As we enter the Aquarian Age, and the new energies increasingly flow in, we are beginning to recognise certain characteristics as Piscean in quality, and the nature of the Piscean Age is becoming clearer. The effect, for society, is a bit like waking up from a very vivid dream. We know that dreams have their own logic, and in this Piscean dream, the reasons why certain sections of society acted as they did were all perfectly plausible at the time. Another way of describing this would be to say that society was in a deep cultural trance, the trance of Piscean culture. And now our task is to wake up from this trance, before it is too late, because we should by now have learned the lessons it had to teach us, and the time has come to learn new lessons for a changing set of circumstances.

The idea of a trance being able to educate us may need a little explanation. The trouble is that the popular meaning of 'trance' has tended to become debased, making us think perhaps of stage hypnotism, or of trance mediums at seances. But we can detect a wider and more esoteric meaning underlying this, which refers to the shifting of our consciousness into a new state. The Tibetan highlights the difficulty when He indicates the undesirability of the kind of trance that mediums enter, as follows: "The trance condition is undesirable, separates the medium from his soul and definitely relegates him to the realm of the negative, of the uncontrolled and of material forces." (DON p.45); yet He acknowledges that the word has also been used for desirable states of consciousness: "...this higher condition of meditation is likened to a sleep or trance condition, but is the antithesis of physical sleep or the trance of the medium, for in it the spiritual man is fully awake on those planes which transcend definition. He is aware, in a full sense, of his direct Spiritual Identity." (LOS p.101-2)

Note that the distinction between these two kinds of trance mainly consists in the degree of activity or passivity with which the entranced person enters the state. A medium submits to a trance, and hence to the forces and beings he or she may contact; a meditator deliberately induces the trance, and hence engages actively with whatever is contacted as a result.

Before going further, it would be helpful to have a broad definition of what a trance actually is. One useful definition offered by Dennis Wier, who has been researching the topic for over 25 years, runs as follows: You are in a trance when your attention is limited and there is a certain repetition of thoughts. He even refers to this repetition as a kind of looping, which brings to mind the image of a vortex in thought-substance, that draws the attention towards it as surely as any physical whirlpool. If we accept this definition, then it becomes evident how much of our everyday life is spent in one kind of trance or another. Think for example of when, towards the end of the day, you may sit in front of the TV, allowing it to wash over you; or when, travelling home, your mind turns a particular situation over and over. Indeed, this definition is in accordance with Gurdjieff's assertion that most human beings are basically asleep even during the day, and that becoming aware of this is the first step to waking up. And Professor of Psychology Charles Tart refers to our normal waking consciousness as "consensus trance".

But if it is the case that most of our waking hours are spent in one kind of trance or another, what is the reason for this behaviour? To put it bluntly, what is in it for us? Wier suggests that entering and remaining in these trances is, for most people, an unconscious choice made to relieve pain or to avoid uncomfortable feelings or situations. However, for trained meditators, he proposes that entering a trance is "a tool consciously chosen to produce a specific result", a definition we can bear in mind when we come to meditate later. Before we continue, let’s say together the Affirmation of the Disciple,

I am a point of light within a greater Light.
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of love divine.
I am a point of sacrificial Fire, focussed within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand.

I am a way by which men may achieve.
I am a source of strength, enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of light, shining upon their way.
And thus I stand.

And standing thus revolve
And tread this way the ways of men,
And know the ways of God.
And thus I stand.

So what do we have to do to wake from the Piscean cultural trance? One starting point is to recognise that there are a wide range of factors within society that are attempting to maintain this trance, or ensnare us in even less helpful trances. This is partly the result of the crystallisation of Piscean forces. We read in Destiny of the Nations about some of the characteristics of the outgoing Piscean Age. This was an age in which, "The world religions have held the centre of the stage for several thousand years in an effort to make humanity seek one-pointedly for the soul and thus prepare itself for the emergence of the fifth kingdom in nature." (p.111) It was also a time during which the "capacity for abstraction" was unfolded, leading to a pronounced ability for all people to respond to ideals. These are desirable objectives, and the Hierarchy's efforts along these lines have been broadly successful. Perhaps a recent example of the mass response to idealism is the furore over allegedly racist comments made in Celebrity Big Brother. However, because we are at the end of the Piscean era, there is the inevitable tendency for even good results to crystallise into unhelpful forms. So we read:

