Music and Trance States of Mind

In all popular music such as Rock, Dance, and Pop, there is a phenomenon that produces the state of trance in another and it is called a "trance generating loop." Essentially, a "trance generating loop" is trapped attention or consciousness flowing in a circular motion. In other words, the "trance generating loop" is consciousness stuck in a feedback loop and like all forms of feedback it can be increased or reduced in terms of distortion - or in this case mental distortion - by increasing or reducing the signal input.

A trance generating loop is created when a certain quantity of perceptual repetition is reached sufficient to produce an altered state of consciousness. Some trance researchers describe this process as an awareness loop, or a circular flow of consciousness. It is believed that the looping alone is the only necessary and sufficient condition to induce a dissociated state of mind. So by now you already know what it is that the hypnotist does to produce this occurrence in another for "therapeutic purposes," but now you will see how it is possible for a songwriter to perform the same "trick" using the medium of sound.

Music and the Trance State of Mind

The creation of a proper trance requires 3 conditions. The first is the existence of the dissociated state of mind. The second is the persistence of the dissociated trance plane. And the third is the manner or rate of substitution and timing. Each of these 3 factors must be present and reinforce one another by your design in order for your song's music to produce the necessary susceptibility for a trance state upon the individual audience member. Moreover, it is necessary to utilize each of these three factors correctly or else the fascination and heightened sense experience your music possesses will lose its substance and not retain its trance value. Trance researchers are fully aware that music consists of many trance generation loops consisting of multiple rhythms, melodies, and words. As one listens to one specific rhythm or melody, when a certain value is reached, the melody is 'learned' and a dissociated trance plane is produced. To stabilize a trance state what one has to then do is provide an additional layered trance generating loop consisting of the dissociated trance plane AND the original trance generating loop.

Another point is that whether the content of the "trance generating loop" consists of repeated mantras, chanting, images, drumbeats, strumming, or words, a state of trance is capable of being produced with any artistic medium, although some are more efficient than others at doing so. Trance research has further shown that the strength of a trance or its lasting duration depends on the number of repetitions and not necessarily on the content of the trance generating loop. In fact, the mechanical nature of trance seems to work regardless of the content of the trance generating loop. So don't worry if you think your music sucks, you can fix it and make it memorable, if not remarkable by following these suggestions.

After the creation of the trance generating loop, consistency of trance force is necessary to maintain the trance state which means that every part of a song's composition must reinforce every other part. That is the heart of a technique I call "Hypnotic Songwriting." With Hypnotic Songwriting, once all of a song's content is available for sorting, the guiding principle should then be to ramp up its hypnotic elements by the elimination of any inconsistencies that may exist between the lyrics and music. Even within the lyrics you may find a series of inconsistencies between one line and another or between the verse and chorus. Similarly, the music may need to be changed as well. In some cases, you may find that the rhythm isn't quite right because it somehow interferes with the melody or vice versa.

By carefully examining every part of the song musically and lyrically and making the appropriate changes to uphold the integrity of the lyrical message and musical presentation only then what you'll find is that what you originally had for a song has been transformed into a successful hypnotic composition. But what exactly did you do? All you did to maintain and deepen the state of trance was to remove the negative trance elements and reinforce the positive elements with additional trance loops with an appropriate number of repetitions.

In general, instrumental music is very effective for creating trances because repetition is much more easily produced with instruments and is usually much more tolerable, when compared with repetitive vocal music. However, there are always exceptions such as with the repeating chorus at the end of some songs, which is very hypnotic. With instrumental music though, you should make it rhythmically complex, metrically asymmetrical if possible, and relatively slow, not changing quickly in tempo, and not too loud. But depending on the genre of music and the expectations of the audience, loud can be good.

Repetitive music does not have to be boring, so you need to make it interesting. This means, once again, you need to give it lots of repetition, slowly developing musical structures, longer measures, odd syncopations, and irregular sets of rhythmic patterns. If you need more clarification about what I mean take a hint from these Minimalists composers: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass; Robert Fripp of King Crimson, as well as the Classical Music of India.

