ATranceResearchFoundationBook TheWayofTrance

DennisR.WieristheExecutiveDirectorandFounderofthe TranceResearchFoundation,Inc.andauthorofthebook Trance:frommagictotechnology,whichwasfirstpublished in1995andhasbeenreprintedtwiceandpublishedin German.Thissecondbook,TheWayofTrance,isa continuationoftheideasdevelopedinhisfirstbook. Heisaretiredcomputersystemsanalystandhasbeen meditatingformorethan40years. DennislivesinCaliforniawhereheresearchestrance.He conductsTranceAnalysiswithclientsinEurope,Central AmericaandtheUnitedStates.HetravelstoEuropeevery yeartogivetalksandworkshopsonthepracticalapplications oftheTranceModel. DennismaybecontactedthroughtheTranceResearch Foundation.

TheWayofTranceisaremarkablyrichanddetailedexplanationand descriptionoftrancethataddsuptoapracticalguideforalchemists,magicians andothersontheinwardpath.Itoffersawayoflookingatthefascinating subjectoftrancethatisinonesense'alternative'but,inanother,deeply profound.

DENNISR.WIER

TheWayof

Trance

THETRANCEINSTITUTE TRANCERESEARCHFOUNDATION,INC. LAYTONVILLE,CALIFORNIA

TheWayofTrance Copyright2007DennisR.Wier
AllRightsReserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedin anyformorbyanymeans,includingmechanical,photographic,orelectronicprocess, orintheformofaphotographicrecording,normayitbestoredinaretrievalsystem, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use without the written permissionofthepublisher.Reviewersmayquotebriefpassages. PublishersCataloginginPublication (ProvidedbyQualityBooks,Inc.)

Wier,DennisR.
Thewayoftrance/DennisR.Wier. p.cm. Includesindex. LCCN2007903974 ISBN13:9781888428100 ISBN10:1888428104 1.Alteredstatesofconsciousness.2.Trance. I.Title. BF1045.A48W5472007154.4 QBI07600170 Publishedby:

TranceResearchFoundation,Inc. P.O.Box84 LaytonvilleCA95454 www.tranceresearch.org [L.07070209]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IwishtothankHildaPerrott,Ph.D.,forherhelpineditingthe firstversionofthisbookandforhelpingmetoaddclarityto areaswhichonlyIunderstood.Andfinally,mylovingthanks toDorisWier,mywife,forherpatienceandsupport.

Contents

Introduction............................................................9 TheWayofTrance..............................................13 WhatisaTrance?.................................................19 Meditation............................................................50 Hypnosis...............................................................82 Addiction............................................................107 Charisma............................................................135 InvasiveTrance..................................................150 Ethics..................................................................170 Ecstasy...............................................................187 Magic..................................................................214 AdvancedTrance...............................................228 FindingYourOwnWay.....................................243 Glossary.............................................................245 Index...................................................................249

Introduction

TRANCEbegantointerestmewhen,in1957,afriendandI
wenttoseeahypnotistsothatIcouldlearntohypnotizehim. I subsequently became fascinated by hypnosis and inner states.That,eventually,leadmetostudyyoga. Around1965,Istartedtomeditateregularly.Iwascurious aboutthealteredstatesofconsciousness ofyogis,butcould not find any really satisfactory explanations for what they werenorhowtheywerecreated. Duringthenextthirtyyears,Idevelopedamodelfortrance asIunderstoodit,andpublishedmyfirstbook Trance:from magictotechnology.IwrotewhatIwantedtowriteandIwas personallysatisfiedwiththebookwhenitwaspublishedin 1995. WhileIfeltthatthebookreflectedmyunderstanding oftranceupuntilthatpoint,Iknewthatthetrancemodelit selfonlyhadbeentestedonme. MyfirstbookraisedmuchinterestinwayswhichIhadnot foreseen.Beforethebooklefttheprinters,amanuscriptofit wascirculatinginthepsychologydepartmentofaliberalarts college.Somethinginthatbookhelpedastudentunderstand trance sufficiently to terminate an unterminated hypnotic
9

10 / Dennis R. Wier

trance.Thiswasthefirstofseveralinstancesinwhichread ersusedtheinformationinmybooktounderstandandtermi natepersonalordangeroustrances. Iwasverypleasedthatreaderscouldusetheinformation inmybooktohelpthemselves.Yetthebookalsoraisedaddi tionalquestionsforreaders,andIbecamequitebusyanswer ingthem. Iwas inspiredtocontinue mypersonal research withthemodel. Irealizedthattranceresearchrepresentsa hugetaskwithmanypathsmorethanIcouldpersonallyex ploresoIneededtoinvolvemorepeopleintranceresearch. Eventually,IopenedapracticeforTranceAnalysis. With myclients,IlearnedhowtoapplytheTranceModelinnew anddifferentways.Theyalsoseemedtoprofitfromthisap proach. IlearnedthattheTranceModelseemedtohaveits greatestpotentialinprovidinganewandinterestingperspec tiveforclientswithexperienceinmeditation. ThispresentbookexpandsontheTranceModelandadds moredetailinordertoclarifymanyareas.Someofthesub jectsinthisbookweresuggestedbytheinterestshownduring emailexchangeswithreadersandclients.Thisbookaimsto addtoagrowingwealthofinformationabouttrance,whilebe ingofpracticaluse. Thisbookdoesnotaspiretoprovidedefinitiveandrigidan swersaboutacomplexsubject;rather,itisawayoftrance, morelikeamapofmyownexplorations,whichyoumightuse yourself. Whilethisisahugetrance mountain, weallcan climbandexploreit. Actually,youhavetodoitpersonally yourself;Ican'tdoitforyou.

11 / The Way of Trance

The first book was very technical and mathematical. Youwillfindnomathinthisbook.Ifyouwishtostudythe currentmathematicalTranceModel,itisnowaseparate publicationavailablethroughtheTranceResearchFounda tion. You might find someparts ofthis book abstract andI mightuseafewwordsthatcouldsendyourunningtothe dictionary.Ireallyhavetriedtomakethisbookpersonal, practicalandusableindescribingaverycomplexandsub tlesubject.Ihavetriedtokeepmydescriptionsasprecise as possible and to dilute the abstractions with as many practical examples aspossible. Icertainlydon'thaveall theanswersandIamstilllearningmyself. You may find some parts of this book provocative and evencontroversial.Mypurposeistoilluminateaspectsof trancewhichdeserveespeciallyseriousandcriticalatten tion. Presentingtheseaspectsinprovocativewaysseems tometobeanefficientwaytoexposeinherentdangers. Thisbook'sgoalistoprovideaclearandsimpleunder standingoftranceanditsmanyforms. There are many subtle aspects oftrancewhich canonlybe discovered di rectlybypersonalcontemplation. Ihavetriedtoinclude pointerstothesesubtleaspectswhereappropriate.There aresomeimportantquestionsandexerciseswhichmaybe usedforgroupdiscussion.Mostofthequestionsdonthave clearanswers,buttheymaystimulateyoutoimaginethe possibilitiesoftranceresearchandencourageyoutobegin tofindyourownway.Iamconvincedthatalongthepath ofpersonalinnerexploration,manynewandvaluableskills canbedeveloped.

TheWayofTrance

Is This the Way to the Path?

Thisisabookabouttrance:whatatranceis;howitisused; howtogetintoandoutofatrancesafely.Itisnotacookbook with recipes, although you can use what you learn here to make your own trance recipes. There are exercises and questionsattheendofthechapterstomakewhatyoulearn practical.Trancedealswithsubtleties. Ihavestudiedandpracticedtranceformanydecades,with many personal meditation, hypnotic and addictive experiments. Over these many decades my definition of trancehasevolvedasadirectresultofaregularprocessof deepmeditation, visualizationandhypnoticexperimentation, along with a rigorous application of systems analysis to interpret my experiences and refine my understanding of what was happening. This technique of careful inner research1 has resulted in the development of a model for trance. Ialso tested the Trance Model along the way with

Myownpersonalinnerresearchoccasionallyledmeintoscarysituations.In somewaysitwaslikewalkingalongtheedgeofacliffinthedarkwithouta maporknowingwhatImightfindwithmynextstep.Iwasalwayscarefulto limitsuchexplorationsthroughstricttimelimitsandplentyofpsychic groundingsothatIhadasafewayback.

14/DENNISR.WIER willingclientsinavarietyofpersonalsituations.Myclientsalso reportedthatthemodelworkedforthem. My idea of trance, as it has evolved, may be different than yours. So,inthisbookIwillmakemydefinitionandideasas clearasIcan.

Irealizethatdifferentlifeexperiencescancreatedifferent ideasaboutthenatureofthemind.Myideaoftrance,beinga subjective product of mind, does not represent any kind of pathtoenlightenment.IfIhavelearnedanythingaboutthe mindviamypersonalexperienceswithmeditation,itisthat themapisnottheterritory. Amapisusefulandmakes muchmoresenseifyouareactuallythereintheterritory andonthegroundmakingyourownwaybyactualinnerex ploration. Ifyouare, thenthisbook might prove useful to you. Some of the ideas in this book areactually very old. In termsofthedevelopmentofideas,someconceptsthatIde scribeheremightremindyouofancientHermeticprinciples andareexpressedasmyactual,directandfirsthandperson alexperiences. Itisnotrehashedalchemy. Thereisnore quirementofbeliefandnonecessityforblindfaith.Thereis nodogmaandnointerpretivenecessity. Youareinvitedto createyourownexperimentsandproof.
For most people, trance is not a subject of any compelling interest. Mostpeopleareconcernedwithsurvival. Somedays theactivityiswork.Otherdaysitisplay.Inbetween,theymay enjoyamovieorwatchsomeTV.Onweekends,theymaygotoa bar,adance,orvisitfriendsandlovers.Lifeismostlyrepetitive. Thesuncomesup,thesungoesdown. Themindisgenerally filledwithallsortsofthoughts,memoriesandfantasies.Often,

THEWAYOFTRANCE/15 our main effort in life is to make those fantasies real. Most people use trance to help make those fantasies real, but they might not be aware of what they are doing. Sadly, many problemscomefromthisbasicignorance. Ifyoubelievethattranceisaspecialstate,youarenotwrong. But it is much more common than you may recognize. A daydream is a trance, and who does not go into a daydream everyday,eventhoughyouusually donotrememberwhenor evenifyoudid? Listeningtomusicoraspouseorchildrenat playcanputmanypeopleintoatrance.Yourspousedoestalkto you,doesn'ts/he;ordoyounotremember?AndifyouwatchTV, commutetowork,orrideinanelevator,youareprobablyina trance.Becausetranceissocommonplace,weoftendon'tgiveit muchattentionasasubject.

Ifyouinapainfulsituationandwanttobesomewhereelse, andcan't,theeasiestwaytomaketheescapeistogointoa trance. Tranceismostoftenusedaspainrelief. Theuseof televisionisanexampleoftrancetoescapefrompain.Ifyou areinaphysicalorpsychologicalprison,theeasiestwayto escapeiswithatrance.

Youmay rememberthe lasttime youdanced. Perhapsyou wereyoungandanxiousaboutlookinggoodordancingwellwith yourpartner.Therhythmicmovementofadancecanproducea trance in which you are not embarrassed, not anxious about dancing,andyoumayevenfeelasthoughitisnotyouwhoare dancing, but you are observing yourself dancing. This is an exampleofatrance. Onceyoulearnhowtoidentifyatrance, youwilldiscoverhowplentifultrancesare. If you can go into a trance consciously, deliberately, with a cleargoaltoaccomplish,andyouaresuccessful,youareonthe

16/DENNISR.WIER wayoftrance.Youcanalsolearn,withthisbook,othermethods forgoing intoatrance and controlling the trance. One ofthe mainpurposesofthisbookistopromotetranceawareness. Trance is everywhere, but not usually2 equal everywhere. Peoplegoinandoutoftrancemanytimesperdayifnotper hour and in the process unconsciously create uncontrolled trances. Suchuncontrolledtrancescancreatemanyproblems, includingaddictions.Inordertoavoidtheseproblems,youneed toknowwhatatranceisandhowitworks.Wecanstudytrance withseveralgoalsinmind. Ourfirstgoalistobeabletorecognizewhatatranceisand what it produces as effects. Our second goal is to be able to terminateanytranceandtounderstandwhysometrancesare easy and others are almost impossible to terminate. And our third goal is to be able to modify a trance. Once we can recognize,terminateandmodifyatrance,wecanwhenweget skillfulcreatewhatevertrancewelike. Atthatpoint,witha lotmorepractice,trancestartstogetreallyinteresting. TheideasoftranceandtheTranceModeldescribedhereare notmerelyabstract. Theseideasareverypracticalandcanbe applied over and over in increasing levels of subtlety and complexity. Learning to apply the trance model is one of the waysyoucanparticipateinmeditationresearch.

The Way
Inafunnyway,thewayoftrancegoesinacircle. Every triparoundthecirclebringsnewinformationandexperience.
2 WhileTVcanputmostpeopleinthesameroominthesametrance;anelectronic ultrasonicinductionapparatuscanputmostpeopleinseveralacresintothesame trance.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/17

Thereisalotofrepetition,butthehidden,obscurepath,fol lowedmanytimes,atfirstuncertainly,andthen,morefamil iarly, begins to distinguish itself. This path, while at first seemingcompletelyarbitraryandrandomlikethestarsinthe sky,beginstoshowitselfinmultiplepatterns.Theshamans drum, the priests incantations, the yogi meditating in the woods,theDionysiantranceparty,thesoldierinthekilling field, the programmer in his cubicle they all can be in a trance: repeatedlygoingdeepinside,seekingthesubtleand finerealitywhichisjust beyondournormal ken. Indoing this kind of internal magic they generate a kind of energy thatcanbepalpableandcaninfluenceothers.Theenergyis thewyrd.Youmightneverbesureyouaregettinganywhere; itisamysteryofmysteries. Attheendofthispathitmightseemlikeyoudontgetany whereinparticularitislikemeditation.Youmeditatefor years. Youdontfeelanydifferent,andwhoisqualifiedto knowhowyouchange?Andyet,funnythingsseemtohappen inyourlife;somethinglikemagicbeginstohappen. Lotsof telepathicexperiences,thestuffofdreamsbecometangiblein acertainwayandyoucanseethefuture.Youbegintoexpe riencetheonenessoflife. Ithinkthatinsomesense,longtermmeditation,likelong termtrance,transformsthepersonbyallowingadeepfamil iarization with the inner, subtle worlds. Dealing with the thoughts,feelings,perceptions,ideas,realitiesthatcomefrom someplaceelseoveralongperiodoftimeandrepeating thesameoldpathoverdecadesmeansyoudonttripoverthe samerocksorthesamesticksallofthetime.Yourfeetgrow eyes.Yourarmscanreacharoundtheworld.Youcanlisten

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tothestarsandtheyhavemessagesforyou. Thatiswhat tranceisabout.

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WhatisaTrance?

The Map
Many years ago in a small village in the mountains of northernIndiaImetamanwhoenticedmetopayhimtoen teratrance,sothathecouldreadmyfortune.Iagreed.After aminuteortwohiseyesflutteredandrolledbackinhishead. Hisbodyshudderedgentlyandsomesalivabegantoformat hislipsandbegantodriponhisshirt.Whenhefirststarted to speak I couldnt understand him; the words didnt make anysense.EventuallyhebegantospeakunderstandableEn glishandtoldmemanyuniqueandpersonalthingswhichhe couldnotpossiblyhaveknown.Iwasamazedandintrigued. Howdidhedothismagic?Orwasitmerelyatrickofdecep tion? Some years later, I was at a trance dance party in San Francisco.Theintentwastoenteratrance;letitbe,andfol lowit;seewhereitgoes. Somepeopleincludingmyself entered into a socalled altered state of consciousness, a trance,whiledancingtothemonotonouspolyrhythms.After dancingforatleastanhour,somethinghappened,energies changedandadifferentrealityofpossibilitiesopened.Icould

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sense people on another level. I spent some time working withtheseenergies.Perhapsotherpeoplewereworkingwith mine,withthatofothers,withthemselves. Iamsuremany peoples destinies changed. Certainly, things got moved around.Weretheremiraculoushealingsofdiseaseswhichno one knew about? Were some people changed in ways that madethemdecidetofollowadifferentlifepath?Howcould simpledancingdothis? AnetworkengineerIoncemetwasfocusedonacomplex arrayofcomputers,accesspoints,backhaulsandbandwidth. Hismindwassoconcentratedonaproblemthathedidnotre alizeIwasthere.Whenhefinallynoticedme,hewasstar tled. Heapologizedforbeinginatrance. Yet,whileinthis trance, he accessed powerful and creative problemsolving skills.Thesolutionshediscoveredwhileinhistrance,would changethenetworkaccessdestiniesofhundredsofpeople.It wascertainlynothinghehadtoapologizefor.Hewaslikea shamandoingmagic. Anothertime,whileinNewYorkCity,Ipassedabuilding where,congregatingonthesteps,wereanumberofalcoholics andjunkies.Manyhadlonghair,mosthaddirtyclothesand thesmellofalcohol,staleurineandsweatwasoverpowering. ButIstoppedandspoketooneofthem.Hewascoherenttoa point,butrepeatedthesamephraseswithanaffectthatwas out of context. He was seemingly stuck in a compulsive trancestate. His destiny surelyhadchangedfrom what it had been before he became an alcoholic. His options were nowsolimited,hislifewasbeingsqueezedoutofhim.Itwas atrance,butnotagoodone.

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AmedicaldoctorIknowinSwitzerland,usesmuscletest ingandaurareadingalongwithmoreordinarymedicalmeth odstoenhancehissensitivitytohispatientsaswellastothe medicines which he prescribes. In so doing he treats the holistic patient: their body, mind and soul. His practice flourishesandheisknownlocallymoreasahealerthanasa doctor. Thetrancesheentersmultipletimeseachdayinflu ence the destinies of his patients and aid his personal re search. A doctor in California injects a patient with a drug and thenthepatientexhibitsallthecharacteristicswhichyouas sociatewithtrance:fixedeyedstare,enhancedinnerinvolve ment,shorttermamnesia,butretainstheabilitytomoveand followdirectionsduringamedicalprocedure. AnexperimentalpsychologistworkingfortheU.S.Army usesmicrowaveandultrasonicelectronicstotransmithypnot iccommandstoagroupofarmyrecruitsanddiscoversthat over 20% of them will follow the hypnotic commands, even thoughnoneofthemconsciouslyheardthehypnoticsugges tions nor showed any outward signs of being in a hypnotic trance. Whileanarmypsychologistmighthavethebestin terestsofrecruitsatheart,whatifhisinterestswerenotso benign? Withpowerfultranceinducerssuchasdrugsandultrasoni callyinducedtrance,whatdoesthefutureholdforusasindi viduals? Willyoubeabletodistinguishbetweentruelove andhypnoticallycreatedlove? Outsideinfluenceschangeourdestinybyalteringtheway weperceiveorprocessinformation. Inasimilarway,when ourperceptionandcognitionremainsconstantorisreduced,

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restrictedorconfinedtoafewlimitedchoices,ourpotential for action and our potential for change is also reduced, re strictedorconfined. Ourdestinyisourpotential. Anytime weincreaseordecreaseourpotentialforchangeorexpandor limitourchoicesweinfluenceourdestiny. Althoughitseems that theaboveexamples are different, theyallhavecommonalities. Onceyoubegintounderstand theelementsoftrance,youwillalsounderstandhowtorecog nize,createandcontroltrances.Tranceseemstofollowadif ferentkindofphysicsthannormaltheenergiesarediffer ent,unusual.Infact,thephysicsoftranceseemsmorequan tum thanNewtonian inthesensethatthe concepts,causes andeffectsofspaceandtimemaybealtered. Thereisaconnectionbetweentranceanddestiny. Ifyou canbecomefamiliarwithtrance,youcanchangeyourdestiny. Yet,itseemsyoumustpenetratea taboo inorderhaveany successwithtrance.Certainlyyoumustgetoveranyfearof trance.

The Approach
Tranceismoreofacommonratherthanararephenomenon. Therearemanykindsoftranceandeach trancemaypresent itself differently and can exhibit many different strengths or powers. Becauseofthesevariations,trancepresentsarather complex subject for study. The investigation of trance is subjective, internal, personal and transforming. I will try to explainmyunderstandingoftranceasclearlyaspossibleaswell asthereasonsformyperspective. Inordertopreciselyunderstandwhatatranceis,weneedto define the simplest minimum number of commonalities of

THEWAYOFTRANCE/23 trancerelated phenomena, and then classify different trance typesaccordingtothesedefinedcommonalities. Thisapproach isnothingmorethanapplyingthescientificmethodbyseeking thefewestnumberofvariablestoexplainphenomenaandthen followingtheimplications. Whatisradicallydifferentfromthe scientific method is that we ourselves are both the object and subjectofourexperimentation.Inthissense,whatwearedoing hasmuchincommonwithAlchemy. Thereisonethingwedoknow:trancescanbebuiltwithinor ontopofpreexistingtrances.Inotherwords,youcanstartwith simple meditation and then add hypnosis. Or, you can start withonetypeofmeditationandaddanothertypeofmeditation. Or, you can start with a hypnotic ritual and add multiple meditations.Itisalmostlikemakingasoup:addaningredient here;addsomethingelsethere. Youcandoit,butyouneedto knowwhatyouaredoing.Youcancreatepowerfuleffectswith complextrances.But,noethicalteacherofmeditationwillhave you start doing these complex forms of meditation at the beginning,justasyoudontenteracarraceassoonasyouhave learnedtodrive.Evenancienttextsonyogawarnofthedangers of practicing meditation without proper preparation and instruction. Itisfairlyeasytocreatecomplextrance systems;juststart one trance after another. But the problem is that each new trance has a synergistic effect on other previously created or preexisting or unterminated trances. Even simple trance systemscanrapidlybecomecomplexentitiesandinfluenceour behaviorinmany unexpected ways. There aremany common words which describe such complex trance systems, such as: habits, beliefs, delusions, addictions, devotion and crazyasa

24/DENNISR.WIER loon. Iwill later explain why all of these can be understood betterifyouconsiderthemtobedifferentformsofatrance.

Trancesalsocanbebothbenignormalign. Usually,but notalways,thetranceswedeliberatelyandconsciouslycreate for ourselves are benign. At least they are noninvasive. Tranceswhichwecreateinerrororunconsciouslymayresult infoolishideas,beliefsordelusions.Tranceswhicharecreat edbyothersagainstourwillorjudgmentarealmostalways nottoourpersonalbenefit;Itermthis trance abuse. Being abletoidentifybothwhatcreatesatranceaswellasitsef fects,andbeingabletointerveneinordertoterminateanun wanted trance is the minimum we should demand of our selves. Onceyouknowhowtrancesarecreatedandhowtoidentify atranceandterminateit,youmightliketodevelopsomeuse fultranceskills.Tranceisveryusefulforacceleratedlearn ingandcancreatepowerfulhealingenergyforourselvesand others. Becoming a master at creating trance in ourselves andothersmaybeakeyformanifestingnewideas,art,mu sic,dance,engineering,aswellasfinancialandpersonalsuc cess.Indeed,thelackofeffectivetranceskillscanbecomea formidablebarriertosuccessinlife.Ifyoudontknowwhata tranceisandhowitworks,youcaneasilyfallunderthespell of a salesman, priest, magician or politician who may not haveyourbestinterestsatheart! Beforedefiningwhatatranceis,youneedtoknowinabit moredetailwhatyoudowhenyouthink,decidethings,and howyouunderstandwhatrealityis. Youcanthenbeginto explorehowtrancecreatesotherpossibilities,otherrealities andotherdestiniesbecausethat'swhatitdoes.

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So,youcanseethatthewayoftranceisinitiallynotsim ple. However,youwillfindsomelandmarksalongtheway andthesewillclarifyourunderstanding. Iwillnowdiscusstheordinarywayyouthinkandexperi encelifeusingsometermsfrompsychology.

Cognitive objects
Cognitiveobjectsaresomethingslightlymorecomplexthan athought,afeeling,oraninnersense,yettheyarecertainly whatweordinarilythinkofaswords.Cognitiveobjectsrattle aroundinourheadsallofthetime.Ingeneral,cognitiveob jectscomeandgofromourawarenesswithoutmuchefforton ourpart.Buttheymakeupmostofourinternalworld.Cog nitive objects are also what you work with when you work with trance. I use the term cognitive object rather than thoughtbecausemostpeopleassociateathoughtwithwords; Ispecificallywanttoincludefeelingsandnonthoughtlikein ternalsensations.Subtle,vaguefeelingsbecomemoreimpor tant than words for trance work, and many subtle feelings havenowords,andoftencannotbeeasilydescribed.

The energy involved in thinking

Formostpeople,thinkingtheprocessofgoingfromone cognitiveobjecttoanotherseemseffortless.Amoment'sre flectionwillindicatethatitisnot.Forsome,thinkinglogical lycanbeaneffort;forothers,thinkingemotionallycanbean effort. Formanypeoplerememberingwhere theyputtheir carkeysisaneffort.Thinkinginspecificwayswithwhichwe arenotfamiliar,oftenrequiresmoremental energy thanwe areusedto.

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Thepathwhichmost ofour thoughts take isusuallythe pathofleastresistance.Welovethefamiliarandsowetend torepeatthesamethoughts. Thisisbecausethe energy we have available for thinking is a limiting factor. The more availableenergywehave,thebetterwecanthink. Changing the amount of energy available for thinking, therefore,changesthewaywethink.Tranceisreallyaway ofmodifyingtheenergyinourheads,sothatwecanthinkin differentways. Youactuallydothisallofthetime. When youfeedthecatyouareusingonekindofenergy,butwhen youbalanceyourcheckbook,youhavemodifiedyourthinking patternsbychangingtheallocationofcognitiveenergy.Ifit iseasytochangethisenergyyouthinknothingofit.Ifitis difficulttochangetheenergyoryoudontknowhowtodoit, youtrytolearnhowtodoit,andyet,somenewthinkingpat ternsmaybeimpossibleforallofus. Sometimes,wesimply putoffwhatwedonthavethementalenergyfor.Andsome people, when blocked because of low energy resources, may useselfdestructivestrategiestogettheirneedsmetinfanta syifnotinreality. Forexample,loadingoneselfupwithalcoholordrugsclear lychangesone'senergy. Itmayfocusourwill,enableusto takehighrisksand mightresultinasuccessfulstrategy,for awhile.Stressandworryalsochangeenergydemands.Many peoplebelievethatifoneisstressedenough,asitfocuseswill andenablesonetotakehighrisks,onecaneventuallysuc ceed. There are many other external ways to change the available energy you have for thinking. If you can modify yourenergyinotherways,youmightmakethosechangesin yourthinkingwhichresultinsuccess.

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Onewaythatyoumodifytheenergyforthinkingisbyrepe tition.Ifyoudosomethingoftenenoughyouwilllearnitand itwillbecomeeasiersecondnaturetoyou.Thisgivesusa criticalkeytohowatranceiscreated: bytherepetitionof cognitiveobjects. Wewillexaminerepetitioninmoredetail becauseitisaprinciplewaythatatranceiscreated. There areotherwaysaswelldrugs,trauma,illness,fear,etc.But fornow,letusjustconsiderrepetition. It'smuchmorebe nign.

Loops
Ifyoureflectonyourthoughtprocessesforamoment,you will find that many thoughts repeat. So do your feelings. Muchoflifeisasequenceofrepetitions,frombrushingyour teethtogoingtowork,fromlisteningtomusictomakinglove. Youoftenlearnaskillbygoingthroughatechniquemulti pletimesuntilitbecomeseasier.Thisrepetitionacognitive loopisacommonfactorwhetheryouarelearningtotieyour shoes,learninganewlanguage,shootagun,practicingyour stroke,orlearninganewsurgicaltechnique. Basically,you practiceitoverandoveruntilyoulearnitanditbecomessec ondnature. Learninganythingisalsoawayofsavingenergy.Onceyou learnhowtomultiplytwonumberstogetheryoudontneedto countonyourfingersandtoesanylonger.Repeatingasetof cognitiveobjectsinordertolearnsomethingishowmostpeo plelearn.Yourepeatcertainphysicalmovementsinorderto learnhowtodriveacar.Atsomepoint,youhaverepeateda setofmovementssomanytimesthataspecificreactionbe comes simple, automatic and second nature to you, which

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meansthatyousomehowhavesavedmentalprocessingener gy.Partofyoudoesntneedtogothroughthespecificdetails andyouhavegainedanotherskill. Somepeoplehaveeven streamlined the learning process in such a way that they learnfasterwithaminimumofrepetition. What is a second nature? Another reality? Does your destiny change when you learn a new skill? Loops are, in fact,thefundamentalbuildingblocksoftrance.Youcansee wherethisisgoing,dontyou?Thereisaconnectionbetween cognitiveobjects, cognitiveloops, energy,trance,andchang ingyour destiny. Therearesomeotherimportantdetailsto consideraswell. Abitaboutdestiny:Ifyoualwaysdothingsthesameway withthesameconditions,theresultswillmostlikelybethe same.Yourdestinydoesnotchangeinthatcase.Butifcon ditionschangeyoumightbecompelledthroughanewex penditureofenergytochangethewayyoudothingsand consequently the results will also change. Your destiny changes in relation to how you can manage the energy re quirementsofchangingconditions. Thecontentofaloop Besidesthestructuralfactthataloopisatopologicalcircle andcirclesareroundandrepeat,anotherimportantpartofa loopisitscontents. So,loopshavebothacircularstructure andfinitecontents.
One way to represent or describe a loop is by naming its contentsandthinkingofthecontentsasafiniteorderedlistora closedorderedset.Thereareotherwaystorepresentloops,but

THEWAYOFTRANCE/29 thisisasimplebutessentialfirststepindescribingthekindof mentalloopwhichcreatesatrance.

Cognitive Functions
Ascommonly understood bypsychologists, cognitive func tions are specific thinking processes. Some of the common cognitivefunctionsare:criticaljudgment,shorttermmemory, body awareness, mathematical processing, literalism, inner visualization,awarenessofreality,etc.Somesocalledoccult ormagicalfunctionsofthemindalthoughrarearealso cognitivefunctions.Theseare:theabilitytobeclairvoyant, telekinesis, remoteviewing,body healingpowers,theability tocontroltheautonomousphysicalsystemsofthebody,fore seethefutureandalltheyogicsiddhis,etc.Infact,thereare somanyexamplesofcognitivefunctionsthatitmaybeimpos sibletonamethemall. Anyway, it is not very helpful to create a definition by meansofmultipleexamples,especiallywhenIhavenotreally describedwhatacognitivefunctionis.Weneedamorepre cisedefinitionofcognitivefunctionfortrance. Whatisacognitivefunction? Wehaveseenthatcognitiveobjectsareconnectedtoeach otherinwayswhichdefineafunctionorreflectanongoing process.Theongoingprocessmayresultfromsensoryinput ormaybederived,trainedorlearned. Ifathoughtisbouncingaroundinoneshead,thedomainis thethought,thebouncingisthefunctionandtheinpartof ourheadistherange.Therearetwolimitsorareasinacog

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nitivefunction.First,arethecognitiveobjectsthatitusesas input,andsecondtherangeofitsoutput.Normally,thereis alimittotherangeofacognitivefunctionandthereisanatu ralresistancetogoingbeyondthatlimit. Forexample,letusassumethatthereisanamedcognitive functioncalledreactingtofire.Andthatthiscognitivefunc tion usesskintemperaturesensingasitsinput,and muscle jerkingasitsoutput.IfIplacedalightedmatchunderyour outstretched hand, the reacting to fire cognitive function wouldcauseyourhandtojerkaway,ifthecognitivefunction wereworkingproperly. ByproperlyImeanthatthe energy expended for this cognitive function is minimal. One can imaginethatifthe cognitivefunction wererewiredinsome way that is, by adding energy to the cognitive function throughtrainingalightedmatchmightonlycausetheeye lidstoblinkrapidly.Or,theinputcouldbemodifiedsothat merelytouchingthepalmwouldcauseamusclejerkreaction, asthoughyouhadfeltfire.Changingthewayaspecificcog nitivefunctionoperatesisoneoftheexpectedgoalsoftrance. Nowletusconsideranother cognitivefunction.IfIasked youwhattwoplusfiveequals,thetwoandthefiveareinthe domainofcognitiveobjectsyoucanadd,theplusisthefunc tionandtheanswersevenisintherangeofactualan swers. Our idea of a cognitive function has the concept of truthorcorrectnessconnectedwithit,trainedin,overtime, inelementaryschool. Ifyousaidthat twoplusfiveisten, thenthenormalplusfunctionforyouinthatcasehasfailed. Althoughtenisstillwithintherangeofthecognitivefunction tenisanumber,afteralltheanswerisoutsidetherange ofvalidityforthearithmeticplus cognitivefunction inthis

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specificinstance.Noticethatwearenowtalkingabouttwo different cognitivefunctions. Thereisthe arithmetic cogni tive function of plus which associates two cognitive objects withathirdtoproducesomethingcalledananswer,andthere isasecondcognitivefunctionwhichassignsrealitytothepro cessofthefirst cognitivefunction andassociatesitwiththe ideaoftruthorcorrectness.So,twoplusfiveequalssevenis right,andtwoplusfiveequalsteniswrong.Ifyouaddsome energytothewrongprocess,youmightbeabletochangethe functionsothatitworkscorrectly.Thisdifferenceinenergy iswhatateachermightaddtoanimmaturenonaddingchild tochangethe destiny ofthatchildtobecomeempoweredto addnumberscorrectly.Wedontusuallythinkofthefactthat youarechangingthedestinyofthechildwhenyouteachhim toaddcorrectly,butyoucanagreethatwhenachildcanadd correctlyitgivesthatchildalifelongbenefit. Mypurposeindiscussingthearithmetic cognitivefunction insuchdetailistodescribeasubtledifferencebetweenordi narythinkingandthinkingwhileinatrance.Ifyouwereina trance,youmightthinkthattwoplusfiveistwentyfiveand this might be a perfectly acceptable answer (right!) for someoneinsuchadreamworld. Butthisanswerisoutside therealityorrangeofwhatwenormallyconsidertobecorrect answersforthearithmetic cognitivefunction. So,whenyou witness this fact from your ordinary or normal reality, you saythatthearithmetic cognitivefunction hasfailedandthe answeriswrong.Thissimplymeansthattheanswerisout sideofwhatyounormallythinkofascorrect.Itisnotaneth icalfailure,butmerelyaprocessingfailureforthatspecific cognitivefunction thatputitoutoftherealityrangeofthe

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normal.Generally,bytrainingandhabitwhichistosay,a longtermtranceweprefertostaywithintherangeof cor rectarithmeticcognitivefunctions.Thereisareluctanceand resistance to break thelaw of training andhabit of correct arithmeticalformandfunction.Butbeinginatrancemakes iteasytobreakthislaw.So,thereissomethingabouttrance whichchangesourpotential,ourdestiny.Trance,infact,en abledustolearnhowtoaddcorrectlyandcanalsoenableus to access other realities in which addition itself changes meaning. Although I was describing the arithmetic cognitive func tion,thesameobservationscanbemadeaboutanyothercog nitivefunction.Thatis,youassignacertainrealityvalueto theresultofacognitivefunctionwhichdepends onculture, training,etc.Thecollectiveresultoftheseassignmentsgives usthe gestalt ofourrealityandexplains whyyounormally canttalktoplantsortoyourancestors. Thismeansifyou wanttoseespirits,forexample,youwillhavetorewirethe wayyourcognitivefunctionsoperatewhilemaintainingsome kindofcontrol.

The effect of a loop on a cognitive function

Now I'd like to consider the effect of cognitive functions whichareoperatedonbycognitiveobjectloops.Whenthink ing normally, there are few or no loops. You process one thoughtafteranother.Repetitiondoeshappen,buttherepe tition is not normally sustained within a short time frame, norrepeatedmultipletimes.Butthereisanobviouseffecton cognitivefunctionswhenshortloopsarerepeated. Youcan provethistoyourselfeasily.ImagineifIaskedyouWhatis

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sevenplus four? over andoveragain. Youmight firstget bored,andthen,perhaps,angry.Atsomepoint3younatural lybegintodoubttherealityofyouranswer,oryoudoubtthat youareadding correctly. Itdrives youalittle crazy. You would consider the repetition of the question as little more thanaformoftorture. Whenanysetofthoughtsrepeat,thencognitivefunctions stop functioning normally. You can prove this assertion in yourownmind.Ifyouthinkthewordfishoverandover,part ofyourmindwillselectperhapsfirstanimageoftheani mal,fish,thentheverbtofish,thenyoumightgetthememo ryofthesmelloffish,orfunnywaystospellfish,ormemories of fishing on a boat, fishing for compliments, word plays, puns,thenthewordfishmightgettobemeaningless,simply a sound, as your mind fills with rich associations and goes outsideoftherangeofnormalassociations. Whathappens isthat repeatingasetofcognitive objects hascausedyoutodissociate.Yoususpendyourcriticaljudg ment andbegintodoubtyourcurrentmodelofreality. You begintobecomeopen,suggestibletootherrealities. Maybe, sevenplusfouristwentynine.Coulditbe? Whynotbreak thetabooofalwaysdoingitthewayyourteachertaughtyou andaddinanotherway? Resistanceoftherange Thereis,ofcourse,aresistancetoalteringacognitivefunc tion.Howmanytimesdoyouneedtobetoldthatsevenplus four is fortyseven? before you finally get it? Ten times?
3 Howmanyrepetitionsittakesbeforeyougettothispointwouldbeameasurement ofthestrengthofthetrancewhichiscreated.

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Fifty times? Ten thousand times? Believe me, there is a numberIdontknowwhatitisbutatsomepointyouwill believethatsevenplusfourisfortyseven. Thenumberof repetitionsthatittakesisrelatedtotheresistanceofthecog nitivefunction tomodification. Every cognitivefunction has sucharesistance. Thisresistanceisnotusuallytested,but sometimesitis. Cognitiveloopstendtobangonthewallof resistance,andintime,thewallbreaks. Atthatpointthe cognitivefunctionbecomesamenabletochange. Ifthearithmeticcognitivefunctionhasasortofdurability inyourhead,thatisnormal.Butcognitivefunctionssuchas shortterm memory canfailinaccuracymoreoftenthanyou would think. Yet people will accept the result of a faulty memory withnotmuchmorethanashrugoranOh,well. Onedoesthisbecause shortterm memory inmostinstances neednotbe100%infallible.Inotherwords,peoplecantoler ate error and failure, except, perhaps, on exams or when searchingforthecarkeys. Wecantesttheresistanceofthatpartofacognitivefunc tionwhichassignsrealitytothecognitivefunction.Thereisa simpletest,forexample,oftheaccuracyofyour memory or howwellyoucandomath.Thehypnotichandlevitationtest is a means of testing the resistance of a specific cognitive function. Itisclearthatany hypnotictrance canaltersome specific cognitive function and tests can be constructed to measuretheresistanceofacognitivefunctiontotheeffectsof atrance.

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Cohesivenessofassociations Thecohesivenessofassociationisnotacommonsubject forpsychologists,butthecohesivenessofassociationreflects acapacityfor meaning. Youmayassociate cat with mouse moreeasilythancatwithmortgage,becausethecognitiveob jectscatandmousearemorecloselyassociatedinnormalday todayrealitythanarecatandmortgage. Toputitanotherway,ifIsaid cat,youaremorelikelyto say mouse thanmortgage andIcould,withsomeexperimen tation,comeupwithnumbervaluesorprobabilitieswhichre flectedthedifferenceinassociativeclosenessbetweencatand mouseasopposedtocatandmortgage.Youcouldsaythatcat andmousearemoremeaningfullyconnectedthanarecatand mortgage,thatis,morecohesiveconceptually. Thecohesivenessofassociationalsoextendstononverbal cognitive objects although measuring the cohesiveness of meaningismoreproblematic.Forexample,whatdoyouasso ciatewiththesightofblood?Thesightofbloodisstronglyas sociatedwithfearandonlyarguableslightlylessassociated withmortgages.Sothecohesivenessofassociationfornon verbalcognitiveobjectsisstillconnectedwiththecapacityfor meaning,althoughitmaybemoredifficulttomeasure. Youmay notice in your own mindat this point, that be causeoftherepetition ofsentences withthe words cat and mortgage inthem,thatyoumaybegintoassociate cat with mortgage andbegintowonderif,perhapsinanotherreality, theymightberelated. Whenthe"cohesivenessofassociation"ofcognitiveobjects issomewhathigh,thenyouthinkinanormal,prudent,ma

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ture,perhapsevenconservativeway;alower"cohesivenessof association" means our thinking is more playful, dreamy, metaphoricalorevenmorepoeticasourassociationpatterns becomemorechaotic.Extremelylow"cohesivenessofassocia tion"couldmakeusseemcreativetothepointofincoherence, whileaveryhigh"cohesivenessofassociation"makesusmore literalandunabletothinkoutsidethebox. Somecognitivefunctions,suchasperforminganaddition, require a high "cohesiveness of association" of cognitive ob jects. Otherwise,theadditionoftwoplusthreemightequal sandboxinsteadoffive.Othercognitivefunctions,suchasac cessinga memory,requirealower "cohesiveness ofassocia tion"ofthecognitiveobjects. Wheneveranycognitivefunc tion resists being modified, you identify the high "cohesive nessofassociation"withnormalrealityortheideaofright orcorrect,andalow"cohesivenessofassociation"witheither wrong,creativethinking,oraccessingotherrealities.Modify ingtheresistanceofacognitivefunctionsothatyoucanac cessotherrealitiesisoneofthepurposesoftrance.

The structure of trance

Tranceisacognitiveprocess,ratherthanastateofaware ness.Itaffectsawarenessbymodifyingtheresistanceofcog nitivefunctions.Trancedoesthisasameansofchangingthe energyconsumedorusedbysetsofcognitivefunctions.Sub jectively, in a trance, you experience reality in a variety of newways.Practically,tranceenablesustofunctioninways whichenhancesurvivalbyopeningupanawarenessofother realities;so,tranceisalsoasurvivalmechanism.Ifourday todayexperiencedoesnotdemandachangeintheresistance

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ofourcognitivefunctionsthenyoucallthatnormalandwhat youexperienceisalso normal. Forthisreason,mostpeople concludethattranceisanunusualstateandnotnormal. Theessentialstructure Modifying the resistance of your cognitive functions hap penswhenyouareshocked,orfearful,orwhenever youre peatcognitiveobjects. Also,youmightrepeat cognitive ob jectsbecauseyouareafraidorinshock.AsIhavementioned manytimesbeforeandwillcontinuetorepeat4,therepetition of cognitive objects will induce a dissociated condition in which the "cohesiveness of association" of cognitive objects willchangeaswellastheresistanceofvariouscognitivefunc tions.Subjectively,ourrealitychangesfromsomethingnor maltosomethingunusualandyoucanbelieveyouareina different state of consciousness, although you are only pro cessing cognitive objects ina different way. Youare using psychological andbiologicalenergieswhichyounormallydo nothaveaccess to. Becauseyouarenotfamiliar withthis new condition, you dont usually know how to deal with it. You are afraid of it and break the trance or, with a little addedcomplexity,youcangetstuckinit.Butifyoucantrain yourselftohandleotherrealitiesandbeinatranceconscious ly,youcanbegintousethesenew,usuallyhidden,psychologi calandbiologicalenergiesi.e.thewyrd.Thatis,youcould reallybecome,aftersomepractice,somewhatmagical.
4 Makingacommentabouttextyouarereadingisawayofencouragingdissociation andinducingatrance.Idothisasanexampleinordertohelpyoubecomeawareof howeasilyatranceiscreated.Therearemanyotherexamplesofinducingatrance inthisbooknotannotatedlikethisonewhicharelefttoyourdiscoverysothat youmaypracticeyourskills.

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Complexstructure Whenasingletranceismaintainedoveraperiodoftime,it maychangeslightlyandbecomeanothertrance,ormorelike ly,multipletrances. Afterawhile,thesetrancesbegintoac creteintomorecomplextranceforms.Howtheyattachorre latetoeachothergivesdifferentflavorstotrance. Forexample,ifyoumeditateuntilyouhearthedinnerbell, youhaveameditationtrancefollowedbyahypnotictrance. Ifyourpartnerjabbersatyouuntilyouspaceoutjusttoget away, you have a hypnotic trance followed by a meditative trance. Ifyoutrainyourselftoalwaysspaceoutwhenyour partner jabbers at you, you will begin to have an addictive trance. It is the repetition of training which constitutes a trancegeneratingloopanditisthisloopwhichmakesanad diction out of combinations of a hypnotic and meditative trance. Theeffectsofoneormoretrancescomefromthecognitive functionswhicharechangedandtheorderinwhichtheyare changed.Usually,thecognitivefunctionofcriticaljudgment isthefirstcognitivefunctiontofailortobecomedisabled.Af ter that, short term memory fails. After that comes a de creaseinbodyawareness. Disabledcognitivefunctions Therearemanycognitivefunctionsandsomeofthemare disabled during a trance. With training, the order of dis ablingofcognitivefunctionscanbepreprogrammed.Sleepor unconsciousnessmayormaynotbedesiredduringatrance, soacontinuousbodyawarenessneedstobemaintainedoren

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abled. Generally, thecognitive functions which remain en abledcanbecontrolledbyahypnotistorthroughselfsugges tion,orinthecaseofmeditation,bycertainpostures. With simple, shortlasting trances, there is not usually a detectable change in the wyrd because the cohesiveness of associationdoesnotchange.

