Trance Zero: The Psychology of Maximum Experience
St. Martins Press, New York.
1998. 263 pp. ISBN 0-312-24425-8
To Order, go to: www.amazon.com
Trance Zero examines the trances that we go in an out of every day of our lives, concentrating on our cultural trance, the group-mind trance of our society that is so pervasive that it is virtually invisible. He advocates establishing what he calls "Trance Zero," and intuitive state of being in which one is fully awake to the real condition of our existence. Such a state of nothing less than a new paradigm of personal immanence and is the very essence of optimism.
"Adam Crabtree seems to me to be one of the most interesting minds in the field of
modern psychology....In some ways this is his most challenging book so far. What
makes it so stimulating is that he takes a basic and simple idea--that we all spend
more time in "trance" than we realize-and then develops it in wholly unexpected
ways....Crabtree suggests that our culture induces a trance state--in fact, many kinds of "micortrances"--and that we have to awaken from this trance before we can
enter the condition he calls Trance Zero, a state of being in touch with our "inner
guidance."...It seems to me that Adam is a new kind of psychologist--one who
intuitively understands that the mind is far vaster and stranger than anyone suspected--and at the same time, stronger and more full of creative possibilities."
--From the Introduction by Colin Wilson, author of The Outsider, The Occult,
Mysteries, and Afterlife.
"Adam Crabtree offers a masterful exploration of the varieties of trance experience.
Under his expert guidance we discover how extraordinary are ordinary states of
consciousness as well as how to rise out of toxic trance and awaken to the Ultimate Self that lies within. Written with clarity and compassion, this book offers the state of the art in understanding one of the least understood of all human phenomena. Especially useful is his concept of Trance Zero, which involves breaking free from the limitations of trance states through reliance on an inner intuitive guidance. The book should be read by everyone who has an interest in human consciousness and personality development. It is also a book for social artists who would make a better world by having nations and institutions rouse themselves from the habituated patters of the cultural trance that imprisons so many."
--Jean Houston, author of A Mythic Life and A Passion for the Possible
"An acclaimed expert in hypnosis, Adam Crabtree peels back the many layers of
conditioning that en-trance us. Embark on this intriguing journey through the
mysteries of consciousness--love, creativity, culture, religion--to the Ultimate Self."
--Sylvia Fraser, author of My Father's House and The Book of Strange.
"In this penetrating account of the advantages and disadvantages inherent in one's
culture, Adam Crabtree has provided his readers with a series of touchstones by
which they can enrich their lives. The readers of Trance Zero will be empower_
ed by its message, and will find that they can dismiss ideas that stunted their development, as well as break our of structures that imprisoned them."
--Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., co-author of The Mythic Path and Spiritual Dimensions of Healing.
"...That insight and dozens of others throughout the book make it worthwhile reading for anyone impatient with received opinions and conventional wisdom. Crabtree's concept of trances sheds useful light onto everything from Newton to the New Age, from the debate over recovered memories of sexual abuse to the meaning of television comedian-in-drag Dame Edna Everage.''
-The Globe and Mail
