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A Gentle Introduction to Trance Theory
Dennis R. Wier
Director, The Trance Institute, Bruetten, Switzerland
Most of you have an idea as to what a trance is. But, that idea is probably different than the idea you will learn here.
Most likely you got your idea as to what a trance is from watching TV movies or reading books which described someone who was in a trance. "Look at her" said the hero pointing to the heroine, "she's in a trance!" And, sure enough, when you looked at her, she was staring off into space. And that became your idea of what a trance was.
What these TV ideas do is confuse the appearance of trance with a mental condition. When I said that your idea of trance was different than what you will learn here, what I meant was that I will define a mental condition for trance which is not necessarily how a trance appears to others.
Where do I get my ideas? Why am I qualified to say what a trance is or is not? Trance is a complex condition and ill-defined at best. How can I say that I have successfully analyzed this problem and found a solution?
First, I am not an academic. By profession I am a computer systems analyst. In my profession I get the worst, most complex and most ill-defined problems you can imagine. I analyze these cans of worms and come up with what I like to modestly describe as elegant solutions. Over the years I have discovered that nearly all computer problems have human counterparts, and so, some of my analytical abilities have often been called upon to address practical psychological problems. So I have technical and analytical problem solving abilities.
As I began to look for solutions to practical psychological problems that I discovered among my clients - for indeed, their problems also gave me problems - I started to study hypnotic techniques and NLP. This study gave me a practical familiarization with hypnosis.
Another part of my personal history has been involvement with various meditation systems for over 35 years. For some years I could say I was addicted to meditation. As I realized that addiction to anything was personally harmful, I began to wonder if meditation was so great, why I should become addicted to it. About the same time, in my professional career, I noticed that some of my colleagues were addicted to computers. Indeed, they were really addicted to all high-tech toys. Some of the most brilliant software developers I was associated with, looked and smelled like bathless street people.
Now I began to discover that there was something common about addiction and meditation and high technology and I began to really get curious about what the connection might be. I made the connection that we all might be in a trance of some sort, but I didn't know really what a trance was, so I started to do some deeper research on hypnosis and hypnotic theory, mostly reading the books and papers of Hilgard, Erickson, Rossi, Bandler, Orne, Wagstaff and many others.
While these gentlemen had theories as to what hypnosis was, they did not address the phenomena which specifically interested me: namely, trance, meditation, addiction, and so on. And that is when I decided to apply my skills as a systems analyst and my inner perceptions as a long-term meditator to the problem of creating a paradigm which was at the root of all forms of trance.
I knew that you can explain anything if you have enough variables and so-called degrees of freedom, so my idea was to design a model for trance which introduced only necessary terms and concepts. I was just applying good computer systems concepts, but these concepts are also good science.
Another problem I had with the scientific investigators of hypnotic phenomena was that they seemed to work from the outside in, measuring subjective responses to questionnaires given to subjects who had been hypnotized using a standard method of induction. Then, they would draw conclusions from their research.
Psychological research done in this way is remarkable and exacting work, but fundamentally useless to a real understanding. I could not imagine why anyone would want to try to investigate a subject such as hypnosis without having at least some type of theoretical paradigm to work from. It was like writing a computer system without any programming standards. Yes, you can get lots of code. But you can't get a working system.
Actually Kuhn argued it best when he said that the real work of science begins once a community of workers has adopted a unified theoretical paradigm.
So what is my theoretical paradigm for trance? Basically I claim that the necessary and sufficient condition for a trance to occur is whenever there is a sustained cognitive object loop of sufficient length of time to cause dissociation. A cognitive object is an abstract way to denote a thought, any thought, whether it is a word, and idea, a feeling, a vision. When a set of cognitive objects repeat often enough, you will go into a trance.
Now, this is an interesting definition. First, under this definition we experience trance quite often, except that it has not until this definition been called a trance. But with this simple definition we certainly include all of the phenomena that we term trance.
This definition has interesting implications. So far, the definition has not introduced any wild or mysterious concepts. It has not introduced the concept of belief, for example. You do not need to believe that you will go into a trance in order to go into a trance.