Effects on Cognitive Functions

Anumberof cognitivefunctions aredisabledduringany meditation.Moreover,theorderinwhichcognitivefunctions aredisabledwilldefineimportantcharacteristicsofthespe cificmeditationtrance. A meditationtrance canresultina varietyofdissociativeconditionsincludingshortterm memo ry failure,moregeneraltemporary memory loss,disablingof normal association structures, decrease in associative cohe siveness,increased literalism,disablingof criticaljudgment, enhancedinnerinvolvement,includingtheproductionofso calleddelusionsand/orvisionsofotherrealities.Thesevaria tionscanbeenumeratedanddescribedmorefullybyrefer ence to specific cognitive functions and the order in which theyaredisabledormodified. Because this mechanism of trance creation is not well known,manypeoplemakeanerrorbywronglyassociatingan effectofatrancewithacauseoftrance.Thecauseofatrance istherepetitionofcognitiveobjects;theresultofatranceis thesetofdisabledcognitivefunctions.5

Astrongdrug,electronicormicrowavestimulation,ormechanicaltrauma,suchas abulletinthebrain,canalsodisablemanycognitivefunctions,resultingina massiveinvasivetrance.

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ShortTermMemory Shorttermmemoryistheabilitytorecalleventswhichoc curredintherecentpast. Although a meditation trance is always created from a trance generating loop, such as with the use of a mantra, sometimestheeffectofthetrancedisablesshorttermmemo ry orselfawareness ofthe trancegeneratingloop itself. In thiscase,youarenotawarethatyouareinatranceandnot awareofwhatyoudidtogetinthetrance. Inotherwords, youforgettorepeatyourmantra. Whenshorttermmemoryfails,yousimplydontremember themantra.Itsnotthereanymore.Youdonthaveanasso ciationfromyourcurrentthinking,suchasitis,totherecent past event which was sitting with the intent to meditate. Moresevereshorttermmemorylossmeansthatyoumakeno association betweentherecent past eventandyourcurrent thinking,sothatevenifpromptedyoudontgettheconnec tion. Onemeditationtechniquetoovercomethis shortterm memoryfailureistointroducethesecondarytrancegenerat ingloopbymeansofthefollowinginstruction:onceyoureal izeyouforgottorepeatyourmantra,startrepeatingitagain. Anotherformofshorttermmemoryfailureisafalseassoci ation with other cognitive objects but not the recent past event.Duringmeditation,thereisatendencytodaydream. Somehowyouknowyoushouldbemeditatingusingamantra, butrememberingandrelivingapastsexualencounter over andoverissomuchmorefun.

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In these cases the cohesiveness of association decreased fromsomenormalvaluetoavalueequaltoorveryclosetoze ro. CriticalJudgment Critical judgment is the ability to see the relationship be tweencauseandeffect. Criticaljudgment failswhencauses arecorrectlyperceivedbutincorrectconclusionsaremadeor whencausesarebasedondelusionorwhentheconnectionbe tweenacauseanditseffectisnotmade. Forexample,ifyouknowthatyouneedairtolive,andyou know that you cannot breathe when submersed in water, whatcouldyouconcludeseeingachildfacedowninaswim mingpool?Ifyourcriticaljudgmentisactive,youwillarrive attherightconclusionrightawayandworktogetthechild outofthewaterandintotheair.Ifcriticaljudgmentfailsyou might thinkthechildis playinga game, orthat there isa tricktobreathingunderwater. Or,althoughyouknowyou needairtobreatheandyoucannotbreathesubmergedinwa terandachildisfacedowninaswimmingpool,youfailto concludeorunderstandeitherthatthechildmaybeinmortal dangerorthats/hemayhavedrowned. Literalism Literalism isresistancetometaphor. Itisawayofavoid ingambiguityandcomplexitiesbeyondasimpleandsuperfi cialunderstanding. Itisrelatedto criticaljudgment inthat literalismputsastoptoanymeaningfulconsiderationsofal ternativeperspectives whichmight result from arobustex plorationofcausesandeffects.Thereis,perhaps,nosingle

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wordwhichexpresses thecognitivefunction whichoperates when literalism is not fully functioning, but you know that whenthatcognitivefunctionfails,literalismistheeffect. EyeMovement Theeyetends tobeinmotionwhenanimated byaware ness.Howtheeyemoves,itsreasonsforattractionoravoid ance,hasfascinatedresearchersforsometime. Weknowthateyemovementstopsundercertainconditions and that this cessation of movement indicates that outer awarenesshastoacertainextentbeensuspended. So,wegenerallyconcludethatafixedeyestareeitherindi catesatrance,unconsciousnessordeath. FixedEyeStare A fixed eye stare is characteristic of a disabled cognitive functionassociatedwithaspecifickindoftrance.Ifyoustare atanobjecttypicallyaburningcandleflamethetrance generatingloopistheactoflooking,looking,lookingatthe candleflame.Thisrepeatedactoflookingisthecauseofthe trance which results; and a characteristic of the resulting trancemightbea fixedeyestare. Ifapersonhasbeenina trance before, ahypnotist might use a fixed eye stare as a triggertothepriortrance.ButtheessentialpointIammak inghereistodistinguishverypreciselybetweenthecauseof tranceandtheeffect.Ifyouwanttounderstandhowtocre atecomplextrance,youmustbeabletodistinguishbetweena causeoftrance,aneffectoftrance,andatriggertoaprior trance.

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Forexample,the fixedeyestare thatischaracteristicofa disabledcognitivefunctionmaybewronglythoughttobethe causeof atrance; therefore, ahypnotist might encourage a clienttofixtheeyesonapointinordertocauseatranceto occur.Ifatrancedoesoccuritisbecausethetriggeringeffect ofthefixedeyestarerestartsatrancegeneratingloop.Itis the trance generating loop that creates the trance, not the fixedeyestare perse. Itislesscertainthat fixedeyestare willcreateatrance;itiscertainthatatrancegeneratingloop willcreateatrance.

The Wyrd
Thewyrdistheenergyneededtoalteracognitivefunction. When a cognitive function is operating normally, the wyrd willbezero.Ifacognitivefunctionisnotoperatingnormally, becauseanerrorinprocessingwasmade,the wyrd willbe comepositiveforthatperiodoftimethattherewasanerror inprocessing. Forexample,ifyourkeysareonthetableandyouremem berfalselythatyourkeysareinyourpocket,thatwillcre ateapositivewyrdmeasureforthecognitivefunctionrespon sibleforshorttermmemory.Assoonasyourememberwhere yourkeysare,thewyrddropstozeroagain,indicatingthatno energyisneededtoaltershorttermmemory. The wyrd isalsothatenergywhichyoufeelwhenyouare close to a powerful shaman or yogi. The hair practically standsuponyourheadasthoughyouwereinthepresenceof a powerful electric field. Thatisprecisely the effect ofthe wyrd.Itisalsotobenotedherethatnoteveryoneisaffected thesamewaybythe wyrd. Togobacktothecarkeysfora

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moment: yourcarkeysonthetablemaybeinvisibletoyou butobvioustosomeoneelse.Youmayactuallyseeelectricen ergycomingoutoftheheadofthesaint,butnoteveryonewill seethesameenergy.Ahealerorhomeopathmayseeorsense anenergyemanatingfromachemicalorplantextract,butnot everyonecanseeorsensethissameenergy;yet,thehealeror homeopath can use this informationfor diagnostic ortreat mentpurposes.Whilethewyrdmaybeconstantforaspecific situation,forexampleaplantemanationorayogicaura,the cognitivefunctionsofdifferentpeopleinthepresenceofthis constantwyrdwilleachhaveadifferentresistancetoit. If thecarkeysareinvisibletoyoubutvisibletosomeoneelse doesthismeanthatyouarecrazyormerelythatyourcogni tive functions are operating differently? If the aura of the saintisinvisibletoyoubutvisibletosomeoneelse,doesthis meantheotherisclosertoenlightenment?Whatyoucansee, ornotsee,dependsonhoweasilyyoucanenableordisable various cognitive functions as well as the intensity of the wyrd.Itisfareasiertochangeyourcognitivefunctionsafter someyearsoftranceormeditationwork. Somecognitivefunctionsmustbedisabledinordertoen ableothers.Inthiscase,thecognitivefunctionwhichisdis abledcontributestoapositive wyrd,andtheenabled cogni tivefunction alsocontributes toapositive wyrd. The com bined wyrd ismorepositivethanasingleinstanceofadis abledcognitivefunction. Whena cognitivefunction isdisabledforalongperiodof time,the wyrd willbecomepositive,andstaypositiveuntil thecognitivefunctionbecomesenabledagain.

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Trances whether meditation, hypnotic, addictive or charismatic,orelectronicordruginducedallcreateaposi tive wyrd. Generally, meditation produces the smallest in crease,whilecharismatictranceproducesthelargestnatural wyrd.Unnaturallyhighwyrdscanbecreatedbyelectronicor druginducedtrances. Physicaltraumacanalsocreatevery highwyrds. Somewyrdsmaydecreaseorattenuateovertimeasanal tered cognitive function achieves a homeostatic condition. Thewyrdmayevendecreasebacktozero.Some wyrdsmay increaseinvalueovertimeifaparticularcombinationofal tered cognitive functions produces a chaotic hysteresis or stochastic condition6. For example, living with analcoholic parent who creates chaos and emotional noise creates a tranceconditioninfamilymembers whose wyrd grows over time.Thischangesthedestinyofeveryfamilymember. Themeasurementofthewyrd In a trance, the wyrd is the energy needed to break the tranceorcreateit.Thisenergycouldbemeasuredphysically such as by the number of grams needed to force down the raisedarminahypnotictrance,breakingthetrance. Theenergycanalsobemeasuredasthechangeinthegal vanicskinresponse7whenaloudnoiseorothershocktermi natesameditationtrance.

Instability,unreliability,unexpectedchangesincognitivefunctioningcanoccurdue todrugs,alcohol,orphysicalcausesaswellasmeditativeandhypnotictrancegone awry. Anelectricalvoltagemeasuredonthesurfaceoftheskin.

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Severalproblemsinthemeasurementofthewyrdoccurwhen attemptingtomeasuretheeffectsofalongtermaddictiveor charismatic trance. For example, an alcoholic may be in a decadeslongaddictivetrance.Theenergyneededtostopthe alcoholismandtoreestablishnormalcymightbemeasuredin thedollaramountneededbyaclinictocreateapermanent cure. Anexampleoftheenergyofacharismatictrancemightbe a Sufi master whose religious trance changes the lives of thousandsofpeople. Howcanthe wyrd inthisexamplebe measured?Thetotaltheoreticalwyrdisthesumofthewyrds ofeachaltered cognitivefunction foreachpersonwhoselife haschanged.
Addictiveorcharismatictrancesgeneratelargewyrds.Occult phenomena generally can occur only in this context. For example,aclairvoyantinatrancemayhaveawyrdmeasuredby howoftens/hewascorrect. Ifa clairvoyant continuouslymade wrong predictions, the wyrd would be positive indicating an incorrectprocessingofacognitivefunction,butiftheclairvoyant were correct in a statistically significant way, it would imply positive wyrdsonother cognitivefunctions. Inthesameway, thetrancein remote viewing or psyops also hasan associated wyrd which may be correlated with the success of the remote viewing. Themeasurementofthetrance wyrdultimatelyisassociated withtwomeasurablecognitivefactors.Thefirstfactordepends on the time needed to traverse the loop. This factor is also dependent on the content of the loop itself. The amount of richnessofassociationofthecontentaddsbothtothe wyrd of the trance and to the time needed for loop traversal. For

THEWAYOFTRANCE/47 example,ifawordassociationtestisgivenusingtheindividual wordswhichcomprisea trancegeneratingloop,thenumberof seconds needed for a response is indicative of the richness of association.IfItestformotherorloveordeserveImayget morerelativelyhighresponsetimesthanifItestedforsevenor anything. IfImeasuretheresponsetimeforeachelementof theloop,thesumoftheresponsetimeswillgiveanindicationof the time needed to traverse the loop, while taking into considerationtherichnessofassociation. Generally,theactual averagemeasuredtimetotraversealoopwithrepetitionwillbe morethantheinitialtimeneededtotraversetheloop.Whenthe timeneededtotraversealoopisgreaterthantheaddedrichness ofassociationtimes,thenatrancecanbepresumed.

Thesecondfactorishowmanytimestheloopisexecutedor forhowmanysecondstheloopissustained.Ifaloopissus tainedforafairlyshort period oftime, the generated wyrd will be correspondingly less. In my work with the trance wyrd,Ihavefoundthatthelogofthesecondfactorismore clearlyassociatedwiththestrengthofthewyrd.8

Taboo
Trance can be strengthened and the wyrd increased when somepartofthetranceissecretor,moregenerally,covered meaningthatyoudon'ttalkaboutit.Inotherwords,itistaboo. Thetrancemaydependonmysteryorfear,whichmayengender respect. These are all characteristics of a taboo. Taboo also workstheotherway: whenthereisasecretordeception,you
8 Ihaveused(logx)/yasameasureofthewyrd,wherexisthesecondfactoras describedaboveandyisthefirstfactor.Thisformulagivesanestimatedvaluefor thetrancewyrdwhichcanbeusedforcomparisonpurposes.Thisisallofthemath youwillfindinthisbook.

48/DENNISR.WIER can also look for a trance, because there will be disabled cognitivefunctionsandrepeatedlies.Whileasecretoracoveris notaphysicalthinginitself,whenataboodoesbecomephysical, youcancallitatalisman.Atalismanembodiesasecretwhich youmay respect and venerate for its power and magic. The tabooprotectsthe talisman frombeinguncoveredandexposing itssecret,becauseexposingthesecretwouldprobablybreakthe trance. Becauseofthisstrengtheningaspectof taboo,a taboo strengthensthewyrd.

WhatIhavedonehereistobrieflydescribetranceingener al.InthefollowingchaptersIwillapplythismodeltospecific kindsoftranceandtranceinductiontechniques. Therearepracticalconsiderationsforeachdifferenttypeof trance. Somepracticalaspectsoftrancearenotverynice. Theyvictimizethosewhoareunawareoftrancetechniques.I donotapproveofmanyofthepotentialusesoftrance;howev er, in exposing that is, bringing light into the darkness, naminganddescribingthesenefarioususes,Iamdeliber atelybreakingthetaboothattheyremainsecret,soastoal lowpotentialvictimsthepossibilityofprotectingthemselves. Mehrlicht!9
Exercises

1.Makealistofwordslikemother,love,deserve,cat,hap piness,God,etc.andrecordallofyourassociationswiththose words. Tabulate boththeassociations, as well as the time thatittakestomakethen,i.e.betweenthestimulusandthe response.Dotheresponsetimeshavearelationtothemean ing?Thatis,aresomeresponsetimesshorterthanothers?
9 Morelight!ThelastwordsspokenbyGoethe,theauthorofFaust.

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2.Studyingaspecificgrouporpopulation,canyoudiscover whichwordsaremostmeaningfulbyevaluatingtheassocia tions? 3. Whathappenstotheresponsetimewhenyourepeata word?

Questions

1.DiscusswaystheresultsofExercise2mightbeusedin advertising,inreligion,inpolitics,andinpopulationcontrol.

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Meditation

A giant step inside your mind

Meditation is a beautiful form of trance which has many importantbenefits. InthepreviouschapterIdefinedtrancein general terms. Now, I will define a specific kind of trance, termedameditationtrance.

Thetermmeditationtrance,likeahypnotic,addictiveor charismatic trance, refers to a specific cognitive loop struc ture,aspecificuseoftheloopandthespecificsetofcognitive functionswhicharemodified. Thisparticulartypologyisan importanttoolfordescribinganddiscriminatingbetweenvar iousotherformsoftrance. Basicallythedefinitionwillhelp usdiscriminatebetweenthecausesandtheeffectsoftrance.

Definition of meditation trance

AccordingtotheTranceModel,ameditation trance iscre ated whenever a repeating sequence (loop) of cognitive ob jects10issustainedforaperiodoftime.Wheneversuchaloop
10 AnyrepeatingsequenceofcognitiveobjectsisalsotermedaTranceGenerating LoopandsometimesabbreviatedasTGL.

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isstartedmentallyandmaintainedforaperiodoftime,aspe cifictypeofdissociatedconditionalwaysoccurs,whichresults inthedisablingofvariouscognitivefunctions. The order in which cognitive functions are disabled affects the resulting characteristicsofthetrance,aswellasitseffects. Youcanprovethistoyourself. Doyourememberthelast timeyousignedyournamemultipletimessayontraveler's checks? Afterseveralsignatures,youbegintospaceout,as though you can't remember what connection the signature hastoyou.Thisisdissociation.Ifyourepeatawordseveral times,youbegintogetbored.Thatis,onepartofyouisdoing therepeating, theotherpartthedissociatedpartnotes thattheactivityisboring.Thedissociatedpartissometimes calledtheWitness. Althoughthisisasimpledefinition, ithasveryprofound implications for those who practice meditation, as well as thosewhostudytheeffectsofmeditation. Depending on the content of the cognitive objects in the trancegeneratingloopandthecharacter ofthe dissociative conditionseveraltypesofmeditationtrancecanbefurtherde fined.Someexamplesofmeditationwillbedescribedlaterin this chapter, which will illustrate how the content of the trancegeneratingloopcanbeassociatedwithdifferenteffects. Itisnotwithinthepresentscopeofthisbooktoexhaustively definealltypesofmeditationasmanyreligionsaredefining theirownsubtypes.
There are some simple observations and technical measurementswhichcanbemadeonthetrancegeneratingloop whichcausesatrance.Onemeasurementistheactualcontent oftheloop:howmanycognitiveobjectsareintheloop,andwhat

52/DENNISR.WIER is the content or nature of each of the cognitive objects. Om Mane Padme Hum might be counted as four cognitive objects eachofwhichisaSanskritword;or,itmightbecountedassix distinctsyllableseachofwhichisacognitiveobject;or,itmaybe countedasasinglecognitiveobject.

Theassociationspertainingtoeachcognitiveobjectandthe associationtimesfurtherdescribethetrancegeneratingloop content. Forexample,whatdoesOmmean? Whatdoyou associatewithOm?Theanswerstothesequestionsandthe timeittakesyoutoanswerreflectsthecohesivenessofassoci ationrelatingtoOm.

Anothermeasurementrelatestohowtheloopisusedwhenit isrepeated:howmanytimesisthelooprepeatedandhowlong doesittaketorepeatthelooponce?Isthemantrarepeated108 timesor108,000times?Doesittakefivesecondstorepeatthe loop once or does it take 60 seconds? An additional measurementishowlongisthelooprepeatedandhowoften.Is theparticularmeditation repeatedforatwenty minute period sittingtwiceperdayforaweek,orisitrepeatedsixhoursper dayfortenyears?Thetotallengthoftimeameditationtrance ispracticed affects the trance wyrd. Another measurement is the speed at which a cognitive loop is repeated. Do you zip through the loop as fast as possible, or do you linger on each word? Complexformsofmeditationtranceactivelyassociatespecific cognitiveobjectswithmantras,visualizations,movements,etc.11 Thecontentoftheloopcanalsobeassociatedwith chakrasor feelingsorphysicalmovements,suchaswiththebreathorwith

11 Tibetantantricmeditationsareexamplesofsuchcomplexmeditationforms.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/53 moving a bead on a mala12 or rosary; with colors, a design, letters, images and so on. At this point in our discussion of meditation,wearenotconcernedwithspecificcomplexities,but with merely defining the structure and with technically describing the causes of a meditation trance. Meditation techniqueswhichactivelyassociateaspecificcognitiveobject(in the loop) with other (not in the loop) cognitive objects create complexformsoftrance.

Othertechnicalmeasurementsmaybemadeoftheeffects ofa meditationtrance. Somemeasurementsaresubjective, but may still be measurable with appropriate instrumenta tion. Onesuchmeasurementisthetimeinterval,inseconds,be tweenthestartofthefirstrepeatedloopandthestartofthe dissociativecondition.Thisiscalledthetrancedelta.Ifyou sitformeditationandbegintorepeata mantra,howmany secondsdoesittakebeforeyoubecomeboredorfeelthatyou arewatchingyourselfrepeatthemantraorevenforgettingto repeatthemantra? Arelatedmeasurementisthetimeinterval,inseconds,be tweenthecessationofthetrancegeneratingloopandthenor malizationofallcognitivefunctions.Thisiscalledthetrance epsilon. Unterminatedtranceresultsintrancelings13 anda veryhightranceepsilon.
Anothertypeofmeasurementrelatestothecharacterofthe dissociativecondition itself. Dissociationcanbedefinedasthe selected disabling of cognitive functions. One of the first
12 Astringofbeadsoftenusedtocountrepetitionsofamantra. 13 Atrancelingisanyunterminatedtrance,usuallyinrelationtotheunexpectedor undesirableeffectsofsuchunterminatedtrances.

54/DENNISR.WIER cognitive functions to become disabled in a trance is critical judgment.Asecondcognitivefunctionusuallydisabledisshort term memory14. Body awareness isanother cognitive function also among the first few common cognitive functions disabled whenatrancestarts.Theseandothercognitivefunctions,when notedintheorderinwhichtheybecomedisabled,helptodefine morepreciselythespecificnatureofatrance.

Therearemanyphysiologicalmeasurementsoftheeffects ofmeditationwhichcanbeandhavebeenmade. Itiswell known, for example, that meditation affects blood pressure, producesprofound relaxation15,altersgalvanicskinresponse andhasmanyothermeasurablephysiologicaleffects. Althoughthedetailedtechnicalmeasurementsofatrance mayonlybeinterestingforresearchers,practicalmeditators shouldalsobeawareofthesefactorssothattheydon'tcon fusecausewitheffectandrealizethatdisabledcognitivefunc tionsarenormalforanytrance.

Separating Causes from Effects

Somepeoplewillidentifythewordmeditationwiththeeffects of the meditation trance, and others will identify the word or mantrausedwiththecausesoftheseeffectsasperceivedfroma trance.Thus,ameditationtrancehasbeendefinedbysomeasa stateof ecstasy,andbyothers,asgracefrom God.Wrongly then,throughthesekindsofdefinitions,theeffectsoftranceare assumedtobethecausesoftrance.Bylogicalextension,abelief inGodorinTheLightseemstoberequiredinordertohave grace,ecstasyandothereffectsoftrance.Itisthelackofaclear
14 Somecriticsofmeditationoftencitememoryfailureasareasonfornotmeditating. 15 CalledtherelaxationresponsebyWallaceandBenson.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/55 model of trance which has caused this confusion of cause and effect.

TheTranceModelattemptstoseparatethecausesoftrance fromitseffects.Whenthereisconfusionofcauseandeffect, thenthereisthepossibilityofintroducingabeliefinextrane ouscausesorofbeingunclearastothelimitationsoftheef fects. Anexampleofthisconfusionisthatitisoftenfalselybe lievedthatsomekindofdivineinterventionisneededinorder tocreatespecificeffectsofmeditationortrance. Theideaof divineinterventioncomesfromprojectionsstemmingfromthe dissociatedstatethatispartofthe meditationtrance. That is,itisnotnecessarytointroducetheideaofdivineinterven tionwhentheideaofdissociationissufficient.

The Origin of the Other

TheconceptofdissociationcomesfromtheideathattheI oregoissplitintotwoparts. WhichIthenistherealI? SometraditionssplittheIintotheSelf,orWitness,and theOther,orShadow. TheSelf,ofcourse,isdefinedas the real part and the Other is believed not really to be realinthesamesensethattheSelfisreal.Or,soitwould seem,andthisbeliefresultsinnotasmallamountofphilo sophicalconfusion. This confusion is based on not knowing where the "I" is oncethemeditationtranceisstarted.Isthe"I"thecognitive loop which consciousness followed before the meditation trancecameintoexistence?Oristhe"I"theresultingdissoci

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atedtrancestate,whichissubjectivelyperceivedasdifferent fromthecognitiveloop? Indeed,mostpeoplewillbesimultaneouslyaware ofboth the"I"ofthecognitiveloop(themantra,forexample)andthe "I"thatisinatrance,butwillidentifythetrueI"asthat whichexistsinatrance. This"trueI"hasbeentermedthe Witness by some religious groups. Yet, awareness in a trancealwaysinvolvessomedisabledcognitivefunctions.Is, then,theconsciousnessofthetrueIalsodisabled? Whenthereisconfusionastothenatureofthis"Witness", thenitmightbeeasytofalselyassumethatthereisanother entity(nottheindividual"I")whichiscreatingtheeffect.The attributionsgiventothisothermysteriousentityhavecreat edagreatdealofconfusionandmisunderstandingaboutthe natureofthemindandthewaymeditationworks.Toclarify further,whenyoumeditate,repetitionitselfwillcausedisso ciationtooccurandthiswillreallyresultintwosimultaneous consciousprocesses.ThereisnosingletrueIatthispoint; both conscious processes embody some disabled cognitive functionswhichgiverisetovarioussubjectiveeffects.There isnomysteriousentityinvolved. There is no reason to create any religious mumbojumbo about meditation unless a hidden reason for doing so is to somehowexploitthetranceandtomakeitmorethanitis. Suchexploitationisusuallybasedonanabuseofthedisabled criticaljudgmenteffectsofthetrance. AsIwilldiscusslater,thereisacognitivefunctionwhich mapsaperceptionintoanassurancethatthisisrealorthisis thetruth.Whenthiscognitivefunctionworks,thenwethink we know what is real. When this cognitive function fails,

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thenwhatisnotrealcanbeidentifiedasreal,orwhatisreal can be identified as not real. In other words, we can be tricked. Butitismoresubtlethanthat. Psychologically,if this cognitive function would be permanently disabled, it would constitute a pathology. Insome philosophical sense, whatisrealreallyisarbitrary;itdependssolelyonthefunc tioningofthisspecificcognitivefunction.

Daydreams
Meditation,asIhavedefinedit,iscertainlynotlimitedto religiousexercises.Daydreamingisalsoaformofmeditation. Thisformofmeditationalsobeginswithatrancegenerating loop.Theloopfordaydreamsoftencontainsrememberedele mentsofsight,hearingortouchwithstrongemotionalaffect orfeelings.Whenthisfeelingloophasrepeatedthreeormore timesatranceiscreated.Oftenonecharacteristicoftheday dreamingtranceisthedisablingofshorttermmemory.The subjectiveeffectofdisablingshortterm memory isthatone does not remember the elements of the trance generating loop.Nexttimethatyouareinadaydream,trytoremember whatyoudidtocreatethatdream.Itisagoodexerciseinre enablingyourshorttermmemory. Anotherexampleofameditationtranceoccurswhenevera phraseisrepeatedmentallytooneselfsuchasIhatemyjob, Ihatemyjob,Ihatemyjob!Thistrancegeneratingloopal wayscreatesadissociatedcondition.Thedesiredeffectofthe trancemaybetoreducebodyawarenessortorelievepainas sociatedwithwork. Inaddition,heightenedvisualimagina tioncanenablepowerfantasies,andalsoallowscreativecon structive visualization whichcanhave positive orbeneficial

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effectsforthejob.Anothereffectofthetrancecanbetodis ableshorttermmemoryinwhichcasethereisnoawareness ofthe trancegeneratingloop. Inthislatterconditionone's senseofrealityhasswitchedtothetranceplaneandcanno longerbeconsiderednormal.Itis,infact,consideredtobean alteredstateofconsciousness.16

What is meditation used for?

Meditation usually creates profound feelings of deep relaxationandfeelingsofwellbeingamongthosewhofirstbegin to meditate, if they are taught correctly. Physiologically, meditation trance has been shown to reduce blood pressure, lowergalvanicskinresponse,increaseperipheralbloodflow,and anincreaseorenablingofalpharhythmsinthebrain.

Becauseoftheseeffects,meditationisoftenusedtorelieve stress. Business people, those in competitive sports, or in stressedrelationshipsallcanbenefitfromtheregularpractice ofmeditation. These effects of meditation can be explained as resulting from specific disabled cognitive functions. When the short termmemoryofanger,pain,stressorconflictisdisabled,for example,thereisamediationofmuscletensioninthecardio vascular system whichcanbesubjectively experienced as a profoundsenseofwellbeingordeep relaxation. Bloodpres sureisalsoaffected,andconsequently,healthisoftenaffected inabeneficialway.

16 AtermoriginatedbyCharlesTart.

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Who meditates and why?

Manypeoplemeditateforreligiousreasons.Indeed,medi tation has long been associated with religious practices. Therefore monks and yogis, magicians and witches all use meditation in order to further their aims. But meditation neednotbeassociatedwithreligion:Fundamentallymedita tionisawaytoalterdestiny.

Initiation into Meditation Traditions

In many traditions, a meditation student is first induced intoahypnotictrancebyameditationteacher.Thishypnotic inductiontakesplaceduringinstructionor initiation orreli gious training or through performance of ritual magic. It neednotbeso,butgenerallyitisthisway. Thepurposeof the hypnotic trance is to give a student the experience of trance, and, in so doing, explicitly instruct the student on methodsthatareeffectiveinrecreatingthatsameorasimilar trance.Itmaybethatbecauseoftraditionsofsecrecythat is,tabooandbecauseofalackofknowledgeofthetechnolo gyoftrance,variousextraneoussymbolsandpracticeswere attachedtoreligiousmeditationpractices.Itcouldbeforthis reason that meditation techniques are often identified with somespecificreligiouspractice. Inaddition,the mantrasor zikhr17 orholyprayerswhichareusedaspartofthe trance generatingloop aretriggers topriorideas orconcepts orto emotionallyheavyevents. Initiationstendtobesecretaffairs,surroundedbymystery andsoon.Aspreviouslymentioned,thischaracteristicofini tiationisthetaboopartofthetrance. Itservestoincrease
17 TheSufitermforamantraornameofGodorAllah.

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thewyrdorstrengthofthemeditationtrancebycoveringor obfuscatingthehypnotictrance.Itisabenignsecretinmost cases, but it can also be a future trigger for trance abuse. Somecultswithhiddenagendascaneasilymanipulatethose memberswhogiveuppersonalresponsibilityforachanceto bettertheirownlives. Wordsortriggerstoemotionallyheavymemorieswilltend toengageapersonininternalmentalthoughts,visionsand memories.18 These types of word triggers make it relatively easytoestablishtranceinthosepersonswhoareeasilydrawn intosuchinternalprocesses. Whensuchtriggersarechosen as mantras,itbecomesespeciallyeasytoestablish addictive trances. Withalotofrepetition,isolatedpractice,devotion, and rituals or practices which anchor somatic secondary trancegeneratingloops19thesereligiousaddictivetrancescan becomefixed,narrowandcentricwherethemostimportant thingintheworldisthereligionwitharichrangeofcom pulsiveanddelusionalideas.
Generally, the use of hypnotic trance in order to instruct someone in meditation techniques has a great potential for abuse.Infact,itmaybeusualtointroducefalsecausesduring theinstructionofmeditation.Symbols,picturesandmandalas, smokeandmirrors,singing, chantingandpraying,robes, ritual withespeciallydramaticaffect,allcontributetoanatmosphere or setting in which it becomes easy to associate a specific religioussettingwithaspecifictechniqueofmeditationaswell
18 Jesusdiedforyoursins!isonesuchphrasecontainingtriggerstoguiltand/or familylovestories.Suchloopsarecommoninthemeditationloopsofaddictive trances.SeealsothechapteronAddictiveTrance. 19 Bysomatic,Imeanritualswithalotoftouchingorpaincomponentsorwhatever anchorsatrancetothebody.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/61 asthe entire range of effects of that specific meditation. The actualcontentofaninitiationisoftensurroundedbysecrecyand is part of the taboo of the trance. This hocuspocus works to increase the wyrd which also can result in magical or miraculoushappenings.

Monks,yogisandmagicians Meditationusedbyamonkisoftensimplytherepetitionof oneofthenamesofGod.WhetherGodexistsornotisessen tiallyirrelevant. Frommyperspective,theeffectofmedita tiondoesnotdependonanyspecificsoundorpronunciationor religion20. However,thesoundsthemselveshavesubtleand profoundmeaningswithinatrance,thatis,whenperceived whileinatrance. Thesesubtleeffectscannotbeperceived while in a normal consciousness, so they seem occult or mysterious.Tobetterillustrate:Youmightbeawarethatif youhearadoorclosingwhileawake,youexperienceacertain effect. However, if you are dreaming and you hear a door closing,youmightexperienceashiftofsomesort,butyou wouldnotheartheactualsoundoftheclosingofadoor. Ayogiistraditionallyascientificexplorerofinnerreality. A yogi whopracticesmeditationdoessobecausethespecific effectsofhispracticeareknowntohistradition. Whenthe nameofagod,oranaspectofagod,isusedasthemantrain aspecificmeditationtechnique,itisusedforthesubtleeffects perceivedfromtheperspectiveofthetrance. Thesurfaceor normalsoundofthemantraisnotthepoint.
20 Meditationeffectscanarisefrommanydifferentcombinationsnotallofwhichare known.Forexample,itisdifficulttoprovethataspecificeffectofameditation practiceisuniquelyboundtoaparticularsoundortechniqueandthatitisnot possibletoproducethesamespecificeffectbyanyothermeans.

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Amagicianmaypracticemeditation inordertoclearthe mentalspaceofworldlythoughtsandtofocusconcentration ontheinvoking,banishingorinfluencingofsubtleenergies, intelligencesorspirits.Thesubtleinfluencesofthestarsmay alsobeimportant. Amagicianusesthesamegeneraltech niquesasayogi,exceptthattherearemoretalismans,that is,magically charged objects, potent with the wyrd of prior meditationsandtabootoall. A witch orshamanmaypracticemeditation inmuch the samewaythatamagicianpracticesmeditation.Thedesired effectmaybetoobtaincontrolovernaturalenergiesorspir its,ortoobtainknowledgeofeventsoroccurrenceshappening atadistanceorovertime. Awitchmayuseplantsorele mentssuchasmetalsasobjectsofmeditationinordertoex perience the subtle effects and energies of these materials. Thechemicalorpharmaceuticalpropertiesofaplantarealso subtleandmayhavespecialmeaningforachemistwhoinves tigatesthatknowledgespace. Theinvestigationsofamonk, yogi,magicianorwitchaccessadifferentknowledgespacefor theplant;itisthedifferencebetweenwhatwecallthenor malworldandthedreamworldwhichiscreatedbyatrance.

Practicing Meditation
Whether onehasapureorimpure intent,theactofcre ativeconsciousnessbeginswithconcentration,discrimination andlimitation, theseparation ofconsciousness outofchaos andthecollectionoftheminimumnumberofeffectivemeans toaccomplishanact.Practically,itdoesnotmatterifanyel ementinthe trancegeneratingloop isconsideredeffective, pure,orimpure.Inthebeginning,therearenomagicwords

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thataremoreeffectivethanothers.Itisonlythepureandin nocentactofchoiceordiscriminationwhichisnecessary. So,assumethatyouchosetousethe mantra BoomTek for arbitrary reasons; yet, the act of choosing this specific mantra isitselfanactofdiscriminationandlimitationand furtherconcentratesyourattentiononlyonthesetwosounds foryourtrancegeneratingloop:BoomandTektotheex clusionofallotherthoughtobjects. IfBoomisnotcorrectinsomeultimatesubtlesense,then theprocessofmeditationwillexposetheinappropriateorin correctnatureofthisthoughtobjectelement.Discrimination, choiceandcriticaljudgmentispossibleonlybeforethetrance is created. Once the trance is created, discrimination and critical judgment are suspended; it is no longer possible to knowwhatiscorrectandwhatisnotcorrect. Onegetsthe provisionsintotheboatbeforeleavingtheshore. Onceyou havelefttheshore,youmustliveinpeacewiththeprovisions youstartedoutwith. Onceachoicehasbeenmadeandtherepetitionhasstart ed,anintimateandmutuallysupportiverelationshipbegins withthemantra,anditssubtleeffects. First,achoicemustbemadewhichlimits,focuses,concen tratesordiscriminatesbetweenaspecificmeditationpractice andallotherpractices.Foresotericreasons,asgivenabove, thisisthefirstcriticalchoice. Second,thecontentoftheloopmustbechosen. Thecon tentcanbea mantra,avisionoranyotherformsuchasa feeling,amovementofconsciousness,aphysicalmovement, butitmustbespecificanddefinite. Itshouldnotbealong

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mantra orlongsequence. Longsequencestendtobreakthe limitssetbythefirstcriticalchoice. Third, the practice is started by letting awareness run through the loop. As awareness traverses multiple times, varioussubjectiveexperienceswillbesensed. Thesesubjec tiveexperiencesresultfromthetrance. Fourth,yourattentionandawarenessshouldbekept,foras longaspossibleandascontinuouslyaspossible,onthecon tentoftheloop. Tokeepyourattentionontheloopmeans that onepart of your dissociated awareness (the Witness) mustrecognizewhentheotherpartofyourdissociatedaware ness(theMonkey)21movesawayfromrepetitionoftheloop andbecomes involved inotherinnerattractingexperiences. TheWitnessifitcanenablesomepartofcriticaljudgment can bring the Monkey back to repetition. Because the WitnessalwaysbringstheMonkeybacktotherepetition, thisconstitutes another cognitiveloop andcreates asecond trance. Thisspecificactionsetsupa secondarytranceloop andsuchdoubletrances wouldbetypicallycharacteristic of an addictivetrance form,ifthesecondaryloopwerehypnot ic22.Thisinternaldoubletranceformcreatesastabletrance andenhancesthetrancewyrd.

21 ThetermsWitnessandMonkeyareonlyusedheretodenotethetwoseparateparts ofthedissociatedconsciousness.Thesetermshavealsobeenusedbyyogisto describethesameorsimilaraspectsofthemindduringmeditation,butthe nominativetermsasusedherearenotintendedtohaveanyparticularreligious meaningorcontent. 22 Becausetheloopsdiscussedhereareinternaltheyarenotoftheaddictiveform.If thesecondaryloopwereexternal,itwouldbehypnoticandthecombinedinternal andexternalloopswouldconstitutetheaddictiveform.Playingmusicwhile meditatingisalsohypnotic.

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Startingameditation Sitcomfortablybutnottoocomfortably.Itdoesnothelpto sitinapositioninwhichyouwilleventuallybecomerestlessly uncomfortable, injured, disturbed or pained23. At the same time,itisnothelpfultobeinapositionwhichinducesorpro motes sleep or unconsciousness. The posture you pick for meditation influences which cognitive functions become dis abledfirst. Ifyourpostureistoocomfortable,toorelaxing, you might fall into unconscious sleep. Meditation requires your undistracted attention, and so your attention must be maintainable. Duringthemeditation During any meditation you are bound to have unusual thoughts. Thesethoughtsactuallyoccurwhileyouareina trance.Infact,anythoughtsatall,includingthecognitiveel ementsofthe trancegeneratingloop,occurwithinatrance. Becauseshorttermmemoryfailsinatrance,youmightforget torepeatthemantraorforgetwhatyouaredoing.Assoonas youareawareorrememberthatyouarenotonthebusiness ofthe trancegeneratingloop,thenyoumustverygentlyre turntothecognitiveelementsofthe trancegeneratingloop. Whatisveryimportantisthatyoudonottrytoconcentrate orforcethemindinanyway.Becausetranceisasubtlepro
23 Fakirsmayuseabedofnailsinordertoproduceabodilypainfromwhich meditationwillprovideananesthesia.Becauseoftheexternalaspectofthe secondaryloopbodilypainithasthecharacteristicsofanaddictivetrance. FakirsusepainintheWitnesstoforceamoreregularloopintheMonkey. Thisdoesproduceastrongerwyrd,butattheexpenseofgeneralbodyawareness. Onecanarguethatsuchaddictivetrancesinwhichbodyawarenessbecomeslessdo notleadtoatrueenlightenment,butratherincreasesthedarkpowers.

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cess,itiscriticalthatwhatyoudoinyourheadmustalsobe very,verygentleandsubtle. Generally,theapproachisto have the attention on the content of the trance generating loop,overandoveragain,toexperiencethemostsubtleand finesensationsormeanings fromthiscontent. Ifyouwere touchingarabbitorsilk,youmightbecomeawareoffinerand finertextures,evenenergiesorsensationsofintelligenceand life.Itisthisverygentleandsubtleactionofattentionwhich promotesthebesteffectsofmeditation.Thecontentitselfcan besosubtlethatitdisappearsentirely. Ifthere areexternal noises such as loud bangs, the tele phone ringing, doors slamming, dogs barking, guns firing, carscrashing,peopleshriekingandscreaming,childrencry ing,loversquarrelingandbombsfallingyoumustsimplylet yourattentionbeonthecognitiveelementsofthetrancegen eratingloopwithouttryingtoinfluence,becomecuriousabout ortryingtoavoidtheexternal noises.These noises arepart oflife.Yet,thesubtletiesofmeditationbecomemuchsweeter anddelicateiftherewerenosuchinterruptions. So,ifyou canmanagetomeditateinaquietandpeacefulplacesuchas acemetery,acave,undertheocean,inanabandonedmineor inanisolatedpark,onamountaintoporevenonadistant planet,somuchthebetterforyourmeditationresults. But shortofthoseideals,youwillneedlettheexternalnoisesoc curastheydo. Endingthemeditation Bringingameditationtoanendmeansfirstthatyoustop the trancegenerating loop: stoprepeating the mantra and stopallcognitiveloops.Butthisisnotenough.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/67 Inspiteofthefactthatyoustopthe trancegeneratingloop, thetrancewillpersistforagoodwhilesomeminutes,hoursor evendays,ifyoumeditateformanyhours.So,afteryoustopthe trancegenerating loop,justsitquietly forafewminuteswith youreyesclosed.Thenopenyoureyesandlookaroundforafew seconds. Ifyouopenonly oneeye,thetrance tendsnot tobe interrupted. Thengroundyourself. Thismeanstotouchyour headtotheearth,ortogetyourheadwet(splashwateronyour face).Makealoudnoise,ringabell,bangagong,orclap.The subtleeffectsoftranceareusuallybrokenwithmildshocks;this meansthatfiringagunorartilleryshellisnotusuallynecessary tobreakatrance.

There are some alternate trance generating loops on the physical level which can alter your meditation trance, or whichmayreplaceit.Ifyoudosomeyogaorsomejoggingor some swimming after meditation, you may only succeed in starting other different trances. Be aware that to stop a tranceyoumuststoptheloopwhichgeneratesthetrance,but ifyoustartotherloops,youwillstartothertrances.Inorder topreventtheeffectofconfusion,stoponetrancebeforestart inganother.24 Needless to say, avoid television before, during and after meditation.Itisnohelpatall. Avoidotherpotentiallyaddictivebehaviorsaswell,unless youwishtocreatestrongtrance wyrdsoverwhichyoumay havenocontrol.Specifically,Imean,don'tdrinkorusedrugs withmeditation.

24 Guruswillinsistthataprospectivedisciplecompletelyabandonpriorteachersand teachingsbeforeacceptingthem.

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Effectsyoucanexpect Generally you can expect deep relaxation and increased alertness. Meditation lowers blood pressure and generally promotesahealthynervoussystem. However,youcanalso expect some cognitive functions to remain quiescent for a variableperiodoftimeafterthe trancegeneratingloop has stopped.Thisisanormaleffectofmeditation,anditishelp fultobeawareofit.Youmay,infact,havelessbodyaware ness.Youmayhavedisabledsomeshorttermmemoryfunc tionsandthereforeforgetwhateveritwasthatwasbothering you. Your criticaljudgment maybedisabledforaperiodof timeandyourfeelingofinnerpeacemightallowyoutobe comepersuadedmoreeasily. Likewise,your volitionmaybe disabledandyoumayprefertositandrelaxratherthando anything.Literalismwillbeincreased.Theseareallnormal shortterm effects of meditation, but longterm meditation willincreaseandstabilizetheseeffects.Theeffectofthein crease in literalism, for example, makes a person seem spaceyastheydon'tseemtomakethenormalconnections. Personswhopracticemeditation,withoutknowingwhatthey aredoing,canbeforgetful,lackmotivation,canbeunableto reasonorunderstandcausation(causeandeffect)andareex cessively literal in other words, are space cases. Their symptomsareduetoalackofproperterminationoftrance. Indeed, they might not even know or remember what they werementallyrepeatingtoproducethetrance. Difficultiesinmeditation Ifyouhavedifficultyinmeditation,herearesomewaysto overcomethosedifficulties.

