trance

Mental state in which the subject loses the ordinary perceptions of time and space, and even of his or her own body.

In this highly aroused state, often induced by rhythmic music, ‘speaking in tongues’ (glossolalia) may occur (see Pentecostal movement); this usually consists of the rhythmic repetition of apparently meaningless syllables, with a euphoric return to normal consciousness. It is also practised by American Indian and Australian Aboriginal healers, Afro-Brazilian spirit mediums, and in shamanism.

The state may be either induced or spontaneous. The subject remains conscious and is usually capable of communicating intelligibly, although there is often an insensibility to pain or other sensory stimulation. Hypnosis is a mild trance state. In spiritualism, a medium is said to go into a trance to enable a disembodied spirit to speak through the medium.