I'm very new to the world of Salvia, having only three experiences thus far. But I can already notice a trend that I feel is holding me back from truly being a part of all that this plant has to offer.

Every time the trip begins I feel like I am anchoring myself to this world and I simply cannot let go. I cannot release myself fully into the unknown. I don't feel afraid when I'm going into it but at the first sign of insanity (and there is a lot of insanity to see on Salvia) I feel like I panic and want it to be over with. As I struggle to maintain sobriety I am distracted and I emerge from the trip feeling frustrated and angry at myself for not allowing the process to happen.

Can anyone give me advice for learning to let go? Just completely let it all go?

Maybe some exercises before hand? Like I said, I am new and may be doing something completely wrong. Any advice would be awesome.

Thanks -

Do you meditate?

If this was happening to me, here's what I would do:

Before a salvia trip (Which I would quid, not smoke) I would make sure to stretch out and yes have exercised that day. I'd spend a good 30 minutes or so after that winding down and resting in a meditative pose. Find one that you are most comfortable with. I like Half-Lotus.

Breathe deep and breathe slow. This will lower the frequency at which your brain is oscillating at. Only after a while doing that would I imbibe the drug. It might take me a few tries but after a while I would learn, get used to, and become whatever it is that is happening to me.

Personally, I do NOT like salvia... So I wouldn't even be doing this at all! I think something like what I wrote above may help, and if not, well, then maybe salvia isn't for you? Listen to your body, your intuition, and the drug.

Enjoy the explorations....Embrace the weird

All of what ۩ said is good. And I also agree that Salvia isn't for everyone.

But my question is: What strength of extract are you using?

Plain leaf is always a better place to start with Salvia. The insanity is much more bearable. It can also be somewhat frustrating because it can feel like a tease for some people. But if you're having trouble letting go, I would say "wind down", meditate beforehand, as ۩ suggests, and get acquainted with the plain leaf instead of blasting off with extract.

I assume you're using extract just by your description. If you're using plain leaf, you are incredibly sensitive, even more so than I am, and you should cherish that as a gift!

Learning to let go does come in time. Most people don't give it the time it needs to get to that stage, to be honest. It takes some serious patience and perseverance to work with Salvia on a high level/regular basis. Try not to get discouraged and frustrated. It will come in time!

To add to what has already been said, I’d suggest starting with low doses and very gradually working up to higher doses. Become familiar with the sensations of a lower dose experience before diving in too deep.

I’m in the minority when it comes to salvia, but after hundreds of salvia experiences, I’ve never had a bad experience. Salvia and I get along very well together. (In my opinion, a deep DMT breakthrough requires much more skillful “letting go” than does salvia.)

Letting go requires trust – trust in yourself, trust in the experience, and trust that you’ll return whole and unscathed.

First of all I just want to say "thank you" for all the helpful replies.

I should have prefaced my post with some more info as well. I am indeed using the extract. And I know now that I started with too much. The fact is I live in a town that frowns on Salvia use... so when I traveled a few towns over for the weekend and saw a smoke shop that carried it I got a bit too excited and jumped in head first. I saw extracts ranging from 10X to 100X and even though I've done what I consider some pretty thorough research (I study any new drug as much as I can before ingestion) I was still a bit uncertain as to which one to get.

10X seemed too weak and 100X seemed crazy-strong so I went with the 20X. That was a bad move. In fact I think I've forgotten more of the trip experiences than I remember!

I would love to try the plain leaf but it's tough to find around here. I'll definitely take that advice to heart and see what I can dig up.

I am a novice when it comes to meditation but will also try to incorporate that into my "pre-game warm up". The quid method also seems worth looking into.

It's not that the trips are "bad" per se, but every time it really gets going and I feel like I am being pulled away from myself I have this knee-jerk survival reaction where I just want the trip to be over and be back on my couch again. I don't want to give up on Salvia because the things I CAN recall are amazing and mind-blowing to say the least. It's definitely a challenge so far though.

Again, I appreciate the advice. I'm going to take a break for a while, read some more, then jump back in with a weaker dose when the time is right.

If you weigh your doses, it doesn’t matter too much what strength of extract you use. A simple rule of thumb: 1 medium dose (in milligrams) = 400 divided by the “X-factor” of the extract.

So a dose of 20X is about 400/20 = 20mg

Weigh your doses!

