DOSE:

2 hits

smoked

Salvia divinorum

(extract - 10x)

BODY WEIGHT:

130 lb

1:30 pm

Sitting cross-legged on the couch in my living room, I pack the pipe with 10x extract, enough for two hits. Some ambient electronica is playing quietly on the stereo. My wife is the sitter, and faces towards me in a chair on the other side of the room.

Immediately after the second inhalation, I feel something coming on, and quickly put down the pipe and lighter, lean back into the couch, exhale, and close my eyes…

I felt instantly transported to what looked like some outdoor supermarket parking lot (?!?) and there was someone with a shopping cart, facing me, and looking at me expectantly, as if they were waiting for me to do or say something. They seemed to be trying not to laugh. It felt like maybe a question or riddle had been asked of me , but I had no idea what that question was, and besides, the concept of “ME” was quickly melting away, so I didn't know what to say. For some reason, this seemed absurdly funny, like I had just “got” some hilarious cosmic joke that I was also somehow a part of, that everything was a part of. This was the moment when the first bursts laughter started rippling out of “me”.

Then, very quickly, the image of the person with the shopping cart started to multiply, seemingly exponentially. Starting slowly, then increasing in speed, whilst decreasing in size, and occurring on multiple planes and trajectories curving off in different directions. Somehow, I knew this to be “everything that is”.

What started out appearing something like a two-dimensional line of repeating slide-show images, soon began to take on a more vivid 3-D like quality of depth, and the repeating images seemed to be staggered in different ways in space, as well as in time, and then going beyond 3-D, into what looked more like multi(infinity?)-D While this was occurring, I had a deep sense that this was not just some random visual image my brain was creating. Nor was it an abstract visual representation of some possible reality (or realities) that may or may not exist. It felt more like “I” was actually perceiving REALITY ITSELF, fractalizing, morphing, in, from, and through what appeared to be different dimensions.

Suddenly, one of the rapidly moving image trails veered off to my right, and even though my eyes were closed, I turned my head and upper body to try and follow the motion the trails were taking. Only there was more to it than just trying to look at something. It actually felt like some primal force of unspeakably awesome strength was physically pulling me (or at least pulling my conscious awareness) in a fractally curvy way, to the side, and this was a very strong sensation! I’m pretty sure if I had been sitting upright in a conventional chair, I could easily have fallen down, (or been pulled down) by the force of it. Anyway, it just moved too fast and out of my field of (inner) vision, so I had to give up trying to chase it.

Next came a very strange sensation of what I can only describe as the distinct feeling of being unexpectedly sucked, or pulled backwards from this plane of existence, while at the same time seeing the fractal images, (perhaps representing known reality?) quickly recede ahead of me into the distant darkness, fractalizing into, and out of, infinity. Again, there was the sense that this was happening both in space, and in time. (I guess Einstein was right. They really can’t be thought of as being separate.)

The next instant, there was a brief sense of my consciousness/awareness being suddenly stretched out and pressed flat, on what felt like an endless vertical plane. Almost as if I had been pressed up against a window pane, and then had become the window. Except that even a window has thickness. This was more like “2 seconds in 2D” flat reality. In retrospect, that part of the journey probably felt the oddest. To temporarily have no sense of depth to your being, and feel what it’s like to just exist as an infinite flat plane.

That “flat” feeling quickly morphed into a completely contrasting experience of my awareness inhabiting an expansive space so vast and all encompassing, the hugeness of it was almost overwhelming. It was as if I had been pushed through some kind of dimensional membrane that separates temporal physical existence from pure energy. (Or something like that.)

It’s interesting to note that there didn’t seem to be any visual element at all to this part of the experience, which kind of makes sense. How can you see any(thing), when you are EVERYTHING? I think at this point I said something like 'Holy Fuck', and then laughed out loud again. Apparently, I had been alternating between loud laughter and making amazed gasping sounds. There was a sense that “I” was experiencing the true nature of reality, which was beyond all appearances, dualities, belief systems, or any concepts of linear time/space. It felt as if my seemingly disembodied consciousness was for a few seconds, allowed not only to perceive, but actually BE all of eternity in its inconceivable vastness. This was probably the most profound aspect to the experience, and the sense of awe and wonder was quite stupefying. Eternity is big!

