THE PROCESS
The Stages of Depth
A Map of the Ultra Depth™ Process.
The Ultra Depth™ Process moves through a series of clearly defined depths, each verified before the next. This page maps those depths. In this lineage, depth is not measured by how intensely a person responds, nor by how relaxed the body appears, but by the range and level of phenomena that become structurally available — and by whether each level has been authentically reached rather than merely resembled.
The staging process — each depth is verified, stabilized, and anchored before the next.
The Staging Structure
The diagram above shows the structure of the Process at a glance. The lighter levels of hypnosis — light, medium, somnambulistic — are included only as contextual reference; they are where traditional methods end. The Ultra Depth™ Process works with the deeper states that follow: Profound Somnambulism, the Esdaile State (with its catatonic response), the Sichort State, and the Ramey State (formerly the Zed State). Each is reached in order, verified, and anchored to a keyword before the next is approached. The diagram describes structure, not technique — it shows where each state sits and what marks it, not how the work is done.
Profound Somnambulism: The Foundation
Profound Somnambulism is the foundation of the entire Process. It is the deepest verifiable depth of ordinary hypnosis, and within this lineage it is confirmed directly — most clearly through complete amnesia, established by an overt test rather than an indirect one. The verification is deliberate: a lighter, indirect test may confirm a moderately deep state, but it does not, on its own, establish Profound Somnambulism. Everything beyond this point rests upon it.
The Esdaile State
Beyond Profound Somnambulism lies the Esdaile State. It was historically called the "Coma State" — a name that reflected fear rather than structure. Because ordinary emergence suggestions did not work, practitioners once treated it as a rare accident. It is not dangerous; in essence it is a state of extreme relaxation in which awareness of the body is set down.
Several structural indicators mark it. The person can no longer control even the smallest muscle; there is no twitch in response to a request to open the eyes. The muscles first take on a waxy, pre-catatonic quality, and as the state deepens a full catatonic response appears — a locking of the deep skeletal muscles. This is not the catalepsy of lighter states. Catalepsy engages the outer muscles and is produced by the conscious mind; the catatonic response engages the deep interior muscles while the surface muscles remain relaxed, and its agent is the subconscious. Authenticity is shown not by appearance but by which muscle group is actually working — the brachialis and brachioradialis, not the biceps. The pupils are dilated and fixed, unresponsive even to light, while hearing generally remains open — a feature that distinguishes the Esdaile State from the Sichort State that follows. And without any suggestion, complete General Anesthesia arises automatically, as a byproduct of the depth of relaxation — distinct from the local anesthesia or analgesia that suggestion can induce in lighter states. It is this automatic anesthesia that has historically made surgery, and completely painless childbirth, possible without chemical anesthesia.
Deep catatonic response in the Esdaile state — skeletal muscles lock without suggestion.
Full-body catatonic state — the rigid body supported between two points. This is catatonic, not cataleptic: the locking arises without suggestion.
Automatic general anesthesia — two forceps clamped on sensitive skin draw no response.
The Sichort State
The Sichort State lies beyond the Esdaile, and can only be reached through it. This is the depth Walter Sichort originally named Ultra Depth™; after his passing it was renamed in his honor. Where the Esdaile State is marked by catatonic rigidity, the Sichort State is marked by extreme muscle flaccidity: the body goes completely limp. Rapid eye movement appears. On returning, a person usually does not recall the time spent in the state and often says they simply fell asleep — a complete time distortion rather than a loss of memory.
The subconscious detects danger and will protect the person; this is itself a recognized indicator on the scale. General Anesthesia again arises automatically, and simply remaining in the state accelerates physical recovery to six to ten times the ordinary rate — documented in Sichort's time by the Philadelphia physicians Dolman and Marko. None of this is produced by the facilitator. As the conscious mind recedes, the subconscious is no longer hindered and can attend directly to whatever is needed; suggestion is required only for the conscious mind and the brain. It is in this state that two-way verbal communication with the subconscious becomes possible.
The Sichort state — extreme muscular flaccidity; the body goes limp and flows downward. The facilitator's posture here is the typical way a subject entering the Sichort state is received and supported.
The Ramey State
Beyond the Sichort State, the Sichort–Ramey Depth Scale places the Ramey State (formerly the Zed State), discovered by James R. Ramey, which allows access to what is believed to be the superconscious — a largely unexplored region. In this state a regressed personality can use the upper body to communicate verbally with the facilitator. The further phenomena observed here remain a subject of ongoing study and lie beyond the scope of this overview.
Staging, and Why the Order Holds
Through a process called staging, each verified depth is established, stabilized, and anchored to a single spoken keyword, so that a person can return to it instantly. Staging is not a passive waiting for depth to increase, nor a pursuit of ever-greater depth. The order in which these depths are reached is not a procedural formality: Profound Somnambulism is verified before the Esdaile State, and the Esdaile State is stabilized before the Sichort State. This sequence is the structural condition under which the subconscious can genuinely come to the foreground and cooperate. As Ramey defined it, hypnosis is a state of mind in which the conscious is bypassed and a subconscious override is established — and that override, while most clearly observed in the Sichort State, is never strictly confined to it.
For why this verified depth comes first, see Depth Comes First.
For the Process as a whole, see The Ultra Depth™ Process.