Another example is the repetition of a word until it is meaningless. If you were to repeat a word over and over until you lose touch with the objective meaning of the word, it is possible to render the brain incapable of distinguishing the relationship between the meaning of the word and a nonsensical sound. This is how transcendental meditation induces a tranced-out state of altered consciousness. Just as the sense of smell can be desensitized, so can the cognitive facility of our brain. However, when it happens with our minds, we achieve an altered state of consciousness.
People usually experience a sense of well-being when in an altered state of consciousness.
After all, one is not thinking about any problems or difficulties and is in a level in which pleasant dreams can occur. Many who practiced transcendental meditation in the '60s and '70s described the experience as one of meeting God, an angel, spirit guide or a spiritual avatar. I believe a similar phenomenon occurs with being slain in the spirit or laughing in the spirit. People are induced into an altered state of consciousness. It is not necessarily harmful, nor is it necessarily edifying.