Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

sprott.physics.wisc.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 188 posts

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#101

Post by JabavuAdams »

colordrops wrote: post #66
swayvil wrote: post #54

Maybe they visit a parallel universe where they meet insects.

Funny how most in this thread are unwilling to interpret the experience at face value, probably because of certain taboos among scientific and technically minded types.

Maybe people here have more knowledge of neuroscience, and physics, than the general population?

Knowledge brings biases, of course. But those biases aren't necessarily wrong.

You have a blind-spot (at least one) on each retina that you never see. Does this mean that there is a secret hole in reality, just out of sight, that science won't accept? Or does it mean that there's an area on your retina with no visual sensors, and that the brain fills in the gaps?

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#102

Post by benevol »

JabavuAdams wrote: post #99
benevol wrote: post #91

I've seen the roots of a tree (at at distance of about 300 feet) through the ground, while on LSD (about 500ug). I'm sure those really were the roots, because the visible part of the tree (the trunk and the roots that came up above ground again at a few spots) matched completely with roots in the ground I was seeing. The image was stable and lasted for about 45 seconds. Something (not like an external voice, more lik…

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can fill-out missing parts of images that fit plausibly into the existing scene. These are computer programs that are much less complicated than our brains. So, you have one interpretation, but there's no reason to think it's more likely than the fact that your brain is really good at filling in missing details.

That was my first thought, too. But there are other elements which are relevant:

I could literally walk my eyes along the roots, up and down, they were static and didn't move an inch.

And during an earlier experience (and to a good extent during the 2-3 following days), using about 150ug only, I felt something like a strong connection with the tree I was standing in front of. It was like we were communicating (for as long as I wanted), but not like an exchange of sentences, rather like a constant bi-directional stream of information, or better: a "mutual understanding without speaking/thinking".

This "shared state of being/feeling" was extended to the roots of the tree: I could feel their presence in the ground (but not see them yet, which changed later, as stated above). And I had that feeling whenever I passed a tree during the 2-3 following days.

There is definitely a lot going on (or possible) between humans and other forms of life, which we are currently missing. And I'm sure our spiritual dimension is definitely part of the mix. So if you're into meditation, keep it up.

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#103

Post by sokoloff »

GuiA wrote: post #16

There is some evidence that seems to indicate that the humans have an evolved "built in" reaction to snake/snake like patterns: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/cd/12_1/Ohman.c... As reptiles, snakes may have signified deadly threats in the environment of early mammals. We review findings suggesting that snakes remain special stimuli for humans. Intense snake fear is prevalent in both humans and other pri…

Cats display what appears to be an instinctual (and often hilarious) fear of some snake-shaped objects, like cucumbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNycdfFEgBc

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#104

Post by 6stringmerc »

swayvil wrote: post #54

Maybe they visit a parallel universe where they meet insects.

Considering what Humans understand about time and space - at least for now - travel between X & Y probably is going to take a different form than filling up rockets or using nuclear power to slog through the ether to...wherever...

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#105

Post by CuriouslyC »

nyolfen wrote: post #47
rubicon33 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a fun question... If it has a such a profound change in consciousness, would it be easy for a non-DMT user to identify someone who has used DMT, albeit with some training?

there's a very simple heuristic to determine whether someone has used dmt, and even those who haven't can use it: they never shut the fuck up about it

Haha. I have done quite a bit of hallucinogens, but I never bring the subject up myself. My ideas are wild enough, I don't want to give people an easy excuse to dismiss them :)

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#106

Post by CuriouslyC »

rubicon33 wrote: post #43
CuriouslyC wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing about hallucinogens is that they really change how you think. The visual changes are such a small part of the experience, compared with the complete transformation of your consciousness. DMT itself is particularly potent in this regard, it basically completely strips away your sense of self. I highly recommend a heavy dose of ayahuasca at least once in your life. It is pretty much guaranteed to radically ch…

Here's a fun question... If it has a such a profound change in consciousness, would it be easy for a non-DMT user to identify someone who has used DMT, albeit with some training?

