Cognitive effects - Psychedelics

This article attempts to break down the cognitive and behavioural effects contained within the psychedelic experience into simple, easy to understand titles, descriptions and levelling systems. This will be done without depending on metaphors, analogies or personal trip reports. The article starts off with descriptions of the simpler effects and works its way up towards more complex experiences as it progresses.

Suppressions

Thought disorganization

Main article: Thought disorganization

Thought disorganization can be described as a state of cognitive suppression in which one's ability to think or speak using linguistic sentence structures in a grammatically correct, linear and logical order is degraded proportional to the dosage consumed.

The experience of this component results in thought and speech becoming shuffled, rearranged and randomized in their order, words and general content. This makes communication and thought increasingly nonsensical, unintelligible and difficult to understand.

Personal bias suppression

Main article: Personal bias suppression

This article requires proofreading. As such, it likely contains incorrect grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Personal bias suppression can be described as a removal of the cultural and individual biases which human beings knowingly or unknowingly filter and interpret their perception of the world through during everyday life.

The idea that the opinions and decisions of people are based upon a consistent and unconscious tendency to notice and assign significance to observations that confirm existing pre-existing beliefs whilst filtering out and rationalizing observations that do not confirm pre-existing beliefs is a well established concept within the scientific literature. This is known as confirmation bias and exists within varying degrees across all people but is significantly stronger for those with emotionally charged issues and deeply entrenched cultural beliefs.

It seems that a human beings perspective of the world and their response to specific experiences is determined by routing concepts through a complex set of cognitive filters which are primarily based upon pre-existing beliefs, past experiences, fears, prejudices, stereotypes, and cultural symbols. The removal of this tendency, however, seems to entirely suppress this filter and consistently shows people that many aspects of their personality, perspective and culture are often merely subjective or delusional ideas and not an objective reality. This experience often leads onto deep states of introspection, insight and analysis which can create profound alterations in perspective that last anywhere from days, weeks, months or years after the experience itself.

Memory suppression (ego death)

Main article: Memory suppression

Memory suppression (also known as ego suppression, ego loss or ego death) can be described as an effect which, in a manner which is directly proportional to the dosage consumed, directly inhibits one's ability to maintain a functional short and long term memory.

It is a process which can be broken down into 3 basic levels:

1. Concentration suppression - This is the partial failure of a person's short term memory. It can be described as a general difficulty staying focused and an increase in distractibility.
2. Short term memory suppression - This is the complete failure of a person's short term memory. It can be described as the experience of becoming being completely incapable of remembering any specific details regarding the present situation for more than a few seconds. This is capable of resulting in thought loops, disorientation, loss of control and confusion for the inexperienced. Long term memory, however, remains entirely intact as people are still perfectly capable of recollecting their name, date of birth, childhood school, etc.
3. Long term memory suppression - This is the complete failure of both a person's long and short term memory. It can be described as the experience of becoming completely incapable of remembering even the most basic fundamental human concepts stored within the long term memory. This includes one's name, identity, home town, that they are on drugs, what drugs even are, what human beings are, what life is, what existence is or what anything is. The most notable of these, however, is the loss of one's ability to recall their concept or sense of self and identity.

Although memory suppression is similar in its effects to amnesia, it differs in that it is usually possible for the person experiencing it to recall what happened during the process after it is over. However, amnesia by its very definition allows people to retain information within the present moment but renders them incapable of recalling it afterwards.

Ego death

At level 3, the most profound aspect of all encompassing long term memory suppression is the way in which it obliterates one's ability to recall or even feel a general sense of their own name, identity, me-ness or selfhood. The experience of this is colloquially known as ego death and is well documented throughout the modern psychonautic subculture. It results in the profound experience that although one is not unconscious, there is no longer an “I” experiencing current sensory input; there is just the input as it is and by itself. This allows one to experience concepts from a perspective which is completely untainted by prior experience and memories due to the accompanying presence of simultaneous personal bias suppression.

