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A psychedelic experience is characterized by the perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from it ordinary fetters. Psychedelic states are one of the stations on the spectrum of experiences elicited by psychedelic substances. On that same spectrum will be found hallucinations, distortions of perception, synaesthesia, altered states of awareness, mystical states, and occasionally states resembling psychosis.Not everyone who takes psychedelic drugs has a true psychedelic experience, and many achieve altered states of consciousness through means other than drugs — meditation, yoga, sensory deprivation, spirit quests, etc.
For many, the psychedelic experience is a personal thing, but there are many common themes many focusing around a sense of connectedness. The range of this sense of connectedness appears to be relative to the strength of the experience, and ranges from a sense of connectedness to everything in the immediate vicinity, to a sense of oneness with everything.
The range of the drug-induced psychedelic experience tends to have the ability to go far beyond that of other methods without requiring much preparation, and for that reason tends to be less predictable, much more immersive and often quite overwhelming and scary.
Levels of Psychedelic Experience
The Psychedelic Experience FAQ describes five different levels of experience:
- This level produces a mild "stoning" effect, with some visual enhancement (ie. brighter colours etc) Some short term memory anomalies. Left/right brain communication changes causing music to sound 'wider'
- Bright colours, and visuals (ie. things start to move and breath) some 2 dimensional patterns become apparent upon shutting eyes. Confused or reminiscent thoughts. Change of short term memory leads to continual distractive thought patterns. Vast increase in creativity becomes apparent as the natural brain filter is bypassed.
- Very obvious visuals, everything looking curved and/or warped patterns and kaleidoscopes seen on walls, faces etc. Some mild hallucinations such as rivers flowing in wood grained or "mother of pearl" surfaces. Closed eye hallucinations become 3 dimensional. There is some confusing of the senses (ie. seeing sounds as colours etc.) Time distortions and "moments of eternity". Movement at times becomes extremely difficult (too much effort required)
- Strong hallucinations, ie objects morphing into other objects. Destruction or multiple splitting of the ego. (Things start talking to you, or you find that you are feeling contradictory things simultaneously) Some loss of reality. Time becomes meaningless. Out of body experiences and ESP type phenomena. Blending of the senses.
- Total loss of visual connection with reality. The senses cease to function in the normal way. Total loss of ego. Merging with space, other objects or the universe. The loss of reality becomes so severe that it defies explanation. The earlier levels are relatively easy to explain in terms of measureable changes in perception and thought patterns. This level is different in that the actual universe within which things are normally perceived, ceases to exist.