So in essence, the objective of the "Hypnotic Songwriting" approach I've described here is to engage the attention of the conscious mind and keeping it distracted with music by preventing it from wandering around with lots of different thoughts. By doing this we are able to communicate more directly with the unconscious mind. Therefore, if you use some, if not all, of the information I've given you here, over time you should be able to discover your own signature sound and formulas for creating songs others can't get out of their heads.

Six Stages of Trance

Now that we know how the trance state is anatomically constructed let us analyze the impact of such a state on the human mind. Fortunately, researchers have discovered that there are 6 identifiable stages of trance which have been documented and I would like to share those with you now. The trance state can be divided into six different stages, each with their own set of characteristics. In the book Hypnosis: Secrets of the Mind, these stages are defined in the following way:

Stage One: lethargy and the start of relaxation.

Stage Two: patients will experience catalepsy in particular groups of muscles... they may also have the sensation of being heavy, or of floating. As with Stage One, this level is considered to be a light trance.

Stage Three: medium trance, as well as experiencing catalepsy the patient can be induced to smell and taste differently.

Stage Four: deeper medium trance, the hypnotist can induce amnesia-loss of memory-in the patient. This can be used with posthypnotic suggestions to ensure that the patient's conscious mind does not get in the way of the work of the unconscious. Other phenomena include anesthesia-numbness-of parts of the body and analgesia-the state of painlessness.

Stage Five: light deep trance, is often associated with positive hallucination. This means that the hypnotist can induce the patient to see or hear something that is not there.

Stage Six: deepest level of trance, patients can experience anesthesia... Another phenomenon is negative hallucination, when the patient can be induced not to see or hear things that are really there. Somnambulism - or sleepwalking - can also occur at this stage.

Trance "Logic"

When the conscious mind is suspended in the presence of a or several trance generating loop(s), trance logic produces manifestations such as the inhibition of critical thinking, intellectual processes, judgments, accurate recall, and decision-making. Moreover, awareness of the body is reduced and analgesia may be present. Self-observation is enhanced and hallucinations may be present. In deep trance, trance logic is found to function strongly in the mind and less so in lighter states of trance.

Here is a more thorough list of symptoms describing "trance logic." These are just some of the symptoms that your listener's may experience once they are in a light state of trance:

1. Critical judgment is decreased or disabled

2. There is a change in body awareness sensations

3. There is an increase in literalism and primary process thinking (images and symbols more than words) increases

4. Hypermnesia or perceived enhanced recall of memories; or amnesia, selective forgetting

5. Disabling or limiting of volition

6. Inaccurate sense of reality

7. Vivification or Hallucinations

8. Fixed attention

9. Involvement in inner processes or contact with the unconscious mind.

10. Other cognitive changes

The Teachings Of Gurdief, Esoteric Self-Transformation - "The Fourth Way"

This esoteric information is meant for those who are ready for it.

Become truly enlightened by learning The Teachings of Gurdjieff G.I. Gurdjieff (1872-1949) Esoteric Self-Transformation - "The Fourth Way"

Gurdjieff's fundamental aim was to help human beings awaken to the meaning of our existence and to the efforts we must make to realize that meaning in the midst of the life we have been given.

Gurdjieff was an Esoteric Teacher, Healer & Philosopher whose teachings were based on elevating certain aspects of humanity to a higher level of being.

His most important and fundamental concept was known as self-remembering.

In Gurdjieffs estimation, we forget ourselves constantly. We're lost in a myriad of our daily activities, our problems and our worries. Added to that is the distraction and effect of what other people think of us, the way that other people look at us, the way that other people treat us, having the effect of undermining us and knocking us off our focus.

Internal & External Considering Introduction

Internal Considering is something to be avoided. Internal considering is allowing the judgements, demands, expectations and conduct of others to effect or influence the way we feel, the way we act and our state of mind. Somebody is nice to us and smiles and we feel good. Another individual frowns at us or curses at us and we become upset. An attractive member, perhaps of the opposite sex finds us attractive and we feel beautiful inside. Someone else turns their face away and shuns us, suddenly we're ugly.