Enhancements

Novelty enhancement

Main article: Novelty enhancement

Novelty enhancement can be described as feelings of fascination, importance and awe attributed to specific parts or the entirety of one's external environment. It can be considered as a defining feature of many hallucinogenic experiences and results in a new-found child-like sense of wonder which forces those who are experiencing it to acknowledge, consider and appreciate the things around them in a level of detail and intensity which remains unparalleled by experiences throughout normal sober living. This gives the overwhelming impression that everything around oneself is profound, interesting, important and worthy of reverence-- be it nature, aspects of nature, life, the universe or even common events and household objects.

Current mind state enhancement

Main article: Current mind state enhancement

Current mind state enhancement is an effect which alters mood, but unlike certain subjective effect components such as euphoria it does not consistently induce positive and emotions regardless of a person's current state of mind and mental stability. Instead it works by amplifying and enhancing the emotions a person is already feeling prior to ingesting the drug. This causes the effects to be equally capable of manifesting in both a positive and negative direction.

For example, an individual who is insecure, anxious or emotionally unstable may become overwhelmed with greatly intensified negative emotions, paranoia and confusion. This is caused by the person's current negative state becoming greatly amplified above normal levels. On the opposite end of the spectrum, positive, prepared and emotionally stable people who take the same substance at an identical dosage are likely to find themselves overwhelmed with states of emotional euphoria, happiness and feelings of general contentment.

There is a very clear distinction between substance-induced emotion and genuine emotion. This component does not induce any emotion-- it merely deepens and enhances genuine emotions that are already felt separately from the drug.

Thought acceleration

Main article: Thought acceleration

Thought acceleration can be described as the mental process of thought being sped up significantly. When experiencing this effect, it feels as if one rapid fire thought after the other is being generated in incredibly quick succession. Not only is the speed of thought increased, but the sharpness of a person's mental clarity seems to increase alongside it, resulting in an abundance of new and insightful ideas.

Thought connectivity

Main article: Thought connectivity

Thought connectivity can be described as the sensation of a person's thought stream becoming distinctly characterized by an abstract fluid association of ideas and wandering thoughts which connect deeply into each other. This feels like a series of almost seemingly unrelated ideas or daydreams that tenuously connect into each other by incorporating an idea or concept that was contained within the previous thought but from a completely different angle.

When experienced for extended periods of time this effect allows the mind to cover and analyse an extremely broad variety of subjects including not just the "big things" in life, but the "small things" as well. It is a process which leads onto large amounts of introspection as well as greatly enhanced levels of creative and artistic abilities as it essentially removes creative block by allowing the thoughts to flow free.

Analysis enhancement

Main article: Analysis enhancement

Analysis enhancement can be described as a subtle to distinct enhancement of one's overall ability to process information and logically or creatively analyse concepts, ideas and scenarios. The experience of this leads onto deep and complex states of contemplation which often result in an abundance of new and insightful ideas. This gives the person a powerful ability to dissect and rationally analyse concepts and problems, allowing them to gain insights and reach new conclusions, perspectives and solutions which would have been otherwise difficult to conceive of.

Although substances such as stimulants and nootropics induce this component in a neutral format, psychedelics in particular often manifest it as one of two separate forms, both of which are listed below:

Introspection

Introspection can be defined as the experience of a state of deep analysis regarding personal concepts within one's own life. This results in logical resolution and/or personal acceptance regarding past events, the present situation, future possibilities, insecurities, fears, hopes, goals, struggles and traumas. This is extremely efficient at facilitating self-improvement, personal growth and change on a level that remains largely unparalleled by experiences found within every day living.

It is important to note, however, that during states of introspection not everybody is willing to face, resolve and move on from their personal problems as some will panic and attempt to ignore or repress them instead. This is because introspective states often result in realizations that can drastically alter one's own opinion of their self, personality and past decisions so that they become viewed from a negative or regretful position. The fighting of these revelations through denial and repression instead of acceptance and analysis is a very common trigger for negative experiences that could be otherwise avoided.

