First let me talk about brainwaves and then i will write the technique of getting into trance but remember it take time and practice but i find it very helpful and there is nothing dangerous about it your just relaxing yourself also this method is not mine i found it somewhere
Beta - this is your every day waking consciousness.
Alpha - this is what is commonly called “deep relaxation” and is something that most people enter naturally when they watch TV or “zone out.”
Theta - is a deep trance state and you pass through it every night as you fall asleep and again as you wake up. It is also called the hynogogic state or the “mind-awake, body-asleep” state.
Delta - is the sleep state.
We all slide between Beta and Alpha all the time during the day, but what we need to learn for magick is how to consciously control it so we can use the state at will.
To enter an Alpha state, we can use a few simple tricks.
**Progressive Relaxation** - this is a method to relieve the surface tension of your body and is the first stage to a trance state. Starting at either your feet or your head, tense each body part, one at a time, and hold the tension for a moment, and then release it. The sudden release will spread a wave of relaxation down your body. Doing this for each body part will also begin to relax your mind, and, with practice can even lead to a light Alpha state on its own.
Another method I learned from EA’s book Questing After Visions, is to visualize a silver cloud just above your head. Feel the soft, relaxing glow of this cloud radiating down upon you. It’s not important to actually see the cloud, but **feel** the warmth of it. Now, with an inhalation, pull the cloud down onto the top of your head. Feel your scalp, and even your hair follicles relax. Exhale and feel all your tension flow into the cloud. With another inhalation, draw the cloud down over your face, and feel it remove all the tension. Continue drawing the cloud down your body with your breath, feeling all the tension draining away. Once you get to your feet, see the cloud dissolve into the floor beneath you, taking all your tension with it.
Once you have completed your progressive relaxation, focus your awareness on your breath, and just follow the natural flow. Don’t try to control it or anything, but just sit with it for a few moments.
Some teachers would have you regulate your breath in a certain pattern, like the 4-fold breath, where you breath in for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, breathe out for a count of four, and then hold your lungs empty for a count of four. This has never worked for me, as it led to more bodily tension, not less, so I like to keep it to a simple, natural rhythm, something I learned from EA’s work.
Now, we get into the meat of the trance state. Here I will list a few techniques that have worked for me.
**The Countdown** - I first learned this from the work of Christopher Penczak, who adapted it from another technique by Laurie Cabot. It was the first technique to successfully put me into a proper altered state and I still use it to this day.
After focusing on your breath for a few moments, bring your focus to the screen of your eyelids. In the darkness, visualize the number 13. Hold it for a moment, and then let it fade away. Next, visualize the number 12, hold it in your sight for a moment, and then let it fade away. Continue this countdown until you get to 1.
Once the countdown is complete, focus again on your breath for a moment or two. Your head may feel slightly heavy at this point.
Once again, bring your focus to the screen of your eyelids. Now, begin to countdown from 12, only this time, instead of visualizing the numbers, say them to yourself in your mind. I like to say them and then listen to them echo inside my skull, as if I am projecting them to the ends of the universe.
When you complete the second countdown, once again focus on your breath. Follow it in and out, and allow the altered state to stabilize. You are now in a light to medium Alpha.
With practice, the state you reach will become deeper and deeper, and eventually move into Theta.
To come out of trance, count up, first from 1-12, and then from 1-13. No need to visualize the numbers this time.
Beta - this is your every day waking consciousness.
Alpha - this is what is commonly called “deep relaxation” and is something that most people enter naturally when they watch TV or “zone out.”
Theta - is a deep trance state and you pass through it every night as you fall asleep and again as you wake up. It is also called the hynogogic state or the “mind-awake, body-asleep” state.
Delta - is the sleep state.
We all slide between Beta and Alpha all the time during the day, but what we need to learn for magick is how to consciously control it so we can use the state at will.
To enter an Alpha state, we can use a few simple tricks.
**Progressive Relaxation** - this is a method to relieve the surface tension of your body and is the first stage to a trance state. Starting at either your feet or your head, tense each body part, one at a time, and hold the tension for a moment, and then release it. The sudden release will spread a wave of relaxation down your body. Doing this for each body part will also begin to relax your mind, and, with practice can even lead to a light Alpha state on its own.
Another method I learned from EA’s book Questing After Visions, is to visualize a silver cloud just above your head. Feel the soft, relaxing glow of this cloud radiating down upon you. It’s not important to actually see the cloud, but **feel** the warmth of it. Now, with an inhalation, pull the cloud down onto the top of your head. Feel your scalp, and even your hair follicles relax. Exhale and feel all your tension flow into the cloud. With another inhalation, draw the cloud down over your face, and feel it remove all the tension. Continue drawing the cloud down your body with your breath, feeling all the tension draining away. Once you get to your feet, see the cloud dissolve into the floor beneath you, taking all your tension with it.
Once you have completed your progressive relaxation, focus your awareness on your breath, and just follow the natural flow. Don’t try to control it or anything, but just sit with it for a few moments.
Some teachers would have you regulate your breath in a certain pattern, like the 4-fold breath, where you breath in for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, breathe out for a count of four, and then hold your lungs empty for a count of four. This has never worked for me, as it led to more bodily tension, not less, so I like to keep it to a simple, natural rhythm, something I learned from EA’s work.
Now, we get into the meat of the trance state. Here I will list a few techniques that have worked for me.
**The Countdown** - I first learned this from the work of Christopher Penczak, who adapted it from another technique by Laurie Cabot. It was the first technique to successfully put me into a proper altered state and I still use it to this day.
After focusing on your breath for a few moments, bring your focus to the screen of your eyelids. In the darkness, visualize the number 13. Hold it for a moment, and then let it fade away. Next, visualize the number 12, hold it in your sight for a moment, and then let it fade away. Continue this countdown until you get to 1.
Once the countdown is complete, focus again on your breath for a moment or two. Your head may feel slightly heavy at this point.
Once again, bring your focus to the screen of your eyelids. Now, begin to countdown from 12, only this time, instead of visualizing the numbers, say them to yourself in your mind. I like to say them and then listen to them echo inside my skull, as if I am projecting them to the ends of the universe.
When you complete the second countdown, once again focus on your breath. Follow it in and out, and allow the altered state to stabilize. You are now in a light to medium Alpha.
With practice, the state you reach will become deeper and deeper, and eventually move into Theta.
To come out of trance, count up, first from 1-12, and then from 1-13. No need to visualize the numbers this time.
