I would like to be high without mind altering substances, please
September 27, 2022 1:38 AM Subscribe
In the past, I have enjoyed getting tipsy and was a happy drinker. I can not imbibe, and I have good reason to believe I can’t tolerate other substances, either. I would very much enjoy being able to get into that spacy dreamy place again, and from anecdotes along the years I suspect that’s possible through breathing techniques or meditation or chanting or … something. Just to be hyper extremely extra clear: I can not imbibe in ANYTHING. I’m interested in music or other experiences or practices that have helped you get to an altered state without putting anything into your body or fasting. I would like to spend some happy time in the clouds without creating any clouds.
Yoga, cliché as it is. Especially more intense vinyasa yoga ending with a bunch of reversed poses.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:51 AM on September 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:51 AM on September 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
I do cold water plunges. It puts me in a state of euphoria. And it appears to have health benefits too, if done properly.
posted by vacapinta at 2:13 AM on September 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by vacapinta at 2:13 AM on September 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
It is a bit of a jump but 'spacy dreamy tipsy' is exactly how I'd describe the altered headspace that comes from doing kink, and you asked for other experiences so... :)
It doesn't have to be a super intense or even a sexual thing, for me I can get there with just a bit of rope and some non-sexual touching, but it could be an avenue to explore.
posted by rpbtm at 3:12 AM on September 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
It doesn't have to be a super intense or even a sexual thing, for me I can get there with just a bit of rope and some non-sexual touching, but it could be an avenue to explore.
posted by rpbtm at 3:12 AM on September 27, 2022 [9 favorites]
My husband practices breathing + cold water (the Wim Hof method) and it definitely can have that effect. I am his cold water spotter though, if you’re doing an icy lake bring a friend! (He does cold showers and ice baths in the tub without supervision:)).
posted by warriorqueen at 3:20 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by warriorqueen at 3:20 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Do you experience ASMR? It has elements in common with that pleasant tipsy space, although on a much shorter timescale.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:21 AM on September 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:21 AM on September 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
To build on flabdablet's suggestion, "voo breathing," especially when done in the company of others, can have this effect.
posted by 10ch at 3:22 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by 10ch at 3:22 AM on September 27, 2022
Check out my former neighbor's book Get High Now *Without Drugs. He also wrote a more serious book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, that might interest you. Michael Pollan's How To Change Your Mind talks a bit about holotropic breathing, too, albeit in a book that otherwise covers a lot of substances. But that is a good set of keywords for you to look for from other sources—there are many.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:36 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:36 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Staying up late and eating good quality chocolate while watching comedy.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:24 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 4:24 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
How do you feel about a float spa / sensory deprivation tank? I know a lot of people worry about claustrophobia or whatever, but I consistently find the experience incredible and very "altering" in a pleasant way.
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 5:00 AM on September 27, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 5:00 AM on September 27, 2022 [13 favorites]
Intense exercise might work, or so I've heard. Run a marathon?
posted by tybstar at 5:01 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by tybstar at 5:01 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I used to put myself in this headspace while listening to music over headphones while riding in a vehicle. To be clear, it wasn’t like my experience of being tipsy (which is more like I’ve taken a microfiber wipe and cleaned the social anxiety film off my glasses) but I think like what I’ve heard people describe from other drugs I haven’t tried.
posted by eirias at 5:10 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by eirias at 5:10 AM on September 27, 2022
Sleep deprivation works for me, especially if it's from doing something enjoyable and/or silly. You could combine with spinning around rapidly in a circle until you lose your balance and fall laughing on the floor. This is pretty silly, which helps the whole drunk-like feel.
posted by Athanassiel at 5:33 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by Athanassiel at 5:33 AM on September 27, 2022
Suggestions that have worked for me:
A dedicated pranayama and relaxation yoga class, when I was a quite experienced yoga student.
Cold water swimming was always quite a spiritual experience for me.
One time I went to Mattins at Westminster Abbey and came out quite dopey and floaty, it was a bit intense.
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 5:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
A dedicated pranayama and relaxation yoga class, when I was a quite experienced yoga student.
Cold water swimming was always quite a spiritual experience for me.