At the same time, some ordinary experiences such as listening to music and becoming enraptured by it would become suspiciously under this definition. Is our being enraptured by the repetitive melodies and rhythms the single necessary and sufficient condition for musical rapture? I claim that this is so.
It is possible to examine many ordinary and extraordinary human thought activities and to discover cognitive loops. We can also discover that each of these loops results in something like a dissociated state which are - all of them - trance-like according to the common definition, and which I claim are absolutely trances.
Another part of the trance model says that a trance creates a dissociated trance plane. What is that?
Trance alters the way mental energy is utilized. When we are in a trance some cognitive functions are disabled. This disabling of specific cognitive functions is what gives a trance its character, if you will. Just as the hero noticed that the heroines eye motion had been disabled, he presumed that she was in a trance. The dissociated trance plane is the collection of these disabled cognitive functions. Every trance has its own specific set of disabled cognitive functions and therefore a unique dissociated trance plane.
The reason why I refer to a dissociated trance plane instead of a specific cognitive function is that not all cognitive functions are known, and in my view the cognitive functions as we can describe them are not well enough defined to be useful for trance research.
The reason for this is that what we call memory is or can be somehow connected with judgement, and judgement is somehow connected with volition. Therefore, whenever I say that when you are in a trance then your volition is disabled, I am using more or less a social-psychological term to describe a characteristic of the dissociated trance plane.
Until cognitive functions can be rigorously defined with the help of considerable physiological mensuration research as well as additional theoretical speculation, I supposed we will have to make do with the social-psychological terms that are more easily understood. But I am not happy with them.
Now, the model for trance is complete and we only need to figure out what it implies and to verify in reality that trance works like the model states.
Once again, trance is a specific dissociated state which will always come into existence whenever a set of cognitive objects repeat in a loop. The trance always implies that some cognitive functions are disabled.
It is the kind of cognitive functions and the order in which they are disabled which gives rise to a wide variety of trance types.
For example, if a trance generating loop first results in the disabling of consciousness, then sleep is produced. Is sleep a trance according to my definition? Yes, sleep is a trance.
But if consciousness is not disabled, but only awareness of the body, then we have another type of trance which is useful during so-called surgery under hypnosis.
If consciousness is not disabled, but volition is, then we have a state which can be described as suggestible which begins to look like a hypnotic state.
So, from a practical point of view, the trance theory model says that there is a trance generating loop which consisting of repeating cognitive objects. This loop creates a dissociated trance plane in which various cognitive functions are disabled. And depending on the order that these cognitive functions are disabled as well as which specific ones are disabled and which are not, you have different trance states.
Let's look at some more examples of trance so that you can understand how to further apply this model.
Music consists of repeating rhythms and melodies. From a trance theory point of view, music consists of multiple trances, one for each repeating rhythm or melody. Most of these musical loops repeat only a few times and there is a minimum number of repetitions needed before a dissociated trance plane will be created. Musical trance can be described as the creation of multiple trances followed by their collapse. However, another cognitive loop is precisely this repeated creation and collapsing of dissociated trance planes.
Certain types of music are more trance-inducing, generally, than others. Musical loops which are sustained, such as in shamanistic or so-called trance-drumming, have at least the critical element of high repetition. Thus, the high repetition of the musical loop is more likely to produce a single dissociated trance plane. Religious and military marching music also has a higher likelihood of inducing trance because of the high repetition of the musical loop.
Certain sports such as jogging, swimming, basketball, etc. require repetition of action and therefore a repetition of cognitive objects. These sports all create dissociated trance planes and therefore trance.
Watching television or a movie also generates trance because of the attention loop between the viewer and the images viewed. This cognitive loop is very short and simple. You look, you integrate the image, you look again. The processing of the content of the images takes place in the dissociated trance plane in which a variety of cognitive functions are disabled.
