahypnotherapistforasolutionto thatproblemalreadyhasagreedtobecompliantand hasapositiveexpectancywhetherornotitisverbal

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ized. Thetherapisthasnothingtodowithcreating thispositiveexpectancy;itisenoughifthetherapist doesn't blow it for the client by saying something stupid. Expectationhasnothingtodowithprimary inductionsandhasnothingtodowithsecondaryin ductions.Itisalsopossibletoinducetrancebycreat ing negative expectancy. Therefore, positive ex pectancyisnotaconditionfortrancefortheclient. The autohypnosis of the therapist, however, will havesubtle,yetpowerfuleffectsincreatingtrance. Theautohypnosisofthetherapistcanpotentiatedis sociated trance planes and produce constructive trancegeneratingloopsintheclient. Creating an acceptance or yes-set Limitingchoiceestablishesanimportantcondition fortrance.Whenaclientisseekingapprovalandac ceptance,itiseasytoutilizethisdesiretomotivatea client to accept an impoverished reality set. This, however,isaformoftranceabuse,inspiteofthefact thattheresultsofthetrancemaybelaudable. Fromthepointofviewoftrancetheory,itisnotnec essarytocreateeitheranacceptanceorayessetora rejection or a noset; it is only necessary to limit choice.Therequirementofacceptanceoryessetas sumesthatcomplianceisaconditionfortrance.This conditionislimitingandunnecessary.

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Erickson's principles of individualization and utilization One example of Erickson's principle of individual izationistheNLPtechniqueoftailoringresponsesto correspond with a client's natural sense modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory). This tech niquepacesaclientonasomaticlevelandrepresents alimitationofattentionaswellastheconstructionof aprimarytrancegeneratingloop. Thiscorresponds toallofthecriticalelementsoftrancecreation. Establishrapportandacooperativerelationship Thisrequirementforanhypnotictranceisnothing morethancomplianceandlimitingattention. Com pliancehasnothingtodowithtranceunlessyou are a social psychologist but limiting attention does,ifyouareatranceengineer. Theideaofrap portistheideational,emotionalandbehavioralcon gruencebetweentwopeople.Rapportsuggestsamu tualpacingorreflectionresultinginfeelingsofclose ness,comfortandsafety.Fromatranceengineering pointofview,rapportisthemutualpacingloopit is a cybernetic loop which produces congruence andtheresultingrapportwhichistermedacoopera tiveorcompliantrelationship. Thecooperativerelationshipbetweenthetherapist and the client is more fully described by Gilligan. Rapport and the resulting cooperative or compliant relationship is more quickly developed by utilizing Erickson'sprincipleofindividualizationandutiliza

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tion. A trance engineer, however, would recognize that underneath these social psychological ideas of cooperation,rapportandcomplianceistheloop,the mutualpacingloop;itisnothingmorethanahuman systemcyberneticloopandisanotherspecificexam pleofatrancegeneratingloop.Itisthetrancegener atingloopthatisthenecessaryandsufficientcondi tionfortrance.Allsuchloopslimitattentionbydefi nition and when repeated often enough will induce trance. Interactive trance and confirming the acceptability of suggestions Tailoringsuggestionstobecongruentwithaclients expectationsisaformofpacingofaclientanddevel opsa limitation ofattention as wellasenables the constructionofaprimarytrancegeneratingloop.So long as limiting and repeating aspects are present, trancewillbecreated. The carrot principle Linking a client's motivations with your own sug gestionsisaformofpacingofaclientanddevelopsa limitation of attention as well as enables the con struction of a primary trance generating loop. So long as limiting and repeating aspects are present, trancewillbecreated. Iamrepeatingthisbecause youareprobablyalreadyinatrance.

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The law of concentrated attention: repetition of suggestions Therepetitionofsuggestionswilllimittheattention andcreatetheconditionsfordissociationandtrance. This is an important aspect of trance creation and maybeyoushouldtellyourfriendswhatagreatdis coverythisis. Youmaygettheideabynowthatwhatissetforth asmultipleprinciplesininducinghypnotictranceare actuallyfromatranceengineerspointofview merevariationsonthesameprinciple. The law of dominant effect Seekingtostiryourpowerfulemotionsandtocon nect hypnotic suggestions to them is a use of your memoryandtheuseofresidualawarenessandprior existingtriggersinordertocreateatrance. Thisis properlyatypeofsecondaryinduction. The law of parsimony Trancesareinducedwithoutreferencetoaclockor billingrates.Thelawofparsimonyhasnothingtodo withtrance.Ithassomethingtodowiththeeffective useofaprofessionalhypnotist'sbillabletime. The principle of interspersing and embedding suggestions Makingsuggestionswhenjudgementisdisabledis tranceabuse.Foralistofphraseswhichcanbeused

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forembeddedsuggestions,seebelow. Thisprinciple hasnothingtodowithinducingtranceeitherfroma primaryorsecondaryinductionpointofview,butis specifically a way of exploiting disabled cognitive functionsduringatrancewhichhasalreadybeenes tablished. The principle of positive reinforcement Thisisaformofpacingofaclientanddevelopsa limitation of attention as well as enables the con structionofaprimarytrancegeneratingloop. The principle of positive suggestion Inagenerativecognitiveloopsuchas"Iamnothun gry" thewordnotoftentendstobeforgotten. The loopcaneasilybecome"Iamhungry." Perhapsthe reasonforthisisthatthewordnotornoisatrigger for an often well established dissociation into a pain/painrelievingtrance.Forthisreason,behavior istsand thosewho wish toinstill suggestions often rephrasenegativesuggestionsintopositiveonessuch as"Ifeelreallysatisfied." Trancetheoristswillim mediately recognize that the no or not is a trigger wordintoaprimaryinductiontoapaintrance.Since thistranceisasomaticnono,theonlysuggestionleft oncegoodjudgement isdisabledis thepositiveone whenthenotiseliminated:"Iamhungry."Itisfor thisreasonthatsuggestionsaremadefromapositive pointofview.

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This principle is important for parents to imple ment.IwincewheneverIhearaparentscreamata child: "Don'trunintothestreet;you'llgethitbya car!" The principle of successive approximations Theexpectationsofthehypnotherapistshavenoth ingtodowithtranceinductionunlessthehypnother apistsarethemselvesinatrance. The principle of trance ratifications Tranceratificationreferstotheprocessofproviding the client with an experience that verifies for the client that they have been in a hypnotic trance. Tranceratificationisanattemptbythehypnothera pist to make a secondary trance generating loop. Thatis,theclientmakesarealitymapfromthedis sociatedplanetothesuggestionsofthehypnotist. Somehypnoticexperienceswhichcanhelpaclient realizethattheyhaveexperiencedorareexperienc ingatranceare: 1.Amnesia 2.Armlevitation.Thisisaclassic. 3.Gloveanesthesiasoranalgesia. 4.Ideomotorsignaling.Raiseyourfingerifyouun derstandthispoint. 5.Limbcatalepsy. 6.Limbheaviness.

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7.Timedistortion. Althoughthissocalledprincipleoftranceratifica tioniseffectiveincreatingasecondaryloop,trance ratificationisonlyoneexampleofcreatingsecondary loops. Timing of suggestions and depth of trance Whenatrancehasbeenestablishedandsomecogni tive facilities have been disabled, hypnotherapists willconsider it an opportunetime to makesugges tions.Thisistranceabuse,butitworks. Pacing Pacingrepresentsatypeofgenerativecognitiveloop whichiseffectiveforinducingtrance.Theloopises tablishedintheheadoftheclient,andisnotonlya socialloopbetweenthehypnotistandhissubject. NLPpractitionersutilizesomaticcluessuchaseye movementandverbalcluestoindicatethemosteffec tivewaystopaceasubject. WhileforNLPpracti tionerssuchcluesmaybeeffectiveindicators,pacing canbeeffectivewithanysomaticclues. Thus,ifev erytimeaclientblinkedthetherapistraisedafinger whileinconversationthistypeofpacingwouldalso resultin a trance generating loop. Typing somatic andotherclues,thatis,mappingaclient'seyemove mentoranastrologicalaspecttoatherapist'sclinical response strategy, when consistent over time, will constituteaneffectivetrancegeneratingloopandin

