Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating Through Space
My Dabble Into Sensory Deprivation Therapy
For quite some time, I’ve been intrigued by the concept of a sensory deprivation experience. My interest began long ago when I watched the sci-fi movie Altered States, starring William Hurt as a psychologist who becomes curious about different states of consciousness and the means of achieving them. It’s a pretty goofy but entertaining movie of the science fiction/horror genre.
Things start to go completely off the rails as- SPOILER ALERT- William Hurt’s character begins to devolve into a prehistoric Homo sapiens resulting from his experiments with a sensory deprivation float tank (combined with some hallucinogenic-inducing drugs, of course). Other weird stuff happens, but you’ll have to watch the movie to find how the character’s journey ends….
Now, I’ve heard of many of the benefits associated with salt floats. Some of these include stress reduction, improved focus and concentration, pain reduction, improved sleep, and as one study from 2014 found, increased creativity and intuition.
Some participants in salt float tanks have also reported hallucinations and mind-altering experiences.
John C. Lilly, the creator of the first sensory deprivation tank in 1954, was a physician and…
