Question:
There is such a thing as hypnosis, or a “trance”. Unlike hypnosis, a “trance” is where a person remains aware of his surroundings. [In either case], a person’s conscious can be neutralized, and another person can communicate directly with the person’s subconscious and alter the person’s thinking patterns. A person may even be able to do this alone. (There was even a person who succeeded in entering such a state while he was having a root canal, without being numbed, and he was able to communicate with the dentists who were operating on him). Is this a physical power, or is it the subconscious?
Also, when a person contemplates about elokus (G-dliness), does this mean that he needs to fall into a hypnotic state so that he can reflect properly?
And if I contemplate on how to detach from my physical senses, will I able to get further into my soul?
Answer:
Yes. But there is also a higher level than the subconscious, which is called havayah [your very point of existence]. You are able to [reach a sensing of G-dliness] by divesting yourself from material.
According to the teachings of Chabad, this is referred to as “Those who serve Hashem in their souls.” There is also an additional level, where one can sense both the physical and the spiritual, simultaneously. This reflects the statement, “The tzaddik who unifies together Heaven with earth.”
There is a well-known story with the Baal HaTanya and the “Mittler” Rebbe, that once a baby was crying [while they were in the middle of learning together], and the Mittler Rebbe didn’t hear, but the Baal HaTanya heard the baby crying [he asked the Mittler Rebbe if he heard the baby crying, and the Mittler Rebbe responded that he didn’t hear, because he was engrossed in his learning. The Baal HaTanya told him, “Even when you are immersed in Torah, you should be also able to hear a baby crying.”] Understand this well.
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