Hello, sooner or later I'll *hint* be able to post deeper into the forums than the noob area.*hint*
Anyway. I'm 42, live in Somerset UK and am a reasonably seasoned psychonaut who's recently ventured into DMT space.
I've posted a couple of reports but so far have been through five experiences. Naturally, all of them have been jaw -droppingly strange. I've been thinking hard about the duty of a user to report their experiences as accurately as possible. Words often fail because of what we know as the 'Un-Eglishable' nature of the experience. Well, some people are gifted with a great vocabulary, sure, but it has always been argued that a picture can be worth a thousand words.
I know that this fine site hosts a lexicon of sorts. I think this is very worthwhile. I'm going to propose that we collectively work together on a project that can further deepen artistic expression and perhaps, given time, coney more accurately imagery that nails the nature of the DMT experience. You can't take a camera with you on your trips but you can take your ability for recall.
The main thing I have observed during my primary experiments, is that what we see is bewilderingly complex due to the multiple layers of visual information. It makes relaying the experience visually, a bit of a creative headache. Where do you begin?
I got thinking of a kind of group effort solution. Whether you are artistic or not, if you go to DMT space, there's something we can all collaborate on and do.
Here's what I propose.
1.For the artists amongst us, we could begin with choosing to focus on one element of the experience first. For me, once my eyes are closed, I've seen very fine geometric patterns that appear to resemble tessellated laser beams. They have a certain regularity of occurrence . I'm not skilled in animation so, doing something animated won't be a good starting point. I wonder, do we all see these patterns? Are they the same patterns?
So, if we choose to pay attention to just the primary patterns and attempt to recreate just the patterns for a couple of smokes (or however we are taking it) then ignoring all other things, entities, later details etc, we could in theory begin a visual lexicon with images corresponding with one element of the experience . Post your best approximations on the forum and people can verify or suggest whether this is a common and accurate motif or not.
2. Second step: I know behind those primary patterns, that other things emerge, things that are going on elsewhere in the frame. For example, multiple light sources. Are they going on behind the patterns, sometimes in front? What colours are they ? Can we render it using photoshop?
3. The oft mentioned entities: Where are they? Do mine look like yours? Do two people see the same kind? Once again, the onus is on accurate depiction. I don't think doing a felt tip pen rendition will cut it, we don't hallucinate in felt tip imagery.
4. Spacial dimensions: Is it a room, is it a chamber, is it a dome? etc etc
What I'm proposing is a drive for visual accuracy and some open source graphics at the end of it. A visual lexicon may be just what is needed to allow budding artists to use one good quality jpeg, layered on top of another jpeg that acts as a kind of visual alphabet that anyone who's been there will instantly recognise. It may also help those who struggle with a pen but might have a rudimentary grasp of photoshop and its layers system to start communicating their own experiences.
The aim is noble, as this entheogen is part of the human experience, then art is going to be the closest thing we can get to immediately sharing our perspectives on what we are being brave enough to go through.
I'm left wondering how complex this visual alphabet could get? In being cartographers of hyperspace, we have a responsibility to reduce the barrage of lazy fractal images and come up with something that more uniquely describe 'the bewildering higher dimensions' Of course, it will take time.
I pledge that on my next two to three excursions, I will focus on whatever the primary pattern layer of the experience is and do my best to create what I see. I'd like to think that some of you will welcome this challenge and do the same.
Who's in?