Left to Right said:
For the deepest philosophical and spiritual insight you can't go wrong with cyanide.
Neural_Shock, I would be interested in the technique you speak of. I doubt i'll experiment any time soon, but I find such things very interesting.
Well briefly... Get your sitter ready with percussive tribal music (starting with - if you can get this - a loud heart beat pulsing sound). Cover your eyes with a sleep mask and lie down on a soft mattress. Totally relax your body over the course of 30 minutes or so (I won't bother fleshing out this bit - plenty of info around - get a tape or your sitter could talk you down). Then when you are totally relaxed (no tension anywhere) start breathing very fast by sucking in air, pulling up your abdomen, getting 3/4 of lung capacity, and then blowing out again. The speed needs to be 3 breaths in 2 seconds. That's fast. The heart beat / music needs to start now! So you're going wooo-wooo wooo-wooo sucking in and out very profusely while remaining relaxed elsewhere, and focused. You must keep this going for 2 hours (I think 4 hours is max. per session). About 20 seconds into it you will notice you are getting very dizzy - like hyperventilating must feel. You will also get pins and needles in the extremities (I couldn't feel my hands after 20 mins). Nausea is possible so keep the sitter nearby with a basin. One thing - about 2-3 mins in you will feel the urge to stop and you'll wonder if you can keep this shit up. Just keep focusing on the breathing and that will quickly pass. The sitter should time the session and keep the music going.
Your sitter should be prepared for all sorts of shit, just in case. I just did it once in a group session and I saw someone relive their birth. Which meant they were writhing and screaming while the sitters strategically placed large cushions against them to keep them sort of shepherded. I would imagine most LSD-hardened individuals would be fine but it's still totally open in psychedelic terms. I found it to be profoundly euphoric. The come down rocks. It takes ages. Stop breathing at 1.5-4 hours and have your sitter talk you up (or get a tape). You are looking to slowly reintegrate (e.g. move your toes, then become aware of your legs, listen to ambient room sounds, etc etc.). Finally take off your mask and stand up (slowly). Take 30 mins for the come down. You won't feel like going anywhere anyway - in fact I would have been happy to stay like that forever.
I don't recommend hammering into this without someone knowledgable running the show. There have been reports of people losing it a bit (too open, neurotic, paranoid, anxious, etc.) after a serious session. So find a centre. I just give this info to be, you know, left-wing about it. Info is info. Hopefully nobody who reads this will try anyway due to the WTF factor and the work involved in getting the breathing going.
The guy who came up with this is Stan Groff (I think that's his name). And there are good books (e.g. The New Primal Scream - Janov). If you are looking for somewhere to try it look for Rebirth / Holotropic / Regression in listings.
EDIT: I found a quick link for some info, and contraindications.
http://mzone.mweb.co.za/residents/willapsy/holotropic.html