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The Race & The Valley of Heaven
Salvia divinorum (leaves)
Citation:   Clayton. "The Race & The Valley of Heaven: An Experience with Salvia divinorum (leaves) (exp40539)". Erowid.org. Jul 26, 2005. erowid.org/exp/40539

 
DOSE:
4 hits smoked Salvia divinorum (leaves)
BODY WEIGHT: 140 lb
As I explain, salvia is a drug I recently ventured into. These are two experiences I have had thus far of many to come. Forgive the length, I thought it best to give the best visual I could of this experience.

Experience # 1: The Race

To start, I feel it is necessary for a description of my setting. It took place in a fairly big bedroom in the second story of my house. The bed is opposite of the windows which are of about ten feet wide and eight feet tall and consists of four separate openings.

My friend had told me about the stuff and I bought quite a bit of dry leaves (keep in mind, this is not extract, thus not as potent). We tried several times in one night, failing with a small fuzzy feeling and slight (emphasis there) mind visuals when eyes closed. However, I was going to give it another try.

We turned to the window and as I loaded a bowl of the stuff, my friend opened the window. I brought the pipe over to the window and prepared my butane lighter above the pipe. I warned my friend to hold the pipe for me after a few hits, we previously had trouble holding onto it when high. I took my first hit, but close to nothing happened. Not even the small buzz we normally got. The next hit I took was very big. I held in for thirty seconds and released the smoke outside the window.

What happened next is very awkward to explain. My vision showed a very cinematic-like style. I was under the impression that smoking the salvia was a race. I felt as though there were millions of people in stands behind me, cheering me on. I also felt as though there were millions in front of me outside the window. I had to win. I was also feeling the buzz that is very similar to weed. I took in a giant third hit. I turned around as I held it in, to see no crowds cheering, nothing. But when I turned back to the window, they were there again. My friend asked me if I was feeling anything and with no control, I laughed my ass off.

The smoke came out looking very cinematic (think Requiem for a Dream) and the way I felt as it came out can only be described as crisp. I turned to my friend and exclaimed, ‘You made me lose the race!’ My disappointment was overcome by the need to take one last hit. I could hardly hold the pipe, so I had my friend hold it as I sparked it. This hit was equally as large as the last. Though I could hear no crowd, I was under the impression they were all there, roaring for me. I had to make it to thirty seconds! I put my head close to the window after thirty seconds and won the race. I looked to my friend and claimed I had won the race. He moved his hands towards the window and pulled them back. What I saw, was him pulling a scorching hot, red bar of what I was under the impression was gold. I knew that the race had created this. I told him, ‘Don’t stop! You’re making hallucinations!’ He hadn’t a clue. His next motion was him setting the gold bar down and letting it rest on the TV. I put the pipe down and went to my computer to turn on some music. The first thing I noticed was that I was extremely out of personality. I was in a very upbeat attitude, enjoyed the music more than usual, and most of all, I was under the distinct impression that I was British (I am American). I realized that I was no longer me, but a different personality entirely. I turned to my friend and said something along the lines of, ‘I’m not me!’ I spoke of my different personality with him and then immediately had my original personality back. I felt that the other (later named Gary) had retreated into my spinal cord. I hated my other personality from my own point of view. From there, I began to come down.

I don’t necessarily like to call that experience a trip for it was in no comparison to things I’d heard of the extract’s potential. Don’t let the detailed description fool you, I just wanted to make it as clear as possible. Yes, it did put me in a different state of mind, but I didn’t hallucinate hardly at all and had no insights into a ‘greater knowledge’ of any sort. However, one weird thing I’d like to mention is that I still have a rather weird sense of Gary in my spinal cord, even sober. I must be crazy.

Experience # 2: Valley of Heaven

About a week later, I decided to try for a much harder experience than my previous. Since the last experience, I had ground up the salvia into a powder, allowing me to get much more out of a hit. I had no sitter this time, but figured that I wouldn’t need one if I just locked myself in my closet and did it.

I scooped a portion of the powder into my bowl and filled it to the rim. I held my dollar-butane-lighter above the pipe, and sparked it. I breathed in a very solid hit, almost a lungful and the cinematic-like visuals were already on their way. I blew out after thirty seconds had passed. When I took my next hit, it seemed very easy as my lungs didn’t hurt at all. I breathed in a full lungful almost and there was a deep concentrated motion within me. I felt very alive. My next hit me very hard.

I took in the thirty second hit and blew out. Immediately, I felt four strong points in my right side being pulled like a magnet towards a book case. The strong points felt as though they had much potential and were simply leading me on. I thought that if I didn’t go to the right, they would force me to. Naive and ignorant, I simply stood there, amazed at what was happening. No surprise, the four spots jerked me rapidly to the right, only slightly. While all this happened, I was too distracted to remember my fourth hit. After about forty-five seconds, I did and grabbed the pipe and sucked in heavily as I lit the lighter. Once again, I felt as though I could suck in forever. I got a full lungful and blew out in thirty seconds.

The four spots became very fluid with me. They were no longer disagreeing with my motions, they were only slightly tugging, more so advice than anything. They ‘asked’ me to move to the right slightly, to where the end of my book case lay. I agreed with them and moved to the spot. What happened next is almost indescribable. I became one with the edge of the book case. I was connected with it, and potentially everything in the room. The four spots were no longer just gravity, pulling me. They were life, connecting me with whatever their direction followed. I leaned in to the right, and immediately, the four spots were personalities, as described in my first experience. However, this time they did not take over my body. They were symbiotic personalities that had connected me with this room. The end of the book case was no longer a book case, it was a train ride, with all five of us on it.

This is indescribable for it was not a hallucination, but more so, a feeling. I turned my body left, and train I was seeing in my mind turned left. I turned right, the very same. The simplicity of it was so very comforting. I was happy. This continued for a few seconds until I realized I wanted control. I snapped out of my ‘train’ and looked down to my side. I shook my waist to rid of their control. Though the magnetism was still there, I had power of my walking legs. I walked out of the closet and jumped on my bed. A movie on HBO was playing on the TV and its sounds influenced what I saw next greatly. I closed my eyes on the bed, and I was on the train, but this time, I was in fact seeing the train. I saw my four personalities as humans inside. One was as girl who talked a lot. The other three were silent males.

I looked out the window of the train and everything paused on a small patch where the setting was great. The bottom of a mountain created a small, ten-foot or so valley with trees, grass, and lots of bush. All of the sudden, I was no longer in the train, but was looking through to this scene from the point-of-view of the railroad tracks. Immediately, time sped up. The setting grew older and older. I watched as the setting spanned hundreds of years. The tree grew very old and died. A new one slowly grew anew to take its place. The grass and bush went through a very fast cycle of growing back and dying again. Winter came several times and covered the place with snow, then melted away. When the time stopped, everything was exactly as it should be. Perfect.

Moments later, I opened my eyes and began to come down. This experience was definitely much more intense than the last. I’d like to mention that the setting or rather story that I saw in my head felt very much like a type of intellectual symbolism. In no way am I as positive as how I interpreted this, but I think it means that over time, problems will solve themselves out and life will return to the way it was. Perfect. Fuckin’ A.

Exp Year: 2005ExpID: 40539
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 26, 2005Views: 14,251
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Salvia divinorum (44) : Entities / Beings (37), First Times (2), Alone (16)

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