Outrospection

Outrospection can be considered as the opposite counterpart to introspection. It can be defined as the experience of deep analysis regarding the exterior world, both as a whole and as the things which comprise it. This results in an abundance of insightful ideas and conclusions with powerful themes pertaining to what is often described as "the bigger picture". These ideas generally involve (but are not limited to) insight into philosophy, science, spirituality, society, culture, universal progress, humanity, loved ones, the finite nature of our lives, history, the present moment and future possibilities.

Rejuvination

Main article: Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation can be described as feelings of mild to extreme cognitive refreshment which can last anywhere from several hours to many years and are often felt after positive experiences with certain hallucinogens. These feelings of rejuvenation can potentially include a sustained sense of general heightened mental clarity, increased emotional stability and calmness along side of specific subjective effect components such as mindfulness, increased motivation, personal bias suppression and increased focus.

At its highest level, feelings of rejuvenation can become so intense that they manifest as the profound and overwhelming sensation of being "reborn" anew. This feeling can last anywhere from weeks to a lifetime after the experience itself.

Empathy, love and sociability enhancement

Main article: Empathy, love and sociability enhancement

Empathy, love, and sociability enhancement can be described as a set of thought patterns, behavioural effects and mental processes which are primarily triggered by Entactogens. It is a persepctive which is dominated by emotional euphoria and a set of effects which are characterized by:

• Decreased negative emotion and behaviour such as stress, anxiety, fear, and paranoia.
• Increased sociability and feelings of communication being easy or simple.
• Increased urge to communicate with others.
• Increased empathy, love and feelings of closeness or connection with others.
• Reduced insecurity, defensiveness, and fear of emotional injury.
• Decreased irritability, aggression, anger, and jealousy.

At appropriate dosages, these effects are felt as very strong and create overwhelming feelings of love and empathy for the people around oneself. This results a mind state which is extremely powerful for mending pre-existing emotional disputes and reinventing the bonds between friendships and romantic partners.

Multiple thought streams

Main article: Multiple thought streams

Multiple thought streams can be defined as a state in which one has more than one internal narrative or stream of consciousness occurring within their mind. This can result in any number of conscious thought streams within one's mind, each of which are often controllable in an identical level to that of one's everyday thought stream. This experience allows one to think about and analyse many different subjects and concepts simultaneously and can be a source of great insight.

Sexual arousal

Main article: Sexual arousal

Sexual arousal in the context of drug usage can be described as a mild to intense increase in feelings of sexual desire, anticipation of sexual activity and the likelihood that one will view the context of a given situation as sexual in nature. When experienced, this sensation is not overwhelming or out of control but simply remains something that one is constantly aware of.

This effect is often greatly potentiated when experienced alongside feelings of positive enhancements of touch and stimulation.

Dream potentiation

Main article: Dream potentiation

Dream potentiation can be described as a cognitive component which increases the intensity, vividness and frequency of sleeping dream states. This effect also creates higher detail and definition within dreams along side of an increase in the likelihood of one's dreams becoming lucid.

The experience of this effect can be the result of a class of drugs called oneirogens which directly potentiate dreams when taken before sleep or as a residual effect from hallucinogen HPPD.

Spirituality enhancement

Main article: Spirituality enhancement

Spirituality enhancement can be described as the experience of a gradual or sudden shift of personal beliefs and interests into something which holds notions of certain key concepts with higher regard than that which it did previously. These concepts and notions are not limited to but generally include:

• An increased sense of personal purpose.
• An increased interest in the pursuit of developing personal religious and spiritual ideologies.
• An increased sense of compassion towards nature and other people.
• An increased sense of unity between oneself, nature, god and the universe as a whole.
• A decreased sense of value placed upon finances and material objects.
• A decreased fear of death and the finite nature of existence.
• The formation of complex personal religious beliefs.

Although difficult to fully define, spirituality enhancement can often result in drastic changes within one's personality which can become distinctively noticeable to others around those who undergo it.

Novel states

Time distortion

Main article: Time distortion

Time distortion is an effect that makes the passage of time difficult to keep track of and wildly distorted. It can be felt in two different forms: time expansion and time compression.

