Every time SWIM smokes Changa, SWIM goes through these 3 general stages. It happens with or without harmalas or aya.

Stage 1: Hell

Visuals begin. SWIM's ego feels like it's dieing and it's trying everything to stay alive. Racing heart with racing thoughts, "Why did you do this? You should stop now! What are you doing?!". Visuals are fast moving, lots of mechanical like motions being performed by aliens, often motherly figures. SWIM is very scared at this point even though SWIM expects it. Consciously SWIM tries to calm down, but can't. Mechanically moving spiders run over the field of vision and dark outlines of snakes everywhere. In retrospect only, this feels like some kind of hyperspace "barrier" that is supposed to scare SWIM away, and if SWIM don't dose high enough, it will. If SWIM doses higher or hits the pipe again at this point then SWIM can get to stage 2.

Stage 2: The Washing

The visuals melt away into SWIM being cleaned by a bunch of aliens. SWIM is being washed and sprayed like a new prisoner going to jail, naked, water hose blasting, except I’m not going to jail. SWIM begins to feel really good, SWIM loves this feeling of being taken care of. SWIM lets go and feels the presence through SWIM’s body. This seems to have to happen for some length of time, as if SWIM didn't dose high enough, the aliens won't get to finish the cleaning and processing of SWIM and so SWIM has to get washed again after SWIM re-doses. Before SWIM get re-washed though, SWIM has to again go through the hell of stage 1. If SWIM dosed high enough, SWIM will go to stage 3.

Stage 3: Home and the Journey

SWIM kind of forgets that SWIM did DMT, and SWIM have this intense feeling of being in SWIM’s true home. SWIM is now calm, heart rate finally dropped to normal. The cleaning has stopped from stage 2, I've been "processed" and I'm ready for the trip now. At this point, SWIM will be whisked away to some wonderful or interesting experience, or be coming back down from the trip. If SWIM re-dose here, SWIM does not have to go through hell and the washing again, SWIM just goes right to a beautiful or interesting place in hyperspace without anxiety or stress. SWIM can re-dose for hours at this point.

SWIM wants to shorten stage 1 and 2. The answer is likely to dose higher to begin with. Maybe DMT is like a cold swimming pool, you can torture yourself trying to get in slowly, or you can just jump in and the case of DMT, forget that you're even in a pool. The jumping in method is so intimidating for SWIM. SWIM's jumped in deep before a couple times, but it's a little intense.

SWIM is hoping that over time getting healed and washed, SWIM won't need to go through as much stage 1 and 2 in the future. Is it possible stage 1 is a representation of SWIM's anxiety and stage 2 is SWIM needing psychological healing? If SWIM can resolve those, they might shorten in severity or length or go away?

Does anyone else have a process like this, and has it ever changed on you over time as your relationship with DMT progressed?

Hey vawksel,

Wow! You described it perfectly. I can't say I go through the "alien washing", but I deeply resonate with each stage you describe and the thoughts you feel during each stage.

When I first started using spice, I did not ritualize it, and I just went straight for a breakthrough each time. This resulted in a significant amount of pre-flight anxiety. Also, just like you described, I would end up in an awkward "intermediary" stage if I didn't make it all the way to hyperspace right away.

Now days, I almost always take sublingual or oral harmalas before partaking of any FB/changa/enhanced leaf, and pair it with yoga/meditation. I also don't start out with a breakthrough dose. I will typically load up changa or about 15 mgs of re-x fb in my GVG and take small hits every 5-15 minutes as I stretch and clear my mind. Only then, when my mind is clear and the spirits are just starting to peak at me from behind the veil, do I consider going for a breakthrough dose.

I think the "breakthrough" is too often the goal, as I've found that I've accomplished more healing lately by staying right on the periphery. For me, forgetting about a breakthrough and just letting the vibes flow alleviates a lot of the anxiety. Now, rather than feeling an awkward intermediary stage, I'm able to slowly let my spirit drift away into hyperspace when it feels right. It I feel anxious or my heart rate increases, I stop.

Thanks again for the awesome description! Peace and Happy Journeys

^^ This

How does one make sublingual harmalas? Is there a link to a how-to on the forum that you know of? I'm looking.

excellent!!

Sublingual = under the tongue. You get some harmalas and hold them under your tongue basically

Interesting descriptions.
I find that with high dose the breakthrough is so fast that there is only astonishment, no feelings of hell in my experience.

PS. no need to SWIM here



Purges; did you try the combination yet?

I'm confused about the whole SWIM thing :-) Some people do it, some don't, others won't post at all on a forum regardless.

No sublingual combination has been tried yet.

I see a lack of answers to Vawksel's question on this topic: "Why does SWIM have go go through these stages every trip?"

In my experience, the "stages" described occur when the dosage is just enough for a breakthrough or just below.

Personally, if I wish to have a real full-on experience, I choose to overshoot the dosage by +10mg~, which most of the time ends up being above 50mg's, by doing this I know I'll exceed the threshold dose for a breakthrough

In my early use of this medicine, while still experimenting with the smaller (personally) 30mg doses I repeatedly re-experienced these kinds of "stages" throughout my different set and settings. This was at large very annoying but I choosed to get comfortable with "them" before increasing my dosage.

So I believe, that you experience these stages because you're not ready to go beyond them yet.

I treat spice as a medicine, which I strongly believe it is; A tool for self and outer exploration.

Thank you for the direct response to the question. I've broken through many times, especially while on harmalas. I believe I have a good understanding now that I need to dive in and let the medicine do it's work.

I can identify with the racing thoughts. This happens with pharma for me almost everytime during the come-up stage... the content is similar as well, kind of self-depricating or panicked and endlessly looping/"shattering". By shattering I guess I mean it's like what I'm saying is kindof hanging off its hinges so to speak. I've come to think of it a my language comprehension sorta falling to bits and my hominid mind basically shouting a cacophony in feeble resistance!

I've only been really burned by The Spice once, and that was with aya in my system (I think it was way too high of a dose with MAO inhibition and I didn't even remeber that I had taken the aya, I just thought that the trip wasn't ending), but recently I've been finding that vaporized Spice in conjunction with plain harmala seed, dosed basically in the teens, is the best way for me to go. Just having things slow down a bit helps with easing into hyperspace, and I think having my friend harmala there grounds the whole experience. However, I find the content to differ a bit when using b-carbolines, seeming more organic, or aya/pharma like and less like being inside of a beehive. I find it to be more flexible, anyway!

Also, vaporizing a bit on pharma is sublime.

this post is the best mate.. thanks heaps for sharing. perfect metaphors for the dmt experience especially for describing it to somebody who hasn't done it before.. just to give em a rough idea. loved reading this.

until recently i suffered preflight anxiety before breaking through on DMT. i feel a lot more confident in letting go now, and i learnt this through the spirits teaching me to concentrate and pay attention to what is being shown.... not what your voice of thought is telling you. lately i have been learning first hand that if you let thoughts of the future or past dominate you, then they will act as a filter on reality, and this is ruthlessly magnified on DMT. See with love, enjoy the present moment and then your thoughts will flow effortlessly and the war with yourself will be won. this worked for me anyway

good luck with your future travels... in body and out of body