A third eye glued shut

[boredINbuffalo]

So, SWIM was tripping on some magic mushrooms, about a gram and a half. This is a dose he is used to, but this night, he was really tripping out. Anyway, about three hours into the trip, SWIM became acutely aware of what he could only describe as a third eye, in the center of his forehead. Amazed and overjoyed by his discovery, he went to open the eye.

Only, he couldn't.

He felt like the eye was shut, like he was too weak to open it, as though he were just waking up and the crust kept it closed. This made him very sad, and although he tried to put it out of mind, it cast a shadow of almost poetic sadness over the rest of the night. He just couldn't shake it.

I guess the question SWIM wants answered is this: How do you wipe the crust off? SWIM knows it's a difficult question, but he figured it was worth answering, on the chance someone had a similar experience.

[bewilderment]

I know you say swiy was "tripping out", but what were the specific effects? Swim usually considers a gram and a half a small dosage although it's okay for those who are new to the experience. How long has swiy been doing shrooms and how often?

This is stolen from another board about levels of experience when using shrooms:

Level 1

This level produces a mild \"stoning\" effect, with some visual enhancement (i.e. brighter colours, etcetera). Some short term memory anomalies. Left/right brain communication changes causing music to sound \"wider\".
Level 2

Bright colors, and visuals (i.e. things start to move and breathe), some 2 dimensional patterns become apparent upon shutting eyes. Confused or reminiscent thoughts. Change of short term memory leads to continual distractive thought patterns. Vast increase in creativity becomes apparent as the natural brain filter is bypassed.
Level 3

Very obvious visuals, everything looking curved and/or warped patterns and kaleidoscopes seen on walls, faces etc. Some mild hallucinations such as rivers flowing in wood grained or \"mother of pearl\" surfaces. Closed eye hallucinations become 3 dimensional. There is some confusion of the senses (i.e. seeing sounds as colors, etcetera). Time distortions and \"moments of eternity\".
Level 4

Strong hallucinations, i.e. objects morphing into other objects. Destruction or multiple splitting of the ego. (Things start talking to you, or you find that you are feeling contradictory things simultaneously). Some loss of reality. Time becomes meaningless. Out of body experiences and e.s.p. type phenomena. Blending of the senses.
Level 5

Total loss of visual connection with reality. The senses cease to function in the normal way. Total loss of ego. Merging with space, other objects, or the universe. The loss of reality becomes so severe that it defies explanation. The earlier levels are relatively easy to explain in terms of measureable changes in perception and thought patterns. This level is different in that the actual universe within which things are normally perceived, ceases to exist! Satori enlightenment (and other such labels).

And this is taken from erowid (although dosage effects always depend upon the individual so keep that in mind):

Threshold Effects : (from 0.25 grams - 0.75 grams P. Cubensis)
Slight cold feeling, mild gas or nausea, nervous-feeling, slight pupil-dilation, mild visual changes including lights seeming brighter, lights having a 'starry' look, and noticing movement at the periphery of vision, giddiness, feeling more emotionally sensitive, and many other effects related to a change in neurochemistry.

Medium Effects : (0.75 grams - 2.5 grams P. Cubensis)
'Cold' feeling, gas and/or stomach discomfort, nausea, pupil-dilation, open-eye visual effects: lights gain auras, star-pattern effects, rainbowing around lighting, lights seem brighter, often 'more beautiful', notice movement in periphery, sometimes increased ability to focus, sometimes reduced ability to focus, visual field 'distracting', visual field 'entertaining', closed eye 'visuals': normal closed eye 'blobs' take on patterns, shapes, distinct forms, increased ability to visualize creatively, spontaneous detailed images, feelings of time-dilation, feelings of `coming home again' which is often more pronounced for those who have used mushrooms before, feelings of belonging and connection, increased emotional sensitivity, increased ability to focus on emotional problems or memories, chance of becoming 'caught in a loop' thinking / dwelling on a single thought or feeling (usually negative or painful), realizations about past feelings, realizations about how to live, gain a new perspective on current lifestyle and behaviors, feelings of connection with those around you, noticing things which are normally ignored or taken for granted, feelings of wonder, spirit, joy, sadness, despair, religious awakening, contentment and possibly latent psychological crises can come out..

High Dose Effects : (2.5 grams - 10 grams)
All of the Medium Effects, usually with a significantly more uncomfortable Coming Up, more pronounced nausea sometimes (rarely) resulting in vomiting, sometimes significant mental discomfort associated with feelings of fear and often times accompanying a "what have I done to myself" or "how far am I going" thought, the unpleasant Coming Up effects usually lessen with familiarity and more knowledge about the safety and character of mushroom effects. High Dose Effects are usually characterized by the closed eye visualizations being significantly more elaborate and enfolding, religious revelation, spiritual awakening, near death experiences, loss of self, talking to seemingly external, autonomous entities, extreme emotional responses, repressed memories coming to life, latent psychological crises can come to the surface, an increase in artistic sense, and intense feelings of wonder, connection, joy, fear. High Dose Effects can also include extreme time-dilation, with experiences of wall-clock minutes taking an experientially large amount of time, watching clocks or digital counters where the seconds seem to take minutes to count off. One of the most interesting effects is the feeling of awakening for the first time ever from a previous state of sleep, of liberation from what is now seen as a life-long state of bondage. Paradoxically, it is this new awareness which feels normal and natural and the previous fog which is seen to have been unreal all along. The bemushroomed seeker is convinced that, once gained, this awareness is impossible to lose, but inexplicably by the next day it is just a memory.
Threshold Effects : (from 0.25 grams - 0.75 grams P. Cubensis)
Slight cold feeling, mild gas or nausea, nervous-feeling, slight pupil-dilation, mild visual changes including lights seeming brighter, lights having a 'starry' look, and noticing movement at the periphery of vision, giddiness, feeling more emotionally sensitive, and many other effects related to a change in neurochemistry.