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ducetranceintheclientandofteninthetherapist, too. Pacing is what the tiger does to the rabbit. The tigerwatchestherabbitandmovesinthesameway andatthesametimethattherabbitdoes.Therabbit doesn't feelthat anything is unusual. Perhapsthe rabbit is not even aware of the tiger who almost movessimultaneouslywiththerabbit'sshadow. On ahumanscale,pacingisreflecting,mirroringorfol lowingtheverbal,somaticandothercluesofanother person.Itrepresentsatypeofloopandrepresentsa limitationofattentionandaction. Pacingresultsin feelings of comfort and safety; it is rapport. When thetigerhaspacedtherabbitforsometimetherab bit may remember that every time itmoved, some thingintheshadowsmoved.Couldithavebeenhis mother?Atthispoint,therabbitisdissociated.Part oftheawarenessoftherabbitisrememberingwhat happenedinthepastandobservingthetigertoseeif thetigermovesthewaytherabbit'smothermoves. The rabbit naturally moves towards safety, except now, because part of the cognitive functions of the rabbitaredisabled,andanyway,thetigerseemsto movealsolikearabbit. Leading and Embedded Commands Whenthetigerjumpsinsuchawaythatleadsthe rabbittojumpintoanunsafeplace,thetigerjumps ontherabbit. Leadingiswhatthetigerdoestothe rabbitafterthetigerhaspacedtherabbitforsome

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time. Onahumanscale,ifonepacesapersonlong enough,thenitispossibletoleadortogiveasugges tion to the person and which the person will carry out.Thereasonthisworksisthatpacingisatrance generatingloopandwhencontinuedlongenoughal waysresultsindissociationandthedisablingofsome cognitivefunctions.Oncethecognitivefunctionsare functionsaredisabled,thenacommandcanbegiven which will be carried out often because judgement, etc.isdisabled. Thefollowingare'truisms'whichcanbeusedtocar ry embedded commands. Embedded commands do notinducetrance,butareformsoftranceabuse;that is,theyarewaystoutilizethedisabledcognitionof the subject to gain acceptance of your horrible, im moral,indecentandexploitativesuggestions,orthe therapeutic,enlighteningandrelaxingones.Embed ded commands do not have anything to do with tranceinduction,perse,butthenatureofthebehav iorsthatembeddedsuggestionspromoteinsubjects might properly be considered to be compliance by somepsychologists. Thefollowingisaratherlonglist,butitisimpor tantforyoutounderstandthattranceabusecanoc curinavarietyofways. Inthefollowingsentences, you can substitute one of your favorite but naughtydesiresasthe[command]tounderstand how trance abuse works in practical ways. Where [pace] is indicated, simply describe the person you

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aretalkingto,suchas'Youaresittingthere'or'You aresmilingnow'andsoon. 1.[command]inawaythatmeetsyourneeds. 2.Someoneoncetoldme,[command] 3.Someonesaid,[command] 4.Apersoncould,[name],[command] 5.Apersonisableto[command] 6.Apersonmay[command],because[anyreason] 7.Apersonmaynotknowif[command] 8.Apersonmight,[name],[command] 9.After[pace]youcan[command] 10.Allthatreallymatters[command] 11.Allthat'sreallyimportant[command] 12.Almostasthough[command] 13.Andas[pace]occurs,[command]mayoccurmore thanyou'dexpect. 14.Anddoyounoticethebeginningof[command]? 15.Andifyouwish[command] 16.Anditappearsalreadythat[command] 17.Andmaybeyou'llenjoynoticing[command] 18.Andwhenyou[pace],you'll[command] 19.Andwouldyoubewillingtoexperience[com mand]? 20.Andwouldyouliketo[command] 21.Andyoubegintowonderwhen[command] 22.Andyoucanbepleased[command] 23.Andyoucanwonder[command] 24.Andyoucanwonderwhat[command] 25.Andyouwillbesurprisedat[command]

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26.And,inaninterestingway,you'lldiscover[com mand] 27.Areyouawareof[command] 28.Assoonas[pace],then[command] 29.Asyoufeel[pace]yourecognize[command] 30.Almostasif..[command] 31.Atfirst[pace],butlater[command] 32.Attimeslikethis,somepeopleenjoy[command] 33.Canyou[command] 34.Canyouimagine[command]? 35.Canyounotice[command]? 36.Canyoureallyenjoy[command]? 37.Doyou[command] 38.Does[command] 39.Don't[command]tooquickly. 40.Don't[command]untilyou[command] 41.Eventually[command] 42.Everybody[command] 43.Everyone[command] 44.Giveyourselftheopportunitytoseeif[command] 45.Howwoulditfeelifyou[command]? 46.Icouldtellyouthat[command]but[command] 47.Idon'tknowif[command] 48.Iwonderifyou'dliketoenjoy[command] 49.Iwonderifyou'llbepleasedtonotice[command] 50.Iwonderifyou'llbereminded[command] 51.Iwonderifyou'veevernoticed[command] 52.Iwouldn'ttellyouto[command],because[pace] 53.I'dlikeyoutobeginallowing[command] 54.I'mwonderif[command]

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55.I'mwonderingifyou'll[command],[name]ornot. 56.Ifyou[pace],then[command] 57.Inallprobability[command] 58.Ineveryculture[command] 59.Isisn'timportant[command] 60.Itgiveseveryoneasenseofpleasureto[com mand] 61.Itisaverycommonexperienceto[command] 62.Itisn'tnecessaryto[command] 63.Itmaybethatyou'llenjoy[command] 64.Itmaybethatyou'realreadyawareof[com mand] 65.It'seasyto[command],isitnot? 66.It'ssonicetoknow[command] 67.Justallowittohappen[command] 68.Kindoflike[command] 69.Maybeitwillsurpriseyoutonoticethat[com mand] 70.Maybeyouhaven't[command],yet. 71.Maybeyou'll[command] 72.Mostofus[command] 73.Mostpeople[command] 74.Onecan[name],[command] 75.Onecould[command],because[pace] 76.Onedoesn'thaveto,[name],[command] 77.Onemay,[name],[command] 78.Onemight,youknow,[command] 79.Peoplecan,youknow,[command] 80.Peopledon'thaveto,[name],[command] 81.Perhapsbeginningtonotice[command]

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82.Perhapsnoticing[command] 83.Perhapsyouare[command] 84.Sothatit'salmostasif[command] 85.Somepeople[command] 86.Sometime[command] 87.Soonerorlater[command] 88.Soonerorlater,everyone[command] 89.Thecloseryougetto[command]themoreyou can[command] 90.Thefeelingof[pace]willallowyouto[command] 91.Therewasatimewhenyoudidn't[command] 92.Trytoresist[command] 93.Verylikely[command] 94.Whathappenswhenyou[command]? 95.Whenyou[pace]please[command] 96.Whenyou[pace],then[command] 97.Whileyou[pace]youcan[command] 98.Whydon'tyou[command]beforeyou[pace] 99.Will[command] 100.Willyou[command]now,orwillyou [command]? 101.Willyou[command],or[command],or[com mand]? 102.Withyourpermission[command] 103.Withoutknowingit,you've[command] 104.Withoutreallytrying,itwilljusthappenallby itself[command] 105.Youalreadyknow[command] 106.Youalreadyknowhowto[command] 107.Youareableto[command]

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108.Youcan[command],because[command] 109.Youcan[command],canyounot? 110.Youcould[command] 111.Youdon'thaveto[command] 112.Youdon'tneedtobeconcernedif[command] 113.Youmay[command] 114.Youmaynotknowif[command] 115.Youmayormaynot[command] 116.Youmight[command] 117.Youmightnothavenoticed[command] 118.Youmightnoticehowgood[command]feels, whenyou[command] 119.Youmightnoticethefeelings[name]asyou [command] 120.Youmightnoticethesensationsin[pace]while you[command] 121.Youmightwantto[command],[command]now. 122.Youprobablyalreadyknow[command] 123.Youwon't[command]until[command] 124.You'veknownallalonghowto[command] 125.[pace],[pace],[pace],and[command] Alloftheabovestatementsareusedbyhypnothera pistsinordertoembedcommandswhichmaynotbe noticedbyapersonwhoseattentionisnotspecifically attunedtothepossibilitythatcommandscanbesug gestedthroughtheuseofthesephrases.Thistypeof manipulationisalsotranceabuse. Ifahypnotherapistsimplyusestheseformswithout asubjectbeingdissociatedthesubjectwill,likethe

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oldrabbit,realizethattheshadowcontainsatiger. Theseformsareeffectiveonlyasdeliverysystems. Allofthesesubtleandnotsosubtlesuggestionsdo nothavemuchtodowithinducingtranceasIhave definedit,unlessthesesuggestionswererepeated.If thesubjectisalreadydissociatedandpartlydisabled theaboveparadigmscanbeefficientmethodsofde liveringsuggestions. Becausethesesuggestionsand manipulationsdon'thavemuchtodowithinducing trance as I havedefined it, one could almost agree withWagstaffthatcomplianceandbeliefhavealot to do with hypnosis, if it exists at all. And if the abovesuggestionsweresomehowidentifiedasbeing importantforinducinghypnotictrance,Iwouldhave toagreewithWagstaffthatabeliefinhypnosishasa lottodowithabeliefinleprechaunsandcompliance isaconditionforinducingtrance.

