Ways to alter consciousness without the use of psychoactives?

[PsychedelicLove]

I'm currently working on a project detailing my experiences with altered states of consciousness. It will be a large compilation of writings (including experience reports) about the various ways one can go about "getting high" (for lack of a better term) with OR without drugs. So far, I have sleep deprivation, meditation, yoga, fasting, hypnosis, brainwave entrainment, hypnagogic induction, biofeedback, psychoactive drugs, sensory deprivation, and music.

Does anyone have any other ways to alter awareness?

(By the way, sorry if this isn't quite Bluelight material, but I've found that Bluelight users are usually about a million times smarter and more educated than the dickheads on Yahoo Answers. )

 

[tambourine-man]

Some cultures believe it can be attained via physical pain.

Perhaps you should restrict yourself to a literature review for that chapter?

 

[PsychedelicLove]

Some cultures believe it can be attained via physical pain.

Perhaps you should restrict yourself to a literature review for that chapter?

I'm assuming you're referring to flagellation and the like, and not simply physical exercise. Either way, I'd think the change in consciousness would be a result of endorphin release, in which case I could simply use a less painful way to release endorphins, such as orgasm or spicy foods.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[Venrak]

^Wouldn't be as effective, though.

 

[PsychedelicLove]

^Wouldn't be as effective, though.

Good point. I guess the amount of endorphins released would depend on the amount of pain.

But does anyone have any more ideas? I've looked everywhere, and the only others I could really find that were accepted as true "altered states" were sweating and drumming--and those are questionable.

 

[Noodle]

I think this may generate some pertinent discussion in one or all three of the following forums:

Philosophy & Spirituality

Second Opinion

Healthy Living


I'm going to send this over to P&S to start.



Forum Mods: Please feel free to bounce this along as needed.

 

[panic in paradise]

Automatic Writing.

Myself and most people are usually too intimidated to honestly do this.

 

[GetInGetOut666]

I experimented a few years back with Holotropic Breathwork.
It's a topic worth researching.

 

[-=SS=-]

Dancing e.g Whirling Dervish

 

[ParappaTheRapper]

Lucid dreaming. Hyperventilation. Astral Projection. Equilibrium. Isolation Tanks. Blood loss. Extreme temperatures. Introspection. Imagination. Optical Illusions. 3d effects. Panic attacks. Dissociation and derealization. HPPD. Mental Illness. Religious/Mystical experiences. Strokes. Poisoning. Group think/ Mob mentality. Peer pressure. Shell shock/ trauma/ stress. Neurological disorders/ tumors. Applying pressure to eyes. Suffocation. Oxytocin. Sunlight/ Melatonin levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn1GaaLhz4g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcvaX2ZsHEY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strobe_light

 

[panic in paradise]

I experimented a few years back with Holotropic Breathwork.
It's a topic worth researching.

Should of thought of this but consider it Yoga, I do Pranayama daily, and have encouraged others to try "BreathWork"..

Dancing e.g Whirling Dervish

oh yeah!
stares at feet

There are many things we do but may be dont realize it...


Seeing what you see in distorted imagery.

 

[panic in paradise]

Hemi Synch
ISIS

 

[B9]

If you have experienced these altered states through means other than drugs then posting a trip report type description of the method used to attain & subsequent effects would make for interesting reading.
I could do with a good fast - or maybe two or three

 

[1394]

Dancing e.g Whirling Dervish

^ this post.

I can't believe nobody wrote sex.

 

[Foreigner]

Anything that induces an hypnotic state will probably alter your consciousness. If you are easy to hypnotize then many things in the world can help you to achieve this.

I've heard a lot of runners say they get high after while from the endorphin kick, but that'd be too much work for me. I'm sure exercise in general does this.

For me, music can be conscious-altering.

 

[SpinOutOfControl]

Isolation tank

 

[<SpaceHead>]

I think being immersed in naturewith no contact with civilization for long periods of time is very psychedelic. i think lucid dreaming is probobly the most profound altered state you can achieve without drugs, aside from mental disorders like schizophrenia and the like. also stroke and other brain damage can have profound effects. also near death experiences. also making artwork or music.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

If you have experienced these altered states through means other than drugs then posting a trip report type description of the method used to attain & subsequent effects would make for interesting reading.
I could do with a good fast - or maybe two or three

Agreed. I'm all for BL being a welcoming place for consciousness-benders who do it with non-drug means. I think this makes for incredibly good, insightful reading.


Great thread idea, OP

 

[BlindSoothsayer]

This may qualify as brainwave entrainment or music, but I would suggest binaural beats.

 

[bluedom]

I think a combination of these (music, starving sleep deprivation, hynosis, exercise all TOGETHER) may help with the intensity of the "trip". i find I can go for hours once I combine a bunch of things. Then it just becomes lucid dreaming and I can control anything I wish to see which could be an acid trip or self examining the biocomputer's operation.