Float On

The book and movie Altered States may have popularized the idea of taking psychedelics in a floatation tank, but according to floatforhealth.net, one doesn't need LSD to have an exhilarating experience while "floating." According to their website, floating lowers the stress hormone cortisol, releases endorphins, and the magnesium sulfate content dissolves lactic acid and mineralizes the body. The purported health benefits are pain relief, weight loss, and enhanced learning and creativity -- to name a few.

Tank design has evolved since 1954 when John C. Lily first started his sensory deprivation experiments. Complicated head masks required to breathe underwater were eliminated upon discovering that a saturated solution of Epsom salts allowed the body to float at the surface, without sinking. The modern tank has nothing physically distracting, which is the main idea in floating -- absence of physical stimulation giving way to enhanced mental processes, with the result being a mind-trip that has been compared to taking psychedelics. Could this be the way to introduce the mainstream to the epiphanies one experiences while tripping, and thereby evolving our collective consciousness? One can certainly hope so.