Altered States of Consciousness

Going into an altered state is nothing weird. You do it all the time. The question is whether you use the altered state to produce change.
Richard Bandler and John Grinder~ Frogs into Princes

In the sixties, we thought an altered state of mind was something induced by drugs. Not that drugs are anything new; alcoholic beverages alter one's consciousness, and they have been around since about the beginning of recorded history or longer. Opiates have been used for both medicinal and recreational purposes since the first century or earlier. Coffee and chocolate alter the brain's chemistry, and thus the state of consciousness. Some of us are affected by changes in the weather.

With the introduction of Hinduism and Buddhism in the West, we have incorporated some of the basic principles of mind-altering practices into our daily language. We joke about good of bad karma (a Sanskrit term). When we say, "Give me space," oftentimes what we really mean is "Give me both the time and space I need to think."

Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we alter our minds with television, the Internet, and electronic games. Using technology, we can enter a virtual reality and experience something very like the real deal. We use aromathetapy to soothe our bodies and minds. We use headphones to shut out ambient reality and to create a different one for ourselves.
We have dozens of ways to tune in, tune out, and turn on.

Actually, we enter an altered state of consciousness very frequently. If I change the subject, first I enter an altered state, and then I induce you to do the same. Each time your attention wanders from one thing to the next, you enter an altered state. This is how we relate to the world— by changing the state of mind.