I'm typically not one for altered states of consciousness. I don't do drugs. I've never been drunk. In fact, the only time I can claim to have been synthetically high was when, against my will, I was injected with Fentanyl moments before being put under for surgery (and that high was not a pleasant experience). So, when I purchased a book Get High Now (without drugs) at a book sale, many of my friends and loved ones thought it extremely peculiar. When I set out to make an Instructable along the same theme, they felt I had perhaps come unhinged.
This whole endeavor is highly out of character for me. I am not one to seek out altered states of consciousness, and everyone seemed plain confused as to why I suddenly wanted to (and without drugs, no less). Some friends wanted to know if this meant I would go out drinking with them now. Others simply wanted to know who I was, where I came from, and what I did with the real Randy. All of that said, I am not particularly certain what made all of this resonate with me so strongly, but I found it compelling enough to give it a try.
Collected here are are a number of techniques for altering your consciousness. All of these have been vetted by myself and found to be effective for me on some level. That means that I did try and reject a few consciousness altering exercises that might work for others. The most notable rejection was transcendental meditation. I could not get it to do much of anything for me other than make my legs stiff. Really, the only thing I found transcendental meditation good for was striking a nice pose for the main image of this Instructable.
While none of these 10 approaches are as consciousness-altering as being injected with Fentanyl, I can say that they will all make you perceive the world in alternative ways.
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Signing UpStep 1: Sleep Deprivation
The body and mind need rest in order to operate at peak performance. When the body and mind do not get the required amounts of rest time, they start doing weird things. Envision for a moment a talking children's toy with dying batteries. The voice slows down and distorts and the moving parts twitch helplessly as they try in vain to move. In some way, this is a good metaphor for sleep deprivation.
If you have ever gone longer than twenty four hours without sleep, chances are that you experienced some form of altered state as a result of sleep deprivation. In fact, the more days that you go without sleeping, the more dramatic the altered state becomes. A small sample of things that you might expect to experience while sleep deprived include strange social interactions, a slowing of cognitive ability, and a distorted sense of self.
My experience:
The longest that I have stayed awake has been three and a half days. By the middle of the third day I was trying to talk to people, but primarily mumbling incoherently to myself. In turn, people would talk to me and I would answer, but not know what I was saying. There was a strange feeling of detachment from my surroundings. My reaction time slowed down and my actions were lethargic. I was there, but not there. Sometimes I would start doing things and not know why. It was as if everything - even my most immediate concerns - were happening in my periphery.
I finally found myself on the train on my way home from work. I kept falling asleep standing up. I tried to combat this by sitting down for a few minutes and then standing up for a few more minutes. I think I might have also been mumbling to myself to stay awake, but I can't fully remember. At the point, it was hard for me to tell what I was doing. After about eighty-five hours of being awake, I managed to make the seemingly eternal 3-block trek home from the train station. When I finally made it home, I laid down in bed, and passed out for a solid eighteen hours. The whole experience was rather unsettling, but definitely interesting.
If you have ever gone longer than twenty four hours without sleep, chances are that you experienced some form of altered state as a result of sleep deprivation. In fact, the more days that you go without sleeping, the more dramatic the altered state becomes. A small sample of things that you might expect to experience while sleep deprived include strange social interactions, a slowing of cognitive ability, and a distorted sense of self.
My experience:
The longest that I have stayed awake has been three and a half days. By the middle of the third day I was trying to talk to people, but primarily mumbling incoherently to myself. In turn, people would talk to me and I would answer, but not know what I was saying. There was a strange feeling of detachment from my surroundings. My reaction time slowed down and my actions were lethargic. I was there, but not there. Sometimes I would start doing things and not know why. It was as if everything - even my most immediate concerns - were happening in my periphery.
I finally found myself on the train on my way home from work. I kept falling asleep standing up. I tried to combat this by sitting down for a few minutes and then standing up for a few more minutes. I think I might have also been mumbling to myself to stay awake, but I can't fully remember. At the point, it was hard for me to tell what I was doing. After about eighty-five hours of being awake, I managed to make the seemingly eternal 3-block trek home from the train station. When I finally made it home, I laid down in bed, and passed out for a solid eighteen hours. The whole experience was rather unsettling, but definitely interesting.
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http://www.cracked.com/article/127_5-ways-to-hack-your-brain-into-awesomeness/
#4 is the best example
If I was to try one..I'd have to be able to get out... I'm terrified of the dark... I seriously get freaked out if I'm in the dark for more than maybe a minute or two.
I chanted a mantra in my mind..about losing weight "Eat less,exercise more."
I sat here and said it to myself over and over again..
I had the feeling that was like when my mind goes to sleep. My mind going to sleep...Its a nice feeling. I can be writing in my diary,watching a movie,etc...and When I get done...Its like I just woke up..but I'm tired.
