Music vs Silence on Psychedelics or What helps deep exploration

[Captain.Heroin]

I am all about getting to a nice and tripped out state, and then putting on a harsh noise wall for 80 minutes. I make sure that it's as loud as can be for the majority of it and especially the end - which is always abrupt. The most abrupt and comforting silence ever. Then I normally repeat this experience again after getting to hear the best silence in the world haha.

I can only imagine what someone else would experience if they weren't used to doing this...

 

[kidklmx]

With a noise wall you mean something like the holocaust bit from My Bloody Valentine's You Made Me Realize the way they do it in a live show? Had to live through that soberly, can't imagine what that would do to me when on psychedelics..

 

[Putingrad]

This is an interesting thread, and it's made me recognize some patterns about my drug use that I've never thought about before.

Music and psychedelics have a tight mental association in my mind, I believe due to my love of music and the larger drug culture that permeates many music scenes and their corresponding shows/festivals. However, when I think about the many trips I've taken, perhaps only 10% of them have been at a show or festival, and only another 15-25% have even featured music as a major part of the experience, or even had music around for a large part of the experience.

In fact, the vast majority of my trips have been outdoors (or at least not in a house), with only the noises of whatever environment I was in present. And when I reflect on all my experiences as a whole, I see that this is how I prefer it and my post positive experiences have generally been without music. This is something I've never even thought about until now!

MDMA on the other hand is a drug that I associate even more heavily with music, and rightfully so, as unlike my psychedelic use my MDMA use has almost been exclusively at shows/festivals, or otherwise in the presence of music. In fact, I've only had two MDMA experiences with only environmental noise present. Both were decidedly more "neutral" (if such a term is even applicable for MDMA...) than the others.

 

[MrPorter]

I couldn't sit through a solo trip entirely with no music, unless in sensory deprivation. But I also experience no extra music appreciation when listening through speakers, has to be headphones every single time.

 

[dextrorfan]

I usually like to have some music when I am tripping as well, It's almost ritualistic for me to listen to Boards of Canada every time I do ketamine. Lately I've not wanted music for mushroom trips though, which is very odd and a change from when I was a teenager tripping balls listening to infected mushroom with headphones. I just like to sit and watch the visuals when I do mushrooms now, they're just so darn interesting, and I find music or any other stimuli to be distracting. Good ol' Terrence knew his shit.

 

[cannakickit]

I can't stand making decisions on sid or shroomies but whatevers on always does the trick haha or off.

 

[Jesusgreen]

It depends on the substance and the dosage - with something that results in some kind of intense breakthrough experience like DMT or Ketamine I find music sort of grounds me in reality a little and so I don't go quite as far, in those occasions I prefer music off. Otherwise I like to have some music going, and the type varies from trip to trip.

 

[RhythmSpring]

My deepest explorations on shrooms have been in silence. And then the littlest noises bring me back to reality. Music is wonderful, but I haven't gone as deep listening to it.

One time, tripping in daytime silence on shrooms, I lay in bed with my eyes closed, and my trip gradually became more and more reminiscent of a DMT trip. But again, little sounds would bring me out of it.

...which may be useful. Perhaps you could have drumming or some kind of repetitive trancey sound to keep you grounded in or tied to this reality while you journey.

 

[webbykevin]

Music does things for me, transports me , heals me, disturbs me, crushes me, releases me,...
Silence shows me how i can transport myself, heal myself, disturb myself, crush myself, release myself,...

I really like this.

 

[webbykevin]

I used to love music on acid, but as i've gotten older I take mushrooms as my drug of choice and rarely (once every couple of years) take acid anymore, with mushrooms I always aim for silent darkness, I say aim for because I don't always make it though, sometimes mushrooms can be so overwhelming that i have to reach for a candle and the play button on some trance or chill out stuff, once i clung to a mozart symphony for 2 hours to ground my mind on something because the billows were really choppy that night.

 

[Rorthron]

My deepest explorations on shrooms have been in silence. And then the littlest noises bring me back to reality. Music is wonderful, but I haven't gone as deep listening to it.

One time, tripping in daytime silence on shrooms, I lay in bed with my eyes closed, and my trip gradually became more and more reminiscent of a DMT trip. But again, little sounds would bring me out of it.

...which may be useful. Perhaps you could have drumming or some kind of repetitive trancey sound to keep you grounded in or tied to this reality while you journey.

My feelings also. Music is important and many times helps. However for me, silence is much deeper, sometimes it is even unbearable. On some occasions on 4-AcO-DMT the coming up was so intense that I had to turn on the music, to make it less intense and soothing. Sometimes one is simply not prepared to face everything one has inside.

Silence can be BRUTAL.

 

[RhythmSpring]

In silence my ears expand to fill the room (and beyond) so that I hear all the tiniest subtleties, physical and energetic. I rarely get visuals. But my hearing is enhanced/psychedelicized sooo much.

 

[GolemGolem]

Depends, if silence is an option it is the way to go for deep work...but no music, but with cars driving by, housemates doing their thing, dogs barking is much worse (extra on MXE or DXM), in this case I prefer ambient, usually darker...(instrumental)Boris, Tim Hecker, Coil, Nurse with Wound, maybe Brian Eno or William Basisnsky if I need something more positive. On lower doses a beat is wonderful, as is making music.