The Annihilation of Self in Trance

Rumi teaches fana—the obliteration of the individual self in union with the Beloved. This mystical death parallels the shamanic trance state where the mudang's ordinary consciousness dissolves and spirit entities speak through their body. In Korean shamanism, this possession is not dissociation but sacred merger; the boundary between human and divine collapses entirely. Rumi's poetry describes this as the only true liberation: 'Die before you die.' The shamanic journey mirrors this teaching—the practitioner must surrender their identity, agency, and will to become an empty vessel for spiritual power. This framework legitimizes the apparent loss of self as the highest achievement rather than dysfunction. Understanding shamanic trance through Rumi's mystical lens reveals it as devotional annihilation, a love-death where the separate self ceases to exist and only divine presence remains.