How to enter a trance state. Guide to self-hypnosis. Trance techniques What you can do in trance

07/01/2021 Category: Secrets

Many people are interested in how to enter a trance, because trance helps to cope with stress and get the necessary rest. In addition, trance is recognized as a healing altered state of consciousness.

Why go into a trance state?

To receive mystical visions and the necessary paranormal information, as well as to reprogram their own state, ancient yogis and mystics used an altered state of consciousness or trance¹. At the same time, a person concentrates his consciousness to the utmost and goes “inside himself.”

Trance is a delightfully blissful state of relaxation, similar to immersing yourself in a nice warm physical/mental bath or mineral spring. In an altered state of consciousness, you can reprogram your subconscious² so that it does not slow down the process of self-development and personal growth.

How to enter a trance?

Performance technique

1. Lie down on a hard surface or bed.

2. Do not use pillows to keep your back straight.

3. You can also sit in a comfortable chair.

4. Unbutton tight clothing.

5. Relax completely!

Stage 1

1. While in a comfortable, relaxed position, you need to begin to monitor your breathing.

2. Do not control the breathing process, but simply monitor it.

3. As you inhale, repeat SO-O-O-O, and as you exhale, HAM-M-M-M.

4. Gradually monitoring your breathing, feel that it is happening on its own and there is no longer a need to say SO-HAM to yourself.

5. This means that you are in the first stage of trance. Thoughts and worries at this stage should disappear.

Stage 2

1. Now, continuing to breathe in your natural rhythm, through the efforts of your will you need to stop even the slightest movements of the body and muscles.

2. Start the relaxation phase.

3. Starting from the head, face and neck muscles, gradually reach the feet, relaxing each muscle. Go through each individual muscle with your attention and mentally say: “my eyelids relax, relax, my eyes relax, relax, my shoulders relax, relax, etc.”

4. So mentally go through the whole body from head to toe and relax.

5. Repeat the process three or four times. Go through the body again and again until you feel numbness and insensibility throughout the body.

6. You may feel like you are falling into an abyss.

If this state has arrived, it means that you are relaxed enough to move to the next stage.

Stage 3

1. When the breathing is balanced and the body is sufficiently relaxed, you need to repeat to yourself, Ommmmm, while counting: Om one, Om two, Om three and so on...

2. When the mind is established in the careful repetition of the mantra and any thoughts disappear, this means you have moved to the third stage of trance.

Stage 4

1. At the fourth stage, one should continue to repeat the mystical formula Om, and at the same time it is necessary to clearly imagine the shining disk of the sun in the area between the eyebrows.

2. Repeating the OM formula, visualize a bright solar disk, look at it until a clear image of the sun appears, as if you saw it in reality.

3. It may seem quite difficult at first, but with practice it will get better. Daily exercise before bed can greatly speed up this process.

How to use the trance state?

When the fourth stage is reached, you can imagine any person or object in the place of the Sun, and replace the formula with a question that interests you. By concentrating in this way, you will receive an answer in the form of sound, words or image. This technique is applicable to any research and questions. The subconscious knows everything!

Notes and feature articles for deeper understanding of the material

¹Trans is a series of altered states of consciousness (ASC), as well as a functional state of the psyche that connects and mediates the conscious and unconscious mental functioning of a person, in which, according to some cognitivist-oriented interpretations, the degree of conscious participation in information processing changes (

The mental state called trance is achieved through experience. Not every person is able to enter a trance without special training. Altered consciousness allows you to work with internal factors that influence a person’s life.

Many people call trance meditation, but this is not entirely true. During meditation, it is possible to enter a trance, but the entry itself will not necessarily be associated with meditation. Some practicing psychiatrists and yogis believe that the trance state is healing for the human body and its state of mind.

What is trance

One of the properties of the human psyche is falling into a trance, but not all people have access to it. A change in consciousness usually occurs consciously or with the participation of a specialist. Trance changes the activity of parts of the human brain, focusing attention on internal organization.

During a trance, a person becomes available to visions, memories, even deep ones, which in a normal state a person does not remember, as well as dreams embodied in real form.

Entering a trance on your own allows you to get rid of many problems, such as complexes, old experiences, past traumas, including childhood, depressive disorders. During a trance, the brain begins to filter information, process it and “sort it out.”

Failures in the functioning of the nervous system are easily eliminated by entering a trance state.

What is the difference between trance in psychology and trance in mystical teachings?

A girl listens to music
Trance is a very popular concept today, and therefore many people do not use it in the meaning that it has. In scientific psychology, this term is understood as a certain condition, which is also used by psychotherapists in their practice. Another thing is trance, which is used by various mystical teachings: magical practices, esotericism, etc., which have nothing to do with science and official medicine. In this regard, trance is a kind of entertainment that does not bring any benefit to the human psyche.

In other words, trance is a scientific psychological concept , a psychological tool that helps to work through mental problems, increase productivity and even improve health. For example, a psychotherapist using this technique can help a person get rid of complexes, insomnia, and work through some of his past traumas.

According to official psychology, in a state of unconsciousness, a person’s right hemisphere is activated

It helps an individual perceive information from the surrounding world and process it into something new, something missing.

In the popular mystical understanding, trance is simply an opportunity to fall out of reality . A person can enter this state and describe that it was “cool” or “cool,” but this has nothing to do with solving problems or increasing the efficiency of life. Of course, a person can have fun like this, there is no harm in it, but one should not expect benefits for mental and mental health either.

The benefits of trance states

Psychotherapists use hypnosis to treat many psychosomatic diseases. One type of hypnosis is Ericksonian hypnosis, but its implementation requires the participation of a specialist. But you can independently immerse a person in a trance without the help of a specialist.

While in a trance, the brain begins to activate activity processes in the body, processes information, helps eliminate deep-seated experiences and long-standing stress. During trance, the right hemisphere begins to work actively. The body directs all its resources to relaxation and solving problems at the physiological level, which in real life are not always possible to realize.

