Certain drugs produce specific hallucinations?

[violentcheetah]

SWIM saw Steamboat Willie (the 1920's black and white Disney Cartoon) SWIM became one with his purple lava lamp and there were 3 Steamboat Willies whistling and walking with suitcases one on top of the other and "snap", swim was sitting on the couch across the room looking at the lava lamp. This was 5 years ago and no disney or Steamboat Willie had been seen in over a decade, came out of nowhere. AMT
LSD & MDMA - a couch dethreaded and wrapped around swim, but in a soothing wierd way swim says.
LSD-Swim and the friend swim was with, so swim has proof it was really there, a do-do bird. SWIM swears.
DMT-SWIM cant put into words.

[Richi]

This would be an interesting topic to do a wide scale study on, including results form different cultures.

Mushrooms have always seemed like nature's drug. All the little elves I know eat mushrooms and celebrate outside. They fall in love with nature.

Salvia creates powerful visions of confusing places and scenarios, too confusing for swim.

But swim wonder's if this could be a consequence - cause type phenomenon. Does the drug cause the vision, or does the vision arise as a consequence of expecting it?

Reputation Comments on this post:

Interesting comments, thanks for posting..

[violentcheetah]

Not so much a hallucination but one of a kind several years ago swim and some friends, ya know "the circle" that circle of friends where that was your group. No uncomfortable sexual tension, no boyfriends or girlfriends. That circle. Well after watching the sun rise in Miami after the last night of Ultra Music Festival (back when it wasnt so damn commercial, plus we all grew up there, that was our home.) we actually got in a car, drove across the state and got a hotel on the beach on the gulf coast and watched it set. All in the same day.
Sounds corny but it felt spiritual in a way. Im sure certain substances helped but that was a combo kind of day.

Reputation Comments on this post:

i really like your description of "the circle," right on :) thanks for sharing.

[moda00]

Mushrooms often make swim see geometric designs with distinctly Atzec undertones- CEV and OEV, most prominent when looking up at a bright, clear sky.

As for LSD- while brightening and changed perception of color is common to many psychedelics, or so it seems, the distinct "rainbow" and prevalence of the colors- all the colors in the spectrum of light occurring simultaneously and the blurring of the traditional boundaries between color and shape- seem unique to acid. Anyone else feel that certain properties of color and shape are unique to acid?

With both salvia and DMT, it seems entities are a common theme- a being or deity, a god or an alien, there are so many- as mentioned, a common one being the DMT elves, also alien-abduction type experiences- much of this is discussed in Strassman's book The Spirit Molecule, where one can actually read the detailed experience reports and compare the similarities and the author's hypothesis on this.. While SWIM hasn't done DMT, she has done salvia, and has had the sensation of a distinct and all-knowing entity, apart from what she has ever experienced on more "traditional" psychedelics like mushrooms and lsd.

Castaneda's descriptions of Mescalito are of interest as well..

Originally Posted by Richi

Mushrooms have always seemed like nature's drug. All the little elves I know eat mushrooms and celebrate outside. They fall in love with nature.

Swim agrees with Richi on this one. Mushrooms make her feel connected to nature like no other, and she tends to seek outdoor locations while having the mushroom experience. While she has experienced and enjoyed plenty of other substances outdoors, it does seem that mushrooms have an almost primal connection to nature and her cycles.


Another interesting question that this brings up is, if humans have been consuming these plants since the beginning of our existence, could there not be something innate, something unique to the mushroom that contains our history as a species?? Rather than the concept that it is a poison, producing "unreal," "unnatural,"or "subjective" experiences by interrupting brain chemistry-- could it be that there is a shared reality and history in the mushroom? I've thought often about how such a substance could have been the very framework for human consciousness as it is today. Also, such substances were (and are) often steeped in ritual and religion- perhaps the whole concept of modern religion, an entity or deity, is really a misguided interpretation of the higher consciousness that unites everything, such as through the psychedelic experience of our ancestors. I think the concept of "hallucinations," as these substances have been termed, and the implication that any and everything experienced while under the influence is false, fictitiously created, and of no relevance has had significant influence on peoples' perceptions and willingness to pursue other ideas. Perhaps if there were more research into the things that bind us together, and the things that are part of a shared reality within the context of psychedelics- perhaps using these common/shared experiences as a starting point- we could start to look at things a little differently as a society, and not just as an underground movement or a sub/counterculture or a radical notion, but as a real and meaningful exploration of our existence. I strongly believe that any examination of our society and our existence as human beings, consciousness, etc. must look very closely at mind-altering substances- which have played a significant role in all of human history (although, now that it has been suppressed and demonized, its role may seem insignificant or even non-existant)..

