Altering One's State of Mind

[Anja]

Is that The Hypnogogic Jerk that we are afraid of?

 

[Mole]

We are not very conscious in the moments before sleep and in the moments before waking.

For it is the process which brings on the most rapid change that the conscious is most fearful of.

Yes, in the hypnogogic state between wakefulness and sleep, we are half awake and half asleep.

And yes, any unfamiliar change of consciousness brings fear, simply because any animal is afraid of the unknown.

However we feel no fear in familiar changes of consciousness that occur all during the day. We simply take them for granted.

And that is why we seek ecstasy, because ecstasy, or the Ancient Greek word, ekstasis (ex-stasis), means stepping outside of the taken for granted.

And when we step outside the taken for granted into ecstasy, we see anew.

 

[Apollanaut]

Do you believe it's possible to actively control the way one perceives phenomena in the world? If so, do you think this is functionally related?

I ask this because I've had various experiences whereby I've been able to change the way I think about something, so that it enhances my actual experience. I'm also curious as to whether it would be related to a particular function.

It is entirely possible to actively control one's perceptions - I do it all the time. I believe that this falls within the remit of Ni, which is the perceiving function most concerned with perception itself.

Since you have Ni as your auxiliary function, it makes sense that you have had the experiences you describe. As an Ni-dominant, this sort of ability comes even more naturally to me, however it still qualifies as a skill which can be developed by learning and practising certain disciplines.

I recommend you to NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), which has a vast range of effective tricks and tools for altering the way one perceives "reality". Here is a simple exercise, drawn from NLP, for changing one's mental state:

"Remember a time and place from your past when you were utterly at peace. Feel the contentment spread through your body, as you listen to the gentle sounds in the background and watch the tranquil scene before you. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and relax still further into the moment. You may notice the feeling of peace growing as you remember just how great it felt at the time and you may wonder to yourself just why you don't come back here more often and relive this wonderful experience"

Ok, I'm sure you get the point by now. This is a fairly unsubtle use of hypnotic language patterns to evoke a personal memory which will be unique to each person (There are no specific details whatsoever given in the exercise). However, done properly, it is guaranteed to alter one's mood (and therefore perceptions) to some degree, as memories of this type always have a somatic/emotional component, which can be reexperienced when the memory is fully invoked.

 

[Apollanaut]

But most altering of consciousness is culturally induced, and so completely conformist.

So the possibility exists of us taking the alteration of our consciousness into our own hands. And so take our altering consciousness out of the hands of culture and into our own creative hands.

In other words, the possibility now exists of becoming a trance designer.

You said it! I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, which elegantly sums up what I was trying to say in my previous post.