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First,makesureyoustartcorrectlyaccordingtowhichever typeofmeditationyoupractice.Specificphysicalpositionsdo influencewhichcognitivefunctionsbecomedisabledfirst. Second,don'thaveanyexpectations.Anexpectationisfu ture pacing and requires enhanced inner mental imagery. Youcanthinkofthisasanothertrance.Itwillinterferewith yourmeditation. Third,asyoumeditate,itisquitelikelythatyouwillexpe rience disabled cognitive functions, and these will result in boredom,forgettingwhatyouaredoing,beingunabletode cide,tunnelvision,andsoon.Thisisnormal.Theseareindi cators that you are meditating correctly up to that point. Wheninthesedisabledcognitivestates,restartorcontinue yourmeditation. This makes a secondtrance andhelps to stabilizethefirsttrance. Fourth,disturbingthoughts,nomatterwhattheyare,need tobepassivelyignored.Staywithyourmeditation. Fifth,terminateyourmeditationproperly. Theseguidelineswillsolvemostdifficultiesinmeditation. Becausecriticaljudgmentissuspendedduringameditation trance,outsideinfluencescanhaveapowerfuleffectonyou. Reducing the possibility of outside influences can only aid meditation. Makingsuggestions Meditationopensonetotheinfluenceofsuggestionbecause of the suspension of critical judgment and other cognitive functions.Makingsuggestionstoyourself,mentally,orallow ingameditationleader(guru?)tospeaktoyouwhileyouare

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openanduncriticalmaybeacceptableforsomepeople. But unless such gurus are skilled in hypnotic suggestion tech niquesandhavebeenproventohavenonefariousorhidden agendas,awisepathforyourselfwouldbetoavoidsituations inwhichanyonespeaksorattemptssuggestionseitherduring or after your meditation period. Resist the attraction you mighthavetoallowsomeoneelsetosuggestthatyougodeep erintoameditationtrance.Thatishypnosis;youwouldopen anuncriticalchannelbyallowinganyonetomakeverbalsug gestions duringyour meditation. Letgo and letGod is a particularlyviciousformoftranceabuse,leadingtovictimiza tionandexploitationbycultleaders.25Theproblemwiththis particularmantraisthatitissononspecificthatitencour ages abandonment ofpersonal responsibility. For example, whynotjustcloseyoureyes,walkacrossthefreewayatnight, LetgoandletGod?Whynotconsumethatfifthofwhiskey before driving across country? Why not take a sexual risk withsomeoneyouknowisinfectious?Whynotletyourpastor orpreachertellyouhowtorunyourlife?LetgoandletGod issovagueitopensasuggestiblepersontoaPandora'sBoxof dangers. Practicalmeditation:mantra Inducing a meditation trance is something you must do yourself. Thatis,thelimitationofattentionandtherepeti tionofasequence(itneednotbeamantra)aretheonlycriti calconditions.Whatisimportantistobeabletodistinguish betweena meditationtrance whichisatechniqueyoudo
25 Theunspokenassumptionisthatthehypnotist(priest)isorbecomestheinterpreter ofGodorGod'sWord.Becareful.

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yourself,andahypnotictrancewhichisatechniquesome onedoesforyouortoyou. Autogenic training or selfhypnosis in which the primary responsibilityremainswiththesolitarypractitionerisproba blyasaferwaytoinduceameditationtrancethanallowinga meditationguideinduceahypnotictranceasaguidedmedi tation. Whengroupsofpractitionersof meditation cometo gethertoenjoyagroupmeditation,oneshouldbealertofthe potentialfora meditationtrance tobasicallydegradeintoa hypnotic trance, and with the concomitant possibilities of tranceabusetakingplace. Onespecifictechniqueformeditationtranceinductiongoes like this: Use the mantra Shirim. Close your eyes, wait aboutahalfaminute,andthenstartsilentlyrepeatingthe mantra over and over again. Eventually you will become boredandmayevenforgettorepeatthemantra.Thismeans thattheresidual awareness inthedissociatedplaneisofa higherenergythanthetrancegeneratingloopwhichconsists ofthemantra.Thisisnormalandsimplymeansyouarego ingintoatrance.Whenyouareawarethatyouhaveforgot tentorepeatthemantra,immediatelygobacktothemantra. Thissetsupasecondarytrancegeneratingloopfromyourdis sociatedstatebacktotheprimarytrancegeneratingloop(the mantra). Another important point is to remember the mantra ratherthanmentallyrepeatingitclearly. Rememberingthe mantra invokestheresidual awareness component,andthis willhelpyoutoremaininthedissociatedtranceplane.Hear ingthe mantra faintlyisalsoatechnique for retaining the dissociativestate.

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Thoughtswhichoccurdosowhileyouareinadissociated state. Neverthinkyouarejustthinkingorthatyourcon sciousness is normal. It's not. You are dissociated, and thereforesomeofyourcognitivefacultiesaredisabled. Mantrasarenottheonlyvehiclesforinducingameditation trance. However,ifyouwouldlikealistof mantrastouse, you can use any of the following short list, but there are many,manymorefromthereligiousandnonreligioustradi tionsoftheworld26: Eng,Em,Enga,Aing,Aim,Ainga,Aima,Shiring,Shirim, Hiring,Hirim,Kiring,Kirim,Sham,Shama,Ing,Im,Shia ma,OmManePadmeHum,YaAli,Hu,HareKaliOm,Jai Ram,HareOm, OmNamaShivaya,Yaweh,ShriShri Aing AingNamahNamah,Money,Love,Sex,Health,Happiness, Power,Peace,AllahHu. Practicalmeditation:usingthebreath Besides using any of the five senses as vehicles for the trancegeneratingloop,youcanalsousesomatic awareness suchaswatchingyourownbreath.Thistechniqueispopular amongBuddhists,forexample.Again,thetrancegenerating loopisthebreathitself:theinhalation,theretention,theex halation.Thedissociatedtranceplaneoccurswhenyouforget towatchyour breath. Thenyoushouldgentlyrememberto watch your breathing. This will establish the secondary trancegeneratingloop.
Breathing suffuses oxygen throughout your body and eliminatescarbondioxide(CO2)fromit.Hence,inhalationand
26 Justlookthemupontheinternet.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/73 exhalationexchangesshouldhaveequalvolumesofoxygenand CO2.

Practicalmeditation:usingvisualization Othermeditationtechniques,suchasvisualization,willbe effective,aswell.Youcanactivelyvisualizeafaceorasym bol(acircle,across,astar,thenumber9,the mantra Hu) andwhenthesymbolfadesandyoubecomeawarethatithas faded,youreconstructitagainmentally.Thisisbasicallyof thesameformasthetechniquedescribedearlieraboveusing mantrasorwatchingyourbreath.Again,thetrancegenerat ingloop doesnotneedtobeamantra oravisualization and theactualcontentoftheloopdoesnotneedtobereligious.It alsocanevenbepolitical,oremotionalorfinancial. Elaboratementalvisualizationscanbeconstructedtocre ate trance. For example, you might imagine a vivid jungle scene with a stream nearby, and a small cottage in which livesawiseoldman27whoinvitesyoutositoutsidewhileyou askhimvariousquestions.Thisvisualizationcanbearitual inwhichthereisarepetitionoftheentireimageandaction withinthat image. Therepetition itselfcreates thetrance. Thecontent modifies the cognitive functions by acting as a subtlesuggestionwithinthetrance.Toexplainfurthersoyou gettheidea:Astreamofwaterwillbecoolingandpurifying soyoucan forget yourguilt orproblems. Acottage willbe warmandcomfortingsoyoucan relax. Thewiseoldmanis anauthorityfiguretotellsyouwhattodosoyoucan trust
27 Sometraditionssuggestthatnopersonbevisualizedinordertopreventexploitation bycultists.Iwouldbecomehighlysuspiciousofanyvisualizationtechnique promotedbyagroupinwhichaspecificguru,holymanorteacherwerevisualized.

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and follow. Althoughtheseimpliedimagesneednotbeex plicitlymade,theyunfoldthemselveswhileyoumeditateand theyhaveaneffectonwhatkindsofimagesyourmindwill createforyou. Mandalas Asfortheuseof mandalas whetherTibetan,Mayanor Sufiincontemplationormeditationthesametranceanaly sisapplies.Therepetitioncreatesadissociatedtranceplane andconsequent disabling of some cognitive functions. This alsowouldbeclassifiedasahypnotictrancesincepartofthe loopisoutside. Itisonlywhentheentireloopisinside thatitisa meditationtrance. However,some mandalas are only usedasteachingaid. Duringtheteachingprocess,the typeoftranceishypnotic.But,afterthestudentknowsand hasavividimageofwhatthemandalalookslike,thenitmay bevisualizedinternally. Thenitisa meditationtrance and nolongerahypnotictrance.Differenttraditionshavediffer enttechniques. Practicalmeditation:movementofawareness Other meditationtrancetechniquesinvolvewhatmightbe calledmovementof awarenesswhereyouplaceyourinner awareness on the chakras28 and move this awareness from chakratochakra.Asyoudothis,youcanassociatewitheach chakra,amantra,acolor,asmell,andsoon29.Youmayinte grateaparticularbodymovementwithyourinnerawareness asyourawarenessmovesalongyourspine,orusingvisual
28 Achakraisacenterofenergyinthebody. 29 Combiningdifferentsensemodalitiesisawayofdeepeningatrance.

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izationthroughoutthefarreachesofthecosmos.Elaborate meditation trance techniques such as these are popular amongtheTibetansandSufisandwerepracticedbyancient civilizationsaswell.Again,thetrancegeneratingloopinthis techniqueconsistsofeachpointofyourawareness.Thecon tentisnotsoimportantforthecreationofthetrance,butthe factthatthecontentisrepeatediscritical.Whatisimportant aboutcontentistorealizethatwhenthedissociationoccurs, the content will then act as a suggestion. The suggestion neednotbeverbalitcanbevisual,sensorybutwhenitis repeatedoftenenoughforlongperiodsoftimeitwillpotenti atethetrancewyrd. Onemeditationtechniqueistoplace Om atthecrownof the head, then move your awareness to the space between youreyebrowsandplace Na there. Thenmoveyour aware ness to your throat and place Ma there. Then move your awarenesstoyourheartareaandplaceShithere.Thenmove your awareness tojustbelowyourbellybuttonandplace Va there.Thenmoveyourawarenesstoyourgenitalsandplace Ya there. Thenmoveyour awareness toyouranalareaand place Om there. Ifyouhaveamalaofbeads,itisgoodto countonebead.Forbeginners,thistakessomeeffortbecause thetrancetendstobreak.Then,moveyourawarenessrather rapidlyandlightlybackwards,touchingthepointsinthere versedirection OmYaVaShiMaNaOm. Resttherefora second,andstartoveragain. Another meditation involves imagining a light blue rain fallingonyouandwashingallsortsofimpuritiesanddisease

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outofyourbody,mindandsoulbackintotheearth30.There aremanyothervariations. Practicalmeditation:ThePentagram Afinalformofmeditationinvolvingthemovementofcon sciousnessisdonewiththeformofapentagram(afivepoint edstar).Thepentagramisanancientsymbol.31 Ithasbeen associatedwith pagans,Christians, Ishtar, Satan (onlysince mid20thcentury),witches,theplanetVenus,andthemathe maticalvaluefortheGoldenMean,Phior.Oneformofthe meditationisdoneasfollows: First,placeyourawarenessatthecrownofyourhead,and thenmoveyourawarenesstoyourleftfoot.Then,fromyour left foot, move your awareness to your right hand. From there, move your awareness to your left hand. Then, from yourlefthand,moveyourawarenesstoyourrightfoot.Final ly,moveyourawarenesstothecrownofyourhead.Ifyouare standing,withyourlegsapartandyourhandsoutstretchedto yoursides,shoulderheight,youwillhavemadetheformofa pentagram. Makethecornerssharp;atleastdon'tcutcor ners. This entire movement is one loop. It will create a tranceafterafewrepetitions. Secondly,asyoudothisloop,youwillprobablyspaceoutor losetrackofwhereyouare.Thisisbecauseyouaredissociat edandthusshorttermmemoryaswellascriticaljudgment fail. Assoonasyourealizethatyouhavelostit,orspaced out,thengobacktothefirstloop.Thismakesthesecondloop
30 ThisisapurportedEgyptiansufimeditationtechniquefromJ.G.Bennett. 31 Thepentagramhasbeenusedatleastsince3500B.C.E.

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ofthispractice,connectingtheresultofthetrancewiththe cause. Thirdly,asyoudiscovertheeffectsofthismeditation,con necttheeffectsofthefirsttwoloopswiththefirstinnerloop. Thiswillconstituteathirdloopandwill increase thewyrd considerablyifyoupersistindoingthismeditationeveryday forsomeweeks. There are many variations possible with this meditation, including changing the size of the pentagram, associating eachpointwithanenergy,andsoon. An appreciation of Hermetic philosophical principles may lead you to contemplate how this pentagram meditation is connectedtouniversalconsciousness. Practicalmeditation:ritualcombinations Effectiveritualbeginswithestablishingatrance.Whatev erthe ritual intentis,trancecreatesthe cognitivefunctions neededforeffectivepracticeanddisablesthosecognitivefunc tionswhichinterferewithritualpurposes. Inasense,meditationisamagicalactwhichmustbedone manytimestoincreasethewyrd.Inaddition,justaspractice isneededtoseewhileinatrance,tohearwhileinatrance,to think and to perceive clearly while in a trance, practice is neededtomovewhileinatrance,todrawamagiccirclewhile inatrance,tochantwhileinatrance,tobanishandinvoke whileinatrance.Thisishowritualismadeeffective. Inthemovementofawareness,anattemptismadetomove a bead while in a somewhat complicated trance generating loop.Thissimpleactitselfforbeginnersisnearlyimpossible

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todowithoutbreakingthetrance. Practicemakesiteasier. Ritualcombinationstakesitagiantstepfurther.Ritualcom binationsrequirethatcomplicatedsequencesofphysicalac tiontakeplacewhileoneisentirelyintrance. Considerable skillintranceisneededtoaccomplishthis.

Nevertheless, one first meditates for some time in order to establishadeeptrance.Whileinthetrance,onecanperforman establishedritualinvolvingmovement,andperhapschantingas well.Becauseofthenatureoftrance,thesubjectiverealitywill appeardifferenttoagreaterorlesserdegreethantheordinary reality.Youcan,ofcourse,dancewhileinatrance.Sometrance dancerstosstheheadbackasatriggertoinduceatrance.

As in all ritual combinations of trance, a subtle balance mustbemaintainedinorderforthetrancenottobebroken duringthephysicalactivityoftheritual.Thisbalancewillal lowfortheaccumulationoftrancewyrdenergies. Strongtrancewyrdsoftendonotsubjectivelyfeelstrong.It issomethinglikebeinginaspeedingjetplane:oneisnotpar ticularlyawareofthehighspeedatwhichoneistraveling. Likewise,strongtrancewyrdsmanifestasachangeininter nal reality which appears perfectly normal. Strong trance wyrdscanbemoreeasilydetectedbythosewhoarenotina tranceandwhowatchyouperform the ritual;itsometimes happensthatthereareunusualvisualorothereffects. Ifyouareawitch,magicianorpriest,andyouwishtomake an effective ritual, every act must be done at least three times; preferably seven times. For example, drawing the magiccircleshouldbedoneseventimes.Banishingshouldbe done seven times; invoking seven times, etc. If only done once,whatdistinguishesamagicalactfromanordinaryact?

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Repetitionwillincreasethetrancewyrdsubstantially,sorep etitionisessentialforanyritual. Attheconclusionofaritualtheremustbeanabsolute,res oluteanddefiniteendtothe ritual,aswellastothetrance, which essentially means terminating all trance generating loops. Groundingandreestablishingthepriorstate ofcon sciousness is another form of balance which releases the trancewyrdinaneffectiveway. Failingtoreleasethetrancewyrdcanresultintrancelings andapparentlycompulsiveandpathologicalbehaviorsoroth er addictive effects. Such uncontrolled trancelings left un grounded arenot pleasant andhence result inanimpover ished condition. Tobe sure, ungrounded trancelings might makeyoufeelhighortrippyandspacedout,buttheyinter fere with efficiency, cause mistakes and big problems. Groundingtrancelingswilldistinguishthemagicianfromthe fool. MixedformsofMeditation
Mostpracticalformsofmeditationareactuallymultipleloops, that is, they are complex meditation trance forms. So, for example,youstartwithasinglementalloop.Whenthattrance has started, you start another loop perhaps a visualization. Then,foreachelementofthe visualization,youmentallystart anothermeditationloopateachchakra.Additionally,theloops which are used to deepen a trance actually make the trance morecomplex. Asyouwillseelater,thesecomplexformscan alsobecomehypnoticandaddictivetranceforms.

Bynowyoushouldhavethefeelingthatalthoughthemod elfortranceisrathersimple,thepractical implications are

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rather vast. The other important fact is that meditating takestime.Youhavetoactuallysitdownanddoapractice, sometimesforyears,inordertoreapthebenefitsortofigure outwhattheactualeffectsare.Therearemanyreasonsnot tomeditate. Oneofthebigreasonsistheresistancewhich your own mind will create. There is not enough time; the phoneisringing; Ihaveascreamingchild;Ineedto work, andsoon.Meditationcanbepowerfullyboringoritcanbea richsourceofmentaldistractionbyirritatingthoughtswhich worktodiscourageallbutthemostdetermined. Also,there arethousandsofformsofmeditation;limitedtimeformedita tion,andso,whichformwillbethemostefficientforapartic ularneed? Inaddition,ofthethousandsofformsofmedita tion, some forms are potentially dangerous or can produce onlyconfusionanddelusion.Howdoestheminddiscriminate betweentheformswhichproducetheresultsyouwantfrom theformswhichproducenogoodend? You must look for the effects of meditation inyour daily life,notnecessarilyduringthetimethatyouaremeditating. Also,effectscanbeverysubtle.
Exercises 1. Daydream trances consist of trance generating loops in which the cognitive objects are feelings. Using in turn, the emotions of love, hope and fear, invent three different trance generatingloopsusingimagesormemoriesfromyourownlife, andpracticeeachoneforamaximumoftenminutesonthree separatedays.Recordyourexperiences. 2. Use the traditional Om Nama Shivaya Om but imagine placingeachsyllableonachakra. Omisatthetopofthehead;

THEWAYOFTRANCE/81 Naatthespacebetweentheeyebrows;Maatthethroat;Shiat theheart; Va atthenavel; Ya atthegenitals; Om atthespace betweenthegenitalsandtheanus. Thenrepeatitbackwards, moving your awareness back to the top of your head. This counts as one repetition. Do this 108 times. What did you notice? 3. Using your experience from Exercise 2, take one deep breath ateach chakra sothatyourexhalationendswhenyour consciousnessisstillfixedonthe chakra. Again,whatdidyou notice?

4. UsingyourexperiencefromExercise2,andholdinga mala32 of108beads,countonebeadforeachfullrepetition. Dothis108times.Whatdidyounotice? 5.Whataretheeffectsofthepentagrammeditation?Does itaffectyourdreamawareness,forexample?Isthiseffectre latedtothesharpnessofthepointsofthe pentagram? Why orwhynot?
Questions 1.Explainthe"relaxationresponse"withtrancetheory. 2.PickanycomplexTibetanmeditationpracticeandidentify theloops.Howdoeseachidentifiedloopaffectthetrancewyrd?

32 AmalaisatraditionalIndianrosary,usuallyconsistingofrudrakshseeds(formen) orsandlewoodbeads(forwomen).

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Hypnosis

Do you need a guide?

Ahypnotictranceisatranceconsistingoftwotrancegener atingloops(TGL).Inthefirstloop,partofthecontentisex ternaltothepersonbeinghypnotized. Thisisthelooptypi callycontrolledbythehypnotist. Thecontentofthesecond loopisinternaltothepersonbeinghypnotized. Thissecond TGLproducesameditationtrance.Thesetwoloopstogether constitutethesimplestformofhypnotictrance. Hypnotic trances withmultipleinternal orexternal loops arecomplexhypnotictrances. Ifoneormoreoftheinternal meditation loops is connected with the content of the first loop,thetrancewillbestrengthened.Ahypnotistwilltryto createacomplexhypnotictrancebecausethegoal,generally, istocreateastronghypnotictrance. Practically,thewaya hypnotist will dothis is with metaphorical allusion, that is withwordswhichinternallyengagethepersonbeinghypno tized. Deeporstronghypnotictrancesalwayshavetertiaryloops whichhelpturnthehypnotictranceintoanaddictivetrance.

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Theseformsofdeephypnotictrance,likeanaddictivetrance, areassociatedwithcompulsivebehaviorsandpersonalitydis orders. Thedistinguishingcharacteristicofhypnosisisthatoneof thecognitive loops is external. If this external loop exists, thenthetranceishypnotic,bydefinition.Allformsoftrance, as I have indicated earlier, arecreated bya cognitive loop, andeveryrepeated cognitiveloop willeventually produce a trance.Atranceisaformofdissociationinwhichavarietyof specific cognitivefunctionsaredisabledoraltered. Thespe cificsetofaffectedcognitivefunctionsandtheorderinwhich theybecomedisabledoraltereddeterminetheflavorofthe trancewhetheritisdeep,light,etc. The most important cognitive function to be disabled for hypnosistooccuriscriticaljudgment.Oncecriticaljudgment isdisabled,onebecomessuggestible.Therearemanywaysto disablecriticaljudgmentandtherepetitionofacognitiveloop isonlyoneoftheways.Ifyourattentionisdivertedorfasci natedbyanything,orinvolvedina memory, fear orfantasy, thenyourcriticaljudgmentisprobablydisabledjustenough foryoutobecomesuggestible. Inalaterchapter,Iwilldis cusselectronic,microwave,andultrasonicformsofhypnotic tranceinductionwhichsimplybypassyour critical judgment sinceyoucannotevenhearthesuggestions. Thedefining characteristic of ameditation trance is that youcreatethetranceloopanditstaysinsideyourownmind. Thisisdifferentfromahypnotictrance.Thedefiningcharac teristicofahypnotictranceisthatahypnotistcreatesanex ternaltranceloopwhichsupportsthecreationofaninternal

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trance loop. Both loops together create the condition for a hypnotictrancetooccur. Inthepriorchapterwelearnedthatwithmeditation,the cognitiveloopremainswhollyinyourmind.Butwithhypno sisapartofthatloopisoutsideofyourmind.And,usually, thehypnotistisprovidingthecontentofthatloopintheform ofwords,rhythmsorimages.Thepartoftheloop,whichisin your mind, is often a meditative form, especially when you dissociate. No one usually knows what the content of the meditationloopisnoteventhehypnotist.Thecontentmay besuggested,ofcourse,butthesubjectmayreallybeinter nallyinvolvedinrepeatedfantasiesofsomesorttoblockout thehypnotist.Thisblockingwillheightensuggestibilityand makehypnoticcommandsmoreeffective. Hypnosis is quite common, according this definition. If someonesingsasongtoyouandrepeatsitthesongcan becomepartofanexternalcognitiveloopcreatingahypnotic trance. Lullabies arehypnoticforthisreason. Soarereli giouschants. Thesingsongofasalesmanwillbecomehyp notic,aswell,ifrepeatedenough. Tobemorespecific,whatisdoneinordertoproducebasic hypnosisistofirststartwithasimplecognitiveloop,thatis, arepeatingsetofwords,sounds,feelings,orimages. Itcan alsobewhathypnotistscallthehypnoticvoice,asoothing, monotonous,singsong,rhythmicalwayofdeliveringacom mandsuchasYouarefeelingveryrelaxedandsleepy,for example.Certaintypesofpreachershavedevelopedthisway ofspeaking.Somepoliticianshavealsoperfectedthehypnot ic voice. And, of course, master salesmen, hustlers, con

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artists,flimflammen,gypsiesandmanyothersincluding hypnotistsallusethehypnoticvoice. Thehypnoticvoicesetsuparhythmwhichismoreorless content free33. That is, it need not have any specific com mands, but it is the repetition itself which is the cause of trance.Repeatedcommandsgivenwithoutthehypnoticvoice will alsoinduce a hypnotic trance. So, technically, whena hypnotic voice is combined with repeated commands, you have two cognitive loops, each of which produces a trance. Therhythmiccrashingofwavesontheshore,thechirpingof birds,etc.alsoproduceahypnotictrance. However,asyou have learned fromearlier chapters, trances areadditive, so whenyouhavetwotrances,thetrance wyrd becomesmuch stronger. ThecontentofcommandssuchasYoucannotfeelyour rightarmcreatesspecificeffects.Thefirstfewtimesitis repeated, the subject may mentally criticize or block it34. However,iftherepetitioncontinuesforsometime,thesubject will start a trance. The trance will be felt subjectively as boredom,orevenanger.Buttheeffectisthesame.Alight, dissociatedconditionoccursinwhichthesubjectsawareness seemsnormal,butwhichhasadisabled cognitivefunction thatof critical judgment. Thedisablingof critical judgment meansthatlittleornocriticalattentionispaidtothecontent ofacommand.When critical judgment isdisabled,thatand thatalone,producessuggestibility.

33 Becauseatranceisstartedbyrepetitionalone,evenatickingclock,whichhasno commandcontent,caninduceahypnotictrance. 34 Thishasthesameeffectascreatingataboo,i.e.asecretcovering.

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Another effective way to disable critical judgment is throughshockorfear. Fearsetsintomotionafightorflight responseandaninternaldialogastowhattodonext.Flight orfight?Maybethereisnothingyoucando,andinthishelp less state your critical judgment simply does not work any more.Thenthepersonmakingthethreatcangiveyouacom mandsuchasPutyourhandsupandturnaround!orGive me your wallet! or Obey your Leader! and doubtless you willcomply. Moresubtleorcontinuousthreatsoruncertaintiescanhave the effect of decreasing communication, social cohesion and cooperation,asadefenseagainstfear.Whathappens?First, paranoiaandsuspicioncauseadecreaseinsocialcommunica tionbecauseofthedoubtofwhomightbetrustworthy.And thenanincreaseinanger,despair,andcynicismresults.Sec ondly,fantasieshavingviolentcontentincrease.Sometimes, theviolentfantasiesareactedupon.Thirdly,socialortribal defensesystemsbegintoform. Thesemaymanifestasmili tias,mutualdefensegroups orothertypesofmilitarizedor politicalresistance.Finally,feareithercontinuestoperpetu ateitselforpeoplerediscoveracommonhumanityinwhich love vanquishes fear, and critical judgment becomes reen abled.

Creating an hypnotic trance

Repetitionisthekey.Repeatsuggestionsandthentestthem. Then add additional trance inducing loops with more suggestionsandthentestthem.Eachsuggestionshouldaskfor more cooperation while adding to the loops that have already started. Thinkofbuilding astructure with loopsand making

THEWAYOFTRANCE/87 each loop stronger and stronger. It is important to make secondaryloopsinordertoincreasethewyrd,whichatthesame time disables various cognitive functions. For example, a suggestion like Whenever you want to move your arm, you cannot,setsupasecondaryloopwhichoverthelongterm increases the wyrd. Whenever a hypnotist can create intense inner involvement with complex trance inducing loops the resultinghypnotictrancewillbedeepandsuccessful.

The disabled cognitive functions

Withrespecttohypnotictrances,thefirstdisabledcogni tivefunctionseemstobetheego.Thatis,thesubjectivefeel ingisthatonebecomesawitnesstothehypnosis.Thatisal readyatrance,butthetranceneedstobecomedeeper.Asec ondcommonsubjectivesensationisthatonefeelsbored,espe ciallywhenthereislotsofrepetition!Atsomepointintime, afterbeingawitnessandbeingboredforawhile,onecaneasi lybecomeinvolvedinonesinnerstateorinvolvedwithanin ternalfantasyofsomesort.Whynot?Andhowmucheasier itiswhenyouevenhaveboththeencouragementandpermis sionofthehypnotist!Whynotjustignorethehypnotistalto getherandgetinvolvedwiththatinnerfantasy?
The next thing which happens is that you forget what you weredoingorhowyougotthere.Itisyourshorttermmemory whichisfailing.Itdoesntmattertoyoubecauseyoustillhave yourinnerfantasy. Afterthat,your critical judgment becomes wobbly, becomes suspended, and that doesnt matter either becauseyoucanjustlistentothehypnotist,ornot. Helltake careofeverything...andthereyouareinatrance.

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You might also feel a narrowing of awareness as though youwereenteringatunnel.Somepeoplefeelakindofpres sure,abinding,arestraintofsomesort.Ifyoutrustthehyp notist,thisfeelingcanbequitecomfortableandreassuring, allowingyoutogoevendeeperintoatrance. Youareconscious,ofcourse,anditseemsthatyouarein yourrightmind. But,unfortunately,thatisnottrue. You areinoneormoretrances,andthehypnotistmerelyhasto makethesuggestionthatyouarestuckinthetranceandthat anyefforttogetoutofthetranceonlyleadsyoudeeper.This isatertiarytranceloopwhichincreasesthetrancedepthand thewyrdtranceforce. Increasing the tension or emotional involvement through fear orpainordisgustwillalsodeepenthehypnotictrance. Thesubjectmaywanttoescape,butcannot;andthusactually preferstogoevendeeperintotranceandignorethehypno tist.Thisalsosetsupthetertiaryloopinwhichthemoreyou wanttostop,thelessyouareable,andthemoreyougodeep erintotrance. Somehypnoticstrategies usedisgust orhumor toengage theinnercritic.Themoredisgustingorfunnyorimmoralthe wordsoractsofthehypnotistare,themoreyouthinkthathe isanidiot.Andyet,youcontinueinyourtrance,youdonot stophim,youdonotcomplain,andyouignorehim. Impor tantly, you do not break the trance or resist in any way. Maybeyoueventhinkthatheisfunny.Yourcynicalattitude merelyplaysintothetrancedeepeningprocess.Hasthisever happenedtoyou? Itisacommontechnique usedbysales men,conartists,politiciansandevenpriests.Youmighteven thinkthatthehypnotisthasasortofcharisma. Yet,ifyou

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analyzethetrance,youcandiscoverthatherepeatedlyen courages inner involvement and suspension of critical judg mentessentiallytheconditionsforatrance.

The Wyrd
Ahypnotictrancebecomesastrongtrancewhenthereare multipletrancegeneratingloops.Thatis,multipleloopscre atemultipletrance wyrds,whichareadditiveineffect. The sumeffectofmultiplewyrdsisastrongertrance. Thismeansthatifahypnotistusesonlyonetypeofloop, thetranceproducedwillbeverylightandeasilybroken.Gen erally,hypnotictrancesconsistofmultipletrancegenerating loopsinordertoproduceastrongordeeptrance. However, simpleonelooptrancesareeasytocreateandcanalsobeef fectivecarriersofsuggestionwiththerightsubject. InNeuroLinguisticProgrammingorNLP,hypnotherapists speakofdifferentmodalities,thatis,usingwordsassociat edwithdifferentphysicalsenses.Theyassertthatitisthe simultaneous use of different modalities which produces strongtrance. TheTranceModelmakestheanalysissome whatdifferently. Eachmodalityorsensehasastrongcohe sivenessofassociation.Theassociativecontentsofeachsense do not overlap except metaphorically. So, when different senses areusedsimultaneouslythecohesiveness ofassocia tion is lowereddramatically resulting in an increase inthe wyrd.Whenaloopisusedinthatcontext,atranceiscertain toresult.
Extendingthisideafurther,usingwordswhichareassociated with trance trigger words, for example, or any words which invokedifferent cognitivefunctions willresultinastronger

90/DENNISR.WIER wyrd. IfIwriteahypnoticscriptwhichuses memory,sensory stimulation and arithmetic processing Iwill certainly create a strong hypnotic trance. For example, I might say: As you remember to listen to my voice, you will feel more and more relaxed asIcount forward from 100 to 1. If I repeated that phrase100times,youdoubtlesswouldhaveacompulsivefeeling ofrelaxation.ButifIcalculatethewyrdofthatformula,Imust also take into consideration the wyrd components of the individual words: remember, listen, feel, count, and the arithmeticprocessingof100,99,98,96,25,14,79andsoon.In addition, the contradictory statement of counting forward insteadofbackwardrequiresasuspensionof critical judgment in order for it to make sense. The use of contradictions and illogicinhypnoticscriptingalsoincreasesthe wyrdbyintent. So,thewaytoinducehypnotictranceistochoosecontentwhich increases the wyrd while employing repetition of cognitive objects.

Forexample,ahypnotistmightrefertothatterribleacci dentorthattimethecriminalputapun35toyourheador whenyouimaginehimrapingyouoverandoverthesere peatedimages stimulatecuriosity, incredulity, fear anddis gustbutrepeatingsuchhighlyconnotativeandfearfulimages helpstodrivethelistenerintoadeeptrance.Televisionim agesalsoareusedinthesameway. Itisliketheenchant mentofablackmagician.Withtime,wheneversuchimages areusedastriggers,atranceresultsenablinguncriticalac ceptanceoflimitedchoices.Youmayeasilyfindexamplesof this: 911, 911, 911! Terrorist! Terrorist! Terrorist! There.Illbetyourefeelingbetteralreadyknowinghoweasy itistoputyouintoatrance. Findsomemoreexamplesin
35 punnotgunwhichcausesadditionalcognitiveoverload.

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yourlifeanddiscovertheloops,thetaboos,andthedisabled cognitive functions, and you will begin to end the enchant ment. DisablingCriticalJudgment Ifyouareahypnotist,youwillwanttodisablecriticaljudg mentassoonandasrapidlyaspossiblesothatyourclientor targetwillnotbeabletocriticallythinkaboutthenonsense youarefeedingthem.Onewaytodothisistomakeverylong sentenceswithembeddedcommandsconnectedbywords suchasand,while,because,asyou,etc.Itisnotneces sarythateachpartofthesentencemakeanysensewhatsoev erinrelationtootherpartsofthesentence. Why? Because youwantyourclientortargettogetoverwhelmedbytryingto makesenseofyoursentenceandtofinallygiveup,thatis,to disable his/her critical judgment so that s/he becomes sug gestible like a good hypnotic subject. In other words, you musttalksympathetically,butalmostlikeanidiot,apsychot icorpatheticfool. Peoplewillneedtosuspendtheir critical judgment totrytofigureoutwhatthehellyouarebabbling about.Panhandlers,shysters,conartists,criminalsandpres identshavesuccessfullyusedthisspecifichypnotictechnique. Technically,whatisbeingdoneistocreateacognitiveobject system with low cohesiveness of association so that critical judgmentisdefeated.Andthentostrengthenthetotaltrance wyrdbycreatingmultipletrancesusingmultipleloops(repe tition).Doneinasubtle,artisticmanner,thismethodofhyp noticinductionispowerful,irresistible,andseductive.

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Triggerwords Therearesomewordswhichhavearelativelylowcohesive nessofassociation.Thatis,ifIaskedyouwhatdoesmother meantoyou,youmightneedtothinkforseveralsecondsbe foreyouanswered. IfIaskedyouaboutsomeotherwords, suchasshoe,apple,orsunshineitmighttakeyouless timethanformother. Alowcohesivenessofassociationis reflectedinthehighresponsedelaytimeforanyword.That is,ifawordhasveryfewassociations,isnotabstractoremo tionallycharged,thenitmeansperhapsonespecificthingand not several. It takes us fewer seconds to come up with a meaning, so it has a high cohesiveness of association. It might not matter how frequently that word repeats in our consciousness,orisassociatedwithotherwords. Therearemanyotherwordsthathavearelativelyhigher responsedelay,suchasremember,imagine,special,de serve,longagoetc.Thesewordshavealongerassociation delaythanotherwords.Somewordshaveaspecialmeaning butarestillnonspecificenoughsothattheassociationdelay tends to be longer. Such words as freedom, democracy, terrorist,love,andpatriotcometomind. Thesewords havealowcohesivenessofassociationandnearlyalwaysre sultinahigherassociativeresponsedelaytime.Whenthese wordsareusedbyahypnotist,thesubjecttendstospaceout intryingtoimaginewhatonearththehypnotistcouldmean. Spacing out means suspending critical judgment, thinking metaphorically,orengaginginnerinvolvementjustenoughso thatyoubecomealittlemoresuggestible. Then,Gotcha! A hypnotistcantakeadvantageofthisbriefsecondthatyouare

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spacedoutandweaveinacommandorenhancethedissocia tionwithaloop. Thehighassociativedelaywordswhichcausedissociation couldbecalledtriggerwords;buttheyarenotexactlythe sameasthetrainedsignalwordsahypnotistmightusetoin vokeatrance,butthetheoreticalstructureisthesameinthe sensethat,whenused,theyincreasethewyrd. A trance is created by cognitive loops, not trigger words. Butatrancecanbeassociatedwithatouch,pressure,orword anditisthisassociationahypnotistcallsatrigger.Theidea isthatifthetriggerisinvokedthentheunderlyingcognitive loopandtrancewillalsoberecreated.Whentrainedandtest ed,suchassociationtriggersmaybeusedtoinvoketheloops whichresultinapriorestablishedtrance. Atriggerwordalsoinvokesahighassociativeresponsede lay, has a low cohesiveness of association, and some of the specific internal associations formthe cognitive loopswhich resultinatrancebeingcreated.Usingtriggers,however,can possiblycreatemanyuncontrolledtrancesincludingtrancel ingsandunhingedtrances. Triggerwordscanalsomeanwordsorsignalsusedbya hypnotisttotrainahypnoticsubject.Thereisnothingmagi cal about trigger words except perhaps that when repeated theycreateahigherwyrdthandoother,morenormalwords.

Who uses hypnosis?

Itwouldbeniceifonlycowboyswithwhitehatsusedhyp notictechniques,but,infact,hypnosisisusedbyallsortsof people. Authorities of all sorts are in a dominant position

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whichcausessuspensionofcriticaljudgment.Anyauthority canmakehypnoticerrorsorinadvertentlyusebadtranceen gineeringandgettheoppositeresultsofwhattheyintend. Somemedicalprofessionalsknowthatthepatientcanheal his or her self. Placebos sometimes work more effectively thanmoretraditionalmedicines.So,trainedmedicalprofes sionalscanhelpyourbodyhealquickerwithsomegentlehyp nosis. Butsuchhypnosisneedstobedonesubtlyinsucha waythatcriticaljudgmentisnotawakened.Embeddedcom mands aremost oftenusedbydoctors andnurses, but this canalsobackfireandinhibithealing. Psychologists,psychiatrists,socialworkersandmanyother peoplehelperswillusehypnosisiftheycanencourageaclient toactinawaywhichbenefitsthemselvesorwhichreduces harm. Religious folks also use hypnosis. Generally, hypnosis mightbeusedtopromoteaspecificbelief,butitcanalsobe usedtocompelobediencetoreligiouspreceptsortoencourage folks to become more generous, guilty, religious or devoted. Inmanycaseshypnosisisusedtogainconverts,todemon stratemagicalpowersorproducehealing,andtoincreasedo nations. Demonstrating an altered state of consciousness, showingthedivinelightandsoon,arealsowayshypnosisis usedbythereligious.Inmanycongregationsthereisafeel goodmoodmakingwhichcanresultinfeelingsofselfesteem orinnategoodnessorblessedness.Thesefeelingsstrictly resultingfromhypnosismaycoveramultitudeofsins,ab solve guilt, increase selfesteem, and promote feelings of wholeness.So,itisquitepossibleforamemberofachurchto actuallybenoncompassionate,nonloving,obsessive,greedy,

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cruel,nonforgiving,aliartooneselfandothersandasecret thief,andyet,wearapermanentsmileontheface,andfeel trulyblessedandhappy,notatallguilty,andsaved.Such isthemagicofhypnosis. Advertisers routinely use hypnotic techniques including repetitionandembeddedcommandsinordertocreatebrand loyalty, encourage brand switching, or to change purchase preferences.Imageswhichhavenothingtodowithaproduct areoften usedtohypnotically createfavorable associations. Thatis,criticaljudgmentisbypassedsothatadelusionalbe lief,anobsessionoraddictivedesireiscreatedforaparticular product.Automobilesareoftensoldfordelusionalfeelingsof sexandpower.Cigaretteadvertisingsellsthedelusionofim mortalityinthefaceofhighriskbehaviorordeath. Hidden intheadvertisement,ofcourse,isthetaboooffeelingpower less, impotence, selfdestruction or death. To fully under standhowhypnosisworksinthesecases,itisveryimportant toexposeandconsciouslyunderstandandexpressthetaboo. Expressingthetaboocandefangthehypnoticwyrd.

Practice of Hypnosis
Professional hypnotherapists often must subscribe to a Code of Professional Ethics. But theexistence of acode of ethicsdoesnotmeanthateveryonewhouseshypnotictech niquessubscribestothosesameethicalstandards.Itisoften atenantofsuchethicalstandardsthatahypnotistwillnot give a client a suggestion which might morally or ethically compromisetheclient. Whilethisethicalstandardislaud able,itfalselyimpliesthathypnosisitself cannot beusedby anyonetocreatecompulsionswithwhichapersonmightdis

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agreewitheitherethically,morallyorlegally. Thatimpres sionaboutthetechnicallimitsorpotentialofhypnosisis,un fortunately,misleading.Professionalhypnotherapistsarethe goodguysinthiscase.Butthereareplentyofpeopleinthis worldwhousehypnosis in unethical ways. Hypnosis itself doesnothaveanybuiltinethics.

1-on-1 Mutual Hypnosis

Sometimes it isfun to engage in mutual hypnosis. Mutual hypnosis is done with a partner. There are many forms of mutual hypnosis, but you basically take turns making suggestions. Atfirst, yousimplydescribeyourpartner. Then they describe you. Then you mix pacing with leading. Allow timeforahypnotictrancetodevelop.Suchmutualhypnosiscan beusedtoexploreareasinarelationshipnotnormallypossible, or tocreate fantasies, or to empower each other, or otherwise developintimateconnectionsandtrust.

Althoughitisfuntocreatetrancelingswithmutualhypno sis,makesureyouhaveawaytoterminateallthetrancelings onceyouaredoneplaying.

Cults
Ingeneral,cultsmakeextensiveuseofhypnosis.Onerea sonmaybethestrongdesiretohavesomespiritualexperi ence.Cultmembersalsogenerallywishtobetterthemselves and in so doing benefit the world. Members of cults often haveadesiretodogoodintheworld,butmaynotknowhow to do it. Cults often have programs of study and training whichpurport to bringtheirmembers into adeepspiritual

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brotherhoodwiththeexpectationofgraceandspiritualexpe rience. Ifyoujoinacultoryouthinkitmightbeinacultbe alertforsuggestionswhichresultinyourgivingupyourper sonalresponsibilityforyourself.Inotherwords,ifyouareen couragedorevendemandedtofollowtheleaderwithoutcriti calthinking,orifyourcriticalthinkingisturnedagainstyou, thenyoushouldthinkseriouslyaboutleavingtheorganiza tion.Cultsalwaysaskyoutogiveupyourpersonalresponsi bilitysothatyouaremoreeasilycontrolled.Lookforrepeti tive maxims, chanting, singsong simplistic childrens songs withembeddedcommandsaresignsofhypnoticintent.

