ABOUT
About
A journey of exploration, integration, and a deeper understanding of human consciousness.
OUR STORY
The Origin of Pneuma Trance®
Pneuma Trance® emerged from years of exploration, study, observation, and direct experience with altered and expanded states of consciousness.
What began as a personal inquiry gradually evolved into a structured method shaped by contemplative traditions, psychology, disciplined practice, and the ongoing study of human experience.
Our story is not the story of a single technique. It is the development of a broader framework created to explore consciousness with greater clarity, depth, responsibility, and respect for the individuality of each participant.
EVOLUTION
How Pneuma Trance® Evolved
Pneuma Trance® developed gradually through a sustained inquiry into how attention, perception, emotion, memory, bodily awareness, rhythm, and silence interact within human experience. Over time, elements from contemplative traditions, transpersonal psychology, guided trance induction, rhythmic practices, and consciousness research came together into a coherent and structured method.
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ONGOING REFINEMENT
Personal exploration and direct experience with non-ordinary states of consciousness.
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EARLY EXPLORATION
Personal exploration and direct experience with non-ordinary states of consciousness.
PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT
In-depth study of psychology, guided trance induction, contemplative traditions, and consciousness research.
Years of practice and application, integrating diverse influences into a coherent method.
STUDY AND INFLUENCE
A HOLISTIC APPROACH
A Method, Not a Single Technique
Pneuma Trance® is not defined by one practice. It is a structured method developed from the interaction of multiple disciplines, observations, and experiential frameworks.
Its value lies in the relationship between these elements and in the way they are organized within a coherent process. The method is designed to provide direction without imposing a predetermined experience, allowing each participant to engage with the process according to their own response.
01 Structure
A clear framework that gives the work consistency, direction, boundaries, and continuity.
02 Experience
Direct, embodied experience as a source of insight, understanding, and transformation.
Bringing insight into everyday life, where it can inform choices, relationships, and a more meaningful way of living.
03 Integration
A coherent method built around three foundational pillars
Tradition, Experience & Research
FOUNDATIONS
Pneuma Trance® is informed by a continuous dialogue between contemplative traditions, direct experience, and modern research. It draws inspiration from diverse wisdom traditions, while remaining grounded in a contemporary, non-dogmatic, and evidence-informed perspective.
We value the insights of contemplative lineages, the knowledge offered by modern psychology, and neuroscience, and above all, the lived experience that emerges through sincere and sustained practice.
FOUNDER
The Founder and Pneuma Trance® Today
Pneuma Trance® was founded by Louis Simons, researcher, practitioner, educator, and creator of the Pneuma Trance® Method. His work grew from years of study, personal exploration, structured observation, and direct experience with non-ordinary states of consciousness.
He holds a Master's in Transpersonal Psychology and has trained in meditation instruction, hypnotherapy, contemplative practice, breathing techniques, mindfulness, and emotional regulation. His continued study in neuroscience and multiple intelligences informs a broader inquiry into attention, perception, symbolic experience, and self-regulation.
Much of his formation also took place beyond the classroom. Over many journeys to the obsidian mountain of the Sierra de las Navajas, in Mexico, Louis met his mentor Miguelito, a Toltec abuelo de sabiduría. Under his guidance, Louis learned and participated respectfully in traditional practices rooted in nature, ritual, community, and lineage. Foundations of this knowledge were integrated into the method, including ancestral teachings such as the five energetic suns of the human body.
He approached this tradition not as material to reproduce, but as an opportunity to listen and understand how cultures have worked with altered states, rhythm, silence, and intention across generations.
Over time, an experiential inquiry became a systematic one. Why did some participants enter profound states while others did not? Why did different breathing patterns produce different responses, and why could silence sometimes deepen the experience more than continued stimulation? Questions about expectation, environment, preparation, rhythm, and personal history gradually shaped an exploratory practice into a structured methodology. The aim was never to assemble techniques or place ancestral and modern practices side by side, but to understand their relationships, their limits, and the conditions under which they form a coherent and responsible process.
That work became Pneuma Trance®. Today it extends through individual and group sessions, education, facilitator development, and research. As President and Director of the Pneuma Trance Research Institute, Louis continues to refine the method through systematic observation and documentation, grounded in three complementary sources: direct experience, traditional knowledge, and contemporary research. Each offers a distinct form of understanding, and none replaces the others.
ACADEMY
The Academy and Our Purpose
The Pneuma Trance® Academy is the educational home of the method, dedicated to preserving and transmitting its principles, practices, and professional standards. Through structured training, continuing education, and experiential learning, it prepares those who wish to work with Pneuma Trance® responsibly and with professional rigor.
OUR PURPOSE
Our purpose is to deepen the understanding of human consciousness while supporting personal growth and self-awareness. Through practice, education, and research, Pneuma Trance® builds a responsible bridge between direct experience, traditional knowledge, and contemporary inquiry, so that inner exploration can translate into greater clarity, compassion, and positive impact in everyday life.
