SpelunkingTheMind
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2008
- Messages
- 124
Since a lot of people just skip over the first plateau (intentionally or not), I thought I'd write a report of my recent first-plateau trip. This was my third experience with DXM - the first being a rather pleasant second plateau and the second being a rather unpleasant third plateau.
I'd been doing some re-reading over at the Dextroverse, and two aspects of the description of the first plateau caught my attention. First was the music euphoria - I'd been interested in this my first trip, but hadn't noticed a very strong effect. I got the impression the effects on music can be more noticeable on the first plateau, so I picked out some tunes I'd particularly enjoy experiencing enhanced. Second was the combination of euphoria and stimulation. I was hoping they might actually be conducive to paper-writing (I know this might seem weird given effects on spoken language, but I'd had an interesting and unexpected experience a couple weeks earlier when, getting back to my apartment at 4:30 a.m. high on coke and vicodin and slightly drunk, I couldn't sleep and proceeded to write 3 pages of a paper at my normal level of quality in about 1/3 the time I normally take). I had a paper due in little less than a week, so I had something to write, but it wouldn't matter if nothing got done.
I drank 50 ml (2 mg/kg) at about 8:25 p.m.
T=1:10 Thinking I might be feeling some slight alteration, I put on some Bob Marley (my first music of choice to enhance). The music sounds slightly different, as if it were a better recording. I think I'm slightly more able to focus on different instruments in detail at once, but I'm not sure how much of this is placebo (I am trying to listen to it in more detail than I normally would, after all..).
T=1:45 Music euphoria is now very definite, and very enjoyable. At about this point, "Redemption Song" starts playing, and it's absolutely spectacular. I'm not sure how to describe it, but the quality sounded amazing, and I felt like I could focus on every particular sound at once.
T=1:55 Now certain I'm experiencing some quality music euphoria, I turn to my real musical endeavor for the night and start playing a rendition of the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony. Up to now, I'd been chatting with some friends online while listening to the Marley, but a few seconds into the 9th I have to tell them I need to leave for a bit - the music is too overwhelming. I sit in my chair with my eyes closed and let in envelop me. I can hear instruments and distinct movements like I never have before - I'm by no means well-versed in classical music, but I imagine it'd be more akin to how one who is might be able to listen to such music. The entire piece carries me along and my emotions follow its every rise and fall. The final orchestral eruption feels (half-literally, it was an interesting sensation - very slightly dissociative combined with very emotionally/mentally focused) like a Big Bang-esque explosion of creative power, energy, and joy, and I'm hurtling along its outer edges. The effect is incredible. The closing couple minutes feel like a new universe cooling, teeming with possibilities. As the piece ends, I open my eyes feelings wonderful.
T=2:20 The 4th movement ends, and at this point I was planning on trying to start work. Unfortunately, the real world intervened with some unpleasant situations in friends' lives, and I talked to two friends who had had pretty horrible days and were both dealing with some awful stuff. I'm especially talkative to both, and conversing feels great. I didn't mention I'd dosed to either of them, and neither made any mention of my (typed) speech seeming at all peculiar. While talking, I listen to some of John Frusciante's solo work (which is some fantastic stuff, particularly the album To Record Only Water for Ten Days).
T=3:25 Both friends have now gone to bed, so I actually get to writing. I find myself writing maybe a little bit faster than normal, but I think mostly it's a sort of placebo effect - I want to write faster, so I'm not letting myself get as distracted as I normally would (i.e., check Bluelight sporadically
). The whole writing process seems to require more effort and intentional concentration. I can definitely notice the effect on short-term memory - I keep having to glance back at words/sentences I've written to keep my train of thought steady and grammatically OK.
T=4:00 A rather nasty headache starts to form. I've been having recurring headaches for days now, so I don't think this has anything to do with the DXM. I pop a couple Extra-Strength Tylenol and lie down on my bed.
T=4:30 With my headache largely subsided, I get out of bed. After fiddling for a few minutes more with my paper, I decide to eat a bit of food and watch a little tv before getting to sleep. At this point, I don't really feel any noticeable body effects while sitting down or any cognitive effects to speak of. I start walking to the kitchen and am surprised to find my balance is still completely fucked. My "walk" probably looked more like half drunken stumble and half dance. It was quite entertaining, and wasn't accompanied by the physical feeling of disorientation that drunken stumbling is - I didn't really 'feel' off-balance, but I sure was. I get some food and turn on Adult Swim. I'm surprised to find I still have auditory enhancement, as Moral Orel sounds like it's real (character voices, noises, etc, all sound like they're in my room not coming out of a TV). Pretty strange way to watch TV.
After that, I pretty much went to sleep.
In hindsight, I really can't rave enough about the music enhancement. It was an absolute blast to enjoy, and it was different than any music/sound effects I've noticed on anything else. The euphoria and stimulant effect combined to make conversation very easy and very enjoyable. I also noticed a slight inhibition of taboo subjects - it was easier to talk about personal or sensitive issues, etc. I think a first plateau trip would be great to enjoy hanging out with friends listening to music and just talking/chilling. By no means a hard trip (even when enveloped in music), but definitely a very fun night.