Hypnosis and Pain

Not many people like pain; most people naturally avoid painandsituationswhichcausepain.Unavoidablepainwill naturallyinduceatrance.Anintensepainsustainedforape riodoftimecandriveapersonintoadeepunconscioustrance. Controllingpainmeanstoputonesattentionontosomething elseandtodosorepeatedlyinsuchawaythatanysensation ofpainservesonlytoputtheattentionsomewhereelse.This isadoubleloop,characteristicofahypnotictrance. Let'sconsideravisittothedentistandhowyoumightuse trancetechniquestocontrolpain.Ifyouhaveanyexperience withmeditation,youalreadyhavethemaintool. Thetech nique for successful meditation trance uses more than one trancegeneratingloop. Ifyouuseamantrayouknowthat thesecondloopisoften: ifyoustopmeditatingorforgetto meditate,thenassoonasyourealizethat,thenstartthemed itationagain.Forpain,anadditionalloopis:assoonasyou

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feel any sensation or pain, then you start the meditation again.Foradentalvisit,simplyfixyourgazeontheceiling somewhere,meditateincludingtheadditionalloop. Thatis, any pain you feel will only serve to make your meditation deeper.Youneednottrytosuggestanythingtoyourselfoth erthanstayingwithyourmeditationobjectormantra. EmbeddedCommands Anembeddedcommandisaphraseorsentencewhichhas anexplicitbutunremarkedcommandinit.Forexample,the question: Would you drink a coffee with me? contains drinkacoffeewithmeasacommand.Thisconstructionis effectiveasacommandorsuggestiononlyifcriticaljudgment isdisabled.Manyinnocentsoundinginvitationsandseeming harmlesschoicesmaycontainembeddedcommandsbywillful designofahypnotist. Whencombinedwithwordswithlow cohesiveness of association, critical judgment can be side steppedandtheembeddedcommandsaccepted. Canyourememberhowgooditfeltwhenyoukissedthe oneyouloveclosethatwarmnightlongagoandthefeelings youhadasyougotosleepinthatdreamyway,relaxednow, andstayingopen,andwantingitalloveragain,now... Thesesortsofscriptsareveryeasytowrite.Theycombine low cohesiveness of association words such as remember, good, feel, kiss, love, etc. with runon sentences connected withas,and,andembeddedcommandsremember,gotosleep, relaxed,wantingit,now. Thefollowingisaratherlong,yetnonexhaustive,list,but itisimportantforyoutounderstandthathypnoticinductions

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canoccurinavarietyofways.Inthefollowingsentences,you cansubstituteoneofyourfavoritedesiresanaughtyoneto makeitinterestingasthe[command]inordertounder standhowtranceabuseworksinapracticalway. Asavariation,[command]couldbeashockorfearproduc ingdemand,suchasPutyourhandsup!orStrip!,inorder to demonstrate how shock or fear works to disable critical judgment.Where[pace]isindicated,simplydescribetheper sonyouaretalkingtoinanonjudgmentalway,suchasYou aresittingthereorYouaresmilingnowandsoon.Pacing must be nonjudgmental because you do not want to excite criticaljudgment!Where[name]isusedinthecommanditis becauseusing the person's name exploits the association to parentalorauthoritativefigures. Negativesuggestions,thatis,usingnotinanembedded commandcontext,aresometimesusedtoimpartthepositive formofthesuggestion.Thecohesivenessofassociationofthe wordsusedinembeddedcommandshasanimportanteffect ontheeffectivenessofthesuggestions. 1. [command] in a way that meets your needs. 2. Someone once told me, [command] 3. Someone said, [command] 4. A person could, [name], [command] 5. A person is able to [command] 6. A person may [command], because [any reason] 7. A person may not know if [command] 8. A person might, [name], [command] 9. After [pace] you can [command] 10. All that really matters [command]

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11. All that's really important [command] 12. Almost as though [command] 13. And as [pace] occurs, [command] may occur more than you'd expect. 14. And do you notice the beginning of [command]? 15. And if you wish [command] 16. And it appears already that [command] 17. And maybe you'll enjoy noticing [command] 18. And when you [pace], you'll [command] 19. And would you be willing to experience [command]? 20. And would you like to [command] 21. And you begin to wonder when [command] 22. And you can be pleased [command] 23. And you can wonder [command] 24. And you can wonder what [command] 25. And you will be surprised at [command] 26. And, in an interesting way, you'll discover [command] 27. Are you aware of [command] 28. As soon as [pace], then [command] 29. As you feel [pace] you recognize [command] 30. Almost as if .. [command] 31. At first [pace], but later [command] 32. At times like this, some people enjoy [command] 33. Can you [command] 34. Can you imagine [command]? 35. Can you notice [command]? 36. Can you really enjoy [command]? 37. Do you [command]

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38. Does [command] 39. Don't [command] too quickly. 40. Don't [command] until you [command] 41. Eventually [command] 42. Everybody [command] 43. Everyone [command] 44. Give yourself the opportunity to see if [command] 45. How would it feel if you [command]? 46. I could tell you that [command] but [command] 47. I don't know if [command] 48. I wonder if you'd like to enjoy [command] 49. I wonder if you'll be pleased to notice [command] 50. I wonder if you'll be reminded [command] 51. I wonder if you've ever noticed [command] 52. I wouldn't tell you to [command], because [pace] 53. I'd like you to begin allowing [command] 54. I'm wonder if [command] 55. I'm wondering if you'll [command], [name] or not. 56. If you [pace], then [command] 57. In all probability [command] 58. In every culture [command] 59. Is isn't important [command] 60. It gives everyone a sense of pleasure to [command] 61. It is a very common experience to [command] 62. It isn't necessary to [command] 63. It may be that you'll enjoy [command] 64. It may be that you're already aware of [command]

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65. It's easy to [command], is it not? 66. It's so nice to know [command] 67. Just allow it to happen [command] 68. Kind of like [command] 69. Maybe it will surprise you to notice that [command] 70. Maybe you haven't [command], yet. 71. Maybe you'll [command] 72. Most of us [command] 73. Most people [command] 74. One can [name], [command] 75. One could [command], because [pace] 76. One doesn't have to, [name], [command] 77. One may, [name], [command] 78. One might, you know, [command] 79. People can, you know, [command] 80. People don't have to, [name], [command] 81. Perhaps beginning to notice [command] 82. Perhaps noticing [command] 83. Perhaps you are [command] 84. So that it's almost as if [command] 85. Some people [command] 86. Sometime [command] 87. Sooner or later [command] 88. Sooner or later, everyone [command] 89. The closer you get to [command] the more you can [command] 90. The feeling of [pace] will allow you to [command] 91. There was a time when you didn't [command]

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92. Try to resist [command] 93. Very likely [command] 94. What happens when you [command]? 95. When you [pace] please [command] 96. When you [pace], then [command] 97. While you [pace] you can [command] 98. Why don't you [command] before you [pace] 99. Will [command] 100. Will you [command] now, or will you [command]? 101. Will you [command], or [command], or [command]? 102. With your permission [command] 103. Without knowing it, you've [command] 104. Without really trying, it will just happen all by itself [command] 105. You already know [command] 106. You already know how to [command] 107. You are able to [command] 108. You can [command], because [command] 109. You can [command], can you not? 110. You could [command] 111. You don't have to [command] 112. You don't need to be concerned if [command] 113. You may [command] 114. You may not know if [command] 115. You may or may not [command] 116. You might [command] 117. You might not have noticed [command] 118. You might notice how good [command] feels, when you

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[command] 119. You might notice the feelings [name] as you [command] 120. You might notice the sensations in [pace] while you [command] 121. You might want to [command], [command] now. 122. You probably already know [command] 123. You won't [command] until [command] 124. You've known all along how to [command] 125. [pace], [pace], [pace], and [command]

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Exercises 1.Usingoneoftheembeddedcommandformsabove,makea posthypnotic command and casually repeat it three times to yourfriendwhoiswatchingtelevision. 2.Wasitsuccessful? 3.Ifnot,howcouldithavebeenmademoresuccessful?

4.Whatdoesthistellyouabouttranceabuse? 5.Withapartnerusethehypnoticvoice.Observeandde scribetothemwhatyouseeorsense.Repeatthesamede scriptionandobservationmultipletimes.Connecteachde scriptionandobservationwithand,while,because,as you,etc.Itdoesnotneedtomakesense.Dothisforfivemin utes.Thenswitchroles.Whathappens? 6. With a partner use the hypnotic voice. Do the same thingasinthepreviousexercise.However,aftereverythree observationsordescriptions,makeacommandlikeyoufeel goodaboutyourself,youfeelveryrelaxedandhappy,etc. Thenswitchroles. 7. Go through an advertisement and underline all of the embeddedcommandsyoucanfind. 8.Whilewatchingtelevisionnews,noteimages,soundsor wordswhichstimulatefearorconfusion.
Questions 1.Howmanyhoursperdaydoyouwatchtelevision? 2.Whatcognitivefunctionsaredisabled? 3.Whatdoyoudototerminatethetrance?

106/DENNISR.WIER 4.WhatarethepotentialeffectsofTVtrancelings? 5.Discusstheeffectoftranceinademocracy. 6. How can a person in a trance, with impaired critical judgment,beexpectedtomakeindependent,rationaldecisions orreasonedjudgmentsaffectingsocial,economic,legislativeand politicalissues? 7.Whatconditionsareneededtocompelahypnoticsubjectto dosomethingagainsttheirwill? 8. Discuss the mechanism of this process in terms of the TranceModel,withexamples.

9.PickanyreligiousorspiritualorNewAgeguruandex plicitlydescribetheirtechniques. Identifytrancegenerating loops,whichcognitivefunctionsthataredisabledandcalcu latethewyrd. Noteiftrancesareterminatedorifcomplex trancesarecreated. Canyouexplicitlyexposeanddescribe thetabooofaspecificreligioustrancetechniqueorsituation? 10.Findexamplesoftheuseoffeartodisablecriticaljudg ment. Discusstheways criticaljudgment canbereenabled atanypointduringtheproductionoffear.

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Addiction

One more for the road!

Arealladdictionsakindoftrance?Certainlytrancenarrows attention and can evoke compulsive, repetitive behaviors, just like an addiction. Addictions also share some of the same disabledcognitivefunctionsyoufindinmeditationandhypnotic trances such as short term memory loss, faulty or disabled critical thinking, mistaken beliefs and delusions, compulsive dwellingonthepast,etc.Superficiallythen,commonaddictions sharemanycharacteristicswithtrance.

Althoughmostaddictionsaredestructive,someaddictions suchastheaddictionthatanartistmayhaveforhisart havecreativecharacteristics. Loveattachmentscanalsobe describedasaddictive;perhapsappropriatelywhenrelation shipsaredestructive,butthelongevityofoldloverelation shipsoftenprovokerespectratherthanpity.Also,somereli giouspersonsmaybesodevotedtowards God thattheylose contactwiththeordinaryworld;wehardlytermthiskindof devotionanaddiction.Rather,manypeopleadmirethissort ofanaddiction,especiallywhenareligiousaddictiscompul

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sivelycompassionateordevotedtohelpingthepoorandsick. Yet,insomesenseevensuchcompulsivereligiousdevotions canbecomeasdestructiveasadrugaddiction. WhileIhavenamedaspecifictypeoftrancestructuread dictive,Ialsowantedtonotethatnotalltrancesofthistype aredestructive.Ialsoconsiderednamingthistypeoftrance structuredivine butthathad toomany religious connota tions.Besides,weliveinaworldwhereaddictionissocom mon,itmightbemoreusefultostaywiththeaddictiveterm forthistypeoftrance,butatthesametimerealizethataddic tionisnotalwaysnegative. Itcanalsobecreative,socially usefulandhaveverypositiveeffectsonothers.Thedifference iswhetherornotwehavecontroloverthetrance.Mostpeo plecannotcontroltheiraddictivetrancesandthisseemstobe themainobjectiontoaddictions. As you will discover, gaining control over an addictive trance is not easy, but once you understand the addictive trancestructure,itbecomespossibletochangeorterminate ordinaryaddictions.Thenyouhaveapowerfulmentaltoolat yourdisposal.

Definition of an addictive trance

Addictivetrancesarecomposedofthreetrances:amedita tion type of trance and two hypnotic types. These three trancesworkoffeachotherandformakindoflock,buteach hasadistinct trancegeneratingloopanddistinctsetsofdis abledcognitivefunctions.Generally,andfirstofall,amedi tationtrancecreatesatrancewithdisabledcriticaljudgment andshorttermmemoryloss;thesetogethercreateataboo36
36 Thetaboointhiscasepreventsaccesstothetranceloop.

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which is to say, the loop becomes secret even to yourself. Specifically,thereisamentalloopofsomesort;thecontent mayjustbewords,oritmaybefeelings. Subsequenttoandwithinthis meditationtrance,asecond tranceiscreated:ahypnotictrance.Elementsoftheaddic tionarepartofthesecond trancegeneratingloop.37 Thatis, withinthissecondtranceyouwillfindsuchloopcontentasal cohol, drugs, behaviors and so onwhich usually identify or marktheaddiction.Thissecondtranceisnotusuallyataboo, butmaybehiddenordenied. Thereisathirdtranceloopwhichconnectstheresultofthe secondtrancewiththefirst.Forexample,whenanalcoholic drinksherselfdrunk,thephysicalresultofdrunkennessoften resultsinguiltfeelings. Thesuppressionoftheseguiltfeel ings are usually part of the process of the first meditation trance. Thethirdloopneedstoberepeatedmanytimesbe foreatranceiscreated. However,itisthethirdloopwhich locksintheaddictionandmakesitcompulsiveandoutofcon trol. Whilethisdefinitionisforthesimplestformofanaddictive trance,practically,thereareusuallymorethanoneaddictive trance in persons who have an addiction38. So, addictions tend to present themselves as complex forms of multiple trances. When multiple loops are involved, the combined trancewyrdalsobecomesstrong.Thememorylosseffectsof multipletrancereallydoesblockoutthefirstmeditationloop; indoingso,thisstrongtaboostrengthensthetrancewyrd.

37 Adeephypnotictrancewillalsobeanaddictivetrance. 38 Alcoholicsmightsmokeorhavebehavioralcompulsions.

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Oneeffectoftheaddictivetrancestructureproducesaslow lyrepeatingpainpleasurecycle.Acharacteristicoftheaddic tivestructureisthatinterruptinganyofthehypnotictrance loops isnot effectiveinpermanently breaking theaddictive trance; thedeeper meditation tranceloopworking itstaboo magiccontinuestoreestablishthehypnotictrances. When everanoldtriggerinthehypnotictranceloopisfired,anhyp notictrancecanbereestablished.Theeffectisthatanalco holic compulsively, automatically, and often unconsciously, takesthefirstdrinkwhichreestablishesthepattern. Thus,inalcoholaddictionsthosewhowishtobreaktheir addictionshouldnottakethefirstdrink.Itisthisfirstdrink whichistheoldtriggerinoneofthehypnotictranceloops.It canbeeasilyseenthatsubstitutingareligiousbehaviorfora drink does not terminate the addictive trance structure; it merely modifies the addiction to an arguably more benign form. Amorepermanentapproachwouldbetodiscoverthe firstmeditationtranceloopandexposeanddeconstructthe taboo. Thiswillweakenthewyrdandcanresultinthecol lapseoftheentireaddictivetrance. Imakeanassumptionaboutwhatisdesirableinlife,andI shouldstateitexplicitly.Iassumethatarobustlifeisalife ofvarietyandwideoptions,andthatanimpoverishedlifeisa life with few options and little variety. Life naturally con tainslimitsandlimitshelptorestrainchaosandthustofree acertainkindofenergy.Althoughtherearemanypeopleof theopinionthatalllimitsarebad,Ifeelthatlimitsaloneare notbad,infact,limitsarenecessarytoempowercreativity. However, certaintypesofstrictlimitsinlifeseemtoimply thepresenceofapathologicalstateoratleastdelusionsabout

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lackofpersonalpower. Thereisadelicatebalancebetween the limits which empower personal growth and the limits whichcrushhumanspirit. Onewaytofindthisbalanceistorealizethatwithinany personalpsychologicalrealitythereisasetofchangingstim uliandresponsepotentials. Abehaviorisapairofspecific stimuluswithitsresponseandabehaviorresultsinanew stimulus which joins other stimuli in creating the personal psychologicalreality. Theoretically,theresponsesthatmay existforagivensetofstimulicanbecounted.Thenumberof suchpotentialresponsesisoftenthoughtofastherichness of a persons life. A relatively low number of potential re sponsesoroptionsindicatesarelativelyimpoverishedreality. A healthy, normal psychological life seems to be one in whichthereisarichsetofstimuliandarichsetofresponses. Furthermore,thepatternofbehaviortendsnottoberigidly repetitiveandthisrichvarietyseemstoallowbothpersonal growthandtostimulateothersintheirownsearchforvariety andrichnessinlife.Ontheotherhand,anaddictiveperson alitycouldbecharacterizedasoneinwhichtherearefewre sponsesandthepatternofbehaviorisgenerallyrepetitive. WhatIfindtobeinterestingistoapplytheprinciplesof trancetheorytoawidevarietyofindividualandinstitutional behaviorsthatappeartoberigidorrepetitivethatis,pre sumabletrancesandtrytodeterminewhatthetrancegen eratingloopsareandwhatthecharacteristicsofthedissociat edtranceplanesareandhowonemightdescribeanycreated trancewyrds. Anypersonhasthepotentialtobeinatranceassoonas theirattentionislimited. Ordinaryconcentration,whenthe

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mindisfocusedonaspecificproblemorthought,setsoneof theconditionsforanormaltrancetooccur.Intensepleasure, whenthemindisengagedinjoyfulorexcitingrepetitiveac tivity, sets an important condition for trance and may, for many people, become a trance. When one is daydreaming, withnospecificdirectionofthethoughts,yetwithacertain repetitionoffeelings,oneisinanormaldaydreamingtrance. The general characteristic of these normal trance states seemstobethatthoughtsrepeatandthereisalimitingofat tention;however,theycanbeeasilyinterrupted.Whatmakes anormaltrancenormalisprimarilythatitiseasilyinterrupt ed.Thatis,specifically,disturbingthetrancegeneratingloop makes the dissociated trance plane collapse. Dependingon manyfactors,suchasthepresenceofsecondarytrancegener atingloops,orifthedissociatedtranceplaneisstableenough so that disturbing the trance generating loop only makes moreordifferentdissociatedtranceplanes hallucinations such trances would appear less normal and more weird. Forexample,ifyouattempttohaveaconversationwithanal coholic, you may succeed in interrupting one dissociated trance plane only to find that another dissociated trance planehascomeintoexistence.Thisisoneoftheweirdbutex pected results one obtains when conversing with alcoholic tranceaddicts.Certainofthemwecantermpathologicaland wecandescribethemintermsoftrancetheory. Inordertomakewisedecisions,itisnecessarytohavea widerstateofawarenessandconsciousness,andnotanarrow one. It is necessary tohave an overview of the longrange consequencesofyourdecisionsandnotthenarrowoneswhich come from the immediate satisfaction of personal desire.

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Withsomanydesirableobjectsintheworld,andsomuchnew information, how do you increase your awareness and wis dom? Manykinds of consciousness raising activities try to pro motethepossibilitythatthereareotherwaystoseeortoun derstandlife.Inalargerfieldofawarenessofpossibilities,a morematureandintegratedawarenesscandevelop,resulting inlessfearofchaosaswellasamoreopenpotentialofbeing. Psychologistsandpsychiatriststrytowidentheperceptions oftheirclients,topromotenewwaysofhandlingstressand uncomfortablefeelingswithoutescapeordenial. Itisthese widerperceptions,withmorerobustpsychologicaloptionsof action in life which enriches life, and not necessarily more materialpossessionsinlife. Psychically,thenarrowingofperceptionandthelimitingof optionsormakinganobjectofthesourcesofpersonalhappi ness,personalsalvationandpersonalbettermentgivesriseto ideassuchasheaven, God,aSaviour, acultofpersonality, brand loyalty and patriotism. Generally, the narrowing of perceptionproduces hypnotictrance. Insevereorpathologi cal cases, the narrowing of perception produces paranoia, schizophrenia,violence,andaddictionsofallsorts. Makinganobjectoutofourperceivedsourceofhappiness, salvation and betterment alsopromotes the idea that there aregood,moral,orethicalthingsandbehaviors.Thatis, thereistheperceptionthatsome'things'arebetterthanoth er'things'.Andthereforesomethingsareworse,orevensin ful.Itisoftenbelievedbysomepeoplethatdopeisbad,guns arebadandmoneyistherootofallevil.Thesebeliefsabout dope, guns and money come naturally from the idea that

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thingscouldbebetter,andtheworldwouldbeawholelot betterif(dope,guns,ormoney)didntexist.Thereisreally nojustificationforempoweringanobjectorathingwiththe qualitiesofgoodorevil,exceptinthecaseofanarrowedper ceptionandhallucinatedprojections. Butitispreciselythis narrowedperceptionorthehallucinatedprojectionsfromthe dissociated trance plane on to the object which causes dys functiontoariseinthepsyche,intheindividual,andinallso cialinstitutionsandintheenvironmentitself. Learning something new utilizes dissociation as abstrac tion,butemployingthehallucinatedprojectionsfromthedis sociatedtranceplaneisnotlearning. Sometimesitisarguedthatcallingathinggoodismerely a shorthand way of saying something more complex and a shorthandwayofprovidingasortofsynopsis, savingtime andavoidingadetaileddescription.Thegood/badjudgment ismerelyawaythatanexperiencedauthoritycancommuni cate the bottom line to someone, without needing to go throughatediouslistofconditions,andassumptionsthatun derlietheultimatejudgment Ofcourse,theexperiencedau thoritycan have false experience, or have ahidden agenda whichmakesanyjudgmentscomingfromsuchanauthority immediatelysuspicious.Furthermore,theconditionsmaybe falselyenumerated,andthelogicsupportingthegoodjudg mentmayalsobefaulty.Usually,peoplefindthemselvesar guingthegoodnessofathingonpreciselytheseterms:that oneortheotherhasfaultyassumptionsorfaultylogic,orhas ahiddenagendawhichbiasesperception.Someonemayulti matelyadmitthattheyonlyhaveabeliefthatthethingis good, orthat their judgment is merelyapersonal opinion

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whichcannotbesupportedbythefacts.Whentherearemul tiplehallucinatedprojectionsontoobjects,peopleandsitua tions,onebeliefwillcompetewithallotherbeliefs,arguments will abound between onegroup with the Holy Writ against anothergroupthatisdivinelyinspired.Itisquitesimplylu naticsarguingamongdelusions. Theselfsearchingindividualsnaturallywishtoescapethis madness. Somewillevolvetonewforms. Manywillescape bydroppingout.Droppingoutoftentakesanaddictiveform. Alcohol,drugs,religion,work,overconsumption,andTVare onlyafewofthemoreobviousformsofaddictions.Inmany casesthedroppingouttakestheformofadesiretobeina trancewhichisinducedorsupportedbysubstanceslikealco holanddrugs,orbysocialformssuchasreligion,work,con sumption, or by more individual forms such as TV, love, overeating,violenceetc. Wesharetrancesfortheeffectsoftrance;thatis,fortheef fectsbroughtaboutbyanalteredcognitionspace. Withlessawarenessofpainwhetheritisemotional,physi calorontological,andwithlessawarenessofthewidevariety ofchoicesthatexistinanenabledandrobustreality,theper son in trance happily chooses among an impoverished and smallersetofoptions. Life,perhaps,wouldbetoodifficultifpeoplewerealways awareoftheirbodies,alwayshadaperfect memory,always madeperfectjudgmentsandwerealwaysawareoftheinfinite possibilitiesoflife. Becausemostpeoplecannotstand pain, becausemostpeoplefearchaos,uncertaintyanddeath,most people enter into social, institutional and mutual personal trancesinordertoreduceawareness.Perhaps,inthenottoo

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distant past, life was uncertain in times of war, or in hunger, poverty, fear and abuse situations and it made sensetohideandtocreatetrancebysingingourselvessongs, orsayingprayers,orbyputtingourmindsoncertainconstant imagesorvisions.Thisisindeedhownaturaltrancesarecre ated;andtheusualreasonistohidefromsomething. Byamutualtrance,Imeanthateachofusinvariousways andbysocialbehavior supportsanimpoverished awareness inothers. Ourpurposesinsupportingimpoverished aware nessare:tobeabletohavesomepeaceourselves,andtore ducethenoiseandthe pain.Again,thereasonforthisisto reduceour awareness oftherealityofchaosandescapethe painofthehumancondition.Thereisalsosomepleasurein enteringtranceinspiteofthefactthattrancereducesaware ness. Ifwespeakofdegreesoftrance,itismyopinionthatthere isonlyadifferenceindegreebetweenpassivelywatchingTV, ordinaryrationalthoughtandrigorousscientificthought,reli giousfervor,addictivestates,andthestatesofmindbelong ingtomassmurderers. Allofthemindstatesaboverepre sentdifferingdegreesoftrancestates. Thereisalsoastrongsimilaritybetweenaddictions, hyp notictranceandalteredstatesofconsciousness.Allofthese nonnormalstatescomeaboutfirstbytheprogressivenar rowingofperceptionandthelimitingofawarenesstoasingle, oratmostveryfewobjectsofattention.Thenarrowingofat tention can be induced by drugs, chanting, television, etc. Second,anassociationmustbemadewhichconnectseveryat tempttomaketheattentionwidertoanefforttomaketheat tentionmorenarrow. Thisassociationwillservetoconcen

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trateattentionontheobjectsofattention. Third,whenthe associationisstrongenough,theoriginalimpulsetonarrow attentioncanberemoved.Thereasonisthatthestrongasso ciationalreadycreatedwillcontinuetheattentiontowardthe fewobjects. Tribes, cults,societiesandnationsinculcaterestrictedso cialbehaviorsthroughtrance,training,customsandlawsbe causeitrequiressimplytoomuchcognitiveprocessingover headtounderstandtheneworunusualbehaviorsofpeople. Inprimitiveandignorantsocieties newandunusualpeople aresimplykilled.Insomewaysthepresenceoftranceinduc tivemechanismssuchasTVhelpstolimitthe aware ness oftheignorantandthereforethemoreunusualpeople havemoreofachancetosurviveiftheydon'twatchTV themselves.Thisinitselfisprobablyapositiveevolutionary phenomenon. Itmayseembizarretoadvocatethedevelopmentofmore intense trances and limited awareness and more impover ishedrealitiesasaglobalsolutiontosocialills,yet,withdrug addiction, religions and television isn't that precisely what seemstobehappening? Let'sunderstandwhatitisweare really doing and do it more efficiently! In America, where morethan95%ofthehomeshavetelevisionandthedailyav eragetimespentinfrontofatelevisionisinexcessofseven hours, people may believe themselves to be informed, but theirrealitiesareseverelyimpoverished. When people walk around with their virtual reality hel mets, trance music reverberating in the vacuum of inner space, they may believe themselves to be 'connected' to the HostandKingoftheinformationmountain,buttheywillbe

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onlyawareofacertainlimitedclassoftoxicatmosphericdis charges,andsocialinequities. Theywillbeunawareofthe factoftheirownabuse. Inlieuofafearlessawarenessofanenrichedlife,mostpeo ple have chosen the way of impoverished and addictive trances.Letitbe.Trancelessawarenessisnotforeveryone. Therearemany,manyexamplesofpathologicaltrance.Iden tifyingthemasexamplesoftheapplicationoftrancetheory maybeastepinthedirectionforpositivechange. Whentheindividualsuffers,thefamilysuffers. Dysfunc tional, droppedout, individuals in addictive trances place tremendouspressuresontheirfamilies.Asindividualsexpe riencingtheresultsoffamilymembersgoingthroughaddic tivebehaviorsarethemselvesstressed,itisnowonderthat familiesdisintegrate.Whenfamiliesdontdisintegrate,there isoftenthesideeffectsofchildandspouseabuseormoreseri oussocialcrimes. Disintegratedfamiliesresultinhomeless ornomadicgangs.Nomadicgangsarecommonincitiesand aresymptomaticoftheunderlyingdysfunction.Citiesbecome moredifficulttomanagewhenfamilyandindividualdysfunc tionbecomewidespreadandaffectssocialinstitutions.After all,thesocialinstitutionscanonlyreflecttheindividualsthat runthem. FormerGovernorLambofColoradohasidentifiedthedys functional institution in his own state and recognizes the sameinstitutional dysfunctions onalllevels ofgovernment. Widespreadindividualandinstitutionaldysfunctiondestroys socialassets. Dysfunctiondestroyspeople,jobs,theconnec tivityofthesocial fabric andthepertinence ofinstitutions. Institutionsceasetobeefficientandthemselvesbecomedys

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functional.Whilesocialresourcesandgovernmentassetscan support dysfunctional institutions in times of chaos, in ex tremecasesandoverthelongterm,theseresourcesandas setseventuallyaredepleted,wornout,usedupandbecome uselessorselfdestructive. Thischaracteristicofextremely dysfunctional institutions is more common in thirdworld countries. Socialdysfunctionscanallbetracedbacktothepernicious effectsofhypnoticandaddictivetranceattheindividuallevel. A habit usually is a long and complex trance generating loop andthereforewhendoneonlyafewtimesrepresentsa weak trance, that is, a trance with an unstable dissociated tranceplane.Yet,whenthehabitisdonehundredsorthou sandsoftimes,thebehaviormaybecomecompulsiveandap pearlikeanaddiction.Insuchacase,thereisamorestable trancewyrdwithconstructivetrancegeneratingloops. Sociallyoreconomicallyreinforced habits suchasshaking hands,smokingcigarettes,havingsexinthemissionaryposi tion, wearing clothes when in society, answering the tele phonewhenitrings,flushingthetoiletafteritisused,com ing home after work and turning the TV on, all represent habits that are socially or economically supported in most countriesofthisworld.Oftentheindividualeffortneededto breaksuchtrancesismorethanispossibletodo.Suchsocial habits or trances represent deep trances with trance wyrd componentsandsecondaryorderconstructivetrancegenerat ingloops. Tobreaksuchtrancesincreasestheawarenessofindividu alchaos,uncertainty,and pain. Thesenseofchaos,orfear,

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uncertainty and pain is the reaction that is caused by at temptingtochangeormodifythetrancewyrd. Onecouldcharacterizethis situationasanentrancement bymagic. Onemustbequitecourageoustoattempttomodifyatrance wyrd. In addition, the trance analysis needed to break a tranceisoftenacomplicatedanddifficultundertaking.There isalsonoguaranteethateveniftheunderlyingtrancegener ating loops were known it would be possible to break the tranceeasily. Love is a human emotion which is created socially often throughaperiodofcourtshipandintimacy,desireandfanta sy,physicalcontactandorgasm. Thecourtship,whenitexists,oftenortypicallyoccursdur ingprimarytranceinductivesocialsituationsuchasdancing, listeningtomusic,etc.Theseprimaryinductivesocialtrance situationsmayproducemanyofthedisabledcognitivecondi tionscharacteristicoftrance,includingfaultyorfailedmemo ry,hallucinations,fixedattention,lackofvolition,inabilityto makejudgments,increasedselfobservation,dissociation,etc. Love also has secondary inductive characteristics, insofar as courting individuals often speak of family, feelings, etc. These subjects often contain triggers to prior trance states. Forexample,whentwopeoplespeakofpersonalexperiences within their own family experiences, they may use words whichtriggerpriortrancestates. Datingandtouchingalso maytriggersomatictrances. Intimatetouchingwilltrigger priorsomatictrancestatesincludingdissociation,lackofvoli tion,fixedattention,etc.

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When intimacy is coupled with physical release or relax ationsuchasorgasm,thereisestablishedasecondaryorder trancegeneratinglooptoenablethesetrancestates. Thetrancegeneratingloopofloveischaracteristicofanad dictiveorhypnotictranceinthesensethatthepathwayofthe secondary trance generating loop contains some external or physical component, and the dissociated trance plane leads backtothephysicalcomponent. Therearemanytypesoflovetrances. Somelovetrances mayalsohavehighcomponentsofthetrancewyrdbutusual lytherearesecondaryordertrancegeneratingloopspresent. Addiction can be better understood if you think of it not merelyassubstanceabuse,orperformanceaddiction,butas a form of an impoverished reality that is maintained by a trance.Limited awareness,tunnelvision,thespecialcharac teristicthatidentifiesadysfunctional,impoverishedreality, alsoidentifiesatypeoftrancestatethatmaybealsoachar acteristicofalladdictions. While pathological trances are not at all desirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a pathological tranceorareengagedintryingtogetothersintotrance.Itis preciselypathologicaltrance,notthe yogictrance,thatper meatesmostofourwakingsocialreality.Itseemstomethat oncewecanidentifythesepathologicaltrancesonapersonal andsociallevelwecantakestepstoavoidthem. Perhapsthemostimportantaspectofpathologicaltranceis thatitcreatesanunawareness orasleepingstate. When yourthoughts arelimitedinvarietyandyour attention be comesfixed,thefixationaltersperceptions,cancreatedream

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states,visionsand hallucinations.Inthissleepingstateyou areunawareofnewinformation.Entrancedbythestreetma gician,youareunawarethatthepickpockethasremovedyour wallet. The pathological trance state can create illusions whichdonotexistandcausethefailuretoperceivewhatdoes exist. Notalltrancesarepathological;thetrancestateofa yogi can be a tool to illuminate what is not normally per ceived. Itisestimatedthatover95%oftheAmericanpopulation haveoneormoreaddictions.Suchaddictionsincludedrug andalcoholaddictions(nowtermedsubstanceabusetoin cludecocaine,psychedelics,caffeine,nicotine,aswellasalco hol,sugar,chocolateandjunkfood),TVaddiction,workrelat edaddictions,sexandloveaddictions,foodrelatedaddictions, computeraddictionsandotherbehavioralorperformancead dictions.Addictionscommonlysharethecharacteristicthata sociallydysfunctionalbehaviorispresentandtheaddicthas progressivelyfewerandfewerperformanceoptionsresulting inanimpoverishedreality.Highpercentagesofaddictionare foundnotonlyinAmerica.Russiahasitsproblemswithvod ka.IndiaandtheMiddleEasthavetheiropiumaddictsand SwitzerlandandJapanhavetheirworkjunkies.Theperson allifedisruptionandsocialcostsarewelldocumentedandthe costsareprobablywellunderestimated. Alcoholaddictionisaworldwidephenomenon.Evenstrict IslamicandHinducultureshavetheirshareofalcoholics.Al coholiswidelyavailableinallindustrialnationsandcultures. Alcoholaddictionismerelyonewaythataddictionmanifests, yetthesocialcostsofalcoholaddictionaloneareimmense.

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Drugaddictionisalsoaworldwidephenomenon.Thedrugs mayvarydependingontheculture,thelawandtheseverity ofpunishment.Inthecaseoftobacco,ithasbeenshownthat nicotineismoreaddictivethanheroin,andyetinmanyparts oftheworldtheconsumptionofnicotineisnotonlytolerated, butactuallyencouraged. Thelongtermhealtheffectsofto baccouse,whilewidelyknown,areignored.Theuseofdrugs, whethernicotine,caffeine,heroin,cocaine,marijuana,design erdrugsorsugarhas,likealcohol,immenselongtermhealth andsocialcosts. Itisknownthatoneaddictioncanbesubstitutedforanoth erfairlyeasilyprovidesacluetoatherapeutic approachto addictionsingeneral.Forexample,alcoholicscanbeinduced totradetheir alcohol addiction for atype ofquasireligious addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) programs also prove successful withsexandloveaddicts,overeaters, Synanon, etc.Someheroinaddictscanbeinducedtoswaptheirheroin for methadone treatment. Therapists know that addictions areoftenfoundtogether,forexamplecigarettesandalcohol, andthatthepersonwhoisaddictedtoonesubstanceorprac ticecanbeinducedtoeitheraddotheraddictionsortoswap themforothers. Thefactthatoneaddictioncanbesubstitutedforanother fairlyeasilyprovidesacluetoatherapeuticapproachtoad dictionsingeneral.BandlerandGrinderhaveshownthata processofpacingandleadingcan,overtime,limitawareness andinducetrance.Withappropriateconditions,itisperhaps possibletopaceandleadaddictivepersonalitiesintoawider and richer reality. In this way, addicts can be depro grammed, without programming them into another addic

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tion.Thegeneralgoalistoprogramthemintoarichreality wheretheobjectofapastaddictionexists,butalongsidewith amuchlargersetofattractivepossibilities.Whenthisoccurs, itisimpossibletodistinguishaprioraddictfromanormal personbybehavioralone.Itcertainlyisnotdesirabletoneg ativelyreinforceaddictivesyndromes.Todosorunstherisk ofmodelingdrugswitching,whichisnotatruecure. Itisoftenthought thataddictionscomeaboutduetothe stresses of modern life, through childhood experiences, throughtrauma,disability,orgeneticpredisposition.Noone seemstoknowforcertain,perhapsbecauseaddictionsareso prevalent that it impossible to know what a nonaddictive stateislike. A great deal of inconsistent social, religious, personal, eco nomicandpolitical energy isspentinattemptingtoridthe worldofaddictivesubstances.Exceptforsocietieswhichem ployruthlessandabsolutistmethods,theenergyspentinrid ingtheworldofthesesinfulsubstancesdoesseemneither verysuccessfulnorcosteffective.Argumentshavebeenmade that the antisinful substance zealots may themselves be dysfunctionalinaddictiveandpathologicalways. Religiousaddictionsseemharmlessenough.A1990survey of113,000peoplearoundtheUnitedStatesbytheGraduate SchooloftheCityUniversityofNewYorkfoundthat90%of Americansidentifythemselvesasreligious.PracticingChris tians,Scientologists,Muslims,JehovahsWitnesses,Masons, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Mormons have no other bad habits than occasionally proselytizing, sometimes imposing theirideasonothers.Sincethereligiousgenerallyhavefewer other bad habits,andreligionseems to promote acertain

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tribalsocialadhesion,religionsarenotusuallythoughtofas beingsymptomaticofaproblem,butrather,perhaps,aspart ofasolution.Ontheotherhand,religiousaddictionoftencar rieswithitanintransigenceandintoleranceofotherpointsof view that can prove as dangerous as a drug addict with a loadedgun.Whenreligiousfervoriscombinedwiththerule of law and armed with deadly force, religious addicts effec tivelypreventtheevolutionofabettertypeofhumanbeing. Religiouscultsoftenusemethodsthatinducetrance.Peer pressure, confessional types of testimonials, sense depriva tion,lackofcontradictingperspectives orviewpoints,hyste ria, and hyperemotionalism all act to constrain awareness andtoincreasesuggestibility.Repetitioncontinuedovertime willgiverisetotrancestates,whichwithsecondordertrance loopscancertainlybecomeaddictive. Confession,forexam ple, used as a catharsis, is a second order stressrelieving tranceloopwhichreinforcesthebelieftrancestate. Addiction can be better understood if you think of it not merelyassubstanceabuse,orperformanceaddiction,but asaformof hypnotictrance thatismaintainedbyasecond ordertranceloop.Limited awareness,andtunnelvision,are thespecial characteristics thatidentifyadysfunctional, im poverishedreality,andalsoidentifythosepathologicaltrance statescharacteristicofalladdictions. Meditative trance states, which are similar to hypnotic trancestates,canalsobetermedaddictiveiftheyareanend inthemselves. Religiousfervor,asastatewhichfeedsupon itselfwithoutend,isalsoquitedefinitelyanaddictionasde finedbytheTranceModel. Certainpoliticalandpowersyn

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dromesalsomaybetermedaddictiveiftheyresultinanim poverishedreality.
The trance aspect of addiction deserves some comment. In extremeaddictionstheremaybenootherawarenessexceptthe desire for the addictive substance and how to get it. Presumably, it is because of the limited awareness on a substancethatgotsuchsubstancessuchabadname.Itisnot easy or convenient to blame a pattern or a process, since patternsandprocessesaresohardtoidentify,anddontoccupy eitherspacehaveweightorcanbetaxed.

Thetranceinduction potential oftelevision iswellknown andisused commerciallyformanipulating consumer tastes aswellasotherideas.Howeverusefultelevisionisforcom mercialandcontrolreasons,itcannotbereasonablyargued thatpromotinganimpoverishedrealityis,intheend,really sociallybeneficial.Orcanit? TheaddictiontoTV,forexample,comesaboutfirstbyhav ingamildinterestinaspecificTVprogram,andthenarrow ingofperceptiontotheTVscreenandlisteningtothevoices and music, watching the scenes as they develop. Second, pleasurable associations through the use of triggers within the program should stimulate fantasies, hallucinations and dreamsas ameansofescapefromeverydayresponsibilities orstress.Ingeneral,ifaviewerlikesaspecificprogram,this associationiseasilymade.TVproducersspendalotofeffort to make TV productions pleasurable and escapist. Third, whenthereisnomorestressandnomoreeverydayresponsi bilities the pleasure that can be derived from watching TV mustbehighenoughsothatitisimmaterialwhethertheuse

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ofTVisspecifictostressremovalornot.TheaddictiontoTV willthenbeestablished. Thepersonwhoisabletoputlong,continuoushoursintoa difficultjobmaybecapabletodoingthisonlyifinatrance. Thepleasuresofanengagingjobcanproducefeelingsoftime lessness. Repetitive jobs narrow the attention to only the workathand.Partofthemindisengagedinthejob,butan otherpartofthemindisfreetodream.Thedreamstatepro ducedisexactlycharacteristicoftrance.Inthisdreamstate, theworkisbeingperformed,buttheworkerisnotnecessarily awareofworking.Hemaybevisualizingabeach,havingsex ual or power fantasies or other hypnoidal and hypnotic dreams. Theworkerseemsaware,butisreallyinatrance withreducedawareness. Workaddictsarealmostreveredfortheirdevotiontotheir work.CalvinandZwinglihaveconvincedentiresocietiesthat thepersonwhoworksandmakesmoneyisclosertoGodand has most assuredly has aneternal lease inone ofheavens plushiercommunities. Employersloveworkaddictsbecause thisdevotionenhancesprofit.Workaddictionsarenotlimit edtoanyoneparticularindustry.Asaprofessionalcomputer consultant,Ihaveseenhowsomeemployersshamelesslyex ploitwillingcomputerprogrammerswhoareaddictedtocom puters. Tranceintheworkplacemakesiteasiertocontrolinforma tionandemployees.Ifanemployeeonlydoesthejobinfront ofhisnoseandknowsneitherwhatothersaredoingnorhow theydoit,thatemployeewillneverbecomeathreattothe ownersofthebusinessnorraiseembarrassingsocialorpoliti calquestions.Onepresumesfalselythattheownersofa

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businesswouldbetheonlyoneswhowouldbeawareofwhat theirbusinessisreallydoing.Yet,ownersarethemselvesof teninatranceandmanytimeskeeptheirattentiononlyon thebottomline.They,too,maybeunawareofthesocialor environmentalimpactsoftheirbusiness.Unfortunately,one ofthedisastroussideeffectsofmosttrancesisthattheynot onlyinhibit awareness buttheyalsodisablecommunication. Onecannotcommunicatewhatoneisunawareof. Workrelatedaddictionsfirstrequirethattheperceptionis narrowed to work or to workrelated things and activities. Second, nonwork related activity should be perceived as a sourceofstress,i.e.somethingtobeavoided.Therewardsof workshouldbelimitedtotheperfectionoftheworkitself,so thatworkisthemeanstotheend.Finally,whenworkplea sureor perfectionpleasure isselfsustaining, thereasonfor work can be progressively reduced or removed. The stress producedwillservetodrivetheworkerharderintohiswork, rather than to reduce his production or concentration on work. Oneofthemost serious social sideeffects ofpathological worktrancesistheresultingreducedawarenessanddisabled communication.Communicationofinformationiscriticalfor anysystemtofunction.Humansystemsaswellascomputer systems, andother ecological, biological, political andsocial systemsandsoforthallrequireclear,accurate,timelycom municationofinformationinordertofunctionproperly.The lackofclear,accurate,ortimelycommunicationbetweenindi vidualsmaybethebasisformisunderstandings,disappoint ments,hurtfeelings,resentment,andviolence.Theeconom ic,agricultural,industrialandsocialsystemsthatrelyonpeo

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plewhoareinpathologicaltrancescanhaveandoftenhave disastrousbreakdowns. Pathologicaltrancesare,unfortunately,almostuniversally encouragedwithinbusinesses,themilitaryandgovernmental organizations.Themoreanemployeecan,withsinglemind eddetermination,executetheordersandpoliciesofhisorga nization,themorethatemployeeisrewarded,promotedand respected. Singlemindedness, however, is indicative of tranceandpossiblyapathologicaltrance.Andtheexistence ofatrancealwaysimpliesthatthereareareaswheretheem ployee remains unaware. Therefore, the singlemindedness that is rewarded in many large institutions actually con tributestolongtermorganizationaldysfunction. Where organizations advertently or inadvertently encour agetranceintheiremployees,sincetrancedisablescommuni cation, one should not be surprised when there are system dysfunctionswhetherinbusiness,themilitaryoringovern ment. When,unlikeayogi,wedonotchooseourtrances,andwe are unaware of the types and nature of the pathological trancesinourlives,thentherearethingsofwhichweareun aware. Whatweareunawareofcausesmorehumansuffer ingthanthesometimespainfulknowledgeofthetruth.One goalofarobustlifeistobeasawareaspossibleofourrealop tions.Whenourunconsciouspathologicaltrancescrippleour optionstheresultisoftendisasterandtragedyinourperson allives,oursocietyandfortheenvironment. Related toworkaddictionisaphenomenon more akinto whatpeopleoftenappreciateasartisticinspirationorartis tic drive. An artist may spend long hours with a project

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whichconsumeshis energy,perhapsstresseshisfamilyand finallyresultsinacreation.Whatdistinguishesthisartistic drivefromaddictionisthattheartisticdriveisnotaclosed loop.Thatis,eventuallythebehaviorcomestoanend.How ever, ifthebehavior does notterminate, but wasrepetitive withincreasinglylimitedresponsivenesstotheoutsideworld, therapists would term the behavior dysfunctional and per hapsevenaddictive.Ifthebehaviorhadnoendotherthan alifestyle, forexample,atherapist couldreadilyidentify thebehaviorasanaddictionofasortwhichdoesnotend. Agoaloftherapyispersonalempowerment,thediscovery andendingofunconsciouscompulsionsandtheenrichmentof choice. Myperspectiveisthatsuchtherapyisequivalentto becomingawareofourtrancesandknowinghowtocontrolor terminatethem. Itisnotmerelyinterestingtoconsiderthe type of society that might become when we control our trances,itmaywelldetermineoursurvivalasindividualsas wellastheplanet. Ifyoureallywanttogetintoapathologicaltranceandstay there,heresageneralrecipe.First,youmustimpoverishyour realitybyremovingalldistractionsandlimitingyour aware ness toasingle,oratmostaveryfewobjectsofattention. Thisnarrowingofattentioncanbehelpedalongbythepas sionsinspiredbydrugs,ortrauma;byjoiningsomereligious orpoliticalmovements;orbystayingathomeandwatchinga lotoftelevisionorengagingyourcomputerscreen. Itwould beagoodideatogetridofdistractionslikekids,magazinesor booksespeciallybooksthatgiveyouoptionsormakeyou thinkaboutotherpossibilities.Secondly,youmustconvince yourselfthatallotheroptionsoutsideofyourchosenper

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fectideal,ofcourseareevilandthateveryattemptthat yourmonkeymindmakestohavevarietymustbecrushed and that you must keep your mind pure and only allow thoughtsaboutyourchosenpassion. Thismentaltrickwill serve to concentrate your attention firmly on the object of yourmonomania.Asecondorderloopwhichreinforcesorre wardsyourmonomaniainsucharegularandconsistentway thatevenpaindoesnotdeteryou,willfixyourtrance.You willthenbeentrancedinapathologicaltrance. While pathological trances are not at all desirable, most people,mostofthetime,areeitherinatranceorareengaged intryingtogetothersintoone. Itispreciselypathological trance,nottheyogictrance,thatpermeatesmostofourwak ingreality. Itseemstomethatoncewecanidentifythese pathologicaltrancesonapersonallevelwecantakestepsto avoidthem. Iftranceisdefinedasfixatedthinking,thennearlyallhu manactivitiescreatesometypeoftrance. Theboundedcir clesofthinkingthatkeepusintrancesarecountless.Theen tireordereduniverseisatrance.Butthereisanescapist's pleasureinremainingintranceandadeephumanfearofthe chaoswhichcanresultiftherewerenotrancetoorderto life. TerminatingAddictiveTrances Start at any place in your addictive trance. Addictive trancesreward animpoverished thoughtset. Youcanhelp reduce any addiction by rewarding the enrichment of your thoughts.Thismeansexpandingthevarietyofyourthoughts withouttryingtoremovethethoughts whichyouthinkare

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the problem. Continue expanding and enriching your thoughtsthroughnewandstimulatingideas,peopleandex periences.Whenthevarietyofyourthoughtsbecomesrobust, ideaswillbeselfgeneratingandtheaddictivetrancewillnat urallyceasetoexist,bydefinition. Oneeffectivewayistofindthetrancegeneratingloopand replaceoneelementinthatloop. Waituntilthe dissociated tranceplanechanges,thenreplaceasecondelement.Contin ueuntilthesecondorderdissociatedtranceplaneisunstable enoughsothatyoucanattacktheprimarytrancegenerating loop. Onceyoudestroy the primary trance generating loop theaddictivetrancewillstop. Limitedawareness,thespecialcharacteristicthatdefinesa dysfunctional, impoverished reality, also defines a type of trance state that may be characteristic of a posthypnotic state.Certainlythosewhohavedelusionscanbeconsidered tobeinatranceofsomesort.Butofwhatsortisit? Compulsive repetition, memory defects leading to various typesofamnesia,faultyregistrationandrecall,andreactive confabulationsandmisidentificationsresultingindisorienta tion,cansuggesteitherschizophrenicpsychosisorawideva rietyoforganicbraindisordersorapathologicaltrance. Evenaneurotic'sinabilitytoabandonoldanddisadvanta geouspatternsofreactingsuggeststhatarepetitiveandcom pulsivebehavior isduetosometypeofpathological trance. Thatis,itmaynotbeenoughtopointoutorinterpretuncon sciousmentalcontentswithoutsimultaneouslyinvestigating thepossibleexistenceofprimaryandsecondarytrancegener ating loops, and examining the nature of the dissociated

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tranceplanesaswellasofthetrancewyrdsthatarecreated bysuchloops. It isknown that simple and uncomplicated repetitive be havior can be terminated through vigorous stimulation, ex ceptwhenthereisagrossdefectinattention. Trance,too, canbeterminated,exceptwhenthe dissociatedtranceplane containssecondaryloopsorwhenmultipledissociatedtrance planesexistwhosecombinedtrancewyrdcomponentsexceed theenergyavailabletothenormalegostructure.Insuchcas es,tranceterminationisverydifficult. Since, normally, trance reduces body awareness, memory functions,judgment,etc.,itisundesirabletoindefinitelypro longtranceortocreatehabitualtrancestates. Todosoin creasesthepotentialthatthebodyoregostructurebecomes damagedandthatsubsequentactiondoesnotcorrespondto reality, i.e.becomes delusional. Althoughtemporarytrance statesareinfactessentialtoanintelligentadaptationtolife, prolongedtrancesproduceavarietyofeffects,someofwhich can be termed pathological, but others of which can be termedremarkableandextraordinary.
Exercises

1.Identifyoneofyouraddictions. Thereareatleasttwo loopsinyouraddiction.Oneisinsideyourhead;theotheris partlyoutsideyourhead. Describe,inwriting,stepbystep, eachelementofbothloops. 2.Theinternetisabigaddictionformostpeople.Describe theloopswhichmakeuptheinternettrance. Estimatethe wyrd foreachloopandjustifywhyyouthinktheinternetis suchabigaddiction.

