Today I took a trip to Swartz Creek, Michigan to check out and experience a sensory deprivation tank (flotation tank) at Great Lakes Flotation. I first heard of sensory deprivation in college in psychology classes but never thought they were anything that people used commercially. A few weeks ago I heard an off-hand comment about these tanks from the Joe Rogan Experience and decided to check them out. From there I found Great Lakes Flotation as being the only location with tanks.
So to those that are not initiated with float tanks, a float tank is a tool with a myriad of benefits. I won't go into details or history of the float tank as so many others have - but a float tank is a tank that is loosely sealed to prevent any sound or light from penetrating the solitude of the experience. There is approximately ten inches of water with hundreds of pounds of Epsom salt in the water, which allows for buoyancy. The idea is fairly straight-forward - you get in the tank and close the hatch behind you then lay down on your back and float while centered in the tank (for best results, go nude - hey, everything is better nude, right?). After a certain amount of time (apparently variable based on the number of times you've been floating), your mind will lose track of your body and you'll enter a state of pure consciousness.
My intent to delve into a float tank was to clear my mind. I thought that if I could just disconnect my mind from my body then I would be able to experience a new state of consciousness. Sounds a bit far out but I thought the tank would be similar to my meditations except more profound or at least differently-effective. Those are my guesses at least.
First - I've got to say that the facilities are very pleasant and Terri Stangl, the owner, is wonderful. Terri absolutely made me feel welcome and at ease, which was nice as I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and was a bit nervous to begin with. Regardless, Terri eased my nervousness by answering my questions and giving me many tips as well as a helpful introduction.
So to my experience at hand. I showered up as you're supposed to do, then dried off my face and hands and put in my ear plugs. I opened the tank and looked inside. The tank is not nearly as imposing as one might assume. The inside, when lit, is blue as a swimming pool is and the water clear. Though the tank is full of hundreds of pounds of salt - you cannot smell the salt whatsoever. So I step in very carefully as I was warned that the water is silky smooth and the tank may be slippery. I cautiously step in then kneel down and close the hatch behind me. "Well this is it" I thought "Might as well roll over, get on my back, and slide back then center myself in the tank."
I slide back and use my arms to reach out and feel the sides of the tank in an attempt to center myself. Once I feel as if I'm centered I slowly let go of the sides and bring my arms to my side. Turns out I was drifting slightly and it took me quite awhile to really get myself centered. Each time I hit the wall I push back with just a slight flick of my finger. Though truth be told I think this took me a bit longer than normal but I'm certain this is a newbie thing. Anyway, turns out that my arms to my side was not comfortable to me while floating so I moved my arms up above my head as suggested by Terri. I then had to center myself again, which I've got to say took a little while, too.
Eventually I was successful in centering myself in the tank and I then start to feel my mind detach from my body. I first noticed it in my legs - I would say that my legs felt a numbness but that isn't really the case but its closest to the feeling. To me, it felt as if my legs totally vanished, I guess - this is very hard to explain. Numbness comes with feeling uncomfortable and with a tingle but this was simply a lack of feeling as if my legs were gone. Anyway, next came my fingers then my arms then my chest. My head was last and as soon as my head vanished I felt as if time literally stopped. Not only did I feel as if my body didn't exist I was fairly certain that I never had a body.
Totally trippy, right? So here I am existing with only a heart-beat, my breath, and the ability to open my eyes, which I will admit allowed for the difference of pitch-black with my eyes shut and pitch black with my eyes open. I found it most comfortable for my eyes to be almost closed. Not open and definitely not closed. I tried both for awhile to see what was best but I eventually decided that was the opposite of what I was trying to do. I needed to totally let go at this point if I wanted to succeed in this float.
