Seeing the exact same hallucination consistently on psychedelics and dissociatives

[BananadineSmacks]

Hello. This is something that's baffled me for a very long time. I have done LSD probably a hundred times, and at some point I saw a very odd CEV during one of my trips. I have posted this in a different place, if that is against the rules please let me know (I have read them but not sure if I've overlooked anything).

It's a very photorealistic and clear hallucination including a metal rack at the top of my vision with a receipt hanging down from it, with a clearly visible barcode and even indecipherable but crisp text. Below that is a yellow notebook, that is repeatedly getting slapped by a cat's arm and paw coming from the right (weird, I know). On the rack or slightly below, to the right of the receipt is a mesh of constantly morphing fluorescently colored hair and 3D letters interwoven together.

At the time I thought this would be a unique hallucination I'd never see again like all my other CEVs, but that was FAR from the case. Almost every trip succeeding this one led to me seeing the EXACT same hallucination, just as I'd remembered it. Even weirder, on one of my experiences with DMT I saw the exact same thing again!

That blew my mind somewhat, as I'd never expected to see it from something other than LSD. But, it didn't seem too crazy considering they're both 5HT2A agonists.

But it gets even crazier... a few months ago, nearly seven years after I first started seeing this, I was bored and took 300mg of DXM, as I wanted to give it another chance before I wrote it off completely. I tripped very hard and actually saw amazing CEVs for hours... and was beyond blown away when I saw the exact same freaking hallucination once again! How is this even neurologically possible, considering they are completely different substances that work in different ways, DXM being an NMDA antagonist?!

The only thing I can think of is that this weird imagery is for some reason stored in a small part of my brain and is triggered by the drugs, but even then that alone doesn't make too much sense considering I see it on multiple drugs that affect completely different parts of my brain (5HT2A agonists and NMDA antagonists). Wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar, or how this could be explained. I would include some research but I can't find anything about this. Thanks.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

This has happened to me a few times. After going hard on psychedelics for awhile, then retiring, various other drugs produce extremely vivid CEVs at night when I drift into sleep. Drinking or benzos + kratom really bring them out, but other non-psychedelic drugs as well. I will experience CEVs of such intricate detail and will see myself doing things, or I will see the room around me, in such accurate detail it is like I've unlocked photographic memory hallucinations. It's extremely fascinating to me. So detailed that I sometimes forget my eyes are closed. I have also seen recurrent CEVs I've experienced from past trips a couple of times.

DXM has never given me CEVs of any significance at any dose. I suspect a similar mechanism may be at play, because benzos and kratom shouldn't produce such intense CEVs either. We've unlocked an extra sense of perception by breaking down the barrier to our subconscious shadow.

The deep trips, they unlock the subconscious part of the brain and let us peer into our inner workings. Our conscious sober reality is all hallucination, based on prediction and pattern recognition. The reason we don't perceive our senses as hallucinations is because we agree with what our brains predict to be experiencing.

 

[BananadineSmacks]

This has happened to me a few times. After going hard on psychedelics for awhile, then retiring, various other drugs produce extremely vivid CEVs at night when I drift into sleep. Drinking or benzos + kratom really bring them out, but other non-psychedelic drugs as well. I will experience CEVs of such intricate detail and will see myself doing things, or I will see the room around me, in such accurate detail it is like I've unlocked photographic memory hallucinations. It's extremely fascinating to me. So detailed that I sometimes forget my eyes are closed. I have also seen recurrent CEVs I've experienced from past trips a couple of times.

DXM has never given me CEVs of any significance at any dose. I suspect a similar mechanism may be at play, because benzos and kratom shouldn't produce such intense CEVs either. We've unlocked an extra sense of perception by breaking down the barrier to our subconscious shadow.

The deep trips, they unlock the subconscious part of the brain and let us peer into our inner workings. Our conscious sober reality is all hallucination, based on prediction and pattern recognition. The reason we don't perceive our senses as hallucinations is because we agree with what our brains predict to be experiencing.

Really appreciate such an awesome response! That is super interesting that you experience this from such a wide variety of substances. I don't think I've ever heard of somebody experiencing visuals from benzos or alcohol. Pretty crazy considering both slow down the connections between neurons as opposed to making the brain more connected, like with psychedelics for example. How long have you been experiencing this? I'm super jealous! Intrigued to hear that you also have seen recurring hallucinations as well.

I've actually gotten CEVs (and mild OEVs) from kratom before too. It was nothing super intense, but I do remember one experience in particular with a kratom extract shot that produced some pretty crisp, rigid fractals not entirely dissimilar to the ones I see on LSD. Though of course it paled in comparison in terms of intensity and complexity, and didn't last very long.

I remember posting about this on a kratom subreddit, and I was quickly bombarded by mitragynine connoisseurs and enthusiasts who insisted that this was physically impossible. They even went as far as to say that I was singlehandedly endangering the legality of kratom by posting this, and I was promptly banned. Pretty laughable.

I've also experienced CEVs from cannabis for as long as I can remember, though that is far from unheard of. Even nicotine gives me very prominent white static and otherwise actually clears my vision of any other distortions I typically see with eyes closed. I think there are some others I'm forgetting, maybe they'll come to mind later.

I'm surprised you don't get much from DXM. That was the only trip I've had actually worth noting, but man was it intense and packed to the brim with detail.

Are the majority of your visuals a specific color, by the way? I see all types of colors, especially in photorealistic hallucinations that make it feel as if my eyes are open, but generally all the fractals and geometric shapes I see are yellow/gold in color. This is true for nearly everything that has made me hallucinate—salvia, LSD, mushrooms, DMT, DXM, kratom, you name it.

Anyway, you make very great points. The brain is super complex and essentially an organic computer with seemingly next to no limit in terms of what it can generate and calculate, reality itself included. I believe I have seen that TED talk, and it was definitely something. I will rewatch it shortly to ensure this, and just because this topic is so cool to think about in general. Thank you for the recommendation and response, and I hope you have a great day