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MagicandTranceTechnology
Reorientation Thereisalotofworktodoinordertoputwhatis alreadyknownabouttranceandhowitiscurrently usedintothecategoriesofthemodelsothatitcanbe usedasatechnology.Inordertoreorientyoutothis perspective,Iwillpresentwaystoinducetranceand giveexamples.Inaddition,Iwillmakecomparisons towhat nowexistsand explain whatis being done frommyperspective. The application of the principles of trance theory willprobablybemostproductiveandeffectiveinhyp nosis,hypnotherapy,meditation,religiousritualsand magic, shamanistic practices, research in altered statesofconsciousness,andinpossiblyunderstand ingandtreatingdifficult'trancelike'pathologiessuch asaddictionsandsomedelusionalpsychoses. Tomakethebridgefrommagictotechnologyisa considerable amount of work. If there is no resis tancetoapplyingatechnologicaltechniquetosome thingaspersonalasreligiousritual,thenthepossi bilitiesofmoreeffectivereligiousritualcanincrease.

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Whenapersondoesnothaveavested,personal,emo tional or private interest in maintaining their own ideas about magic or shamanism, it is more likely thattheideaofmakingmagicintoatechnologywill be well accepted as an exciting possibility full of promise. Ineithercase,understandinghowtranceworksand then practicing some of the techniques is the best waytostart. Inducing Trance Thefollowingdescribestechniquestoinducetrance bypromotingorsettingtheconditionstoenabledis sociation. The first technique always uses a repeated set of stimuliinordertocreatetheconditionfordissocia tion.ThiswillfitwiththedescriptioninChapter3. Japameditation,chanting,trancemusic,andrepeat edsomaticactsareallprimaryinductions. Primary inductionsalwayscreatetriggerswhichcanbelater usedinsecondaryinductions.Apureprimaryinduc tionalwaysusesarepeatedsetofstimuliwhichare not triggers. However, primary inductions always createtriggerswhichcangiveanametotheresidual awarenesscomponentsofthetrance.Itisimportant to identify these triggers. This will enable a more rapidcreationoftranceinthefuture.Ingeneral,be ing able to create and establish trance only takes time.Somepeopletakeabitlonger,someabitshort

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er,buteventually,withtheestablishmentoftriggers, allgointotrance. Secondary inductions use the triggers that have beenestablishedbyprimaryinductions. Underthe proper conditions, a trigger will potentiate or con struct representations of the original set of stimuli andpotentiatethetrance.Thesearethetechniques that advertisers use to induce light trances. Some marketingtechniquesrefertohotbuttons,whichcon sist of words like deserve, remember, imagine, etc. Such words trigger inner processes and potentiate dissociation. These hot buttons, when used, are calledsecondaryinductions. Wordswhichevokevi sual memories are also triggers and effective for manypeople. Metaphoricalhypnotictechniquesuse primarily secondary inductions because the metaphores evoke inner processes which are often triggersfortrances.Somatictriggersalsowork.The skillful use of triggers alone is sufficient to create trance.Allhypnoticinductionsuseacombinationof triggersandrepetitioninordertocreatethedissoci atedtranceplane.Oncethedissociatedtranceplane iscreated,thenonemustestablishsecondarytrance generatingloopsinordertostabilizethedissociated tranceplane. Primary Inductions Primaryinductionsuseatrancegeneratingloopto produce a pure dissociation rather than accessing triggers. Triggers,suchasareusedinNLP,andby

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advertisers,will,ofcourse,work,buttriggersalways carrytheassociationsoftheunderlyingtrancegener atingloops.Theseunderlyingloopscancreatealter nativeandundesirabledissociatedtranceplanes. Secondary Inductions Theuseoftriggersinordertoinvokepriortrance states must be done with some trance analysis be forehand. Althoughifitissimplydesiredtodisable the critical judgement of a person before abusing them,triggerswillbemostlybesufficient. Emotionaltriggerwordsareoftenusedbysomead vertisers, political and religious groups in order to performatypeoftranceabusethatistantamountto rape,butcannotbejustifiedbyarguingthatthesub jectisvoluntarily'compliant'. SecondaryinductionsareusedinNLPandinmany socalledconsciousnessraisingactivitieswhichreally are not consciousnessraising at all, but are merely methods for disabling critical judgement. This en ablestheskillfuloperatortomakesuggestionsofmir aclesquiteeasily. Meditation Techniques Inducingameditationtranceissomethingyoumust doyourself. Thatis,thelimitationofattentionand therepetitionofasequence(itneednotbeamantra) aretheonlycriticalconditions.Whatisimportantis tobeabletodistinguishbetweenameditationtrance

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whichisatechniqueyoudoyourself,andahyp notictrancewhichisatechniquesomeonedoesfor you. Inmanytraditions,ameditationstudentisfirstin ducedintoahypnotictrancebyameditationteacher. This hypnotic induction takes place during instruc tion or initiation or religious training or through a performanceofritualmagic. Itneednotbeso,but generallyitisthisway.Thepurposeofthehypnotic tranceistogiveastudenttheexperienceoftrance, and, in so doing, explicitly instruct the student on methodsthatareeffectiveinrecreatingthatsameor asimilartrance.Itmaybethatbecauseoftraditions ofsecrecyandbecauseofalackofknowledgeofthe technologyoftrance,variousextraneoussymbolsand practiceswereattachedtoreligiousmeditationprac tices.Itcouldbeforthisreasonthatmeditationtech niques are often identified with some specific reli giouspractice. Inaddition,themantrasorzikhror holyprayerswhichareusedaspartofthetrancegen eratinglooparetriggerstopriorideasorconceptsor toemotionallyheavyevents.Mantratriggerstoemo tionallyheavymemorieswilltendtoengageaperson oninternalmentalthoughts,visionsandmemories. ("Jesus died for your sins!") These types of mantra triggersmakeitrelativelyeasytoestablishtrancein thosepersonswhoareeasilydrawnintosuchinter nalprocesses.Whensuchmantrasarechosen,itbe comesespeciallyeasytoestablishaddictivetrances. Withalotofpractice,devotionandanchoredsomatic

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secondarytrancegeneratingloopsthesereligiousad dictivetrancescanbecomecentricwitharichrange of potentially delusional ideas. You can find your ownexamples. Autogenictrainingorselfhypnosisinwhichthepri maryresponsibilityremainswiththesolitarypracti tionerisprobablyasaferwaytoselfinducemedita tiontrance.Whengroupsofpractitionersofmedita tion trancecome together to enjoy a group medita tion,oneshouldbealertofthepotentialforamedita tion trance to basically degrade into a hypnotic trance, and with the concomitant possibilities of tranceabusetakingplace. Onespecifictechniqueformeditationtranceinduc tion goeslike this: UsethemantraShirim. Close your eyes, wait about a half a minute, then start thinkingthemantraoverandoveragain.Eventually youwillbeboredandmayevenforgettorepeatthe mantra. Thismeansthattheresidualawarenessin thedissociatedplaneisofahigherenergythanthe trancegeneratingloopwhichconsistsofthemantra. Whenyouareawarethatyouhaveforgottentore peatthemantra,remembertogobacktothemantra. Thissetsupasecondarytrancegeneratingloopfrom thedissociatedplanetotheprimarytrancegenerat ingloop. Anotherimportantpointistorememberthemantra rather than repeating it clearly. Remembering the mantra invokes the residual awareness component,

