I wouldn't call myself a psychonaut yet, but I do love hallucinations. One thing I think the article didn't touch on that I found profoundly interesting is depersonalization. I had a trip recently where I entirely left my conscious reality behind, temporarily, except by a very thin thread. Some context for those that don't follow the fractals, depersonalization isn't super common on things like mushrooms or LSD, but it can happen. The effect is less pronounced than on things like deliriants where things that are not real are overly convincingly real among many other related symptoms. I entered a state of mind where I got to visualize all the paths a thought could branch to and what ark that would carry on my thinking in the long term. At first it was pretty terrifying to leave my body, but once I accepted my circumstances I was able to observe without fear. My experience wasn't as healing as my other trips, rather, this time, I learned a tool for observing without expectation or controls. It was a lot to unpack, especially on a trip where I didn't actually intend to do much, if any, thinking. I'm still glad I did it.
Also, word to the wise, if you're going to dabble in hallucinations be responsible:
- have a sober trip sitter that knows how to dig you out of bad places (change lights, introduce sensations, change music, etc)
- have a benzo or heavy CBD gummy on hand to hit the big red stop button if things get too intense
I’ve had some depersonalization after I took a large dose of mushrooms at a concert in Alpine Valley. I lost track of myself. I would hear people talk, including my own voice, but none of them was more me than any other. I realized my sense of self or identification with thoughts/vocalizations I call myself was not necessary. The mushrooms seemed to turn the identification part down. I was as much the little girl talking to her father as I was Seth talking to friends. The part of my mind that creates the projections of others was still working, but the identification with any one of these projections had dropped.
Part of my purpose is to know the nature of my reality. I wish for those who are seeking the same to be able to do so legally.
The very first piece of advice the internet should give you if you start googling things about psychedelics is "Have benzos".
Benzos are more important than a trip-sitter. If things go south, no human being can contain the possible damage. Benzos will put you right back down to earth. It could mean the difference between 30 minutes of an unpleasant experience or being hospitalized.
Now that you have been through it, do you think you would be able to reasonably emulate the cognitive aspect of the experience, leaving aside all of the ~emotional/experiential aspects of it?
---------
EDIT: I've exceeded my three posts per day limit but am keenly interested in this topic, so will reply here hoping you will see it (if not, I will re-post as a reply tomorrow):
> Like, can I observe myself more readily without judgement and emotion? Yeah, I think these experiences teach me to do that in new and fascinating ways over time, but it is absolutely iterative. If you're asking if I can make the same discoveries without LSD now that I've done it once, maybe - but I doubt it. Many of the chains LSD relieves you of you are so accustomed to having that you may not even know they're present.
I'm aiming for much more nuanced detail (a trick: think of what we are discussing as a project that you are being paid to implement, which can facilitate the application of the full horsepower of your mind to the idea).
I think the key word here is "emulate" - you experienced an alternative but genuinely real & "true" mode of operation of your mind, one that is superior in some ways:
- I entered a state of mind where I got to visualize all the paths a thought could branch to
- and what ark that would carry on my thinking in the long term
- once I accepted my circumstances I was able to observe without fear
- I learned a tool for observing without expectation or controls
If you break your experience down into discrete bullet points like this, and you conceptualize them as services or implementations, and then you apply some of your standard computing analysis skills to the whole thing, do you believe it may possible (for you, or someone) to achieve a (crude or otherwise) reproduction/emulation of these abilities?
To comment on getting out of a bad place in a trip... We've found that just talking about the feeling is extremely helpful in moving on. Instead of stewing and digging deeper, somehow that seems to bring us out.
Also extremely important: try to figure out exactly what you are ingesting and how much. I can’t stress enough how important the dosage is when taking psychedelics - start low and work your way up to a dosage that you are comfortable with across a handful of sessions ideally.
Unfortunately for some substances it’s hard to determine exactly how much active material you’re getting (eg, LSD tabs, dried mushrooms), but again, start low.
F benzos, use Gabapentin, Pregabalin or GHB. Out of all of them, etizolam (yeah, I know, it's not an "official" benzo, but afaik it works similarly to alprazolam) was the hardest to quit while having meh effects.
I've never taken hallucinogens, but I had many friends that did:
Best friend and his girlfriend did LSD, the girlfriend had an immediate mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in the following months, has been a life long schizophrenic ever since.