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1.Identifyonepathologicaltranceinyourlife. 2.Thepoliceoftenrigidlyenforcetrafficlaws.Sincethisis arepeatedloopinsomesense,whatisthenatureofthedisso ciatedtrancethatisproducedinthepoliceofficer?Whatcog nitivefunctionsaredisabled? 3.Insomereligiousfestivalsselfflagellationoccurs. This maybeconsideredatrancegeneratingloop.Whatisthena tureofthetrancethatisproduced?Isitanaddictive,hypnot ic,ormeditationtranceandwhy? 4.Ifapoliticalpolicyisheldinplacebyanaddictivetrance, whatwouldbethevenueofchangeaccordingtothemodel? 5. Explainbrandrecognitionintermsof addictivetrance. Whatarethetrancegeneratingloops?

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Charisma

Sweeping You Up Into A Trance

There is a fourth type of trance which has a complex but interestingstructure.Ittakessometimetocreateacharismatic trance,andcanbedangeroustodoso,butacharismatictrance producesextremelystrong wyrds.Thecharismatictrance wyrd is often so strong that you can even feel it at a distance and through walls. Certainly, when you are in the presence of someone who is adept at generating and maintaining a charismatic trance, you are compelled to go into a trance yourself;youreallydonthaveanychoice.

A charismatic trance is created primarily by a hypnotic tranceloop,whichissubsequentlyenhancedbyastrong,sec ondary,internaltrancegeneratingloop.Thisisfollowedbya third hypnotic trance loop and finished when a fourth loop tiesthethirdaddictivetrancetooneoftheotherloops.The wyrdisstrongestwhenataboocoversandhidesoneormore oftheprimaryloops. Apersonwhoisgeneratingthisformoftrancehasoneor moreaddictivetrancespresent. Atleastoneoftheloopsof theaddictivetranceinvolvesotherpeople,soitisalsohypnot

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ic.Theeffectofthisaddictivehypnoticlooppullspeopleinto atrance.Ifyoupayanyattentiontothepersonwhoisgener atingthisformoftrance,eventounderstandthemforamo ment, you become caught upinafascinating andaddictive process,muchthewayacodependentgetsinvolvedwithan alcoholic. Exceptitismuchstronger,andmorecompelling. Naturally,youwouldexpectthatapersonwhogenerates a charismatictrancewouldbesomewhatunusual.Occasional ly, longtime alcoholics can demonstrate charismatic trance effects. Dry alcoholics, especially those who are also so ciopaths,canexhibit thiskindoftrance aswell. Psychosis maybeseenasapresentingsymptomofthistypeoftrance. In general, aloopin thedissociated plane means atype of selfinducedhypnosisisbeingcreatedinwhichtheegopre dominates.Itisatrancefullofillusions,delusions,andhal lucinations. Bodyawarenessisminimalandsomaybecom passion. Most people in a charismatic trance do not have much compassion, because they are not concerned with the externalasmuchaswithservingtheirinternaltranceloops. Generally,thoseinacharismatictranceonlyfeeltheeffects oftheirinnertranceasreal;theycannotfeelothersinanau thenticway.Inaddition,theirdeepestprimaryloopsareusu allytaboo,thatis,secretorforgotten,orofsuchafrightening aspectthattheyareavoidedattheconsciouslevel.Examples of individuals in a charismatic trance include Svengali, Rasputin,Hitler,Jesus,theBuddhaandmanyotherhistori callyimportantsocial,politicalandreligiouspersons. The nature of a charismatic trance implies that strong trancewyrdsarecreatedsimplybecauseoftheadditiveeffect formedbymultipletranceloops. Althoughitmaybetempt

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ingtotrytocreatestrongtrancewyrdsIdonotsuggestthat everyone should run out and try to generate a charismatic tranceonthecontrarytheprogressivetrainingofthemind may enable some individuals to create strong charismatic tranceswhichcanbeterminatedatwill. Thiswillenablea persontobeatchoice.Nonetheless,thispathisfraughtwith dangers. I will discuss the charismatic trance from a technical as wellasapracticalpointofview. Myobjectiveisforyouto recognize,analyzeandknowwhatisinvolvedtolearnhowto controlacharismatictrance.Therearealsothreemainper spectives:oneperspectiveisfromthepointofthepersonwho isgeneratingthe charismatictrance. Anotherperspectiveis fromthepointofthepersonwhoisaffectedbythecharismat ictrance.Thereisathirdperspectivewhichisours:weare notthegeneratorofacharismatictrance,nordowegetswept upintothem39. Egomaniacs, driven individuals on a "mission," certain kinds of visionaries, artists, or selfproclaimed messiahs, et cetera, are likely to be in charismatic trances in which the trance wyrdsaresointensethattheysweepupothersinto their trance by potentiating dissociated trance planes and constructing trance generating loops, often over a distance. Successful moviestars, gurus,saints, business andpolitical leaders,andsoforth,areallincharismatictrances.

39Butbecausemanypeoplearesweptupintooneoranothercharismatictrance,our thirdperspectivemaybeseenascriticismofthosewhoareinvolvedincharismatic trance.Iamnotcriticizing,perse,ratherIamonlytryingtodescribeandunderstand whatisgoingonwiththismostfascinatingformoftrance.

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Theidentifyingcharacteristicofacharismatictranceisthe existenceoftwohypnotictranceloops.Thefirstloopcontains abeliefthattheyareonamission;ithasafixedideaorfocus. They compulsively talk about their mission, and demon strateegomania. Thetrancegeneratingloopconsistsofthe subject or focus oftheir mission. That is all that exists in theirmind.Everythingisabouttheirmissionormania.If thisfirstloopexistedalone,byitself,theywouldseemtobab bleabouttheirmaniainacompulsiveway,butyoutheob serverwouldnotbepulledintotheirbabble.However,the secondhypnoticloopgoesfromtheoutsidetotheinside;that is,theypullothersintofocusingenergyontheirmission.In otherwords,everyideaotherthanthemania,isactivelyasso ciatedtothemania. Itisthissecondloopthatinvitesyour participation,demandsyourfocusand,whenrepeated,draws youintoahypnotictrance.Thesetwoloopsaredistinctand separate.Theremaybeotherloops,aswell,whichhelptofix atethetwotrancesinplace,butthesetwoloopsconstitutethe primarytrances. Becausetheresultingcharismatictrancewyrdsarestrong, peoplewillgetsweptupintothem.Personalitycultscanre sultwhenpeoplegiveuptheirownpowertothepersonwhois inacharismatictrance.Personalcharismaresultinginpoliti cal power can be a result of a wellmanaged charismatic trance. Entertainment figures who manage to create a charismatictrancecanbecomefamous. Visionaries and prophets may also be in a charismatic trance and they can carry a positive evolutionary message. Butthemerepresenceofacharismatictrancedoesnotitself provethatanygivencharismaticpersonwillusethetrancein

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apositiveway.Theonlythingthatyoucanreallysayabouta charismatic trance is: Wow, it sure is powerfully impressive.Whatpeopleidentifyascharismaisjusttheef fectofthetrancewyrd. TheStructure A charismatictrance startswitha meditationtrance loop maintained overalongperiodoftime. Opportunities fora longtermsubmersioninameditationtrancearerarebutdo exist.Forexample,spendingtimeinamonasteryprovidesan opportunity for long term meditation. Another opportunity wouldbespendingmanyyearsinprison,especiallyinsolitary confinement. Yetanotheropportunityfordevelopingalong term meditation trance is extreme pain or suffering, which maybetheresultoffamilyabuse,awar,aninjuryoranill ness. Thespecificexperienceofpainisoftenthesourceofa specific taboo ofwhichthemeditationtranceisthecovering. Thisfirstbuildingblockofa charismatictrance thepain, themeditationandthetaboorequirestimetofullydevelop. Chronicpainisanotherpowerfulstimulustorepeatingsome thingmentallyinordertocreatepainreliefandtherebycre ateatrancegeneratingloop.Denial,too,helpstodevelopthe tabooandaddsmorewyrdtothecharismatictrance.Butthis meditationtranceisonlythefirstpartofthebuildingblock.I willrefertoitlateron. Amonkmightuseamantraorprayerasthemainmedita tiontrance loop,butinorderforastrong charismatictrance todevelop,itisvitalthattheloopcontentnotchangemuch overtime. Theremaybeatendencytoaugmentorchange thetranceloopcontentduetotheeffectofthetrance.Forex

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ample,amonkmightstartoffusingasimpleprayer,butover aperiodoftime,mightthinkthathehasgrownoutofitand wish to change the prayer. This only serves to lessen the trancewyrdandwillnotresultinastrongcharismatictrance developing.Amoreeffectivewayistostartanotherprayeror mantrawithoutterminatingthefirstone. Thatis,oneadds an additional meditation trance loop to the first. This ap proachwilldefinitelyincreasethewyrd. Themeditationtrancecreatedinthecontextofaprisonen vironmentcanhaveasitscontentcognitiveobjectsassociated withmemorieswhichcontributetorelivingtheexperienceor thefeelingsoffrustrationandanger.Thesefeelingsandthe experiencewhichproduces thembecomethe taboo ofwhich themeditationtranceisthecover. Theeffectoftheseprisonrelatedmeditationloopscreates heightened inner involvement, memory modification, and somebodyanesthesiaandpainrelief. Oncealongtermmeditationtranceiswellestablished,an other trance may be started which involves the externally perceivedworld.Thistranceisthesecondbuildingblockofa charismatictrance.Itisahypnotictrance,butmaynotnec essarilyincludepeople,perse.So,someoneinaprisonmight lookataspideronawallandassociatethemovementofthe spiderwithaparticularchangeinthefirstmeditationtrance. Forexample,ifthespidermovesupthewall,thenthemedita tionfocusisrageandrevenge;ifthespidermovesdownthe wall,thenthemeditationfocusispeaceandforgiveness.For a monk theremaybeotherassociationswithchurchbells, for example, or with the nightly visits of a mouse. Either way,theexternalworldisalwaysexperiencedfromthepoint

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ofviewofthefirstmeditationtrance.Althoughthemonkor prisonermayhavestartedwithameditationtrance,integrat ing the content of the external world into the meditation trance is a certain and natural way to create a hypnotic tranceinadditiontothemeditationtrance. Inordertobeabletocontrolthecharismatictrance,itis important that the monk or prisoner develops or creates a trigger for starting or stopping the trance. For a monk or prisoner this may be the dinner bell, but for someone in a familyabusesituationitmaybethetouchorthevoiceofafa voriteauntorgrandmother orevenafamilypetwhichcan terminateatrancethroughpassiveintervention. Thistrig ger, either in reality or as a memory, brings an important groundcontroltoatrance. AlthoughIhavebeendiscussingthesimpleststructureofa charismatic trance, this structure actually becomes much morecomplicatedinreallife.Bythat,Imeaninanycharis matictrancethereisnotsimplyonemeditationtranceloop, oronehypnotictranceloop.Therearemultipletrancegener atingloops,andtheseresultinmultipletrancescreatingcom plexsystemswhichcanbecomeachallengetoanalyze.
A clear method of controlling such complex trance systems becomesveryimportant. Withoutanydefinitecontrolatrance complex40 caneventuallybecomedisconnectedfromthisreality resultingintrancelings,delusionsandentitiesseemingtohave anindependentexistence. Thepointtorememberisthateach trance results in its own set of disabled cognitive functions,
40 Atrancecomplexisasystemoftrancegeneratingloopscreatingmultiple meditation,hypnotic,addictiveandcharismatictrances.Suchcomplexesarevery difficulttocontrolorbreakandfrequentlyseemtohaveanindependentlife.

142/DENNISR.WIER especially shortterm memory. So, the person in a complex trance has many memory failures. Some of these memory failures are covering important taboos, keys to controlling the trance.

Sustainedovertimeanyuncontrolled trance complexcre atesanotherrealityforthepersoninthetrance.Inthecase ofthespiders,youcanimaginethatthepersoncreatingand livinginsuchacharismatictrancewoulddevelopmanydelu sions.Overtime,arangeofnewperceptionsanddelusions perceived from trance forms a new reality in which the movementofthespiderandthedelusionofthemeditatorbe come one: one in the sense that it is really not known whetheritisthemovementofthespiderwhichcreatesthein nerfeelingsortheinnerfeelingswhichcreatethemovement ofthespider.Itbecomesvitalthatthespidercooperatewith themeditatorinordertomaintainacertaincoherenceofreal ity.Imean,themeditatorbeginstohaveavestedinterestin themovementofthespider;thespidermustcooperatewith themeditator. Thisneedorcompulsion,springingfromthe long term meditation and hypnotic and addictive processes, whichhavecreatedtheirownrealities,isthestructuralmech anismwhichsweepsothersintoakindofcodependency. If youaregoingtobecomethespideronaprisonerswall,you hadbetterbehavelikeoneoryouwillbepsychicallycrushed! Severalcrushedspiderslatertheprisoner/meditatorbegins to create a compelling wyrd. Charismatic personalities thoseinacharismatictrancearenotrare. Likewise, the lonely, isolated, hermit monk may beginto perceivereligiousartifactsandsymbolsinnewways.Thear tifactsmayspeaktohimorappeartorevealhiddenmessages

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ormeanings. Overtime,thenewrelationshipwiththereli giousartifacts,causedbyhisimpressionswiththenewhid densymbolicmeaningsaltersthemonk'sperceptionsandre ality.Cognitivefunctionssuchassensualperceptions,critical judgment,ormemorydonotfunctioninanormalway.Devel opedintoacharismatictrance,thehermitmonkmaybecome a visionary, a prophet, a mystic with new messages for mankind. Thereisatemptationtodescribesuchisolatedprisonersor hermit monks as being delusional or psychotic. It is only when the trance generating loops become so numerous and haverepeatedsomanytimesoveralongperiodoftimethat theybegintohavethepotentialtocompelothers.Buttheun derlyingmechanismisacomplextranceprocess. Anuncon trolled charismatic trance will seem delusional, of course. But, a welldefined and controlled charismatic trance pulls everyoneintohypnosis;thesharedrealityisconstructed.You canseewhatisnotthere;whatisthereisnotseen.Whatyou experience may well be miraculous; if a group agrees that theyallsawtheboyclimbuptheropeanddisappear,whocan sayotherwise? Ifthevibuti41 andtheRolexwatcharereal enough,isthatnotproofofamiracle?Youmaythinkofother examplesofacharismatictrance. Thedisabledcognitivefunctions I mentioned above that the inner meditation trance has some pain relieving function through a decrease in body awareness. Inaddition, therealmostcertainlyarechanged perceptionsduetothelongtermeffectsofmaintaininganal
41 SacredashmaterializedbySatyaSaiBaba,forexample.

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ternaterealityortwoorevenmore. Thedisabled cognitive functions areofcourseattachedtovarioustrances,butthey havesynergisticeffectsaswell.Thatis,ifonetrancecauses memory dysfunction,anothertrancecanheightenperception insuchawayastocreatefalsememories. Criticaljudgment isdisabledbytheactionofonetrance,butenhanced literal ismcancreateatypeoffalseanddelusionallogicalthinking whichseemstomimicthenormal criticaljudgment wehave cometoknowandloveonthisplanet.Yes,thoseinacharis matictrancedoseemliketheyarefromanotherplanetwhere theycanconversewithinvisibleskybeings,talktobirdsand waterrunsuphill.Whenmaintainedforalongtime,theseal ternaterealities42becomemoreorlesspermanent.Thereisa vestedinterestbythemeditatorinmaintainingthealternate reality. The longterm meditator has plenty of time to in creaseperceptionanddevelopoperativeskillsinthisnewre alityorrealitiessothatthesocallednormalrealityisrein terpretedtofitthealternatereality. Thespider does follow thedesiresofthemeditatorandthenormallawsofphysics don'tapplyanymore. Theclashofrealities When a person not intrance comes into range of such a meditator,thereisaninitialclashofrealities.Observingthe personinastrong charismatic trance canprovokefear,but alsohighrespect. Thereisafeelingofelectricityintheair, alsoofexcitement,possiblydread. Thesesensationsareef fectsofthewyrd.Onefeelsashiftinreality,likegoinginto anotherdimension,intoatunnelorintoawakingdream.It
42 Mostpsychiatristswouldtermthesealternaterealitiesbytheworddelusion.

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takes anextremelyselfawarepersontomaintainconscious observerstatusinsuchwyrdfields. TheWyrd The wyrd isthe tranceforce. Itmeasuresthestrengthor depthofatrance,andmeasuresthedifficultyofbreakingthe trance.Thewyrdisadditiveinthesensethatmultiple,inter lockingtrancesaretough,resilient,andautomaticallyreform ing.Youjustaddupthewyrdsofallthecomponenttrances andthatrepresentsthetotalwyrdofthattrancecomplex.In thecaseofa charismatictrance,thereistheprimaryinner meditationtrancewhichmayhavecontinuedformanyyears. Addtothatthe hypnotic trance involvingthespideronthe wall.Addtothattheadditionaltrancesbuiltonthealternate realityinwhichthemeditatorcontrolsthespider.Allofthese trancestakeplaceoveralongperiodoftime,sothewyrdbe comesnumericallylarge. Theloopswhichconstitutethesetrancecomponentsmust besustainedforalongperiodoftimeinorderthatthewyrd growsinintensity. Whentheloopsbecomefixedorcompul siveduetointerlockingloops,thewyrdwillbecomesostrong astobecomepalpable.Dependingonthecontentofthecon stituted loops, the wyrd may be attractive or repulsive. It maybeveryscaryorspookyaswell. Someoftheprimaryloopsmaybetabooandcoveredsothat theseloopsarenotlocatableortheymaybesecret.Evenex posingthetaboodoesnotnecessarilymeanthetranceisbro ken,althoughthewyrdmaybecomelessandsomeoftheex ternalhypnoticloopswillbecomeunstable;fewerpeoplewill becaughtinthecharismaticweb.

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Charisma from the pedestrian view

So, you pass by a building or tent from which strange sounds emerge. You are immediately curious because the soundsaresounusual,andyoufeelsomethingweirdisgoing on. Youarecurious andyouwant toenterthebuildingor tent.Thisistheeffectofthetrancewyrdwhichisgenerated bywhoeverisinthebuildingortent.Itpullsyouin. Itat tractsyouinawyrdway. Thesounds maynot make muchsense initially. Infact, theymightbeconfusing. Partofyoumaybebored,butan otherpartfollowsitandinordertomakesenseofit,youhave to suspend judgment. But when you do, you experience a kindofpleasureorcurioushappiness,completeness.Yoube gintounderstandthingsfromanewperspective.Someparts mightnotmakesenseyet,but,asyouhavealreadyseen,you needtosuspendjudgment. Thenyoucanexperiencesome thingpleasurableaswellashaveanewunderstanding.You feelasthoughyouareachievingsomethingpositiveandper sonal. Eventually, you simply believe that you will reach somehighergoalandunderstandeverything.Andwhenthat happensyouaresuretohaveevenmoreunderstandingand pleasure. Even if understanding is not your goal, you can simplyrelaxandhavefaithinyourleaderwhowillbringyou tothegoal. Coupledwiththisgrabbing,suckingtypeoftrancewebis yourexperienceofbecomingopen,involvedinsomethingim portant beyond yourself, but at the same time you need to suspendmore andmoreofyour own criticaljudgment,and abdicatepersonalresponsibilityoveryourownlife. Youfeel open,butyouactuallyhavebecomeliteralminded,quitenar

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row, dogmatic, fixed and closed in order to accept the new paradigmsoftheleader. Suspendingcriticalthinking,aswellasrefrainingfromex pressing any critical thoughts aloud are characteristic of thosewhoareinvolvedwithsomeoneinacharismatictrance. Taboobecomesimportantincharismatictrance.Thereare feelingsofsecrecy,power,specialness. Addedtothisisalso an unspoken and unspeakable fear, perhaps spookiness. Somehowyoufeelafraidtobreakawayfromtheleaderorto challengehim.Itisasthoughyournewworldofspecialplea sureandknowledgewouldcollapseandyouwouldbecomein sane,loseyourbearingsinlife,bealone. Acharismatictranceisveryseductive.Infact,ifyoulove theleader,youwillhaveevenmoreunderstanding.Itisin asenseaddictivelovewhichisfundamentaltocharismatic trance. Withacharismatictranceyoumightfeelmorelove, companionship,andconnectednessthanyouhaveeverfeltbe fore. Although thelovefeltforreligious leaders isundeni able,alcoholicsalsofeelloveforeachother,andthefansof entertainmentstarsalsofeelloveforthem.So,thelovehas todowiththetranceandnotwithwhoisbeingloved,orwhat theloveisabout,orwhatvaluesarebeingrepresentedbythe charismaticrelationship. Theseductiverelationshipofcharismaandthelovewhich followershavefortheirleaderscanalsoexpressitselfinactu alsexualrelationshipsnomatterwhattheexpressedvalues of the leader may be. Sexual love and these feelings are taboo,however. Repressedsexualloveservestostrengthen thewyrdintheseformsoftrance.Thus,practicallyspeaking, sexualityinsomeformisoftenlikelytobepresentasanex

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pressionofloveandpower.Therepressionofsexualitymere lyspeaks ofthetabooandits presence efficientlyincreases thewyrd.Theexposureofthetaboowillinallcasestendto destabilizethehypnoticloops,weakenthewyrdandmayre sultintheterminationofthecharismatictrance.

Taboocoversthesourceoflifeaschaos.Thepotentialenergy of chaos is very primitive, violent, potentially murderous, but also incredibly beautiful, full of energy and power. In this bifurcated sense, chaos both creates and destroys life. This aspectofthedivineisDionysian. Itrepresentsthedestruction of the individual ego and is the primordial separation of the UnityintoCreation.Or,toputinotherterms,thebeginningof trancecreates the separation between the Selfand the Other. The Other is the Chaos. We stay with the Self in order to preserveourselves.Atthesametime,wecoverthetrancewitha taboo,forget aboutitasmuchaspossible,andtrickourselves intothinkingourillusoryindividualselfistheBigEgo. After losing our divine nature because of this trick, we can spendlifetimeenergyattemptingtorecoverit. Cultsandtheir charismatic leaders in various forms of evolution appear from timetotimeinanattempttobringusindividuallybacktoour originalhiddendivinenature.Andsoitgoes. Exercises 1.Setatimelikeanhourforexposuretoacharismatic cult,entertainmentorreligiousgroup.Writedownyourfeelings andsensationsduringthehour,andespeciallyifyourshortterm memoryfails. Afternolongerthanone hour,leave thegroup and note your feelings. Can you identify the hypnotic loops?

THEWAYOFTRANCE/149 Can you estimate the intensity of the wyrd? What made it difficultforyoutoleavethegroupafteronehourexposure? 2.Locateamentalinstitutioninyourneighborhood.Asyou getclosetothementalinstitutionhowclosedoyouneedtobe before you can detect the wyrd? What is the nature of the energy?Howdoyoufeelorthink?Doesprolongedexposureto the wyrd affect your shortterm memory or your critical judgment?Howdoyouknow?

3. Determine who in the mental institution has the strongest wyrd. Sometimes this can be done with a so ciogram,butaskingnursesorinmatescanhelpidentifythe onewiththestrongestwyrd. Trytoidentifytheindividual loopswhichcreatethecharismatic trance. Spendonehour (only)withthatindividual. Noteespeciallytheeffectofthe wyrd on your own subjective feelings and any hypnotic trances which are induced in you. Be aware especially of meditativetranceloopswhicharestartedinyou. Notethe trancedeltaandtranceepsilon.
Questions

1.Nameanycurrentpoliticalleaderwhoyoubelieveisina charismatictrance.Describethecharacteristicsofthetrance and how the political nature of the charismatic trance has helpedorhurtthesocialorder. 2. What are some of the ways any political charismatic trancecouldbemitigated?

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InvasiveTrance

A step forward is a step back

Aninvasivetranceisanhypnotictrancecreatedbyahyp notistwhotakesadvantageofaconditionofyourmindwhich sometimesoccursinwhichyouaremoresuggestiblethannor mal. An opportunity to create an invasive trance is created wheneveryourcriticaljudgmentisnotenabledoryouarenot alertandnotthinkingcritically. Thiscanhappenifyouare druggedordrunk,butmayalsohappenwhenyouaresimply notalert,notpayingattention,distracted,confused,afraidor overstimulated. Therearemanyopportunitiesforaninva sivetrancetobestartedwhetheryouareinabusycity,ajun gleorlivingaloneasahermit. Invasivetrancesarehypnoticandtheloopscontainsugges tionswhichcreateoralterbeliefs,changeperformanceorsug gestthatafutureconditionalspecificactionistotakeplace. Undernormalcircumstances,wemightbelievethatthereis nooneinterestedinmanipulatingus,andthisisthereason weareusuallynotinastateofalertness.Invasivehypnotic

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trancetechniquesworkprimarilybecausewearenotaware thattheycouldbeworking.Hypnotistswhowishtousethese techniqueswouldpreferthatwewouldnotknowaboutorbe alerttotheiruse. Invasivetrancetechniquesaremindcon troltechniquesbasedondeception,secrecy,andstealth. Ifwearealwaysalertformindcontroloverus,wewouldbe consideredtobeparanoid.Andyet,thetechnologyhasexist edforinvasivemindcontrolformanydecades.Wemightlove tothinkthatithasneverbeenusedonuspersonally,butthis likelywouldbeamistake.Howextensiveistheuseofmind controltechnologyisnotreallyknown,butithasbeenused opportunisticallyinmilitarytheatersaswellasincommercial andreligiousenterprises. Here are a few documented examples in which invasive trancetechniqueshavebeenused. DuringthefirstGulfWar,theUnitedStatesusedanun usualbuteffectivemeansofforcingsurrenderofIraqitroops. Highabove thegroundaspecially equipped AWAC aircraft broadcastmicrowaves.Onthesemicrowaveswasanonsinu soidal43carrierofapproximately15KHertzafrequencyjust abovetheaudiblerangeforhumans.Andonthiscarrierwas asubcarrierofaudiblefrequencieswithanArabicvoicede livering hypnotic suggestions designed to compel the Iraqi forcestosurrender. Thenewsatthattimereportedwithout explanationthatthousandsofIraqitroopssurrendered,some timeswavingawhiteflagtoemptyorabandonedU.S.Mili taryvehicles.
43 Asinusoidalwaveformisbasedonthetrigonometricsinfunction.Nonsinusoidal meansnotasinwave.Typically,itmightbetrapezoidal,pulsed,squareora combinationofthese.

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AcompanyintheU.S.hasperfectedatechniqueofultra sonic sound transmission called The Silent Sound Spread Spectrum(SSSS),andsometimescalled"Squad"or"Squad". ItwasdevelopedbyDrOliverLoweryofNorcross,Georgia, andisdescribedinUSPatent#5,159,703,"SilentSubliminal PresentationSystem",datedOctober27,1992.Theabstract readsasfollows:
"Asilentcommunicationssysteminwhichnonauralcarriers,inthe veryloworveryhighaudiofrequencyrangeorintheadjacentultra sonicfrequencyspectrumareamplitudeorfrequencymodulated withthedesiredintelligenceandpropagatedacousticallyorvibra tionally,forinducementintothebrain,typicallythroughtheuseof loudspeakers,earphones,orpiezoelectrictransducers.Themodulat edcarriersmaybetransmitteddirectlyinrealtimeormaybeconve nientlyrecordedandstoredonmechanical,magnetic,oropticalme diafordelayedorrepeatedtransmissiontothelistener."

ThiscompanyhaslicensedthetechnologyinJapanforuse byautomatedsoftdrinkvendingmachines. Whenaperson passesinfrontofvendingmachinesequippedwiththistech nology,oneinaudiblyhearsinone'sheadthatis,sublimi nallythesoundoficecubesfallingandclinkingintoaglass andthecanofsodabeingopenedwiththecharacteristicpffft. Presumablythissubtleandinaudiblemessageencouragesa passerbytoconsiderbuyingasoftdrinkfromtheautomated vendingmachine. Some large department stores reputedly use ultrasonic soundtransmissiontohypnoticallyinfluencecustomerstopay foralltheirpurchases.Thesehypnoticsuggestionsareused toreducelossesduetoshoplifting. But,intheory,theyalso couldbeusedtoinfluencecustomerbuyinghabits.

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SomecharismaticchurchesintheUnitedStatesaswellas insomeeasternEuropeancountrieshaveusedultrasonicsub liminal suggestions to increase the volunteer donations of thebelieversaswellastocreateandstrengthenbeliefinmir acles.Perhapsthisisthewayanalmostcharismaticpreach ercandemonstratethatmiraculoushealingstakeplaceinhis church. LawenforcementdistrictsinCaliforniahavetestedtheuse ofultrasonicsoundwithhypnoticsuggestionsforcrowdcon trol,suicides,hostagesituations,trafficstopsandothersitua tions.Theresultsofthesetestsarenotknown,butpresum ablymindcontroltechniquesinthisareaarebeingrefined. Oncerefined,youwillfindtheminyourowncity. Whilebothultrasonicandelectronictrancecreateshypnot ictrance,thisnewmethodofdeliveryofsuggestionsisdiffer entandimportantenoughtodeservespecifictreatment.Ul trasonic andelectronic trance may well become much more commoninthenearfuture. Wemaybeembarkingintoan ageofsubliminalmindwarfareinwhichgovernments,corpo rations,religionsandothergroupscompetetoinstillbehav iors,performance,beliefsanddelusionswhichsuittheirspe cificagendas. Becausethisinvasiveformofhypnoticbehav iormodificationisdonewithoutpriorknowledgeorconsentof thetarget,itis,inmyopinion,aformoftranceabuse.When competingsuggestionsoccur,theresultislikelytobeconfu sion, depression, frustration and anger without knowing why. Ultrasonic and electronic means of inducing trance work becausethemethodofdeliverydoes notallow criticaljudg menttooperatenormally.Inotherwords,itisdonesublimi

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nally, secretly and surreptitiously. Invasive trance tech niquesrepresent opportunities forexploitationinwhichthe victimispassive,uncomplainingandacquiescent. Itislike having someone come into your bedroom at night, sedating youwithanultrasonic/electronicdevicesothatyoufallintoa deeptrance,rapingyouandstealingallyourmoney. Inthe morningyoudontfeelright,youfeelsoreandallofyourmon eyisgone.Youdontrememberanythingexceptyoufeelboth strangelypatrioticandsingularlyunmotivatedtodoanything aboutit.Depressed,inotherwords. InthefollowingparagraphsIwilldescribesomeofthecur rentandpotential methods andapplications ofsonic, ultra sonicandelectronicmethodsforinducingtrance.Pleasenote: Idonotadvocatetheuseofanyoftheseperniciousformsof tranceabuse.Butitisimportanttopresentthescopeofus ageinsuchawaythatyoucaneasilyunderstandsomeofthe dangersofthesemethodsoftranceinduction.Byunderstand ing and exposing the danger clearly, steps can be taken to counterveneanyofthesemethods.Also,byusingaprogres sivetypologyofsonic,ultrasonic,electronic,noninvasiveand invasive,youmaybegintounderstandwhatthefuturemay bring.Inshort,itwillprobablybringacombinationofthese deliverymethodsaswellasusethestructuraltypologyIhave set forth regarding meditation, hypnosis, addiction and charisma. Allofthesetechniqueshaveameasurablewyrd, allhaveagreatpotentialfortransformingbehaviorwithout permission,andallwillchangeyourdestinyasapersonand asacitizen.Ifitisdoneinsecret,thenwhetheryouagreeto bemanipulatedornotiscertainlynotthepoint.Itisonlyaf

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teryoubecomeawareoftheoutragethathasbeendoneto youthatyoumightwanttoobjectinthestrongestterms. We first need to distinguish between sonic or audible meansofcreatingatranceandultrasonicandelectronic(in audible)formsoftranceinduction.

Audibly Induced Trance

Anaudiblyinducedtranceistheeasiesttospotbecauseyou canhearit.Yourcriticaljudgmentisstillintact,andunless itbecomesdisabledyouhaveachanceofavoidingtheinflu enceofanysuggestions. Ifsomeonecomesuptoyouandmakessuggestionsusing embedded commands44, these are audible suggestions. If yourcriticaljudgmentisdisabled,youcouldeasilybeinduced intoatrance.Butifyoucanrecognizeembeddedsuggestions, you might be alert enough to nullify their effect. 45 Being awareofrepetitionandcognitiveloopsisalsoahelpinavoid ingtranceabuse.
Noninvasivesonic(audible)tranceinductionbydefinitioncan beheardandsoyoucanavoidandwalkawayfromit.Youknow itishappeningandyoucan,solongasyouarenotinducedinto atrance,escapefromit.

AnyhypnotistorstagehypnotistoraskilleduserofNLP 46 practicessomeform ofanoninvasivesonictrance inducing technique.

44 SeethelistattheendofthechapteronHypnosis. 45 Alistofembeddedcommandsisincludedattheendofthischapter. 46 NeuroLinguisticProgramming

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Someotherexampleshavebeenmentionedearlier,suchas the tranceinducing aspects of music, etc. You can always walkawayorturnofftheseformsofnoninvasivetrancein ductiontechniquesbecauseyourcriticaljudgmentisenabled: youstillhaveyourWill,andyoucandecidewhetheryouwish tocontinuetolistenornot. There is a fine line between noninvasive and invasive tranceinduction. Invasiveaudiblyinducedtrance Therearesometranceinductiontechniqueswhichyoucan hear,buttheyareinvasiveanditisdifficulttoescapetheir influence. Ifyouareonthetelephonetalkingtoyourinsur ancecompany,youarecaptiveinasmuchasyoumightneedto talktotheotherparty.Butwhatiftheyourinsurancecom panyeithertriestosellyouanunrelatedproductwhileyou areonthephonewiththem,orevenworse,startspromotinga religiousorpoliticalagenda?Itisoutofcontextforyourin surancetransaction,yet,thereyouare,inawayneedingto listentoitsoatleastyoucanignoreit.Ignoreit?Ifyoutune itout,themessagemightinfluenceyoumoreeasily. Usuallyphonecallstendtosticktothesubject,butthereis atrendinautomatedtelephoneresponsesystemstopressthe envelopebyaddingunsolicitedoffersoralertingyoutoalter nativemethodsofofcommunicationwiththemorgivingyou informationnotaskedforandnotrelatedtothepurposeof yourcall.Itisbutashortsteptoperniciouslyaddembedded commands andunrelatedpromotions tosuchautomated re sponses.

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Movie theaters and DVDs often show advertisements or promotionsbeforethemainfeaturefilm. Sincemoviegoers arecaptiveintheirseats,whensuchadvertisementscontain hypnoticsuggestions,thetechniquewouldbeanexampleof aninvasiveaudiblyinducedtrance.
Television

Televisionis,ofcourse,themostcommonmeansoftrance inductionwithsocial,economic,politicalandcommercialef fectsandapplications.Technically,televisioninductionisnot anelectronictrance,butitisinvasive.Atranceisinducedby televisionimagesstimulatingtheprimitivehumanbrain.As the images are understood by your reptilian brain, various cognitivefunctions,suchas critical judgmentandshortterm memory,aredisabled,andinnerinvolvementisenhanced.
Televisionisaprovenandeffectivedeviceforchangingbuying habitsandmodifyingsocialhabits,customsandbeliefsoflarge populations. Situation comedies, soap operas and even newscastshaveallbeenexploitedtopromotesocialandpolitical agendas,andevenreligiousattitudes. Television uses rapidly changing images to disable critical judgmentthroughsensoryoverload,fearandconfusioninduction techniques;and,then,usesvisualimageryandaudiotodeliver suggestions. Onetranceinducingloopmissing fromtelevision which prevents an even stronger trance from occurring is the immediate response feedback from the viewer to the program whichisinducingthetrance.Thistypeoffeedbackis,however, presentincomputerbasedandvirtualrealitydevices.

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Computers
Computers and computerbased games are much more effectiveininducingstrongertrancesthantelevision.Joysticks, mouseandkeyboardinputsdoprovide limitedfeedbacktothe softwarewhichcouldmodifyvisualandauralstimulitodeepen trance. Most commercial computer games are designed for entertainment purposes. But what constitutes effective entertainment? When software designers deliberately seek to induce trance to enhance the thrill of the chase, for example, theymayjustifyitasbeingmoreeffective.Butthepotentialfor exploitationofcomputergamesastranceinducingcarrieswithit thedangerofgamesbeingusedtopromoteotheragendasinthe samewaytelevisionhasbeenused.

VirtualReality Virtualreality(VR)isanassemblyoflocalsensestimula torsandactionreceptorsindividuallyprogrammedbymeans ofacomputer.VRusesmoresensoryinputandoutputactua torssothathowapersonrespondstostimuliiinfluencesor controlshowtheprogramsubsequentlystimulatesthepartici pant. Forexample,VRcantrackeyeballmovement,detect changes in galvanic skin response, body temperature, and musclemovement.VRcannotonlyprovidevisualandaudi blestimulation,butcancreatetactilepressuresandtextures, temperaturevariationsontheskin,andevensmellsandpain. Unliketelevisionorcomputers,VRishighlyinteractiveand personal.Howtheseinputsandresponsesareuseddepends onlyonthesophisticationoftheVRsoftwareandtheinput andoutputdevices. Synesthesiaormappingonesenseinto anotherbecomeseasytodowithsoftware.

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Some application uses of VR are highly realistic simula tions,remotecontrolofdangerousortoxicprocesses,spaceex ploration,microexploration,nanoandcleanroommanufac turing, virtual meetings of remotely located persons, ad vancedlearningsimulations,advancedskilltraininginareas suchasspaceexploration,militarycombat,andcomplexmed ical procedures, PTSD desensitization, mind manipulation, psyopsand,ofcourse,torture.47 Somecivilianandcommercialapplicationsarehighlyreal isticactiongames,includingvirtualsex.Withvirtualsexand computercontrolledVRremoteprocessing,youthinkyouare onlyshakingthehandofthatdistantpartner,yetwhydoes shakinghishandproducesuchasillysmileonhisface?These kindsofapplicationsareonthehorizonofVR. VRissimilartotelevision,butwillbemuchmoreeffective asatranceinducingmechanismbecauseoftheinteractivena tureofthemultiplehypnotictranceloops.InteractiveVRhas manymoretranceinducinglooppossibilitiesthannoninter activetelevision. Whiletelevisionisaprovenpowerfulmanipulatorofatti tudesandbeliefs,VRpromisestobeevenmorepowerfulbe causeitcapturesofmoresenses,articulatesinteractivelyand candeliversuggestionsthemoment criticaljudgment isde tectedtobedisabled. Virtualrealitydevicesalsohaveastrongaddictivepoten tialbecausethemultipleloopsmaybesustainedoveralong timeperiod. Whenmonitoredandpositivelycontrolled,one couldexpectpermanentbehaviormodification,fixingofbelief
47 Imnotadvocatinganyofthese,merelynotingtheirpossibility.

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systems, mitigation of inappropriate responses, enhanced skilltraining. Whenusedunmonitoredorhaphazardly,one couldexpectapotentialincreaseofneurologicalandpsycho logicalpathologies,developmentofinappropriateandcompul siveresponsesandbehaviors,developmentofdelusions,fan tasies,and hallucinations. Thepotential existsforcreating pathologicalmonstersusingVR. Thepromisealsoexistsfor VRtobeusedtoenhancehumansensitivitiesandtoelectron icallycreatedeepmeditationexperience. Aswithanytrancesystemwithahighpotentialforabuse, suchasVR,thequestiontoaskis:whocontrolsthisdevice, whatistheiragendaanddotheyhavepositivecontroloverall sideeffects? Until these questions are definitely answered, VRremainstoodangeroustocontemplate.

Ultrasonic (inaudible) Trance

Ultrasonic soundissoundwhichisatahigher frequency thanthatwhichisnormallyaudibletohumans. Normally, humans can hear sounds within a range of 100 to 12,500 Hertz(cyclespersecond).Soundwavesbelow100Hzareof ten felt rather than heard. Sound waves above 12,500 Hz generallyarenotheard. Sound waves which are within the normally audible fre quencyrangesof500to3,500Hzcanbesuperimposedonor electronicallymixedwithanultrasoniccarrierof,say,15,000 Hz. resulting in an inaudible signal which ranges between 12.5KHzand18.5KHz.Thissuperimpositionisdonebyfre quencymodulationoftheultrasoniccarrierfrequency. Theultrasoniccarrierwaveformitselfdoesnotnecessarily need to be a true sine wave, but may be in other various

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waveforms including square, pulsed and trapezoidal wave forms. Modifiedwaveshapessuchastrapezoidal have beenfoundbyexperimentationtobemoreeffectivethansine wavesfordeliveringsubliminalcontenttohumans. Theresultofvariousconfigurationsofaudiblesoundmodu lationof higher frequency carrier waves of different shapes resultsinanultrasonicsoundwhichisnotaudibleinanor malway,butneverthelesswillbeunderstoodsubliminally.
When ultrasonic sound carries repeated suggestions, trance will be induced in persons without their awareness of the contentofthosesuggestions.Thisis,ofcourse,aformoftrance abuse. The suggestions are effective because the delivery of suggestionsbypassesthenormalfilterofcriticaljudgment.You can'tcensorthesuggestionsbecauseyouarenotawareofthem. What,then,canbeadefenseagainstthisperniciousinfluence?