The most common of these is time expansion. Time expansion can be described as the feeling that time has slowed down. This seems to stem from the fact that during an intense hallucinogenic trip, abnormally large amounts of experience are felt in very short periods of time. This creates the illusion that more time has passed than actually has. For example, at the end of certain experiences one may feel that they have undergone any number of days, weeks, months, years or even eternal and infinite periods of time.

The second form, time compression, is more common within stimulating substances than hallucinogens. It can be described as the experience of time speeding up and passing much quicker than it usually would within everyday life.

Analysis enhancement

Main article: Analysis enhancement

Analysis enhancement can be described as a subtle to distinct enhancement of one's overall ability to process information and logically or creatively analyse concepts, ideas and scenarios. The experience of this leads onto deep and complex states of contemplation which often result in an abundance of new and insightful ideas. This gives the person a powerful ability to dissect and rationally analyse concepts and problems, allowing them to gain insights and reach new conclusions, perspectives and solutions which would have been otherwise difficult to conceive of.

Although substances such as stimulants and nootropics induce this component in a neutral format, psychedelics in particular often manifest it as one of two separate forms, both of which are listed below:

Introspection

Introspection can be defined as the experience of a state of deep analysis regarding personal concepts within one's own life. This results in logical resolution and/or personal acceptance regarding past events, the present situation, future possibilities, insecurities, fears, hopes, goals, struggles and traumas. This is extremely efficient at facilitating self-improvement, personal growth and change on a level that remains largely unparalleled by experiences found within every day living.

It is important to note, however, that during states of introspection not everybody is willing to face, resolve and move on from their personal problems as some will panic and attempt to ignore or repress them instead. This is because introspective states often result in realizations that can drastically alter one's own opinion of their self, personality and past decisions so that they become viewed from a negative or regretful position. The fighting of these revelations through denial and repression instead of acceptance and analysis is a very common trigger for negative experiences that could be otherwise avoided.

Outrospection

Outrospection can be considered as the opposite counterpart to introspection. It can be defined as the experience of deep analysis regarding the exterior world, both as a whole and as the things which comprise it. This results in an abundance of insightful ideas and conclusions with powerful themes pertaining to what is often described as "the bigger picture". These ideas generally involve (but are not limited to) insight into philosophy, science, spirituality, society, culture, universal progress, humanity, loved ones, the finite nature of our lives, history, the present moment and future possibilities.

Deja-Vu

Main article: Deja-Vu

Déjà vu is a common phrase from the French language which translates literally into “already seen”. This is a well documented phenomenon that can commonly occur throughout both sober living and under the influence of hallucinogens. It can be described as having the strong sensation that the current event or situation has already been experienced at some point within the past when, in actuality, it hasn't.

Certain substances are commonly capable of inducing spontaneous and often prolonged states of mild to intense sensations of déjà vu. This provides one with an overwhelming sense that they have “been here before”. The sensation is often accompanied by a false feeling of familiarity with the current location or setting, the current physical actions being performed, the situation as a whole or the effects of the substance itself.

This effect is often triggered despite the fact that during the experience of it one can be rationally aware that the circumstances of the “previous” experience (when, where, and how the earlier experience occurred) are uncertain or believed to be impossible.

Mindfulness

Main article: Mindfulness

This article requires proofreading. As such, it likely contains incorrect grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Mindfulness can be described as a psychological concept which is well established within the scientific literature and commonly discussed in association with meditation. It is often broken down into two separate components both of which comprise the experience of mindfulness itself.

The first of these components involves the self-regulation of attention so that its focus is completely directed towards immediate experience, thereby quietening one's internal narrative and allowing for increased recognition of external and mental events within the present moment.

The second component of mindfulness involves adopting a particular orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment-- an orientation that is characterized by a lack of judgement, curiosity, openness, and acceptance.

Within meditation, this mind state is deliberately practiced and maintained via the conscious and manual redirection of one's awareness towards a singular point of focus for extended periods of time. In the context of hallucinogens, however, this state is often forcibly induced without any conscious effort or the need of any prior knowledge regarding meditative techniques.

Feelings of predeterminism

Main article: Feelings of predeterminism

Feelings of predeterminism can be defined as the sudden perspective or feeling that all events, including human actions, are established or decided in advance by prior causes.