The best friend developed "schizoid personality disorder" over the next year and was never the same. Both were normal, happy go lucky teens that changed dramatically over a summer.
Another friend took mushrooms several times without issue, but one time had a breakdown afterwards and developed a severe anxiety disorder immediately after that never went away.
I could list about 5 other friends with similar experiences, but the point is, some people have extremely negative reactions to hallucinogens, and I'm glad I never tried them.
I find the idea that you personally know 8 people who have suffered significant mental health issues after using hallucinogens to be absolutely shocking. I can't think of even a single person I have known where mushroom or LSD use resulted in any acute problems. And I do a lot of drugs! I frequent drug-friendly events and hang with drug-friendly people and I even used to sell hallucinogens a lifetime ago. It's not that certain drugs can't trigger or exacerbate mental illnesses - I believe that is actually very well-documented - but by most accounts those types of reactions are incredibly rare.
On one July 4 years ago I walked alone to a beach on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. I lied down on the sand and put a hat over my face. I listened to the waves.
The beach was busy - I could also hear the ambient sound of many people chattering in different languages. So many languages. It was profound to me that those people came from so far around the world to that place, bringing with them an unimaginable depth of experiences and cultural diversity. Seeking the best for their families. Who did they leave behind? It was emotionally overwhelming. I cried.
After a while of focusing on sounds I started to focus on touch - the individual grains of sand against my fingers, the mass of sand below me. The wind on my exposed skin. The radiant warmth of summer.
As I focused on the feeling of touch, a remarkable thing happened. I felt the boundary between me and the universe start to dissolve. With each crash of the waves, the dotted line between me and the universe receded bit by bit.
Eventually I felt I was no longer separate from the sand, the waves, the air, the people. I was all of those things and I was nothing. I was a clump of cells on a rock.
Then I stood up and walked away, utterly at peace. My life was changed forever. Thanks, LSD.
I'm going through John Vervaeke's "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis" on youtube and it's fascinating. One thing he means to answer is: why do we have these altered consciousness experiences where we come back from it, and unlike most altered experiences (being drunk; dreaming), we say THAT was more real than THIS? And then profoundly change our lives in a positive way?
Especially since the actual contents of the altered state are usually known falsehoods, and people come back with contradictory propositions (I saw God vs. I saw there is no god.)
He has some very plausible explanations for why these experiences can be hugely positively transformative despite the actual contents of them (and propositional beliefs stemming from them) being largely meaningless.
My thoughts are that the facts don't matter. Even in the real world, people hold beliefs that are largely irrelevant to the facts. For stuff like being drunk or having dreams, your memory of them tends to be even worse rest in other scenarios. It's hard to form a solid belief around something so unclear. It's much easier to form a belief around a clearly remembered falsehood. I find it similar to how friendships are formed - it's less about what you have in common and more about shared context. Clear memory of that context is a prerequisite.
And what are those actual life changing amazing positive changes that happen? Sounds just like weed smokers who convince you they have all these amazing ideas which they somehow can never write down and keep for later. Maybe it's just the drug that makes you feel like something pretty mundane is life changing because you have just traumatised your brain
The life-changing effect of LSD for me was a profound shift in the clarity of my thinking, like gaining a new superpower (compared to my prior, foggy brain) overnight. I'll always be thankful for that first trip.
I'm a bit surprised about the enthusiasm for legalizing hallucinogenic drugs. My homestate of Oregon has legalized them (in certain settings) now but if hallucinogenic drugs are as powerful and life-changing as advocates claim I would think that we should have a good medical and legal framework for their use.
Of the people I've known who did hallucinogens, I knew them all before and after.