Trance allows you to work with long-term stressful conditions, due to which a person feels tired and depressed for a long time, but the roots of this problem are unknown to him.

During trance, a person often receives a solution to many of his problems, insight comes to him, problems are solved by themselves.

Personal development

In the first part of the article, I already wrote that the trance state is familiar to absolutely each of us. This is a state of mild prostration before we fall asleep or wake up. We can fall into it out of fatigue, or, conversely, while relaxing in the bath.

There is a “shop trance”…. “Driver trance” (when a person on autopilot reaches his destination, without even realizing what places he has passed), etc.

And at the same time, attitudes towards trance vary greatly. To summarize, we can distinguish the following stages of interest:

- This is dangerous, it’s better not to mess with it

- I do not need it

- This is interesting, but not now

— Interesting, I’d like to try it

— The stage at which it is best to practice trance on your own:

This is Conscious Interest , which involves studying information about how the brain and our Unconscious work. A clear understanding: “Why are you going into a trance? How can he be useful to you? How can you use it to solve your problems? To manage your States? How to enter and exit trance correctly?

As for me, I went through all these stages sequentially.

The more knowledge appeared, the more drawn out the topic became.

My friend delved into this process to such an extent that after studying with Mikhail Ginzburg, one of the best specialists in Ericksonian hypnosis, as well as with other hypnotherapists from France and the USA, she radically changed her life.

After leaving her position as CEO of the company, she began working with people, helping them solve various problems using hypnosis. And in her own life, self-hypnosis became a familiar and irreplaceable tool for her for solving a variety of problems and working with her conditions.

I use Light types of trance (this also includes meditation, various breathing practices, etc. (see How to put yourself into a trance and communicate with the Unconscious? Part 1), which are no less effective.

An experienced specialist always takes into account the individual characteristics of the person and the task facing him, and uses varying degrees of immersion in his practice.

During my first hypnotic immersion, I experienced some tension. And in order to remove it, my friend acted quite wisely - she suggested that I plunge into a trance myself, giving myself catalepsy of my hand (more on this in the next article).

To my surprise, it turned out to be very easy. And I could have stood in this state for quite a long time if we had not agreed in advance on the exit time - 10 minutes.

After this experience, each subsequent dive (plus my own practice) was easy and relaxed. At the exit, I received (at least) a resource state. I anchored one of them and still use it to this day. I felt some changes after a while.

The peculiarity of Ericksonian Hypnosis is that it is Eco-Friendly and does not give Directive Instructions or Orders.

Milton Erickson often used his famous parables when working with patients. At the same time, the clients remained fully conscious (being in a light trance, which they did not even notice). After such sessions, old traumas were removed, people changed their lives and attitudes towards current situations for the better.

His masterly work and brilliant results evoked great gratitude from patients and admiration from specialists.

As a result, NLPers wondered, “How does he do it?” And they modeled his approach.

Milton immersed a person in an altered state, in which he gained access to his inner experience (previously unconscious), could process it and use it for his own benefit. Erickson, like no one else, saw the enormous role of the Unconscious and taught patients to use its resources for positive changes. He also unobtrusively taught clients Awareness and independent skills of tracking those Unconscious actions that interfered with them in life (for this they needed to be “pulled” to a conscious level).

Erickson believed that even simply being in a trance (without therapeutic influence) has a beneficial effect on a person and allows one to temporarily get out of habitual thinking patterns due to a change in state.

It's as if you were looking at the area from different heights: standing at the foot of a mountain or at its top. When the view is better, many things are seen completely differently.

Can trance be harmful?

This question is akin to: “Is sunbathing harmful?” If you mindlessly fry under the scorching rays - yes! With a reasonable approach, you will get a beautiful tan, a dose of serotonin (the pleasure hormone), vitamin D-3, a lot of positive emotions, etc.

Both Useful and Harmful - “Two Sides of the Same Coin”! It depends only on the person what he chooses!

When a person falls into a trance thoughtlessly, without any particular purpose (under the influence of psychotropic drugs, drugs, heavy music, etc.), and his only desire is to “get high,” this is one story. Alas, it often ends sadly.

Hanging for a long time in an Altered State and Separation from Reality is also not good!

Take the healthiest product (for example, buckwheat). If you eat it from morning to evening, then such a mono-diet will quickly make you feel worse.

So everything is good in moderation!

It is better to set in advance the time for which you plan to put yourself into a trance. And ask your Unconscious to return you to your normal state after it expires.

Alternatively, you can remember the state when you felt active and cheerful, anchor it, and ask the Unconscious to return you to this state after the session (or if for some reason it is unexpectedly interrupted, for example, the phone rings).

State breakdown works well (about it in the previous article).

If we continue the example with the sun, then we can certainly find those for whom tanning is prohibited for some reason (or those for whom buckwheat causes allergies).

Likewise, trance is not recommended for people with unstable psyches and damage to the central nervous system.

So, what am I getting at? That's why we were given Reason, so as not to reduce even useful things to absurdity. These recommendations apply to absolutely everything.

If you are interested in testing the benefits of trance, act gradually, step by step, noting the difference in the “Before and After” states, solve simple problems first, get answers from your Unconscious, learn to decipher them (after all, it often communicates in symbols and images), thank it for help!

And do not forget to get out of this state (with an easy dive, this does not cause any difficulties).

ALL THE BEST!

WITH THANKS! ARINA

How to prepare

In order to independently enter a trance state, you need to find a suitable place, but it should not be noisy or crowded. It is best that no one interferes with the process or enters the room. Often practicing trance people can enter this state, regardless of the place and time of the ritual, but for beginners it will be difficult at first even in complete solitude.

Before entering a trance, you need to satisfy your physiological needs so as not to be distracted by them in the future. There is no need to go into a trance hungry or vice versa on a full stomach. The condition should be comfortable. Also, you should not start entering while you are sick.

