This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Dissociative trance | |
---|---|
The Oracle at Delphi was famous for her divinatory trances throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. Oil painting, John Collier, 1891 | |
Specialty | Psychiatry |
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the directions of the person (if any) who has induced the trance. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.
The term trance may be associated with hypnosis, meditation, magic, flow, prayer, psychedelic drugs, and altered states of consciousness.