7 Stages

1. preparation

• sensory deprivation 
• visual is the dominant sense, but relying on vision alone is spiritually crippling
• a blindfold is used to heighten the other senses and to develop a 6th sense: intuition
• intuition helps to detect validity and truthfulness

2. intention

• create tension then resolve it
• open the inner world using the 3rd eye
• pineal gland: hormonal, regulates cycles
• activated through meditation
• uses: intuition, psychic abilities, visions
• people are skeptical
• evidence: brain scans have shown that meditation physically evolves the brain in the location of the "3rd eye"
• medial prefrontal cortex has influence over the limbic system
• limbic system controls basic emotions and mediates stress response aroused by amygdala
• meditators shrink amygdala over time, making them more mindful and emotionally stable
• meditators grow their hippocampus, which shapes their conscious thinking

3. inhalation

• altered breathing
• simple rhythm of drumming representing heartbeat
• speed of breathing increases with speed of drummings
• rhythm becomes complicated and overwhelming
• final explosion launches participant into inner world

4. trance in motion

• stimulation of body and mind at once
• movement becomes more invigorated as rhythm accelerates
• relation to time is expanded in the inner world
• travel to the past and future
• sensations and perceptions are clearer
• beyond human comprehension

5. trance motionless

• guided soul hunting through shadow world
• search for unconscious fears
• become lost in nothingness (transition to stillness)

6. stillness

• piece together fragments of self that have been scattered over time due to trauma
• trust that everything happens for a reason
• guide must not interfere unless trouble arises

7. re-integration

• restoration back to everyday life
• enlightenment & self-realization achieved
• euphoria
• physical exhaustion possible
• new habits of regular meditation to continue self-evolution journey