All irritating factors, such as sounds, noises, distracting luminous objects, must be eliminated. The body position should be comfortable and as relaxed as possible.

Trance and hypnosis

In a nutshell: trance is a word that describes a certain state of consciousness, and hypnosis is a general name for a variety of methods to help another person enter such a state or get into one yourself. We can say that in the process of hypnosis a trance state occurs. And at the same time, we can experience a trance state without any hypnosis.

The difference between hypnosis and trance is that hypnosis is the process of creating a state of trance, and trance is its result.

Often in a state of trance, a person shifts the focus of attention from the external environment “inward”, focuses on his internal experiences, and for a while ceases to perceive the surrounding reality. Outwardly, a person looks as if he is “not here” - his gaze seems to be turned “inward”. In trance, slow breathing and relaxation of the body may occur.

About any trance we can say that this is a state and process of concentration . Attention can be focused within us - on thoughts, sensations, emotions, memories. Or in the outside world - on objects, sounds, movements. In moments of creative flow, we manage to maintain our focus both internally and externally. Every time we reconfigure our attention from our usual perception and analysis of reality, we fall into a trance.

Absolutely every person knows how to independently enter a trance, and does this many times a day. And children generally live in a trance. When we suddenly find ourselves thinking about something, or are immersed in pleasant memories, we enter a state of trance. In trance, we temporarily change our usual ways of perceiving reality.

The resource of attention is finite, and when our attention is concentrated on something, it leaves other areas of our conscious control. This allows you to make changes in hypnosis that are impossible in the usual state of consciousness.

Hypnosis uses attention management tools to help induce a trance state.

Important point

Sometimes trance is defined as a state of increased suggestibility, that is, receptivity to external instructions. This is a rather narrow definition. Not every trance is characterized by increased suggestibility . And there are a great many forms of trance. Suggestibility is not an easy topic in general. It depends on many factors. Just remember that trance and suggestibility are not the same thing.

Entry techniques

To enter a trance, there are some techniques that allow the body to adapt quickly and easily in a short period of time. However, they all require significant effort, since it may not work the first time. Entry must be practiced frequently.

The easiest technique to perform is. You can perform this either with a quick noisy exhalation or with slow and deep breathing. The number of breaths per minute should be at least 50 if you use the fast intermittent breathing technique. It is best to perform lying on a flat, flat surface, with dim light. During breathing exercises, the body is saturated with oxygen, which leads to a slight change in consciousness, as well as immersion in a trance.
One way to enter a trance is to use sound. You can use a mantra, which will need to be repeated monotonously, observing a certain tone. The concentration of sensations should be only on sound. Feeling the vibration of the vocal cords and the flow of oxygen into the lungs.
The technique of monotonous movements is often used. The easiest way is to sit on the floor and swing your body in different directions, slowly and monotonously. This method can be supplemented with the sound method.
Concentrate on one action or sound. It can be the sound of an hour or drops of water evenly dripping into the sink, for example. You can focus on your own body and try to listen to your heart.

While entering a trance, a person feels lightness and even some kind of floating. Some people feel leaving their body. Reality is blurred, consciousness is dulled. The state resembles a state of half-asleep, when you are not yet completely asleep, but at the same time you are no longer quite in reality. Self-hypnosis is achieved experimentally. The most popular techniques allow you to achieve a trance state after just a few workouts. Some manage to achieve the desired result already in the first session.

Meditative music

You can enter a trance using various techniques. One of them is the use of meditative music. Meditative trance music is sold on audio media in specialized stores, it can be found on the Internet, or you can chant the mantra yourself, having previously studied the correct tonality and sound combination.

Music, not only for trance and meditation, in general allows a person to relax and put his feelings in order. It is not without reason that psychologists recommend listening to calm, relaxing music as often as possible, both for adults and children. Classical music has a significant impact on improving the health of the body, normalizing mental processes and balancing a person’s state of mind.

Meditative music is aimed at helping to enter a trance, but it can be used not only solo, but also in combination with other techniques for entering an altered consciousness.

What are the benefits of trance?

The human body can independently enter into a trance. But we can also learn to consciously enter a trance when necessary, because the trance state has many beneficial effects on health and productivity.

Access to unconscious resources

Throughout human history, people have used trance to access the unconscious. Although they never called him that before. The unconscious uses completely different, non-linear and unusual methods of working with information to the analytical mind, due to which it sometimes produces very creative and extraordinary solutions.

For example, priests, shamans, and clergymen, during earnest prayer, fell into a special state of consciousness in which they could receive divine revelations, predict the future, or find solutions to some complex issues that could not be resolved in a normal state of consciousness.

Many great discoveries were made in a dream, which can also be called a form of trance, because it is in a dream that access to the unconscious opens. It can not only help process information, but also give birth to completely new amazing ideas.

High productivity state

Trance is familiar to people of many professions, even if they do not know that it is trans. For example, a driver driving a car on a calm road may be in a special semi-meditative state, when the body acts automatically, and at this time the mind can wander in its thoughts. This is also a trance state.

Interestingly, in extreme situations, a person can spontaneously enter a trance state and act optimally without the participation of consciousness. Perhaps you have also experienced moments when you yourself did not yet understand what had happened, but your body had already reacted. These are the very cases when we act from a state of trance.

Sports, art, music, dancing, writing poetry, programming and other activities that require the ability to concentrate are all trance. And the better the quality of this trance and our skills to enter into it, the greater our productivity and the quality of the result .

Trance is the most important key to states of high productivity. That is why everyone who wants to solve their life problems at a high level should learn to consciously enter a trance.

Flow states, in which we can perform at our peak performance and creativity, are unlocked when we can simultaneously be in a trance and yet be fully conscious in the world. Practicing these states is an important part of learning generative trance. This is the third, most modern generation of hypnosis practices.

Recreation, training and integration of experience

The human body spontaneously, by itself, goes into a trance many times a day. You've probably caught yourself lost in thoughts or memories for a while and not really noticing what's going on around you. It's trance and it's useful.

