an interesting and agitating problem

[mercuryspiral]

a friend of mine has tried Salvia several times in several environments (although never lying down on a soft surface), but each time he gets experiences that are rather frightening. What's worse is that the delirium is accompanied by what he calls a horrible cacophonous gasping sound, and now when he's on any other substance, when he's in a very introspective state he hears it and it just slowly builds up, until he makes it stop, and then it starts going again, very quietly

it is a very unnerving sensation understandably -- do the folks of the forum perhaps have any advice for my friend? it's really not something that one can just flow with or ignore at will

 

[ophiuchus]

you'll have to describe the sound a little more... talk to your friend... is it a sound that he thinks he hears (an effect of the salvia) or is it his extremely altered perception of his own erratic breathing from the harsh smoke. is it loud? is it more like background noise? is it maybe like a constant sound? does it pulsate or undulate back and forth? if so, how frequently in a given amount of time?

these are things we should need to know before any of us can begin to give advice. anything additional would help as well. as it stands now, im not even sure if you mean a real world sound or one that his mind is creating...

 

[mercuryspiral]

Okay so --
it is a sound that he THINKS he hears, a hallucination
He says that its loudness gets gradually more intense, but that it also has a pattern of pulsation. The way he described the pattern it gets louder overall but has a rhythm of quietness-and-loudness as it increases. This is a little hard for me to imagine, but hopefully that makes more sense.
Also like I said before, an important feature of it is that it shows up when he is in an introspective state on any other substance, as well (this only includes marijuana and alcohol, since neither of us do any other drugs). He said that when it begins, if he doesn't make it stop, other sounds -- people's talking, the wind rustling in trees, etc etc -- sort of 'morphs' into it.

 

[ophiuchus]

Okay so --
it is a sound that he THINKS he hears, a hallucination
He says that its loudness gets gradually more intense, but that it also has a pattern of pulsation. The way he described the pattern it gets louder overall but has a rhythm of quietness-and-loudness as it increases. This is a little hard for me to imagine, but hopefully that makes more sense.
Also like I said before, an important feature of it is that it shows up when he is in an introspective state on any other substance, as well (this only includes marijuana and alcohol, since neither of us do any other drugs). He said that when it begins, if he doesn't make it stop, other sounds -- people's talking, the wind rustling in trees, etc etc -- sort of 'morphs' into it.

i believe that i know what sound your friend is referring. it is the sound of "nothing"; or rather, the sound one hears when there is absence of other sounds to distract you from hearing it. so thats real. everyone can hear it. it's the sound that sounds like it's inside of your ears, it's not a hallucination. if you pay attention you can still hear it when other noise is heard. the sound seems to penetrate/merge into all other sounds.

thing is though, that most people dont pay attention to it, aren't aware of it. that is actually an anchor/focal point in meditation. there are several things that can be used to maintain ones focus: one is breathing, one is posture, and one is that sound, the hindu, and (buddhists maybe?) call it om (or "aum", as it's pronounced), amongst other things as well

the first part of this video below references what your friend is hearing. noticing a pulsation in it is a good sign that he is well aware. telling him he is hallucinating will only cause confusion and problems for him. you should try to encourage him into maybe experimenting with some meditation, because he shouldn't be concerned that this sound is unnatural.

this link may sound a little extreme, but nevertheless the overall concept is not

http://www.meditationsociety.com/week20.html

the idea is is your intent. your intent must be pure with anything, from taking psychedelics and doing meditation, to trying to start a career, to walking your dog or playing sports. this world is about intent, and that's all that that link trys to convey, even though it's a bit esoteric. i hope that you and your friend find this information helpful. let me know what you think or if you have more questions

 

[IJesusChrist]

I'm thinking your friend has created a fear... He experienced this sound once and now remembers that sound and has tied a fear to it.

Two things though;
IF he doesn't care about it, and it's just a nusance, like a cast on an arm - simply an annoying idea, then I am not sure, follow allusions advice. Meditation and understanding will be able to cure this problem.

IF what happens is your friend trips, and starts to hear this sound, and the trip becomes bad, or annoying, unable to ignore it and unable to enjoy anything else during the trip, and that he FEARS this experience and this sound then here is the solution:
confront it.

Why is he afraid of the sound. Why is it annoying. Find comfort in it's hold, allow it to consume him. Allow the sound to amplify, let it kill him...

 

[muchojem]

Salut ..

Merci de partager vos idées .. J'ai appris quelque chose
ce jour et c'est à cause de vous les gars ..

Merci encore .. bon .. tous les jours!!
:axe:

 

[ophiuchus]

I'm thinking your friend has created a fear... He experienced this sound once and now remembers that sound and has tied a fear to it.

Two things though;
IF he doesn't care about it, and it's just a nusance, like a cast on an arm - simply an annoying idea, then I am not sure, follow allusions advice. Meditation and understanding will be able to cure this problem.

IF what happens is your friend trips, and starts to hear this sound, and the trip becomes bad, or annoying, unable to ignore it and unable to enjoy anything else during the trip, and that he FEARS this experience and this sound then here is the solution:
confront it.

you're right, i think he has been scared from a trip. possibly from salvia's lack of emotional content associated with the trip itself. it IS the most potent psychedelic substance pound for pound...

how else is he going to confront it besides meditation? you didn't elaborate much there. i think meditation to probably be the safest means for this when the only other choice is take psychedelics (and then you're stuck meditating on that for x hours{mental loops and such}). i mean to meditate on it sober. if he is still currently having problems with this sound, then he should not be taking any more psychedelics for the time being, at least until he get's a grasp mentally on what this sound is, and what it's going to mean for his future trips.

ijc is right though in his advice of confrontation. though either option is a means to confront it. and that's what this is about in the end. it has to be confronted. he has to figure out that this experience is not a separate thing from him. it's not something that "just happened" one day. it's something that's always been there, just the individuals scope of awareness wasn't "large enough" to notice at the time... tapping back into that mindset sober can be a little more relaxing and just less strenuous in general, you know, not having sensory bombardment the whole time. however, if he feels like a more direct approach is appropriate, and is confident in this, studies have shown that one psychedelic session can be as valuable as weeks/months of therapy. so idk, you're going to have to help him through this tough time, it's not an easy thing to deal with, be there for him. simply being a good listener at times can be more valuable than any therapist

 

[Joki42]

Always remember, the only thing you'll find in the rabbit hole is what you bring with you. Fear is the base wall that blocks us all from expansion. It is the natural barrier set by our selves to help keep us from harm. Any new and especially unusual experiances are met with a little fear. Psychodelics break down our natural state and exposes our deep subconcious to the light of day. This can be a very unnurving thing to happen. All the thoughts that roll around in our heads, the deep hidden phobias and bias inclinations come rushing to the surface, and as in dreams, they take on mythical and iconic forms in order for us to percieve them. A feeling will take shape in a manner that resembles itself, it can be an iconic figure or a pun. We must be prepared to conquer these fears and we defeat them by meeting them head-on, not to fight and try to subdue them, for they are there for a reason; but, to look them in the eye, to see them for what they are. We must meet them, not in aggression, for they are apart of us and we must not fight ourselves; but, with an extended hand of friendship. We must grasp the fear and know it, ask it what it's trying to tell us, to teach us. Once we do this we can understand the fear, what it's refering to, and dispell it by understanding the nature of it. As far as the growing sound goes, it could be the sound of nothing, it could be the rythmic beating of the heart. It could be the growing signal of an impending awarness, like something fom the depths of the subconcious is slowly coming to light and your friend is being aware of this by the growing sound and growing fear of what is about to be revealed.