using the wrong part of your brain

[B4nd1t_one]

so a few days ago i smoked salvia for the first time. it was kinda old and it didnt really do a whole lot, but it did open my mind to a few things. first and most noticable, i could see 360 degrees. i dont mean that i actually could see all that, but my mind was placing what i remembered was behind me in a field of vision behind my head. if there was a person sitting in a chair, i would see him behind me, then he would start to fade as i heard him rustling about (i think because i became less sure of what was actually there). also if i saw something that should make a noise, but was too quiet, i would hear it the way i thought it should sound.
i wonder if its possible to train different areas of your brain to function for other senses (i.e. memory substitution for sight).

 

[Da Blob]

I do not know about that type of training although some Eastern mystics (Sufi and Hindu) apparently become quite adept at manipulating unconscious mental processes. There are cases where because of a mental disorder or drug use, people reported a state of consciousness where sensory inputs became confused - they could 'smell' colors, or 'taste' music -but this was involuntary. I do not think it would be possible to train one's Self to make such major alterations of input - but who knows, if a person had enough free time, just how far they could stretch the boundaries of attitudes and perceptions through the alteration on Points of View and frames of reference...?

 

[Adymus]

Memory and the senses are interconnected, when you remember something, you are in a way "resensing" it.

I've gotten similar sensations from just being on weed. Like, I'll be sitting down, and then I'll stand up, and then part of me still feels like it is sitting down because the memory of it is just sticking to my senses.

 

[Darby]

The first and only time I have ever been high, I remember(now) that I blacked out, and forgot who I was(first), then I tripped or something, but the part I am here to talk about is the perception I had. I would only remember when I touched something. so I would touch something, my eyes would flick open, I'd suddenly start to move towards it, and the next thing I saw was me, where I saw my self a split second before, then repeat for 2 hours. I ended up "running circles" around my living room my friend said for about a half hour, but what it felt like was like I was repeating the same action over and over and over again, in the same circle, and I couldn't stop it, because everytime I came to the next frame, my I would remember I had been there before, and I would unintentionally flick my eyes to the spot I remembered being next last time.

It probably would have been cooler if at the same time I wasn't trying to figure out who I was and where the fuck I was

I apologize for rambling, my point was just that it was like all my senses turned off, unless I was touching something solid like a table or desk, the only thing that remained coherent was the radio in the background

 

[bluesquid]

This is by no means me endorsing the use of hallucinogens.

LSD was instrumental in my awakening. But maybe it wasnt. I feel like it unlocked things. The experience itself showed me abilities. But methinks the cons out weigh the pros in the long term.

Salvia is something I have never tried, but a friend of mine smoked it one night. He wasnt right, and blacked out. His description the next day reminded me of nitrous. I think the effects are purely blood deoxygenation.
.

 

[Wish]

This is by no means me endorsing the use of hallucinogens.

LSD was instrumental in my awakening. But maybe it wasnt. I feel like it unlocked things. The experience itself showed me abilities. But methinks the cons out weigh the pros in the long term.

I feel the same way about my experience with mushrooms. It definitely showed me things I had never thought of previously and it gave me a sort of new found purpose. Though it wasn't really a purpose as much as it was just another way to look at the world and another reason to continue thinking and living.

 

[powerspike]

i wasnt as old, but in a freak incident, i was fed something that made me create two completely plausible and explainable realities at the same instant . i was under the influence for 3 days when all i did was find a way out of the whirlpool. What drug does this?

 

[Vrecknidj]

There are cases where because of a mental disorder or drug use, people reported a state of consciousness where sensory inputs became confused - they could 'smell' colors, or 'taste' music -but this was involuntary. I do not think it would be possible to train one's Self to make such major alterations of input - but who knows, if a person had enough free time, just how far they could stretch the boundaries of attitudes and perceptions through the alteration on Points of View and frames of reference...?

Some forms of synesthesia...

Dave

 

[Artifice Orisit]

It may not expand your mind like a drug will but I would still recommend looking into self hypnosis, it can be used to alter one's frame of mind or thought functions, e.g. you could use self hypnosis to adjust your intuitive/sensory focus balance.

It's also an endlessly interesting topic.
Although it can be difficult to sort information from bullshit when researching it.

 

[milkyway2]

I've seen a video about a guy talking about how meditation makes you use different parts of your brain. A person that has been meditating or altering their consciousness for years uses different parts of his brain than someone who hasn't.

 

[cuterebra]

Actually, it's already been done.

There's this really interesting and brilliant neuroscientist named Paul Bach-y-Rita who has done a lot of work in the field of neural plasticity. There are some neat biographical articles about him if you look for them.

Anyway, when you get right down to it, nerves are just conduits for electrical impulses. Bach-y-Rita did a little brain rewiring in blind people and now they can see--using their tongues. He used a similar technique to help patients with severe vestibular disease.

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/97-mixed_feelings.html

That's just a random link to a Wired article about him--looks like they did a whole feature on synesthesia that might be interesting.