NONE of them were better off afterward
You can read all the "life changing experiences" that people have online, but when you take these you roll a dice. Keep this in mind. There's a lot of people who shill them super hard, and they might've had a positive experience, but consider the risk vs the reward and tread lightly
edit: And even the people who had "life changing experiences", they weren't better off. They never came out of it "enlightened" or any better than where they were before (based off of their behavior and the lifestyle choices they made)
I remember doing a bunch of hallucinogens in late teens early twenties. It changed me a lot, not how I expected. I never felt like I was "one with the universe", never felt God or any of that. I never saw the "white light". I definitely hallucinated, but the weird part was you don't just see the hallucination, your thoughts are the hallucination. You only start to hallucinate once the barrier between your thoughts and the stability of what you're looking at weakens
It also changed what society looked like. Growing up I was always highly sceptical of religion, but after doing hallucinogens (and not while doing them) I started to see the same sort of irrational craving for religion in other places also. It made me realize how inherently irrational we all are, and how much of our society is built on top of fear. Also how our own emotional needs can be exploited
I started reading a lot more, and read a bunch of late 19th early 20th century literature because I wanted some sort of sense of direction. I also became a lot more conscious of whenever people exhibit manipulative tendencies or try telling other people what to want. In general I became less trusting than how I was before and more content with my own life plan. This changed the relationships that I had and made me stop talking to old friends (who really weren't very good people), and made me more assertive about boundaries and expectations of respect
The downsides of doing them: infrequent feelings of disassociation (feeling like life is a dream) and preoccupation with death (also infrequent now). Also being less trusting and more sceptical of how people try to direct each other through life. Most of the positives came about after a couple years of being drug free, so I don't know whether they happened because of me getting older or the hallucinogens
Very fun thing that can happen on heavy doses of hallucinogens: seeing your thoughts visually. His experience of seeings geometric patterns that shift depending on what/how you're thinking is what I've seen too. It's like putting every thought in a multidimensional space that includes color, and going around it while thinking. Similar thoughts or thought threads look similar in color, shape and texture, while jumping from one thought to another can be almost strobe-like. Going deep into a thought can make it materialize from the weird neon geometry mash to something resembling hyperrealism.
I didn't find it a very spiritual experience actually. It was like playing with the visual part of the brain and seeing what the hardwired stuff is, felt very physical. The Dreamachine seems similar in that regard.
Another weird parallel: when AIs create those pictures of stuff that looks like something but under further analysis is just random parts of different things it's similar to the hyperrealistic bits' texture.
As someone who came down with visual snow syndrome (permanent HPPD) after an anxiety attack, why anyone would roll the dice on joining this hell is beyond me.
It's the inverse affect of TV news. New products have hype or buzz (even if they're previously recycled). The news only shows the bad stuff. I guess it's just how our brains work.
Perhaps from a study perspective they're mostly focusing on the "normal" responses and ignoring outliers. Although I have seen some safety studies on various things that do look at the negatives. Those don't really get shared here (or anywhere really).
If you do decide to partake, make sure you have someone with you, not only in case things go awry but just to help guide you along. It can be very disorienting and scary, when you start realizing the shop has sailed, so to speak. Hard to put it to words, and I'm sure people experience it differently, but if you start to panic things can take a turn. I had a friend once call me, terrified and barely coherent, when I showed up they were not even sure how much time had passed or what they'd done. Luckily I was able to calm them down, and things went smoothly from there.
Most importantly do research and be very very careful with doses or combinations, as (depending on what you have and where you got it) it's possible to overdo it when you think you didn't take enough. Better to err on the side of caution than to be overwhelmed, and because people react differently don't just think because someone else's dose worked for them that it will work for you.
I can't speak for myself, but I can offer a piece of anecdata.
I had this buddy, who, at the time we became friends, was writing stuff in assembler that I had trouble putting in pascal. To my kid mind, he was an absolute genius. Eventually, he told was he was talking acid and disclosed how he could tell his mind was not as sharp as it used to be as a result.
I have no knowledge if it was laced with anything or he simply had one trip too many, but it was definitely life changing. I was trying to reach out recently ( you know.. the whole nostalgia thing to see where everyone is these days ).
I will admit that made me hesitate on trying it myself on my own. If I were to do it now, the one thing I would make sure of is that there someone there to watch over me.
From my experience with psilocybin-containing mushrooms, I didn't hallucinate. Rather, my senses grew incredibly sharper and everything was super-vivid. I could see why they would be great for hunting in a prehistoric setting and would give one an unfair advantage. Shrooms are even known to increase visual acuity. It was like watching 4K video for the first time after watching standard definition your whole life.
As for my mind, I had what people call a 'mystical experience' but I was so young (20s) that I didn't have the necessary words to describe it or put it into words. It's only when I read up about Gnosticism and went down various conspiracy-theory rabbit-holes on Youtube that I could piece it all together, and have the right words to describe it (escaping the Matrix etc).