One time I went to Mattins at Westminster Abbey and came out quite dopey and floaty, it was a bit intense.
posted by Erinaceus europaeus at 5:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [5 favorites]
happy time in the clouds
Skydiving, clearly.
Other sports where your body is moving very fast and at the edge of your control. For me, it's martial arts.
posted by hovey at 5:59 AM on September 27, 2022
Skydiving, clearly.
Other sports where your body is moving very fast and at the edge of your control. For me, it's martial arts.
posted by hovey at 5:59 AM on September 27, 2022
You don’t have to run a marathon to get endorphins. High intensity intervals are quite effective for me.
posted by rockindata at 6:24 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by rockindata at 6:24 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Long, intense swimming sessions. For some reason, more than other forms of cardio, this seems to put me in a dreamy, pleasant frame of mind afterwards. Ymmv.
posted by whistle pig at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by whistle pig at 6:45 AM on September 27, 2022 [7 favorites]
Cupping/acupuncture have given me the same high I get from drinking/yoga/a good swim.
posted by umwhat at 7:13 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by umwhat at 7:13 AM on September 27, 2022
Thinking of childhood head-rush altered states -- rolling down a big hill or hanging upside down off the sofa.
posted by *s at 7:15 AM on September 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by *s at 7:15 AM on September 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
It is a bit of a jump but 'spacy dreamy tipsy' is exactly how I'd describe the altered headspace that comes from doing kink, and you asked for other experiences so... :)Rope works, and for me at least sensory deprivation works too: a good eye-mask, and noise-cancelling earphones with some ambient white noise or, better yet, some binaural beats, can leave me feeling very trippy indeed (combine it with touching, sexual or otherwise, and it can be intense).
It doesn't have to be a super intense or even a sexual thing, for me I can get there with just a bit of rope and some non-sexual touching, but it could be an avenue to explore.
posted by six sided sock at 7:31 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Swimming does this for me.
posted by HotToddy at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 7:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I’d suggest a gong bath.
posted by ElasticParrot at 7:39 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by ElasticParrot at 7:39 AM on September 27, 2022
Sailing a small boat like a sunfish, 420 or laser.
Very heavy deadlifting makes me feel high.
posted by bdc34 at 7:44 AM on September 27, 2022
Very heavy deadlifting makes me feel high.
posted by bdc34 at 7:44 AM on September 27, 2022
If you have a room where you can do this, get a lot of Christmas lights, maybe mirrors as well, and make a space where you can sit in the middle of all the lights and let them do their magic.
I went to see a Yayoi Kusama exhibit in the summer. She creates very elaborate immersive rooms that do this thing with lights and mirrors – they only allowed about 30 seconds inside per individual, but I swear I could have lost hours in there, and I was not high.
But you don't need something on that scale. I know someone who's put lights around a living room so that at night, it's lit up and creates a trippy mood. Strings of LED lights should be on sale soon, they're not expensive and they don't use much current.
posted by zadcat at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I went to see a Yayoi Kusama exhibit in the summer. She creates very elaborate immersive rooms that do this thing with lights and mirrors – they only allowed about 30 seconds inside per individual, but I swear I could have lost hours in there, and I was not high.
But you don't need something on that scale. I know someone who's put lights around a living room so that at night, it's lit up and creates a trippy mood. Strings of LED lights should be on sale soon, they're not expensive and they don't use much current.
posted by zadcat at 7:47 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
How do you feel about roller coasters? Other midway rides that fool with your center of gravity? I love those.
A really intense walk can also do it. I am thinking here specifically about walking through a driving snow, which gives me real peak-experience vibes, but there is a thin line between miserable and transcendent with this.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:49 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
A really intense walk can also do it. I am thinking here specifically about walking through a driving snow, which gives me real peak-experience vibes, but there is a thin line between miserable and transcendent with this.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:49 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
There are spas that offer a salt cave, sauna, and float tank experience (can't remember the order they recommend, I think sauna, float, salt cave), and I remember getting some very nice warm and fuzzy feelings afterwards.
Yoga asana and meditation (look up "rounding").
Looking up ways to increase serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin might help you figure out what you're going for too.
posted by lafemma at 7:55 AM on September 27, 2022
Yoga asana and meditation (look up "rounding").