"Because of the potency of the sixth ray activity, owing to the long period wherein it has been expressing itself, the reaction of the average human being is one of intense devotion to his particular ideal, plus the effort, fanatically, to impose his idealistic dream (for that is all it potentially is) upon his fellowmen and to do so in such a form that unfortunately the original idea is lost, the primal ideal is destroyed and the devotee becomes much more occupied by the method of applying his ideal than by the ideal itself. Thus the idea is lost in the ideal and the ideal, in its turn, in the method of its application. The man becomes the devotee of an ideal which may or may not be embodied in an individual expression; this controls his thoughts, fore-ordains his activities and leads him frequently to merciless excesses in the interest of his peculiar and formulated idea." (Ibid. p.113) At the moment, we are familiar with this unfortunate misapplication of idealism, both in terrorist activities and in other areas, such as political correctness. So it is clear that this is part of the Piscean trance that is definitely counter-productive.

Another component of the Piscean trance that is subject to materialistic crystallisation is the evolution of 'good taste'. The Tibetan remarks that, "The instinct which has characterised this passing sixth ray period and which has been noticeably fostered under its influence is that of taste — taste in food, in human intercourse, in colour, in form, in art and architecture and in all branches of human knowledge. This discriminating taste has reached a relatively high stage of development during the past two thousand years and 'good taste' is a highly cherished mass virtue and objective today. This is a totally new thing and one which has been hitherto the prerogative of the highly cultured few... It connotes evolutionary achievement." (Ibid. p.114)

Evidence for the crystallisation of this quality is found in the glut of cooking and property makeover shows, which are endlessly repeated (so fulfilling the definition of trance we saw earlier). And there is the even more glamorous combination of 'good taste' and materialism represented by celebrity branding, viz. Mr X uses product Y, and therefore everyone who aspires to be like Mr X desires product Y. If this is further combined with a crystallised idealistic picture of what constitutes the 'good life', we arrive at the strange attitude, held by an increasing number of people, that almost feels entitled to luxury. Needless to say, this attitude is at odds with the need to restrain consumption in order to avoid further damage to the Earth's ecosystems. Breaking free from such significant components of our cultural trance is made doubly difficult by the role which the media plays in reinforcing the trance. Advertising reinforces the more obvious consumerist aspects; but the news media also plays a subtle role. They do this by limiting the terms of debate - only a certain subset of all possible stories are featured (once again, this returns to the idea of trance limiting the focus of consciousness). This is why the Internet represents a major challenge to the mainstream media, as it gives an outlet to all manner of alternative viewpoints. And another very powerful reinforcer of the cultural trance is of course the education system.

The Internet is not the only example of attempts to break free from the main cultural trance. We might also detect this in a more general attempt to escape the constraints of conventional society. It can hardly be a coincidence that those who are making this attempt are often turning to systems of thought and practices that involve various kinds of trance. Sometimes these trances are induced or facilitated through music - indeed, there is a whole sub-genre of dance music called trance, and a long tradition in indigenous cultures of using music, particularly drumming, to induce trances. Sometimes the trances might involve the use of drugs.

And, of course, sometimes the trances are induced through meditation techniques. Now it would be easy to make a generalisation here, and say "meditation trances good/music & drug trances bad". But of course it's not nearly as simple as that. One clue lies in the distinction noted earlier between entering a trance passively or actively. Another related point concerns the person's intention, their reason for entering the trance. For example, the distinguished scholar of religion, Huston Smith, has written quite extensively about the use of certain drugs to induce mystical experiences within religious traditions. He refers to these drugs as 'entheogens', and he and others have concluded that, given the appropriate setting, such as a religious ceremony, and the appropriate intention, then drugs can facilitate meaningful religious experiences. One example is the Native American Church, which is permitted to use the peyote plant in its ceremonies. An observer at one such ceremony noted that those conducting the ceremony were careful to emphasise that it was taking place in order to benefit the wider community. Any participants who seemed to be withdrawing into themselves were engaged in order to prevent this self-centred withdrawal. Leaving the ceremony early was also frowned upon, and it was usual for the group to stay together after the ceremony concluded, to engage in social activity such as a shared meal, to allow the drug time to wear off. So there is a clear recognition within the Native American Church of the importance of controlling the setting within which the drug is taken, and clearly stating the purpose for taking it.

