e1evene1even
Bluelighter
- Joined
- May 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,504
I thought I would start a thread to see if anyone has used this before.
For those that don't know what it is, the Mind-Fold is basically a fancy blind fold invented by Alex Grey that allows you to open your eyes and still have total darkness. %)
I think that if there is a similar brain mechanism involved in dream generation and psychedelic image generation, it might be activated more fully in the absence of light. I think many would agree it's likely that the pineal gland plays a significant role in modulating the psychedelic experience, and since the pineal gland's activity is regulated by light, it makes sense to me that darkness could significantly alter the nature of the 'trip'.
Sensory deprivation and darkness are a common thread between shamanic traditions, both ancient and modern. If I'm not mistaken, most of the original psychedelic studies with LSD etc. people were blindfolded. McKenna and Lilly etc. also consider darkness a key element for psychedelic exploration. My ayahausca experiences were all in darkness and I think it makes a big difference.
What I like about the mindfold is that the lights can be on, so that if I start to flip out or something (
) I'm not fumbling in the darkness for a light-switch, and the mind-fold offers total darkness which is hard to find in modern environments.
I recently tried it with ketamine and it was awesome. Rather than seeing red eye-lids it was a total void and it made no difference if my eyes were open or closed. I think it really enhanced the experience. While having your own sensory deprivation tank is out of the question for most of us, I think this is a pretty cheap compromise.
I really look forward to testing this out with different psychedelics. It pretty well does away with the distinction between CEV and OEV.
I'm interested to hear if anyone has any experiences to share with this or other forms of sensory deprivation and psychedelics.
For those that don't know what it is, the Mind-Fold is basically a fancy blind fold invented by Alex Grey that allows you to open your eyes and still have total darkness. %)
I think that if there is a similar brain mechanism involved in dream generation and psychedelic image generation, it might be activated more fully in the absence of light. I think many would agree it's likely that the pineal gland plays a significant role in modulating the psychedelic experience, and since the pineal gland's activity is regulated by light, it makes sense to me that darkness could significantly alter the nature of the 'trip'.
Sensory deprivation and darkness are a common thread between shamanic traditions, both ancient and modern. If I'm not mistaken, most of the original psychedelic studies with LSD etc. people were blindfolded. McKenna and Lilly etc. also consider darkness a key element for psychedelic exploration. My ayahausca experiences were all in darkness and I think it makes a big difference.
What I like about the mindfold is that the lights can be on, so that if I start to flip out or something (

I recently tried it with ketamine and it was awesome. Rather than seeing red eye-lids it was a total void and it made no difference if my eyes were open or closed. I think it really enhanced the experience. While having your own sensory deprivation tank is out of the question for most of us, I think this is a pretty cheap compromise.
I really look forward to testing this out with different psychedelics. It pretty well does away with the distinction between CEV and OEV.
I'm interested to hear if anyone has any experiences to share with this or other forms of sensory deprivation and psychedelics.