I also wonder, when I'm off on one of my tangents, whether there is something innate about plants- such as mushrooms or salvia- or naturally occurring substances- such as endogenous DMT- which are significantly different from say chemically synthesized psychedelics such as LSD? In some ways they are very similar, and swim has enjoyed and learned much from both. But, I guess what I'm saying, is- is there a qualitative difference in the experience of something that comes from the earth and has its roots in the earliest civilizations, vs. something that was only just recently discovered? I guess my thoughts at this point, are that something like lsd or maybe some of the research chems, hold much of the same power and potential as something like mushrooms, and can lead to many of the same places and experiences- ie. that, for example, lsd could have played that role in early society and religion, had it been around instead of mushrooms. Of course, some may say there is something sacred about something that comes from the earth, something that goes back beyond human influence, and to some extent I agree. But I think all these substances have the potential to allow one access to the subconscious, and/or the collective conscious..

Reputation Comments on this post:

	great post ;)
	Good thoughts, perhaps worth starting a thread about if one doesn't already exist... hmm

[snapper]

SWIM thinks the effect of hallucinogenics and other drugs is entirely about biology. In fact, the implication of DMT in near death experiences is just one substantiation of that theory. Religion could easily be considered a psychological construct, or even a survival mechanism which could be common to most humans, enabling them to have blind faith in the face of adversity to persevere in spite of a miserable existence with no hope. Extrapolating from that (and no offense to those with faith - SWIM is merely speculating here) religious experiences could also be entirely a chemically-induced construct of the human brain, Given that all brains essentially come from the same biological template, this is plausible. That specific hallucinations could originate from the manipulation of neural pathways by drugs and create similar effects in most people also makes sense due to the similarity of human brains in general. Of course, due to genetic variation, interpretations will not be identical and outliers with have anomalous experiences.
SWIM has noted that visual and other experiences with the same drugs differ as one gets older. SWIM has experienced totally different effects from LSD before being a teenager, as a teen ager, as a younger and as an increasingly older adult. The effects were markedly different. SWIM thinks part of the similarily results from interacting with other people and perspective defined by life experience.
SWIM feel both factors are at play, but of sharing a divine consciousness SWIM is skeptical. A blinded study examining a group of isolated, naive individual's experiences with anonymous hallucinogenics would be very interesting - SWIM bets on lots of similarities.

[I<3Salvia]

Holy shit, swim is freaking out... YOU GUYS SAW THE SALVIA GODDESS TOO? WTF? Sorry, but that blows swims mind. Can we all give our descriptions of her? To swim she was tall, brunette, with long dreadlocks in like a, "Zena warrior princess" battle outfit. She spoke in a robotic voice. Any descriptions of what you guys saw? Swim can't wait for replies!

[doggy_hat]

About the idea of Mushrooms being the Hallucinogen of Nature. When SWIM did mushrooms, he was constantly insisting that he be out amongst nature when he was to take them, but his friends were being stubborn and refused to. They thought that being in the woods on mushrooms would be a bad idea for some reason. Anyways after all the argueing SWIM gave in and stayed indoors during the trip. During the entire trip SWIM felt a dire need to get out and felt as though he was trapped in a small box. Everything was unnatural and had evil vibes, SWIM kept his eyes closed for most of the trip because he couldn't stand the room. At one point he saw the soft glow of fire from behind the blanket(The room had a blanket instead of a door) and felt even more isolated from the Earthly setting he yearned for. It was as though the room was surrounded by an inferno, keeping him trapped. Even though the entire trip had a bad vibe and was overall negative, he still somewhat enjoyed it. And was glad he used a small quantity for his first try, as the experience was not overwhelming and controllable. Next time SWIM will make sure that the set and setting is perfect.