All forms of meditation practice involve the repetition of cognitive objects of varying degrees of complexity. The relatively simple meditation of watching the breath will induce a meditation trance. More complex forms such as are practiced by Tibetan Buddhists or Sufis may consist of combinations of meditation and hypnotic trance. Visualizations and physical movements can be combined with mantra yoga to produce multiple dissociated trance planes.
Most forms of neurotic and psychotic behavior exhibit repeated actions or verbalizations. From a trance theory perspective, any repeated cognitive object loop induces a trance with a consequent disabling of cognitive functions. It is too early to state with conviction which loops cause which cognitive functions to become disabled, or to identify specific therapeutic strategies for pathological trance. But, the application of trance theory to these behaviors is promising.
In my own research of trance, it was possible to simulate a bipolar disorder for a short period of time through performing a certain sequence of meditation steps. This suggests to me that there must be some forms of schizophrenia that are nothing more than out-of-control trance states. A possible treatment strategy which suggests itself then is to teach trance theory and trance control techniques to those who suffer from bipolar disorder. Obviously, more research is needed.
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Trance Inducing Music
Dennis R. Wier
Director, The Trance Institute, Bruetten, Switzerland
This is a brief and simplified overview of trance inducing music, since the word trance is closely associated with the musical genre. There is a connection between trance theory and the musical genre 'trance music' or 'techno trance' as well as the trance inducing music of shamans of Africa, Central and South America and other areas. Moreover, ritual music of many western and eastern cultures has trance inducing aspects which can be analyzed and described using trance theory.
The general trance inducing aspect of music is well-known, but trance theory helps to specifically identify those aspects of music which induce trance, and lays the foundation for describing the nature of the specific trance.
Why should we want to do this? One reason is so that we can engineer better trances through music. There is a part of any music that does induce trance. Sometimes it is only the trance inducing aspect of music which many people feel is what makes music successful or not.
Why is this? Because people get pleasure when they are in a trance. Therefore, if you can make better trances through music, then people will like your music. So, it comes down to trance engineering. But to do that, you have to have a practical model for trance. You got that. Now all you need to do is apply the model.
'Pure' trance inducing music is simple to produce. All that is needed is at least three or four (or more) individually engaging rhythms. Some kinds of reggae music does this, so do the canons of J.S.Bach. In much so-called generic trance music only two rhythms are used, and only occasionally three. The 'engaging' aspect of trance inducing rhythms is important. What may be 'engaging' to one person may be repulsive to someone else. Repeating rhythms can be perceived as 'boring' but it is precisely this 'boring' aspect which is the precursor to trance. If a rhythm is 'engaging' and not boring, then trance is certain to occur. How to make a rhythm engaging is implied by trance theory.
One important characteristic of successful trance inducing music is what trance theory would call 'modulating the dissociated trance plane'. The music of shamans and many aboriginal tribes create effective music which modulates the dissociated trance plane by slightly varying the underlying trance generating loop. Several good examples of this can be heard in the CD 'Heart of the Forest' The music of the Baka Forest People of Southeast Cameroon. Several good examples can also be heard in Glen Velez's Assyrian Rose. el-HADRA: the Mystik Dance has some good attempts at creating the dissociated trance plane, but fails to exploit the opportunities to skillfully modulate it.
There are many nature sounds, such as birds, frogs, crickets which fundamentally repeat, but which contain slight variations within each repetition. The fundamental repetition is the trance generating loop (TGL) and the variations in each repetition results in the modulation of the dissociated trance plane. It is for this reason that the sounds of nature tend to produce trance. The type of variations within the TGL determine to a great degree the effectiveness and depth of the trance.
When there is some 'subtilty' or artistry in the creation and modulation of the DTP, then the trance is compelling and there is an increase in the trance force.
A loud, heavy beat is not necessary. Loudness or heavyness is not of itself productive of trance.
Repetition produces trance. But it will be the type of repetition which is 'engaging' or which produces an involvement with the inner reality. In some trance music - such as goa - there are multiple loops, some of which are subtle. Subtle loops tend to bring the attention to a finer focus. The resulting splitting or dissociation results in trance. But that is not the whole story. What 'subtle' is to one person may be different for another. The effect - which is to say, which cognitive functions are disabled - is another story. Again, this can vary between persons listening to the same music. Another consideration is the order in which cognitive functions are disabled, and finally, what additional processes are being encouraged when these cognitive functions are disabled. In other words, how is this state of mind being used?
