DOSE:

smoked

Salvia divinorum

(plant material)

BODY WEIGHT:

170 lb

I have always been the type of person that when I encounter a new state of consciousness that I master it before I can let it go. Some substances that opened these doors I would try countless times until my mind could not tell one trip from the next and at that point I knew its realm had given me all it had to offer. Having devoured most of the earth’s intoxicants with much ferocity at a young age I had pretty much walked away from hallucinogens altogether. Then I was introduced to Salvia. It interested me for one reason only and that was to take a jab at it and know my library of psicodelic dreams in my head are complete. As if some part of me would feel defeated by knowing there was this plant, relatively new to western society that was known to be as mysterious as it was potent.

So I began my research to learn what there was to learn from books and the Internet until I reached the conclusion that I simply must try it and know that I opened the door myself. This time I would be alone and analyze Salvia in all its glory and understanding. No expectations, no warnings, just me and a gram of Salvia D. My one previous experience was amazing and I wanted to revisit that realm of consciousness having only a taste of it from before. The first trip was to be alone, in the dark with soft music playing. I was all to eager to exploit this new realm of consciousness and know its every in and out. It was this eagerness that lead me into a strange disjointed trip. I would take a hit then attempt to get up and do something and in this grew confusion. I quickly learned two things from this trip. First that keeping my eyes closed is absolutely essential when on Salvia as when I opened my eyes reality came back almost instantly.

The second thing I learned was that regardless of what people say, for me Salvia defiantly does have a tolerance wall. But like opiates I can build off this wall when going into a second, third trip and so on in the same 1-2 hour time frame. The first few Salvia trips made me very sweaty and clammy. This symptom seemed to go away the more I ingested. The first sensation that salvia brought on was an instant feeling of disassociation. Like my skin wasn’t mine. The next effect was always the formation of static images in my head in conjunction with a feeling that I was being pulled or pushed by some unseen force. This feeling was a bit of an annoyance at first but I quickly learned to accept it as part of the Salvia experience. Many things can spoil a Salvia trip such as television, music or any outside source of input that isn’t pleasurable. The best way to avoid all these was to simply meditate and keep my mind focused in rather then out and make sure there were no back ground noises that I could hear as one's senses are much finer tuned when under the influence of Salvia. After taking about a half dozen Salvia trips and learning exactly what Salvia likes and what she doesn’t I was ready to scramble my brain with a day trip.

Once alone again I tried to push the envelope on Salvia and reach the next plateau. Like any hallucinogen I think Salvia is best done at night but I wanted to see if lady Salvia would come out and play in broad daylight. She did, but it was very different. My eyes grew heavy and I felt a sort of drunkenness with daytime Salvia. Even when I was walking about my mind was in a daydream that was as real as reality itself. The fact that I could even function in this state brought me to the understanding that one should be very careful about judging their ability to drive after a Salvia trip. After about a dozen day trips placed back to back I grew to understand Salvia. It is so like a magician’s trick here and then gone just as fast. A truly remarkable plant that the ages have forgotten.

My final conclusion is that Salvia is perhaps the most “spiritual” substance I have ever tried. I believe it has countless benefits to people the least of which is simply opening its arms to let you know it exists. Salvia is without a doubt a female entity as all the stories of “lady salvia” quickly came into perspective when I first saw her on top of a hill in my mind's dreams. Salvia holds so much power as it offers the intensity of L.S.D or psilosybin but wears off so quickly that one can totally analyze and perceive their ‘tripping” thoughts almost immediately after the trip. This is where its true benefit lies.

Exp Year: 2002	ExpID: 19347
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Dec 2, 2002	Views: 18,132
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Salvia divinorum (44) : General (1), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)