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and this will help you to remain in the dissociated trance plane. Hearing themantra faintly is also a techniqueforretainingthedissociativestate. Thoughtswhichoccurdosowhileyouareinadisso ciatedstate. Neverthinkyouare'justthinking'or thatyourconsciousnessis'normal.'It'snot.Youare dissociated,andthereforesomeofyourcognitivefac ultiesaredisabled. Mantras are not the only vehicles for inducing a meditationtrance. However,ifyouwouldlikealist ofmantrastouse,youcanuseanyofthefollowing, and there are many, many more from the religious and nonreligious traditions of the world (gathered frompublicsources): Eng,Em,Enga,Aing,Aim,Ainga,Aima,Shiring, Shirim,Hiring,Hirim,Kiring,Kirim,Sham,Shama, Ing,Im,Shiama,OmManePadmeHum,YaAli,Hu, HareKaliOm,JaiRam,HareOm,OmNamaShiv aya, Yaweh, Shri Shri Aing Aing Namah Namah, Money,Love,Sex,Health,Happiness,Power,Peace. Othertechniquesofmeditation,suchasavisualiza tion,willalsobeeffective.Youcanactivelyvisualize afaceorasymbol(acircle,across,astar,thenum ber 9, the mantra Hu) and when the symbol fades andyoubecomeawarethatithasfaded,yourecon structitagainmentally. Thisisbasicallythesame form as the technique described above. Again, the trancegeneratingloopdoesnotneedtobeamantra oravisualizationandtheactualcontentoftheloop

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doesnotneedtobereligious.Itcanalsobepolitical, oremotionalorfinancial. Besidesusinganyofthefivesensesasvehiclesfor thetrancegeneratingloop,youcanalsousesomatic awarenesssuchaswatchingyourownbreath. This techniqueispopularamongBuddhists,forexample. Again,thetrancegeneratingloopisthebreathitself: the inhalation, the retention, the exhalation. The dissociated trance plane occurs when you forget to watch your breath. Then you should remember to watch your breathing. This will establish the sec ondarytrancegeneratingloop. Other meditation trance techniques involve what might be called 'movement of awareness' in which youplaceyourinnerawarenessonthechakrasand movethisawarenessfromchakratochakra.Asyou dothis,youcanassociateamantrawitheachchakra, acolor,asmell,andsoon.Youmayintegrateapar ticularbodymovementwithyourinnerawarenessas it moves along your spine or throughout the far reachesofthecosmos. Elaboratemeditationtrance techniquessuchasthesearepopularamongtheTi betans and were practiced by ancient civilizations. Again,thetrancegeneratingloopinthistechniqueis eachpointofyourawareness. Thecontentisnotso important,butthefactthatitisrepeatediscritical. What is important about content is to realize that whenthedissociationoccurs,thecontentwillactasa suggestion. Thesuggestion may not beverbal, but

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willhavesomeeffectonthepotentiationofthetrance force. Improving your trance Strongtranceforcesresultinboththepossibilityof perception of subtle processes and the potential for actionatadistanceandchangesinremoteprocesses. Formostpeople,thischaracteristicactionofstrongly potentiatedtranceforcesisthesameasmagic. Po tentiatingyourtranceforceiscriticalforincreasing yourmagicalpowers,ifthatiswhatyouwanttodo. Formostpeopleitsimplyisnotpossibletocreate these strong trance forces. Creating strong trance forcesrequirethepersonalabilitytosustainastrong dissociated tranceplaneand toactwhileinadeep trance. Formanypeople,assoonastheyareaware thattheyaredissociatedandinatrance,thetrance terminates.Channellersandhealersaretwogroups whopresumablycanmaintaintheirtranceandmove. Peoplewhomanagetocreatecentrictrancescanact whileinadeeptrance.However,suchpeoplemayor may not have a good grip on reality; that is, they mightbedelusionalpsychopaths.Somebuyer'scau tionisadvised;yourmileagemayvary. Perhapsoneofthereasonsdrugsaresodesirableby manypeopleisthatdrugscanhelptomaintainthe dissociatedstate. Music,especiallydrumming,also helps to maintain the dissociated state through its repetitionsofmelodiesandrhythms. However,the

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unfortunatefactisthatmusicanddrugscreatehyp notictrancesandnotmeditativetrances. Therefore what is created is more likely to be hallucination ratherthanthestrongtranceforcesassociatedwith magic. Theotherproblemwiththeuseofdrugsto enhancealteredstatesisthatdrugsdonotallowyou todeveloptheconsciousskillsyouneedinorderto control the trance force. In order to control the trance force you need to be able to do it yourself, withoutanyexternalhelpatallandyoucertainlydo notneedtodealwithinterferingdruginducedhallu cinations. Apersonwhowishestosustainastrongtranceforce must be fully capable of entering into meditation trancewherethedissociatedtranceplaneisstabile andtheshapecanbemodifiedatwill. Thismeans that conscious control over the dissociated trance planeisrequired.Secondaryordertrancegenerating loopsmight be necessary at the beginning, but full conscious control requires that no secondary order trancegeneratingloopsbepresent. Hereisonewaytodevelopstrongtranceforces. 1.Establishameditationtrance. 2.Stabilizethedissociatedtranceplaneanddeepen thetrancewithasecondarytrancegeneratingloop. 3.Keepyouregoawarenessinthesecondaryorder dissociated trance plane. Practice changing the shape of the primary dissociated trance plane by changingthesecondarytrancegeneratingloop.Then

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remove the secondary order trance generating loop andmergeyouregobackontotheprimarydissociat edtranceplane. 4.Themergingoftheegoawarenessintheprimary dissociatedtranceplanemustnotbreakthetrance. Formanypeople,assoonastheybecomeawarethat theyareinatrance,theycomeoutofthetrance.Or, iftheyareawarethattheyareintrancetheycan'tdo anything.Or,assoonasadeeptranceisfullydevel oped they become unconscious. These and other problems prevent most people from developing any controllabletranceforce. Inordertocreatetranceswithastrongtranceforce component,secondordertrancegeneratingloopsare necessaryatthebeginning.Thismeans,practically, that within the dissociated trance plane an effort mustbemadetocontinuethetrancegeneratingloop. Inmeditationpracticesthisisoftenthecasesincein structions are often given that "as soon as you are aware of your thoughts, easily go back to the mantra".Basicallyitmeansthatnomatterinwhat mentalstateyoufindyourself,evenifmostofyour normalcognitivefacultiesaredisabled,youmustcon tinuetodotheprocesswhichcausedtheprimarydis sociation.Thiscreatesasecondaryordertrancegen eratingloop.Atthispoint,donotmodifytheprimary trancegeneratingloop.Justcontinueforasufficient lylong timesothat thedissociated tranceplaneis wellestablished.Theprimarytrancegeneratingloop

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adds a component of the trance force, and the sec ondaryordertrancegeneratingloopwillalsoadda componentofthetranceforce.Theprimarydissociat ed trance plane will become quite stabile at that point that the secondary order dissociated trance plane becomes established. You will then be in a deeptrance. Inordertomakethisclear,Iwilldiscussthesame strengtheningof atrancefrom the pointofviewof theotherthreetypesoftrance. Meditation trances can be strengthened with the useofsecondaryordertrancegeneratingloops.Hyp notictrancescanbestrengthenedbychoosingtheap propriateexternalstimulationtodeepenthetrance. Thekeywordhereisappropriate.Howcanyouknow thatwhatyourmeditationgurusaystoyouwhileyou areinadeepmeditationtranceisreallyappropriate for your set of mental associations? Addictive trancescanbestrengthenedbyputtingtheegoonthe secondaryordertrancegeneratingloopanduseany primary trigger to reinforce the secondary order trancegeneratingloop. Thatmeansthatyouwould rathermeditatethandothedishesorwinthelottery. Centric trances use any change in the dissociated tranceplanetostrengthenorreinforcethesecondary ordertrancegeneratingloop.Secondarytrancegen erating loops tend to lock in the first order trance generating loops. When strong trance forces are present,youcanbesureyouaredealingwithaper soninoneormoredeeptrances.Psychotics,addicts