We internally are the same individual but we have allowed ourselves to be accessed by external conduct. Many people also engage in external considering by believing in our minds that someone is more powerful than us, has something we want, they're wealthier than us, so figuratively speaking, bow down to them. On the other hand, we encounter someone who is poorer than us, or in our estimation, in a lower station in life than us and we expect them to bow down to us. That conduct is the conduct of ordinary man and it's acting through the small self and the ego. A truly enlightened individual, bows down to no other individual and allows no other individual to bow down to them.

External considering is, without suffering, giving due to the other individual. Simple examples of external considering, opening the door for someone else, if someone has an event where they are being honored, allow them to receive the honor, don't compete with them for their honor. Treating other individuals with regard and with respect without feeling competitively inside.

The Fourth Way refers to a concept used by G.I. Gurdjieff to describe an approach to self-development learned over years of travel in the East that combined what he saw as three established traditional "ways," or "schools" into a fourth way. These three ways were of the body, mind and emotions. The term "The Fourth Way" was further developed by P.D. Ouspensky in his lectures and writings. Posthumously, Ouspensky's students published a book entitled Fourth Way, based on his lectures.

The Rise of Fundamentalism and Jihad, the Killings in the Name of God

How can we explain the attacks on American Embassies in North Africa? How could this happen after the strong support the United States gave to these people to get rid of their dictators? To understand the problem, we have to resort to psychology.

A study by Martha Stout published in her book The Sociopath Next Door, claims that 4% of the population is sociopath, defined as one that knows what is right or wrong, but feels no remorse for his acts. He may kill his own mother without feeling regrets, if this act advances his plans. But the distribution of the 4% is not homogeneous in society. In politics, in big business and in prisons, the percentage of sociopaths is much higher.

This explains the psychology of the politicians of Al Qaeda and other similar organizations. They are sociopaths or psychologically unbalanced people, and explore persons who fall for their fundamentalist preaching.

Wikipedia defines Fundamentalism as the demand for a strict adherence to specific theological doctrines.

But how to explain the attitude of the ones that carry the bombs. Are all of them sociopaths? I don't think so. They got under the grip of a charismatic leader and they are prepared to deliver their lives to their causes.

This same phenomenon happened in the Western world before. Remember Reverend Jones and the mass suicide in 1978, or the 75 followers of David Koresh 1993, in Waco, Texas. They were in the grips of a charismatic sociopath leader.

Fundamentalism is thriving all over the world, and can be explained by a sense of despair, worthlessness, that dominate many young people. When you do not believe in the traditional churches, when the old gods abandon their temples, you may resort to cynicism or to fundamentalism. You may accept the new gods - money, fame, power - or you may turn to fundamentalism. Fortunately these are not the only options.

I have nothing against the ones that practice a fundamentalist cult, but cannot accept practices that go to the extreme of killing people. That is what Jihad preaches. I cannot believe that truly religious people would condone such policy and I consider the Jihad preachers to be sociopaths, not religious persons.

We are living in an era when some of the pillars that sustained our lives are crumbling. Modern man is desperately seeking a new footing, a new platform were to stand. Paraphrasing Jung, modern man is in search of a soul.

In 1925, Jung visited the Pueblo Indians, in Southwestern United States. This people defined themselves as Children of the Sun. Their myth holds that to keep the sun moving, they had to pray for the Father Sun. Otherwise, in ten years the sun would no longer illuminate the Earth. The Chief Mountain Lake said, with the conviction of one who is saving the world: "The Americans want to destroy our religion. Why don't they leave us quiet? What we do, we do not only for us, but for them too. We do this for everyone."

Do you believe that the sun would no longer rise if the Pueblos stopped praying for it? It matters little, for the survival of the Pueblos, if you believe it or not. What it does matter is that they do believe. Saving the world was the central motivation in their lives, their reason for living. And what a strong motivation this is!

Edward Edinger, a well-known Jungian psychologist and prolific writer, opens his book, "The Creation of Consciousness", saying: "History and anthropology teach us that human society cannot long survive unless its members are psychologically contained in a central living myth, Such myth provides the individual with a reason for being."

Unfortunately, while we search for a new myth to sustain our civilization, we should expect such weird episodes, like Jihad, to continue.