But when I tried this,I probably didn't do it right..
But I tried to close my eyes,they were getting dry,but I would get scared...like there were 'things' around me...I feel that sometimes when I'm going to my room at night and its dark.
Sam.
There is also an SBaGen forum here - where users submit sequences they have made:
http://healingbeats.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6
Happy Beating! :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binaural_beats
Also, there are a bunch here:
http://gethighnow.com/binaural-beats/
You can also find some open source software for most operating systems that automatically generate them.
Problem is, it's difficult to induce, but if you are already there, have fun!
I dont really talk about this too much due to the fact that I dont know anyone but only heard of experiences maybe similar. But I feel it is fitting here.
At the age of 15 I was hanging out with my sister and my best friend, not really doing anything just talking about school ect... I was sitting on a chair and I started noticing that it felt like I was sort of on an elevator going down. I have never really had any experiences like this, so I didnt really understand what was going on.
After a questionable amount of time I felt like I was going down Very very deep, but also "time" was getting older. Now I knew this was certainly something special. I then was asking very unique question about ...I dont remember" and they were instantly answered. And every time they were, I felt heavy "awe". I could probably write a book about this one experience, but to keep it short...
After some time I kept feeling like I was going down, and all of these questions were answered I became in state of heavy "awe" , and time! it felt "ancient" very personal and again ancient. Like the beginning. I kept saying to my self "IT IS, IT JUST IS!", and it meant so much and soo deeply to me. Soon after I felt like I passed through and reached a "nothing point" , "totally black" and I noticed a "graph" almost running vertically, and it represented time. Not like the time we know it as but more like "moments". And I realized that I had left this array of infinite amount of moments. Now this is where it really gets big...
I noticed the presence of an ancient ancient man drawing near, then I eventually saw him, he was sitting in a chair coming closer. I then realized I was that ancient man, and then I bursted out crying of happiness, love and peace. I was "again" enlightened.
and Believe it or not immediately after,
I remembered who I was before I was born, I remembered who I was after I died. I remembered being "there" what seemed seconds "ago". and I remember what it was all about. I had "left" the world plain, the manifestation of David D. and remembered that everything was an allusion created by " I ". Everything! Billions of moments, all unique, all distinct, and everything and everyone in them are just manifestations of " I ".
After a while I felt I was coming back into this realm, this illusion, and I remember saying to myself. "There is no way I will every remember all of this, and really understand it again" for I am now the manifestation of I.
That was 11 years ago, and I still think about it at least once a week. I have tried explaining it to people, tried finding other people with the same experience but am still unable to. I realize with an experience like this, you can't ask for it, you can't consciously get there. It certainly is a paradox. You kind gotta slip in "out" of it, but not by choice.
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons.
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.
Thanks for posting this comment and trying your best to put it into words and associate vocabulary with that un-explainable thing that you felt. The SIKH religious scriptures speak of exactly the same illusion created by "I" that tries to create a boundary and separates us from the rest of the universe.
You would be also glad to hear a talk that I stumbled upon on TED. (not sure if you've already seen it) Here is the link to it:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
How did you suddenly get into this state and level while you were just sitting and chatting. I am curious to know.
Imagine a character in a video game. He/she has no idea of anything but only what is inside of the game. No thoughts or actions can leave the game from within the game. That IS ALL THEY KNOW. Then all of a sudden they are transported out through the IO's of the computer, they start to notice the simplicity of the world they live in. The 16/32 bit graphics, the absolute unawareness of the other characters, the 3 dimensions seam very.... linear. Then moments later they are eye to eye with a what seems ancient being. Then realizes he/she is looking through the eyes of that being.
You are then: just a person playing a video game, realizing, remembering that it was all just a game. You remember that last time you snapped out of that daze, which seems just a few minutes ago. But... you remember "always" being there. And you are happy. Very very happy, a heavy sense of love, and peace. Peace that is unable to measured against anything other than peace.
Thank you for your interest in this. I do enjoy talking about this.
1. "IT IS, IT JUST IS". This is an ultimate statement. It is mind blowing and I can only try to imagine from what you put forward.
2. "Looking through the eyes of that being ..." And when you see that ancient being (yourself), you are seeing him from an altogether different dimension (that the character is unaware of) which is unreachable for him. Are you are able to see the WHOLE game at that instant (that the character while playing, only experiences a moment at a time). And because you are watching from a higher dimension (I remember the Abbot Abbot's book "Flatland" here), you can see what is restricted to the character's linear sight? Or, is it not about just the physical senses, but more than that? Like what?
3. "3 dimensional seems very ... linear". What about time? I remember u said, time seemed just vertical on the graph, like a moment when you reached the end, the "nothing point". Would the instant you see the ancient character, be like a lifetime longer or even more, in terms of the character's life? I ask because you say you remembered who you were before you were born and after you life. All that you realized in that instant. How long, do you think (or know) that you were outside the ancient character, if you can try to remember. And did DAVID live multiple lives?
