What do you consider trance to be?

I always read about people being in a trance state and I was curious as to what do you consider a trance state? Is it a state between sleeping and being awake, hypnagogic? Is it that your body is fully asleep, but your mind awake? Or is it that your mind is in ecstasy? What does it feel like to you?

To me trance is a range of consciousness that is different than awake, and different than asleep. It can be light (as in a state of focused awareness while being able to ignore secondary perception) medium trance (such as focused awareness on one thing (anything) to the complete exclusion of secondary perception to deep trance, which would be MABA.

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Originally Posted by CFTraveler

To me trance is a range of consciousness that is different than awake, and different than asleep. It can be light (as in a state of focused awareness while being able to ignore secondary perception) medium trance (such as focused awareness on one thing (anything) to the complete exclusion of secondary perception to deep trance

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Ditto. In scientific terms, trance has to do with the pattern of brainwaves. Alpha is the lightest trance, and happens when you're awake as well as when you're asleep. The deepest is Delta, but it only happens when you're in deep sleep. The deepest kind of "aware" trance is a Theta wave pattern, but the awareness is usually internally driven (in Alpha, you may well be fully aware of sounds around you, smells, things going on with your body, etc.).

Wikipedia has a really interesting page on trance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance

Worth reading, IMHO.

Ken Wilber apparently shows you the scientific correlates of brain states here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFFMtq5g8N4&feature=fvw

The dictionary says trance is between waking and sleeping. Some also include dream as another word for trance.

Well the reason I was asking is that I was listening to the binaural CD by Jeffrey Thompson called Gamma Meditation System. And it quickly put me in a hynagogic state where I didn't quite fall asleep but remained in between. I didn't know if this is what people call trance. Anyways, I have the Theta Meditation CD too so I will try that next. I just bought these. I will try to induce OBEs with these. I wasn't able to yesterday because I was laying on the ground and it got quite uncomfortable and distracting so I had to stop.

Hello, TheLawOfOne.

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Originally Posted by TheLawOfOne

And it quickly put me in a hynagogic state where I didn't quite fall asleep but remained in between.

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Yes, this is trance.

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Originally Posted by TheLawOfOne

I will try to induce OBEs with these.

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Not every trance state might be conducive for inducing an OBE, though. There's a whole spectrum of different states of consciousness that are considered "trance."

Cheers,
Oliver

when u enter a deeper trance state(atleast for me) there is a noticable change in you internal awarenss, and sensations compared to say, a moderate meditative state(usually where i drop off into a trance) also perception of time changes dramatically, like when sleeping. i've gone into a trance, and a little over 2 hours went by but it felt like i dropped in, was there for 15 mins and then just decided i had gone as far as i needed and came out of it. usually for me the trance state is ideal for obe, and works against energy work as my focus is on having no focus during a trance, either that or on a singularity or rythmic humming sound