Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Salvia divinorum is some crazy shit.

I tried Salvia divinorum for the first time about a month and a half ago.

I went to a cigar shop on Chestnut Street and sifted through a dusty box of tiny plastic bags, which contained a black powder and were marked with different strengths: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 30x, and 40x. I choose the 15x, which was $40.

That night, I turned off all the lights in our apartment except for a single gentle floor lamp in the living room. Ed put Merriweather Post Pavilion on the record player. I poured myself a glass of ice water, because I had read that the smoke would be harsh and unpleasant. As I nervously settled myself on the couch, I repeated, "Don't laugh, don't laugh," over and over in my head, because I had also read that many people see and sometimes even interact with a female spiritual entity when tripping on Salvia, but that laughter scares her away.

I leaned forward and took a single hit of Salvia from a bong. I held it in for as long as I could before exhaling. The smoke was harsh and unpleasant, so I immediately took a sip of my ice water. But as I held the glass to my mouth, I realized that this was a mistake, because people tripping on Salvia are known to drop and break things, especially glass things. So just as the Salvia took effect - and it does so very, very suddenly - I panicked about the possibility of dropping the glass, and I froze in an awkward crouch between the couch and the coffee table.

I'm not sure if I managed to place the glass on the coffee table, or if Ed took it away from me, but either way, I was stuck in this awkward crouch. As a child, I often had nightmares in which I was unable to move, and in retrospect, this experience was strikingly similar to those nightmares. As I struggled to free myself from my frozen position, I saw and felt colorful pixels trickling down the outline of my body. They seemed to be the force holding me in place.

I was extremely confused and disoriented. I felt as though I had flashed back to a long-forgotten childhood version of myself, and I was trapped in a dream. I asked Ed what was happening to me, and he reminded me that I had just smoked Salvia. I couldn't remember anything that I had read about Salvia. I couldn't quite grasp the concept of mind-altering drugs, in general. I asked him why I had done this to myself, and he told me that I had wanted to try it and see what it felt like. This sounded ridiculously foolish and reckless to me. Ed assured me that the sensation would go away if I just waited a little while.

He helped me get unstuck, and into a reclining position on the couch. I relaxed and stared at a framed Kandinsky print on the wall and listened to the music. The colors in the Kandinsky print ebbed and flowed pleasantly. The music was dramatically enhanced. For the first time, I was able to confidently perceive the sound of a record as being significantly "warmer." I got lost in my own thoughts for what felt like an eternity, but was actually only a few minutes. I can't remember what I thought about, only that it was incredibly fascinating and wonderful.

Once the peak had ended, I gradually came to my senses, but remained in a vaguely childish, dreamlike state for the next hour or so. I decided that although the experience was frightening at first, it was also interesting and enjoyable, and that I would like to try it again sometime, but that I would remember to use a plastic cup instead of a glass. I felt sure that if it hadn't been for the glass, I wouldn't have panicked at the beginning.

In the days after my trip, I felt exceptionally energetic, content, and optimistic. Also, ever since then, whenever I listen to Merriweather Post Pavilion on my iPod, I go into a mild trance, which is lovely and relaxing.

I'm sure that I looked silly during my Salvia trip, but I certainly never felt silly. I never felt like laughing, and I couldn't fathom why that is such a common response. For me, the experience was very serious and intense, and not something to be taken lightly. There is still a fair amount of black powder left in that tiny plastic bag, but I have yet to try Salvia a second time. I want to, but whenever I consider it, I feel apprehensive and unprepared. I will do it eventually, though.

2 comments:

jh said...

JEALOUS

Rosie Sahara said...

Hi, Thank you for sharing your experience. And others need not to be jealous as they can get salvia for sale over the internet at cheap prices. Explore their websites to know more about the prices and the services.