States of awareness in biofeedback training

Just as training in meditative or yoga techniques leads to discretely definable altered modes of awareness, so, after initial training in meditation and with 'guided imagery', the following of biofeedback techniques has been shown to produce a hierarchy of states. So far six levels have been documented. According to C Maxwell Cade, stage 5 is preceded by 'sudden excursions into other realms', and is just above the fourth state of traditional meditation and of the relaxation response. The final stages are said to be similar to those described by mystics, with feelings of ecstasy, joy and wholeness.