4. You conclude "Be kind to everything, everyone and your self, for they are all you" and I consider this to be the ultimate lesson. Many scholars and wise men have said that, maybe because they had similar insights. But, is this all there is to it? Tell me, if the ancient character is an awesome scientist or an engineer or artist. Does his creation matter? Well, it matters to the world he lives in, I assume, but otherwise. What do we call "development" of the society etc. What about the laws of physics. What if a game in which everyone is kind, and another game in which they are not. And are there really multiple games, with the same character living different all his possible lives (permutations), like the quantum physics states. Would they ever interact or keep running in their own sandboxes? This is amazing. And you say: "Everything! Billions of moments, all unique, all distinct, and everything and everyone in them are just manifestations of " I ". Does it means all this world with all this magnificence and history and future, all passes in just a moment, when you see from that level, probably then a new game starts over?
5. I love the word "allusion" you carefully selected in your comment. The word was new for me, and makes more sense now.
Although I have never experienced any such thing myself, but read about it, heard from people and had extremely religious people "try" to explain in disconnected and arcane sense. (Your language is clear and concepts closer to me, since I am an Electronics Engineer) I believe what you experienced was what you learn when you see that there is NO "Duality" or the boundary of "I". You are blessed and I am real glad to get to talk to you. Thank YOU!
I just read a little on the Sikh, never heard of it but.
"There is one supreme eternal reality; the truth; immanent in all things; creator of all things; immanent in creation. Without fear and without hatred; not subject to time; beyond birth and death; self-revealing." pretty much nailed it on the dot. Thank you.
Before looking through the eyes,
At this point I could see a massive array of moments. Time is something of and in those moments. Outside of them there is only NOW. Time as you know is only a tool, there is no real "time" to reference it to except the movement of our solar system, or the insane calculations coming from NIST. but really, we can only relate to time because we have memory. I remember that about 8 minutes ago I started your reply, I was thinking how I can word this correctly and started to pull up more realizations I had from this experience, then after I read a little on Sikh from Wiki. So those series of moments usually come up to be around 8 minutes, at this state of mind.
but if I had no memory, it would always be NOW. its not like it isn't but I would have nothing to reference it to/with. So...
I noticed the character's linear sight? I noticed that he is living in a realm that has "time" in it. That is what he is doing. He is experiencing that moment, and convinced of no other.
So in a sense, from being so unaware,
He is the witness of the creator, "himself", and I think "that is the point".
I literally remembered that " I " put David here, to separate, to experience, to witness.
Again I remembered always being there.
"But, is this all there is to it? " To love and to be positive more than not, is to me completely acceptable in my life.
If anyone had all the time in the world at no end, I don't think they would do anything to "get somewhere", I don't think they would be learning or teaching, in order to achieve something. They would only just literally "BE"
The mild effects are pretty consistent, in the form of sensory distortion such as losing the ability to sense thickness. I'd feel an object and it can feel both infinitely thin or infinitely thick. Another effect is that all sound is suddenly perceived to be angry/scolding, imagine the unconscious perception of anger one has from an angry voice, but that perception coming from all sounds (voice or not).
The intense effects are always very dysphoric (unlike yours which seemed pretty spiritual/psychadelic trip-like) and delusional. Once I believed I was everyone in the world, which slowly shifted to me believing I was everyone in the Firefox development community.
In my most recent (and terrifying) experience I suddenly believed that all of reality had disappeared, but somehow my consciousness would continue existing in the void for all eternity. At first I was horrified, but somehow accepted it and felt really peaceful, then drifted out of it after a bit.
I have a qustion about this Mantra idea:
I've been together with my girlfriend for over a year now and some time like 6 months after we first came together i startet to have this problem that, I myself even couldn't explain.
It is the following: Every time my girlfriend goes out to party or goes to an open air or something like that, I get really depressed when i think of her having fun or drinking or smoking weed, but especially smoking cigarettes. I dont know why i get depressed and sometimes its really bad.
It has something to do with the fear i had at the beginning of our relationship: the fear of loosing her to somebody else. That fear also made me really depressed but it then went away after a while. This new problem i have, of her partying, has for sure something to do with the first problem i had. And another thing is: i dont have that problem when im partying with her alone exept for the smoking the smoking is always a problem and she stopped it luckily. The problem really gets me when im partying with her and her friends or her and my friends.
Now my question is:
do you think i should write a mantra down for example: "I dont want to worry about my Girlfriend, when she's having fun." or do you think that could be somewhat risky?
And how do i do mudita?
do you have an example for a familiar mantra in my case ?
thx for you reply :)