In February I tried salvia again. Prior to smoking the salvia I smoked some low grade commercial cannabis, getting stoned but not extremely so. I loaded some crushed leaf into the extra large "salvia bowl" of my bong. After a minute to calm and center myself I smoked two big hits, which I held as long as I was able. My mindset was one of expectant attention.

Suddenly I seemed to be somewhere else. Actually, while I was there, it didn't feel so much like "somewhere else". It felt real. My roommate seemed to be someone else. It was as if upon smoking the salvia my reality map had been switched without warning to something entirely different. My attitudes, thoughts, feelings, etc towards everything seemed to change. I imagine being possessed might feel something like that.

I started to come back fairly quickly, and realized who and where I was. I also noticed that I had some more salvia in the bong, so I smoked this in another two large hits, again holding them for some time. This catapulted me even deeper back into salvia space.

Almost immediately after finishing the hit the phone rang. My roommate answered it and took care of it, but it still impinged on my trip. At this point I seemed to be a watery membrane, perhaps a few inches thick, that stretched through my apartment to where my roommate was talking on the phone, down through the neighbors apartment. The phone call seemed to be imbedded in my substance in some strange way. This membrane seemed to contain everything my senses touched upon.

I felt like I couldn't or shouldn't open my eyes. Somehow I knew this would alter my reality considerably. This knowledge seemed to manifest as a perception of a domed surface, sort of like a piecrust from the inside and a desire not to split open the dome by opening my eyes.

I lay on the floor with eyes closed, immersed in the salvia reality for some minutes. As I started to come back I had a very distinct sense of losing my salvia reality. It was if for every piece of knowledge or perception of this world that I recovered, a corresponding piece of salvia reality was lost. This was a very distinct perception and seems to confirm my theory that I bring back only a small piece of the salvia experience.

While I was writing notes on the experience I had a flash of insight into what I have called "the Contest". Generally as I go into a salvia experience I am in a slightly tense state of expectant awareness. I believe that what I perceive as "the Contest" is my own expectations as I am disassociated from them. I sense my own expectations and curiosity about whether or not I will "break through" and assign them to something outside myself. In other words, it is my own intense attention that I am feeling, from "outside". A very interesting effect.

I found the cannabis helped me ease into the experience considerably. Usually I am so astounded and confused going in, I immediately start fighting my way back to reality. This time, I was able to relax into the experience and flow with it a little easier. I have noticed similar effects while smoking salvia during a trip.

Each time I do salvia I find it interesting and thought provoking. Usually I am fairly eager to journey again. Yet, I find it tends to be a fair amount of time between my salvia excursions. This time was no exception. Soon after returning I was thinking about my next attempt, yet I have still not repeated the experience as I write this, some four months later. I am not entirely sure why this is. I suspect the very challenging nature of the experience is a large part of it. Also, it is very perplexing, and each journey often leaves me more confused than the last. Nevertheless, I do intend to continue experimentation with this plant, however infrequently it might occur.