Special technique for autohypnosis and trance
Nearly all techniques in the spiritual training require a form of hypnosis or trance or hypnotic trance. Certainly you can call it as you like. The important point is always to withdraw your perception/mind from the outer world and to shift it to the “inner” world or better to the mental/astral realms.
Those students who have mastered this shift of consciousness can work easier and better in all exercises. So in fact a student should learn first how to set himself into a useful state of trance via autohypnosis. Then he can work through all exercises with better and faster results.
What is called “autohypnosis” today is known as a state of concentration or meditation throughout the centuries. Indeed concentration leads to meditation and meditation leads to a state of trance. During this process you shift your mind and perception from the outer world to the energetic/mental/astral world as I said already. This is the simple principle.
We know this as it takes place every evening when we go to bed. We simply drift away from the physical world to the world of dreams which is nothing else as a part of the mental/astral realms.
The crucial point of challenge is to take your awareness into these realms and not to give up your control to the subconsciousness. This is something many students work on for lucid dreaming, etc. But this is not the point I want to talk about here.
For us on the path to spiritual perfection just the “professional” shift of consciousness is most important.
As I said – normal concentration leads to this shift already. After a longer time of concentration you can reach the highest state of mind, the merging with the object of concentration which is called Samadhi in the Yoga Teachings. (The highest Samadhi is certainly to merge with the divine spirit.) Bardon would call it “transfer of consciousness”.
Then the consciously breathing leads also to this shift. This technique is very popular for Yoga students and many other spiritual disciplines. Here you lead your consciousness to focus on breathing and with this you shift automatically to the “inner” planes.
There are also other forms to realize this shift. One special and very useful technique I want to share with you today. It is important to understand it in depth although it is simple.
First point: It is all about making the shift from the outer physical world to the mental, astral or energetic planes. “Shifting” means to withdraw all your senses and the content of your mind from the physical world. (Remember – when you dream all your senses, your whole perception is in the dream world and no longer in the physical surroundings.) So in best case you see, feel, hear, etc. and you are in the higher realms.
Second point: You just have to find your way from A (physical world) to B (inner world).
Third point: When you know the way, then it is just a matter of training to reach B easily and fast. Indeed you will be able to jump from A to B and back to A.
Technique: Get into your asana, close your eyes and then take a deep breath, exhale, breathe naturally/normal. Now focus on the idea to shift your mind and perception from the physical plane to the higher planes. You do this shift in steps. You count down from ten to zero. When you have reached zero then your shift is accomplished. Now attention: Every time you exhale you count one number down (in a natural rhythm). “Ten –exhale – inhale – nine – exhale – inhale – eight – exhale……” So indeed you focus on exhaling and counting down and you know that with every time you exhale and counting down you shift more and more to this other world.
If you like you can do this technique in the other way to get back to the physical world after meditation. Just combine the inhalation with counting from zero to ten.
This technique works in a great and easy way. You become perfect by a few repetitions and it takes only a very few minutes to get into the wished for state of trance and meditation. Then all your operations with consciousness, energies and higher perception, etc. will work much better.
A good state of trance is the master key to success in the whole spiritual training.
In your later training you can use this simple technique and verify it for other purposes:
You can use it with the idea that additionally your mind shifts onto the mental plane and into your mental body so that you “awake” in your mental body with full vitality, perception and control. And while this happens your whole mental body becomes more and more loose so that you can get out of your physical body easily. So these are two points – shifting completely into your mental body and making the connection loose to get out. (Maybe you take a longer countdown here.)
Second useful thing is to imagine that your astral sense completely awake by this countdown to let you perceive everything on the higher planes. Clairvoyance, etc. can be reached by this and you can do a lot of research with this technique. You can combine it with traveling through space and time.
Third thing – you can use the countdown to transfer your consciousness into an object to feel as it.
Fourth thing – you can use it to set yourself into your Akasha point.
Certainly after a longer training you can do whatever you like without counting. But it is a good help.
Just try the technique and you will be astonished that it is so simple.
If you like you can combine the countdown also with counting beads but “zero” must be a very special bead so that you can feel easily the differences to the other ones. These things have much to do with the topic rituals.
So good luck and much fun!