So with my body existing in a seemingly different plane my mind was free to float on. At first there was nothing. As far as I knew I was just a dismembered mind existing in nothingness. For who-knows-how-long I sat there in total nothingness. My mind was still and there was not a single thought. I honestly cannot say how long this went on - felt like hours though. After this period of clarity my mind decided it had enough. It needed something, anything. So suddenly and without warning I saw a small faint dancing white light. I lazily followed this light with my eyes and just as suddenly it exploded and with it came a sort of screeching-static sound. The burst was fast and the sound brief. After this point my brain was not still.
Immediately following the explosion of white-light my brain was adrift in a sea of stars, nebula's, and galaxies. My brain created a body for me to float in, oddly enough, and there I am soaring through space in silence. The space is remarkable with bright greens, blues, and purples. In this moment I feel an intense closeness with the universe. I am this entity soaring through space faster than light and am everything and nothing at once. My mind starts to think of radical ideas and atomic structures that encompass all of reality. I come up with the thought that instantaneous travel could be attained through discovering the right resonance with the right atomic structures to open a gateway to far away places or dimensions. Discovering the resonance to react with atoms is the key and a device, which allows the creation of atomic resonance, was then in my hands.
Next I can feel myself being swept away, out of my control. I feel fear that my mind will be pushed away and that I'll not be able to return. While I'm being swept away I actually physically feel this motion too. Then in an instant I feel my hand touch the side of the tank - and just like that I'm relatively aware of my real body again and realized the tank moved me. Turns out this was part of a cycling mechanism that usually is not on during use.
No matter as I quickly was able to center myself in the tank. My body was still totally non-existent and within five minutes I was back to a clear mind-state where time had stopped. Again, a white light erupts out of the darkness with the same sound and I'm back to floating in space. This time things are a lot less coherent in terms of what I'm floating in. Mostly, this time, I'm experiencing dancing colors and shapes. This goes on for awhile, again time is totally an abstract thought.
After an nondeterminate amount of time I have the vision of a couple eating dinner in a sky-rise and the woman looks at the man and says "What is that, what is that light?" In the distance through the windows I see a faint white light erupting. The man looks at her and says "I don't know, what is that?" The white light envelopes everything along with the noise and the vision and couple are gone. At this point I get the feeling that the white light and sound is meant to embody destruction and creation, death and rebirth. It isn't dreadful or frightening - it is simply a thing that is, much like a breath in and a breath out.
After this realization my mind returns to calm, to quiet, to peace. I lay there totally blinked out of existence and then I hear two quick knocks. I recognize this as Terri signaling that my float is over. I then reach over with my left hand and knock back, signaling that I understand.
I sit up in the darkness slowly and come to my senses a little. My head, chest, arms, and legs decide to attach themselves to my mind as I clamor to all fours and slowly move forward. I open the hatch and there is light and I'm stunned briefly and there I am on my knees in the light and my mind is totally empty. Carefully, I reach for the handle-grip and pull myself to a standing position and step out. I pull my earplugs out and set them on the table where I immediately can smell the salt overwhelmingly and feel water on my skin as it drips down. I find it interesting how I could not smell the salt beforehand and exiting I could smell it as if I snorted a line of salt.
I take my post-shower as instructed and dry off then get dressed. Terri prepared for me some warm green tea that awaited me in a nice peaceful room with gentle music. Terri joined me and asked how it went and we discussed my experience then discussed a few other topics, too. Fortunately for my experience, my mind was totally blank and I physically felt as if my head was hollow. I was absolutely at peace and relaxed to a level I've never felt before. Usually my brain is full of deep thoughts yet in that moment I could not pose anything that was complex whatsoever. For that I apologize Terri - truthfully I can carry on conversations with depth!
With all that being said, my two-hours in the float tank was a great experience and I'll absolutely be going back for more. I think subsequent floats will be much more productive as I've learned how to center myself and what to expect. Great Lakes Flotation was a fantastic place as well and Terri is a marvelous person, too. She even went ahead to suggest a new flotation center closer to where I live but truth be told I had such a great experience that I am in no way opposed to making a slightly further trip to know I'm in Terri's good hands.
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