DOSE:

62.5 mg

smoked

Salvia divinorum

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

150 lb

Mind and Body Healing with Salvia Divinorum

Written the day after the experience

Prior to, and in the hours immediately preceding the moment I smoked the salvia divinorum 20X extract, I was suffering from a number of mind and body ailments, and it is important I describe them so you will understand how my salvia trip brought healing and relief.

For the last five years, I have suffered occasional acute asthma. Although I have not had a full-blown asthma attack since the 1990s, I still experience mild asthma symptoms every now and then. Yesterday I was having acute asthma. Neither I, nor any of my primary care physicians have been able to identify any specific culprit(s).

For about the last two years I have suffered severe nasal congestion in both nostrils , with about 95% constriction in my left nostril, which my primary care physician in Austin, Texas confirmed as vasomotor rhinitis. This condition, which restricted me to breathing almost exclusively through my right nostril, is an extreme inflammation of the blood vessels in the nose. There is no known cause or cure for this ailment. I tried several prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs to and suggested homeopathic remedies to no avail. In fact, it only worsened with time. This made breathing extremely tiresome and was the source of much mental stress and body pain. (Not being able to breathe through your nose is one very miserable way to live. It adversely affects all areas of your life.)

I have a history of anxiety disorder, and the panic attacks I’ve experienced have led to shortness of breath. Over the past few months, I have experienced some very distressing situations and therefore have had shortness of breath nearly every day, sometimes for weeks at a time. Shortness of breath means my lungs do not fully expand, and sometimes do not fully contract. I highly suspect my shortness of breath is directly linked to my anxiety. I have literally tried all available prescription and over-the-counter medications, including various combinations of each, and received no relief. (Most produced side effects worse than the ailment they were supposed to treat. As of 2009, I ceased using prescription drugs of all kinds despite my continuing anxiety.)

For the last few months I have had an extreme intolerance to cold environments. Prior to 2010, cold weather never bothered me very much, but now I react to lightly cold weather with chills, and extreme cold weather with pain and panic. The only explanation that comes to mind is high stress, which my doctor tells me may potentially reduce blood circulation. However, a recent full physical revealed I was within normal tolerances on all tests. For whatever the reason, cold has been making me feel very weak and anxious.

Before smoking the salvia, I was sitting by myself on my yoga mat meditating in my room with the door closed and a single lamp on. I was meditating because I was in an extreme state of anxiety and was suffering from repetitive, worried thoughts, mild asthma, shortness of breath, and as usual, could not breathe well at all through my left nostril.

I smoked approximately 1/16th gram of salvia in a single hit off a small metal pipe (with no residue from previous use) and held it in my lungs. Within 5 seconds, I exhaled because I began experiencing intense hallucinogenic effects. I had intended on holding the smoke in for 30 seconds or longer, but the effects were already so strong and I did not want them to become too overwhelming. Throughout my 5-10 minute “trip” I was always aware I was hallucinating.

Immediately during exhalation I sensed extreme “shearing” forces upon my body—as if my body was being sliced apart into hundreds of pieces. I would describe it as extremely irritating at least, and painful at worst. The shearing forces seemed to feel the most uncomfortable on the back of my hands, the tops of my arms, my shoulders, and neck. These are areas of my body that I always feel some degree of tension on, presumably from stress. The shearing forces were accompanied by slow-moving visual hallucinations I can only describe as “distorted waves” emanating from my peripheral vision toward, and into the center of my vision, becoming more defined and intense. The visuals became more intense proportionately with the shearing forces.

I reached to turn off the lamp, but turned it back on after maybe 20 seconds because I was increasingly becoming uncomfortable and felt the darkness was making it worse. I began hearing auditory hallucinations in conjunction with the visual and tactile sensations. I heard indistinct voices unmistakably emanating from each visual distortion / shearing force. I could not make out the exact words, but they were extremely demanding whatever they were saying. Another way to describe the hallucinations is that there were multiple phenomena, probably 7-10 I could distinguish, each consisting of visual, auditory, tactile, and emotional components.

By emotional, I mean each phenomenon had a “presence”, as if they were conscious beings with specific intentions, urging me to behave a certain way. The visual and auditory components were not disturbing, however the tactile and emotional sensations were very disturbing to the point I wished I hadn’t smoked the salvia—at first. I felt an overwhelming sense of regret; not just regarding smoking the salvia, but my whole life. The “beings” were extremely compelling and forceful, making me feel guilty, threatening me if I did not move my body a certain way, sit still where I was, get up and move to a different part of the room, or face a different direction.