I would never try them again though. Too risky. I value my mental health too much. If I want shroom-like hallucinations though, I use the Lumenate app which everyone should try:
I had the exact same thoughts my first time. Everything became HD. I was noticing the smallest of details everywhere. It was kind of nice because noticing the little things became second nature. I had no desire to go do something else other than sit and watch life around me.
I’ve had two hallucinagenic experiences (acid and 2c-I) and I never got any life changing experiences. Is it like hypnosis where you have to believe in it to have it work? I know someone cured of an addiction from her hypnosis so I know these things happen.
I would say I absolutely had hallucinations and the experiences were powerful and long lasting, but I’m still aware it’s a trip.
Yeah I've never understood why people say that hallucinations are real, and even "more real" and the "actual reality". The very definition of a hallucination is that it's not real, it's false. What am I missing here?
Interesting to me is the notion displayed here that hallucinations have a variety of internal response criteria and circumstance, only one of which is psychosis. And yet, psychosis has an overstated influence on hallucinations as a subject matter in the cultural consciousness.
Very interesting article, but I thought they should have at least mentioned the central role of the serotonin receptor 5HT-2A in psychedelic drug activity in the brain:
This receptor also seems involved in synesthesia, a psychedelic-like condition thought to involve a cross-wiring of visual and auditory brain pathways that result in 'seeing sounds' and 'hearing colors'. Here's a bit of research on that:
> "Synesthesia has been reported with LSD5 as accompaniment to other visual hallucinations. These sound-induced visual perceptions and the visual hallucinations can be well formed and complex. The cause of synesthesia is thought to be chemical deafferentation of lateral geniculate body, which will deprive the occipital cortex from visual stimuli. LSD is known to selectively activate serotonin 2A receptor. Brang and Ramachandran19 hypothesized that serotonin 2A receptors are the “synesthesia receptor”. Auditory visual synesthesia also has been reported with other serotonin 2A agonists including mescaline and ayahuasca. Ayahuasca contains serotonergic psychledic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and beta-carboline, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. DMT is a partial agonist of serotonin 2A receptors and beta-carboline inhibits the visceral metabolism of DMT, increasing its systemic levels."
Incidentally, static output from old analog CRT televisions tuned to dead channels is a kind of ideal 'blank sheet' for producing hallucinations. Unfortunately there don't seem to be many good simulations of this once-common phenomena (the YT videos of TV static seem to suffer from replication issues of various sorts and aren't that realistic). Similar natural effects might be obtained by looking at fog and clouds, waves breaking on a beach, wind blowing over a field of grass, etc.
I'd argue that one of the great potential benefits of psychedelics is that they encourage us to look closely at the world around us.
I didn't always have aphantasia, but I believe I ended up with it because when I was very young I had intrusive visual thoughts and developed a habit of blocking them out. By the time I was 30 I could barely remember being able to visualize things in my head.
I was 33 the first time so tried cannabis and I had vivid, colorful visualizations. It was intensely satisfying. I've since regained some ability to visualize in an un-altered state.
Are you saying this because you have aphantasia and this is your personal experience?
When you say 'you probably won’t visualize' do you mean completely internal/mental visualisations or are you including all sorts of hallucinogenic visualisations typically reported?
(I'm asking these because I have aphantasia and have been psychedelic/hallucination-curious, but still haven't given anything of the sort a try. I do engage with mystical practices, though, have had 'mystical visions' (which had actual no visual component!), and have been curious how psychedelics might compare.)
It’s a shame you didn’t actually read the article. You might have contributed something useful.
For the others who ware intrigued but don’t want to read, the article is mostly about research into the mechanisms creating the hallucinations.
Neuroscientists have known since the 60s that you can make people hallucinate shapes and colours by exposing them to strobing lights. It seems that syncing the lights with some of the rhythms present in the brain changes what people experience but the mechanisms at play are still unclear.
Clearly these things are influencing how the brain process information but much remains to be studied.
I sort of understand what you're getting at, but on a surface level, saying that hallucinogenic drugs are boring and played out is like saying music or war is boring and played out. It's a forever topic because it's a static part of the world for every generation of humans since prehistory.
I'm curious what you believe makes them a net negative.
Are you saying hallucigens and psychedelics are not enough for you? Maybe you'd prefer deliriants, though that's kind of the dark arts part of the world.