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andreligiouszealotsareofteninthesetypesofdeep trances. Secondary order trance generating loops areoftenareconnectedwiththemotivationstoper formstressrelatedbehaviors. Foranaddict,itmeansthatwhateverthecausative substanceorprocess, the dissociatedstatewhichis producedalwaysresultsindoingmoreofthedrug,al coholorbehaviorwhichisattherootoftheaddiction. Thissecondarytrancegeneratingloopwillfixthead dictionratherwell,buttheeffectofthedrugoralco holwilltendtodestroytheegoawareness. Foracentrictrance,itmeansthatthedissociated state produces more of the same type of behavior whichwasatthecauseofthedissociation. Persons whoareincentrictrancesareverydifficulttodeal with.Theyhavetheirownrealities,vividhallucina tionswhicharetothemindistinguishablefromreali ty. You could call them saints, or maniacs. The tranceforceswhichtheycreateareingeneralpoten tiallyquiteimpressive. For a witch, the results ofa magical ritual which was conducted within the circle should create the sameconditionswhichgaverisetothemagicalcircle. Thesecondaryordertrancewhichresultsovertime shouldhelptotransformthewitchandincreasethe tranceforceconsiderably. Whatisalsoimportantforawitchormagicianor otherswhoworkwithtranceforcestobeawareofisa stronggroundingoftheegostructureinmeditation

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tranceiscriticaltopreventlossofenergythroughthe inadvertentcreationofhypnoticoraddictivetrances. Such trances may 'feel good' but they dissipate the tranceforce. Ifyouwishtobecomeeffectivewithmagic,youmust beabletocreateandsustainintensecentrictrances, andtousethemwithoutanydelusionsatall.Centric trancescreatefullrealities,thereforethereisquitea temptationtoloseyourselfinthesefalserealities. Most'pretend'witcheswillbeinhypnotictranceor addictive trances (or even disabling centric trance), andthetranceforcewillbespentindisablinghyp notic or addictive processes. This means that the tranceforcewillnotfunctionaccordingtoany'will'of thewitch,exceptperhapstocreaterathervividand believablehallucinations,i.e.delusions. Itisquiteimportantforgroupsofwitchesormagi cianstodevelopmeditativetrancesindividuallyfirst, suchthatthereisatleastonestrongtranceforcein thegroupwhichcancarryanyweakerindividuals.It would also be important from a trance theoretic pointofviewnottoverbalizetoomuchwhileina circle. Such verbalizations will always disturb the dissociated trance planes and create other types of trances.Theeffectofsuchsecondarytranceswillde creaseorcorruptthetranceforce. Thereisagreat tendencytoelaborateritualsinthenewgoddessde votions,butfromatrancepointofview,theseverbal izedritualsalwaysbecomehypnotictrancesandcan

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evenbecomeaddictivetrances. Itisveryimportant tousegoodtranceengineeringpracticeswhenmak ingnewritualsformagicalpurposes. Groups which are interested in creating strong tranceforces,mustfirstestablishstrongtranceforces bymeansofmeditativetranceonanindividualbasis. Ifthisisnotdone,itisnearlyalmostcertainthatthe tranceforceswillbediminishedandthatthemedita tivetrancewilldegradetoahypnotictrance.Groups in a meditative trance which expose themselves to themachinationsofindividualswhoareinacentric trancerisktheconversionoftheirmeditationtrances to grouphypnotic, addictive, or, insomecases, dis turbed and delusional psychotic trances. This phe nomenonisfoundmostlyincults,butalsoinpolitical movements. For a shaman, the use of plants or substances to giverise to sensitivities toelemental plant and ex traterrestrialenergiesshouldbecausativetocreating the same conditions which gave rise to the use of plantsorsubstancesandtheencounterswithother life forms. The secondary order dissociation which resultsovertimeshouldtransformtheshamanand increasethetranceforcetoahighdegreeofempathy andunderstandingofalienentitiesandenergies. Mostofthetranceswhichareinvokedbythosewho wishtoenablethetranceforcewillprobablycreate hypnoticandaddictivetypesoftrances.Thesetypes oftrancesarenotatalleffectivefortheworkofau

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thenticwitchesorshamansormagicians,butthese willbethemostcommontrancescreated.Primarily whatisproducedishallucination. Inordertoavoidproducinghypnoticandaddictive trances,itiscriticaltoestablishmeditativetrances firstandtobuildthetranceforceindependentlyover alongperiodoftime.Iftheremustbeexternalstim ulation of the dissociated ego, then the stimulation shouldpreferablybefreeofcontent.Thatmeansmu sicordrummingwithoutwordsisprobablyone safeway. Ifsecondarytrancegeneratingloopsare intendedtostrengthenthetranceforces,thenconsid erablecareinthedesignshouldbetakensothatthey canberemoved.Preferablyacompletetranceanaly sisshouldbeundertakenfirstinordertodetermine thedepthandrangeofanytriggerswithinthetrance generatingloops. Mostpeoplecannotsustainevenasimpledissociat edstateconsistentlyenoughorlongenoughtopro duceanytranceforceatall.Itisforthissimplerea sonthattherearefewrealmagiciansoryogisinthis world. The rarity of strong trance forces probably have a lot to do with the false idea that hypnosis doesn'texist. Thefactis,thatasignificantlystrong tranceforceisfairlyrare. Itcananddoesoccurin deeptrancestatessuchasmaybeproducedbydeep hypnosis,longanddeepmeditation,andevenbycer tain types of addictions and psychosis. There are charismaticcentricswhoseemtobequitelucky,but actually it is rather their highly developed trance

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force which works for them, or, we may also say, sometimesagainstthem. Centrictrancesaresharedbybothpsychoticpeople (peoplewithadestroyedegostructure,i.e.can'tde cidewhichdissociatedrealityistherealone)andby gurus,shamans,saintsandmasters,(whomostlydo not have a destroyed ego structure) and also some veryegocentric people (whohavechosen one ofthe dissociatedrealitiesastherealoneandmaybethey arewrong) foundinthemovieindustryand'male machopig' types. Centric trances create strong trance forces, and they are beyond being addictive trances. People in centric trances certainly can do math,rideabicycle,performhealings,murderpeo ple,andevenhearvoicestalkingtothemfromout sidetheirheads(psychoticshavethisskill,andsodid somepeoplementionedprominentlyinsomereligious books). Becoming aware in the dissociated trance plane Onewaytobecomeawareinthedissociatedtrance planeistowatchyourselfasyougointoatranceand toobservethechangeinthedissociatedtranceplane andwhathappenstoanychangeinthetranceforce. Todothis,youcandothissimpleexperiment. Nexttimeyouarewalkingdownthestreet,letyour awarenessbeonyourfeet,oneaftertheother.After afewsteps,becausethisrepetitionissofamiliarwith most people, you will almost immediately begin to

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dissociateortothinkofotherthings.Thereisadif ferencebetweenyourawarenessinwalkingdownthe street and your awareness when you are thinking otherthoughts.Whatyoushouldbecomeawareofis howyourawarenessisdifferent,whatcognitivefunc tionsaredisabledandwhatenergyhasincreasedat the moment you have switched your thoughts from theawarenessofwalkingtothinkingofotherthings. This,andmanyotherexercises,iswhatIdidinorder tobecomeawareoftranceandtheeffectsoftrance. Therearemanyexercisesalongtheselinesinalmost everymeditationtradition. Thethinkingofotherthoughtsalwaysoccursina trance;althoughyoumightarguethatyouareper fectlyconscious,thereisalwayssomecognitivedis abling,and, in fact,yourawarenessis smaller, but thetranceforcehasincreased(slightly).Whatisim portant is to develop this secondary dissociated awareness so that you can observe this change in awarenessasyougointotrance.Thissecondarydis sociated awareness is like a witness, and it is this witnessthatyouneedtobringtolifeandstabilize,if youwishtocontrolthecreatedtranceforce. Withpractice,andas you areabletosustain this witness consciousness, you may be able to under standtherelationshipbetweentheshapeofthedis sociatedtranceplaneandthetranceforce. AsImentionedatthebeginningofthisbook,maybe this is all quite well known and well understood

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somewhere;butalthoughIhavesearched,Ihavenot foundanythingwhichdescribestranceinthisway. Designing a trance Fromapurelytheoreticalpointofview,trancedoes not depend on the content ofthe trancegenerating loop.However,thetriggersofimportantandpower ful trance generating loops become like mantras in thesensethatthetriggerscanevokeinstantdissocia tionandstrongtranceforces. Inaddition,onceapersonisinatrance,thecontent of the trance generating loop canact in a hypnotic way. Manyyears agothereexistedthe ideathatifyou saidtoyourself:EverydayineverywayIamgetting better and better then sooner or later you would. From the point of view of designing a trance, this probablyevenworks. Repetitionoftheideacauses dissociation.Themindinthedissociatedtrancehas partiallydisabledcognition.Continuingtorepeatthe trancegeneratingloopwouldactasasuggestiontoa hypnotictrance.Continuinginthiswaycouldcreate apowerfultranceforcewhichwouldimplementthe suggestion even at a distance. If there were no tranceforcecreated,thentherewouldbenoeffect. Designingatrancethatworksmeansthatyoumust becarefulastowhatthecontentofthetrancegener atingloopisintermsofsecondaryeffects.