Tagged by Xorkoth
substancecode_dxm
substancecode_dissociatives
explevel_inexperienced
exptype_positive
roacode_oral
I'd been doing some re-reading over at the Dextroverse, and two aspects of the description of the first plateau caught my attention. First was the music euphoria - I'd been interested in this my first trip, but hadn't noticed a very strong effect. I got the impression the effects on music can be more noticeable on the first plateau, so I picked out some tunes I'd particularly enjoy experiencing enhanced. Second was the combination of euphoria and stimulation. I was hoping they might actually be conducive to paper-writing (I know this might seem weird given effects on spoken language, but I'd had an interesting and unexpected experience a couple weeks earlier when, getting back to my apartment at 4:30 a.m. high on coke and vicodin and slightly drunk, I couldn't sleep and proceeded to write 3 pages of a paper at my normal level of quality in about 1/3 the time I normally take). I had a paper due in little less than a week, so I had something to write, but it wouldn't matter if nothing got done.
I drank 50 ml (2 mg/kg) at about 8:25 p.m.
T=1:10 Thinking I might be feeling some slight alteration, I put on some Bob Marley (my first music of choice to enhance). The music sounds slightly different, as if it were a better recording. I think I'm slightly more able to focus on different instruments in detail at once, but I'm not sure how much of this is placebo (I am trying to listen to it in more detail than I normally would, after all..).
T=1:45 Music euphoria is now very definite, and very enjoyable. At about this point, "Redemption Song" starts playing, and it's absolutely spectacular. I'm not sure how to describe it, but the quality sounded amazing, and I felt like I could focus on every particular sound at once.
T=1:55 Now certain I'm experiencing some quality music euphoria, I turn to my real musical endeavor for the night and start playing a rendition of the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony. Up to now, I'd been chatting with some friends online while listening to the Marley, but a few seconds into the 9th I have to tell them I need to leave for a bit - the music is too overwhelming. I sit in my chair with my eyes closed and let in envelop me. I can hear instruments and distinct movements like I never have before - I'm by no means well-versed in classical music, but I imagine it'd be more akin to how one who is might be able to listen to such music. The entire piece carries me along and my emotions follow its every rise and fall. The final orchestral eruption feels (half-literally, it was an interesting sensation - very slightly dissociative combined with very emotionally/mentally focused) like a Big Bang-esque explosion of creative power, energy, and joy, and I'm hurtling along its outer edges. The effect is incredible. The closing couple minutes feel like a new universe cooling, teeming with possibilities. As the piece ends, I open my eyes feelings wonderful.
T=2:20 The 4th movement ends, and at this point I was planning on trying to start work. Unfortunately, the real world intervened with some unpleasant situations in friends' lives, and I talked to two friends who had had pretty horrible days and were both dealing with some awful stuff. I'm especially talkative to both, and conversing feels great. I didn't mention I'd dosed to either of them, and neither made any mention of my (typed) speech seeming at all peculiar. While talking, I listen to some of John Frusciante's solo work (which is some fantastic stuff, particularly the album To Record Only Water for Ten Days).
T=3:25 Both friends have now gone to bed, so I actually get to writing. I find myself writing maybe a little bit faster than normal, but I think mostly it's a sort of placebo effect - I want to write faster, so I'm not letting myself get as distracted as I normally would (i.e., check Bluelight sporadically
). The whole writing process seems to require more effort and intentional concentration. I can definitely notice the effect on short-term memory - I keep having to glance back at words/sentences I've written to keep my train of thought steady and grammatically OK. T=4:00 A rather nasty headache starts to form. I've been having recurring headaches for days now, so I don't think this has anything to do with the DXM. I pop a couple Extra-Strength Tylenol and lie down on my bed.
T=4:30 With my headache largely subsided, I get out of bed. After fiddling for a few minutes more with my paper, I decide to eat a bit of food and watch a little tv before getting to sleep. At this point, I don't really feel any noticeable body effects while sitting down or any cognitive effects to speak of. I start walking to the kitchen and am surprised to find my balance is still completely fucked. My "walk" probably looked more like half drunken stumble and half dance. It was quite entertaining, and wasn't accompanied by the physical feeling of disorientation that drunken stumbling is - I didn't really 'feel' off-balance, but I sure was. I get some food and turn on Adult Swim. I'm surprised to find I still have auditory enhancement, as Moral Orel sounds like it's real (character voices, noises, etc, all sound like they're in my room not coming out of a TV). Pretty strange way to watch TV.
After that, I pretty much went to sleep.
In hindsight, I really can't rave enough about the music enhancement. It was an absolute blast to enjoy, and it was different than any music/sound effects I've noticed on anything else. The euphoria and stimulant effect combined to make conversation very easy and very enjoyable. I also noticed a slight inhibition of taboo subjects - it was easier to talk about personal or sensitive issues, etc. I think a first plateau trip would be great to enjoy hanging out with friends listening to music and just talking/chilling. By no means a hard trip (even when enveloped in music), but definitely a very fun night.
Tagged by Xorkoth
substancecode_dxm
substancecode_dissociatives
explevel_inexperienced
exptype_positive
roacode_oral
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