You think? Based on what? Experience, study? It’s much more sophomoric to discount even anecdotal experience based on nothing more than arbitrary armchair inclination.
I have to agree. Been there, done that, tried most of them over a decade ago. Tripped with friends, tripped in nature, tripped alone, read Timothy Leary and Erowid reports, went to music festivals, etc. Guess what, it didn't cure my depression or catapult me into enlightenment. I actually had pretty horrible anxiety in my twenties for quite a while after I stopped taking psychedelics, to the point where I was afraid to fly or be in confined spaces. I still had to deal with all the difficult life transitions that everyone else has to go through. I still had to grapple with the fact that I'm going to die one day. I still had to deal with constant doubts over whether or not I was making the right choices in life, in terms of careers, relationships, and goals.
In short, my interest in psychedelics was nothing more than a phase, and one that many young people go through these days. It gave me some interesting experiences and don't regret doing them, but those experience didn't change me permanently.
[+] [-] kodah|3 years ago|reply
Also, word to the wise, if you're going to dabble in hallucinations be responsible:
- have a sober trip sitter that knows how to dig you out of bad places (change lights, introduce sensations, change music, etc)
- have a benzo or heavy CBD gummy on hand to hit the big red stop button if things get too intense
[+] [-] state_less|3 years ago|reply
Part of my purpose is to know the nature of my reality. I wish for those who are seeking the same to be able to do so legally.
[+] [-] gavinray|3 years ago|reply
Benzos are more important than a trip-sitter. If things go south, no human being can contain the possible damage. Benzos will put you right back down to earth. It could mean the difference between 30 minutes of an unpleasant experience or being hospitalized.
[+] [-] mistermann|3 years ago|reply
---------
EDIT: I've exceeded my three posts per day limit but am keenly interested in this topic, so will reply here hoping you will see it (if not, I will re-post as a reply tomorrow):
> Like, can I observe myself more readily without judgement and emotion? Yeah, I think these experiences teach me to do that in new and fascinating ways over time, but it is absolutely iterative. If you're asking if I can make the same discoveries without LSD now that I've done it once, maybe - but I doubt it. Many of the chains LSD relieves you of you are so accustomed to having that you may not even know they're present.
I'm aiming for much more nuanced detail (a trick: think of what we are discussing as a project that you are being paid to implement, which can facilitate the application of the full horsepower of your mind to the idea).
I think the key word here is "emulate" - you experienced an alternative but genuinely real & "true" mode of operation of your mind, one that is superior in some ways:
- I entered a state of mind where I got to visualize all the paths a thought could branch to
- and what ark that would carry on my thinking in the long term
- once I accepted my circumstances I was able to observe without fear
- I learned a tool for observing without expectation or controls
If you break your experience down into discrete bullet points like this, and you conceptualize them as services or implementations, and then you apply some of your standard computing analysis skills to the whole thing, do you believe it may possible (for you, or someone) to achieve a (crude or otherwise) reproduction/emulation of these abilities?
[+] [-] CabSauce|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] heed|3 years ago|reply
Unfortunately for some substances it’s hard to determine exactly how much active material you’re getting (eg, LSD tabs, dried mushrooms), but again, start low.
[+] [-] jotm|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] mod|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nope96|3 years ago|reply
Best friend and his girlfriend did LSD, the girlfriend had an immediate mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in the following months, has been a life long schizophrenic ever since.
The best friend developed "schizoid personality disorder" over the next year and was never the same. Both were normal, happy go lucky teens that changed dramatically over a summer.
Another friend took mushrooms several times without issue, but one time had a breakdown afterwards and developed a severe anxiety disorder immediately after that never went away.
I could list about 5 other friends with similar experiences, but the point is, some people have extremely negative reactions to hallucinogens, and I'm glad I never tried them.
[+] [-] standardUser|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blamazon|3 years ago|reply
The beach was busy - I could also hear the ambient sound of many people chattering in different languages. So many languages. It was profound to me that those people came from so far around the world to that place, bringing with them an unimaginable depth of experiences and cultural diversity. Seeking the best for their families. Who did they leave behind? It was emotionally overwhelming. I cried.
After a while of focusing on sounds I started to focus on touch - the individual grains of sand against my fingers, the mass of sand below me. The wind on my exposed skin. The radiant warmth of summer.
