Faking It Til You Make It: Trance Edition

The Clark Hull Principle: "anything that assumes trance, causes trance."

(Clark Hull said this but Mike Mandel is the one wamed it The Clark Hull Principle afaik.)

So you've read the words. (If you haven't, look up.) But what does this principle mean for you, practically?

It's simple. While you're listening to a file, you can make yourself drop faster by exaggerating its outward signs. Those signs include the cliché (head lolling, eyes rolling) and some that are experienced by some, but not others (like sensations of heaviness or floatiness, or both!)

As anecdotal backing to this principle, I personally began to drop faster and more deeply as a subject when I "leaned into" trance by focusing on my fluttering eyelids + feeling of catalepsy (heaviness, weight) in them. That was the trance sign I resonated most with, and still do... and it's a common one! But everyone has a different element of trance they'll enjoy leaning into.

It's actually gotten to a point where nowadays, I can tune out an induction and just focus on that eye-rolly-fluttery feeling to drop myself before the file can - over time, the association between that act of making my eyes heavy and the state of trance has gotten really deeply wired in me. It's only useful because I'm so impatient... but hey!

This Clark Hull Principle also speaks more broadly to this idea of trance being a collaborative effort between subject and tist... it's not a status condition you're hoping they inflict on you (with 60% accuracy), but an experience built together by mutual effort.

So next time you listen to a file, put this principle to the test. Make a conscious effort to pretend you're arms are heavy - tense hard and release them to get this effect, as all the tension flows out of them. Do a little pantomime where you pretend to not be able to open your eyes. Whatever form it takes for you. And see how it changes your trance!

(New file coming soon)

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When I'm not dropping myself or others, I'm off being a mystical forest bro in the wilderness of Ireland. But I am always available for commissions if you reach out via DM. My flat rate is currently $60-100, but you can check my pinned Tumblr post for more up-to-date info. You can also support me with a one-time tip either via Paypal or Ko-Fi... or by subscribing to me on Patreon! Keep listening, bros.