Looking up ways to increase serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin might help you figure out what you're going for too.
posted by lafemma at 7:55 AM on September 27, 2022
Oh! Posters or books of art by Bridget Riley, or autostereograms - different visual experiences, but in both cases, the bigger the better, so that you can really relax your eyes into them. (It's not that you can't get the effect on a phone screen, but the more of your field of vision it occupies, the more immersive it feels.)
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:22 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:22 AM on September 27, 2022
Running does this for me. Other forms of exercise do not, annoyingly. Also, certain types of music played loudly through noise-cancelling headphones.
posted by catoclock at 8:25 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by catoclock at 8:25 AM on September 27, 2022
Acro yoga totally makes me feel high. Like giggly and floaty.
Climbing made me feel euphoric afterwards.
Spicy food has done it too.
posted by meemzi at 8:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Climbing made me feel euphoric afterwards.
Spicy food has done it too.
posted by meemzi at 8:38 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Dancing to music I love does this for me, especially with other people. I’m a lindy-hop nerd, but it works with everything I’ve tried - ballet, modern, tap, club dancing, flamenco, contra, salsa, house, rollerskating.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:43 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:43 AM on September 27, 2022
Slow sex - masturbation or otherwise - gets me in this state sometimes.
posted by yawper at 8:47 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by yawper at 8:47 AM on September 27, 2022
some binaural beats, can leave me feeling very trippy indeed
Yes, this was what i was coming to say. You can use an app like Insight Timer (or just search on YouTube) and listen to some binaural beat stuff, preferably with headphones and you can sort of "tune in" to different aspects of it. I also find that meditation can be good for this but it takes practice. Also, fasting can put people into this headset but can be problematic sometimes so approach with caution.
posted by jessamyn at 8:47 AM on September 27, 2022
Yes, this was what i was coming to say. You can use an app like Insight Timer (or just search on YouTube) and listen to some binaural beat stuff, preferably with headphones and you can sort of "tune in" to different aspects of it. I also find that meditation can be good for this but it takes practice. Also, fasting can put people into this headset but can be problematic sometimes so approach with caution.
posted by jessamyn at 8:47 AM on September 27, 2022
train yourself in hypnogic sleep.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:05 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by j_curiouser at 9:05 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
There's this app: "I Tried the App That ‘Makes You Trip’ – and It Was Surprisingly Good"
posted by BungaDunga at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BungaDunga at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Binaural beats are definitely worth a try - note that you really have to use headphones for them to do the brain stimulation they do.
Guided meditations do this for me, especially ones in which I am visualizing my physical self doing a thing - climbing, flying, floating, levitating, whatever. The intensity is magnified for me if I am laying down rather than sitting up.
I don't know if this veers too close to substances, but if I'm going to do a long meditation session (longer than 20-30 minutes) I will usually take a B-complex vitamin and a magnesium-zinc. They do relax me, especially the B-complex which I often take for chilling out, but also they help keep me from getting back/side muscle spasms from laying still on my back for a long time.
If I have a clear night sky and comfortable place to lay back and look at it, that can be a nearly-trippy sort of profound experience. I can almost get to the same place if I have a very comfortable place to sit on a cloudy day watching lake/river/ocean water moving, particularly in the liminal space where water meets land. Cloudy day is to prevent sparkles causing retinal burns, but you may still want eye protection.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2022
Guided meditations do this for me, especially ones in which I am visualizing my physical self doing a thing - climbing, flying, floating, levitating, whatever. The intensity is magnified for me if I am laying down rather than sitting up.
I don't know if this veers too close to substances, but if I'm going to do a long meditation session (longer than 20-30 minutes) I will usually take a B-complex vitamin and a magnesium-zinc. They do relax me, especially the B-complex which I often take for chilling out, but also they help keep me from getting back/side muscle spasms from laying still on my back for a long time.
