T-R-A-N-C-ZZZZZZZZZZ - E

I’d like to tell you some secrets about trance but if I do it may alter your current perceptions.

Many years ago before I started studying Hypnosis and NLP I had a vague idea of what trance was. Apart from what I had seen in the media and in person of the mysterious and charismatic stage Hypnotists, I really had very little conscious understanding of what trance was and what it would feel like.

I had previously dabbled with self hypnosis tapes on astral projection and enhancing psychic abilities but at the time I really didn’t feel like I got much out of these. I remember lying on my bed as a teenager with the earphones over my ears, cuing the tape recorder and begining to relax as I listened to the gentle sounds of Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major with the rich deep voice of the narrator talking over it. I would listen for a while with my eyes closed, seeing internal images projected on to the backs of my eyelids as I followed the directions, simultaneously noticing how my breathing gradually slowed down as it became deeper, more rhythmical and automatic. Before I knew it, in what seemed like only a few short minutes, I would wake up, not quite sure how long I had been asleep for or how long ago the tape had stopped. In fact, when I woke up, I wasn’t even certain why I had regained consciousness or what prompted me to open my eyes? Now, at the time, I thought I had simply fallen asleep and not gained any benefit from the tapes. But that was because at that time I was unaware of the secrets of trance.

When I think back to all my school reports in primary school, there were consistent comments that were made by my teachers. Paul does not concentrate in class. Paul daydreams in class. Paul is highly imaginative but does not pay attention in class. I remember those days well, almost as if they were yesterday. I can picture myself sitting at my miniature desk, wearing my little grey shorts and short sleeved blue school shirt, my grey socks with yellow, blue and black bands at the top of them pulled up just below my knees and my black shoes highly polished so they had a slight reflection in them. I would be listening to the teacher drone on about a topic that really didn’t interest me all that much and I would find myself looking out through the classroom window at the beautiful deep blue sky, entranced by the big white puffy marshmallow clouds that seemed to have a life of their own. I am not sure if you noticed this as a child, but what I found fascinating about the clouds was their ability to take on many different shapes and characters. Some looked like people’s faces, others like animals and some like magical creatures. I’m sure you catch my drift. When looking at those far off clouds, I was able to listen differently to what the teachers were saying. It wasn’t the case that I didn’t hear them, it was simply that I was taking the information in differently to the other children. I didn’t have to use my eyes to listen, just like I didn’t have to use my conscious attention to retain the information. You see, one of the sad things about teachers and the schooling system is that they do not understand the secrets of trance.

When I was a teenager I was national level swimmer, I used to spend anywhere up to 22 hours a week training in the pool. I was a versatile swimmer and used to swim all strokes over all distances from the 50m sprints right through to the 1500m freestyle. I had a penchant for the long distance events more so than the shorter events. I found that as the distance got longer I was able to find a unique cadence with my stroke and breathing that enabled me to slip into the groove as I stared at the long thin black line on the bottom of the pool. Inside my head I would be singing my favourite song and listening to the music in stereo with the sounds of my breathing and stroke serving as the percussion instruments to my inner concert. Can you imagine how liberating and freeing it is to be capable of completely immersing yourself in your own little world even when engaged in a repetitive activity? Your mind becoming dissociated from any discomfort the body might be feeling. If so, then you can appreciate a little of what endurance athletes experience on a regular basis in their sports. Little did I realise at that time, that I was harnessing one of the powerful secrets of trance.

What are the secrets of trance?

Well, may I ask you what it was like for you to identify with and relate to the concept of listening to music, falling asleep and eventually waking up not knowing why you woke up or how long you had been asleep for? Did you happen to see the clouds or even a little boy sitting at his desk in his school uniform looking out the window? Did you reminisce about being a kid and creating pictures and images in the clouds or zoning out when someone was droning on in the background? What about being completely absorbed in your own little world singing your favourite song and paying minimal attention to your body or what was going on around you? Did any of those words spark some vague memory for you of an experience you once may have had and brought them back to life once more?

What about your experience right now as you read these letters on the screen and use your brain to make sense out of the words at the expense of paying attention to all the environmental sounds, sights and bodily sensations you may have been hearing, seeing and feeling during this period of time?

One of the secrets of trance is that you are already in one!

How you directionalize your mind determines what exists within your trance.

Use this information wisely and you can begin to create the life you want.

P.M

~ by Paul Mischel on October 22, 2007.