Several days later I repeated this experience, using 500 mcg. of LSD,
and smoking 650 mcg. of Salvinorin about 1 1/2 hours into the trip. Immediately
after smoking the Salvinorin, familiar sensations began coming over me,
however, these seemed gentler than usual. Within seconds the visuals turned
into a continuation of the green plant/serpent/goddess I had seen during
my recent journey. This first appeared as a large, twisted green vine that
was growing, branching,twirling and intertwining itself in every which
direction. The energy of this "plant" seemed very pleasant. I paid closer
attention to it and saw that the vine strands were actually made of a continuous
line of serpents that were biting each other's tails. Then, upon further
examination, I saw the vine composed of fish biting each other's tails.
As I noticed this it seemed that I was let into a secret, and into a new
dimension of experience. These fish were seen doing loops, circles, and
cascading all about in electric-psychedelic patterns. Many of the fish
looked dolphin or porpoise-like. The feeling this vision evoked was both
magical and funny. Thousands of these tiny fish were lightly biting on
the entire surface of my body, producing the "needle-like anesthetic sensation"
I've come to expect with Salvinorin. The sensation here was much gentler
than usual and rather pleasant. Since I found the experience both cosmically
meaningful and funny I said out loud "Green Electric Fish," and soon afterwards
started laughing. I had a tape recorder running during this session, and
later discovered I had spoken these words 20 seconds after smoking the
Salvinorin.
One thing I noticed was that green, electric, and fish are three things
which a human will immediately reject as being not-self or repulsive.
When
I saw the plants turn to fish I realized there was a close synergy
between
them. Both plants and fish have lived on this planet many times longer
than humans. In living in balance with and very connected to the earth,
they have developed an elaborate consciousness network, which I felt
I had
been let in on. These green-electric-fish, which represent what humans
are not, were inviting me into their world, into their consciousness,
and
seemingly wanted to play. Soon I found myself in an underwater world.
It
was as though I had shape-shifted and was now perceiving through the
eyes
of some creature that lived in the sea. I saw a continual view looking
through water. upward toward the light. The scenes that I was watching
seemed extremely realistic. and changed at about the rate that a fish
swims. At almost all times there was a curving, lens-like effect that
looking through water creates. And I now think back on the "lens-like wave"
I saw in my recent experience. There were visions looking up through seaweed
as it gently moved in the ocean swells while light filtered down, intricate
patterns created in the water by other fish swimming above me, and the
magical intricacies of light
filtering through water. The light always came from above.
With this journey I began noticing that the content of the Salvinorin
experience is significantly altered if taken following the ingestion
of
another psychedelic. This theory has been repeatedly confirmed by my
subsequent Salvinorin journeys, taken both with and without other
substances. Normally when I smoke Salvinorin there is a tendency to
almost
immediately begin looking for a reference point, to start coming back.
In
my baseline state of mind I tend to have a firm definition of "reality."
While Salvinorin temporarily breaks my grasp on reality, some mechanism
in
me begins attempting to reestablish a stable vantage point shortly
after.
I feel this is an impediment to having useful or enjoyable journeys
on
Salvinorin, and lately I have conducted most of my Salvinorin journeys
while tripping. In the instances when I smoke Salvinorin while already
high on LSD, I have been able to effortlessly float into the journey, and
into the "Salvinorin realm" for a long period of time. This has provided
much more meaningful and eventful experiences. I think this difference
is due to LSD's property of
diminishing the tendency to continually define one's ego boundaries.
In
later experiences I discovered that this combination is only useful
if
Salvinorin is used in the early stages of an LSD journey, while the
ego is
in a state of releasing its grasp. When I've smoked Salvinorin during
the
return stage of LSD journeys, when the ego is being reformulated, I've
had
some of the most negative experiences of my life, one of which is
discussed below. The journey described above was also the first in
which I
shape-shifted and traveled underwater, a theme which has now repeated
several times with different variations.