DecodingtheSuggestions
If you are a clever electronic engineer you could design equipment to detect and demodulate ultrasonic hypnotic suggestions and to render them audible in realtime. The prospect of clever engineers on one side decoding subliminal suggestionsandontheothersidecleverengineersdesigningyet moresubtlewaystoavoiddetectionanddecodingpointstothe frontlinesoffuturemindcontrolwarfare. Therehavealready beenseveraldetectionavoidancecyclesinmilitaryformsofmind controlwarfare.Inthemiddleisthevictimsubjecttoavariety ofsubliminaltrance inducing techniques, lessand lessable to knowforsurewhatthecontentofthosesuggestionsmaybe.

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Noninvasiveultrasonictrance Noninvasive ultrasonic trance does not exist except per hapsinsomehypnotictapesyoucanbuyforchangingsmok ingorovereatinghabits.Whatmakesitnoninvasiveisthat thepurchaser agrees tosubmit totheeffect ofsubliminally delivered suggestions. One could, theoretically, ask for a scriptofthehypnoticsuggestionstoassureoneselfthatthose weretheonlysuggestionsbeingdelivered.

Electronically Induced Trance

Electronicshasalargepotentialfortranceabuse.Weare surroundedbyelectromagneticwavesconstantly.Thereisno escapefromthem. Thisformoftranceisnotthesameastelevisionhypnosis. Televisiondistributionmayinvolveradiofrequencytransmis sionmethods,butthetranceinducingaspectisdependenton theloopbetweenthecontentoftheimagesandtheresponses oftheviewer. Anelectronictranceisatrancewhichisinducedbymeans ofdirectelectricalstimulation.Electronictrancereliesondi rectelectricalstimulationofthebraineitherbyattachmentof electrodesorbyelectromagneticwaves. Thelatterincludes skullstimulationbymicrowaves.
Microwave and ultrasonic trance induction

Pulsesatmicrowavefrequencieshavebeenshowntobeef fectivecarriersofsubliminalsuggestions.

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Microwaveshavebeenusedinmilitaryprojectsasanat tempt to communicate directly with troops without normal telecommunicationequipment.

This technique grew out of an observation by radar technicians that they could hear the radar signal in their heads.Thereweresomeexperimentsdoneonthisphenomenon anditwasconcludedthatmicrowavesofverysmallpowercould beusedtostimulate the brain directly sothataudible signals couldbehearddirectly. Herestheabstractofoneexperiment conductedasfarbackas1962.
Theintentofthispaperistobringanewphenomenatotheatten tionofphysiologists.Usingextremelylowaveragepowerdensitiesof electromagneticenergy,theperceptionofsoundswasinducedinnor malanddeafhumans.Theeffectwasinducedseveralhundredfeet fromtheantennatheinstantthetransmitterwasturnedon,andisa functionofcarrierfrequencyandmodulation.Attemptsweremade tomatchthesoundsinducedbyelectromagneticenergyandacoustic energy. Theclosestmatchoccurredwhentheacousticamplifierwasdriven bytheRFtransmitter'smodulator.Peakpowerdensityisacritical factorand,withacousticnoiseofapproximately80db,apeakpower densityofapproximately275mw/cm2isneededtoinducethepercep tionatcarrierfrequencies125mc48and1,310mc.Theaveragepow erdensitycanbeatrfaslowas400w/cm2.Theevidenceforthe variouspositivesitesoftheelectromagneticenergysensoraredis cussedandlocationsperipheraltothecochleaareruledout.49

Thescienceunderlyingthistechnologyisknowntoneuro physiologists,butnotwellknownbythegeneralpublic.50 In

48

49Frey,AllanH.,HumanAuditorysystemresponsetomodulatedelectromagnetic energy.J.Appl.Physiol.17(4):689692.1962.

mcwastheabbreviationformegacycles,nowmHz(megaHertz).

50Justesen,DonR.,MicrowavesandBehavior.J.Am.Psych.Assn.30(3)1975

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someways,thetechnologyremainssecretandtheequipment usedtoproducesuchsignalsisconsideredtobewarmateriel. Whenthesignaltransmittedisnotaudiblethatis,ultra sonicthentheequipmentcanbeusedbyaircraftforpropa gandareasons,unknowntothepopulationoverwhichtheair craftflies. Mindcontrolconspiracybuffsandtheparanoidwillbede lightedtospeculatethatU.S.Aircraftflyingoverheadright now are broadcasting hypnotic suggestions to citizens in America so that they might more peacefully acquiesce to a dictatorship.Thetechnologyhasexistedsince1962.Power fulpoliticalgroupswithblackops51capabilitymightbemoti vatedtoattemptpopulationcontrolinexactlythatway.The U.S.MilitaryhasconductedforeignoperationsinIraqusing thistechnologyinthe1980's.Thereisnohardevidencethat itmightbeusedinAmerica.Itmaybeimpossibletoknowfor certainhowmuchofourcurrentsocialandpoliticalcondition inghasbeeninfluencedbythepotentialandpresumeduseof invasivetrancecontroltechniquesintheUnitedStates,and howmuchtheuseofthesetechniquescouldberesponsiblefor currentpoliticalapathy.

Applications of invasive trance induction

Therearemanypotentialusesforinvasivetranceinduction inmedical,military,lawenforcement,religious,andcorporate venues. Here are some of the ways electronic or invasive tranceinductiontechniquesmightbeusedinthenearfuture

51 BlackOpsreferstothecapacitytocarryoutasurreptitiousandillegalaction,such asburglary,assassination,etc.

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iftheyarenotalreadyused.Idonotadvocateanyofthese applications,butIamawarethattheymaybeused. Medicaluses

Trance inducing techniques can be used in medical and surgicalvenues. Electronictrancecalledelectrosleepcan be used to induce muscle relaxation and pain insensitivity sufficientforsurgicalprocedures.Somedentistsusehypnosisas their preferred method of anesthesia for minor dental repairs. Whynotbroadcastultrasonichypnoticsuggestionsinthedental officetosoothetheanxietiesofpatientsbeforetheyevensitin thedentalchair?Indeed,hospitalenvironmentscouldbeareas inwhichsuchsoothingsuggestionselectronicallyblanketlarge areas. Electronicallyinducedtrancecouldalsobeusedtohelp patients recover quicker and with fewer complications. However, it might be counterproductive in that doctors and nurseswouldalsobeaffectedaswell. Tranceinducedpainreliefcreatesthedelusionthatthebody is not signaling pain. Suppressing pain and anxiety may be psychologically helpful to medical personnel or family who cannot stand to see patients suffer, but eliminating a medical symptomisfundamentallynothelpfulandmaybringapatient intoevenmoredanger.

MilitaryUses
The military organization requires obedience to orders. Electronicultrasonicandinvasivetrancescouldbeusedaspart ofthemilitarytraininginordertoproducesoldierswhodonot question their orders. Or, as mentioned above, these trance

166/DENNISR.WIER techniques could be used as a military weapon against other armiesorcivilians.

LawEnforcement Lawenforcementcanusetranceinordertocompelspecific behaviorswithouttheuseofviolentforce. Thecooperationoftrafficoffenders couldbecompelledby meansofultrasonicandorlocalmicrowavehypnoticsugges tions. Those threatening suicide might be compelled to give up suchdesires. Hostageandterroristsituationsmaybebroughttopeaceful endsbymeansofultrasonichypnosis. In prisons where tension is high, ultrasonic suggestions couldbeusedtopromotepeacefulcooperation. CorporateApplications Corporationsmightuseultrasonichypnosisinordertocom pelpurchases,ortomediateshoplifting. Whatismorewon derfultocorporateprofitsthantobeabletotuneconsumer compulsionstobuyproductstheydon'tnecessarilyneed? SocialControl Thegeneralbroadcastofultrasonicandmicrowavesugges tionscouldhelptoinfluencesocial,moralandsexualbehavior andtolimitpoliticalchoice.

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Beliefmanagement Ultrasonictrancehasbeenusedinsomereligiousinstitu tionsinordertoinfluencetheratesandamountsofdonations. Behavioralmodificationisalsoinuse. Control of belief systems by means of ultrasonic and mi crowaveinducedsuggestionshasapplicationsinthepolitical arenaaswell. Readingthoughtsandrecordingemotions
Thereissomeresearchshowingthatitispossibletobothread emotionsaswellastosendorbroadcastthem. Afterall,itis reallynotnecessarythathypnoticsuggestionsbewords. They canalsobeemotions.

MindWarfare
Thebigproblemininvasiveelectronicandultrasonictrance inductionisthatcompetingforthemindsifnotsoulsofordinary peoplemayhavedeleteriouseffectsandunknownconsequences. Underneath the competition for minds is the questionable assumptionthatsomesortofhomogeneousmindsetissocially, commerciallyandethicallydesirableandfeasible.Theseissues raiseprofoundethicalquestionsabouttheuseoftrance. Exercises 1.Ifyouareanelectronicengineer:buildanelectronicdevice which accepts audio from a cassette or CD and provides an ultrasonic form. Allow for various wave forms including sinusoidal, square, trapezoidal and pulse. Construct an ultrasonic amplifier able to drive a Piezo transducer at the

168/DENNISR.WIER ultrasonic frequencies. Include a highpass filter to reject frequenciesbelow12KHz.

2.Buildanelectronicdevicewhichlistenstofreesourceul trasonicaudiocontent,demodulatesthe15KHzcarrierand producesanaudibleoutputsuitableforrecording.

3. Using some of the hypnotic induction techniques inthis book, or by purchasing hypnotic induction scripts from third partysources,andwiththeelectronicdeviceinExercise1,are youabletoinfluencethebehaviorofyourfriendsandfamilyfor example,sothattheygiveupsmokingorovereating?

4.Howmuchmoneycanyoustealusingthistechnologybe foreyouarecaught? 5.Canyouinfluencethecourtinyourprosecutiontobeex traordinarilyforgivingofyourtransgressions?Rememberand repeat,iftheglovedon'tfit,yougottoacquit.Howmuch moreeffectivewouldthissuggestionbeifitweredeliveredul trasonically?

Questions 1.WhichcarrierwaveformforthedeviceinExercise1works best? 2. Discusssome possibleapplicationsofVRwithultrasonic trancetechniques forreprogramming humans. Which ismore likely:creatingenlightenedbeingsorcreatingmonsters?Why? 3.DiscusstheethicsofthetranceabuseofExercise3. 4.UsingthedeviceinExercise2,areyouabletodiscoverand decodeultrasonictransmissionsfromothersources?

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5. Whydoyoucareaboutfuturemindcontroltechnology? Orwhydoyounotcare?

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Ethics

The Twisty Little Passages of Trance

Tranceraisessomeprofoundandseriousethicalquestions.It isimportanttounderstand,notonlywhatatranceis,howitis created,howitmaybeterminated,butalsoinwhatwaysitis used, whether with creative, beautiful, destructive, ugly, spiritual,dangerous,abusiveorlethalintent. Inthischapter,Iwilldiscussthesequestionsmoretoopena discussion and increase understanding rather than to provide absolute answers. No understanding of trance ethics can be complete without at least first examining the structure and history of trance and comparing what we find with our own personal experience. By making some observations and statements, I hope to expose and perhaps clarify some of the ethicalquestionswhichhavecomeupalongthewayinmyown investigationoftrance.

Trancehasalonghistoryofusewithincommon, ancient andmodernreligiouscommunitiesaswellasbymoreperiph eralshamans,charlatans,witches,hypnotists,alchemists,ad vertisers,politiciansandyogis. Becauseofthiswidevariety ofusesoftranceandthewidevarietyofmotivations,purpos

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es,objectsandvictimsinvolved,understandingtheethicsof tranceisvital,atleastinordertohelpusdistinguishaposi tiveandsupportiveuseoftrancefromapurposefullycriminal use. Trancehasabuiltintaboointhesensethatthereisapart ofthemechanismoftrancewhichis,dependson,orbecomes, secret. Thismechanismisthefactthatshorttermmemory becomesdisabledsoonafteratranceisstarted,effectivelycre ating a taboo. This taboo is animportant characteristic of trancewhichgivesthetranceitspower.Itisalsoitsmostim portantcharacteristicwhichcreatestheethicalproblem.Rec ognizingatranceissomewhateasy: thestrongestevidence pointingtoatranceisdisabledshorttermmemory,disabled criticaljudgment,literalism,repetitionanddenial. Whatis oftennotsoeasytoidentifyistheoriginatororcreatorofa trance,noritiseasytofixattributionanddeterminemethod, motivationandopportunity.Ifthepowerofvoluntarychoice isremoved,inahiddenorsecretway,fromonepersontoan other,anethicalproblemiscreated. Ofcourse, noteverytranceiscreatedformalevolent rea sons. The use of trance by yogis, witches, alchemists and shamans may have aided their understanding ofthe subtle energiesoftheplanetaswellastohelpthemtounderstand plants,animalsandhumannature,andalso,moreprofound ly, subtle intelligent entities and spiritual forces. Under standingthenatureofthesesubtleenergies,aswellasexpe riencing them profoundly, resulted from an illumination by trancethatmayhavehelpedmanypeopleovercomedisease, grief,misfortune,oropenedtheireyestohiddenknowledge. Doubtless,thepositiveusesoftrancehavehelpedsocietyad

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vance in many ways. And, no doubt, these positive effects havealsohelpedpeopletoleratethe taboo oftrancetosome extent. Understanding the wyrd energies ofplants, insects and animals can unlock potential medicinal and planetary healingproperties,oritcanunlockthemaslethalpoisonsto beusedforwar,exploitationandsurvival.Ifoneusestrance touncoverhiddenknowledgeofsomesort,thereisatempta tiontousethissecretknowledgetoexploittheignoranceof others.Thisstartstoraisesomeethicalquestionsaboutthe useoftrance.
Theuseoftranceinmanipulativeorabusivewaysfordarker reasonsis,inthelongterm,verydestructive. Toknowhowto createatrancewhichoneknowswillbeusedinclearlyabusive situations or destructive ways always creates social, legal and ethical liability. The ethics here seem to be clear, but only becauseweknowthepurposeofatrance. But what about the case in which the perpetrator uses the public ignorance of trance inorder to deceive?Because trance createsdissociatedconditionsinwhichrealitiesandperspectives change, and egos split, one could try to avoid culpability of a criminalactbysimplyclaimingthatItwasntme,yourHonor, twastheDevilwhatmademedoit.Ajudgemightacceptsuch a defense because of his poor understanding of trance. But a judge's inquiry into the mechanics and ethics of trance could expose a defendant's claim as resulting from either his poor understandingoftranceoradeliberatecriminalmalfeasance.

Mosthypnotistsclaimthatyoucannotbemadetodoany thingbyhypnotictreatmentwhichyouwouldnotordinarily permit.Presumably,thisclaimisintendedtoabsolveahyp notistofanylegalresponsibilityiftheperpetrator'sdefenseof

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acriminalactwasthat,Twasthehypnotistwhatmademe doit,yourHonor. Hypnosiscancreateirresistiblecompulsionsinwhichsui cide,murder,dependencies,maniasandphobiasexistwitha realityindistinguishablefromwhatwemighttermanormal reality. ThegroupsuicidesofJimJones,theSolarTemple, andothers,demonstratethetragicpossibilitieswhentrance becomesamediumforabuse. Indeed,trance is theprocess whichcreates,alters,anddestroysrealities.So,itisnotatall true that a competent hypnotist cannot compel you to act against your own will and selfinterest. If a hypnotist can compelyoutogiveupsmokingorloseweight,thatsamehyp notist could compel you to eat and drink yourself obese. Whilemost competent andprofessional hypnotherapists act withintheconstraintsofa CodeofEthics,noteverytrained andcompetenthypnotistissoconstrained. Atrainedandcompetenthypnotistmightworkforanad vertisingagency,forexample.Itisthehypnotist'sjobtoact inthebest interests of his employer, not you. There isno CodeofEthicsinthiscase.Anadvertiserwantsaconsumer tocompulsivelybuyhisproduct.Onecanarguethateffective advertisingcampaignsarenothingmorethanhypnoticallyin ducedcompulsions. Theethicalproblemhereisthatacon sumerisunawarethatahypnotictechniquehasbeenusedto influencebehaviorsothattheconsumeractsautomaticallyin thebestinterestsoftheadvertiserandagainsthisowninter ests. Somepeoplecallthisexploitationormanipulation. I callittranceabuse. Althoughtranceisusedbyreligiousfolks,tranceitselfis notexclusivelyreligious.Trancedoescreatedissociation,and

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the dissociated condition is populated with the Other (non Self)butthisisnotnecessarilyreligious.Withtrance,natu ralways andeventsofthisworldbecome revealedasmore subtlespiritsandintelligences.Fire,earth,water,air,spirits andmanyotherobjectscanbecomeeithermoreorlessthan whattheyseemtobe. Trancecreatesorilluminatesanap pearanceofamoresubtlerealityinwhichwecanappreciate the unity and the duality, but some subtle questions are raisedaboutconsciousnessandwhoweare. Thestudyandpracticeoftrancetechniquesalsobringsone directlyintotheproblemofconsciousness.Assoonasyoube gin to meditate, you separate into two dissociation. Ab stractly,theSelfseparatestheOtheroutofitself,andappre ciatestheOtherasnonSelf.TheSelfknowsthatthissepara tionisanillusioncreatedbyamodification(disabling)ofa cognitive function which attributes the I, Ego, or Mine to specificprojectedcognitiveobjects. ButtheSelfisalsosub jecttothedisablingofshorttermmemoryandforgetsthatit causedtheseparation;andtheSelfisalsosubjecttothedis abling of critical judgment and then cannot know how the Otherwascreated.So,theOthergetsanattributionofreali ty.TheOtherbecomesreal,orseemstobereal,andseemsto haveanindependentexistenceandconsciousness.Thismagi calprocessisfundamentaltoanytrance;andtherearemany waystosaythesamething.
Usingsomereligioussymbolswecouldrestatethesituation this metaphysical way: One symbolizes the Whole and Two symbolizesSeparation.TwoalsosymbolizesKnowledgebecause thereistheKnowerandtheKnown. TheTwoalsosymbolizes whatishiddenorthe taboo,whiletheOneindicatesaUnityof

THEWAYOFTRANCE/175 both Knowledge and Ignorance. One also symbolizes stability and nonmovement, but Two symbolizes movement and even energy. Extendingthisideatotrance,theOneistheEgoself absorbedinBeing,whiletheTwoistheWitnessintrance. Dowelivefundamentallyaloneorareweanintegralpartof this world and this reality? This is another fundamental questionwhichispartofthediscussionoftheOneandtheTwo. Itisabout wholenessandseparation, unityand duality. Itis aboutbeingfixedinstone,immovable,dead,orfullofmovement, flexibility,andlife. Areyouseparatefromtheworld,fromotherpeople,animals, plantsandearth?Isthereafenceorsomekindofa taboo or barrier, between you and everything else? Ordo youfeelthe painofothers?Whenachilddiesinawarfaraway,canyoufeel your connection to that child, or has a trance killed your compassion, your empathy with that dead child? What isthe natureofthis taboo againstourfeelingthepainoftheplanet? Whatisitsodifficulttoacknowledgethepainanddestructionof theenvironment? WhenIhearofsuchdenials,Iimmediately thinkthereisanaddictivetranceatwork.Whatisthenatureof thesetranceswhicharecoveredbytaboo?Thesearenotmerely metaphysicalquestions.Theyhaveethicalimplicationsandmay motivate you to seek more information about the nature and functionoftranceyouseearoundyou. Tranceisaveryinterestingphenomenawithinthisdiscussion oftheOnevs.theTwo.Tranceisnothingwithoutdissociation, whichisTwo,butatthesametime,thenarrownessofattention and the disabling of various cognitive functions symbolically impliesthattranceistheOne,theimmovable. Thismayhave somethingtodowiththeideathatbeinginatrancewasadivine

176/DENNISR.WIER act.AsIhavepointedoutearlier,tranceisscrambledupwith religion,somanypeoplebelievethatthereissomethingspooky andweirdorotherworldlywhensomeonehasthatfixedeyed starecharacteristicoftrance.

Byaddressingorreferringtothesesomewhatancientmeta physicalquestionswithintheparadigmoftheTranceModel, wemaystarttounderstandwhytranceisimportantasaway ofdiscoveringandusinghiddenknowledge.Ourunderstand ingwillhaveimplicationsintermsoflaw,knowledge,behav ior,respectandconsciousnessaswellasethics.Thereare implicationsforcelebrationaswellasritual,whetherweare talkingaboutatranceparty,usingdrugs,orleadingareli giousceremonyorapoliticalmovement. Separation,FencesandDissociation
Wearesimultaneouslybothseparateandpartofthewhole. Tranceprimarilycreatesseparation;itcreatestaboothroughthe generatingofa wyrd. Itopensustononordinarypossibilities. In our normal awareness, the universe of nonordinary possibilities is separated from us and taboo for energy and evolutionreasons.Whatworksisononesideofthefence,what doesnt work isexcluded. Butwhat is excluded is not always unworkable. Sometimes in the systems of our separated conditionwewillneedwhatwehaveexcluded.Trancehelpsus tofindwhatwehaveexcludedandopensustothepossibilityof change.Knowinghowthewyrdworksenablesustobothbuild importantfencesforprotectionaswellastoextendandscaleour reachintotheunknownorforbidden.

For example, if you become familiar with the internal worldsbypracticingtrance,youmaylearnhowtoseesubtle

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energies. This familiarity can help you to avoid danger as wellashowtobecomeanaidforsomeonewhoisillorindan ger. Developingthisperceptionovertheyearsyoucaneven becomeaseer,ashamanorahealerifthat'swhatyouwant to be. Meditation and other trances helps you make the changeswithinyourselfandenablesyoutojumpthereality fenceandgobeyondtheordinary.Whatareyourethicalre sponsibilitiestowardsothersifyougainskillsthroughtrance? Thereissociallyaresistancetochangebecausepeoplehate theunfamiliar,thestrange.Thatresistanceissymbolizedby thefence52.Thefencekeepsoutandalsokeepsin.Ifafence istoosmall,wewillbegintocreateloops,andthegenerated resultofthoseloopsisakindofenergywhichwillfirstmake therealitywithinthefencetheonlyreality. Thisistheone earlyeffectsoftrance:thecreationofconcentration.Another effectofaloopwithinthefenceistostirupthekindofenergy whichwillbreakthefenceorleapoveritordrawin energy fromoutsidethefence,ultimatelyweakeningit. Thisisthe way that change is created and destiny is changed. Those whomakesocietieslawstrytocontrolifnotsuppressthissec ondeffectofthetrancegeneratingloop,butmostly,societies lawmakersdonotunderstandhowtranceworks.Strangely, itistheverymechanismofcontrolandlimitationwhichcre atesthedynamicenergyresponsibleforincreasingthe wyrd andcausing the change. This is the secret dynamism of a fenceortaboo.Itisalsothereasontheyogigoesintoacave tomeditate.Inthecavetheenergyforchangecanbefocused andconcentrated. Atsomepointtheyogimustcomeoutof

52 TherearemanyothertermsforFence:TheChasm,TheVeil,barrier,etc.

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thecavebecausetheenergy(wyrd)forchange istoomuch. Thetrancewyrdbecomestangibleandactive. Compassion,Loving TheOnecreatestheTwooutofitself,andbeingareflection oftheOne,generatesbothloveandcompassioninspiteofthe fact that the Two manifests the fence, the Veil, and the Chasmbetweenlifeanddeath.
The Two manifests the One through Love. This has an importantparallelinthetrancemodelbecauseitisthroughthe development of the strength of the wyrd from meditation, hypnosis, addiction and charisma that trance gains enough power to change destiny. That is, the One manifests destiny throughthecreationofTwo,buttheTwothroughthepowerful creationanduseofDevotionmanifestsOne.Thischangingof OneintoTwoandTwointoOnecomesaboutthroughtheenergy of the wyrd, and at this level the wyrd is extremely strong becauseitiscreatingtheworld.Insomeways,wecouldsaythat the wyrd islikeloveorcompassion because thecreation loves theOneandwantstoreturntoit. Nowondermeditationisat therootofcreation!Nowondertheevolvedstateofmeditation isdivinelove!

TabooandtheSourceofSecretPower Why are there secrets? Why do we cover our genitals? Why are there separations between those who have power andthose whodonot havepower? The inside ofyour cell phone is taboo; you may never understand the technology. The operating room theater is taboo to the unwashed, pro fane,nonmedical.Whatdoestheyogidotomakehismagic?

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Whateverhedoes,itisdoneinsecret,farawayfrompeople. Whyisitthatevenifweareexplicitlytoldanesotericsecret, westilldon'tgetit?Tabooistabooandthereisafenceyou cannotcross.Whatisthemeaningofamagicalcircle?Why isthecraftofthewitchtaboo?Criminalsworkinsecret;their activitiesare taboo tothelawabiding. Themostimportant manufacturingprocesses areproprietary andcoveredbyse crecy;themanufacturing facilityis fenced; itis taboo tous consumers.Onlywithinataboocanthewyrdenergybecre atedwhichchangesdestiny. Thesamecarefulethicalconsiderationsweapplyinbreech ingthetaboosoftheaboveexamplesrequires afullunder standingofhowtranceworks. Insidea taboo thingsarenot whattheyseem.Thereareviolationsofrules;butthat'swhat makesitwork.Wecannotapplytheethicalstandardsofthe OnetotheTwoorviceversa,ortheinsideofthetabootothe outside.Ifwedothat,thewyrdstops;itbecomescrazynon sense. Ifthenonsterileunwashedpedestriansnoopsinside thesterileoperatingtheater,theoperationwillbecomeinfect edandfailtoproducetheresults weexpect. Youmaynot breechthistaboo;butyoucanworkwithit.

The Rejection of the Separation

Twoloverswishtobetogether. Taboo keepsthemapart. When they breech the taboo, then they are together, their combined,shared,secretintimacycreatesa taboo forothers. Loveistheforcewhichmanifeststhecreation. Themother lovesherchildandneitherthemothernorthechildwishesto beseparatefromtheother.Thefencewhichdividesuseach fromtheotheristhefenceoftheskinandtheartificialityof

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theegosaying:thisismine,asiftheegohadanindependent existence.Theindependentexistenceoftheegoisanillusion sharedbymostofus,sowesuperficiallyacceptthesocialillu sionofpossessionandownershipratherthanuniversalcon sciousness. In some ways, society and religion provide us withsomemethodsoftranceand intoxication toallowusto seetheOnebehindthefence,butnottorealizeit. Society andreligiongenerallyprovidecrippledwaystobecomeOne;if youareserious,youmustgobeyondthenormalandrejectthe crippled ways of the ordinary experience and use trance to discover,useandbecomeuniversalconsciousness. IntoxicationandtheDivineSocialContract Divine means pertaining to God in a typical popular sense,andinamorepaganwaysoothsaying;buttheword divineisveryancient.Lookingatthewordfromanotherway, itcouldmeanfromthevineandassuchimpliestheintoxi cated conditionwhichmayhavebeenassociatedwith divine interventionofsomesort. Thisnonstandardinterpretation ofthewordmakesalotofsense.Anancientandpaganview ofthe divine mayrefertoanintoxicatedoralteredstatein which prognostication or divination could readily be accom plished.TheoracleatDelphihadthehelpofanintoxicating gastoaidinherdivinations.Sometribeshaveusedcornbeer celebrationstobothhonorthesuccessfulharvestofthepast and to predict the future. Of course, the vine of choice in western traditions is the grape vine, but among natives of SouthAmericaitmayverywellbeAyahuasca. Eitherway,itisprobablyunarguablethatanygracefroma naturalgodisboundtocauseintoxicationorachangeindes

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tiny attheveryleast. Thus,itisnotacompletedefinition that divinemerelypertainstotheGod.Rather divinerefers toaspecificcharacteristicofGod:theintoxicatingcharacter istic.Wemustbeintoxicatedorblessed,somesaybefore wearetransformed,beforethewyrdchangesourdestiny. Whoare,afterall,thesocalledrepresentativesofGodon earth?Jesus,thelocalparishpriest,thelocalRabbi,thelocal Imam,Buddha,Mohammad,thePope,Rinpoche,Ali? Here wecometoagroupofindividualswhogettheirlicensetorep resent God by the severe duties of long term meditation. Theyspeakinintoxicatedtongues.Theyhavethecrazywis dom.Theyperformmiraclesandraisethedead. Whatisit withthesecrazypeople?Aretheyreallyintoxicated?Cana sacredlifehavesomethingtodowithbeingintoxicated?
A simple explanation of the divine is that it is a state like intoxication.Itisastatewhichcanbesimulatedbymeditation or the consumption of magical liquors and potions such as naturallycomeaboutwhenasugarycornormaltsitsforalunar month,orwhichalsocomeaboutfromtheincrediblevarietyof plantsorfungionthisplanetwhichsay EatMe. Hindusdrink theirganjamilkshakes;priestsdrinktheirwine. Iamarguing that socalled divine states are in fact trancelike intoxicated states,andthatcriticalperspectivesofoneshouldbeappliedto theotheraswellinordertorevealhiddencharacteristicsand similarities. Intoxicationbringsonetoaplaceverysimilarto meditation in which there is a new understanding or revelationoftheworld.Why,then,isthisparticulartrancelike intoxicationsuppressedbysociety?

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Violence,Destruction,WarandPrisons Ifintoxicationseparatesmanfromtheordinaryworld,an other type of intoxication separates man from mankind. Theideaofgoodversusevilalsoproducesseparationandis theontologicalsourceofviolence,destruction,warandpris ons. Theunitarystateofconsciousnessmeansthatthereis neithergoodnorevil.Violencetakesplaceduetothesepara tionanddelusionthattheOther(nonSelf)isevil. Destruc tiontakesplacewhentheobjectisnottheself. Warexists when thereis nocommunication. Prisons warehouse those whoarenotconnectedwiththeothersinsociety.Thesespe cialformsofdissociationallperpetuatethemselveslikeaddic tions. Suchaddictionscanbebrokenandthedelusionsre sultingfromthesesocialtrancesterminated. They originate from the fundamental ignorance of not knowingwherethe"I"iswhendissociated.Itisthedelusion thatsomehowthe"I"(WitnessorSelf)isontologicallysepa ratedfromtheobjectofthetrance(Other).Whateverisdone asahypnotictrancetoincreasetherealityoftheOtheralso workstocreateatabooagainstknowingtherealbasisofthe trance. TheOther,whichcameintoexistencebytheopera tionofconsciousness(Self),istotallyexperiencedbytheSelf asanindependent,separatelycreatedandselfexistingphe nomena. AllfencescreatedtokeeptheOtheroutfurtherincreases andguaranteestheperpetuationofthedelusionoftheinde pendentexistenceoftheOther. Thisincludestheperpetua tionofignorancewhichisfoundedinnoncommunicationwith theOther.Inotherwords,lockitup,don'tcommunicatewith whatever is beyond your fence and you will guarantee for

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yourself an addicting experience of perpetual violence and war. Thesameanalysisappliestoeconomicmodels. Ifanyob ject becomes an Other (product) for which there is a fence (priceinthecommercialsense),youwillguaranteeanaddic tionwhichresultsinperpetualviolenceandwar.

Trance and Democracy

Tranceisaprovenwaytocreatedelusions,beliefsystem modification, false memories and compulsions, both in indi vidualsandonamassscale. Populationsandsocialgroups canbeconvincedofthemoralcertitudeofawidevarietyof absurdbeliefs,includingthecorrectnessofspecificsexualcus tomsandbehaviors,socialexclusivityandmarriagepossibili tiesbasedonsexual,racialorsocialmembership,beliefsand delusionsregardingoneoranotherreligionorpoliticalmem bership, andtheethical andmoral rectitude ofavarietyof economicmodels,includingslaveryandlessextremeeconomic modelsofexploitation.Groupsinatrancecanbeconvincedof theirmoralsuperioritywhilesimultaneouslycommittingall sortsofheinouscrimesincludingtorture,genocide,andeven abeliefintheefficacyofsuicide.Noneofthishasanythingto dowithdemocracyalthoughvotingandthefreeexchangeof ideas seems puerile and naive when contrasted against the machinationsofpoliticalsystemgamers. Thebeliefinthemoralsuperiorityofdemocracyistoooften exploited by politicians for a variety of purposes including personalselfaggrandizementatfundamentaloddswithcom monideasofdemocracyandthegeneralpromotionofthepub licgood. When trance becomes aconvenient tool for main

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tainingpoliticalpowerandpersonalprofit,itiscompulsively tempting for nefarious politicians to recklessly manipulate thepopulousbeliefindemocracytowhateverendssuitsthem. Yet,merelyprohibitingtheuseoftrancebypoliticalcriminals ishardlyapromisingprospect. Theargumentthatbenignmotivationsofprogressivepoliti ciansjustifytheuseoftranceinordertoovercometheigno rantresistanceofobstinatereactionaries isapoorjustifica tionforignoringthecriticalvalueofeducationinademocra cy. Trance might promote acquiescence, but education promisessupport.

Issues & Resource management

Breakinganaddictiontoadelusion,inwhichthedelusion isaproduct,acriminal,awatersource,asexualpreference, anoilsource,orthebeliefsinfavoroforagainstaparticular terrorist grouporstatephilosophyorreligionisatleastas difficultasbreakingalifelongaddictiontocrackorheroin. The simple answers have been known for thousands of yearsandignoredforatleastaslong.Itstartswithcommu nication,education,gatheringknowledgeabouttheOtherand bringingtherealityoftheOtherintimatelyclose,soclosethat youcanreallyfeelloveasopposedtoeitherdesire,repulsion orfear.Thebasisoffearisignorance;fearwilldiminishwith communication. The effect of communication (rather than maintainingafence)helps tobreaktheaddictive trance by modifyingthesenseorperceptionoftheobject.This,inturn, destabilizesthehypnotictranceandweakenstheaddiction. So,forexample,iftheissueisawatersourceandcompeti tionforthisresourcehasleadtoviolenceandwar,thefirst

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way to break the addiction is to communicate. Delusions aboutthewatersourceitselfmightbeclearedupbyproviding actual details about the water quality, water usage, water availability. Educationandresearchinvolvingnewwaysto useorconservewaterandsharingthis knowledge isalso a waytolessenafixationonaspecificwatersourceitselfand this,overtime,destabilizestheaddictiveaspectofthetrance andhelpstodeveloploveandrespectforlife. Manyoftheideasraisedabovearenotnewinthemselves, buthavebeenraisedinthecontextoftranceethicsandthe TranceModelinordertodemonstrateapplicationsaswellas to show some new perspectives or approaches to perennial problems.
Exercises

1. Think of something bad, criminal or evil which you wouldliketodo.Doyounoticewithinyourselfalimitorre sistancetothinkinginthisway?Whatdoyouneedtodoin ordertocontinuethethought?Insomeways,yourdesirehas becomesecret, taboo. Discusstheethicsofa meditationon evilintermsofthetrancewyrdandtaboo.
2.Shouldmeditationorprayereverbemadeillegal?Discuss theethicsofmeditationingeneral.

3.Whataboutmusic?Musicmakesatrance.Shouldmu siceverbemadeillegal? 4.Observeaplantorrockforonehourwithouttryingto understandanything.Attheendofthehourwhatchanged? Whatistheeffect ofthe wyrd oronthe taboo ofthe rock? Whatistheethicaleffectofyourpassiveobservation?

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1.ThesuppressedGreekGodDionysusembodiedtheidea oftriplebirth,masks, lust,and intoxication. Discuss these ideasandtranceethicsinrelationtothereligioussuppression ofDionysus. 2.Weallknowhowbadintoxicationis.Assume intoxica tionishealing,anddiscusshowthemoraloppositiontointox ication hasinfluencedtheperceptionoftrance. Discussthe intoxicationtabooasreallybeingasupportofreligiouspower. Findlotsofexamples. 3. Debateisanolddemocratictoolforelucidatingissues andpromotingnewideas. Discusstheethicsofandjustify theconditionsfortheuseoftrancetechniquesinadebate. 4.Giveamanafishandyoufeedhimforaday;teachhim tofishandyoufeedhimforalifetime,isanethicalstate mentpromotingprocessoverresults. Discusseducationand tranceintheseterms. 5.TheUnitedNationsandgovernmentspromotethecon trolofdrug,criminal,andterroristactivitiesthroughinterdic tionandrepression.Thesemethodsareprovedunsuccessful. Discusstherolethattranceplaysbetweenaddictionandevo lutioninthecontroloftaboos.

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Ecstasy

Dancing with the gods

Now we consider the ecstatic trance or simply ecstasy53. Thisisnotadistinctformoftrance;anecstatictranceisreal lyjustacomplextrance. Thisisthetypeofancientorso called primitive trance we find throughout history and acrossmanyindigenousculturesinreligious,socialandmedi cal(healing)settings.Wealsofindtheecstatictranceformin Balinese and African dances, Middle Eastern Sufi dervish dances,inthehealingceremoniesofthePacificislands,North andSouthAmerican shamans, Caribbean Santeria, Voodoo, Obeah,Shango,BrazilianMacumbaandalsoinmoremodern music including theblues,jazz,rockandroll,spiritual and gospelmusic,reggae,aswellasamongtheattendeesoftrance parties,wiccancirclesandothercelebratorytribalgatherings. Ecstatictranceisusedtoexperiencetheuniversalityofthe world,tomakecontactwithsubtleenergies,spiritualentities, obtainsecret knowledge, utilizeandmanage healing forces, utilizemagicalandhermeticprocessesresultinginpersonal
53IwanttoemphasizethatecstasyasusedhereisnottheempathogenMethyleneDioxyMeth Amphetamine(MDMA)commonlyknownasEcstasy.

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transformation. Ecstatictranceisprimarilyaspiritualand mysticalpracticefoundmoreamongancienttribalandpagan religionsthanintraditionalwesternreligions.Wheneverany religionismoreconcernedwithguilt,dogmaandinterpretive intercession,thanwithdirect,primary,personalspiritualex perienceanduniversalconsciousness,ecstatictranceisvery rareandmayevenbefearedandrepressed.Butthecourage thatisbornoffamiliarityandtrust,valuesthedirect,thenat ural,theunseenandisalightindarknesswhichcanguide theworldthroughdeathandbeyond. Elementsofecstatictrancecanbetracedbackatleastto theancientGreek Dionysus rituals,thepracticesofthean cientTibetanBreligionorperhapsinevenearlier,longvan ishedcivilizations.Asanexampleoftherepressionofecstatic tranceenergies, Dionysus energiesappearedtotheApolloni angodtobesomewhatdangerousordisturbing,sotheseprac ticesandcelebrations wereintheformofBacchus sup pressed by the Romans and later more thoroughly by the ChristianInquisition. Inspiteofarepressionwhichcontin uestothisdayyoucantkillagodanymorethanyoucan kill an idea ecstasy and ecstatic trance regenerates and livesamongisolatedpeoplesandspringsupoccasionallyand spontaneouslylikethesporeofamagicalfungus. What is so disturbing to social order about the ecstatic tranceandwhatisitsevolutionaryfunction,ifany? Ecstasyopensitselfuptochaos,andrevealschaos,ideally at the most profound and divine Brahmic level. From the point ofviewof Apollonian orRomanor Christian perspec tives,thisistheleveloftheuncontrollablyinsane,thecrazy, theintoxicated.Itisscaryanddangerousbecauseitisfunda

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mentally unknowable, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Evensomemeditationformscanbringupunusualthoughts. Whencoupledwithaddictivetrance,unusualthoughtscanre sult in delusions. The trancelings of such unhinged, un grounded meditation practices can eventually result in per manentpsychosis.Ifthathappens,youknowforcertainyou madesomebigerrors.Ecstatictrancecanbeevenmoredan gerous because results can occur suddenly. But ecstatic tranceinopeninguptochaosallowsmaximumcreativity andhelpsintheevolutionofhumansbymaximizingpotential choices and selection possibilities. But fully manifested, chaoticenergiescanleadtolethalresults,andtotheprofound destruction of any social order. Dionysian chaotic energies arenotmerelyanopenexpressionoflife,offreelust,butthe sameenergiescanalsoincludebloodandhumansacrificeand evencannibalism. Inthepreviouschapter,welookedattranceethicsbecause mindcontrolandmindwarfareencouragesanextremekind ofsocialandlegalchaosoftheelitewhichalsothreatensthe socialorderthoughextremecontrolincludingatrancebased mentaldomination.Ecstatictrancepotentiallygoestotheex tremeinanotherdirection.Aswemovealongthistheoretical continuum of trance from extreme mental domination to wardsecstasy,weenterasituationwhereanythinggoes,and wearetakenbeyondtheordinarylimitsofmind,societyand sanity.Becausetheselimitsarebothfrighteninganddanger oustomostpeople,wemusthaveatleastaprofoundaware nessofethicalbalancebeforefullyembarkinginanecstatic trance.Weprefer nottosuppress anythinginterestingthat

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comesfromanecstatic trance,buttoalwayskeepawareof ourbalanceaswegetclosertotheedge54. Withinthechaotic energies ofecstatic trance there isal waysapotentialforselfdestruction,andperhapsthisisthe fundamentalreasonforantiDionysusforces.Wildchaosand Dionysusecstasycanreallyappeartobeathreattoauthori tieswhousuallydonotunderstandthefunctionofthispower fulandmagicalevolutionary55 energyandperceiveitwholly, andonly,asathreattothecurrentRomanorder.Or,per hapstheauthoritiesunderstanditalltoowell,andaresimply terrifiedofitandthepossibilitiesitmaybring. Findingabalancetotheseprimordialchaoticforcessothat theyaddtoevolutionaryforcesisasteponthewayoftrance. Herewefinddifficultandprofoundquestionsperhapsmore suitableforanoccultdebatingsociety. Butwithoutmaking moraljudgmentshere,wecandescribewhatismeantbyec statictranceandexploresomeoftheimplications.

A Definition of Ecstatic Trance

Anecstatictranceisalwayscreatedbyasustainedhypnot ictranceonorinwhichahighnumberofmeditationandhyp notictranceloopsarestarted.Thehypnotictrancecanbecre atedinitiallybyhighlyrepetitive(trance)music.Thesubse quent additional meditation and hypnotic trance loops can take the form of highly repetitive dance or physical move
54 Settingstricttimeandspacelimitshelpstocontrolthechaosandhelpstomaintain abalancewithsanity.Failsafeisgood. 55 SomepeopleandinstitutionsespeciallyfearDionysusenergybecauseofit threatenstoexposethelimitationsandfundamentalfalsehoodofdogma.Many peoplehavesufferedanddiedbecauseoftheseirrationalfears.Becarefulnotto stiritup.

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ments,butmayalsobemental. Multiple visual,emotional andotherinternalandexternalloopsarecreatedonorwithin the musical and dance trances which combine over time to createadditionalmultiplecomplextrances.Ecstasydevelops whenthesustainedinteractionofthelargenumberofmedita tion and hypnotic trances produces a chaotic effulgence or selfreplicationofmultipletranceloops. Subjectively,any thingispossibleasthemultiplicationofdifferenttrancereali tiescreatesomethinglikeapsychedelicuniverse.Oristhisa tappingintouniversalconsciousness?

The Structure
An ecstatic trance is composed of multiple meditation tranceloopseachwithveryfewcognitiveobjects. Theopen nessofecstasyimpliesthateverysensation,everyfeeling,ev erycognitiveobjectispermitted,withoutcensorship,andal lowedtoassociatewithanyothercognitive object. Thedo mainandrangeofcriticalfunctionsexpandsasthecohesive nessofassociationislowered.Whatbecomeschaoticaboutit isthewillingnessofthemindsystemtoallowmultipledisso ciationstostartwithouttryingtocontrolthem.Orthetrance seemstobelikeawaveoflightorgentlecontrol,changing fromonemeditationtrancetoanother,withouttryingtostop onebeforestartinganother. Thereisnoselfawareness,no analysis,onlyflow.Inthisway,overaperiodofseveralmin utesorhours56,multipletrances arecreated. Because each thought or sensation can itself begin a trance, multiple trancesarecreated.Fortranceparties,themusicmaybethe greaterinfluenceincreatingtrance,butalsothedancingand
56 Whoknows?Timedistortioniscommonplace.

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meditationcontributeaswell.Thevisualandtactilestimula tionofthevenueaddadditionaltrances.Theseall,whensus tained over a period of time, create an apparent 57 form of chaoswhichistheecstatictrance.

