#389 Trance & Unfiltered Reality

     "People are not simply in or out of trance, but are constantly moving from one trance to another. We have our work trances, our relationship trances, and our parenting trances. Some of these states are useful and appropriate; others are not." Bandler R. Richard Bandler's Guide to Trance-formation: How to Harness the Power of Hypnosis to Ignite Effortless and Lasting Change. HCI, 2008.

     The first two sentences are supported by research:
     "studies on attentiveness show that people are only briefly and unpredictably attentive. Attention habitually diverts to unrelated thoughts and feelings, leaving any task at hand to be managed 'on autopilot.' These studies suggest that mindlessness ('mind wandering,' 'zoning out,' 'task-unrelated thought') is 'one of the most ubiquitous and pervasive of all cognitive phenomena' and that it often occurs unintentionally, without awareness, occupies a substantial proportion of our day, and leads to failures in task performance."        Lovas JG, Lovas DA, Lovas PM. Mindfulness and Professionalism in Dentistry. J Dent Educ 2008; 72(9): 998-1009.

     However, involuntary trance is no more "useful and appropriate" than being addicted to drugs or to any other constant filter between people and reality. I say 'involuntary', because clinical hypnosis is a powerful and very useful therapeutic intervention - as is the short-term use of narcotics for acute pain. But who (besides an addict) would normalize, or especially advocate, daily use of narcotics as a way of life?

     See also: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/03/65-embracing-full-catastrophe.html
     and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/04/fear-avoidance-ineffective-existential.html

Award-winning photo by Stuart Gibson