If I have a clear night sky and comfortable place to lay back and look at it, that can be a nearly-trippy sort of profound experience. I can almost get to the same place if I have a very comfortable place to sit on a cloudy day watching lake/river/ocean water moving, particularly in the liminal space where water meets land. Cloudy day is to prevent sparkles causing retinal burns, but you may still want eye protection.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:16 AM on September 27, 2022
CBD oil might be worth a try - it will not get you high, but many people do find a feeling of wellness from it. And yeah, yoga or cardio. Also spending time around running water.
posted by coffeecat at 9:25 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by coffeecat at 9:25 AM on September 27, 2022
After I hit post I remembered the important part of all these techniques: you have to welcome it. You can teach yourself to go into a trancey sort of state, and I think one of the things that drugs do - even when they're kinda crap - is give you permission to say yeah, I wanna check out, I want to have a non-mundane experience, my goal here is to get outta my head and body. It makes that easier to pursue without feeling silly or distracted by the everyday, but you don't really NEED the drugs.
People have been doing this without drugs, or with substances with zero physical effect but ritualized or just believed to be sacred or elevating or medicinal or all full of goofballs, for millennia. You can decide that water with lemon in it is your ticket to The Zone, or the smell of a specific candle, or listening to a specific kind of music, or chanting. This is all doable with common household supplies, it's up to you to create the ritual you use to unlock that gate to that different state of consciousness.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:26 AM on September 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
People have been doing this without drugs, or with substances with zero physical effect but ritualized or just believed to be sacred or elevating or medicinal or all full of goofballs, for millennia. You can decide that water with lemon in it is your ticket to The Zone, or the smell of a specific candle, or listening to a specific kind of music, or chanting. This is all doable with common household supplies, it's up to you to create the ritual you use to unlock that gate to that different state of consciousness.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:26 AM on September 27, 2022 [6 favorites]
There are great suggestions upthread, but you are most likely to find success if you seek out ways that involve other people, especially if you are looking for deep trance experiences. The energy & intentional presence that a group brings is hard to match, especially when learning. A 10-day Vipassana Meditation retreat (these are free) or a few sessions with a hypnotherapist would be great pathways.
You can also teach yourself to lucid dream — it is learnable and very fun.
posted by veery at 9:54 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
You can also teach yourself to lucid dream — it is learnable and very fun.
posted by veery at 9:54 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Playing an instrument that involves circular breathing will do the trick.
The one that might be the "easiest" to learn (and that I have experience in) is the Australian didgeridoo. Having said that, even this requires a bit of practice to get the technique down.
When I was practicing very day, I could play for about 45 minutes without a break and let me tell you, I hit a hallucinatory state a number of times. However the more common experience was that dreamy sort of relaxation and floating away that was very enjoyable!
posted by jeremias at 10:01 AM on September 27, 2022
The one that might be the "easiest" to learn (and that I have experience in) is the Australian didgeridoo. Having said that, even this requires a bit of practice to get the technique down.
When I was practicing very day, I could play for about 45 minutes without a break and let me tell you, I hit a hallucinatory state a number of times. However the more common experience was that dreamy sort of relaxation and floating away that was very enjoyable!
posted by jeremias at 10:01 AM on September 27, 2022
1. deep-tissue massage from someone who is not only very good at it but (the second part is crucial) doesn't speak to you. personally I can get a good loopy out-of-body experience going that way but it is ruined the second I have to pay attention to anything but not engaging my muscles. when it works it's like being asleep without being asleep. perhaps the best way to be. drawback: expensive
2. sensory deprivation tanks. even more expensive and also very silly but a good time even if you don't figure out how to unhook your consciousness. the sens-dep pods at the floaty place in my big city have a bunch of buttons for "enhancements" like rainforest-cafe-esque music & light sequences but I think it is best done in the quiet & dark. the entertainment factor competes with the druggy hypnotic feeling, if the latter is of interest to you.
best of all is doing no. 1 & then going directly to no. 2 right around the block. if you can swing it
3. hard exercise is nice too but in a different way. a different drug if you will. cardio up to & past absolute exhaustion feels great but only after it has felt terrible for an hour first (exercise that doesn't feel like I am dying offers me no chemical rewards, regardless of how long I do it or how beneficial it may be to my health.) only worth it if you feel it's worth it.
