For thousands of years, yogis, mystics and shamans from every continent around the world have been using trance to leave behind ordinary states of consciousness and explore portals to other dimensions of experience.
Trance has many forms. Tribal trance dance cultures move their bodies to the rhythm of the drums, and get very, very altered. Sufi whirling dervishes in Iran dance round and round in circles to reach an altered, or spiritual, state. Expanded consciousness can also be accessed by fasting from food for a period of time, from prolonged arousal, a la tantric sex, or via psychedelic substances like LSD, cacti, ganja, and magic mushrooms.
By combining sacred medicines with spiritual practice, we are continually and patiently nudging our nervous system towards enlightenment faster than many of us would be if we were to only avail ourselves to the plant-free way of climbing the mountain top.
This is because, contrary to criticism, trance experiences are real spiritual awakenings that we experience in our nervous system. Once your nervous system begins to taste unity-consciousness, you inevitably dislodge yourself from suffering, even just a little. You become a little more free from the egoic illusion of being a separate self, and thus, a little more free from the fear of abandonment, failure, and even death.
For most of us, one puff or a single ganja yoga class or mushroom journey does not lead to permanent enlightenment, yet at the same time, knowing what we do about neuroplasticity, we can imagine that entering into a trance state often enough, and producing this sense of unity consciousness often enough, our cells and being and body and soul will start to remember that we are freer than we often perceive ourselves to be.
By visiting peak experiences often enough, we create new neural grooves in our brains
What this means is that each time we enter the altered state provided by our psychedelic friends, this ecstatic expansion-consciousness becomes wired in the nervous system, and therefore, it becomes more and more a part of our dominant (non-trance) reality, even once the mushrooms are no longer in our systems.
Nudging Ourselves Whole
We have the whole of our lifetime to become enlightened, and some yogis say this is the purpose of life. With time and practice, we can slowly (but not as slowly as when sober), become increasingly liberated from the confines of ego, the limitations of the mind, and the sense of being separate and alone, using trance.
We can do this with any practice, of course. It does not have to include yoga, or cannabis or psilocybin. This nudge towards enlightenment, this temporary sense of egolessness that trance brings, —these mystical experiences can come from dance, fasting, sex, time in nature, dancing, and drumming.
All of these experiences can allow us to enter into states of consciousness that are phenomenologically different from states of ordinary waking consciousness that we, in our modern, frenetic, mind-dominated world, usually experience.
Psychedelic Multi-Tasking
The word “psychedelic” translates to “that which reveals the mind.” It is any substance or experience that produces a temporary alteration in the state of consciousness so cognition and perception are altered. The effect is temporary but the insights gained can be permanent.
If we wisely double or triple up on the tools that produce spiritual trance and ensure ample opportunity to integrate afterwards, the more impact that state of consciousness has on our spiritual development.
These days I’m all about that yin-yoga-meets-magic mushrooms, but I also adore the powerhouse mixture of cannabis, tantric breathing, and massage. However we drop in, once we are in trance, we become less rational (it’s a good thing, and only short-term), less linear, less time-oriented, less binary-thinking, less productivity-oriented, and less self-oriented.
As a side-bar, it’s truly backwards that the brain waves and biochemistry associated with daydreaming, enjoying music, doodling, and feeling your body relax in the bathtub are not ordinary parts of our human experience! Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a culture where a frenzied multi-tasking mind was the “altered” state?!
Until we flip the system, “altered states” are defined as mental and emotional experiences of reality that are vastly different from what most of us have in our day to day lives. Time slows down, intuition is enhanced, insight flows unexpectedly, dots get connected, and life is full of meaning. By breaking through the trance of our cultural conditioning, into the expansive, free, information-rich universe of direct experience and infinite possibilities, we become less concerned with material success and the opinions of other people. As a result, we feel far happier.
Tap In, Tune Out
You haven’t heard much about altered states because they can’t be co-opted by capitalism. At least not yet. Tapping in and tuning out is a personal experience. At the same time, subjective altered states share many characteristics across time and place.
When altered, thinking is non-linear, and experience feels more like a poem than a narrative.
This is the realm of magic, synchronicity, and imagination, beyond words and concepts. Deep meditation, a long period of silence, sex that seems to go on forever, an extraordinary run in nature - we’ve all had some form of change to our mental and emotional state that felt “non-ordinary,”even if the word “spiritual” was not used.
Just because we don’t see trance states favorably represented in the media doesn’t mean they aren’t amazing.
They can’t be sold to us, but they’re f’in cool.
And just because we have trouble talking about trance experiences doesn't mean they lack real meaning. After-all, the urge to explore non-ordinary states of consciousness is a primal one, universal across continents and time, thought by many to be integral to the development of our highest selves. This is no small deal. Claim trance, enter trance, and learn from trance. It’s your birthright.
Integration is Queen
After your psilocybin journey or yin-yoga practice, be sure to “ground,” or integrate your non-ordinary experiences into your conscious rational mind.
It’s the time after psychedelics are in your system that your nervous system is most open to be rewired, via a process called neuroplasticity.
Instead of making the dichotomy between “how awesome I feel on shrooms,” and “how much I hate life at my job the next day,” the yogic objective is to blend the elements of opposites to find pleasure or acceptance in each moment.
After a medicine journey, take time to do art, journaling, or expressive dance, plus time in nature or talking to a trusted friend after your psychedelic experience to help you make meaning and integrate the lessons. Remember, its not about staying in one state (trance or ordinary), but using mushrooms and other medicines to make our lives as peaceful and as free from suffering as possible.
Just like our ancestors did for thousands of years.
New Monthly “Shroomy Yin” Class
Join our first magic mushroom enhanced yoga class on Friday June 21st (International Yoga Day!), at 6:30-9:30pm.RSVP here. (Email info@ganjayoga.com to receive your graduate’s discount).