There's a pretty easy test. Just start talking about the illusion of the ego. People who've never experience ego death will have no idea what you are talking about. Given that ego death is pretty much only caused by epic trips or a profound mastery of meditation, you should be able to get an idea fairly quickly.

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#107

Post by stordoff »

Figs wrote: post #83
nether wrote: post #4

I saw these weird drapes folded around me that were brown, green, and white stripes. They were gently heaving, and I knew that they were living creatures that were watching over me. I didn't take enough to have a full breakthrough, but in that moment I was certain that I was dying, with all of my consciousness welled up into my head, as if that's all I was. When I came to and regained awareness of my limbs, I was rel…

> Just "feeling sure" isn't enough to certain of something. Back when I was a teenager, I got interested in the idea of lucid dreaming. One of the suggested ways I'd read of gaining awareness that you are in a dream is to habitually ask yourself if you're dreaming -- sooner or later, you'll do it in a dream. I tried that for a while, and sure enough, I did actually ask myself if I was dreaming while in a dream, and c…

> For example, jump with the intention of levitating, expecting to just hover in the air.

The following quotes neatly sum up how flying in a lucid dream feels to me:

> There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. [...] Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, that presents the difficulties. [...]

> Do not listen to what anybody says to you at this point because they are unlikely to say anything helpful.

> They are most likely to say something along the lines of "Good God, man, you can't possibly be flying!" It is vitally important not to believe them or they will suddenly be right.

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#108

Post by Eleopteryx »

nether wrote: post #4

I saw these weird drapes folded around me that were brown, green, and white stripes. They were gently heaving, and I knew that they were living creatures that were watching over me. I didn't take enough to have a full breakthrough, but in that moment I was certain that I was dying, with all of my consciousness welled up into my head, as if that's all I was. When I came to and regained awareness of my limbs, I was rel…

I too remember feeling like I was dying. My consciousness had dissolved and transformed to such an extent that "will I ever be a human living on Earth again? What's stopping me from just being here forever? What's stopping this five minutes as five million years?" Basically every assumption about reality is broken, "real life" takes on a new sense of impermanence. Being alive here at all starts to feel like a fluke, like a hundred-year stop in a trillion-year journey.

I might be full of shit though.

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#109

Post by dzhiurgis »

spacehacker wrote: post #77
nether wrote: post #4

I saw these weird drapes folded around me that were brown, green, and white stripes. They were gently heaving, and I knew that they were living creatures that were watching over me. I didn't take enough to have a full breakthrough, but in that moment I was certain that I was dying, with all of my consciousness welled up into my head, as if that's all I was. When I came to and regained awareness of my limbs, I was rel…

With the same skepticism you could also ask yourself to which extent the hallucinations were actually due to subconscious recall of all kinds of memes surrounding hallucinogens like "out-of-body experience", "consciousness", "parallel worlds", "breakthrough", "feeling like dying", as well as imagery from all kinds of drug films and literature etc.

Don't forget UFO's - Their Sightings Coincide with Popular Sci-Fi Films, TV https://www.google.co.nz/amp/www.universetoday.com/37713/rep...

That said there is something DMT that its excreted in your brain at death.

Re: Why Do DMT Users See Insects from a Parallel Universe?

#110

Post by pseud0r »

benevol wrote: post #91

I've seen the roots of a tree (at at distance of about 300 feet) through the ground, while on LSD (about 500ug). I'm sure those really were the roots, because the visible part of the tree (the trunk and the roots that came up above ground again at a few spots) matched completely with roots in the ground I was seeing. The image was stable and lasted for about 45 seconds. Something (not like an external voice, more lik…

I've had similar experiences, but I don't think they're anything other than internally generated by the brain, especially since I've also been able to morph what I've seen into other objects at will.

I've also been able to see objects in more detail on LSD, like I was wearing extra glasses or something, but again I suspect the extra details were just created by my visual system, though it would be interesting if there were more scientific studies of this stuff.

Post reply on HN