By the same token, problems with ingesting drugs are more likely to occur when there is no supportive setting, and/or the person's intentions are not well-defined. In the latter case, where the individual is passively submitting to the effects of the drug, any trance they might enter is likely to be less controlled, and therefore potentially more disturbing. It's probably the case that the vast majority of what's called 'recreational drug use' is of this sort. But even though its motivation may be selfish, it may still indicate, in at least some cases, a partial rejection of the wider cultural trance. So we could say that there is a continuum of trances. There are first of all the passive ones which are entered more or less unconsciously for self-protective purposes, which may constitute most of our daily existence. Then, there are passive ones entered consciously for pleasure, such as those entered through recreational drug use. Then, there are active trances entered unconsciously - this is perhaps the rarest type, and refers to those cases when an altered state, perhaps an experience of enlightenment, arises without apparent cause. And finally, there are active trances entered consciously, through meditation or prayer, sometimes accompanied by drug use and/or music, as seen in the case of the Native American Church. This analysis would suggest - and this should come as no surprise - that the most productive types of trance, that are most likely to help unshackle us from the Piscean cultural trance, are those entered through meditation. These are the trances over which we have the most control, and the ones that are liable to put us in touch with the subtler energies that can beneficially affect the consciousness of humanity.

So as we prepare ourselves to meditate, let's revisit Wier's suggestion that a trained meditator enters a trance in order to produce a specific result. We might quibble with the idea that what we are doing when we engage with the meditation form we use is entering a trance, although Wier's broad definition of a limiting of attention and a repetition of thoughts is clearly met. As seen earlier, the problem lies in the fact that something which is consciously and actively entered into has the same name as something to which we passively submit. Maybe a new term needs to emerge for the active version - 'meditative state' is a better description, but a little clumsy.

But what if we are not successful in entering this 'meditative state'? Anyone who has meditated for a while will know that the ability to enter a meditative state depends on a number of factors that are not always under our control. Sometimes fatigue can intervene, or the circling thoughts of lesser trances that we have not quite managed to leave behind. Does this mean that our participation has been fruitless? Not at all. Even if we do not sense any contact with higher energies, provided that the effort to make contact is there, then we can feel sure we have served the wider whole. After all, the first and last reason for these meditations at the time of the full and new moon is service. The work we are doing could be likened to tilling a field. Sometimes, the sun is shining and the birds are singing; at other times, it drizzles, and our limbs ache. But the main thing is to persist: as the Tibetan says, "The capacity to plod is much to be desired." (Letters, p.341) And what about Wier's suggestion that we are trying to produce a specific result? In one sense, it is true, as we are attempting to create the conditions in which the Christ and the Hierarchy can operate among Humanity once again. Yet this is a ‘result’ of such staggering magnitude that it is really beyond the grasp of our imagination. So the idea of a specific result is more suited to individual meditation; our work is more about creating a certain kind of mental climate, imbued with specific qualities. What will result from the creation of that climate is not up to us directly, but to Hierarchy and Humanity acting in concert.

However, the Tibetan does give us some hints as to the results of our work when He discusses the transition from the sixth to the seventh ray in Destiny of the Nations. For example, He notes that this will definitely change the nature of the civilization and the culture of humanity. He refers to this as a civilization of synthesis, fusion, and increased soul expression. Changes are also to be expected in the other kingdoms of nature, and in the type of souls that will come into incarnation, with an increasing number of seventh ray souls coming in. The passing Piscean Age has led to a significant divide between science and religion, and one of the tasks of Aquarian workers will be to "bring these two apparent opposites together, to demonstrate that spirit and matter are not antagonistic to each other and that throughout the universe there is only spiritual substance, working on and producing the outer tangible forms." (op.cit. p.127) One of the ways in which this will be achieved is through a deepened understanding of the etheric body. The Tibetan predicts that, "...once the etheric body becomes an established scientific fact and the centres — major and minor — are recognised as the foci of all energy as it expresses itself through the human body upon the physical plane, we shall see a great revolution take place in medicine, in diet and in the handling of daily life activity. This will produce great changes in the mode of work and labour and above everything else in the leisure activities of the race.

This thought brings to our attention the three methods of activity as employed by all the ray workers and which differ for each ray. Those which will eventually control the seventh ray types will gradually bring about changed attitudes to life and very different methods of daily living. These three are:

1. Group activity for the scientific relation of substance and energy.
2. The stimulation of etheric forms through rightly directed force.
3. The correct distribution, through scientific study, of vital energy." (Ibid. p.134)

So the prospects for the future are indeed interesting, and we may be able to detect the first glimpses of this etheric future in some of the more unconventional scientific work now going on. Let's now turn to our work of helping to dissolve the Piscean cultural trance, and let in the energies that will build this new world.

Dominic DibbleFestival of Aquarius – London – February, 2007