I received a small package in the mail yesterday which contained a dark vial of Salvia Divinorum tincture. I tried it that afternoon, after a week of research and psychological preparation.

After getting back to my room I debated whether to wait a few days or instead to try a mild dose. So at 4:07 PM I took one vial sublingually and did not swallow for the prescribed 15 mins. While listening to music on the headphones I closed my eyes and experienced an OBE (out of body experience) during which I never "lost" control but could, at will, focus on the unfolding inner visions and my real body, toggling back and forth. The music kept me centered, serving as, so to speak, the twin rails of a roller coaster whose speed, direction, torque, and destination I either passively followed or consciously altered. I was able to observe the colorful vistas and enlarge or reduce my scope. I directed the vehicle of music into the sky, observing cloud formations which in-folded and collapsed like the coruscations of the human brain. After an hour of this I decided to take another vial (according to directions a "mild" experience for inexperienced "psychonauts" consists of 1-2 (75 ml) sub lingual doses).

For the next hour (total OBE lasted about 2 1/2 hrs,) I was aware that I was sitting in a chair but it seemed irrelevant and a bit of a joke...a joke on me and a joke on us all, this mortal combo of flesh and urgent nonsense which characterizes our daily lives.

At some point I opened my eyes and observed myself in the door mirror, regretting that eventually I would return to occupy the painful vessel. And yet it seemed of small import, a minor inconvenience and certainly of little or no consequence in the "Real" eternal consciousness based world which I was now navigating. I decided to leave the planet to explore the solar system but, as I left the ionosphere I decided it was not worth it; too much uninteresting empty space and little prospect of arriving on another planet with features as compellingly beautiful as ours. At another point I directed the vehicle of musical rails earthbound. It was a Hobbit like setting and I decided to enter a dwelling, hoping to find a mirror to reflect what pure consciousness might appear to be, but was unsuccessful.

Periodically I toggled back to my mortal chairbound self to test for pain (from my neck surgery). I opened my eyes and raised my right shoulder, mildly surprised and mildly grateful there was no pain at all. I extended my hand and peered at it, turning it 180* and flexing my fingers. Not alarmed and thoroughly uninvolved, I toggled back by closing my eyes.

After around 2 1/2 hrs I took a sleeping pill and lay down, enjoyed a dreamless 4 hr nap and awoke refreshed and mildly serene, which continues even to the present moment-12:37 AM.