Medium Effects : (0.75 grams - 2.5 grams P. Cubensis)
'Cold' feeling, gas and/or stomach discomfort, nausea, pupil-dilation, open-eye visual effects: lights gain auras, star-pattern effects, rainbowing around lighting, lights seem brighter, often 'more beautiful', notice movement in periphery, sometimes increased ability to focus, sometimes reduced ability to focus, visual field 'distracting', visual field 'entertaining', closed eye 'visuals': normal closed eye 'blobs' take on patterns, shapes, distinct forms, increased ability to visualize creatively, spontaneous detailed images, feelings of time-dilation, feelings of `coming home again' which is often more pronounced for those who have used mushrooms before, feelings of belonging and connection, increased emotional sensitivity, increased ability to focus on emotional problems or memories, chance of becoming 'caught in a loop' thinking / dwelling on a single thought or feeling (usually negative or painful), realizations about past feelings, realizations about how to live, gain a new perspective on current lifestyle and behaviors, feelings of connection with those around you, noticing things which are normally ignored or taken for granted, feelings of wonder, spirit, joy, sadness, despair, religious awakening, contentment and possibly latent psychological crises can come out..

High Dose Effects : (2.5 grams - 10 grams)
All of the Medium Effects, usually with a significantly more uncomfortable Coming Up, more pronounced nausea sometimes (rarely) resulting in vomiting, sometimes significant mental discomfort associated with feelings of fear and often times accompanying a "what have I done to myself" or "how far am I going" thought, the unpleasant Coming Up effects usually lessen with familiarity and more knowledge about the safety and character of mushroom effects. High Dose Effects are usually characterized by the closed eye visualizations being significantly more elaborate and enfolding, religious revelation, spiritual awakening, near death experiences, loss of self, talking to seemingly external, autonomous entities, extreme emotional responses, repressed memories coming to life, latent psychological crises can come to the surface, an increase in artistic sense, and intense feelings of wonder, connection, joy, fear. High Dose Effects can also include extreme time-dilation, with experiences of wall-clock minutes taking an experientially large amount of time, watching clocks or digital counters where the seconds seem to take minutes to count off. One of the most interesting effects is the feeling of awakening for the first time ever from a previous state of sleep, of liberation from what is now seen as a life-long state of bondage. Paradoxically, it is this new awareness which feels normal and natural and the previous fog which is seen to have been unreal all along. The bemushroomed seeker is convinced that, once gained, this awareness is impossible to lose, but inexplicably by the next day it is just a memory.

I don't really know what swiy would expect to happen with the opening of the "eye". Swim sometimes gets a bit a pressure in her head when her trip is about to take off. Maybe that's what swiy experienced? So, I don't know what to say about "wiping the crust off", but a higher dosage or maybe some weed thrown in could up the level of experience. Then, there's always MAOIs, but I would try the other options first.

[YKS]

SWIM would like to personally thank you for posting this information. He's tried reading experience from regular users & honestly none of it makes sense from what SWIM has read. He probably just wasn't on there level at the time. He has been doing LSD on & off for about four years now, nothing heavy or anything but what he would like to know is in SWIY's opinion is shrooms a better "awakening" all round over LSD. From what you have typed some of the effects seem similar but no cookie.

thx

[robertone]

Someone who ever used LSD will notice different effects when using cannabis and/or shroom products then other users who hasn't. Even years later. Cannabis and shrooms can cause an flashback to an LSD experience and can have an enhanced working because the LSD experience opened ones door to tripping experience(s).

According Swim the third eye is always open, it doesn't have real eye members! Just its capabilities are normaly not attended by and all its perceptions are filtered out ones thinking process. The feeling Swib discribes is the incapability to handle the third eyes perceptions.

On the other hand Swim believes that, for some reason, our thinking process is confused such way that our third eye is actually 'blinded'. This has possibly, according Swim, also something to do with the lost of our universal (telepatic(?)) language.

[boredINbuffalo]

This was definitely around a 3-4, the whole frustration occured when SWIM layed down and closed his normal eyes, which gave him the very distinct sensation of at first flowing into the bed, then being indistinct from the bed.

And sorry, YKS, SWIM cannot comment on LSD, he has never had opportunity to partake of it.

[buffalopsychonaut]

swim has had the same feeling swiy described...like there is another level you were about to reach but you just couldnt open the "door" or "eye" in your case....hopefully more experimentation will help. But as it was mentioned, weed does give a bit of a boost and in swim's opinion, its to used to charge up just about any drug experiene

[Potter]

Magick Without Tears, Magick in Theory and Practice, both by Crowley. not a fan of him? go with R.A.W's Cosmic Trigger. Yoga and Tai Chi can be helpful. The Golden Dawn's Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram, and The Middle Pillar, are highly recommended practices. So is Crowley's Liber Resh, if only to help synchronize your day.

Get some of these underway before jumping back into the path of poisons. One must learn to achieve results by means other then drugs, lest folly befalls you. If you can only achieve success by means of chemicals, you really haven't learned anything.

Love.
Potter.