Floating (psychological phenomenon)
Encyclopedia
Floating, in a psychological context, means slipping (back) into altered states of mind. People who leave a cult
or sect
that emphasizes chanting, meditation
, monotonous singing etc. in order to reach a trance-like state
(such as Hare Krishna) often experience momentarily slipping back into such a state. This experience can be very disconcerting.
An ex-cult member describes it like this:
"Weeks after I left, I would suddenly feel spacy and hear the cult leader saying, 'You'll always come back. You are one with us. You can never separate.' I'd forget where I was, that I'm out now; I'd feel his presence and hear his voice. I got so frightened once that I slapped my face to make it stop."
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
or sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
that emphasizes chanting, meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, monotonous singing etc. in order to reach a trance-like state
Altered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
(such as Hare Krishna) often experience momentarily slipping back into such a state. This experience can be very disconcerting.
An ex-cult member describes it like this:
"Weeks after I left, I would suddenly feel spacy and hear the cult leader saying, 'You'll always come back. You are one with us. You can never separate.' I'd forget where I was, that I'm out now; I'd feel his presence and hear his voice. I got so frightened once that I slapped my face to make it stop."