Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 4, Issue - 3, 1 September 2019 | Page 13

Hypnagogia: The Trippy Mental State That is the Key to Deep Self-Discovery What is Hypnagogia? We all know that there are two primary states of consciousness: wakefulness and sleep. But did you that there is also an in-between state? This state is called Hypnagogia, a word that derives from the Greek words “hypnos” (sleep) and “agogos” (leading), meaning the state that leads into sleep. Have you ever had a nap and experienced a strange trance-like state in which images, colours, sounds, even dream-like stories play out in your mind? Have you ever found yourself falling asleep and seeing a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes fleet in and out of your mind ... or strange things like horses turning into helicopters? These experiences are hypnagogia in action and it’s likely that you experience hypnagogia multiple times a week, or even every day before you fall asleep! So how can this unusual limbo state contribute to our self-understanding and spiritual growth? In this article, I’ll explain how. Types of Hypnagogia