The Disabled Cognitive Functions

Whileinanecstatictrancetherewillbeaverylargevariety ofcognitivefunctionsbeingdisabledandenabled,especially onerightafteranother,oraddedtoothercognitivefunctions. Thischaoticcombinationcanproduceallsortsofnewideas, sensations,feelings,visualizationsandsoon.Feelingsofone ness,telepathicexperiences,clairvoyance,heightenedsensa tionsofboththeinnerandouterworldscanbecomecommon andshared.Thesubtleismagnified.Delusionsandhalluci nationscanalsobepresent. Wavesofnewperspectivescan produceglobalchangesinbeliefs,perspectivesandsoon.The commonandsharedenergiescanalsomanifestintheabate mentofindividualdiseaseprocesses,thustheecstatictrance mayhavehealingproperties.Isthistheuniversalconscious nessweseekorisitmerelyanotherdelusionresultingfrom theeffectsofacomplextrance?Istherereallyadifference? Whileonegoalofdisablingcognitivefunctionsistodefeat the censorship of new, evolutionary possibilities, the fear which this type of cognitive deconstruction produces could driveapersontoattempttosuppress theecstasy rather thanthecensorshipbymeansofdrugs,alcohol,etc.Theba sisoffearisalwaysignorance;facingandgoingintothefear
57 Itisapparentinthesensethatafractalorinterferingsoundwavescanappear chaoticinthecloseupdetails,butcreateapparentpatternsfromamoreuniversal perspective.

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produces knowledge of it. Knowledge of the source of fear transferscourageouspowertotheknower.58

The Wyrd
Becausethewyrdconsistsofthesumofthetrances,ecstat ictrancedevelopsrelativelystrongwyrdsespeciallywhenthe tranceismaintainedforlongperiodsoftime.Isupposethat verylongecstatictrances,suchasforweeksatatime,would developveryintenseresults,especiallyifsomeofthedeeper meditation elements of the trance are maintained and em poweredbytaboo.Thewyrdgrowsaccordingtothelogofthe durationofthetrance;thismeansthatsustaininganecstatic tranceforverylongtimeswouldnotappreciablyincreasethe wyrd, that is, the change in the wyrd maintained for two weeksasopposedtooneweekwouldnotbethatprofound. Increasing the ecstatic trance wyrd by the use of taboo, meansthatthegatheringsuchasitisiscoveredorlimit edorfocusedandprotected.Therearemanywaystodothis, fromlettingthetrancepartyhappenwithinaphysicalfence or magical barrier of some sort, to individual protection by meansofstring,bark,incense,specialclothing,tolocalpro tectionssuchasspecialaltars,orplaceswherecontinuousin vocationsaredone.Speciallymadeimagesofartcanworkas carriersoftaboo.Presumably,powerfultalismanscanbecre ated according to astrological precepts and include human, animal and plant parts. I can see that the Trance Model couldformthetheoreticalbasisfortherecreationofallsorts
58 Ifitisofanyencouragement,Ihaveusuallyfoundthatfearsarenotaspowerfulas initiallyapprehended;justalittlebitofcouragelongenoughtolookfor knowledgeandaskseriousquestionsaboutthebasisofthefearisenoughto vanquishthefear.

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of ancient ways previously lost. Do we want to go there? ShallwerecreatethelostreligionsofAtlantisorB?Isthis the way to rediscover universal consciousness? I am not sure. Whileecstatictrancecanbeacontinuousprocess,human celebrationisnot. Ecstatictrancemaygiveusaglimpseof theeternalnuminous,butcelebrationisalwayshumanand limited. Tranceisoneeffectivewaywecouldmovecelebra tionintothenuminousrealms,buthumansofthemodernera donotgenerallyallowthistohappen,arguablyforgoodrea sons,butalsoperhapsforignorantandfearfulreasons.

Celebration
Whydowecelebrate?Whatarewereallydoingwhenwehave so much fun? Is there a reason why trance and party are connected?Acelebrationisusedmostoftentomarktheendof something,ortomarkachange.Celebrationembodiestheidea ofsacrificeinthefactthatwemustsaygoodbyetothepast,to ouroldfearsandego,andwelcomenewmagicalenergy.

Whenacelebrationisaformofritualmagicinwhichban ishmentandinvocationareaformalandconsciouspartofthe celebration, a celebration may be full of the kindof energy mostoftenassociatedwithchaos.Thatis,withoutbanishing certainformsofnegativity,theoldandfearfulfirst,wemay bepermittingthemtoremanifest.Invokingtheancientand wiseisnotthesameasneglectfullyallowingtheoldandfear ful. Evenasimplebirthdaypartycanbecomeaformofritual magicifyouapplytheprinciplesofecstatictrance.

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Thereisapotentialconnectiontoalternativerealitieswith inacelebration,aninvitationtootherpotentialsorevennu minousbeingstocomeandmaketheirmarkonthisreality. Expressedinthisway, youmayunderstand howacelebra tion, a party, can take on meanings which go way beyond merelyinvokingTGIF,poppingacorkandplayingloudmu sic.Thinkingaboutthisdeepermeaningofcelebrationisim portantifyouwanttopaymoreattentiontothefundamentals of celebration and in so doing make your celebration more profoundandmoveittowardsecstasy,themagical. Seeminglyunrelatedideasarerelatedthroughtheideaof thewyrd,theenergywhichchangesdestinyandwhichisboth createdbyandcontrolledbytrance.Carefullylookingatthe trancestructure,thewyrdandthetaboocanhelpyoudesign effectivemagicalpositivepartiesandcelebrations.

Sacrifice of the Self

Undertheentirecanopyoflife,thereisalwayschangeforwe liveintime.Bytheactionoftrance,thisworldtakesontheidea thatitispermanent,andeverythingandeveryoneinthisworld believes,throughtheactionoftrance,thattheegoispermanent. Yet,wechange.Weareborn,gotoschool,getupeverydaytoa newday,enjoyournewloversandfriends,andexperiencethe departure of each and every day, as well as our friends and familytotherealmofmemoriesandancestors. Evenwhatwe havelearnedinschoolisnotpermanentbecausesocial,business andeconomicneedsandourvaluesandbeliefsalsochange.So, depending on how much we have meditated, we get used to sayinggoodbyetotheego,lettinggoofthoughts,andsacrificing whatseemstobeourself,ourvalues,ourmemories,ourhealth, ourfriends,ourfamiliesandourlife.Andallofthesesacrifices,

196/DENNISR.WIER not always without some pain, are sometimes celebrated in a ritual, a party, an intoxication, a prayer, or a meditation. A celebrationissecretlyaboutthesacrificeoftheself.Itisabout openingyourselftoachangeinyourdestinyincludingyourown death.Takentoanextremeusingtrancetechniques,celebration borderson,becomestheprimordialecstasybornofchaos. Itis Dionysusenergyrebornandremanifest.

Transforming Ourselves
Howwonderfulismusicwhenitputsyouintoatrance!Isnt thegreatestartanyartwhichisentrancing? Anddance! The moving,twisting and twirling inrhythmic patternscanpropel youtootherdimensions!Theseareallsubjectivedescriptionsof theeffectoftranceinmusic,artanddance.Thatisthefunpart of trance, but also very interesting. In doing music, art and dance,weactuallydontneedtounderstandwhatwearedoing. Butifwearecreatingmusic,artordance,anunderstandingof the trance aspects can increase our skill and efficiency in creatingfunforotherstosaynothingofthefunforourselves! TheTranceModeloffersanewperspectiveintheanalysisof music and art. It is certainly not a traditional method of analysis,yetthefactisthatmuchofourcultureisexpressing itself through technology, like it or not. So, an analytical methodology might be appropriate for these times. Another perspectiveperhapsisthisistheendofmodernityandweneed to rediscover the ancient roots of Isis and Gaia. But for this perspective,too,weneedtohaveanunderstandingoftrance.It can be a practical understanding formed of many years of meditationandinnerexperience.TheTranceModelcanalsobe beneficial as a special tool for understanding and relating to

THEWAYOFTRANCE/197 those ancient roots while you dance, party, celebrate or meditate. Music, art and dance, as well as meditation, all have repetitionincommon. Itistheexistenceofrepetitioninthese art forms which allows the Trance Model to be applied. Experiencingmusic,artordanceeitherasitscreatororasan observer always produces trance to a greater orlesserdegree. TheTranceModelaversacausalconnectionbetweenrepetition and dissociation. While this idea of a relationship between repetitionanddissociationisnotnew,ifappliedconsistently,the concept has important implications for music, art and dance. Theseideaswillbediscussedingreaterdetailbelow. Music,artanddancehavebeenpartofthehumanexperience sincethebeginning.Theyhaveoccupiedimportantpositionsin social and religious celebrations and have fascinated scholars andphilosophersformillennia.Thecreationandrecognitionof patternsintheartsisasourceofjoyforresearchersaswellas for artists. Carl Jung, like many other researchers, was fascinated by the repetition of themes, that he termed archetypes, which expressed themselves spontaneously in the human psyche. Philosophers such as Santayana, Bertrand Russellandothershaveallnotedthattheartsandespeciallythe great arts have the power to remove us from the drab and commonplaceintothemagicalworldofthetranscendent. The power of art to transform the commonplace into the magical, mysteriousandtranscendentisaneffectofanartistsefficient useofthewyrdintheseartistictranceforms. Technically, any repetition of elements or themes in art creates a trance generating loop. The trance which occurs is oftenexperiencedasselfreflection,selfobservation,sometimes

198/DENNISR.WIER boredom,andsometimescreatesliteralismaswellastheeffects of any combination of disabled cognitive functions. These multipleeffects,commoninartbasedtrances,canalsocreateso called religious experiences along with heightened inner involvement and vivid inner perception. Such art can also mitigatephysical pain, produce shortterm memory loss,cause deep relaxation, pleasurable feelings and create many other effects common to trance. In extreme cases, trance in art produces profound somatic and psychic changes which are similartotheeffectsoforgasmordrugs. What is great art but the efficient creation of trance with strong wyrdsforthegreatestnumberofpeople? Howgreata specificexampleofartmaybeisdirectlyrelatedtothestrength of the wyrd created by the artistic trance. The Trance Model providesuswithanewanalyticalmethodologyfortheanalysis ofartaswellasitscreation. Successfulartdoesnotconsistofsinglethemesandcertainly does not consist of single trance generating loops. But fascinationwithartisaneffectoftrance:usuallyitconsistsof heightened creative visualization, suspension of critical judgment, reduction of bodily awareness, increased inner absorptionandsoon.Thisispreciselywhatmanypeoplewould callhypnosis,butwhichItermherethemoregenericandmore preciselydefinedtrance.Successfulartoftenembodiesmultiple themes, multiple trance generating loops and many secondary tranceloopssothattheobservergoesfromoneminitrance to another: one trance is created, then is destroyed and another takesitsplace. Thesetypesoftrancesinwhichtrancesare createdanddestroyedarecharacteristicofbothhypnoticand addictive trances. This modulation of the dissociated trance

THEWAYOFTRANCE/199 planeisoneofthereasonswefeelpleasurewhenweexperience art. Ifwe,asartists,learntoexcelastrancevirtuosos,itbecomes possibletocreateorplaytheseminitranceslikeaninstrument through themedium of ourart thuscreating grand orchestral suitesoftranceinducingexperiences. Thisisnotamechanical activity,andthereiscertainlynoonewaytocreatethesekinds of grand artistic trances. But understanding the practical mechanicsoftrancemayhelpyoutocreatemorepowerfuland moreenjoyabletranceeffectswithyourart.

Modification of Destiny
Great music, art and dance are all ways which induce tranceandconsequentlymodifythe destiny oftheobserver. Whilethisseemslikeastrongstatement,itisnotifyoucon siderhowyourdestinyisdetermined.Iassumethatifyoudo notmakeanychanges,thenyour destiny remainsthesame. Whenchangesaremadeinthewayyouprocessinformation, orhowyoumakedecisions,orwhatyouobserveandlearn, thenasaresultyouusuallymakechangesinyourlife;and thatmeansthatyour destiny changes. Ofcourse,thereare otherwaysinwhichyourdestinymaychange,forexampleby accidentordisease.Butitcanbeargued,aswell,thatlarge changes in destiny can be, for the most part, attributed to manysmallchangesinhowyouprocessinformation,ormake decisions,orwhatyouobserveorfailtoobserve. Failingto observeastopsign,forexample,canhavefatalconsequences. Thisisanexampleofabigchangeinyourdestinycausedbya slightchangeinperception.

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Great art exemplifies the way trance can create almost compulsivechangesindestiny.Thetrancewyrdisstrongand alters cognitive functions on a mass social scale leading to new cultural values and potentially to social changes. The fuguesofBach,theartofMichaelangelo,theancientHellenic Dianicreligious dances,aswellasthemusicoftheBeatles andtheRollingStones,aresomeoftheartisticexamplesof tranceswhichhavecreatedpowerfulchangesinwesternsoci ety. Lesser great art does not always create achange in destiny;sometimesartmerelypromotesamomentaryintoxi cationoraslightmodificationofsome cognitivefunctions,or itmaymerelyproduceslightdissociativeeffectssubjectively perceived as boredom. But even boredom is evidence of a lighttranceandboredomcanproduceinattentionlongenough torenderthesubjectsuggestibleorpromotetheacceptanceof change.

Music
Musicembodiesrhythmandrepetition.Isitanywonderthat all music is intoxicating? We have already observed that repetitionisthefoundationoftrance.Musiciswellknownasa producer of trance and its concomitant intoxicating effects. If themusicisnotsogood,wegetboredalsoatrance. Ifthe musicengagesus,wemayspendhoursdeepinarevery,aday dream,orbetransportedtounknownworlds.Youcansaythat musicwasintoxicating,almostdivine,andarguetheeffectsof music until the early morning. Repetition in music is responsibleformanyofitseffects.Inotherwords,musicalways createsatranceandthatisitsprimarypurpose. Thequestion thatmostpeoplehavetheniswhatkindofatranceisassociated

THEWAYOFTRANCE/201 with a specific music and how strong canthe associated wyrd become?

Ifmusicisintoxicatingwhenexperiencedalone,howmuch moreintoxicatingismusicwhendanceisadded? Andwhat about a light show? And what about strongly amplified rhythmswhichblastthebodyinphysiologicalwaysmassag ingtheinternalorgansfromthebottomsofyourbarefeetto thebrainsinyourhead.Andwhatabouttheaddedeffectsof intoxicatingsmells,art,drugsandsoon? Multipleapplica tions of the causes of trance will produce strong trances, strongwyrdsanddefinitelychangeyourdestiny. Sofaras musiccanbesecretorcoveredortalismanic,thewyrdinmu siccanbecome taboo,andtherebymore focused. Trance is notlessthananalchemicaltransformativeprocess. Andwehavenotevensuggestedherehowthepossiblead ditionofultrasonicandmicrowavestimulationmightevenen hancethetranceeffectevenmore.Andletusnotgointovir tualrealitysetupsorritualmagic.Forifwedidaddaddition altrancetechnologiestoaparty,suchamusicaleventswould be very powerful indeed, which is to say, the trance wyrd wouldbecomecompulsiveandcouldbringwithitconsiderable socialandlegalresponsibilities. Iftheideaofcelebrationandtransformationistomakea wyrdstrongenoughtochangedestiny,thenthereareplenty ofexamplesfromallovertheworldastothegeneralsocialex perimentationtoincreasethewyrdwhichhasgoneonforcen turies. Ifwelookathistoricalandsociologicaleventsasex amples of trance, we come to an understanding of history whichmayhaveadifferentperspectivethanthatwhichyou areusedto.

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Followingthetorchesastheydippedandswayedinthedarkness, theyclimbedmountainpathswithheadthrownbackandeyesglazed, dancingtothebeatofthedrumwhichstirredtheirblood[orstag gereddrunkenlywithwhatwasknownastheDionysosgait].Inthis stateofekstasisorenthusiasmos,theyabandonedthemselves,danc ingwildlyandshoutingEuoi![thegod'sname]andatthatmoment ofintenserapturebecameidentifiedwiththegodhimself.Theybe camefilledwithhisspiritandacquireddivinepowers.59

Theideathatcultureistransmittedthroughmusicandpo etryovercenturiesiseasytounderstandifitisthemusicand poetry whichcreatesatrance,renderingthelistenerableto visualize easier as well as suspend critical judgment and shorttermmemoryinordertocreateegoinvolvement with thestory andtoidentify withit. Musicians inthe African kingdomswhichdevelopedfromthe10thcenturyandextend ingforoverathousandyearsservedasthehistoriansoftheir cultures. Forexample,inwestern Africatoday,the Mande peoplerecountinsongandpoetrythestoriesofearlierpower fulfamiliesandinsodoingadvisetheircontemporaries.Itis alsowellknownthatsuchsongsand poetry arethemedium forculturalknowledgeandvalues.Thecommunityandsoci etycelebratebirths,adolescentinitiationrites,marriages,ti tletakingawardceremonies,funeralsandforthememoryof ancestorsinshort,alloftheimportanteventswhichmarka changeinthedestinyofapersonslife. InAfrica,India, Baliandmanyotherplaces, the endless repetitions,prolongedsounds,rhythmsallseemtothecasual observerasprimitiveandmonotonous,butassoonasonegets intothefeelofit,ahypnotictrancedevelopsinwhichdeepin nerexplorationbecomespossible.Iftherearewordsorlyrics
59 PeterHoyle,Delphi(London:1967),p.76.

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orstories,thenthesevocalizationsworkassuggestionstothe tranceinwhichhasdevelopedadecreaseincriticaljudgment, adecreaseinshorttermmemory,andanincreaseofinnerin volvement,constructivevisualizationsandsoon. ThepeopleofAsiaandAfricaarenotuniqueinregardsto theuseoftranceinmusictoproducecelebrationandtransfor mation. ThemusicoftheearlysixtiessuchasTerry Riley, Steve Reich, La Monte Young, Phil Glass, Robert Moran, Frederick Rzewski and many others experimented with the trance producing effect of endless repetitions, prolonged sounds,sustainednotesandtheproductionoftheirovertones, continuouslyrepeatedshort,melodicmotiflikefigures,mini mallyvaryingpolyphonicrhythms,musicconstantlyregener atedandsustained. Whatdothesetechniquesdo? Theyall create a trance in which heightened inner involvement can produceasuspensionofcriticaljudgment,disabledshortterm memory, constructive visualization, synaesthesia and even hallucinations.Thesoundscanappeariridescent,theycan transportthelistenerstootherworlds;and,theycanopen communicationswiththespiritualworld. Butthisborders onareligiousexperience,doesntit? Certainkindsofmusic createtranceandoutofthetrancecomesapotentialreligious orspiritualexperience.Whichtranceinducingtechniquesare bestforproducingecstasy?Aretherecombinationsoftrances whichcanproduceuniversalconsciousness? Manyproduc ersofmusicseemtofeeltheanswerisinthedetailsofmusi caltechnology,thebeats,thefrequencies,thelyrics,thepat ternsofphrases. WecanusetheTranceModelevenatthis leveltogiveusanotherperspective.

204/DENNISR.WIER Beats per minute

Itisgenerallysuspectedthatsomebeatsmaybemoreef fective than others for inducing trance. Possibly certain rangeswillinsomepeopledisablecertaincognitivefunctions beforeothersaredisabled.Thustherewouldbesomediffer encesinthetypesofASCsproduced.Everyoneisalittledif ferent,soIamnotsocertainthateveryonewouldreactthe samewaytoaspecificbeat. Ecstatictranceformsoutofsomanydifferentapproaches: techno beats, new tribes forming with new codes and lan guages,outofzerosandones,andelectronicpatternforming devices, Edutainment, inner peace through pounding club systems,andsensorydeprivation,withinconcretemazes,un dergroundcaverns. Subjectively,youreinanalteredstate, youve relinquished control of something and it feels great. Youdonthavetofeelbadaboutlife,justresponsibleformak ingthefutureamoreenjoyableplacetobe,andyourenotthe onlyhumanthatfeelsthesameway.Thecollectivefeelingof thetrancestateisprobablyakintoColinWilsonsdescription ofearlysocieties;theabilityforindividualstothinkandact asoneinthesamewaythataflockofbirdsmoveinforma tion.Themechanicsofthisshiftinmoderntimesareknown to most clubbers or festival goers; drums/repetitive beats, lights/colors(tofeelourphotovorebrains)tosleepdeprivation andfoodchoicebywhichImeananythingwechoosetoim bibe.Ifenoughmindsandbodiesagreetodothesamething, thecollectiverealityofthoseinvolvedcanbechanged, ora newonecreated. Ithasbeenarguedthateveryoneisinoneformoftrance stateoranother,andmanyofusareimprisonedintypesof

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repetitivebehaviorandthought,thatifwehadtheoption,we would escape from it. Cleaning out the cobwebs/breaking downthebarriersbetweenpeopleeverysooftenisprettyes sentialtoourwellbeing.Whenweareinaeuphoricstate,we wonderhowisitpossibleforustoallfeelsodifferentand isolatedatonepointandyetconnectedthenext? Sharply focused mental activity means brainwaves of all frequencies(desynchronizedactivity).Nonfocusedmentalat tention leads toan increasein alpha wave activity. This is whatcausestheinterestingtranceystuffandreleasesusfrom thebombardedegothatisWesternadulthood.Ifyouvetaken asubstancewhichismakingallyourneurons fire,keeping simpletimetoa44beatwillbeamirrorofthisAlphastate. Manyattrancepartiesreportsimilarexperiences. Ifyouwantanaturaleffectlistentopolyrhythms:drum circles,Africanrhythms,TibetanandMoroccanmusic. The chaoticqualityoftheshiftingnaturalpatterns confusesthe brainasittriestofindthecorrecttimingwedecipher ourownbeatwithinit,theactionofdoingthis formsthe nonfocused, attentive mental state which stimulates Alpha waveactivity.
Frequency

Theotherturnonwithsoundisfrequency.Thisiswhere thechakraideacomesintoit. Bassmost stronglyaffects the lower nerve centers sexual organs and the stomach. Midrange affects the chest particularly the heart rate fasterkickdrumscanaffecttheheartandthusmanipulate adrenalinelevels.Topendandwhitenoisehasmosteffecton thehead/brainasdopiercingacidsqueals.Andtherestofit

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melody,chordprogressions,scales,thehumanvoice?These are what influence our more subtle emotional responses whichwearehighlyvaried.TomisquoteTerenceMcKenna,
wehavemorewordstodescribenarcoticsthanwedoouremotions, andtheyseemtobeoneofthekeyareasofdevelopmentofour species. Anymovetoapermanenthigherconsciousnesswouldrequire greateremotionalcapacityandunderstandingofinnerrhythmsvia biofeedbacktechniques.Thesetechniquesenableconsciousmanipu lationofbrainwaveandbodyfunction.Thisiswhypeopleareexplor inggrouptrancestatesintimeandspaceatthisperiodinhuman evolution.

PlayingaCDorsampleoverandoveragaindoesproducea hypnotic trance if the CD is sufficiently repetitive. But whetheryoufilterornotdependsonwhichcognitivefunctions remain enabled and which disabled after the trance is pro duced.Theideaofusingexternalstimulation,suchasmusic onaCD,ispreciselytoartificiallycreateenoughstimulation to keep some of the interesting cognitive functions enabled whiletherepetitionofthemusicinducestrance.Thisbalance between stimulation and trance can be achieved by mixing meditationwitharepeatingCD.
Dissonance

On the average, dissonance tends to shock and to break trance. BythisImeanthatcognitivefunctionsthathavebeendis abledarepulledbackintoservice.Dissonancesometimeswill makeapersonawareofhisbodysincedissonancecanhavea tensionorstressproducingreactioninthebody.Ifapersonis

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inatranceinwhichheisnotawareofhisbody,dissonancein thiscasecouldcreateatensioninthebodysomewherewhich causes body awareness toincrease. Thisrequires energy,so thetranceisterminated.

Lyrics and Rhymes

Positivesuggestionsworkbetterthannegativeones.Ifyou areintranceandyourrationalityisshutoff,youhaveabet terthanaveragechanceofputtingyourlistenersintotrance too,becauseyouareencouragingthemtoshutofftheirown rationalityinordertofindmeaninginyourlyrics.Repetition andrhymeisveryimportanttoo. Rhyming words set up other types of trance generating loopswhichcanbeveryusefulincreatingtrance. Ifthealchemicallanguageyouusedoesnothavereferents that your listeners can relate to, thenbetter not use them. Nursery rhymes are OK, but even better is to use snips of nurseryrhymesorafewnotesofanurseryrhymesong.
Thewordrememberisapowerfultriggerword. Theword hasalotofabstract,mysticalassociationsandisquitemagical. You can put yourself in a trance by remembering and rememberingtoremember...

Drummingobviouslycreatestrance!Drummingprovidesa gooddemonstrationofhowtrancetheoryworks.Therepeat ed beats always create a trance. The same rhythm loop(1) makesonetrance(1).Anotherrhythmloop(2)makesanother trance(2). And so on. Drum beats which change loop(3) whichcreatesanothertrance(3). Layersofrhythmloopsin

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thiswayareveryreliablewaystocreateatrance.Moroccan, Africananddrummersallovertheworldknowthis. Allmusicisanalyzableright downtothefinestlevels (if youareintoanalyzing),andgivescluesastowhatiscreating thetrance,andtherefore,howitispossibletochangewhat thedrummerdoestomakebettertrancesoreventocreate trancesforapurposesuchashealingornormalizingbiologi cal functions or becoming sensitive to other energies/enti ties.
Words in Music

Thegeneraldescriptionoftheprocessis:Repeatedthemes inmusicwillalwaysinduceatrance. Tranceresultsindis ablingofsome cognitivefunctions. Thedisablingofspecific cognitivefunctionswillallowspeakingintongues,etc. Thecontentofthewordsusedingospelmusicshouldbean alyzed for embedded commands. It may be that embedded commands are responsible for the construction of a prior trancewhichisusedsubsequently. Ifyou follow what Imean, aprimary trance is first con structedoveraperiodoftime,then,asecondtranceiscon structedonthatwiththeloopofthesecondtranceoccurring inthedissociatedtranceplaneoftheprimarytrance.Thisis thebasicstructureofwhatItermanaddictivetrance. Inthisformoftrance,therepeatedmusicalthemesorthe repeatedverbalsuggestionsoccurinapreexistingdissociated trance and is further stimulated by music, song or sugges tionsfromthecharismaticpreacher.Thisisperceivedfroma seconddissociatedtranceplane.Thisstructureissimilartoa

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bipolarframefoundinsomeschizophrenics,butisnotnec essarilypathological, although itcouldbe. This isalsothe structure for an addictive trance and is probably found in charismaticchurches.Itallowsforakindofposthypnotic typeofactionoractionwhichseemstobeautomaticorinvol untary. It may beconnected with catharsis of some sort or whatsomemighttermanhystericalandemotional release. Thisreleaseisfalselyattributedtospiritandcanresultin bizarre behavior including laughing, crying, speaking in tongues,rollingonthefloor,convulsions,andsoon. Therearenounusualcharacteristicsofanymusic, perse, whichinducetrance,butrathertheotheraspectsofthesitua tiontakeadvantageoftheordinarytrancethatiscreatedby themusic.Thereareactuallytwo(ormore)trancescreated, but the main characteristic is that the second trance (or trances)iscreatedwithaloopinthedissociatedtranceplane oftheprimarytrance(ortrances)withacontinuousstimula tionfrom(probably)thepreacher.Oritmightevenbeinthe wordstothegospelmusictoo,orinsomecombinationwhich disablessomeinhibitingcognitivefunctions. Nomusicwilltaketheplaceofmeditation,andtheeffectof anymusicwillbehypnotictranceinducingingeneral,which mightnotbewhatyouwantspecifically. Musicians who play music while or because they them selvesareinatranceisprobablythebest. Iwouldtendto avoid vocals or singing. Probably something primitive like drum&basstrancecouldhavesomeoftheeffectsyoumight want. Repetitive,simpleandslowrhythmsplayedwithlowlight orcandlelightmayhelpproducesomeoftheeffectsyouwant.

210/DENNISR.WIER Chanting Chanting is defined as the rhythmic repetition of words or soundsandincludessingingandtherecitationofpoetry.

Because chanting involvesvoicingsound,itissomaticand aural. Because chanting isarepetitionofelements,theelements (words)canbecountedandtheybelongtoalimitedset.The wordsarethetrancegeneratingloop. Whenthechantislearned,andrepeatedseveraltimes,con sciousness dissociates into the automaton consciousness whichrepeatsthechantandtoasecond awareness process. Theautomatonconsciousnessiscognitivedisabled. Thesec ondawarenessissomaticdisabledsofarasvoicingsoundsis concerned. Partoftheavailablesomaticenergyisusedtomaintainthe chant,andpartofthecognitiveenergyisusedtomaintainthe automaton,thetrancegeneratingloop.Theremainingsomat icenergymaybecomeinsufficienttomaintainsomaticaware ness and some anesthesia may be present. The remaining cognitive energy may become insufficient to maintain some cognitivefunctions (suchasattentionandorjudgment)and whatmayappeartobesuggestibilitymaybepresent.Ifthe contentofthechantcontainsembeddedhypnoticsuggestions, inthosecasesthatthereisadisablingofjudgmentandvoli tiontherewillbeanincreaseinthetrancewyrdwiththere sultthatthehypnoticsuggestionswillbecarriedout. Let's look at a couple of other ways chanting induces trance. TheGreeksusedarhetoricaldevicecalled epanodos whichmeans"theroadback." Withepanodosthepatternto

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sayis:"ais bandbisa"likeShakespeare's"fairisfouland foulisfair."Thetrancegeneratingloopis"Fairisfoul."The secondrepetitionofthetrancegeneratingloopisinareverse order. The reverse trance generating loop is similar (and short)enoughsothatwhenthesecondreversedtrancegener atingloopiscompletedacomparisonwiththeprimaryresidu alawarenessbegins."Comparison"inthisinstanceisthebe ginningofmultiprocessing.Theresidualawarenessislarger in the reversed paradigm of epanodos than the residual awarenessofasimplemultiplerepetitionofthetrancegener atingloop,so epanodos wouldbearelativelyeffectivedevice forinducingtrance. AnotherGreekrhetoricaldevicealsoeffectiveforinducing tranceistheepistrophe.Inthisparadigmaphraseendswith thesameterm.Thisparadigmcanbeusedinaclassicalhyp noticinduction,forexample: Asyousitinthechairyoucloseyoureyes. Asyoulookatmeyoucloseyoureyes. Asyourelaxdeeperyoucloseyoureyes. Asyoutrytomoveyoucloseyoureyes. Thetrancegeneratingloopinthiscaseistherepetitionofa epistrophic pattern terminating with "you close your eyes." Again,asthemindhearsonephrasesimilartoapriorphrase amentalcomparisonismade. Theoperationof memory in the comparison mode amplifies the residual awareness and causesdissociation.Aftersomerepetitionstheawarenesswill be cognitive disabled in the dissociated trance plane in a tranceandthetrancegeneratingloopwillbe"youcloseyour eyes."

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Most religious groups, from the Hari Krishnas to the Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim monks and devotees, all use chanting as part of their devotional prac tices. When it is understood howtrances are generated, it may be realized that there is nothing magical in chanting. Buttherecouldbesignificantormagicalcontentinthewords ofspecificchants.
Exercises 1.Useadrumordjembe.Begintoplayarhythmwhichyou can easily sustain. After several measures, begin to meditate usingamantra.Closeyoureyes. 2. Sitformeditation. Close youreyesandmeditate for10 minutes. Without opening your eyes or losing the meditation trance,begintoplaythedjembe.Continuefor10minutes.

3. Make acircleoffriends. Addsome meditation. Add somebeats.Thenaddsomedance.Closeyoureyes.Takeoff themasks. Findthetruth. Continueforalong,longtime. Occasionally,addanewfriend.Istheresultingcirclelikeany othercircle? 4.Plansomeone'sbirthdaypartyasamagicalorritualcel ebration. Thatis,youmustclearlydefinewhatisbanished, whatisinvoked,whatthecircleisandwherethetaboosare. Aretheretalismansyoucanmake?Arethereecstatictrance elementswhichyoucancreateoruse?Whatisthedifference betweensuchamagical'birthdaypartyandanordinary birthdayparty?

THEWAYOFTRANCE/213 Questions

1.Whatisthepracticallimitofacircle?Discusstheoccult meaningofacircle.Whatarethelimitsoftheformofacir cle?Howdoestheformofacircleaffectthewyrd? 2.Whatmakesacirclescaryasyouapproachitslimit? 3. Whatisthedifferencebetweenthetabooofimagesin subtleperceptionandtheperceptionofpower? 4.Discusspower,tabooandwyrdasappliedtocircles. 5.DiscusstheattemptedmurderofDionysusandwhyyou cantkillthetripleborngod. 6.Whatisthewyrdofecstasy? 7.Whatarethetaboosofecstasy?Discusstaboointerms ofatranceparty. 8. At a party, how much of the decoration adds to the wyrd? In what ways can decoration or costuming become tabooandaddtothewyrdofatranceparty? 9.Whatdoesthemusicadd?Inwhichwayscanmusicbe taboo?Isultrasonicmusictaboo? 10. Discusshowattitudeaddstoortakesawayfromthe wyrdoftheparty? 11.Discussthewyrdeffectsofapartyfromanindividual aswellasglobalperspectives. 12. Discusstheeffectsofalcoholordrugaddictiononec statictranceintermsofthewyrdandtaboos.

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Magic

What just happened?

Magicistheprocessoftransformationoramodificationof destinybytheskillfuluseofthewyrd;inotherwords,itisthe artofmakingthingshappen. Whatfollowsheremayseemlikeanoverlytechnicalexpla nationofsomethingfundamentallysimple.Magiccanbeex pressedbyothertermsandperspectivesandhasbeen. Be lieveanditshallbeisonesimplealternativewaytoexpress the principle of magic. Repeat and visualize is another. FranzBardon60,JohannesTrithemius61,theIkhwanalSafa62 and many others developed and elaborated complex rituals and symbols for doing magic, but the simple principles

60 FranzBardon(19101958)wasoneofthemostremarkablemagiciansofthe20th century. 61 JohannesTrithemius(14621516)oneofthecentralfiguresintheevolutionofthe WesternEsotericTradition. 62 AHermeticbrotherhoodofthe10thand11thcenturieswhoseencyclopediathe Rasa'ilinfluencedthePicatrix:GhayatalHakim(GoaloftheWise)animportant connectionbetweenHermeticphilosophyandtheesoterictraditionsoftheMiddle East.

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whichunderlyallformsofmagicare:repetition,trance,and visualization. Realityisfundamentallymalleablebecauseofthebasicin terconnectedness of everything; but this perspective is not usuallybelievednorunderstoodhowitcouldbeso.Thereis anextremelypowerfulalmostuniversaltrancewhichhidesor coversthisbasicinterconnectedness,theuniversalconscious ness,sothattheillusionwhichmostpeoplebelieveisthatwe areallseparate.Accesstotheuniversalconsciousnessseems tobetaboo.Wecan'tgotherefromhereunlesswefundamen tallychangeourselves.Peoplealsotendtobelievethatthere must be an intercession between our entranced selves and universalconsciousness;and,thatagentofintercessionisthe priest,shaman, ormagician.Thehermetic approachisthat thealchemistmustchangeorpurifyhimselfbeforethesym bolicleadcanbetransmutedintothesymbolicgold.Presum ably,thepriest,shaman,magicianandalchemistallhavepu rified themselves by austerities including meditation for manyyears.Insodoingtheyhavebrokenthroughthegreat illusion,thetaboo. Theythenarrivetoapositioninwhich theycandomagicandintercedewhenotherssuffer. Let us examine what magic is from the perspective of a youngmagician,asanexample. Thefirstbigproblemfora magicianistofullyunderstandtheuniversaltrance,tobreak throughthetabooofknowingwhoyoureallyare.Breaking thistabooneedsalotofpersonalcourage. Itmeansdoinga lotofselfintrospection,discoveringandowningyourownper sonalpowerandresponsibility,anddiscoveringandfollowing theinnertruthwhichleadstouniversalconsciousness. The maintoolamagicianhasismeditation;atrancewhichuncov

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ers themost subtle and increases the skillful means ofthe wyrd. Usedskillfullybymeansoftrancethewyrdalsomodifies andtransformsthemagician,perceptions,cognitivefunctions, andthemeansofaction,andthus,aswell,byanymeasure, realityitself. Afalsestepinthisprocessresultsindelusion andmadness. Trance,theancientwayofpersonaltransformation,isal chemicalinthesensethatyouareboththeobjectandsubject ofasacredexperiment;itallbeginsandendswithyou;and the work itself is repetitive and continuous. Realizing this fundamentalprocessisthesacredworkthatawitch,priest, yogi,alchemistormagicianisintendingtodobydeveloping theirmagicalskills. There is often a perception of magic as indistinguishable fromthe wyrd energiesituses. Ifthe wyrd isstrong,then thereismagic;ifthereisnowyrd,thereisnomagicandev erythingisnormal. Thisdefinitionofmagicastheskillfuluseofwyrdenergyis equallyausefuldefinitionforstagemagic,illusion,slightof handandotherformsofdeception,sinceeffective deception alsorequiresthepresenceofsomewyrdenergy.Theprimary differencebetween weak magiclikestagemagic,and power ful,realmagicliketheactionsofthegods,isthedifferencein thestrengthorintensityofthe wyrd. Tranceisgenerallya wayortechniqueofincreasing,modifying,orcontrollingthe wyrdenergy.Thatis,toeffectivelyuseandcontroltranceis alsotocontrolmagicalenergy.

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Therealityofaglass ofwater canbe described as being sustainedbyawyrdofhighenergyandappearingasasepa rateobject.Inaddition,becauseitistabootorealizeuniver sal consciousness, one normally cannot see or understand whatcreatestheglassofwater.Itisasecretoramystery. Meditation,hypnosisandaddictivetrancecanmodifytheap parentrealityoftheglass ofwater toanunlimiteddegree. Suchtrancescanmakeaglassofwaterdisappeartooneself andeveryonearound. Orthewatercanturnintowine. Or theglassofwatercanturnintovibuti. Whatdoyouunder standasaglassofwater? Oneofthereasonsthereissomuchmysteryaboutmagicis thatsofewpeoplecanreallyeffectivelycontrolthewyrd.Ma giciansandspiritualpeoplerecommendmeditationasoneof thebestwaystogainimportantskillsincontrollingthewyrd althoughtheydontexpressitinthatway. Scientistsare veryeffectiveincontrollingthewyrdthroughtechnology;this controlcomesfromlonghours oftechnicalconcentrationon variousscientificprinciplesdoubtlessaformofmeditation inwhich taboosarebroken andsubtle universal truths are discovered. Medical miracles are thereby produced. Some technicalnerdscanalsodevelopspecialmagicalskillsdueto longfocusedhoursinatechnicaltrance.Yourcomputercan befixedordestroyedbysuchtechnicalnerds.Artiststoocan changerealitybyalteringthemselvesandthewyrdwiththe consequencethataplay,apainting,apieceofmusic,etc.can transformtheconsumerofsuchcreations. Andwhataboutthosewhodonot,cannot,ordonotknow howtocontrol the wyrd in any wayand are subject to the wyrd of these magicians? They might become innocent or

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fearfulvictimstotheextentthattheyareinaweoftheirmag ic. Aweis,afterall,akindofwyrd. Withknowledge,every potentialandactualvictimcanbegintheirowntransforma tion.Victimscanalsobecomealchemistsormagicians. But firsttheymustbecomeawareofvariousmagicalprinciples. Byexplainingthatitisthecontrolofthetrancewyrdwhich isresponsibleforeffectivenessinchangingdestiny,Iamnot claimingthatanyparticulargrouphasmoreorlessskillthan anyothergroup.SomeCatholicmonks,duetolonghoursof prayerandmeditation,havedevelopedeffectivemagicalskills equaltoorbetterthanmanyhighlyqualifiedresearchscien tists. Atthesametime,Imustaddthatsomefolks,dueto thetraumaofwar,prison,illness,grieforfamilypsychology, havelearnedthroughhabitsofrepetitivefixationonvarious abstractideas,whichinducetrance,andallowsthemtoover comeallsortsofpersonalpainanddysfunction. Theymay, aftersometime,emergewithhighlydevelopedhealingorpsy chicskills.So,eachandallofthesegroupsshare,incommon, the experience of repeating something mentally for a long timeandinsodoingarriveatsomepointintheirliveswith realmagicalskillstheabilitytoeffectivelytransformonere alitytoanother.

Transformation and destiny

Transformation is achange in the way consciousness be havesorprocesses. Whenthecohesivenessofassociationis highthenthereisnochangeinthementalprocessingorbe haviorandone'sdestinycanbepredicted. The wyrd modifies the cohesiveness and therefore allows consciousnesstochange. The wyrd isassociatedwithmagic

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andthereforethewyrdisresponsibleforachangeindestiny andconsciousness.So,ifwecangainsomeconsciouscontrol overthewyrd,wecanbegintodomagic.Insodoing,wewill alsochangeourselvesandmodifyourowndestiny.Wemust bewithoutfearandhavecouragetodothis.Eliminatingfear firstofallrequiresknowledge. Thewyrdbeginstomanifestearliestassimpledissociation. Thisisthebabywyrdanditisnotverystrongsoitdoesnot usually produce much transformation or change in destiny. Yet,itcouldeasilygiverisetoanewideaofwhattohavefor dinner;itcanbethebasisforlearningnewideas.Daydreams andnightmaresinacertainwayfitintothislevel. Itisthe reallylongtermsustainedbutcontrolleddissociationswhich starttogetinteresting.Onestartstobreakthroughtheordi naryrealmsofassociationandconsciousnessandafreerein isgiventoexplorenewpossibilitieswithoutthehindrancesor barriers.Withinthislongtermsustainedandcontrolleddis sociationbroughtaboutbymeditationorotherwayscer tainsubtletiesbegintorevealthemselves.Somenewconnec tionsbegintobemade.Ofcourse,whenyoujuststart,itmay bedifficulttomaintainthetranceforanylengthoftime,but therearewaystosustainit;merelyaddorstartadditional trancesandmaintainthemforlongperiodsoftime.

Action of the Wyrd

Fundamentally,thewyrdistheenergycreatedbyatrance, but it is also a reflection of the energy needed to break a trance. When a trance is constantly present, the wyrd be comeslikeafieldorstandingwaveofenergywhichinfluences oraltersthelocalarea. Wheneverastrongtranceismain

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tainedforalongperiodoftime,thewyrdwillbegintowarpor pullthelocalrealityintocoherencewithit.Ifyouarecreat inganewrealityandyousustainthewyrdwhileinatrance a twisting or torsion is produced as the old reality trans formsintothenewreality. Thisissubjectivelyexperienced by everyone in the local area as a kind of strong, strange weirdness(wyrd)orsomekindofspookyenergy.Somepeople have visual sensations such as going through some kind of door,orthevisualfabricseemstofallawayasinapsychedel ic experience. Some Tibetan lamas generate strong wyrds duringrituals.DuringtheTibetanBlackCrownCeremonyin whichtheKarmapamanifestsAvalokiteshvara,astrongwyrd isgeneratedandsubjectivelyexperiencedbythespectators. SomepeopleactuallyseetheKarmapa changeintoanother being. Satya Sai Baba also generates a strong wyrd force when he manifests vibuti. In fields of war, where focused mindsbothdefendthemselves,killothersandarethemselves killed,thewyrdispalpable. Themerepresenceofthewyrddoesnotmeanthatitispre ciselycontrolled.AsImentionedabove,thewyrdcanbegen eratedbyintensefearandafocusedmind.Precisecontrolof thewyrdcomesmorefromlongyearsofmeditationpractice, orsometimes bytrauma. Thewyrdcanalsobe created by electronic invasive trance induction techniques as well as drugs;but,suchmagicisnotvictimless.

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Ritual
Which bring usto ritual magic63. Ritual isa form of taboo usedtoincreasethewyrd.Iamusingthewordtaboohereina specialandtechnicalsense.Taboophysicallyexpressestheidea ofdissociation. Itdoesnotrequireintercession,butnaturally, requires skillful means. If you are not skillful in the means, thenyoubetterstayawayfromthepower.Youcanalsousethe wordtabootomeanthatyoudon'tmesswiththeinnardsofyour cellphoneunlessyouhavetheskillfulmeanstodoso. Ifyou violate the taboo, you will probably break the magic too. By respecting the taboo, you enable the power. Going into a hospitaloperatingroomunpurifiedisalsotaboo.Ritualmagic hassimilarrequirementsasataboo.