As I focused on the feeling of touch, a remarkable thing happened. I felt the boundary between me and the universe start to dissolve. With each crash of the waves, the dotted line between me and the universe receded bit by bit.
Eventually I felt I was no longer separate from the sand, the waves, the air, the people. I was all of those things and I was nothing. I was a clump of cells on a rock.
Then I stood up and walked away, utterly at peace. My life was changed forever. Thanks, LSD.
[+] [-] furyofantares|3 years ago|reply
Especially since the actual contents of the altered state are usually known falsehoods, and people come back with contradictory propositions (I saw God vs. I saw there is no god.)
He has some very plausible explanations for why these experiences can be hugely positively transformative despite the actual contents of them (and propositional beliefs stemming from them) being largely meaningless.
[+] [-] giantg2|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway284234|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drcongo|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zwieback|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fknorangesite|3 years ago|reply
That's...that's what legalizing is.
[+] [-] cetahfh14615|3 years ago|reply
NONE of them were better off afterward
You can read all the "life changing experiences" that people have online, but when you take these you roll a dice. Keep this in mind. There's a lot of people who shill them super hard, and they might've had a positive experience, but consider the risk vs the reward and tread lightly
edit: And even the people who had "life changing experiences", they weren't better off. They never came out of it "enlightened" or any better than where they were before (based off of their behavior and the lifestyle choices they made)
[+] [-] cetacean|3 years ago|reply
It also changed what society looked like. Growing up I was always highly sceptical of religion, but after doing hallucinogens (and not while doing them) I started to see the same sort of irrational craving for religion in other places also. It made me realize how inherently irrational we all are, and how much of our society is built on top of fear. Also how our own emotional needs can be exploited
I started reading a lot more, and read a bunch of late 19th early 20th century literature because I wanted some sort of sense of direction. I also became a lot more conscious of whenever people exhibit manipulative tendencies or try telling other people what to want. In general I became less trusting than how I was before and more content with my own life plan. This changed the relationships that I had and made me stop talking to old friends (who really weren't very good people), and made me more assertive about boundaries and expectations of respect
The downsides of doing them: infrequent feelings of disassociation (feeling like life is a dream) and preoccupation with death (also infrequent now). Also being less trusting and more sceptical of how people try to direct each other through life. Most of the positives came about after a couple years of being drug free, so I don't know whether they happened because of me getting older or the hallucinogens
[+] [-] dj_mc_merlin|3 years ago|reply
I didn't find it a very spiritual experience actually. It was like playing with the visual part of the brain and seeing what the hardwired stuff is, felt very physical. The Dreamachine seems similar in that regard.
Another weird parallel: when AIs create those pictures of stuff that looks like something but under further analysis is just random parts of different things it's similar to the hyperrealistic bits' texture.
[+] [-] sys32768|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] minsc_and_boo|3 years ago|reply
Also LSD has been linked to speeding up early onset schizophrenia in individuals who are susceptible: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4813425/
[+] [-] giantg2|3 years ago|reply
Perhaps from a study perspective they're mostly focusing on the "normal" responses and ignoring outliers. Although I have seen some safety studies on various things that do look at the negatives. Those don't really get shared here (or anywhere really).
[+] [-] fritztastic|3 years ago|reply
Most importantly do research and be very very careful with doses or combinations, as (depending on what you have and where you got it) it's possible to overdo it when you think you didn't take enough. Better to err on the side of caution than to be overwhelmed, and because people react differently don't just think because someone else's dose worked for them that it will work for you.
[+] [-] A4ET8a8uTh0|3 years ago|reply
I had this buddy, who, at the time we became friends, was writing stuff in assembler that I had trouble putting in pascal. To my kid mind, he was an absolute genius. Eventually, he told was he was talking acid and disclosed how he could tell his mind was not as sharp as it used to be as a result.
I have no knowledge if it was laced with anything or he simply had one trip too many, but it was definitely life changing. I was trying to reach out recently ( you know.. the whole nostalgia thing to see where everyone is these days ).
I will admit that made me hesitate on trying it myself on my own. If I were to do it now, the one thing I would make sure of is that there someone there to watch over me.