The trance state allows you to quickly rest, relax or restore your performance. Without thoughts, without internal dialogue and worries about the past or future.

During this time, the nervous system sorts and creates new connections between old experiences and new impressions and information, which allows us to learn.

When we study a complex topic or read books, we periodically distract ourselves from the material and go into a trance to allow new knowledge and impressions to integrate and fit into our large neural network.

Retraining and adaptation of the nervous system

Trance is a state of learning . And more importantly, retraining. Sometimes people ask why the desired changes in life do not happen, despite the fact that they really want to. One answer is that we are not in the right state of consciousness for enough time.

While we use our habitual skills, beliefs and ideas about life every day, they cannot be taken and changed on the fly.

It's like trying to change a tire on your car with one hand while leaning out the window. At the same time, he drives at high speed, and with your other hand you hold the steering wheel. Not an easy task. In a normal state of consciousness, our habits continue to work, but as long as they work and are used, they cannot be changed. This requires a pause. A time when nothing happens. And entering a state of trance is a great opportunity to create such time.

Therefore, the human body is designed in such a way that it periodically goes into a trance to take a break. Rebuild internal maps, integrate experience, retrain the body and consciousness. If this trance is resourceful and useful, gradually the unconscious and consciousness learn to cooperate in a new way, and changes occur in life.

Positive trance can and should be used to heal mental wounds and solve everyday problems. But if a person is in a negative trance, then he maintains and strengthens old habits and conditions. And then the task of working in hypnosis is to change the usual negative ways of trance, improve its quality and constructiveness.

stimming

Monotonous body movements are called stimming. This is one of the techniques for entering a trance. This technique is considered the most popular and easiest to perform. To achieve an altered consciousness, it is necessary to take a comfortable body position and make monotonous repetitive movements of the body. You can sway from side to side or back and forth. In this case, all your attention should be focused on relaxing all the muscles of the body.

Often during this method additional influence is used on active points of the human body. They are stimulated with fairly strong pressure, and then, releasing, the meditation continues.

Consciousness and unconsciousness

In the sciences of the human psyche, it is customary to call habitual mental and analytical activities consciousness , and hidden processes that we are not aware of, and which come to the fore in sleep and in trance states, as unconscious .

The trance state allows you to gain access to unconscious processes and their resources, and use them to solve life problems. Trance states are very useful for rapid learning, relaxation and healing of psychological problems.

No additional help

It is possible to enter a trance on your own. Some skills are required, which can be obtained from specialized literature, a knowledgeable person, or after several independent attempts.

The gaze should not be focused, the body should be completely relaxed. All thoughts are turned off, you need to concentrate only on a specific action or sound. At first it will be difficult to turn off your thoughts, since their constant flow is familiar to a person, it seems impossible to stop it. However, this is not so, and after several attempts, entering a trance will become easy and accessible.

How to exit

The exit from the altered consciousness must take place gradually, just as the immersion was. Visually, you can imagine yourself swimming out of the depths, emerging from under the water, or going down the stairs.

Gradually, thoughts and feelings will come to consciousness, the brain will assimilate the new existing reality. Slow counting will help you come to your senses after falling into a trance. You can perform several relaxing, but toning, movements, like gentle stretching. After entering a trance, it is advisable to drink a glass of warm water and not begin your daily duties for some time so that the body can adapt and tune in to the desired wave.

Is there any harm

Some scientists believe that going into a trance has only benefits, while others are inclined to believe that it is as harmful to the body as it is beneficial. However, each person should decide for himself whether a trance state will bring him benefit or harm.

First of all, it should be remembered that changes in consciousness affect the functioning of internal organs. The heartbeat slows down, nervous processes are suspended, emotions are suppressed and some numbness of consciousness occurs.

While entering a trance, a person can see some hallucinations or visions that are associated with his internal subconscious fears, which were deposited in early childhood in the subcortex of the brain, and since then the person has not remembered them. Unpleasant memories can cause depression, since a person is not always ready to accept that past reality again.

During a trance, oxygen starvation occurs as breathing slows down. A certain amount of endorphin, the hormone of joy, enters the blood, which causes enlightenment and a feeling of insight for a while. However, this feeling gradually passes, and is followed by a state of lethargy and apathy.

The history of hypnosis

Priests and healers had the ability to influence the subconscious. These people occupied a high position in society and enjoyed great respect and authority. They feared shamans, worshiped them and asked for advice. Hypnotic rituals were an integral part of the worship of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, Greeks and Indians. In a state of deep meditation, the clergy predicted the future, helped rulers make fateful decisions, hypnotized people and healed people from serious illnesses.

Officially, hypnosis as a method of working with the subconscious was recognized in the 19th century. Then the Scottish surgeon James Braid first used the method of influencing the subconscious on his patients, putting them into a trance with the help of a foreign object. At his instigation, the term “hypnosis” was established as a medical definition.

Relaxation

In order to enter a trance, it is necessary to completely relax the physical body and turn off all thought processes. Only by relaxing can a person plunge into an altered consciousness and experience the benefits of a trance state.

Relaxation may not occur immediately, but initially you need to physically try to relax all your muscles, including the muscles of your face, because people often forget about them. After the onset of complete relaxation, achieving an altered consciousness will occur easier and faster.

What is hypnosis

Hypnosis is a general name for many ways to induce a trance state in a person
. There are different types of hypnosis. For example, directive or authoritarian hypnosis. This is one of the oldest therapeutic schools of hypnosis. It uses directive instructions, turning off consciousness, suppressing a person’s will, shock and rapid induction of trance. Representatives of this school often try to work in a deep trance.

There are many other, more modern areas of hypnosis - the so-called non-directive, or Ericksonian hypnosis. Meditation, auto-training, self-hypnosis - all these are also ways to induce trance states of consciousness, and they can also be called hypnotic techniques.

