Experiences - first Salvia divinorum experience...not pleasant

[cfb1]

First experience report.

Took a pinch of 10x extract purchased from a tobacco shop and loaded it into a bubbler. Smoked with a torch lighter, pulled the carb, inhaled, put it back in, inhaled again, and put the carb back in then set the bubbler down.

+ 15 s // Incredibly fast onset. All the nerves in my body became incredibly sensitive to what felt like the air. Tingling like I had a pinched nerve, but all around my body. Almost like acupuncture. Definitely not pleasant but very intense. Simultaneusly I felt an onset of a large current flowing throughout the room. The current was immensely strong, almost like a strong river, and was filled with flowing eyes racing against my vision.

+ 30 s // The current and tingling became so intense I was knocked off the futon. I had to "hold" myself at an angle to keep from being knocked over. It kept hitting with a dull thud in the torso and face, and I could see the eyes hitting my body with the current and cascading around me. The intensity of the thuds began to hurt.

+ 40 s // The current pushed me back and knocked me onto the floor, I was lying down and felt like I could not get up. Somehow I was being held to the floor unable to move. Almost like a large magnet had sucked me down. I saw a TV on and thought if I turned it off the current would go away, and the experience was becoming increasingly unpleasurable. I tried to talk to my friend, telling him to turn it off, because I was unable to, but all that came from my mouth was: "Turn...off...the..." as if I was unable to say the world "TV" for some reason. It would not escape my mouth.

+60 s // He turned off the TV, and the current began to subside. IT still hurt, but I could stand now, although my movement was still limited.

+ 1 m 15s // I stumbled outside and lit a cigarette. This took about 15 seconds although it was placed behind my ear and the lighter was sitting on the table. Outside, there was no current, but I felt mentally and physically unable to enter the house as I had to escape the current which I could still sea as a river of eyes flowing through the room.

+ 1 m 45 s // The hallucinations subsided and the current stopped. My vision was still hazy and I walked back inside and fell into a futon. The tingling was still present but at this point it was slightly euphoric. Almost like the very pleasant feeling of coming down off mushrooms, but compressed into about 3 minutes.

+ 4 m // I felt able to walk now, and had a slightly intoxicated, yet very pleasant feeling. I felt a dull pain throughout one side of my body, as if the current had actually been present and I had stood in it. I was still a little freaked out, so started walking home (about 2 miles). The entire walk I felt very uplifted and rather empowered. By the time I reached home, all the effects had worn off.

Perhaps I'll try this again, but the experience was not necessarily pleasant and I felt almost like Salvia was a wasted psychedelic hallucinogen. No insights, either mentally or spiritually, and far too intense.

[cfb1]

For the record and perhaps this had some effect: I had drank (sipped) a beer beforehand. I'm rather lightweight and one beer is enough to get me buzzed.

[Alfa]

I am utterly amazed why SWIY wants to try Salvia again after that experience. SWIY's experience is not an exception. Many people have experiences like this and abort after one time. It is of course possible that next time will be better, but I do not follow that line of reasoning.

[Nature Boy]

Some people do not enjoy their first salvia experience much (SWIM sure as hell didn't when in effect) but often one can be intrigued and may want to try it again, usually in a smaller dose. SWIM loves the gravitational pull effect, and like SWIcfb1 experienced, he also likes that acupunctural effect. No other drug he has tried can replicate that. There's definitely a shock element to the first salvia trip. Never mind the mystical impact, that only applies to some, finding the ideal threshold dose of salvia for your monkey can be quite beneficial in a recreational sense. Salvia can be a lot of fun once you have a grip on it.

[cfb1]

I think it was the unexpectedness of the experience that was frightening, more than anything, and it was taken in a cavalier manner. I thought: "you can buy it at a tobacco shop, how can it even be potent."

I would try it again in lower doses, or with the intent to meditate, or at similar doses to familiarize myself to the effects.

It was interesting, and generally when SWIM encounters bad experiences on other psychadelics it is more mental than anything. These are easy to counter and end up being the "teachers" moreso than the positive experiences.

[cfb1]

I assume SWIM is not required when discussing Salvia, since it isn't scheduled, correct?

[Nagognog2]

Incorrect. Though x,y,zeta may be legal in SWIM's neck of the woods - it may not be elsewhere. As you are addressing an international forum, where in some nations having a beer can get you given a public flogging, the use of SWIM and/or similar is strongly suggested/required.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

[cfb1]

Second experience:

Prep // SWIM placed leaf tobacco and Salvia 5x extract into a bowl; setting a comfortable, dimly lit environment.

+ 0s // Bowl smoked with butane torch lighter, held in lungs for 30 seconds until effects became noticeable.

+ 30 s // Tingling in fingers, rather pleasant. Gravitational force holds hands against mattress and pushes SWIM back into his head. An intensely euphoric feeling bombards SWIM's torso from his surroundings. Almost like an energy waiting to be unlocked since it came from no particular direction. The energy flows into his neck, lips, eyes, and brain. The energy in his lips causes them to pulsate and his eyes feel heavy.

+ 1m // The energy reaches his brain and SWIM closes his eyes. As his eyelids close an entirely new world is encountered. An endless network of organic assembly belts transverse his vision. Upon the assembly belts are people being assembled. He can see naked human bodies (of androgynous gender) being pieced together. Although the entire visual field is composed of organic hallucinations the trip has a very mechanical nature to it. Almost like the world is being assembled by a machine.

+ 2m // SWIM is finally able to open his eyes very slowly. As they begin to open his friend sits down next to him. This seems as if the friend "breaks" the assembly lines and they come hurtling towards him. SWIM then has a conversation which goes:

SWIM: You, you, broke it. It's dying.
Friend: What? What did I break? [ searches frantically thinking he broke a bubbler]
SWIM: It's crashing towards me. You broke it. Why did you do that? Do you even realize what you've done? Why did you ruin it?
Friend: What? What did I break? Did I break something? Are you...?
SWIM: You broke the world...How could you do that.
Friend: How, huh? [ Gets up ]

+ 3m // Music changes from Animal Collective - Bees to something very industrial and SWIM comments that it "feels like triangles" repeatedly. The assembly lines are being replaced slowly by triangles which feel very unpleasant on his body. They pierce each time they rotate and clank against his chest.

+ 5m // All hallucinogenic and most mental effects subside leaving SWIM with a very clean high which lasts 15 minutes.

Retrospect: Incredible.

[Female]

cfb1, SWIM had a similar experience with the world being broken, except it was SWIM's cat. SWIM found it funny and sad at the same time, SWIM is glad that SWIY's second experience was introspective. What is so fascinating about salvia is that every trip for every person is different. Salvia is definetlely a drug to learn more about yourself with...she's someone to be respected, for sure. Perhapes the first unpleasant experience was because the salvia SWIY had was too strong for SWIY's first try, SWIM started out with plain leaf. Another reason for the unpleasant trip was maybe because SWIY lacked some mental preparation...SWIM made sure she was good and prepared to meet salvia..
Great report though..it's so interesting to compare trips with salvia..everyone's is different.