Dream Interpretation - The Cell Phone in Dreams

You only have to develop your intelligence through dream translation based on the unconscious method in order to completely develop your intelligence. The unconscious mind will help you develop all your psychological functions and acquire total consciousness.

This means that you will be able to use all of your brain power, while now you are not using the biggest part of your brain because it belongs to the wild side of your conscience.

I will give you an example by using two sentences from one of my patients' long dream and my translations.

I cannot give you information about the dreamer, even though this information is necessary if you want to completely understand the meaning of a dream. I can only tell you that the dreamer is mentally ill. He is following dream therapy in order to find sound mental health.

Here is a part of his dream:

'I see 2 cell phones at same time with video and music playing. On one I heard a song of Kanye West and second I saw a video clip of a half naked video girl that is lying down.'

Dream Translation:

'I see 2 cell phones at same time with video and music playing.'

The two cell phones represent two different possibilities at your disposal.

The number two is related to the two psychological functions that are working in your conscience. You have four psychological functions:

Thoughts, feelings, sensations, and intuition.

If you like to think, you belong to a psychological type based on thoughts.

If you always makes your decisions based on the way you feel, this means that you belong to a psychological type based on feelings.

If you always care about having material pleasures, you belong to a psychological type based on sensations.

If you believe you can guess the future and understand incomprehensible things about your reality, this means that you belong to a psychological type based on intuition.

* Think about these definitions and tell me your psychological type.

You also have a basic tendency.

If you care more about your own opinion about everything, this means that you are introverted.

If you care more about the opinion of the world about everything, this means that you are extroverted.

* Think about these definitions and tell me if you are introverted or extroverted.

The two cell phones are two different possibilities, depending on which psychological functions will control your behavior. Only two among these four psychological functions are helping you make your decisions in life.

This means that you don't have a global vision of your reality. This is why you make mistakes.

'On one I heard a song of Kanye West'

One possibility is related to your most developed psychological function and this is why you listen to a song. The song in dreams represents happiness.

This psychological function makes you happy because it is your favorite. So, you tend to prefer the possibility offered to you based on your main psychological function, since it is the most developed in your conscience.

For example, if you are a rational type, your favorite psychological function is based on thoughts, so your thoughts make you happy. This is why you listen to a song.

'and second I saw a video clip of a half naked video girl that is lying down.'

The video in dreams represents what will happen to you in the future.

The girl lying down represents a possible perfect match for you. She could be your perfect match.

The second cell phone is another possibility to do something else, based on another psychological function that is half-developed in your conscience, along with your main psychological function. For example, if you are a rational type, your second half-developed psychological function can be based on your intuition or on your sensations, but never on your feelings because feelings and thoughts are the opposite of one another.

In this part of the dream the unconscious mind is showing you that the possibilities you have in life to do this or that depend on the way you criticize these possibilities, based on one or another psychological function.

In other words, if you could use all your psychological functions at the same time, you would probably have a different opinion and make different decisions because you would have a global vision of your reality. Right now you have only a partial vision based on only two psychological functions.

For example:

The first cell phone represents a possibility based on your main psychological function, which is based on thoughts. This psychological function makes you happy because it is your favorite, most developed psychological function. This is why you listen to a song in the first cell phone. The song represents happiness.

The second cell phone represents a possibility based on your second, half-developed psychological function: your sensations.

This is why you see a half-naked girl. Your second psychological function (sensations) makes you care about having sexual pleasure.

Let's suppose that the problem you have to solve in your life is if you'll have a love relationship or not with a certain girl who is showing you that she likes you.

First of all you'll logically think about this problem. You'll think that it will be good for you to have a girlfriend instead of going everywhere alone, this girlfriend will help you become a better student because she is a good student, and she is good-looking and polite. You'll be admired for having such girlfriend. Therefore, you'll conclude that the best solution to this problem is to have a relationship with this girl who is clearly showing you that she likes you.

You will feel glad with yourself because you'll believe that you are a very intelligent guy and this is why you could find the right solution for this problem. You admire your thoughts because reasoning is your favorite psychological function.

Then, you'll remember your sensations, and you'll try to solve this problem also based on your sensations. You'll conclude that this girl's body is attractive and it will be pleasant to have sexual relationships with her.