This is an effect which can be spontaneously triggered and felt through a distinct change in thought processes. In terms of how it feels, it can be described as a suppression of the assumption that our internal narrative possesses "free will". This removal feels as if it has revealed free will and choice as entirely illusory.

This revelation is not a result of cognitive insight leading one onto a realization but instead occurs through a forced and sudden change in perspective. This creates the undeniable sensation that one's personal choices, physical actions, current situational perspective, and the very subject matter of their thought stream has always been completely predetermined by prior causes and are therefore outside of conscious control. Instead of feeling as if they are dictated by free will, one's thoughts and decision-making processes become suddenly felt as a vast and complex set of internally stored, instantly decided, pre-programmed, and completely autonomous chemical and mechanistic responses to perceived sensory input.

Once the offset of the experience begins to take its toll, the subject will return to feelings of freedom and independence. Despite this, however, they will usually retain information and realizations regarding what is often interpreted as a profound insight into the illusory nature of free will.

Conceptual thinking

Main article: Conceptual thinking

This article requires proofreading. As such, it likely contains incorrect grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Conceptual thinking can be described as an alteration in the content of one's internal narrative or thought stream. This alteration results in the ability to think thoughts which are no longer primarily comprised of linear words and linguistic sentence structures. Instead one's thoughts become in equal measure simultaneously comprised of the internally stored concepts which words exist to label. For example, if one were to think the word "Internet" during this state, they would not just hear the word as part of their thought stream but would also feel in a comprehensive level of detail, the internally stored, non-linguistic and innately readable data, code and information which comprises the specific concept labelled within one's vocabulary as "Internet".

During this experience, conceptual thinking allows one to feel not just the entirety of a concepts attributed data in the form of pure information but also how these concepts relate with, connect to, fit in with and depend upon all other known concepts. This results in one feeling as if they can truly comprehend the precise consequences, limitations, and position within this universe of any singular concept which they happen to be currently contemplating.

The experience of this effect is commonly interpreted by those who undergo it as a "higher level of understanding" as it results in the perceived ability of being able to think about ideas in a level of detail and insight unparalleled within the primarily linguistic thought structure of everyday life. This suggests that human language may well be intrinsically self-limited through the way in which words can only act as mere short cuts to the concepts which they exist to describe.

Subconscious communication

Main article: Subconscious communication

This article requires proofreading. As such, it likely contains incorrect grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Subconscious communication can be described as the experience of engaging in linguistic conversations with a disembodied and separate audible voice of unknown origin residing within one's own head. This voice is often capable of directly manipulating various aspects and intensities of one's trip and will either clearly explain the logic behind its decisions or choose to keep it a mystery.

As a whole, the effect itself can be broken down into 4 distinct levels of progressive intensity, each of which are listed and described below:

1. A sensed presence of the other - This level can be defined as the distinctive feeling that another form of consciousness is internally present alongside that of one's usual sense of self.
2. Mutually generated internal responses - This level can be defined as internal linguistic responses to one's own thoughts and feelings which feel as if they are partially generated by one's own thought stream and in equal measure by that of a separate thought stream.
3. Separately generated internal responses - This level can be defined as internal linguistic responses to one's own thoughts and feelings which feel as if they are generated by an entirely separate thought stream from one's own.
4. Separately generated audible internal responses - This level can be defined as internal linguistic responses to one's own thoughts and feelings which are perceived as a clearly defined and audible voice within one's head. These can take on a variety of voices, accents and dialects but usually sound identical to one's own spoken voice.

The speaker behind this voice is innately interpreted by those who experience communication with it to be either that of one's subconscious, the substance itself or even supernatural concepts such as god, spirits, souls and ancestors.

The conversational style of that which is discussed between both the voice and its host can be described as essentially identical in terms of its coherency and linguistic intelligibility as that of any other everyday interaction between the self and another human being with which one might engage in conversation with.

There are however some subtle but identifiable differences between this experience and that of normal every day conversations; each of which stem from the factor that one's specific set of knowledge, memories and experiences are identical to that of the voice which is being communicated with. This key factor results in a conversation in which both participants share a noticeably identical vocabulary down to the very use of their colloquial slang and subtle mannerisms.