If I acted as the beings insisted, the result was terror. Not the kind of terror of knowing I was in any real immediate danger, but just terror from being extremely uncomfortable and terror of danger years down the road. So I tried as best as possible to reject their demands and refuse to do what they said to do, but it was extremely difficult to resist. Some of the beings resembled my parents, and others I could not identify with at all. I tried my best to avoid being aware of them. There were maybe seven or more beings in my mind all telling me what to do at the same time, attempting to manipulate my mind and body into compliance with their wishes. There was nobody in the room, and nobody within 50 feet of me. It was during the dead of night, far from the city, and there was nothing making any real noise.

After probably the third minute, I was on my feet and started talking back to the beings, telling them “No!” With a serious face and confidence I said “no” out loud a few times and the feeling of being manipulated subsided somewhat, but then returned a few seconds later. The feelings of manipulated were incredibly uncomfortable and the forces were paralyzing and almost impossible to resist. I repeated “No” every few seconds, shaking my head in order to assert myself. By now I was trying very hard to suppress the uncomfortable hallucinations. After talking back I waited and the beings gradually let up, although I could still feel the irritating forces upon my body and the see visual hallucinations in my peripheral vision.

After another minute or so, most of the shearing sensations dissipated, however my entire body began to feel extremely cold. I recall my chest feeling particularly cold. Nearly shivering in a room I knew to be 71 degrees F, I contracted my limbs to warm myself and searched the room for something warmer to wear. To my confusion and horror I then began feeling extremely hot, and burned up like it was 95 degrees F, but then I somehow felt cold at the same time. I couldn’t tell how warm or cold I was really feeling. I broke out sweating, but strangely my chest alone perspired—I observed my arms, legs, back, and head, but they were all dry, and there was no perspiration except on my chest. While staring at my chest I gradually began feeling colder again, and noticed I was at least losing some body heat through my chest perspiration.

Then I had a moment of introspective thought. I began feeling an overwhelming sense of self-ridicule about my ego (sense of self). I became aware that my ego was excessively concerned with others to the point that I could not be myself. I felt like I was in bondage and wanted to be free. I reflected on my ego and for a moment was stricken by a wave of terror—which was the threat of what would happen if I was unable to meet other’s expectations, and the fear of not being able to choose to adapt my sense of self to the situation, and to have the freedom to be myself. Then for about 10 seconds I gained a glimpse of what it felt like to be free—to be myself, free of the anxiety of my situations. I felt ridiculous about my ego and could almost laugh, but I was extremely intimidated by this freedom and tried to suppress it somewhat because I was afraid of it. After another minute or so the fear left. By this point my mind was much clearer. Still feeling a bit chilly, I stood there contemplating what had just happened. It was like something had left my body or had changed.

After my moment of reflection, I resumed thinking about the confusing fluctuations in temperature and bodily discomfort I was experiencing. I didn’t know whether I should dress more or less. I thought to myself, “I know this room is 71 degrees according to the thermostat and I was perfectly comfortable before smoking the salvia.” Therefore I disrobed to my boxer-briefs, got in my bed under light cover, and over the course of the next 3-5 minutes began feeling more comfortable with the temperature.

After the trip, my mind was clear and the anxiety I had prior to the trip was gone. To my relief, I experienced complete calmness, clarity of mind, and security, as if my mind had been noisy and anxious for years, and then suddenly it was all gone. My mind was so quiet it I couldn’t believe it. After months of short breaths, I was breathing normally again and for the first time in two years the congestion in my left nasal passage was gone completely and I could effortlessly breathe through both nostrils! It was a truly amazing feeling of relief, and healing. I resumed meditating for a few minutes before finally going to sleep.

Despite the brief discomfort, I believe the salvia divinorum not only effectively healed my vasomotor rhinitis, but reduced my anxiety to almost nothing, leaving me with clarity of thought and the ability to breathe fully with no shortness of breath, and no trace of asthma. In the future, I do not know if I would benefit from a better environment in which to use salvia again, such as an outdoor setting, but I do know that if my anxiety and vasomotor rhinitis returns I will use the salvia regardless of any initial discomfort because the relief afterwards is so rewarding. It is like vomiting, except it is an expulsion from the mind rather than the stomach. I feel so much better. I hope state senators and parents in the United States are reading this. Salvia is a wonderful, miraculous, healing plant that should never be outlawed.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 84350
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 28
Published: Nov 15, 2025	Views: Not Supported
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Salvia divinorum (44) : Difficult Experiences (5), Health Benefits (32), Alone (16)