Quote:Psychedelic level

For discussions with other psychonauts, a scale for ranking the 'psychedelic level' of a trip is necessary. The de facto standard at least on the Internet is Graeme Carl's scale of 0 to 5, which has proved to be more detailed and workable than Shulgin's "3 plusses" system. Here's what Graeme (an43543@anon.penet.fi) himself says about it:

[...]

The dosage figures given above apply only to the obscure Australian mushroom Psilocybe subaeruginosa, so ignore them; the basic idea of the scale works well enough for any psychedelic. As for individual response, an acquaintance of mine has a threshold 3 times weaker than usual, ie. 1g for her == 3g for most people. ]

Level 1:
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'

Level 2:
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. (*)

Level 3: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)

Level 4:
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.

Level 5:
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! Satori enlightenment (and other such labels) (**).

Notes to the above:

* In order for the human entity to survive, it must learn from an early age how to shut out (or filter) the masses of information reaching the brain. This process of selective filtering allows us to become centred on a single thought. (Imagine being completely aware of all the signals coming into your body at the one moment, imagine being aware of every square inch of your skin and how it felt. Imagine being eternally aware of your tounge in your mouth, that itch on the end of your nose or the sound of the air conditioning hissing softly in the background. I believe that tripping brings back those awareness that have been shut out ever since we were three.

Have you ever noticed children walking into a shopping mall? If you notice next time, they appear to be tripping, staring wide eyed at all the amazing colours, walking along looking up at the ceiling and and watching themselves in the mirrored surface. As childred age, they gradually learn to shut out the onslaught of information, they no longer seem to notice the world as their younger siblings do! By the time adulthood is reached, these sensations are even lost to memory. Perhaps this explains why so many first time trippers, seem to feel a strange sense of familiarity, a feeling that the trip reality is somehow more real than their straight reality.....

** Satori enlightenment, instant Zen, Nirvana etc etc. You may find many of these Eastern terms used in conjunction with psychedelic drugs. In my (humble) opinion, true Zen enlightenment is reached only when the ego has been completely overcome, only when the 'ox' has been tracked, tamed and ridden back to town. This, unfortunately cannot be achieved in the altered reality of the tripping universe. The 'flashes' of Satori which may be experienced by the fortunate whilst tripping, are perceived as momentary periods of absolute peace and calm, periods where for a short time, the ego is so diffused, that the mind is no longer enslaved by many of the passions that normally arise.

The non-linearity of the scale is debatable, especially at the lower end of the scale (0-2) it's rather fuzzy. Personally, I think that an additional distinguishing characteristic between lvl 2 and 3 is that at level 2 you can control OEVs, ie. they only appear if you look, while at level 3 they appear everywhere without any effort. Also, level 5 is in a class of its own, you will not reach nirvana just by taking a gigantic dose.

The entire text of the Psychedelic Levels file, which includes a number of nice examples of the levels, is available on hyperreal.

(11-01-2017, 05:47 PM)GentleWanderer Wrote: But does psychedelics give a really genuine spiritual experience ? I've heard some saying it's not like a normal, true mystical experience. With psychedelics it's more like you're in contact and what you experience is your unconscious ?

(11-01-2017, 05:29 PM)Infinite Wrote: I'm not incentiving the consume of psychedelics or they as a spiritual way. My doubt was in reason of curiosity. I'll use only one time to have a glimpse beyond the veil and to use this as a motivator. I know about the holes in the aura too. I just think strange this open the gateway. This means that it's not something much hard to be done.

(11-01-2017, 07:06 PM)Coordinate_Apotheosis Wrote: You know Infinite, maybe you're not so far off from the truth.


It really makes me wonder what Earth would be like if there wasn't a veil, and it makes me wonder if it's the veil that creates the majority of the difficulties that we experience here in regards to working with the Kundalini and opening the Violet Ray.

I wonder what a drug-induced experience would be like without the veil.  Would dropping LSD be less spiritual and more somatic? Would doing shrooms become more of a mental experience than a spiritual one? And would weed even do anything more than calm us down and make us loopy?

If we had the full spiritual side of experiences unveiled to us would these substances even be necessary in our lives? If psychedelics are considered in some ways to be aids or tools to explore the spiritual, what more use would they have if the spiritual was already available?

(07-09-2018, 02:15 AM)Agua Wrote: @ Indigo

In theory, ayahuasca in a safe environment with somebody experienced (i mean really experienced) could be helpful!
BUT:
As long as you take meds, you should not do it! The meds can interact in unforeseen ways with the substances, no shaman will allow you to a ceremony as long as you are on meds. You have to be free of them for at least three months.
In regards to schizophrenia. Usually schizophrenia is a condition that contraindicates ayahuasca.

acrually, you dont need it at the moment. Schizophrenia indicates there is a state present in you you are forcefully trying to seperate from.
The "better" work for you would be trying to NOT suppress what you suppress and try to handle it.
This will probably be easier with a therapist!
In other words, if you stop suppressing what is already really close to the surface, if you learn to handle that, if you (in the long run and under supervision of a therapist) reduce and finally stop your medication, you will have the same effect
In a way, you are still in an ayahuasca state. You suppress it with meds and schizophrenia. Not advisable to then put another portion of ayahusaca on top of it!