1.36 pm

At this point, the sensation of “big” space began to fade, and I think I started to become a little more aware of “myself”, and began to remember that I was a human, with a name and identity, living on the earth plane, who had just smoked Salvia. That's when certain realizations/affirmations started to pour in. These are all things I've sensed/felt/thought about before, both from previous psychedelic journeys and/or philosophical musings, and I don't really feel like they necessarily represent any new understandings per se, but more like a re-understanding what I already know, yet on an even deeper, more fundamental level than before. One could even consider them to be cosmic cliches of a sort, probably familiar to many who have taken the time and energy to explore such things, but it felt a little like getting a refresher course on reality or something. During the next few minutes, “I” received the following messages:

“- On the fundamental level of cosmic existence, there is no separation, everything is connected, and we should ENJOY the JOY! - We are all co-creators of reality, and habitually acting out of fear and hostility are really quite pointless, and only result in more pain/fear for everyone/everything. The illusion of separateness is just that. An illusion. A story we tell ourselves that can get us into trouble. However, since we all participate (consciously as well as unconsciously) in telling the story, we can change it at any time. - There are countless realities besides this temporal 3-D world, and to operate with the assumption that this present consensus reality is the only one, or the only valid one, is utterly absurd, and absurdly funny. (Insert more laughter here) - The human realm, with all its dramas and strife, and which can seem so serious and important to us, is really just a shadow play. A blip in (the illusion of) time. Quite insignificant against the backdrop of eternity. At the same time, living a life (or lives) as a human can be an extremely magical and meaningful experience, and ought not to be squandered or wasted. It is important to remember our true nature as being an inseparable part of the greater cosmos, and to use our sensory and extrasensory abilities to perceive and enjoy all that is, and participate in the ongoing co-creation of the universe, as we are each unique parts of the whole.” 1:41 pm

Around this time, there was a growing awareness that “I” was beginning to return to the “normal” embodied consciousness so familiar to humans, and felt with every passing moment a more solid sense of self, yet at the same time feeling like part of me was still on the threshold of this other realm.

My wife then felt compelled to hand me a crystal, which I took in my hand, and held in front of my face. 'Looking' at the crystal with eyes still closed, I seemed to be able to perceive it as a ball of white light. Then, I took the stone with both hands and instantly had the sense of being propelled upwards, as if the crystal was accelerating up and away from the earth out into space, and I was hanging on for dear life. It wasn't scary, but it was rather unexpected, and a little intense. I remember asking bemusedly 'how high is this thing gonna take me?'

1:47pm

After a little while the sensation of rocketing upwards began to subside, and I instinctively held the crystal to my forehead over my third eye. Now, this is not something I would not normally think to do, since although I'm open to the power of crystals, I don't really work with them in any active capacity or pretend to understand their properties and powers, and am even a tad skeptical of many of the trendy New-Agey claims made about the use of such stones. Anyway, for the remainder of the comedown, I kept it in place, and it seemed to provide a sort of lens of grounded clarity, helping integrate and make sense of the journey I had just undertaken, as I drifted back down to baseline.

Follow Up

Unlike other psychedelics, Salvia never leaves me with any perceivable “body load” as an after-effect , and this time was no exception. I find this to be very interesting and intriguing, and it is also something I’ve heard from others who’ve taken this Sage. Feeling physically relaxed and refreshed after the journey, I went on to have a pleasant, productive afternoon at work. I then experienced a somewhat giddy, yet surprisingly grounded afterglow for the next few hours. Pleasantly, it was without any sense of heaviness one might expect from such a state of relaxation. If anything, I felt lighter and more buoyant. Calm yet energized. Every so often, random giggles and cosmic laughter would bubble up from my inner core. These outbursts of mirth weren't really “about” any one thing in particular, rather, they felt like they were about EVERYTHING, as perceived and understood from a cosmic point of view. (Fortunately, I’m alone a fair bit at work, so no-one really noticed my somewhat odd behaviour.)

For the rest of the day, my sense of time was still somewhat altered, but in the opposite way than I'm used to from the other psychedelics. That is to say, I experienced time as moving slower than it actually was, so when I thought maybe 20 minutes had passed, I'd look at the clock and see that it had actually been more like 2 hours.

There was also a secondary, more subtle afterglow that was experienced; A gently euphoric, yet energized state was felt for the next few days, gradually diminishing until it could be said that baseline had been achieved. I also noticed that for about a week afterwards, if even a small amount of Cannabis was smoked, closed-eye, (and some open-eye) visuals, similar to the swirly, intricate fractal patterns observed earlier, (but way less intense) were experienced for about 5-10 minutes. They were very alive, and in motion, and very beautiful, but also not intense or overwhelming in any way. In fact they were extremely pleasant and relaxing to view and experience. This is certainly in contrast to the reality shattering experience(s) (visual and otherwise) of the Salvia trip.” Since Cannabis does not normally provide that degree of visual stimulation to my brain, it leads me to suspect that something very interesting is going on (possibly synergistic), between the THC and the Salvia. Sounds like a good field for study……

In summary, I feel that if approached with the proper degree of care and respect, the Salvia experience can give us much to ponder and process. Showing us versions of reality that are so utterly absurd and beyond our normal modes of understanding, yet so seemingly REAL, we can only laugh. (Or gasp in wonder.) At the same time, it also seems to provide many profound lessons and insights into the nature of mind, reality and existence. Deep stuff!

I feel I will likely be making more journeys into the Salvia realm(s) in the future to see what I can experience and bring back…

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 100796
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 43
Published: Jul 27, 2019	Views: 689
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Salvia divinorum (44) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Entities / Beings (37), General (1)