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Thecontent ofthetrancegeneratingloop is abso lutelynotafactorincreatingaprimarydissociation andameditationtrance,butthecontentofthetrance generating loop can be an important factor in con verting the meditation to an addiction or hypnotic tranceandwillactasasuggestiontomodifythedis sociatedtranceplane.Forexample,withthedissoci atedtranceplanesubsequentlymodifiedsecondorder trancegeneratingloopsmaybecreated,ortheprima ry dissociated trance plane could become disabled andthetrancewouldstop. Usingtheprinciplesoftranceengineering,hereis anexamplewhichmight havemeaning foryou. If youareworkinginaplacethatisnotpleasingtoyou, you might have, at some time in the past, said to yourself"Ihatethisplace;Ihatethisplace;Ihate thisplace." Thisrepetition,repeatedinyourmind, willinduceatrance. However,inthetrancethatis created,youaredoingyourselfadisservicebyprac ticing bad trance engineering. What you produce withthistrancegeneratingloopisanger,frustration anddisappointment.Thetranceforce,ifanyiscreat ed,wouldrepelmostpeople,evenpeoplethatcould helpyou.Instead,usesomeoftheprinciplesofgood trance engineering. Say to yourself, "What a joke; whatabigjoke;whatabigfuckingjoke."Theeffect ofthisemotionallytriggeredtrancegenerating loop will,amongmanyothereffects,bringasmiletoyour faceaswellasothers. Thiseffect,likemagic,could

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changesomeofthecharacteristicsofthatplacethat youseemedtohate.

Back to magic
Thefirst order trance generating loop may not be easily accessed even if known. One may become awareoftheexistenceofstrongtranceforcesbybe ingawareofacertain'weirdness'.Thatis,thepres enceofastrongtranceforcewilltendtopullnewpeo plealsointothesametrance.Thosewhoaregener atingsuchforcesmayseemtohaveatypeofcharis maor'magneticpersonality'.Thisisindicativeofthe potentiatingeffectofthetranceforce. Itisimportanttounderstandthatthemechanicsof trancereallyhasnothingtodowiththepersonality or ethics of the operator, magician, yogi, dentist, shaman, priest, psychiatrist, politician, hypnotist, witch,salesmanorsaint,perse. So far, we have beendiscussing trance which has beencreatedthroughloopswhichoccursolelyinthe mind.Iwouldnowliketoextendthisideatostruc turesormentalschemawhicharemoreabstractbut which are also linked to the mind through trance forces. Iftheschematicassociativepathsinthemindwere knownandcouldbeexplicitlydescribed,thenthecor responding state of consciousness would be known. These associative schema are really nothing more thantheelectrochemicalpaths,thus,aninteresting

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possibilityarisesthatifatranceforceisappliedto associatedschema,thenitshouldbepossiblethatthe correspondingstateofconsciousnesswillbepotenti ated. Tochangeanystructurerequirestheexpenditureof energy.Ifastructurecouldbeexplicitlydescribedas above, by enumerating the paths, then the energy neededtochangeanypotentialstructurecouldbede rived. Oneofthemostimportantformsofchangingpsy chicstructureis"learning".Learning,whetheritbe new information, created material, or being con vincedofanidea,likewiserequirestheexpenditure ofenergybyasource.Thisforceisrelatedtotheen ergy required in the target to change the psychic structureplusthelossassociatedintransferringthe structureacrossspace. The more obscure or subtle the information to be learned,themoreenergyisnecessarytochangeorto createthepsychicstructureinthetargetsufficientto holdtheassociatednetworkrepresentingthenewin formation. Potentiatingthinkinginanewmodethencouldoc cursimplybytraversingthe"ego"alongthenodesof thenewstructure.Thisobservationhasanapplica tionintheuseoftranceforces. Any cybernetic structure is an inductive trance force. Thatis,acyberneticstructure,likeatrance force,willpotentiateaforcewithinrealityandcause

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astructuretoduplicateitself.Thisiswhatismeant by inductive and in this sense, the trance force in duceschangeinreality.Atranceforcesetsupcom pelling or potentiating forces by the nature of its structure. That is, consciousness potentiated by a tranceforcemusttraversethepathalongallsimilar nodes of the path. Variance from the path of the tranceforcerequiresthatconsciousnessexpendener gyto"break"thetranceforce.However,ifconscious nesssucceedsintraversingalongapathnotspecified bythestructureofthetranceforce,thetranceforce "vanishes". Icanhypothesizethen,thatitmustbe thestructureofthetranceforceitselfwhichgener atestheconstrainingforcestoconsciousness. Ifthe constraining forces were absent, then consciousness wouldchange.Thatis,consciousnesswouldthenre flectthechangeintheunderlyingstructure. Atranceforcestructurewillduplicateitselfunder induction.Primarily,thetranceforcestructuremust be cybernetic. Second, the trance force structure mustbetransformabletosometypeofpatterninevo lutionandmustfunctioninanareawherethecyber netic trance force structure is free to operate. It would be then that the structure would potentiate andreplicateitself. Powerfulyogictrancestatesareoftencreatedbythe longtermpracticeofmeditation.Shorttermmedita tiontrancesarequalitativelydifferentthanlongterm meditationtrances. Thereasonforthisisthatthe abilitytomaintainhigherintensitytranceforcesbe

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comes easier and more conscious with time. This mayaccountinpartforthedifferencesinthespectac ulareffectsthatarereputedtoyogisandtheimpossi bilityofscientiststoreplicatethem. Tranceresultsfromarepetitionorloopingofcon sciousness. When the content of the trance has achievedaresonance,whichistosaythattheinten sityofthetrancecanbemaintainedmostefficiently, special types of psychic forces are generated which arecalledtranceforces. Theeffectsofthesespecial psychicforcesareoftenfalselyidentifiedwiththebe haviorwhichproducedthemandevenmoresowith thepersonwithwhomtheyaremostcloselyidenti fied. When you realize how trances are produced and whattheeffectsoftrancescanbe,itmaybesufficient tosimplynotethataparticularpersonwasemploy ing efficient trance techniques in order to generate strongtranceforces. Tranceforayogioramagicianismerelyatool consciouslychosen and madeefficientoveryearsof consistentpracticetoproducespecificpsychicresults. Tranceformostotherpeopleisanunconscious choicemadetorelievepainortoavoiduncomfortable feelingsorsituations. Thecriticaldifferenceinthesetrancesisthatyogic trancesarecreateddeliberatelywiththetrancegen eratingloopentirelyinthemindoftheyogi. Most other people slip into trances because they become

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theelementsofotherpeoplestrancegeneratingloops andthereforebecomesubjectlikepawnstoma nipulations. Contacting other worlds, the unseen worlds of plants andanimals, for example,requires a special typeofawareness.Somecognitivefunctionsmustbe disabledandothersmustbeenabled. The magic circles of magicians and witches are structuresoftranceforcesandonlyonegrosseffectis thattheylimittheattentionofthewitch;moresub tly, such potentiated circles are inductive and both createdissociatedtrancesplanesatadistancefrom thecircleandconstructotherpatterns.Thepatterns whichareconstructedareexactcopiesofthepotenti ateddissociatedtranceplanepatternsestablishedby the witch. Depending on other local and global trance forces, these constructed patterns will dissi pate. Since most trance forces that are created in thiswayareweak,theconstructedpatternsusually quicklydissipate.Inthecaseswherelocalandglobal tranceforcesaresupportiveofthepotentiatedtrance force,thepatternsarequicklyestablished. Thatistosay,itiseasytodomagictocreaterainin arainstorm. Itispossibletoinfluencetheweather bymagicaloneifthetranceforceisstrongenough. Thestrengthof thetranceforcedependson being abletocreateandtoskillfullymanipulatesimultane ouslytwoormoredissociatedtranceplanes,tosus tain them for long periods of time, to change their