Dissonance is also not necessary; although loud heavy beats and dissonance may be interesting from aesthetic points of view, they will not produce trances over which there is much control.
Complex rhythms are not necessarily productive of deeper trances. Deeper trances are more easily produced when, after some time of engaging rhythms, there are increasingly more subtile rhythm or melodic changes, or if rhythm loops become longer and longer. The point is that the rhythms or melodic sequences become more subtile and more engaging. Avoid sharp or unsettling rhythmic or melodic changes as these will most likely terminate the trance by destroying the trance generating loop resulting in the collapse of the dissociated trance plane. One of the reasons that 'trance music' works to produce trance is that there are long periods of the same loop or loops.
At the point that a deep trance is produced, subliminal messages could be introduced with effectiveness. The content of the suggestions should be carefully crafted to empower. Suggestions will also affect the music producer.
Most instances of trance music do not allow sufficient time for deeper trances to develop, as complexities are introduced too quickly. Remember, in shamanistic trances, drumming would go on for days. Subtile changes in the rhythm and melodic structures over time will produce deep trances because it is the 'subtilty' which is engaging. Commercial trance music should continue for a minimum of 20 minutes to induce deep trance. Perhaps we are all fortunate that such long trance music riffs almost never happen.
Trance theory mentions secondary trance loops and multiple dissociated trance planes. I can show you how this has a musical equivalent. It is possible to produce schizophrenic-like behavior from music alone. You don't want to do that, right?
It is also possible to produce 'addictive trance music'. Jeez! Why would anyone want to do that?
Additional research in the application of trance theory to music as well as to other arts which produce trance and trance-like effects is needed.
Goa, drum & bass, acid trance music are all fascinating examples of trance inducing music. Obviously, some are more successful than others. Some DJs as well seem to be better at producing trance than others. Again, I can recommend that you apply trance theory to music making in order to create more and deeper trances. It can be done with music alone - no words!
One interesting (and new) aspect of trance music is the possibility to control and create music using Perl and MIDI interfaces. A repeating musical loop is relatively easy to program, and it is quite obvious that a loop is being programmed. If you compare acoustic music with computer generated music, the loops often are not obvious from reading the musical score; but in a computer program they are more obvious (to me).
I once thought that it would be interesting to create computer instrumentation which could analyze acoustic music, find the loops and count them. I realize that such an undertaking is not simple.
What is simpler is to do it the other way: create the music with programs so that the loops can be precisely controlled. There may even be measures which can be made on such programs.
One research project would be to find correllations between various measures on such created music and the subjective effects.
Such musical research projects are intended to become part of the activity encouraged by The Trance Institute. If you are a musician interested in this subject, please get in touch with me!
If you want to recommend web sites or musical CDs, tapes, albums in the contemporary trance music genres, or would like to see those recommendations, please send me your recommendation.
Want more information about trance music, or critiques on your music from a trance theory point of view? Send your tape or CD to me with your email address and I'll give you a detailed evaluation and critique. For now, no charge, unless I get bombarded with too much.
Trance theory is rich; it is full of important implications. Not only does it explain the trances of the past, it can help us to analyze the trances of the present and design trances of the future.
I am very interested in working with serious minded people who wish to use trance theory in scientific or in personal research. I invite you to contact me personally with your questions and proposals.
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more info @
http://trance.edu/Intro.htm
http://trance.edu/theory.htm
http://trance.edu/gethigh.htm
http://trance.edu/advanced.htm
http://trance.edu/music.htm
and on http://trance.edu/
that should cover your assignment 
peace
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"Many trances so produced are dangerous, because you can get lost in them. The reason is that the multiple trances can become fixed - relatively permanent - and one stays more or less always in a trance. That is an addictive trance."
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