All these types of hypnosis have their supporters and critics, differ in goals and objectives, and in methods of introducing a person into a trance state. And in some ways the different methods are similar. For example, in many areas of hypnosis, fixation of attention is used - this could be some object or image outside, inside, the hypnotist’s voice, or bodily sensations.

You can read about some forms of hypnotherapy in separate articles, for example - What is regressive hypnosis.

In a sense, body-oriented psychotherapy can also be classified as hypnotic forms of psychotherapy. Despite the fact that words are used less there, and it may be without words at all, bodily interaction itself can also induce trance states, which are then used to heal illnesses or psychological problems.

Hypnosis helps you enter a trance state. Sometimes we do it ourselves, for a short time and spontaneously, sometimes in meditation or self-hypnosis. And sometimes we use the help of a psychologist, hypnotherapist and other specialists in working with soul and body.

Read more about the different types of hypnosis in the article “Questions and answers about hypnosis.”

Freeing yourself from emotions and thoughts

One of the most difficult tasks when entering a trance is turning off the consciousness from the constant stream of thoughts. People are accustomed to conducting an internal monologue without interruption for a second. This constant flow of thoughts allows us to control our actions, concentrate our attention, and direct our movements and actions. However, when entering a trance or during meditation, it is necessary to completely turn off consciousness, relax and not think about anything. Only in this state will entry be possible.

Entering a trance is possible for almost every person. It must be remembered that for some diseases it is impossible to use sound effects or flashing signals, for example, for epilepsy. But otherwise, a person can fall into a trance quite easily.

Many composers and great writers have used trance to gain insight. Each of us can easily use this method to solve our everyday problems, or even children's fears that have accumulated over many years of life.

In fact, trance is a state that accompanies any yoga practice, be it performing asanas, pranayama, mudras... Of course, the greatest depth of trance is achieved during savasana or yoga nidra.

Many people view trance as something mysterious and difficult to achieve. It is sometimes called a “flow state” (enjoying the process of an activity) or a “peak experience” (inspiration from self-realization), as well as a state of awareness and presence. Meanwhile, we are talking about various natural states that arise, including spontaneously. In ordinary life, trance can appear when we are engaged in monotonous rhythmic activity that brings pleasure and absorbs all our attention and is performed at a calm, unhurried pace. For example, fishing, Nordic walking and even... the children's game of “silent speech” (by the way, an analogue of yogic meditative exercises).

Other parallels can be drawn between modern methods of achieving trance, often used in psychotherapy, and Eastern techniques. For example, the autogenic training method developed by the German psychotherapist Johann Schulz about a hundred years ago. It is known that he was interested in the systems of bodily and mental self-regulation of hatha and raja yoga. While practicing hypnotherapy, Schultz studied the sensations people experience in a state of hypnotic trance. At the same time, he discovered a commonality between the sensations that arise in people when immersed in a hypnotic state and those sensations that appear when independently performing a number of yoga exercises. This is primarily a feeling of heaviness associated with muscle relaxation, as well as a feeling of warmth accompanying the dilation of blood vessels. Based on these two sources - hypnosis and yoga, Schultz developed a method of self-regulation accepted throughout the world.

Indeed, with any method of achieving trance, there is one common result: the nervous system returns to its natural state, free from excessive intellectualization and socio-cultural stereotypes. Why does this happen? Firstly, the activity of the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, which are responsible for the logical processing of information, decreases (they, as a rule, are initially in a more active and often “overexcited” state). Secondly, the “subconscious” parts of the brain, freed from this suppressive influence, become disinhibited. Thus, an altered state of consciousness occurs. Physiologically, it corresponds to the “right hemisphere” functional state of the cerebral cortex. He is characterized by intuitive processing of information, allowing for multiple solutions. This differs from the ordinary “left-hemisphere” state, which limits the decision-making process to the rigid framework of rational thinking. This opens up access to blocked (repressed, taboo) subconscious resources. In other words, during the trance process the brain returns to the “childish” state characteristic of the child’s brain. Thanks to trance, by rediscovering life, we regain the childhood joy of life, the fullness of experiences, integrity and a sense of harmony, unity with the world and the people around us. This most important psychophysical phenomenon is allegorically described by all spiritual traditions as “second birth”, “be like children”, etc.

This is the therapeutic effect of trance, which is actively used in modern psychotherapy. In a trance, the human psyche becomes adaptive, capable of resolving internal contradictions and conflicts by removing internal barriers and overcoming habitual behavior patterns. As a result, it becomes possible to reconstruct neural connections, synthesize non-standard solutions, form new patterns (as if to learn something again). Today, due to the unnatural way of life, trance techniques are needed like vitamins for the body and soul. This is not just relaxation as rest, but “switching on” in the body the universal healing reaction of relaxation, or self-healing of the body, mobilization of its protective forces. Activation of “repair” – restoration processes. All this helps to cope with stress, anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, and even physical pain. So with one patient we worked on the pain threshold as part of preparation for childbirth. Not long ago she sent a letter of gratitude, the process was painless.

You can learn to enter trance states on your own. One of the self-regulation techniques is simple breathing in the rhythm of the pulse - a modern modification of pranayama techniques (neuro-pranayama). The physiological basis of this exercise is the synchronization of the biorhythms of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, creating conditions for harmonization, fine tuning of the autonomic nervous system, balance of activity of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. So, at the beginning of savasana or meditation, watch your own pulse for a while (to do this, feel it on the inside of your wrist or on your neck near the carotid artery). Then start counting how many heartbeats there are during inhalation and how many during exhalation. Breathe relaxed with your stomach, observing your own breathing, without interfering with its rhythm at first. After several breathing cycles, lengthen the next exhalation by one pulse beat. Gradually lengthen the exhalation by another two pulse beats. Then lengthen your inhalation by one pulse beat. The optimal ratio of exhalation and inhalation in this technique is 2:1. Observe how sensations flow synchronously in different parts of the body - spontaneously, without your participation. Then move on to the main practice. If you are doing an exercise during the day and need to quickly return to an active state, at the end take a deep breath and exhale forcefully.