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forms, and to modulate them. This must be done withoutthepractitionersdestroyinghisegostructure andcreatingpsychoticdelusionsoraddictions. Amodel,suchasthisone,onlyhasvaluesofarasit isusefulandpractical. Knowinghowtorecognizetrances,howtoanalyze tranceandtoworkwithitscomponentsisonlythe firststepinusingtranceinmagicalandshamanistic ways. Therearemanydangersthatfollowfromthe use of trance to create alternate dissociated trance planeswiththeintentthatthesedissociatedtrance planespotentiategeneratingtranceloops. Delusions and the Breakdown of the Ego Structure Ihavebeendescribingfundamentalandsomewhat normalorusualtrancetypes.Becausetrancegener atingloopsarepracticallynotconstant,theirdissoci atedtranceplanesarealsonotconstant. Innormal cases,thisisnotaproblem. However,whentrance generating loops consist of highly charged triggers andwhensecondaryloopsalsocontaintriggers,mul tipledissociatedtranceplanesmaybecreated. Anormalegostructuremayoccasionallygointoa tranceordissociateforashortperiodoftime.How ever, when multiple dissociated trance planes exist withstabilizingsecondaryloops,thecombinedreali tiesofthedissociatedtranceplanesmayexceedthe realityofthenormalegostructure. Insuchacase, the individual's realities are the hallucinations and

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memories taking place in the dissociated trance planes,withoneormoreplanesappearingtobereal. Suchastructurewouldrepresentaveryrealbreak downofthenormalegostructurewiththeconcomi tantdelusionsclinicallyfoundinpsychotics. When the dissociated trance planes are carefully constructedoveraperiodoftime,andwithagoodun derstandingoftranceengineering,itbecomespossi ble to create more shamanistic, healing or magical trances rather than schizophrenic or psychotic trances. Oneofthemaindifferencesbetweenaschizophrenic andashamanisthattheshamanatleastmaintains somenormalegostructuresothatitispossiblefor theshamantoconsciouslymanipulatethedissociated tranceplaneforcesinserviceofhealing.Thisiswhat peoplecallshamanic'magic.' Theschizophrenichas lostthisegostructureandhasverylittlecontrolover the dissociated trance planes. In such a condition, theschizophrenicisdelusionalandmaybefrightened ofthehallucinationandmayreactinrelationtothe hallucinations rather than any normal appearances ofreality. Terminating a Trance Becausetrancesmaybecreatedwithoutknowledge orintent,itiscriticaltounderstandthedetailedme chanics of trance and to discover specifically what trancesareenabledinanindividual. Sometrances

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maybeterminatedorreplacedwithothertrancesei therwithorwithoutthepermissionorknowledgeof thesubject. Inordertoterminateatrance,youmustfirstknow whattypeoftranceitisyouwishtoterminate.Sim pletrancesareeasytoterminate.Moredifficultare thetrancesthatareoflongdurationorwhichhave secondaryloops. Lifelongtrancesandaddictiveor centrictranceswithmultiplesecondaryloopsareex tremelydifficulttoterminate. Terminating a meditative trance is fairly easy. Only the trance generating loop needs to be inter rupted.Ifthereisnosecondaryordertrancegenerat ingloop,theninterruptingtheprimarytrancegener atingloopwillterminatethetrance.Ifthereisasec ondary order trance generating loop then that sec ondary order trance generating loop must be inter ruptedfirst. Interruptingtheprimarytrancegener atingloopwillnotbeeffectivebecausethesecondary ordertrancegeneratingloopwillreestablishitimme diately. Terminating a hypnotic trance can also be easy. You can interrupt the secondary trance generating looporyoucanalsodisturbtheprimarytrancegener atingloopbyintervention. Talkoverthetelevision, forexample,orsimplyturnitoff. Terminatingaaddictivetranceismoredifficultbe cause there is not too much access to the primary trancegeneratingloop,sinceitisinthedissociated

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plane. Practically, there are multiple secondary trancegeneratingloops.Itispossibletomanipulate orsubstitutetheexternalstimulationandtoperturb thetrancegeneratingloopstosuchanextentthatthe dissociated trance planes will break down. Some timesyoucandrugswitch,whichispreciselysubsti tutingoneexternalcomponentforanother.However, merelysubstitutingonedrugforoneotherdrugisnot enoughtobreakthesecondaryordertrancegenerat ingloop orthe dissociatedtrance planeswhich are derivedfromthemespeciallyifthesubstituteddrug alsocreatestranceeffects. Inordertoreallytermi nate the trance, the external components must be substitutedsooften thatthereisrealinstability in thedissociatedtranceplanesorthatsomanyother dissociatedtranceplanesarecreatedthatthetrance forcesbecomeweakeranddissipate. Bymonitoring the dissociated trance planes and discovering their weakpoints,atherapistoranalystcanlearnhowin dividualtranceaddictionscanbeterminated.Itcan bearguedthatmerelysubstitutionofonedrugforan otheris not anethicalapproach totrance termina tion.Itcanalsobeanabuse.Fromthisperspective, groupssuchasAlcoholicsAnonymouswhichsubsti tuteareligiousaddictionforanalcoholaddictionare notreallysolvingtheaddiction,butaremerelydrug switching.Itcouldbearguedthatthisisanabuseof thepotentialoftheaddictedindividualandismerely amoresociallyacceptableformofcodependency.

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Social responsibility concerns raise the hope that pathological and addictive trances would always be replacedwithmorebenigntrancesoratleastthein dividualwouldbeempoweredtomanipulatehisown trances. Empoweringtheindividualtocontroltheir owntrancesisonepurposeofthisbook. Trance therapies would ideally work to terminate trance,orifterminatingatranceissimplytooscary, thentoreplacepathologicaltranceswithmorebenign trances. Theostensiblegoalofspiritualconsciousnessrais ingactivitiesistoterminatetrances,butoftenonly trancereplacementoccurs.Intheworstcasesbenign trances become pathological or delusional but with thelabel'spiritual.'Severalexamplesofthisarethe religious terrorists and the suicidal "martyrs for God." Trances which result from secondary order trance generating loops are extremely difficult to break. Deephypnotictranceswillalwaysbefoundtohave secondaryordertrancegeneratingloops.Onestrate gyforbreakingsuchtrancesistoattackthesecond ordertrancegeneratingloopsfirst. Itismyopinion thatattackingthefirstordertrancegeneratingloops will be very difficult without first modifying or de stroyingthesecondordertrancegeneratingloop. Startatanyplaceinyourtrance.Addictivetrances rewardanimpoverishedthoughtset. Youcanhelp reducetheeffectsofanytrancebyrewardingtheen

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richmentofyourthoughts.Thismeanstoexpandthe varietyofyourthoughtswithouttryingtoremovethe thoughts you think are the problem. Continue ex pandingandenrichingyourthoughtswithnewand stimulatingideas,peopleandexperiences.Whenthe varietyofyourthoughtsbecomesrobust,ideaswillbe selfgeneratingandthetrancewillnaturallyceaseto existbydefinition. Many trances are like 'bad habits', but really bad ones;anideaorbehaviorwhichisrepeatedwithout awareness. Replacing one habit with another does notbreakthetrance,itissimplyreplacingonetrance generatingloopwithanother.Thedissociatedtrance planemayormaynotbethesame!Whatismoreef fectiveistoincreasethenumberofelementsinthe trance generating loop, or to add complexity to the trance generating loop. The idea is to make the trancegeneratingloopunstablesothatthedissociat edtranceplanecannotbesustained. Thereisanopportunitytodevelopmanynewstrate giesforbreakingthesetrancesusingthetrancemod el. Atranceanalysisistheprimaryrequirementto identifythefirstandsecondordertrancegenerating loops. Like many technologies once well understood, trancecanbeusedforgoodorforevilandbyanyone willingtoemploythetechniquesandwillingtoinvest the time and energy in order to develop conscious controloverthetranceforces.