You'll feel that you definitively solved this problem in a perfect manner after thinking about it logically, and after taking into consideration the fact that it will give you pleasure (and satisfy your sensations).

However, you forgot to pay attention to your intuition. Did you feel that this girl is your perfect match?

No, because you don't pay attention to your intuition. Your intuition is dead in your conscience. It belongs to your anti-conscience, which is your wild conscience that didn't evolve like your human conscience, and generates mental illnesses within your conscience. The wild part of yourself possesses your intuition.

If your intuition was working in your conscience, you would understand that this girl is not the ideal girl for you. You would understand that you don't feel connected to her. You don't feel that she is a part of yourself. Therefore, she is not the ideal woman for you. She won't make you happy.

You also didn't pay attention to your feelings. You forgot the most important of all in a relationship: love. You don't love this girl. You simply like her.

If you'll have a relationship with her, you'll become angry with her because she will have many defects that will be against what you can tolerate based on your psychological type. If you'll insist on having this relationship, you'll become always more angry and sad, and in the end you can even be violent with this girl.

You'll come to the point of hating her. You'll hate her because you'll feel that you are wasting your time with her instead of being happy with the woman you love.

So, your brilliant conclusion based on your thoughts and on your sensations didn't help you find out the entire truth about your reality. You decided to have a relationship with this girl without taking into consideration your feelings and your intuition.

This is what the unconscious mind was showing you. You must learn how to pay attention to everything before being so sure that you really made the right decision in life. The unconscious mind will help you develop the psychological functions that are dead in your conscience and acquire total consciousness.

How Important Is A Dream Symbol? Your Mother In Dreams

When you translate a dream you don't need to translate every detail in order to understand its basic meaning. First of all, you must identify the know dream symbols. This knowledge will help you understand the basic unconscious intention. You will protect your mental health even if you'll translate only the meaning of one dream image.

For example, let's suppose that you had a dream about your mother. Your mother is an important dream symbol. She represents your absurd and evil anti-conscience. The fact that you know the meaning of this dream symbol will give you crucial information about your mental condition whenever you'll find this dream symbol in a dream.

If you are with your mother in a dream this means that you are with the worst part of your psyche. Your absurd and evil anti-conscience is influencing your mind and behavior. This dream image alone is an important alarm.

Even if you won't be able to translate the entire dream, only because you could understand that you are being influenced by your anti-conscience you already had important information about what is happening into your brain and psyche.

You must be careful and change your plans.

Your anti-conscience has satanic characteristics. It is a disaster caused by the disorganized formation of the first live conscience. The anti-conscience keeps trying to destroy your human conscience and control your behavior.

Since you know that you cannot trust your own judgment because you have inherited absurdity into your brain, you won't insist on your own opinion when you'll have a dream about your mother. You will admit that you could be wrong.

On the other hand, if you'll have a dream about a lion, you'll understand that a certain person acts like a selfish and demanding lion. You will be very careful with this person.

The unconscious mind protects your human conscience from your anti-conscience's attacks, and also from other people's anti-conscience. Everyone is constantly controlled or influenced by their anti-conscience, unless they have eliminated this monster through psychotherapy.

The unconscious mind shows you in your dreams all the dangers that are threatening your mental health because of the absurdity you have inherited, and because of the absurdity of the world.

You must care about protecting your mental health because you can easily lose your sanity. Your human conscience is under-developed and your anti-conscience is too powerful. On the other hand, you live in a crazy world. You are always facing numerous dangers.

The occupation with the meaning of your dreams is in fact an obligation you cannot avoid. You must pay attention to the bitter truth now that you know that you have inherited absurdity into the biggest part of your brain.

Even if you don't have psychological problems today, someday you'll have to deal with mental health issues. The absurdity you have inherited into your anti-conscience never stops trying to destroy your human conscience. You cannot disregard this danger.

You have be serious and follow the unconscious guidance in dreams before becoming mentally ill, or before acquiring a sever mental illness if you already are mentally ill.