By the way, if you want to get a deeper trance, get a regular phonendoscope from the pharmacy and try counting your pulse with it. The result will impress you.

Enter an altered state of consciousness on your own

, or into
a hypnotic trance
, is not at all difficult.

You will definitely succeed.

1. Setting.

The best place to start is solitude. It's an intimate matter, why scare people away? Yes, and they will torture you with advice. Everything else depends on personal preferences and ideas about comfort.

So - a secluded, comfortable space to stay for about forty minutes. Preferably safe. A room or a forest clearing - it doesn’t make much difference.

2. Place in space.

After a few workouts, you can easily fall into a trance by jumping rope. Of course, if you can do it at all, jump rope for half an hour without stopping.

At first, it is better to sit or lie down. A stool on one leg is not an option yet. It is better to sit in an armchair, or on a chair with armrests. You can lie down on any mat, sofa, couch, bed. Your own bed is fine if you don't fall asleep in it instantly.

Ideally, though, a comfortable chair.

3. Body position.

Sitting cross-legged is not suitable. After a few minutes you will want to switch your legs. Usually we do this automatically, without even noticing. When immersed in a trance, this distracts your attention, which you will probably concentrate on something else.

It is better to take the simplest, most natural pose

. The feet rest completely on the floor, the hands and elbows rest freely on the armrests, the back rests on the backrest, and the seat rests on the seat. It is better to lie on your back, with your arms free along your body. Crossed feet don't bother me personally, but it's better to avoid it. Hands on the chest are not desirable, the associations are not the most pleasant. It can also be distracting.

The position should be relaxed, as comfortable as possible for a long stay.

4. Relaxation.

relaxed body position is suitable for trance.

.
This is true, but you shouldn’t stress about relaxation. It will fit exactly as you feel comfortable
. There's no point in bothering with this. You should not deliberately relax or tense up.

The necessary relaxation will come on its own as you fall into a trance.

5. Concentration.

The most important thing begins. You need to concentrate your attention

There are plenty of options. Let's look at one of the classic ones. The simplest and most comfortable thing is a memory or fantasy

.
There is only one condition. It should be nice
. The rest makes no difference.

Pleasant, vivid memories, fantasies, dreams - creates images. The brighter and more emotional the image, the faster and more effectively the trance state

. There is no point in wondering what exactly to imagine or remember. In general, it’s better to turn off the “thinking” thing. Whatever comes is good.

A picture, or a kaleidoscope of pictures, a film, or a cartoon. It can be sounds or light, color or smell, taste, sensations

.
It’s great if it’s a dynamic color image
filled with specific
sounds, light, smell
….
But, even if it’s only sound, color, light, taste or smell
, then so be it. Concentrate on this.

It makes no difference what to focus on. Bright, comfortable look.

6. Maintaining and deepening.

It's better not to even think about it. Just take my word for it. It makes no difference. For therapeutic work, communication with the unconscious

, relaxation and other uses of
the trance
- the depth and duration of the trance state
is chosen

the unconscious
itself .

It is pointless and even impossible to manage this process. How impossible it is to control the depth or duration of sleep. Leave this topic to the hypnosis theorists.

7. Trance state.

At first, you will not be able to capture the trance state.

. You can feel it only after you come out of a trance. The condition is like after sleep. A pleasant feeling of lightness and freshness. Very comfortable condition.

Don’t bother yourself with the question – was there a trance?

The very fact that this question arose confirms that you were in a trance state. Don’t let it bother you that you heard and felt everything. This is normal and natural. You didn't lose consciousness. And it didn’t turn off completely.

Yes, and fear is present at the beginning, hence the increased control. Don't worry. With a high probability, everything turned out in the best possible way. A few workouts - everything will be just fine. You will experience hypnotic phenomena, and you will notice signs of trance. There will be a lot of interesting things. A little bit later. Don't rush! Yours will not slip past you.

The trance state is so natural and comfortable that it is not recorded by consciousness.

8. Exit from trance.

There are two equivalent options here. During the first dives, there is often a spontaneous exit from trance.

.
The eyes simply open, usually they close before entering a trance, and the normal state of consciousness
.
You can do the same yourself
after completing the task set for the trance state. All you have to do is take a deep breath and open your eyes. Don't rush to get up right away. (Yes, it won’t even want to.) Usually there is a desire to stretch, as if after sleep. Don't deprive yourself of this pleasure.

A couple of minutes of calm will prolong and intensify the pleasant sensations. Do not rush. The post-hypnotic state is no less therapeutic.

To obtain mystical visions and the necessary paranormal information, as well as to reprogram their own state, ancient yogis and mystics used entering an altered state of consciousness or trans...

In this article we will look at the most common techniques for entering a trance.

The trance state allows you to find a solution to the problem

Brian Weiss said that “trance is the concentration of the mind with a relaxed body”

Jean Becchio believed that trance is “activation of consciousness”

M.R. Ginzburg said that “trance is an internal focus of attention turned inward”

On the other hand, trance is also a state of learning, when a person can perceive new information without resistance. New for your personality, but not new for your Soul.

Because at the Soul level we are all connected to the entire Universal “data bank”. Each of us has access there, but we can only use it in a state of trance.

In addition, trance states of the brain promote the perception of creative flow, relief from stress, and accelerated physical and emotional healing.

Therefore, it is the trance state that is the usual “working” state of artists, writers, inventors, psychics and healers.

What problems can be solved while in a trance state:

find a way out of recurring situations
eliminate difficulties in relationships, take relationships to a new level
find a way out of painful loneliness
eliminate psychological complexes, fears, phobias
get out of the deadlock, find the meaning of life
find your purpose
learn how to cope with the loss of loved ones
find and eliminate the cause of the disease

What can you remember in a trance state?

birth
intrauterine period
moment of conception
planning the current implementation
past lives
planning any other incarnation
conclusions that the Soul made after incarnation
the presence of the Soul in the space between lives

In addition, the trance state makes it possible to communicate at the Soul level with those people with whom there is no fruitful cooperation. Then you can come to an agreement and solve the problem. Perhaps the relationship has reached a dead end or the person has already died, but you want to understand something or ask him a question.

