It is possible to trip without drugs...

[mecaib]

In the end, I've found psychedelics (especially with disassociation) lead me to an awakened state where I am aligned with all faces of me (this is after you get past the cool colours, etc. perhaps this is what people mean by "breaking through").

I think that's what therapists would call breaking through, that is if you are still experiencing physical reality to any degree. Breaking through on psychedelics involves entering the so-called "Imaginal Realm," a term coined by Jim DeKorne in his book, "Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation, and Shamanic Use of Psychotropic Plants." (A great read, BTW. It's where I first learned about Salvia D., and about how it's possible to extract DMT from Phalaris grass [which I still haven't tried].) The Imaginal Realm is the complete immersion into the psychedelic state, where all sensations of the experience take over completely.

As for suggestions about entering the psychedelic state without drugs, lucid dreaming is a good way to go. The WILD technique (Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming) is of particular importance. The idea is to remain conscious while letting your body fall asleep. You can progress from waking consciousness, through hypnagogic imagery, directly into a visionary state. It takes some dedication. I have pulled it off only once (the one time I tried in earnest), and it was well worth the effort.

Another thing to try is the Ganzfeld Experiment. According to a few reports, it actually does work, and can be done very inexpensively, or even with no money if you have the few basic materials required for the setup. Experience reports are few and far between. There's one in this thread: The Ganzfeld Effect Does It Work

 

[Roger&Me]

I'm frankly surprised at the strong response. Not proper to go around speaking like gospel? No one cares? Is there some hostility towards Strassman here?

Hostility towards Strassman? Are you joking? I made a comment about the lack of evidence to back up Strassman's quack claims. The hostility is directed towards shitty pseudoscientific thinking that isn't supported by evidence. Which, if I may be frank, is rampant is the psychedelic-using community. Should we believe in UFO's and bigfoot too, because they're cool ideas and we wish they were true?

edit -- I can't believe I had to use my 10,000th post refuting this endogenous DMT woo woo. :D When, oh when, dear god, will this crap idea die?

 

[biffhenderson]

I don't believe in UFOs but I also don't believe it's impossible. I believe in everything and I believe in nothing. That is my definition of objectivity.

 

[coelophysis]

Hostility towards Strassman? Are you joking? I made a comment about the lack of evidence to back up Strassman's quack claims. The hostility is directed towards shitty pseudoscientific thinking that isn't supported by evidence. Which, if I may be frank, is rampant is the psychedelic-using community. Should we believe in UFO's and bigfoot too, because they're cool ideas and we wish they were true?

edit -- I can't believe I had to use my 10,000th post refuting this endogenous DMT woo woo. :D When, oh when, dear god, will this crap idea die?

haha. I wonder how many of those 10,000 posts were similar responses to the ones you made in this thread.
It seems to be an ongoing frustrating topic in PD, lol.

 

[Ismene]

Well, I learnt this tripping on DXM that it is possible to achieve the same experience without drugs.

I wouldn't really call DXM a psychedelic.

No, it's not possible to know what LSD or mushrooms are like by any other method than taking them. No matter how much meditating or lucid dreaming or spinning round in a circle with your eyes closed 10 times, if you came to me and said "Dude, I just span round 10 times in a circle and lucid dreamed last night do I know what 500 mics of LSD is like now?" I'd still say "No".

 

[Ninae]

Sleep deprivation, for 3 days or more. Nothing like drugs though, more like a clearer form of dreaming. Know when you recall dreams and they don't make any sense? Well, it's like having the missing pieces of memory put back into them so it makes complete sense and is really clear. It's no big deal, more like an alternate reality you go into when dreaming, and you can have conversations and have stuff explained to you. You just feel yourself trancing out all the time without wanting too, it's really weird. But you can't really enjoy it because of how exhausted you are.

 

[mecaib]

I wouldn't really call DXM a psychedelic.

Not many people do, and in a "classical" sense, it isn't. It's more like tripping in the mind, but visuals can be found if you know where to look, and are susceptible to having them. OEVs (in bright environments) are not very common, IMEE. But if you're like me, and you get CEVs from it, then dimly lit areas will give you very intense OEVs. I even got some last time I took 120mg, which isn't a lot. (BTW, seeing a solar eclipse on DXM can be a bit disturbing. It seems like life itself is winding down. The feeling is similar to that presented in "The Langoliers," if you've read the book or seen the movie.)

I feel sorry for people who don't get any psychedelia from DXM, but then again, those same people usually have access to other things, so I don't feel too sorry

 

[Roger&Me]

There is much documented work by notable scientists that prove DMT to be the chemical responsible for dreams and that it is possible to release enough amounts of DMT to induce a trip like experience during meditation. Yes the amount is small as you have stated but enough to become active to a noticeable point.

I have sent a PM to XTC_fiend requesting that they substantiate this remarkable claim. If it is indeed true, as XTC_fiend has claimed, then they should have no problem substantiating it with proper citation from the tier-1 literature published within the last five years. I am not at all fussy about the source: an article from Nature, Lancet, NEJM, JAMA, or really any other tier-1 publication would be more than sufficient to support this claim.

I am eagerly awaiting their enlightened response!

 

[ZombieArmy]

You'd do absolutely awful in the Astronomy field of science, you'd have an ulcer over un-proven theories.

Take a chill pill, really.

 

[Thorns Have Roses]

I have sent a PM to XTC_fiend requesting that they substantiate this remarkable claim. If it is indeed true, as XTC_fiend has claimed, then they should have no problem substantiating it with proper citation from the tier-1 literature published within the last five years. I am not at all fussy about the source: an article from Nature, Lancet, NEJM, JAMA, or really any other tier-1 publication would be more than sufficient to support this claim.

I am eagerly awaiting their enlightened response!

Some googling shows there's an article on cracked.com that says DMT is responsible for creating dreams. And this http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0306987788900643 which is just baseless speculation/hypothesis by JC callaway (fun fact: he was worked with T. McKenna) from 1988 which did not involve any collecting of empirical data.

 

[Ismene]

Some googling shows there's an article on cracked.com that says DMT is responsible for creating dreams.

As you say Never Knows, the "DMT causes dreams" idea is a little far-fetched. I think anyone who'se ever had a dream and tripped on DMT will be able to point out several powerful differences between the two states. I don't think the dreaming state is any more like DMT than being stone cold sober.

 

[Roger&Me]

Thanks for the link, NKB.

You'd do absolutely awful in the Astronomy field of science, you'd have an ulcer over un-proven theories.

Take a chill pill, really.

I have an ulcer when people claim that there is "much work by notable scientists" proving some hypothesis, when in fact there is none (that I am aware of, I'm still awaiting XTC_fiend's response -- for all I know he could have seen something I missed, which is why I requested they substantiate their claim). This is especially important on a public message board that people consult as a source for information.

I am going to duck out of this thread now, though, as I would rather devote my energy to smoking weed and watching transformers cartoons :D and I think I've pretty much put all my thoughts on the matter on record.