[+] [-] throwaway284234|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DerekBickerton|3 years ago|reply
As for my mind, I had what people call a 'mystical experience' but I was so young (20s) that I didn't have the necessary words to describe it or put it into words. It's only when I read up about Gnosticism and went down various conspiracy-theory rabbit-holes on Youtube that I could piece it all together, and have the right words to describe it (escaping the Matrix etc).
I would never try them again though. Too risky. I value my mental health too much. If I want shroom-like hallucinations though, I use the Lumenate app which everyone should try:
https://lumenategrowth.com/
[+] [-] polishdude20|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] meroes|3 years ago|reply
I would say I absolutely had hallucinations and the experiences were powerful and long lasting, but I’m still aware it’s a trip.
[+] [-] jotm|3 years ago|reply
I have had extremely realistic hallucinations mostly from side/withdrawal effects, but they were not "life changing".
[+] [-] TinyRick|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway284234|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throbintrash|3 years ago|reply
becuase I've been wondering recently what would have happened if I only tried hallucinogenics for the first time now that my brain is much older?
[+] [-] PuppyTailWags|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] photochemsyn|3 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HT2A_receptor
This receptor also seems involved in synesthesia, a psychedelic-like condition thought to involve a cross-wiring of visual and auditory brain pathways that result in 'seeing sounds' and 'hearing colors'. Here's a bit of research on that:
> "Synesthesia has been reported with LSD5 as accompaniment to other visual hallucinations. These sound-induced visual perceptions and the visual hallucinations can be well formed and complex. The cause of synesthesia is thought to be chemical deafferentation of lateral geniculate body, which will deprive the occipital cortex from visual stimuli. LSD is known to selectively activate serotonin 2A receptor. Brang and Ramachandran19 hypothesized that serotonin 2A receptors are the “synesthesia receptor”. Auditory visual synesthesia also has been reported with other serotonin 2A agonists including mescaline and ayahuasca. Ayahuasca contains serotonergic psychledic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and beta-carboline, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. DMT is a partial agonist of serotonin 2A receptors and beta-carboline inhibits the visceral metabolism of DMT, increasing its systemic levels."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218766/
Incidentally, static output from old analog CRT televisions tuned to dead channels is a kind of ideal 'blank sheet' for producing hallucinations. Unfortunately there don't seem to be many good simulations of this once-common phenomena (the YT videos of TV static seem to suffer from replication issues of various sorts and aren't that realistic). Similar natural effects might be obtained by looking at fog and clouds, waves breaking on a beach, wind blowing over a field of grass, etc.
I'd argue that one of the great potential benefits of psychedelics is that they encourage us to look closely at the world around us.
[+] [-] kordlessagain|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] furyofantares|3 years ago|reply
I was 33 the first time so tried cannabis and I had vivid, colorful visualizations. It was intensely satisfying. I've since regained some ability to visualize in an un-altered state.
[+] [-] hackingthelema|3 years ago|reply
When you say 'you probably won’t visualize' do you mean completely internal/mental visualisations or are you including all sorts of hallucinogenic visualisations typically reported?
(I'm asking these because I have aphantasia and have been psychedelic/hallucination-curious, but still haven't given anything of the sort a try. I do engage with mystical practices, though, have had 'mystical visions' (which had actual no visual component!), and have been curious how psychedelics might compare.)
[+] [-] gavinray|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lesdeuxmagots|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] filthpig1969|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] techwarrior|3 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] browheresmychar|3 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] WastingMyTime89|3 years ago|reply
For the others who ware intrigued but don’t want to read, the article is mostly about research into the mechanisms creating the hallucinations.
Neuroscientists have known since the 60s that you can make people hallucinate shapes and colours by exposing them to strobing lights. It seems that syncing the lights with some of the rhythms present in the brain changes what people experience but the mechanisms at play are still unclear.
Clearly these things are influencing how the brain process information but much remains to be studied.
[+] [-] happytoexplain|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kodah|3 years ago|reply
Are you saying hallucigens and psychedelics are not enough for you? Maybe you'd prefer deliriants, though that's kind of the dark arts part of the world.
[+] [-] avgcorrection|3 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hnuser847|3 years ago|reply
In short, my interest in psychedelics was nothing more than a phase, and one that many young people go through these days. It gave me some interesting experiences and don't regret doing them, but those experience didn't change me permanently.
[+] [-] unknown|3 years ago|reply
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