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So long as trance is generally poorly understood thenitispossiblethatshamsterscanexploitthisig norance by making false claimsthat the content of thetrancegeneratingloopsactuallyhassomethingto dowiththeeffectsbeingproduced. The Future of Trance Technology Thedevelopmentoftrancetechnologywillcertainly demandthatmanyhumanactivitiesbeexaminedas totheirtrancecharacteristics. Oncespecifichuman activitieshavebeenanalyzedfortrance,itbecomes possibletomodifybehaviorinconsciousways. Everynewtechnologycarrieswithitadditionalre sponsibility. Thisisalsotruefortrancetechnology. Anytechnologycanbequitedangerousfortheimma ture. Trancesaredangerousenoughforpeoplewho getcaughtinatrancewithoutknowingwhatishap peningtothem. Thosewhoconsciouslymanipulate peopleintotrancesforwhichtheremaybenoescape orwhichhavesecondaryeffectshavecommittedase rious injury and should be held culpable at law. Whatcomestomindinthisregardisthetelevision trances which feed the hypnotized subjects endless images of violence. Such hypnotized subjects are withoutdoubtpotentiatedtocommitfutureviolence andtheproducersofsuchimagesshouldbeheldcul pable foranysuchviolent acts as thoughthey had committeditthemselves.

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Good applications of trance technology would in clude new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Analysis of current therapeutic strategies from a trancetechnologypointofviewwouldlikelyresultin more effective strategies. It may be that a simple trance analysis would expose counterproductive strategieswhentranceorbehaviormodificationisa desired outcome. I could imagine that the careful constructionoftrancescouldbringthehopeofnew possibilities or skills in people who had particular disabilities. With the careful development of theuse of trance force, some naturally skilled witches, magicians or shamansmightbeparticularlyeffectiveresourcesin bringingaboutresultsinsituationsthatwouldnor mallybeverydifficultorimpossibletoresolve. Conclusion Thereis enough information inthis small bookto startpeoplethinkinginanewdirectionabouttrance. No doubt, some of the ideas here might later be proventobewrongorimprecise;butthisisthepossi bilityofanyhighlyspeculativetheory. However,if my specific personal and empirical researches are correct,thenIsuspectthatgenerallythestructureof thetrancemodelshould be valid. Thereare many specific examples which suggest this is so. If the model and the ideas are substantially correct, then there are many important implications to be taken whichwouldaffectthewaywedealwithtrance.

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Ihaveonlylightlytouchedonmanydiverseaspects oftrance.Inapreliminarybooklikethis,Ifeltthat itwasmoreimportanttomakebroadoutlinesofthe subject rather than delve into too many details or showallthepossibleapplications.Thetrancemodel as expressed here provides opportunities for future research.IwelcomeseriouscommentsontheissuesI mayhaveraised. Humanbehaviorcanbechangedandcontrolledby meansoftrance. Thisisnothingnew;itisalready happeningworldwidewithtelevision,religionandso on. Whatmaybenewisthattrancetechnologywill helpmakethiscontrolmoreeffectivebecausetrance theoryisamoreofaprecisioninstrumentinafield wherethereisalotofcontroversyabouttrance.Ido notadvocatethatthereshouldbemorecontrol;this isjusttheinevitablerealityoftheintroductionofany newtechnology. Whatmightbehopedforisthattrancetheorywill be used for trance analysis and trance termination rather than trance enhancement. Trance enhance mentislikeapowerdrugandwhenabusedimpover ishes human potential; but there are many people whoarefascinatedbytrance,power,anddrugsand whowillabusepower.Inthissenseanduse,trance theorywouldbedangerous. Thefutureoftrancetechnology,therefore,hasgreat potentialforgoodaswellasforevil.Trance,butnot trancetheory,isalreadybeingusedbymanypeople

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andgroupsandestablishedcommercialandsocialin stitutionsinbothways,sothisisnothingnew.What isnewisthatbybecomingawareofhowtranceworks inthismorepreciseform,asdescribedhere,youmay haveboththeanalyticaltoolsforrecognizingthepoi sonaswellasthepossibilityoffindingtheantidote. Youshouldalsobecomeawareoftherealandimagi naryprisonsthatarepossiblewithtrance.Itisthis knowledge, perfected by long, careful and efficient practice,whichcaneitherpotentiateyouordestroy yourworldswhetheryouareapriest,atherapist,a magician,apoliticianorapsychotic. A Final Warning Creating multiple dissociated trance planes is po tentiallyverydangerous.Addictive,centricandoth ertypesoftrancescanhaveseriousandpermanently damagingeffectsontheegostructure. Therefore,I would seriously and emphatically warn those who wouldexperimentwiththeseadvancedtranceforms, tobeextremelycautious. Thedangerspecificallyis thatyoucaneasilycreatetrancesthatareaddictive andwhichyoucannotterminate. Thesetrancescan have powerful and subtle side effects which may causeyoutohaveclinicallypsychoticdelusionswhich resultinthepermanentdestructionofyouregostruc ture.

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Glossary
addictivetrance:Atypeoftrancecharacterizedby a primary inner trance generating loop and a secondary hypnotic trance loop which has some elementsintheprimarydissociatedtranceplane. charismatictrance: Atypeoftrancecharacterized by a primary inner trance generating loop and a secondary inner trance loop built in the primary dissociatedtranceplane.Thesecondarydissociated trance plane contains hypnotic trance generating loops. cognitive function: a mental ability or thinking process. cognitive object: a thought, feeling, or inner sensation. dissociatedtranceplane(DTP):Thespecificsetof enabled cognitive functions which comprise a trance. dissociation: A cognitive condition in which conscious self awareness is set apart from other consciousselfawareness. hypnotic trance: A trance which results from a primarytrancegeneratingloopsomeorallofwhich

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contentsareexternaltoaperson. looprunningtime:Thetimethatittakestorepeat oneloopofcognitiveobjects. meditationtrance: Atrancewhichresultsfroma primarytrancegeneratingloopallofwhichcontents areinternaltoaperson. mutual trance: A hypnotic trance in which the primary trance generating loop is shared by two individuals. pathological trance: A fundamentally unhealthy trancewhichunfavorablyrestrictschoice,disallows personal responsibility and results in an impoverishedcondition. primary induction: The condition of starting a trancegeneratinglooponwhichfurthertranceswill beconstructed. secondarytranceloop: Acognitiveloopbetween the dissociated trance plane and the trance generating loop. The purpose of secondary trance loopsistostabilizetrance. thoughtobject:Seecognitiveobject. time to trance: The duration from the commencement of a trance generating loop until thereisatrance. trance: (trns) noun a specific type of dissociation created by the repetition of cognitive objects and resulting in one or more disabled cognitive

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functions.verb,transitivetranced,trancing,trances Toputintoatrance;entrance. trance abuse: The deliberate exploitation of a personwhoisinatrance. trance collapse: The event and effects of the termination of the dissociated trance plane. Sometimesthisisexperiencedasakindofshockas some cognitive functions stop and others are reenabled. trance delta: The elapsed time between the termination of the trance generating loop and the normalizationofanydisabledcognitivefunctions. trance engineering: Designing and constructing tranceloopsandsecondaryloopstocreatespecific trancesforspecificeffects. tranceforce:Thecauseofpersistent,resistive,and continuous effects resulting from a trance. The measureofatranceforceisthewyrd. trancegeneratingloop(TGL):Thesetofrepeated cognitiveobjectswhichresultsinatrance. trance logic: The distinctive cognitive patterns of personswhoareinahypnotictrance. trancetechnology: Themethodsandapplications ofthetrancemodel. tranceling: any unterminated trance, usually in relationtotheunexpectedorundesireableeffectsof suchunterminatedtrances.

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trigger:awordordistinctiveactionwhichresultsin thereestablishmentofapriorhypnotictrance. wyrd (W): 1. The measure of the phase and amplitude differences between the collective energiesoftransitionandthesumoftheindividual energyoftransitionofcognitiveobjectcomponents during a trance; 2. the complex number or vector representingthemeasureoftheabilityofatrance to change destiny; 3. ameasureof thepowerof a trance to resist any change in the effects of the trance.

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