clarifications on trance state?

[Tom]

My biggest problem with the trance state is that when I am in a trance if I am in a trance I am unable to evaluate my mental state objectively. Nothing I do seems to work.

[Tisha]

There are many shades of "trance" and you appear to have been experiencing one or more of those many shades.  

Many people can walk around in a light trance . . . people trance-dance . . . I, for one, spend my entire weekends in varying states of trance sometimes.  It's like one longgggg continuum of consciousness.

So relax!  You are doing SOMETHING, don't try to define it, just keep on doing it..........

tisha

[Tisha]

BTW, I just attempted to define trance states in the recent post, "do I really need to reach a trance state?"  maybe it will help?

tisha

[Patty]

Here are some definitions I found that seemed useful:


Hypnodial Trance: You progress from ordinary consciousness through the following steps: feeling physically relaxed, drowsy, your mind becomes relaxed and you may feel apathetic or indifferent, your arms and legs start to feel heavy, you may have a tendency to stare blankly, and have a disinclination to move your limbs. As you border this and the Light Trance your breathing becomes slower and deeper, and your pulse rate slows.


Light Trance: You progress to a reluctance to move, speak, think or act. You may experience some involuntary twitching of your mouth or jaw, and sometimes of the eyes. You will feel a heaviness throughout your entire body and a partial feeling of detachment. You may also experience visual illusions. As you border this and the Medium Trance you recognize that you are in a trance, but may find that feeling hard to describe. (See also: BOMPU)


Medium Trance: You definitely recognize that you are in a trance and may experience partial amnesia unless you consciously choose not to. By giving yourself the proper suggestions you can make any part of your body insensitive to pain, and can experience the illusions of touching, tasting, and smelling. You will be more sensitive to variations in atmospheric pressure and temperature changes. As you border this and the Deep Trance you may experience complete catalepsy of your limbs or body. In other words, if your limbs or body positions are changed you will leave them in the new position until they are changed again. (See also: GEDO)


Deep Trance: You can have the ability to open your eyes without affecting the trance. You will also have the ability to control such body functions as heart beat, blood pressure, digestion, and body temperature. You can make your body and limbs completely rigid. You will be able to recall lost memories and experience age regression. Here you can vividly experience the sensation of lightness, floating, or flying. You can also experience both positive and negative visual and auditory hallucinations both while in the trance, and, if given the proper suggestions, after awakening from the trance state. (A positive hallucination is when you are told that you see something that is not there, and you see it. A negative hallucination is when you are told that you do not see something that is there, and you do not.) In this state you can also stimulate dreams and visions, both during the trance state and (upon proper suggestion) later in your natural sleep. (See also: SHOJO)

Those are from the website: http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/trance.html

I think people use the words loosely.  For me, I progress from a state of relaxation, to a state where my extremities feel a little heavy and numb and though I COULD move them I don't want to, to a state where I would be asleep if I wasn't trying for trance and int his state my breathing is going down the back of my throat instead of the normal path down. This is close to catching myself snoring, which I have done once or twice - but usually I'm out at that point. I can't project from any of these states so I guess I'm not the best person to ask, but with diligence at maintaining the trance states, I will find myself lucid dreaming/OBEing during the night. I think it trains one to have a higher level of awareness in the sleep state.

Patty

[ralphm]

i think there is an added state that occurs while trying to project, sort of an energetic state. i read a book by hank wesselman. who projected to the future, and he was hooked up to brainwave monitors and he generated a different higher frequency brainwave- unfortunately i don't own the book so i cannot give the exact data. so maybe getting into a "trance" is not totally neccessary as generating "terminal velocity"

[justinh]

I know a lot of people here, including myself, are somewhat confused as to what the symptoms of light and full trance are.  Can anyone clear things up?

Lets say, I imagine my sense of awareness sinking.  Eventually I feel my feet go numb, and if I am lucky, my arms not long after.  This usually happens very easily for me.  Sometimes the arms take a while.  Does this mean I am in trance?  Is this the "bodily heaviness" people describe?

My thoughts haven't ever gotten "foggy yet very clear", which a lot of people on this board say happens when you enter trance.

Also, occasionally I get a feeling like my head sinks into my chest when I meditate sitting down.  I don't think I have ever felt the "brief falling sensation", either.

Basically, I feel all kinds of physical symptoms such as numbness but I don't think my state of mind changes any.  Am I in light or full trance?

Thanks,
Justin