Somekindsofmisunderstandinghavedevelopedregarding magicandritualwhichhasresultedinthedestructionofthe wyrd. Alongtimeagotherewastheideathatritualecstasycele brationmaintainedoveraperiodoftime,couldhaveaninflu enceontheweather,oncrops,onillnessandsoon.Somehow, perhaps,theegogotinvolvedandtheridiculousideaevolved thatifamagicianwerereallygoodandthemagicwhichwas producedwasreallystrong,thenresultswouldbefairlyin stant.Sinceallcompetingmagicianswanttobethestrongest magicians, therituals may havegottenshorter andshorter with belief, dogma, and delusion becoming the more impor tantcomponentsofritualandtheprogressivedevelopmentof thewyrdbecamelessimportant.Thegeneralcommercializa tion and compartmenting of activity and intent has further
63 Electronicinvasivetranceinductiontechniquesarealsoaformofritual(black) magic.Ritualmagicalsohasvictims.

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weakenedthewyrdbyscatteringenergy. Ifyoudonthave time to meditate, it will be impossible to develop strong wyrds,nomatterhowmuchmoneyyouhaveformagicaltrin kets. If the wyrd is not strong any ritual mainly becomes emptydelusionandstupidsuperstition. Ritual magic is the external manifestation of the inner. First, you meditate and develop the inner awareness. You add hypnotic components and the wyrd becomes stronger. Youaddaddictive/devotionaltypesoftrancesbyincludingrit ualorelementsofthisworldintothetrance.Atsomepoint, thewyrdbecomesverystrongandpalpabletoothers,butis notcompellinguntilyoudevelopthecharismatictrancestruc ture. Whenever a charismatic trance contains disrupting chaotic64andreformingecstatic65energy,yourmagiccreatesa compulsivepotentialinthelocalcausalarea.Thatis,whena charismatictranceisusedtheritualappearstoalterthelocal reality. Ifyouareashaman,alchemist,priest,wiccan,magicianor yogi, you may have noticed that celebratory rituals become more effective if you first invest your time in building the foundationofameditationtrance.Thenyoucansubsequent lybuildonthemeditationtranceinaconsistentmanner,by firstaddinghypnoticforms,thenaddictiveandfinallycharis maticformsincludingritual(taboo)andecstasy.Ifyouexam inemanytraditionalrituals,youcandiscoverabbreviatedex amples of this formula, likewise with abbreviated results.

64 Chaosbreakspriorforms. 65 Multipletrancesprovideastochasticwavestatisticallyinfavorofadesirable outcome.

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Such abbreviated ritual results in a kind of entertainment, fascinationorintoxicationsufficientformanypurposes. Magiccanseemlikeaformofintoxicationtoothers,butit isalsoanimportantpartoftheinnerexternalnatureofthe addictive/devotional/ecstatic trance form. To many people, thisaspectisveryscarybecauserealityreallydoesstarttoal ter.Asthewyrdgrowsovertime,thecharismatic/numinous formsoftrancestarttomanifest whenothers become auto maticallysweptintothetrance. Someshamansandyogis atleastthosewhoareauthenticenoughtospendhoursreally meditating willhavedevelopedstrongenoughwyrds that the local reality tangibly alters. As mentioned earlier, the BlackCrownCeremonyoftheKarmapainwhichAvalokitesh varaisactuallymanifested,isanexampleofastrongwyrdal teringthelocalreality. Atthatpoint,the ritual/ecstaticexternalformtechnically becomesanuminoustrance.Thenuminousformiswhenthe fence between the One and the Two breaks down and the OriginalLovemanifests.Deathmanifestsalsoaspartofthe banishment;lifeanddeathbecomeone.Ithinkthismagicis whatshamans,priests,wiccans,yogisandPopesareactually aimingfor,butformanyreasonsexplainedaboveisverydiffi culttoachieve.Onemusthaveacrazydeterminationwhich passesthesuicidalcouragetofacethefearofdeathofyourre ality.

Purpose
Whydomagic? Evenifyoudontgetasfarasbeingableto manifest Original Love, there are a lot of door prizes for the wouldbemagician.

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Thesolitaryyogiorwitchcanbenefitpersonallyandsocial lybytakingthefirststepalongtheway: longmeditationis anexcellentpreparationforritualmagic. Whenthehypnoticformoftranceisaddedtoaregimenof meditation,thewyrdbeginstogetstronger.Objectsusedin theseformscanbecomemagicallychargedtoacertainextent. Whatisalsovitalistomaintainandrepeattheobjectof yourmagic.Moreover,theobjectofthemagicmustbefound ineverysubtlemanifestation. Thisisreallytheworkofthe alchemist,toextractthegoldfromtheleadthroughpurifica tionandtransformation;tobringwhatisnotthereintoexis tence.Thisisanoldprecept. MarcilioFicino,a15thcentury alchemist,wrote
Ifyou wantyourbody andspirittoreceivepowerfrom theSun,learn which are the Solar things among metals and stones, even more among plants,butamongtheanimalworldmostofall...Toinvokethesun'spower, youputonSolarthingstowear,youliveinSolarplaces,lookSolar,hearSo lar,smellSolar,imagineSolar,thinkSolar,andevendesireSolar.

Expressedinthisway,youmightbegintounderstandthat ritualmagiccannotbejustahobby;itisafulltimejob. Whenritualisaddedtothemeditativeandhypnoticforms oftrance,onecouldsaythatWillbecomesinvolved. Thisis whatCrowleywaswritingabout. SomeoftheoldChristian monkscouldbecomesodevotedintheiraddictive/devotional trancesthattheycouldenduremanyausteritiesandpersonal sacrifices. Yet,thisaddictive/devotionaltrance formisstill butasinglestepontheway.Siddhisdevelopeasilyinthead dictive/devotionaltranceforms.Siddhiscanmakeonewildly happy,and,asthewyrdbecomesstronger,thisgeneralhappi nessandexcitementcanspreadtothelocalcommunity.Par

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tieshappen. Celebrationandecstasyseemsjustthenatural thingtodo. Atsomepoint,thecelebrationand ritual/ecstasyandwild happinessseemstobecomeanepidemiclocally.Thewyrdbe comesverystrongandmagicseemstobeeverywhere,butno oneseemstobedoinganythingobvious.Yet,theinnerBeing isbeingmanifested.Thedifferencesbetweenpeopledissolve aseveryoneiscompelledtoseethecommonalityoftheshared reality.ThisistheTwobecomingOne,andLoveisexpressed. Thiscouldbetheancientmeaningofagape.

Structure
To make magic happen, there must be a structure which provides the limits and focuses the wyrd. It is an arbitrary structure,butmost magiciansuseacircle. An altar isalso a limitingstructurewhichworks.Acathedraloracaveisalsoan exampleofalimitingstructure.Soisagrave.Theshamansof thePacificislandswouldwraptheirtalismanicgodsinbarkin ordertoincreaseandcontrolthepowerofthesemagicalicons. So,theideaofalimitortabooinordertofocusthewyrdisreally quiteanoldone.Taboointhewestisnotacommonidea.Taboo ismostoftenassociatedwithsuperstition,butIamusing taboo inadifferent,moregeneralandtechnicalsenseheretoindicate akindofcoveringtolimitandfocusthewyrd.Whenthetaboois madephysicallymanifest,itbecomesatalisman.

Generally,toincreasepower,thewyrdmustbeboundor coveredbyataboo.Insomecasesthisisnothingmorethana circle. It can also be secrecy. It can be any kind of limit whichseparatestheselffromtheother,theholyfromthepro

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fane.Whenthetabooismissing,thewyrdisconsiderablydis persed.
Itwouldseemthatatrancepartywouldalsoneedalimitora largercircleforthe wyrdto become concentrated. Astring,a line of salt, a wisp of incense smoke circumscribing the party wouldalsowork. Andalthougharectangularaltaristopologicallythesameas acircle,thestraightlineedgeofthealtarprobablyweakensthe wyrd.

Evaluation of effects and causes

Howcanoneeverknowifmagicworks?Ifmagicistrulyef fective,itchangesboththeexperienceaswellastheoneexpe riencing.Theindependentobserverischanged;anyscientific instrumentationisalsochanged.Becauseanytransformation alsochangesthemagician,itisimpossibleto'own'theeffect ofmagic,thatis,tosaythatthemagiciancausedtheeffect. Also,effectivemagiccreatestheOtherthat'sthepoint,after allso,insomestrangesense,when'nothinghappens'the magichasbeeneffective.
Exercises

1.Inyournextmagicalcircle,calculatethewyrdbycount inghowmanytimesanactisrepeated.Howlongistheritu al?Arethetrancestructuresmeditation,hypnotic,addictive, charismatic,ecstatic?Arethetrancesadditiveorsequential? 2.Nexttimeyouseesomethingscaryorchaotichappening, identifythetranceandestimatethewyrd.Locatethetaboo, ifyoucan.

THEWAYOFTRANCE/227 Questions

1. DiscusstheTabletsofMosesandafewofthemagical practicesofAgrippafromtheperspectives youlearninthis chapter. 2. Findthreeplacesorsituationsinwhichyoufindeffec tivemagic.Analyzeandjustifyyourreasonsforthinkingso. 3. Findthreeplacesorsituationsinwhichmagicispro claimedtoexist,butitisnoteffective. Analyze,justifyand describewhyusingtheideasofthetrancemodelmighthelp toincreasethewyrd. 4.Thecircleispaganandthelineisroman.Whatisthe functionofsaltintermsoftrancetheory?
5.Whatisessentialtooracularmagic?

6. Findtenexamplesofritualinmodernlifeandidentify thetaboo,thetalisman,thewyrd,thevictims,andthetrance. Startwithtelevision.

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AdvancedTrance

If trance is subtle, advanced trance is even more subtle. Themainobjectiveofadvancedtranceisthedevelopmentofa finer,moredetailedtranscendentexperience;toresearchthe parametersindetailwhichleadtothecreationofanefficient trance,includingthebuildingoftaboosandtalismans,aswell as toincrease, sustain anddirect or focus thetrance wyrd. Avoidingtheinadvertentcreationoftrancerelatedproblems isanothergoal. Duetocertainrisksassociatedwithtrance, developing, understanding and applying some trance safety engineeringtechniquesisalsoprudent. Developingfinersubtleperceptionrequireslotsofpractical experiencestartingwithmeditationandhypnosis.Thereare manytraditionalwaystodevelopandenhancesubtlepercep tion.Onetraditionalwayisthroughyoga.Anotherwayisby personal experimentation with meditation, hypnotic trance andaddictivetrancestructures.Luciddreamandsleeptech niquesarealsoveryhelpful.Chemically,biologicallyorelec tronicallyinducedtrancemaybehelpfulifdonewisely,pru dently, and in homeopathic doses. Enhancing the wyrd by discoveringneworusingalreadyknowntechniquesforcreat ingtaboosandtalismansisalsohelpfulaswell.

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If you follow a guru or one of the traditional avenues of trancedevelopment,youwillsoondiscoverthatalmostwith outexception experimentation withtrance is firmlydiscour aged.Therearemanygoodreasonsforthis.Trancedisables goodjudgmentandmemory,so,uncontrolledexperimentation withtrancewill likelyresult inaworldof confusion, upset anddelusion.Thehistoryoftheworldcontainslotsofinsane madmen, and psychotic lost souls, who are the products of tranceexperimentationgoneawry.Thereisasolutiontothis problem: goodtranceengineering. Thismeanstakeexperi mentalrisksonlyinsmallsteps,andonlygointounknown areasfromwhichyoucaneasilygetout.Onewaytodothisis toconsciouslymarkmaybeevenwritedownornoticea clearinventoryofyourcognitivefunctionsbeforesettingout toexperiment.Donotpileuponetranceexperimentontopof another.Wait,andfullyrecoverfromyourexperiment,until yougettoapriorknownconsciousness. Makecertainthat anyofyournewlycreatedtrancesarefullyterminatedbefore startinganewone.Thisiseasiersaidthandone.Thereisof ten a high that comes from unterminated trance, and it is veryeasytobecomeseducedintodelusionalstates.Itcanre allybeexhilaratingtodiscovernewpowersofthemind,and youmightbesoexcitedyoumightwanttotrypilingonmore. Thewisewayistoterminatethetrance,eventhoughyoulike it.Thatwayyoudevelopcontrol. Oneexperimentwhichyoucando,istostartameditation trance and after twenty minutes of using your regular mantra,changethemantrato'littlefurrycreatures'foran othertwentyminutes,andthengetupwithoutterminating thetrance.Withinthenextfewhours,noticeifyouseeany

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thingdifferent,especiallyoutofthecornersofyoureyes.Also notice how long this tranceling effect persists. Hours? Days? Weeks? Youwillgetanideaofthepotentialdanger unterminatedtrancescanbring. Terminatethelittlefurry creaturetrancebydoingyourregulargroundingmeditation andthusreestablishingyourformerconsciousness.Thenend yourmeditationfirmly.Thatis,infact,thewaytoterminate everytranceexperiment: reestablishyourformerconscious ness.Andthesafetyruleis:don'tgosofaroutwithanyone trance that you forget your way back or can't get back to whatevernormalisforyou. Tobeabsolutelysafeandsuccessful,youradvancedtrance experimentsmustbecarefullymonitoredbyaqualifiedthird partybothforsafetyandfortechnicalreasons.Ifyourmoni torsaysyouarelosingyourmemoryornotusinggoodsense, takethemseriously,andstarthuntingyourowntrancelings! Thereisnothingaspersonallybothersomeasanoutofcon troltrance.Theprimarydangeristhattrancelingscanmake youbecomeforgetful,orselectivelyblind,createvisualswhich don'texist,orcreatefalsememories andfalsebeliefs (delu sions).Themainreasonforhavingamonitoristhatyouhave asecondsetofeyesfocusedonyoutomakesurethatwhen youterminateyourtrancesthattheyare all terminated. A monitororthirdpartyisnotaguruorpriest!Youdon'tneed religiousadviceorsuggestionswhenyouneedtohunttrancel ings. Balanceofthemindisanimportantkeytoclarity,health andsuccessintrance.Althoughabsolutebalancemaybeim possibleinthisworld,perhapsconditionsmaybecreatedso thatbalancecanbemaintainedforashortduration.Insuch

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aperiodofbalancethetechniquesofadvancedtrancecanbe moresuccessful. Advancedtranceallhappenswithinthemind,sowhatever helpsmentalbalance,ingeneral,alsohelpscreatefavorable conditionsforadvancedtrancepractices. Somecommonandtraditionalindicatorsofmentalimbal anceare:greed,ignorance,anger,jealousy,prideandobses sion.Althoughthislistlooksverymuchlikeamedievallistof sins,itstillisagoodguidelineforevaluatingyourmentalbal ance. Whileitispossibletopracticetrancewhile,forexam ple,angryandgreedy,usetrance,inthatcase,onlytoregain yourbalance. Thesubtleareas ofadvancedtrance arenot availabletoanunbalancedmindanymorethanyoucancom petesuccessfullyinasportwhenyouarenotintopcondition or, for example, jealous. In such a case, you risk hurting yourselforothers. Inthecaseoftrance,youriskyourown sanity.Thisisimportanttoremember. The object of discussing advanced trance is to indicate a subtlerelationshipbetweencauseandeffect.Aswediscussed inearlierchapters,theeffectsoftrancemodifyperceptionand the wyrd. Because of these modifications, meaning in a trancecanbeverydifferentoutsideofatrance.Perhapsthis isonereasonancienttextsdescribingthecausesandeffectsof trance become abstract, symbolic, allegorical and mystical. Moreover,thealteredperceptionsofeachpersoninatranceis different,despitehavingidenticalcausesoruseofthesame trancetechniques. An ancient Tibetan text may describe a meditation tech niquewithdefiniteandexplicitsymbols,mantras,mandalas, visualization,colors,andsoon.And,underperfectconditions

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and environment the same practice done anywhere should havethesameeffects. Butconditions havechangedinthe world in ways unforeseen by the ancients. For example, chemical,electronicandmagneticpollution,aswellasother wyrd energies, are now part of the environment and vary fromplacetoplace.Whiletheancienttechniquesmaystillbe effective,thechangedconditionsofthisYuga66requirecareful circumspectionbeforeembarkingonanancientpractice. Specifically, anyone trying to practice advanced trance must be fully aware that there are two kinds of causes of trance:Therearethecausesyouhavecontroloverandthere are causes you do not have control over. This means that therearegeneralbackgroundtrancesgoingonandthereare tranceeffectswhichyouyourselfcreate. Beingasawareas possibleinordertodistinguishthesetwokindsofcausesand effectsiscriticaltosuccessinadvancedtrance.Inaddition,it isimportanttobeawarethattrancemodifiesperception,soa backgroundtranceeffectverylikelywillappeardifferentfrom theinternaltranceperspective. Insomewaysthiscanbea benefit: somenastyexternallycausedtrancesmayseembe nignfromanormalperception,butexposetheirmalignancy whenperceivedfromatrance.Healers,forexample,canrec ognize cancers and other nonobvious health problems by means of the altered perception they achieve while in a trance. On the other hand, general background 'enchant ments'canmakeinvisibleconditionswhichcouldbeobvious otherwise. It is the unique combinations of disabled cognitive func tions and of the order in which they are created, that pro
66 TheKaliYuga.

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ducesallofthestrangeandwildoccultstates.BythisImean thatifyoustartatrancegeneratingloopandbecauseofthis firstloopyougointounconscious sleep,youcanjustforget aboutgoingonyourshamanicjourney!Ifyouwanttogoona shamanicjourneyyoumustonlystarttrancegeneratingloops underconditionswherelosingcompleteconsciousnessisnot anoption. Most fancy occult trancestates such as siddhis are builtupoverasomewhatlongperiodoftime.Inthisprogres sivelearningprocess,first,onetypeof cognitivefunction is disabled and controlled, then perhaps another one. Then, somesubtlecognitivefunctionsareenhancedoramplifiedby suggestionorbyfurthercontrollinganydistractions.Slowly, these trances are allowed to stabilize almost like letting a wineage.Thatis,youlearnprecisecontrol.Theymustalso bebrokenperiodicallysothatonedoesnotlosethesenseof ordinaryrealityandalsotobeabletotestthestrengthofthe wyrd.
Occult altered states are not simple to produce consistently alsobecauseeachpersonisdifferent. Asimpletranceforone person might disable a targeted cognitive function, but for another person the same trance disables the wrong cognitive function. Creatingtrancesinahaphazardorcarelesswaycan createweirdalteredstateswhichlooktoothersverymuchlike mentalpathologies.Itispossibletocreateaddictivedissociated states that are not pleasant, such as paranoia, delusions, persistentnightmaresandsoon. Itisforthisreasonthatone musttestthatthedesiredeffectsareproducedbyatranceand that there are no undesirable effects. Ifyou are desperate to produce some sort of occult state, reconsider. The dangers are great. Randomly created trances usually create delusion and

234/DENNISR.WIER exposeyoutopathologicaltrances. Many trancesproducedin thiswayaredangerous,becauseyoucangetpsychicallylostin them. This is because multiple trances can become fixed relativelypermanentandonestaysmoreorlesspermanently inanaddictivetrance.Goodbye,life!

Theuseofimages,idols,symbols,mandalasandgenerally talismansofallsortshasbeenatraditionofyogisandmagi cians,etc.formillennia.Theyareoftencombinedwithtaboo. Fundamentally,theyallusedtalismansdeliberatelyaspart ofanhypnotictrancelooptoincreasethewyrdformagicritu al,forinitiations,forteachingorasanaidtoinnervisualiza tion. Formandalascombinedwithcontemplationormeditation whetherTibetanorSufiasimilaranalysisapplies.Repeti tion creates a dissociated trance plane and consequent dis ablingofsomecognitivefunctions.Thiswouldalsobeahyp notictrancesincepartoftheloopis'outside'.Itisonlywhen theentireloopis'inside'thatitisameditationtrance.Some mandalas are used as teaching mechanisms. During the teachingprocess,thetypeoftranceishypnotic.Afterthestu dentknowswhatthemandalalookslike,itcanbevisualized internally.Oncetheinternalvisualizationisrobust,thehyp notictrancebecomesameditationtrance.Whatisinteresting isthattherearethentwomandalas:aninneroneandanex ternalone.Astheinnermandalaisexploredandmademore vivid,andsubtleaspectsarediscoveredandexperienced,the externalmandalaacquiresataboo. Thatis,theinnerman dalacreatesasecretaspectoftheexternalmandala;or,one could say the external mandala hides or covers additional meaningsdiscoverableonlythroughmeditation.

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Developing your trance skills

Tranceasanabilitytomultiprocess canwithpractice becomeavaluableskill.Itisquiteimportanttobeabletogo intoatrance,stopatranceandtoallocatecognitiveskillsto tasksbothconsciouslyaswellasconsciously.Itisnotneces sarytohaveahypnotistdothis. Terminatingasimpletranceusuallyissuccessfulbyinter ruptingtheprimary trancegeneratingloop. Deepandcom plex (not simple) trances usually have secondary loops and thatiswhatmakesthemmorestable. Often,breakingthe secondary loop does no good because it is quickly reestab lished.Anotherwayistointerruptthesecondaryloopandin sertsuggestionstobreaktheprimaryloop. Nonsensewords canbeusedalso.Butonemustbeawareastotheeffectthe nonsense words have on the dissociated plane. Nonsense wordscanalsodriveonedeeperintoatrance. Unwantedmoodsandstatesmeansyouhavemissedsome thing. Probably if you meditate it would occur to you and thenthemoodwouldchange. Meditation isatrance. The trance disables a cognitive function like judgment long enoughtoallowthemissedsomethingtobefound. Thisre sultsinthemoodbeingchangedinsomeway. Astostrong tranceforces,Iagreethatadesiretocreate themmayarisefrompathologicalneed. Whatmaybemore efficientinthelongrunistohavesomeskillwithtrancein general rather than focus merely on maximizing aforce. I suspect that focusing solelyonmaximizing the trance force willcausedamagetotheegostructureinotherwords,one mightgocrazy. AndIamsurepeoplehave. Ontheother

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hand,theskillfuluseoftrancecanreallydomagicbythepur posefulandpreciseuseofthewyrd. Itisjustasdifficultformetoexplaininasimplewayhow tobuildastrongtranceforceasitwouldbeformetoexplain inasimplewayhowtobeaviolinvirtuoso.ButIguess'prac tice,practice,practice'isnotabadwaytostart. Forallthe TranceTheorydetailanddiscussion,thereisnosimple,easy, 'justaddtwoeggsandstir',or'chantthemagic mantra'way todoit. Meditationis,however,agoodwaytostart.Regular,long term practice works the best. Meditation creates a simple trance,someditatinggivesonealotofinnerexperiencewhen doneoveraperiodofyears.Alongwiththis,Iwouldsuggest theuseofhypnotictechniques,includingritualmagic,orthe useofexternalandsymbolicloops,circles. Theexternalap pearanceofthingsisnotasimportantastheinnerawareness whichiscreated. Shifting awareness fromonetrancetoan other,traversingtheegoalongthenodesofastructuremakes sensewhentheskilllevelandinnerawarenessaredeveloped sufficientlytoallowthis.Developingtranceinthecontextof luciddreamingisveryhelpful. Hereisatablewhichdistinguishesbetweentheskillfuluse oftranceandwhatwemightfindwhentranceisnotskillfully done:

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Skillfuluseoftrance abstraction Useofsymbols meditation Creative Hypnotic,persuasive Magicalpowers Enlightenment Deathless

Unskillful learningdifficulties confusesymbolwiththing beliefboundfantasies Dull,literal Followsordersuncritically Multipleaddictions Ordinary,noncreative inert,slothful,greedy

DevelopingMeditationSkills Meditation,whenpracticedregularlyandconsistently,will provetobeavaluableaidtowardthelearninganddevelop mentofmanytranceskills. Whenskillsaredevelopedintrance,whichistosay,when apersoncaneasilyinvokeatranceandyetretainsomecon troloverthetrance,thens/hemaybereadyfortheadventure ofAdvancedTrancework. Whenatranceiscreatedandsustainedtrance wyrdsare alsocreatedandmaybefelt.Withtimeandeffortitispossi bletolearntocontrolthetrancewyrds. IfyouwanttodevelopsomeAdvancedTranceskills,then usethefollowingasaguide: 1.First,eliminateasfaraspossible,othertrances. Prior hypnoticandaddictivetrancescreatetrancewyrds,whichin

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terfere with the creation of your own selfinduced trance wyrd. Therefore, if you wish to develop your own trance wyrd,itiscriticaltoeliminateallthosealientrances,those whichyouhavenotcreated. Alladdictiveandcharismatictrancesshouldbeeliminated, sofaraspossible.Iknowthisisnotaneasytask. 2.Secondly,practicesomeformofmeditation,inorderto establishanddevelopyourowntrance wyrd.Itisimportant topracticeconsistentlyoveralongperiodoftime.Itisnotde sirabletopracticemeditationformorethanthreehoursper dayinthebeginning.But,afterafewyearsofdailymedita tionpractice,practicingforthreeorfourhoursperdaywould bebeneficial. Thepurposeofmeditationistodevelopindependencefrom thoughtsandtogaintheskillstobothcreateanddestroyyour personaltrancesatwill. Thoughts which we have can be disturbing. Daytoday events,aswellastraumaticpastevents,canbeasourceof worry,depression,orhyperactivity,whichcanbeselfdestruc tive.Thesedisturbingthoughtsconsumeenergyaswell.We need to use all available energy to create a strong trance wyrd. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate disturbing thoughts.Onewaytodothisistomeditate,inordertoestab lishindependencefromyourthoughts. Atthesametime,itisalsonecessarytobecomefree,sofar as possible, from the attraction or repulsion of specific thoughtsandideas. Meditationwillallowallsortsofideas andthoughtstoappear.Somewillbebeautifulandsomewill behorrible. Theexperienceofthesethoughtswillbeinthe

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dissociatedtranceplane.Youmustendeavortodisableyour censororthatcriticalpartofyourmindwhichpassesjudg mentsonthoughts.Allowthemall.Theirfreeenergywillin creasethetrancewyrd.Ifyoumustspendenergyrepressing yourthoughts,thenyouwilllosesomeofyourabilitytocreate strongtrancewyrds. 3.Thirdly, becertain that theprimary meditation trance you create does not contain hypnotic suggestions. The thoughtobjectsintheprimarytrancegeneratingloopshould beneutral,sofaraspossible. Religious based meditations, or meditations that contain specifichypnoticsuggestionsordelusionalbeliefsarenotvery usefulforproducingthemaximumtrancewyrd.Onemustbe quitecarefulinchoosingthemantrasothatitdoesnotcon tainsuchundesirablespecifichypnoticcontent. Tobequiteclear: yourfirstorprimarymeditationtrance shouldnotbebasedonaspecificfalsehypnoticsuggestionor aspecificdelusion. 4. Fourth, establish secondary trance generating loops whichyoucancontrol.Ifyoucannotcontrolthesesecondary loops,thenyourunthedangerofbecomingaddictedorseri ouslymentallyill.Givingupcontroltoaguru,priest,hypno tistorpopularcultleaderisnotagoodideaeither.Unfortu nately,mediatedtrancesituationsdonotproducethecontrols youneed; youcan't subcontract meditation or get itfrom a church,adrugdealer,orbuyitatthestore.Unlikethesec ondaryloops ofanaddict or schizophrenic, these secondary order trance generating loops should not have content and they should have neither desirable nor undesirable side ef fects. Iftheyhavedesirableorundesirablesideeffectsthen

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thetranceswillprobablybecomehypnoticfirstandthenad dictive.Thepurposeofthesecondarytrancegeneratingloops istoincreasethetrancewyrd,andnothingmore. When secondary trance generating loops have desirable sideeffects,theywillverylikelybecomeaddictive. Whena television commercial convinces you to buy something that youdecideyoulikeandfinduseful,youwillnaturallytendto liketelevisionandfindituseful.Thiskindofsecondaryloop isatthebasisofanaddictiontotelevision.Thisisthefunda mentalreasonthatitisimportantthatthesecondaryloops havenodesirablesideeffects.Theyshouldbeneutral. Thefollowingistrueforeveryordinarytrance:Atranceis created;issustainedforsometime,andthenitterminatesor collapses.Afteritcollapsesthereisareconstructioncollapse (rc)cyclesimilartoanechooranafterwave. Becauseatranceiscreatedfromatrancegeneratingloop, theanalysisoftranceasawavephenomenonissuggestedas aresearchproject.Thereconstructioncollapsephenomenon, whichhappensafterthetranceterminatesseemsrelatedto some magical phenomena which subsequently occur. The reconstructioncollapsecycledoesnotnecessarilyhappenim mediatelyaftertheterminationofatrance. Thereasonfor thisisunclear. Theprimarydifferencebetweenanordinarytranceandan AdvancedTranceisthatthereismuchmorecontrolandsen sitivity in the creation, sustaining and collapse of the Ad vancedTrance. Duringthesustainingphase,theremaybe interactionwithothertrancescreatingsomethinglikeinter ferencepatternsandthisallowsthe cognitivefunctions to betuned.Butobviouslyyoucanttuneanythingifyouare

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notawareoftheinterferencepatterns, andonlyexperience them. Hereisasimpleexample: LaybackandlistentoaBachcantataorsomereggae or jazzand watch orpayattentiontohoweachmusicalloop creates a trance, and how that trance interacts with other trances (from other musical loops) before it collapses. You havetopracticeandbeinafairlycalm,relaxedstateofmind withouttoomuchnoiseorotherwiseyoumightnotnoticethe creationandcollapseofatrance,becauseitisprettysubtle. Itissomewhateasiertonoticewithshamanicdrumming,or an Indian raga, since the loops are few, regular and sus tained. Thetypicaltrancedancemusicalloopsareoftentoo numerous,irregular,andnotsustainedenoughtoworkasex amples.
Once you have done this, and you notice the interference patternscreatedbyacollapsingtrance,thendothesamething withmeditation,andthenwithhypnosis.Thenrepeatwithboth meditationandhypnosis. Areyoubeginningtounderstandthe subtletyandpoweroftrance?

Intermediate Advanced Trance

Iwillnowbrieflydiscussthemoreserious,nonsecularin termediateadvancetrance.Forthisdiscussion,ourperspec tive is that from devotional trance and charismatic trance forms. Intheseformsoftrance,theegofunctionisdetachedfrom normalsecularchannelsandattentionisonthemostsubtle ofinnersenses.Thisalsotransformstheegofromthatwhich

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goesouttothatwhichgoesin.Inthissense,theegobecomes sacrificial,humble,openwithoutanI/ego. Theobjectsofactionalsoaretransformed.Thehanddoes notmovethechalice,buttheinnerhandmovesthechalice. Theobjectsofinnersensebecomemoreacuteandrecordsand informationavailableontheinnerrealitiesbecomereadable andintelligible. Atfirst,likeachild,actionisnotsoskilled,perceptionis notfullyintegratedwithknowledgeandtheexperiencesare notclear,norpersistent.So,theyseemlikeadream,andthe dreamiswhatwenormallyexperiencewhenwedream.But, withpracticeoftrance,thedreambecomesclear.Thesecular egoisabandonedforthemorepermanent,cleardivineego. Oncethesecularegoisabandoned,theinnerworldsbecome realandthesecularworldbecomesthedream.Thisisareal stateoftheinnerchilddevotionaltrance.So,theinnerchild canread,butnotreallyunderstandtheserecordsandintelli gences.Celebrationandloveontheinneristoomuchforthe child, and the inner child must go to bed while the adults havetheirscene. Theinnerchildmakesupstoriesandfan tasiesastowhattheinnerdivineadultmustbedoing. Whentheinnerdivinechildgrowsupandhasmoreinner experience, the inner divine adult experiences celebrations andlove,similartocelebrationandloveonefindsinthesecu larworldascharisma.

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FindingYourOwnWay

Iftrancewillhaveanymeaningatallinyourlife,thenyou mustbecomeevenmoreawareofit.Ifnot,thenyoucanquickly becomeapawn,avictimofthosewhowillusetranceagainstyou inordertoexploityourunconsciousness.

Therearemanyopportunitiestolearnmoreabouttrance. Of course, one practical way is to practice meditation and learnbydirectexperienceaboutthedeepnatureofyourown mind. Atsomepointinthepracticeofmeditationyoumaywishto expand your experiences with experimentation. Meditation trance,overtime,naturallyexposesyoutothepotentialfor addinghypnotic,addictiveandcharismatictrances. Findingotherswithwhomyoucanshareyourinternalex periences at some point becomes very valuable. Exploring trancebyyourselfcanbealonelyundertakingrepletewith dangersofallkinds.Havingassociateswithmoreorlessthe samekindofexperiencesisassuringandprovidessomede greeofsafetywhenexploringnewtranceforms.

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Expressingyourinternalrealizationsintheformofactual izationsisanaturalconsequenceofdeeptrancework.Some peoplebecomeinterestedinthesubtlenatureofplantsand usethatknowledgetoextendtheirexperientialreach.Others aremoresocialandexplorethepossibilitiesofreachingoth ers.Byusingtrance,yournaturalskillsmaydevelopininter estingwaysexpressingyouruniversalpotentialmorefully.

Thisworldischanging. Understandingtheuniversalnature of consciousness within a world of changes needs practical experience and this is most efficiently realized through the individualpracticeoftranceinitsmanyforms. As chaos manifests again and again, destroying everything, the most potent seeds for the future can be found within the developmentofyourpersonaluniversalconsciousnesstoday.

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Glossary

addictivetrance:Atypeoftriplelooptrancecharacterizedbyaprimary inner(meditation)trancegeneratingloop(TGL)andasecondary hypnotictranceloopwhichhassomeelementsintheprimary dissociatedtranceplaneandathirdloopwhichcharacterizesthe repetitivecompulsivebehavioroftheaddiction.Theprimaryinner tranceisusuallytaboohiddenfromtheaddictaddingtothepower (wyrd)ofthetrance.Seealsodevotion. charismatictrance:Atypeofquadruplelooptrancecharacterizedbyan addictivetrancewiththeadditionofafourthloopwhichcreates compulsivecodependentbehaviorsinothers. cognitivefunction:amentalabilityorthinkingprocess. cognitiveloop:arepeatingsequenceofcognitiveobjects. cognitiveobject:anythought,feeling,orinnersensation. cohesivenessofassociation:Ameasureoftheassociativerichness, depthorcomplexityofacognitiveobject. complextrance:Atrancewithmultipletrancegeneratingloopswhich createmixturesofmeditation,hypnoticandaddictivetranceforms.

criticaljudgment:theabilitytocorrectlyreasonfromcauses.
destiny:theresultsoftheactionsofasystemofcognitivefunctions. domain:thesetofcognitiveobjectsusedbyacognitivefunctionfora specificmentalprocess.Seealsorange. devotion:Anothertermforanaddictivetrance.Adevotionaltrancehas thesamestructuralformasanaddictivetrance,butadevotionaltrance iscontrollableandtheinnermeditationtranceisnottaboo.

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dissociatedtranceplane(DTP):Thespecificsetofmodifiedcognitive functionswhichresultfromatrance. dissociation:Asubjectivelyperceivedcognitiveconditioninwhich consciousselfawarenessseemssetapartfromotherconsciousself awarenessprocesses. hypnotictrance:Atrancecreatedbytwotrancegeneratingloopsoneof whichresultsinaprimarymeditationtranceandasecondtrance generatingloopsomeofwhichcontentcomesfromasource(the hypnotist)externaltothesubjectandsomeofwhichcontentiswithin themeditationtrance.Theprimarymeditationtranceistaboo. objects. meditationtrance:Atrancecreatedbytherepetitionofasingletrance generatingloopinwhichtheentireloopisinternalorconsisting entirelyofcognitiveobjects. loopissharedbytwoindividuals. pathologicaltrance:Afundamentallyunhealthytrancewhich unfavorablyrestrictschoice,disallowspersonalresponsibilityand resultsinanimpoverishedcondition. looponwhichfurthertranceswillbeconstructed. range:thesetofpossiblecognitiveobjectswhichmayresultfromthe operationofaspecificcognitivefunction.Seealsodomain. secondarytranceloop:Anyassociatingadditionalcognitiveloopbetween adissociatedtranceplaneanditsprimarytrancegeneratingloop.The purposeofsecondarytranceloopsistostabilizetheprimarytranceby creatinganothertrance. whichisprotectedorfocusedbyadistinguishingcover;2.Asperceived byothers,anobject,beingthecoveredwyrdofatrance. talisman:1.aveneratedobject,thoughttocontainthemagical, frighteningandpowerfulenergiesofanunknownmysterioussource;2. ataboomadeintoaphysicalobjectbycovering,protectingormaking secretanytrancewhichgeneratesastrongwyrd.

looprunningtime:Thetimethatittakestorepeatoneloopofcognitive

mutualtrance:Ahypnotictranceinwhichtheprimarytrancegenerating

primaryinduction:Theprocessoractofstartinganytrancegenerating

taboo:1.Theconsciousself,activewithinatrance,whichgeneratesawyrd

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thoughtobject:Seecognitiveobject. timetotrance:Thedurationfromthecommencementofatrance generatingloopuntilthereisatrance. trance:(trns)nounaspecifictypeofdissociationcreatedbytherepetition ofcognitiveobjectsandresultinginoneormoredisabledcognitive functions.verb,transitivetranced,trancing,trancesToputintoa trance;entrance. trancewithoutpriorinformedconsent.

tranceabuse:Anydeliberateexploitationofaperson(victim)whoisina trancecollapse:Theeventandeffectsoftheterminationofthe dissociatedtranceplane.Sometimesthisisexperiencedasakindof shockassomecognitivefunctionsstopandothersarereenabled.The shockisameasurableneurophysiologicaleffectofthewyrd. trancedelta:Theelapsedtimebetweenthestartofatrancegenerating loopandthefirstoccurrenceofanydisabledcognitivefunction. tranceengineering:Theexplicitdesignandconstructionoftranceloops andsecondaryloopstocreatespecifictrancesforspecificeffects. tranceepsilon:Theelapsedtimebetweentheterminationofthetrance generatingloopandthenormalizationofanydisabledcognitive functions.

tranceforce:Thecauseofpersistent,resistive,andcontinuouseffects resultingfromatrance.Themeasureofatranceforceisthewyrd. trancegeneratingloop(TGL):Anysetofrepeatedcognitiveobjects whichresultsinatrance. trancelogic:Theperceivedeffectsofdistinctivealteredordisabled cognitivefunctionsofpersonswhoareinatrance. trancetechnology:Themethodsandapplicationsofthetrancemodel. tranceling:anyunterminatedtrance,usuallyinrelationtotheunexpected orundesirableeffectsofsuchunterminatedtrances. ofapriortrance. unhingedtrance:atrancelingwithnoobviousmeansofcontrol;a compulsion. wyrd(W):1.ameasureofthepowerofatrancetoresistanychangeinthe effectsofthetrance;2.ameasureoftheabilityofatrancetochange trigger:awordordistinctiveactionwhichresultsinthereestablishment

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destiny;3.Ameasureoftheenergyeffectsofthechangesofcognitive functionsduetoatrance.

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Index
A
abuse.................................................................. tranceabuse.............71,105,153p.,168,247 addictivetrance.........46,60,64,108pp.,118p., 131p.,134p.,198,208p.,237,245 Addictivetrance...................................108,131 agape............................................................225 alcoholaddiction..........................................122 alcoholic........................20,46,112,122p.,136 alpha.............................................................205 altar...........................................................225p. anesthesia.....................................................210 Atlantis.........................................................194 Autogenictraining.........................................71 Avalokiteshvara...................................220,223 awareness.29,40,56pp.,64,68,71p.,74p.,77, 85,112p.,115pp.,121,123,125pp.,130, 132p.,136,143,198,207,210p.,236,246 Ayahuasca....................................................180 charismatictrance.46,135pp.,142,144p.,147, 149,245 clairvoyant...............................................29,46 cognitivefunctions....29,31p.,38p.,44pp.,56, 58,68p.,74,77,87,89,105,107,134,143p., 175,198,200,204,206,208pp.,233p.,240, 246p. cognitiveloop. .27p.,55p.,64,66,83pp.,245p. cognitiveobject........................25,32,245,247 cohesivenessofassociation...35pp.,39,41,52, 245 complextrance.............................................245 critical.................83,85,87,90pp.,108,156p. criticaljudgment.......29,33,38p.,41,56,63p., 68p.,83,85pp.,90pp.,98,106,143p.,146, 153,245 cults................................................96,117,125

D B
Bach,J.S.....................................................200 belief.............23,54,114p.,125,159,167,237 biofeedback..................................................206 BlackCrownCeremony......................220,223 bloodpressure....................................54,58,68 B.........................................................188,194 bodyawareness..........29,57,68,133,143,207 breath.......................................................72,81 delusions......................110,115,132,136,142 destiny......20,28,31p.,177,180p.,199p.,214, 218p.,245,248 Dionysus......................................188,190,213 dissociativecondition........................39,51,53 divine........................................175,178,180p. domain......................................................245p. DTP.................................................................... dissociatedtranceplane.....72,74,112,114, 121,132,198,208p.,211,234,245p.

C
chakra....................................52,74,79pp.,205 chanting...........................60,78,116,210,212

E
ecstasy............................................................54 energy 24pp.,30p.,43,45p.,71,110,124,130,

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133,175pp.,207,210,238p. epanodos...................................................210p. epistrophe.....................................................211 eyelids............................................................30

K
Karmapa...............................................220,223

L F
fear.......................................83,86,88,90,106 Ficino,Marcilio...........................................224 fixedeyestare.............................................42p. literalism...................29,39,41p.,68,144,198

M
Macumba.....................................................187 magicians.................................................59,61 mandalas..........................................60,74,234 Mande..........................................................202 mantra.....52p.,59p.,63p.,66,70pp.,139,212, 236,239 mathematicalprocessing................................29 McKenna,Terrence.....................................206 meaning....................................................32,35 meditationtrance .39p.,45,50p.,53pp.,57,67, 69pp.,74p.,79,108p.,134,139pp.,143,145, 212,234,239,246 memory....29,33p.,36,38pp.,43,57p.,68,83, 90,108,115,120,132p.,140,143p.,157, 198,211 Michaelangelo..............................................200 modalities.......................................................89 monk..........................59,61,139p.,142p.,212 Monk..............................................................61 Monkey..........................................................64 Moran,Robert..............................................203 musclejerk.....................................................30

G
Gaia..............................................................196 galvanicskinresponse.............................45,58 Glass,Phil....................................................203 God..................................54,61,107,113,127 GoldenMean..................................................76

H
habits....................................................119,124 hallucination........112,120,122,126,136,160 healingpowers...............................................29 Hermetic.........................................................77 hypnotictrance...9,34,45,59p.,71,74,85pp., 89p.,107,109,113,116,121,125,135, 140p.,145,206,209,234,245p. hypnoticvoice.............................................84p.

I
initiation.........................................................59 inner..............................................................87 innervisualization..........................................29 intoxication...............................180p.,186,200 invasive..........................................................24 Ishtar..............................................................76

N
NLP................................................................89 noises.............................................................66 numinous......................................................223

J
Jung,Carl...............................................73,197

O
Obeah...........................................................187 OmNamaShivaya...................................72,80

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P
pagans............................................................76 pain...57p.,110,115p.,119p.,131,139p.,143, 165 pentagram.............................................76p.,81 Phi..................................................................76 poetry...................................................202,210 polyphonic...................................................203 psyops............................................................46

suggestibility..................................................85

T
taboo.....22,33,47p.,135p.,139p.,145,171p., 174pp.,185p.,193,201,225p.,245p. talisman..........................................................48 telekinesis.......................................................29 trance.................................50,56,89,109,142 trancedelta.............................................53,247 tranceepsilon.........................................53,247 tranceforce..................................................145 trancegeneratingloop. .40,43,47,57pp.,62p., 65pp.,71pp.,75,77,80,108p.,111p.,119pp., 132,134,137,197p.,210p.,235,239,245pp. trancelogic...................................................247 tranceloop.....................................................88 tranceling.....................................................247 trigger...............................................89,93,247 Triggerwords................................................92

Q
quantum.........................................................22

R
raisedarm.......................................................45 range.........................................................245p. rave.................................................................64 reggae...........................................................187 Reich,Steve.................................................203 relaxation.....................................54,58,68,81 relaxationresponse,.......................................54 remoteviewing........................................29,46 rhyme...........................................................207 Riley,Terry..................................................203 ritual......................59p.,73,77pp.,221pp.,236 Russell,Bertrand.........................................197 Rzewski,Frederick......................................203

V
visualization...................13,29,57,73,79,198 volition...........................................68,120,210 Voodoo........................................................187

W
wiccan..........................................................187 Wilson,Colin...............................................204 witch................................................59,62,124 Witness...........................................51,55p.,64 wordassociation............................................47 wyrd37,39,43pp.,64,67,75,78p.,81,85,87, 89p.,109,111,119pp.,133,135pp.,139p., 145p.,172,176pp.,181,185,197p.,200,210, 214,216,218p.,237pp.,247 wyrd................................................................... tranceforce............................145,235p.,247

S
Santayana,George.......................................197 Santeria........................................................187 Satan...............................................................76 SatyaSaiBaba.............................................220 secondarytranceloop....................64,198,246 selfhypnosis..................................................71 Shakespere,William....................................211 shaman......................................170p.,177,222 Shango.........................................................187 shorttermmemory. ..29,34,38,40,43,58,68, 108

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Y
yogi.........................29,59,61,121p.,129,131

yogicsiddhis..................................................29 Young,LaMonte.........................................203