Thursday, July 13, 2006

Iso tank

I would love to have a go in an isolation tank.

I'm intrigued by the very idea. Apparently, you hallucinate, go through some weird mind-bending vortex and come out the other side, just like a new born baby. Yes, really! Strange, as you're in a water filled chamber, just like the womb.

Sadly, I can't see this happening. It was a fad in the 1990s. If there was somewhere here in Scotland which provided customers/clients with said tank, they've now sold up and gone home. Believe me, I've checked.

I used to meditate, every day, and I really felt the benefits of this. Sadly, distractions were always inevitable. There would be a knock at the door, I'd forget to take the telephone off the hook or a car would start beeping its horn outside.

But in an isolation tank, with sensory depravation, no noise to be heard, why, the possibilities for metaphysical experiences are endless.

I might finally get to grips with existentialism!?

Imagine, I'm lying there, in the dark, no sound, just the sensation of the self, breathing... How fabulous does that sound already? Would I understand myself as the object which I am in the universe? I am atoms, protons, neurons, electrons... All theses things make me, but are not me. I am me. I am the self. I am indivisible, yet divided into a billion parts. I realise I own nothing, I have the right to nothing. Nothing and no-one owns me, nor do they/it have any rights over me. I am a part of space, not in it. I am of it, I am a part of creation, therefore I am creation. I am a god. I am a god to myself. Time plays no part in my creation, my existence or my end. Time is just a measure of distance between events. It does not exist. I am born into a chain reaction of cause and effect. For every action, there is a reaction, both equal and opposite. But, as I am creation, not a part of it, what do I have to interact with? There is nothing, only creation. We are existence, joined, a mass of atoms, swirling around in a pool. But what lies outside this pool? Nothing? Can nothing exist? Can something not exist? If this creation exists, are there others? And if so, are there rules which govern these creations? Would all creation end if these creations ever met? Do we all exist in parallel universes? Where do we find the answers? Somewhere in creation? But we ARE creation. Does any of this make sense? Could it ever? Will it ever? If I decide not to make a decision, that is a decision in itself, is it not? This is equal to something being nothing, or nothing being something. Where will it all end? Can there be an end? Or will creation end up at the beginning again? Was the big bang the beginning? If it was, what was there before? If the universe was created nearly fourteen billion years ago, what was there before? Where did the elements of the universe come from? Does our concept of time limit us, does it stop us from understanding creation, the universe and the self? If we forget the concept of time, does everything become clearer?

Or am I tripping?

Help!

10 comments:

Minge said...

Christ!

Anonymous said...

I've had the wonderful pleasure of such an isolation tank here in Dublin. I did it twice because I loved it so much the first time. It was fabulous, I urge you to try it.

It's hard to explain how it feels. It's pitch black inside and the water is super salty and body temperature, so you're floating but you can't feel the water. After about 10 mins, I think (you lose track of time), it just feels like you are floating in space. All kinds of crap goes through your mind but then you just drift off into this weird place in your mind and everything becomes clear, at least thats what I was telling myself. I may have fallen asleep, I don't know, but I don't remember specifically waking up either. And then it was time to get out and shower and get back to reality. One added bonus is that you skin feels really soft and healthy for a few weeks afterwards :-)

Minge said...

Thanks, Graham! I think a trip to Dublin is in order!

Minge said...

BTW - Graham, when I try to comment on your blog, I get this:


An error occurred...
Comments are not allowed on this entry.

Please correct the error in the form below, then press Post to post your comment.

Anonymous said...

hmmm thats weird, but it still lets you post a comment though, right?
Or has this just started happening recently and you can't post a comment?

Minge said...

Last night, when I tried to comment, I just got a vague "down for maintenance" error message. Today, it's stating the above, though there's no error to correct...! It's never happened (to me) before last night.

Anonymous said...

It's fixed now. Apparently there was downtime on my server last night and so the post was set to 'draft' status, but I've fixed the problem now, so feel free to comment to your heart's content :-)

Anonymous said...

Ooh. I must try this.

Minge said...

Thanks, Graham.

China, you must! If you find somewhere where you can do it, please let me know!

Alan Fisher said...

your skin felt super smooth for weeks after being immersed in a briny solution? fabulous!