Techno beats, new tribes forming with new codes and
languages, out of zeros and ones, and electronic pattern forming devices. Edutainment, inner peace through pounding club systems and sensory deprivation, within concrete mazes. You're in an altered state, you've relinquished control of something and it feels great. You don't have to feel bad about life, just responsible for making the future a more enjoyable place to be, and you're not the only human that feels the same way. The collective feeling of the trance state is probably akin to Colin Wilson's description of early societies; the ability for individuals to think and act as one in the same way that a flock of birds move in-formation. The mechanics of this shift in modern times are known to most clubbers or festival goers; drums/repetitive beats, lights/colors (to feel our photovore brains) to sleep deprivation and food choice - by which I mean anything we choose to imbibe. If enough minds and bodies agree to do the same thing, the collective reality of those involved can be changed, or a new one created. It has been argued that everyone is in one form of trance state or another, and many of us are imprisoned in types of repetitive behavior and thought, that if we had the option, we would escape from it. Cleaning out the cobwebs/breaking down the barriers between people every so often is pretty essential to our well being. When we are in a euphoric state, we wonder - how is it possible for us to all feel so different and isolated at one point and yet connected the next?The four major brainwave cycles measured are
- Delta - 1-4 cycles per second (deep sleep).
- Theta 4-8 (hypnagogic state)
- Alpha x8-13 (altered states of consciousness/meditation)
- Beta 13-26 (mental concentration/also stress, anxiety).
focused mental activity means brainwaves of all frequencies (desynchronised activity). Non-focused mental attention leads to an increase in Alpha wave activity. This is what causes the interesting trancey stuff and releases us from the bombarded ego that is Western adulthood. If you've taken a substance which is making all your neurons fire, keeping simple time to a 4-4 beat will be a mirror of this Alpha state. If you want a natural effect listen to polyrhythms: drum circles, African rhythms, Tibetan and Moroccan music. The chaotic quality of the shifting natural patterns confuses the brain - as it tries to find the "correct" timing - we decipher our own "beat" within it, the action of doing this forms the non-fucsed, attentive mental state which stimulates Alpha wave activity.
The other "turn-on" with sound is frequency. This is where the "chakra" idea comes into it. Bass most strongly affects the lower nerve centers - sexual organs and the stomach. Midrange affects the chest - particularly the heart rate - fastert kick drums can affect the heart and thus manipulate adrenaline levels. Top end and white noise has most effect on the head/brain - as do piercing acid squeals. And the rest of it - melody, chord progressions, scales, the human voice? These are what influence our more subtle emotional responses which we are highly varied. To mis-quote Terence McKenna, "we have more words to describe narcotics than we do our emotions", and they seem to be one of the key areas of development of our species.
Any move to a permanent higher consciousness would require greater emotional capacity and understanding of inner rhythms via biofeedback techniques. These techniques enable conscious manipulation of brainwave and body function. This is why people are exploring group trance states in time and space at this period in human evolution."
Clive Austin - 1998 Sources "Alpha waves" on the net, writings of Terence McKenna, talk by Colin Wilson - from _Dream Creation_ magazine
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