Tripping or dreaming?

[DJTetsu]

Ok today I took a gram and I was laying in bed just looking forward for a little voyage. The thing that confused me was I wasn't sure if I was dreaming or tripping. There were just random shit going on in my head, people just having conversation and usually with a dream I'm me, but today I was sometimes some of these people, (being in a first person perspective) and these people I have no idea who they were (and sometimes even female!).

I knew I wasn't completely dreaming because I felt awake, and every so often I opened my eyes to verify this, and each time I'm thinking "what the f**k...?"

I close my eyes again and more random shit...Of course, they are all the subconscious processes that's happening that's normally hidden from view... But if this is normal, our brains have a huge amount of information being processed that we are not aware.

It was almost like dreaming while being awake.

and then a scary episode (well sorta). This continued on and on (not sure how long) but then I start to see SLEEP slowly occurring. Now this is like being consciously being awake as sleep takes over your brain. It was like this black void (like a black hole) taking over, and I can see or sense all the sectors of my braing that it's devouring... and at the same time I feel this ringing in my ear (not sure why). I know sleep is a normal process but it was somehow very scary, like my consciousness did not want to let go.

So I stopped it, got up, saying to myself "fuck this" and got some moutain dew.

Good thing I didn't think about it or over analyze this, and was able to chucke about it

[eezdharma]

I use to experiment in Astral Projection/Dream Yoga a few years back. Your "trip" sounds like some of the things I use to experience.

Sounds like you were witnessing the progressive levels of sleep/progressing toward an astral experience. The feeling of the black void and the ringing is the transition point into the astral plane. More simply put, I think you were working your way toward a lucid dream w/o ever losing consciousness. It would have been an interesting experience had you allowed yourself to embrace it. The void and ringing can be quit intimidating if not down right horrifying. But if you allow yourself to go with it what follows is quite amazing.

The shrooms must have helped stimulate your "third eye" or imagination aiding in the process.

Who knows...just some thoughts I had when I read your post.

[maliki]

Originally Posted by DJTetsu

So I stopped it, got up, saying to myself "fuck this" and got some moutain dew.

Now thats a statement.....

Ive been in the same experiance cycle before my self.
Mine was fucked up by the cordless phone...
I swear I felt the damn thing getting its signal to ring.
Scared the shit right outa me then the phone rang..

Next time dont avoid the chance to explore.
It can be intimedating for sure but the rewards Ive found outweighd the fear .

But thats just me and your milage may very.....

[spacecake]

Like the Goa song from Astral Projection ?(my favorite) ''sleeping while awaken''

This is what I'm looking for these days when tripping...!
It's the most bizzare euforic dream state one can have IMO...
I use a low dose (1-1.5 grams of Pans or some Kratom),and at the Peak I'm laying down on bed and try to concentrate on sleeping...
Then I feel that my brain is shutting down or something,I feel it all over my body,it's like my body is turning off..a very good feeling..but somethimes scary too !

For me the ringing sometimes turns into a loud 'bang',that most of the time distracts me ..and then I'm fully awake again.
When it doesn't occur I try to get more into 'it' but most of the time the shroom/kratom experiance is more overwelming....

So..your not the only one that has this experiance !

Did you use cubies ? because I cannot get this experiance when dosing on Cubies !

[eternalfrost]

what you experienced is natural and happens to each of us every night. the hypnagogic phase between sleep and awake. ive been very interested in this myself over the years.

you can have the same experience you described without any drugs. its very hard to describe how to do. but its sort of a mix of meditation, mindfulness, and lucid dreaming.

i first discovered it a few years ago in school. being extremely sleep deprived and trying to catch a few z's during class while still trying to pay attention. this happened to be the perfect environment for this i later found out after reading up on it.

that mix of sleepyness, and awareness can put you into this wierd trippy lucid dream state thats deeper then alot of drugs that i have explored.

ive been able to get it at home now, its best in the late afternoon. sit down but dont get into a 'sleep' position, just semi-comfortable. leave the lights on. just let yourself relax and start to nod off but keep awareness that you are. the sort of mindset you want is as if you had to rember to get up in 30 min to run an errand but your soooo tired right now you just have to catch a quick nap.

i know it sounds sort of silly but when you hit it, its the freedom of lucid dreaming, with the revalations and strangeness of a trip, and the clarity of meditation all rolled into one!