3. then 1. then 2. is the prize of prizes but you kind of have to make a whole day out of it
posted by queenofbithynia at 10:25 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
2. sensory deprivation tanks. even more expensive and also very silly but a good time even if you don't figure out how to unhook your consciousness. the sens-dep pods at the floaty place in my big city have a bunch of buttons for "enhancements" like rainforest-cafe-esque music & light sequences but I think it is best done in the quiet & dark. the entertainment factor competes with the druggy hypnotic feeling, if the latter is of interest to you.
best of all is doing no. 1 & then going directly to no. 2 right around the block. if you can swing it
3. hard exercise is nice too but in a different way. a different drug if you will. cardio up to & past absolute exhaustion feels great but only after it has felt terrible for an hour first (exercise that doesn't feel like I am dying offers me no chemical rewards, regardless of how long I do it or how beneficial it may be to my health.) only worth it if you feel it's worth it.
3. then 1. then 2. is the prize of prizes but you kind of have to make a whole day out of it
posted by queenofbithynia at 10:25 AM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
(Please get your doctor's approval where applicable.)
Head stands and hand stands
Watch trees sway in the wind
Nicotine gum
Guided or walking meditation
Massage and/or relaxing facial
Zip-line
Bungee jump
Hot-air balloon ride at dawn
Watch the sun rise from hill side/other spot in nature
Amusement park rides, particularly the swing
Downhill ski
Steam room or sauna followed by ice plunge
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:52 AM on September 27, 2022
Head stands and hand stands
Watch trees sway in the wind
Nicotine gum
Guided or walking meditation
Massage and/or relaxing facial
Zip-line
Bungee jump
Hot-air balloon ride at dawn
Watch the sun rise from hill side/other spot in nature
Amusement park rides, particularly the swing
Downhill ski
Steam room or sauna followed by ice plunge
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:52 AM on September 27, 2022
Missed one, sorry: hang out in a hammock
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:53 AM on September 27, 2022
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:53 AM on September 27, 2022
ymmv depending on personal preferences but imo that's a good description of subspace.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:39 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:39 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
This is maybe not a thing you can do in your daily life but I will say this: I've done a couple 500 mile bike rides in my life and on day three I have definitely experienced a low-level very pleasant euphoria that lasts the rest of the ride. I'm not a person who gets "runner's high" but several hours a day of moderate exercise seems to get me there.
posted by kensington314 at 12:01 PM on September 27, 2022
posted by kensington314 at 12:01 PM on September 27, 2022
Meow Wolf : House of Eternal Return put me in an altered and pretty dissociated state, in a one-with-the-universe kind of way. Other art does this to me in shorter bursts, the last time it happened was James Ensor's Christ's Entry into Brussels.
Ecstatic dance is basically raves for sober people who don't stay up late, and I got a bit of an altered state from it, would do again. I've also done a sound bath, which was not my cup of tea, but I can see it inducing an altered state.
posted by momus_window at 12:24 PM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ecstatic dance is basically raves for sober people who don't stay up late, and I got a bit of an altered state from it, would do again. I've also done a sound bath, which was not my cup of tea, but I can see it inducing an altered state.
posted by momus_window at 12:24 PM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Weirdly I have experienced this with staring at Rothko paintings. Camp out in front of one and fill your visual field with only that for like 10 minutes. it's a very spacey feeling.
Supposedly you can get a similar experience to a sensory deprivation tank by cutting a ping pong ball in half so you have a featureless white expanse for each eye, then lying down and putting in ear plugs. But it hasn't worked for me.
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:34 PM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Supposedly you can get a similar experience to a sensory deprivation tank by cutting a ping pong ball in half so you have a featureless white expanse for each eye, then lying down and putting in ear plugs. But it hasn't worked for me.
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:34 PM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Meditation breathwork, but open-eyed, staring fixedly at your own face in a mirror can open a headspace that has a deal in common with psychedelics.
It's hard - at least with my pretty basic experience in mindfulness techniques - to sustain for long enough for the effect to start, and when it does it can have an unsettling quality that makes looking away tempting, but after that there is a place where you can stop seeing yourself while at the same time feeling your self unfold and expand.
It's profound enough that writing about it makes me feel like I do on the rare occasions I talk to people about (long bygone now) chemical-induced trips. It has that same feeling of an experience that stands apart both in itself and in the degree and quality of reflection that comes in its wake.
posted by protorp at 1:56 PM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's hard - at least with my pretty basic experience in mindfulness techniques - to sustain for long enough for the effect to start, and when it does it can have an unsettling quality that makes looking away tempting, but after that there is a place where you can stop seeing yourself while at the same time feeling your self unfold and expand.