The fight against your anti-conscience is tiring, but you will be rewarded after facing this battle. You will acquire sound mental health that lasts for life, and use all of your brain power. You will also acquire perfect spiritual health because you'll become wise and sensitive.

Uncontrollable Laughter - Symptoms of a Sad Deterioration and Degenerative Brain Disease

Not all the behavior we see out in public is that of a normal mind. Perhaps you've occasionally encountered someone who could not stop swearing or cussing, Tourette's Syndrome for instance? Maybe you have encountered someone with uncontrollable laughter, or someone when under stress, or in a very nervous state could not control their behavior. These are symptoms, often enough, of a very sad deterioration and degenerative brain disease. When we see this sort of behavior we should step back and realize that these folks are having biological challenges with their most important organ, their brain. Okay so let's talk about this for a moment shall we?


Not long ago, I noticed two people conversing about some serious topics. One person could not control their laughter, and even laughed at their own life's failures and dealings, and personal tragedies. They also laughed every time a question was asked which put them in a stressful situation. The individual could not control himself, it was quite obvious, and to anyone trained in human behavior and psychology it should have been evident that there are brain degenerative issues going on, and the individual is not in his full faculties.

Interestingly enough, the person in question has had a life of accomplishments, which made it that much more difficult for me as an observer to handle because I was quite saddened witnessing all of this. A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and when they waste away it's nothing short of a tragedy. Now then, I'd like to provide you with a little more detail as to how some of these degenerative brain diseases work, and why this occurs. This might help you forgive people who have behavioral challenges and emotional outbursts which are almost unexplainable.

Now then, uncontrollable laughter can also be caused by brain tumors pushing on a particular part of the brain, or severe lesions (brain damage) for instance you might as a reference in "the Brain - A Journal of Nuerology" there was a very interesting research paper titled; "Disorders of Laughter Due to Brain Lesions," published in 1956 (79(4): 589-609). In that same journal you should also read; "Fits of Laughter (Sham Mirth) in Organic Cerebral Disease," 1950 73(4): 453-464.

What I am saying here is let's not go too hard on this guy, sometimes there is another explanation involved in the behavior we witness, and as long as the individual in question is not in an important leadership position there shouldn't be a problem, as they can at least mostly get along if they keep to themselves. Let's have empathy for people like the one I recently observed. That's the right thing to do when people are not in their right state of mind, have trouble under emotional stress, or have severe cognitive decline unable to think properly anymore. Please consider all this and think on it.

Free Will And Determinism - Are Our Thoughts Ours?

It was Newton that liked a clockwork universe. The idea that everything could be calculated and put down to simple mechanics was a nice one, but today, with the advent of quantum mechanics, we know that the universe is much more complicated.

Newton's ideas were loosely based on determinism. This is the basic assumption that all events can be determined or predicted with absolute accuracy, which effectively means that 'free will' is therefore not possible, as your will is already determined for you.

Let's look at this first on a simple scale. If you had a box full of gas or liquid and you knew the exact positions and movement of all the atoms in the box, you could put all this data into a computer and easily run a program to predict what will happen to the contents at any time in the future (or the past).

This is very similar to what goes on when we look at a weather forecast. Some of the most powerful computers in the world are required to run accurate predictions of the weather. The problem is with the accuracy. It can never be perfect. Weather forecasts are always 'not quite right'. It's all to do with accumulating lots of small errors in the positions and speeds of particles over time.

Bus alas! we now know that you can never know the exact position and momentum of any particle. We can get pretty close, but Heisenberg had a theory or 'Uncertainty Principle' that stated that you could not know both with any accuracy, the more accurately you tried to find one, the less accurate the other became. A simple way to visualise this is if you were trying to find the exact position of a particle, you would have to hit it with a proton to 'see' it and this by definition would upset its speed and direction or momentum.

So these guesses and errors build up many times over and this is why we get inaccurate weather forecasts. So we can not predict what happens in the box. If we substitute the box of stuff with another arrangement of matter, say a human brain, we still have the same problem in that we cannot predict exactly what it will do at any future moment.

Due to this ambiguity, we can breathe a sigh of relief and now say that determinism is too simplistic and perhaps there is room for randomness and chaos, so our free will is therefore saved!