The Way of Trance

Dennis Weir has done some truly original thinking, serious scholarship, and real work in the field of hypnosis and trance. I've worked in private practice as a Master Coach and Certified Hypnotherapist for nearly 15 years. I've read hundreds of books on hypnosis and trance and most are tired rehashes of the same old basic stuff with an interesting nugget here and there. With this book and another of title of his, 'Trance: From Magic To Technology', Weir's work is evolving the field of hypnosis and trance. His perspective is original and integrative making use his background, training and experience in computers, hypnosis, and magic. The writing style is easy to understand for the intelligent layman and expert alike.The fact is that trance as a phenomenon is little understood in our culture. Weir goes places most other writers on the subject don't address. These areas are still relatively obscure yet in serious need of thoughtful exploration, reflection and sharing of information among the community of trance practitioners to continue advancing it it as both an art and science. These areas also need to be brought to the attention of society at large to dispel the short-sighted misunderstandings of the general populace and educate people so they can use trance for their own betterment, as well as, to prevent trance from being used against them by those who would take advantage of them.I return to this book again and again to stimulate my thinking and creativity regarding the structure and phenomenology of altered states so as to be of greater service to clients and to myself. Highly recommended!

A good book tottering on the edge of 4 stars, but not quite done. The way of trance is a nice introduction as well as a medium level kind of a workbook. Hypnotists, magicians, and followers of Mister Gurdjeff called themselves in the work, and this certainly since well then that framework. Human beings are always in trance and making reality orientation's that are based upon events, which intrinsically have no meaning – yet man is a meaning maker, and appends meaning to events that might not be beneficial to the self. Hypnotism is a manner of releasing these foolish considerations and replacing them with appropriate and acceptable suggestions, and it really can help people with all manner of difficulties. But this is not a book to learn about what's going to happen to you if you are placed in trance – you already are entranced by something or other. This is a book with a hypnotist who is entering the median range of abilities. In that regard it is very good. Recommended

This book is a way interesting exploration of how our consciousness loops on itself!

Do you believe that trance is a magical state reserved only for mediums, hypnotists, and occultists? If so, think again. Dennis Wier's latest book, The Way of Trance, provides genuine insight into the natural and pervasiveness of trance in modern life. While I enjoyed Dennis' previous book, Trance: from magic to technology, it contained a little too much mathematics for me to recommend it to people without a deep interest in trance, that is those who wanted to scratch beneath the surface and look at the structure and mechanics. While the Trance Model is still central to Dennis' concepts and analysis of trance it has been wisely separated out into a book of its own, allowing The Way of Trance to focus on plain language and easily understood concepts relating to trance. This makes the current work very much a user's manual while still retaining the in-depth look at various types of trance.While reading the book I felt as though I was on a journey of Self discovery once again. I found it easy to reflect on and discover the various trance processes within my own life. This leads to an awareness of how trance abuse can subtly (or not so subtly) be used against you, and for the benefit of others such as advertisers, employers, and governments.Dennis states that the book is not to "aspire to provide definitive and rigid answers about a complex subject; rather, it is a `way of trance'..." and that the purpose of the book is "to illuminate aspects of trance which deserve especially serious and critical attention." I believe Dennis has succeeded in producing a work that gives enough overview and insight to allow the exploration by anyone interested in trance, including practitioners and teachers of meditation and hypnosis, and it certainly draws attention to very important aspects of trance which are mostly unnoticed by the majority of people.To me, one of the important aspects of studying trance is to lower the risk to oneself of trance abuse, that is "trances which are created by others against our will." Trance abuse also has important implications for anyone working with clients who may be susceptible to suggestibility, or more directly those working as therapists and hypnotists. It is interesting to consider whether we ourselves, or people that we know, purposely or unconsciously make use of trance to take advantage of others in various situations.I actually don't want to elaborate too much on some of the core insights that Dennis discusses, as I believe the book is best read for oneself. Suffice it to say Dennis has some good arguments about the fundamental nature of trance and its effects on our personal reality, and how the manipulation or terminating of trances is able to affect our destiny. This is important information for anyone interested in Self growth practices, whether or not they've ever considered trance to be present in their life or not.Sections of the book cover the topic of trance induced by electronic (electromagnetic) means. It is quite chilling to consider the implications of such an invasive means of trance which may be difficult to detect of prove. Whether they are used clandestinely by government spy agency or by powerful advertising companies, the possibilities to have one's Will bent and shaped without being aware of it raises many questions relating to ethics, privacy, and freedom of choice.The book has chapters covering meditation, hypnosis, addiction, charisma, invasive trance, ecstasy and magic, with additional chapters on ethics and advance trance. The topics are explored in-depth but in easily understood terms, with plenty of examples which I'm sure most people will be able to relate to. Each chapter concludes with sample exercises and some questions for those who seek to know more. This creates a very practical book that goes beyond being merely informative, and provides the basis for extended study.I recommend this book for anyone interested in Self growth, not just those interested in or working with meditation and hypnosis. It provides plenty to think about, as well as practical methods for learning more about trance, both for the purpose of enhancing trances you choose for yourself, and learning to terminate trances which are not helpful to your personal evolution.

You can't fill the immense thing.