After such communication at the level of Souls, relationships in real life also improve.

What changes in a person after immersion in past lives?

Attitude to life

After a regression session, the client has an understanding of Who I am and why I am here . A more responsible attitude towards your life appears. A person begins to take a more responsible and meaningful approach to the choices that face him every day.

Attitude towards death

There is an understanding that death is not the end, but a transition to a new state. That with the arrival of death the Soul does not die, but moves to another space where it plans the next incarnation.

There is also an understanding that the state in which we meet death affects what our next life will be like.

Attitude to birth

After watching your birth, you clearly understand that a child feels absolutely everything during birth. And the state of mom, and the state of dad, and their thoughts, and their fears.

And that at this moment the child still remembers why he came here, with what task. Then he forgets it, for various reasons. First of all, under the influence of society and close surroundings.

But you can remember the birth, relive it and remember why you came into incarnation.

Attitude towards children

You begin to understand that children are not the property of their parents. And in terms of the level of development of their Soul, they can be much higher than their parents. The question arises: do parents really teach their children something, or, on the contrary, do our children teach us?

Attitude towards the dying

After a regression session, you begin to understand that it is not at all necessary to lie to a dying relative, that he will definitely recover. And we can talk honestly about this.

Attitude towards yourself

You begin to understand that I am not only a physical body, but also something more. That I have already gone through the experience of many thousands of incarnations. You begin to realize that you are eternal and have never died.

In addition, in past lives you were in different “roles” and have behind you a large store of skills, abilities, talents, and wisdom. You already have it, but it may be dormant. And this can be remembered and activated.

Attitude towards other people

When you understand that you were in different “roles” in your past lives, then claims and demands on other people go away. If you yourself were a poor homeless person, a despot king, a greedy miser, a homosexual, and a slave owner, then the level of claims decreases.

Everyone has many thousands of these roles. This understanding makes the level of claims against other people ridiculous and groundless. After all, you yourself are no different.

Techniques for entering trance using visualization

Close your eyes and concentrate on your inner sensations for a minute or two. Take a break from your daily activities and be completely passive.
Concentrate on your breathing. It should be uniform and deep. Focus on exhaling.
Imagine that your mind has several layers. Consciousness is the highest level, the active state; the lowest level is deep sleep.
Move from level to level. Stay at the first level, relax, analyze your state. As you move to subsequent levels, notice the change in your state.
When you are ready, move on to the next level and study it. Stay on each level as long as you want. There is no rush, you should not explore more levels than you want.
In the future, either move to a new level gradually relaxing, or stay where you are most comfortable to get to know this level better.
When you are ready to come out of the trance, concentrate on inhaling and gradually rise through the levels until you reach the highest. Then open your eyes.

Different people have different ideas about these levels. They can be used to better understand yourself.

The many faces of trance

A set of states of human consciousness can be globally described in three words: sleep, wakefulness, trance. Trance is a special state of consciousness that differs from the usual state of wakefulness, and is not sleep.

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We can say that trance, on the one hand, is a borderline state of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. In it, the usual thought processes subside, and our deep processes and resources are activated, which are normally inaccessible for observation and use. At the same time, a person can continue to act in the real world, which is why trance is sometimes called a waking dream.

On the other hand, research shows that trance is not sleep, because in trance a person's brain activity does not correspond to that which is read by devices during sleep. In a trance state, certain areas of the brain, on the contrary, begin to work much more actively, which is visible on fMRI devices and various neurogadgets. Therefore, trance can also be called a state of hyper-wakefulness .

It is called this because if a person knows how to be in a trance and at the same time maintain awareness, he has access to greater psychic potential than in the usual waking state. This leads to the emergence of so-called stream states of consciousness, or states of flow, which Csikszentmihalyi wrote about in his books “Finding Flow.”

So sleep or hyper-wakefulness? Both of these states are trance, it all depends on where the attention is directed and focused.

The trance state is a special state of concentration and focus.

Depending on whether a person’s attention is on internal sensations, memories or images, or on external factors - sounds, objects of reality, internally oriented trance and externally oriented trance are distinguished.

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Safe place and trance state

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Concentrate on exhaling, relaxing more and more with each exhalation.
When you feel ready, imagine a safe place - this could be somewhere familiar to you, somewhere you have been before or somewhere you would like to visit. You can imagine a real place or imagine something of your own choosing.
A safe place can be whatever you want it to be, it can be anything you want. It could be a room, a beach, a clearing, a house. You can be alone in it, or you can surround yourself with people. The only mandatory requirement is that you must feel completely safe and be absolutely sure of it.
Move to a safe place and enjoy the feeling of being completely safe. You can keep this feeling, or you can analyze some aspects of your life from the point of view of the security that the place you choose provides you.
While in a safe place, you should focus on the following feelings: safety, comfort, confidence and control.
Stay in a safe place for as long as you want. Remember that you can always recreate this place whenever you want.
When you feel ready, leave the safe place and return to the real world.

To create a safe place, you can use various parts of the body and, in particular, the heart. You can retire to the world you have constructed at any time you wish.

One of the main points of this exercise is to feel safe and confident, and not what you think is “right” or “should”. Although it may be different each time you fall into trance, the experience is entirely dependent on your desire and creativity.

Trances and states of mastery

Clinic

Loss of sense of personal identity and awareness of the environment. Actions are controlled by another person, spirit, deity, force. Attention and awareness are limited, a repetitive set of movements, postures, statements. Cultural, religious, psychotic, epileptic trances are excluded.

