Bodies of Light
Mescaline
Citation:   Blue Zinnia. "Bodies of Light: An Experience with Mescaline (exp113939)". Erowid.org. Feb 10, 2020. erowid.org/exp/113939

 
DOSE:
  smoked Cannabis  
    smoked Alcohol - Beer/Wine  
    oral Mescaline (extract)
BODY WEIGHT: 160 lb
[Erowid Note: A substance(s) in this report might be identified incorrectly. Erowid reviewers question the author's identification of the drug described. Although the report is included in the collection, the substance might be something other than the author believed it to be.]
first mescaline experience (+ alcohol and pot), 1970, 160-lb. 20-y/o female. Naturally derived drug (per trusted supplier), dosage unknown.
____________________________________________

This experience took place at a friend's very pleasant, mellow but funky off-campus house when I was in college in 1970. We were mostly on cushions on the floor. I hadn't prepared for the experience, as I didn't known anyone would be bringing the drug and had never tried it or anything else trippier than opiated hash before. I'd had a fair bit of wine and some pot that evening, but was sobering up, and had become rather depressed and a bit nauseated. My friend, who was good at settling me down, got me back in a positive frame of mind and we began to laugh and clown. He asked me if I wanted to try something "safer and better than acid". We talked about it and I said I would. He put on some music, possibly CSNY; more about that later.

Onset
~~~~
This was 48 years ago, so I don't recall exactly how long onset took. I remember it as longer than I expected--certainly longer than LSD-- but once the drug came on, time wasn't something I noticed.

Physical
~~~~~
I do remember experiencing some mild, rather rhythmic stomach cramps, but they weren't deeply unpleasant, just a rolling sort of "pulling" sensation. I had to stop only once to do a breathing exercise to manage a difficult one. I also felt something that felt like flows of pleasantly chilly, lightly electrified water on my body from time to time, always moving vertically as if poured down me from neck/shoulder level.

Peak
~~~
I found the visual effects utterly lovely, though I didn't get any of the wild "fractal screensaver" effects you see in the "What's a mescaline trip like?" videos on YouTube. I may have been on a smaller dose.

Even without the drug, the room had a pleasant light, normal and warm; with the mescaline, the light became a glowing, soft but vividly colorful, sharp-edged separate entity from the room
the light became a glowing, soft but vividly colorful, sharp-edged separate entity from the room
, fitting the space but not in any way the same as the space. And then multiple entities: big soft blocks.

This is extremely hard to describe, but was lovely and fascinating. I'm not mathematical, but if two solids (the room and the light, or two blocks of light) can have the same dimensions and shape, occupy the same space, and yet multiple profoundly different, interpenetrating, harmonious geometries...and if their colors can simultaneously and clearly be a glowy blue or rose or white and yet not carry the usual mental or emotional meaning of blue or rose or white AT ALL, just seem completely and delightfully unfamiliar and odd...that's what I was getting.

And for awhile it moved and flowed and (briefly) tumbled, which was gorgeous.

It should have been baffling, but was perfectly peaceful and okay, and so was I, a sensation I wasn't terribly familiar with at that age. I also felt no need to talk/explain it to death in my head--a VERY unfamiliar state. It felt like being in the quiet presence of the Divine, but without any doctrinal stuff or any of the usual religious stress or wordiness or guilt.

The body effects continued throughout, but were only mildly distracting (until I began to come down--see below). Tactile sensations were mildly enhanced, but didn't seem important. The weirdest thing is that it was such a visual trip that I lost consciousness of the music as music and began listening to it with my eyes, as further and even more interesting masses of light. I'm a musician, and have never before or since been much of a synesthete. So every other mind-alterant I've ever taken has sent me deep off into the ear-to-brain circuits. This was very different.

Subsidence
~~~~~~~
Coming down was a little uncomfortable; the stomach cramping was still there, not any worse but somehow more bothersome. My stomach was quite acid, enough to require some baking soda; that may have been the wine from earlier, as we drank some really dreadful shit in those days. This distracted me for only a few minutes, though, and then I was just peaceful, tired, very quiet inside, and a little hungry. I felt good for several days, energetic but peaceful

PS--It's possible I was also on the tricyclic antidepressant Elavil at the time. I don't think so, but again, this was nearly half a century ago. I have no idea if it matters, but knowing the serotonin and/or dopamine effects of most classic hallucinogens, I thought I should mention it. --Blue Zinnia

Exp Year: 1970ExpID: 113939
Gender: Female 
Age at time of experience: 20
Published: Feb 10, 2020Views: 4,199
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Mescaline (36) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Music Discussion (22), General (1)

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