I see. It's sad because I did actually read your "All About Salvia Dosing" thread but apparently just threw that info out the window before I tried it. I'll invest in a small scale before I venture again for sure. I asked the guy at the shop and he said there were "a few doses" in a gram so I just pinched off a chunk and threw it in the pipe.

Sounds pretty silly in retrospect now... Haha, well live and learn right?

Understand that your mind is just a machine - understand the I is just an idea. A program
Let go of the program

It's strange, when I'm sober I can completely understand what you're saying and it makes so much sense. But when the trip actually occurs I honestly get frantic and scared and forget everything. It wasn't that I thought I was going to "die" but at one point I looked into the blackness and thought if I went into it I would no longer exist...

It's hard to dive into the abyss.

a really good help with letting go is the following

you just exhaust yourself as much as possible, preferably through physical work and/or exercise

although you can also do it with intellectual work if that's your thing

important is that you don't give yourself much rest or better no rest at all for an extended period of time, example giving all day from morning till evening you go from task to task, the letting go will come by itself when you stop the effort.

have your bowl ready for that time

I would have to agree here. It's been a lot tougher getting to the DMT breakthrough stage than it was with Salvia.

It'll be pretty much impossible to find in a head shop. PM me for some online vendors if you wish.

I totally know where you are coming from. Im still understanding salvia and its something I have to graduate from before I decide to do DMT. on my first try I had a crazy bong hit that threw my body to the floor instantly. I just couldnt realize what was happening with myself, i didnt knew what my blanket was, i didnt knew what my fan was, i felt like i was being hit by the air of a fan that had one blade made of reality and the other made of unrreality.

when I came out of total disability, i was so confused that i just let the try pass. And then I took an even crazier hit from a new bowl placed in my bong. I dealt with it better and I have been keeping going since. BTW, I used 5x extract man! how could you go for the 20x! thats some crazy thing to do! hahaha i like it thou..

I actually want to get one of those new Dyson "Air Multiplier"s for this same reason The buffeting of the air can sometimes have me thinking like this. Or it seems like time slows down, and the buffeting is exaggerated, a slow chopping of the air. Very strange

Hahaha yeah, 20X was a dumb move for sure! It was so disorienting. I remember taking the hit and holding it, and after I let go I just fell backwards onto my couch but the couch didn't catch me. I just kept falling into some giant, black nothingness. I started freaking out and I was trying to grab my friends but couldn't. Definitely worried about my life on that one...

Gonna take some good advice and step back into it at a smaller scale with plain leaf next time. Salvia seems like a challenging plant that could care less if you never touched it again. I'm just hoping I can step back into its world again at some point and see all that it has to offer.

hahaha the "grab my friend part" also happened to me! theres a lot to see inside SILVIA as I like to call her. I want a Dyson air multipier too! never heard about those before, look very futurist!

I can really relate to you on this. I've been smoking salvia for about three years now (almost a year longer than DMT) and I still find salvia more challenging to fully breakthrough on than DMT. Salvia seems to unfold your mind, peeling away your consciousness and narrowing in on your infinite point of being until you break free of yourself. It is complete ego-death. You must embrace the black nothingness!

For me, I find I have to accept that its all over. This is it, my time has come and let go of my life. This is the gift salvia has taught me, to be able to fully surrender and let go of everything. To go into that dark night in peace. This has allowed me to be much more comfortable in my skin and to let go of struggle in my life and just flow.

IME its not that easy to breakthrough smoking one dose of salvia. Its too short, by the time your mind has unfolded and your reaching that black hole of nothingness behind your eyes the trip is wearing off. The strength of that one dose doesn't seem to help either. If its too weak you won't go far enough and if its too strong you probably won't remember anything.

I find the "snorkeling" method to work the best but you must have resolve from the beginning. "Snorkeling" is when you do multiple doses over the course of the trip, preferably after the last peak has worn off but before strong effects have worn off. For example, if you are using 20x, weigh out 5 or 6 20mg doses then pack your bowl with the first dose and hit it. Then when you start coming down and are able to, pack the next dose and hit it and on and on etc. I have gone extremely far with this method. Though I like to start with plain leaf and work my way up with 5x, 10x, 15x and sometimes 20x.

If you can let go and open up to Sally D. she can show you a truly deep comforting love once you make it to the other side.
Good luck on your quest!