How to Get High Without Drugs: Holotropic Breathwork, Hypnagogia, and Eye Contact

This article was originally posted on Inverse. By Jacqueline Ronson People take mild altering drugs -- everything from Tylenol to LSD -- because the effects are useful, interesting, or pleasurable. In altering the way we process stimuli, drugs facilitate a change in our thoughts and behaviors. This experience can be eye-opening or embarrassing or terrifying or barely noticeable, but it is universal. Drugs don't offer a singular experience, but a shortcut to a fundamental one. To have a human brain is to get high. Permanent sobriety is, physiologically speaking, a near impossibility. Historically, humans have embraced the glitches within their connectome, developing non-chemical methods to expand consciousness. Anything you do with your body is going to have some effect on your mind, although some things more consistently produce the sort of results that are worth replicating. Here are seven risk-free ways to expand your mind without risking losing it. They may not all work for everyone, but chances are good that most will work for you if you commit to trying them. Holotropic Breathwork Controlling breath is a common way to access altered consciousness. One such practice, called holotropic breathwork, claims to induce similar mindstates to ingesting LSD. According to proponents, the main differences are that, unlike an acid trip, you can turn off a holotropic high, and you can't get arrested for breathing. Staring Into Someone's Eyes Yes, really. Staring into someone...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news