[Help] Flotation/ sensory deprivation tank experiences?

[pixel_fortune]

A sensory deprivation tank place has just opened up in my area and is offering extreme discounts to get people to try it

So I'm interested! Has anyone used these in an occult context? Eg for visionary work or altered states?

I've heard that your senses are heightened for a few hours afterwards, so maybe planning a post-float ritual is the way to go

 

[Wintruz]

Has anyone used these in an occult context? Eg for visionary work or altered states?

Yes.

Obviously this is a (literally) immersive experience and what comes will be unique to each person. The best advice I can offer is to go in with no objective beyond turning off your mind. Use it as an aid to meditation rather than visionary work. Sometimes that approach has led me to interesting visions and sometimes to nothing other than a state of totally positive reset and calm. The wasted occasions, when it's been nothing but a man floating in a vat of Epsom, have been occasions when I have entered with a very fixed idea of what I want to gain from it.

Also, when they tell you to put Vaseline over any cuts or wounds, believe them!

 

[pixel_fortune]

The best advice I can offer is to go in with no objective beyond turning off your mind. ...The wasted occasions, when it's been nothing but a man floating in a vat of Epsom, have been occasions when I have entered with a very fixed idea of what I want to gain from it.

REALLY good tip, I absolutely would have done that

 

[neilwilkes]

It's one of those things that is not for everyone, but that said I would absolutely recommend giving it a try - I love the experience, and have found it's best to go in with the aim of quieting your mind. Try to think of thought as a series of bubbles coming up from the sea floor to the surface, getting larger & larger until they burst on the surface of your consciousness.
In the tank, try to follow these bubbles down, down, down to their source and then plug the source. You'll exit the tank feeling 10 years younger and mentally much sharper too

 

[pixel_fortune]

Update: had a pretty bad time, haha.

It was physically not super comfortable, I got a sore neck. (It's like being on a very soft mattress with no pillow, you're not supported that well. Maybe depends on overall mass / body fat % how that works). The rocking gave me mild nausea and at one point a drop of (very, very salty) condensation fell into my open eye. (They hang a little spray bottle of fresh water in the tank for exactly this circumstance, but it's pretty disruptive to go scrabbling around for it while your eye's stinging like crazy). Since I was quite aware of my body, I didn't feel sensorily deprived, just... like lying in a dark room on an uncomfortable bed.

(Maybe people with young kids would appreciate it more, since "lying in the dark undisturbed" is a luxury for them)

When I got out I felt kind of shaky (not sure why, the nausea? All that magnesium absorbed through the skin?? no idea) and really tired. Needed to go home and have a lie down to recover. Sort of defeats the purpose.

I googled, and apparently the nausea is pretty commin - esp if you're someone who's prone to carsickness (I am) or gets occasional vertigo (I do not). They say you get used to it, but I'm not inclined to stick with it to find out.

Still glad I experimented - worth a shot, can't win em all, etc etc

 

[Vandheer]

I was actually thinking of requesting a rewiev from you. Figured you would do that regardless.

So, this falls into a 'definitely not recommended' category?

 

[pixel_fortune]

So, this falls into a 'definitely not recommended' category?

Tricky to say! Like, technically yeah, for me, zero stars. But it's also clear I didn't have the experience a lot of people have. The majority of people find it really relaxing. RCTs* show it on average reduces people's anxiety and blood pressure. And that's not because most people find nausea and a sore neck relaxing.

* presumably not double-blind, idk how you'd do a placebo float tank

So I think you should treat my experience as anecdotal, and assume you have the same chance of a good time as before you read my review, ie pretty good chance (with the exception of if you're prone to vertigo / dizziness / carsickness - I think nausea is a strong chance there)

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2024

It's not like I'm scarred or anything, it was just a waste of about 3 hours (float + recovery) and AU$60 (US $40?). So it's just if that's worth gambling to you. I would not book it on a day where you can't afford to feel bad afterwards, tho.

 

[Taudefindi]

I didn't feel sensorily deprived

I guess rather than going for the tank, you could give a try at depriving yourself of some senses and see what you can do from there.
For example, laying down in a comfortable place with a towel over your eyes(preferably in a dark room) and headphones with that noise canceling feature(or just earplugs) would already take away two of your senses.

Maybe you don't need to take all of them away to get what you want.

 

[stratamaster78]

I’ve been interested before in trying a sensory deprivation tank but I already know it’s going to be a task to not go in with certain expectations.

Probably because anytime I’ve seen one used in media the person has some kind of vision quest like they took Peyote or Ayahuasca or something.

 

[pixel_fortune]

I guess rather than going for the tank, you could give a try at depriving yourself of some senses and see what you can do from there.

Eh, there's not really a problem that needs solving here. A place near me was having a sale, I was curious and gave it a go, I didn't care for it, experiment concluded.

The comment about sensory deprivation was just me speculating on why I got so little out of the float tank, rather than something I'm aiming to experience

Probably because anytime I’ve seen one used in media the person has some kind of vision quest like they took Peyote or Ayahuasca or something

I've seen that reaction too. But you see people report that after doing their first LBRP. Maybe it's people who've never done much in the way of meditation or pathworking having their minds blown by an everyday experience.

I think you could reasonably expect your senses to be a bit brighter after though.