[eezdharma]

Eternalfrost, your approach sounds similar to mine:

1. Wait until you are feeling a little sleepy. Late afternoon is best. Night time should be reserved for true sleep/dreaming.

2. Lie down and begin meditating. Focus on your breathing. Counting your breaths from 1-10 is helpful. Proceed until you begin to feel your consciousness fade.

3. At this point I begin what I consider the "programming" phase. Repeat a mantra silently in your mind. Something along the lines of "I will have an astral experience" or "I will have a lucid dream." It's not important what phrase is repeated so much as the intentions behind it.

4. As you proceed to repeat your mantra your consciousness will continue to slip away fading into what eternalfrost referred to as the hypnagogic state. Your mantra will begin to transform into gibberish. Continue fighting this for some time, making an effort to focus on your mantra.

5. Eventually the gibberish/hypnagogic state will take over and you will fall asleep/black out.

6. Some time later (maybe a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes. I never could tell) you will come to as a ringing/sucking sound fills your head. I call this "the alarm." You will have the sensation of being sucked out of your body accompanied by paralysis. Do not fight this. Allow yourself to let go.

7. Eventually you will feel as though you are completely free from your body. You could find yourself anywhere from your bedroom to a magical fantasy land.

8. Explore!!

Your first few attempts may not be successful. It takes a little practice to become proficient at it.

There are many ways to approach astral projection/lucid dreaming. The above is one that I found works best for me. I have found that it is best to approach this completely sober. Marijuana, alcohol and other drugs can interfere with the dreaming process and thus, your experience. I'm not sure what effects psychedelics can have on the experience. Perhaps I will conduct an experiment sometime in the future.

If you want to increase the frequency of your lucid dreams with out the "being sucked out of your body" aspect, try the following:

Throughout the day, during various activities (checking the time, starting your car, etc.) ask yourself, "am I dreaming?" If you do this enough, eventually you will ask yourself the same question when you actually are dreaming. At which point you will realize, "yes, I am dreaming." Now you can proceed to explore the dream scape.

Peace

[eternalfrost]

some more lucid dreaming stuff

http://forums.mycotopia.net/showthread.php?t=16842 (Complete Lucid Dream Tutorial)

[eezdharma]

Thanks for the link EF. Nice write up.

[Roasty McToasty]

very interesting, i'm going to giver a try. thanx for the good idea.

[DJTetsu]

wow

good stuff thanks for the info and sharing...

In you guys' opinions, if I let that SLEEP black void devour my entire brain (I stopped this time), will I lose consciousness (blank out, fall asleep) or is there something after that? It's so interesting that it's a scary thing to do !

[eezdharma]

I believe something will take place along the lines of steps 5-7 in my previous post. You might black out/fall a sleep for a bit but more than likely you will transition directly into a lucid dream or onto the astral plane (however you want to put it).

Go ahead and experiment a little. Can't hurt.

[spacecake]

Worse thing that can happen is,.. you falling asleep,or waking up again !

[psilouette]

Wow! I've always been interested in astral projection. Looks like it's a lot easier than I thought. I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks guys

[nepalnt21]

Originally Posted by DJTetsu

and then a scary episode (well sorta). This continued on and on (not sure how long) but then I start to see SLEEP slowly occurring. Now this is like being consciously being awake as sleep takes over your brain. It was like this black void (like a black hole) taking over, and I can see or sense all the sectors of my braing that it's devouring... and at the same time I feel this ringing in my ear (not sure why). I know sleep is a normal process but it was somehow very scary, like my consciousness did not want to let go.

its "the nothing"

ive been in that state without being on any psychoactives.