Clinical example: Criminal investigation officer L., 37 years old, after serving in the army and graduating from police school, tried to prove himself in operational work, but to no avail, according to his superiors, “he lacked intelligence,” the last few months had been a series of failures and difficulties in the service. He is in his first marriage, his relationship with his wife is good, and he has a son in the family. One day he left the house in the morning for work and did not return. Allegedly, one of his colleagues saw him in Evpatoria, completely ragged. Delivered from the Nikolaev psychiatric hospital by his parents, who live near Nikolaev, where he ended up about a month after the disappearance. According to him, he remembers how he was traveling on the train, got to Yevpatoria, for some reason barefoot, in a T-shirt and jeans, forgot who he was, didn’t know where he was. I decided to move along the sea (towards Sevastopol), walked, ate fruits and vegetables from gardens, caught fish, ate it raw, and collected mussels. He cannot explain his movement. “Some force was driving.” One day I fell asleep under an apple tree and had a dream. A certain elder told him that he should move towards Nikolaev, told him his name, and said that he would accompany him.

Having woken up, I approached the vacationers on the beach and asked how to get to Nikolaev, they advised me to go to Simferopol and showed the direction.

A few days later I found myself in the city, very close to my place of service, but did not recognize anything. L. himself was already difficult to recognize, he was overgrown, tanned and completely shabby; miraculously he managed to avoid a collision with the police (“I felt them, although I did not understand the meaning of the danger emanating from them”). Transferring from one freight train to another, he reached Nikolaev and wandered around the city for a long time, “he was looking for something, but he didn’t understand what,” “as if the elder was still accompanying him.” Finding himself near a certain house, he was recognized by a woman, his cousin, who had not seen him for the last 10 years. She fed him and accompanied him to his parents, who told him his story. I had not seen my parents for many years, but I felt a warm attitude towards them, “although I did not fully recognize them.” When his wife arrived, he was surprised that he could marry her, although he had a memory of dancing with her at the prom. Subsequently, the relationship with his wife was never restored. He began to write poetry (the period of versification was at the age of 14). I couldn’t return to the service, “I didn’t understand or remember anything.” Interests appeared that had never existed, for example, I liked to tinker with pets and in the garden. I couldn’t adapt to the city at all, cars scared me, I didn’t know how to cross the street, and I was irritated by the TV and radio. The wife, who had not lost hope of returning L. to the family, tried to take him on vacation, but to no avail. After discharge, he left his family and settled in his parents’ house, did some farming and refused to meet with his wife and children.

Rolling your eyes to enter a trance

Sit or lie down with your head resting on something.
Raise your eyes upward, straining them a little.
Take a deep breath and hold your breath.
After 5 seconds, exhale slowly and lower your eyelids.
Hold the exhalation for 5 seconds, then inhale deeply again, open your eyes and lift them up.
Hold your inhalation for 5 seconds, then exhale, slowly closing your eyes a second time.
Again, hold the exhalation for 5 seconds, then inhale, open your eyes and raise them to the ceiling, holding the inhalation for 5 seconds.
Slowly close your eyes as you exhale and keep them closed while you concentrate on the exhalation.
Remain in a state of deep relaxation, becoming aware of the different sensations you will experience. You are plunged into a trance, completely surrendered to the flow of consciousness, thoughts come and go. The outside world is somewhere very far from you.

After 15-20 minutes, begin to concentrate on your breaths, gradually move into a conscious state, open your eyes.

This technique allows you to enter a trance very quickly. It was developed by Dr. Herbert Spiegel, an American psychiatrist who noticed that some suggestible patients rolled their eyes while entering a trance.

Brian Rote "The Language of Hypnosis"

In this section, we will consider a simple classical method of step-by-step entry into a trance state to extract information from the subconscious and foresee the future.

Specific forms of behavior in a state of unconsciousness

A girl lies in the grass.
Specific forms of behavior in a trance are different for each person - for example, it can be age regression and age progression. Age regression is when a person remembers events that happened to him before. In this state, one can remember things that are not remembered during conscious recollection. There is also an age progression: a person experiences scenarios of a future that has not yet arrived. Another form of behavior is the “hidden observer” phenomenon , when a person imagines himself performing some action.

catalepsy occurs , when the entire body or individual limbs freeze. The opposite state is also possible: a person makes involuntary movements with his head, arms, and fingers.

Other behaviors include:

distorted perception of time;
influx of images;
amnesia;
loss of pain sensitivity;
closing the eyes.

Technique for performing stepwise entry into trance:

Lie down on a hard surface or bed. Do not use pillows and try to keep your back straight. You can also sit in a comfortable chair. Loosen tight clothing.

Relax completely!

Entering trance - Stage 1

While in a comfortable, relaxed position, begin to monitor your breathing. Don't control the breathing process, just monitor it. As you inhale, repeat SO-O-O-O, and as you exhale, repeat HAM-M-M-M. Gradually monitoring your breathing, you will feel that breathing occurs on its own and you no longer need to say SO-HAM to yourself. This means that you are in the first stage of trance. Your thoughts and worries should disappear at this stage.

2nd stage of the technique of entering a trance

Now, continuing to breathe in your natural rhythm, use your will to stop even the slightest movements of your body and muscles. Begin the relaxation phase. Starting from the head, face and neck muscles and gradually to the feet, relax each muscle. Pass your attention over each individual muscle and mentally say: “my eyelids relax, relax, my eyes relax, relax, my shoulders relax, relax, etc.” So mentally go through your whole body from head to toe and relax your whole body.

Repeat the process three or four times. Go through the body again and again until you feel numbness and insensibility throughout the body. It is also possible that you will feel the state of falling into the abyss. Don’t be alarmed, if this comes, it means you are relaxed enough to move to the next level.

Stage 3

When you have balanced your breathing and are sufficiently relaxed, begin to repeat the mantra Ommmmm, Ommmmmm to yourself, while counting Om one, Om two, Om three and so on.

When your mind settles into the attentive repetition of the mantra and any thoughts disappear, this means you have entered the third stage of trance.