It's profound enough that writing about it makes me feel like I do on the rare occasions I talk to people about (long bygone now) chemical-induced trips. It has that same feeling of an experience that stands apart both in itself and in the degree and quality of reflection that comes in its wake.
posted by protorp at 1:56 PM on September 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mod note: One deleted; let's be careful about potentially dangerous advice. Thanks!
posted by taz (staff) at 12:39 AM on September 28, 2022
posted by taz (staff) at 12:39 AM on September 28, 2022
I used to sing with a very casual community choir and I always felt kind of loose and free afterwards.
posted by lunasol at 12:43 PM on September 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 12:43 PM on September 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Scuba diving. You are neutrally buoyant, so you are literally floating in space. You are typically breathing in a deliberate way, which can be a bit meditative, and sound works differently. I prefer doing it in warm water with astounding fishes and other marine life. It is like going to space and being on another planet. An ideal dive for me is also very chill, moving very slowly, barely swimming.
If you pursue it to the point where you are doing deeper dives (but still within recreational limits), you may experience nitrogen narcosis, which is kind of actually getting high, but just on normal air at higher pressure. But that’s actually pretty minor compared to the everyday euphoria of regular diving.
I think Jerry Garcia said something about if he discovered scuba earlier he never would have bothered with drugs. He would know.
posted by snofoam at 2:14 PM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you pursue it to the point where you are doing deeper dives (but still within recreational limits), you may experience nitrogen narcosis, which is kind of actually getting high, but just on normal air at higher pressure. But that’s actually pretty minor compared to the everyday euphoria of regular diving.
I think Jerry Garcia said something about if he discovered scuba earlier he never would have bothered with drugs. He would know.
posted by snofoam at 2:14 PM on September 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Gazing at sunlight filtered through waving tree branches.
Gazing at waves flowing on water, morning or evening. A beach is nice, but a small lake or a pond is also nice.
Gazing at clouds, on a nice day in a place with nice weather patterns.
posted by ovvl at 6:11 PM on October 4, 2022
Gazing at waves flowing on water, morning or evening. A beach is nice, but a small lake or a pond is also nice.
Gazing at clouds, on a nice day in a place with nice weather patterns.
posted by ovvl at 6:11 PM on October 4, 2022
I've been thinking about this thread since I first saw it a couple of days ago. One aspect of alteration is that of setting. It's difficult to just one-off an experience. That, in part, is why people take drugs, because wham you're under the influence. To modify your awareness it's a practiced kind of thing to do. When you do meditation, there's the pillow, the kneeling, the candle, perhaps headphones with some Tibetan bells. It's not purely just meditating.
To get to the state you want you might think of it as stacking different behaviors until you find a set that puts you where you want to be. The setting becomes the cue, over time your brain learns to enter this state more deeply.
Some of the stacks I use:
Meditation + candle + setting (cushion, low light, specific place, same time of day) + head phones + meditative music
In bed sitting up + meditation music + heart rate variability breath app
In bed falling to sleep + bluetooth sleep mask + sleep drone music + internal dialogue that promotes sleep and relaxation with visuals
You can get pretty creative with this and there's all sort of ways to go about it. I have gotten into some surprisingly deep states doing the above but it's not really something you can cue up on demand, just fun when it happens.
posted by diode at 6:27 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
To get to the state you want you might think of it as stacking different behaviors until you find a set that puts you where you want to be. The setting becomes the cue, over time your brain learns to enter this state more deeply.
Some of the stacks I use:
Meditation + candle + setting (cushion, low light, specific place, same time of day) + head phones + meditative music
In bed sitting up + meditation music + heart rate variability breath app
In bed falling to sleep + bluetooth sleep mask + sleep drone music + internal dialogue that promotes sleep and relaxation with visuals
You can get pretty creative with this and there's all sort of ways to go about it. I have gotten into some surprisingly deep states doing the above but it's not really something you can cue up on demand, just fun when it happens.
posted by diode at 6:27 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by flabdablet at 1:47 AM on September 27, 2022 [2 favorites]