Ever Tripped Without Psychedelics? I Have!
My Story
A couple years ago now, I heard a Podcast by Joe Rogan and he introduced me to something I had never heard of before. It was called "Floating". After hearing about his amazing psychedelic type experience, I set out to try it for myself. It was everything he described and more. I tried a 2-hour float, which was not really recommended by the place, but because I had a solid meditation practice already in place I was confident I could handle it. After the initial 15-20 minutes settling in phase, I began to feel disconnected from my body. I felt like I was traveling through space and my mind began showing me several amazing fractal-like shapes and patterns. Time and space were almost non-existent and I felt a deep sense of inner peace. That is until about 20 minutes or so left. It was hard to tell because I was so disconnected from time. I started to feel hot and scratchy all over and my mind started to wander all over the place. I had reached my limit but for me, I like to find my edges and boundaries. This approach can be uncomfortable but I always try to remember this too shall pass. So, my advice to you is, start with an hour and work your way up. This way you to have a great experience!
What is Floating Exactly
Floating is an immersive therapeutic experience that enhances your mental and physiological health. You enter a pod that is filled with a 1000 pounds of medical grade Epsom salt dissolved in purified water. This solution of Epson salt is so high that no living microorganism can survive which makes it safe for use. It was first discovered during scientific research of something called sensory deprivation around 1954. It was first studied by the neuroscientist named John Lilly. He found that the distraction-free environment of his isolation tank led to incredibly enhanced states of mental relaxation. He found one was able to achieve very deep levels of meditation almost effortlessly. By the early 1960s, Lilly was introduced to two psychedelic drugs, LSD and then ketamine, he began a series of experiments in which he would use these psychedelic compounds in an isolation tank. He was a very interesting psychonaut. Feel free to look him up as he did very interesting work trying to communicate with dolphin's and entities while under heavy doses of psychedelics.
How Does It Work Exactly
The extremely high amount of Epson salt makes you able to float effortlessly. This combined with the temperature being set to our bodies core level makes it feel as if our bodies are dissolved into the water. It takes about 15 minutes for the mind to let go at which point you can't really tell where your body ends and the water begins. You feel at one with the water. Inside this pod, it is dark so your sense of sight is also cut off. This is why its referred to as a sensory deprivation tank. Even without the use of any psychedelic aids, you can begin to find a deeper meditative space. Having an out of body experience or even a lucid dream type state is the closest I can explain to you what's its like.
The Benefits of Floating
For The mind:
- Reduces Stress
- Improves problem solving
- Reduces depression
- Deepens meditation practice
- Easer lucid dreaming and out of body experiences
- Improves creativity
For the Body:
- Softens Skin
- Boosts Circulation
- Replaces Depleted Magnesiumm Levels
- Relax all your muscles and facia
- Relieves pain and body aches
- Reduces Migraine Headaches
- You Will a Kick-Ass Night of Sleep After!
I hope I have inspired you to give it a try. I'm sure you'll enjoy all the benefits and hopefully incorporate it into your self-care practice! That's al, for now,w my beloved Steemfam! As always please leave a comment below, ask any questions you may have, and upvote me!
I really do want to try this.
Makes sense.
Good power and energy to you.
I"ve tried it before! really awesome experience, puts you in a deep meditation state :)
It truly is! Do you go often?
Me too. It's always nice to meet your higher self in a new way :)
That's pretty cool!
I have always wanted to try this type of thing.
I have indeed tripped without psychedelics but not very hard and not for very long. There are some things that can get me there to some degree. I can force myself to hover between wakefulness and sleep and see some stuff. If I relax and listen to music I can get to a somewhat trippy state of mind too. The interesting one is when I am sober but around some people who are tripping for a while I start to have a weird sympathy trip. Its almost I am picking up the trip vibes they are broadcasting or something but, regardless of how it works, I find myself laughing at all the crazy nonsense they think is funny.
Anyway, good post.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. The mind is an amazing thing and it can send and receive signals. So I can totally see that you would have a sympathetic trip. I hope you can try this for yourself one day!
No problem and thank you for making good content.
Oh wow, I really need to try this “Floating”, it’s really hard to relax and turn off the mind. Thanks so much for the info.Resteeming.
Thanks for sharing. I'm going to try this one day.
I wonna try this out.i hope this really helpful for me.wow this is article is amazing
Wow this sounds so great! I'll definitely be checking to see if there's anything like this here in Hawaii
I have floated several times and YES I have tripped without psychedelics! I am kind of tall and luckily found a place that has ‘cabins’ which are large float tanks... with the smaller pods sometimes I touch the edge with my hands or feet whereas in a cabin I can spread out like a starfish haha!
i feel that I was able to shut off in my first float and I had these clips from films popping up within my visions... it was real cool. I couldn’t fully shut off the first time as I would remember where I am during any visuals... but now I am so relaxed, and focus on a small blue light in the distance and basically just meditate on that and clear my mind, giving myself positive messages :)
I am able to feel as if I’m floating in space, like I can’t feel anything at all, no pressure on my body... sometimes I can’t tell which way up I am or which way I am facing - it’s great! I feel so relaxed after a float.
I also use a ‘mobiliser’ afterwards which kind of irons out my back. Floating helps the posture too, just too bad here in England it’s quite expensive for me to float regularly...
I do also like to smoke weed before hand, not all the time, but I can really shut off then!
How often do you float? Have you tried a ‘cabin’ style float tank? Great to talk about floating here!:)
Wow, I didn't even know they made one for tall fellas such as yourself! Good thing too. I go once a month or so and in fact, did a 2-hour float this Saturday at my favorite spot near me. I was able to relax much deeper and I kept getting ideas for new steem posts so watch out lol!
I really appreciated you great response and input. Its great to interact with people in a real way on this platform!
Yea it sure is great to interact in a real way on here! It’s much more free I feel:)
Awesome the 2 hour float must have been great! I’m going to try and do one soon, next week maybe:) nice I look forward to seeing more cool posts :D
Sounds interesting! :)
greets
There are times, I have to find the softest spot,and make sure it is also the quietest, and not too dark or bright, and Float. Or as close as I can without a deprivation tank. To help de-stress, and get rid of Migraines....
Yeah, finding a quiet spot definitely makes it easier to meditate. If you can try floating though it is "next level". I found a good deal onGrouponn near me when I first started.