As a result of this, no matter how in depth and detailed the discussion becomes, no entirely new information is ever exchanged between the two communicators. Instead, the discussion focuses primarily on building upon old ideas and discussing new opinions or perspectives regarding the previously established content of one's life.

Effects analysis

The experience of communicating with hallucinated voices has been well established with and without the use of hallucinogenic drugs through scientific study. For example, one study successfully demonstrated that anybody can encounter a dialogue between themselves and a voice of unknown origin under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms. This study interviewed 128 participants with an approximate total of 3,427 psilocybin mushroom experiences between them and revealed that 35.9%(46) of the participants reported voices whilst 64%(82) did not.

Even outside of these drug-induced experiences, hearing voices within one's head is a well documented psychological phenomena and can generally be considered as a harmless or sometimes even helpful state of mind to find oneself in (despite its social stigma and associations with schizophrenia).

Personality regression

Main article: Personality regression

Personality regression is an uncommon and spontaneously occurring effect which often accompanies ego death. It can be described as a mental state in which one suddenly adopts an identical personality, set of mannerisms and behaviour to their past selves from a period of their life which has already occurred.

This is often capable of making one believe that they are a child again and act appropriately to this belief. There are also anecdotal reports of people speaking in languages which they have not used for many years under the influence of this effect.

Thought loops

Main article: Thought loops

Thought loops can be described as the experience of becoming trapped within a chain of thoughts, actions and emotions which repeat themselves over and over again in a cyclic loop. They are most likely to occur during states of memory suppression and the failure of one's short term memory. This suggests that thought loops are the result of cognitive processes becoming unable to sustain themselves for appropriate lengths of time due to a lapse in short term memory, resulting in the thought process attempting to restart from the beginning only to fall short once again in a perpetual cycle.

This component can be extremely disorientating and often triggers states of progressive anxiety within the people who may be unfamiliar with the experience. The most effective way to end a cycle of thought loops is to simply sit down and try to let go.

Feelings of interdependent opposites

Main article: Feelings of interdependent opposites

In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang, are concepts used to describe how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected and interdependent in the natural world.

Feelings of interdependent opposites (also known as feelings of duality) can be described as a state of mind that often accompanies ego death levels of memory suppression. It is a powerful sensation in which one sees, understands and physically feels that reality is based upon a system in which the existence or identity of all concepts and situations depend on the co-existence of at least two conditions which are opposite to each other, yet dependent on one another by presupposing each other as logically necessary equivalents.

This experience is usually felt to provide deep insight into the fundamental nature of reality and results in the revelation that essential concepts such as life and death, up and down, self and other, north and south, light and dark, good and bad, big and small, wet and dry, pleasure and suffering, yes and no, internal and external, hot and cold, young and old, something and nothing, being and non-being each exist as states of harmonious and necessary contrast to their opposite force.

Delusions

Main article: Delusions

Delusions are the experience of spontaneous, incorrect and fictional beliefs held with strong conviction.

In the context of hallucinogenic drugs they are temporary perspectives which one may slip into during high dosage experiences. They are most likely to occur during states of memory suppression and share many common themes and elements with clinical schizophrenia. In most cases, these delusions can be broken out of when appropriate evidence is provided to the contrary or the person has sobered up enough to logically analyse the situation.

Types

Delusions are categorized into four different groups:

• Bizarre delusion: This is a delusion that is very strange and completely implausible. An example of a bizarre delusion would be that aliens have removed the reporting person's brain.
• Non-bizarre delusion: This is a delusion that, though false, is at least possible such as the affected person mistakenly believing that they are currently under police surveillance.
• Mood-congruent delusion: This is any delusion with content consistent with either a depressive or anxious state. For example, a depressed person may believe that news anchors on television highly disapprove of them or a person in a manic state might believe they are a powerful deity.
• Mood-neutral delusion: This is a delusion that does not relate to the sufferer's emotional state. For example, a belief that an extra limb is growing out of the back of one's head is neutral to either depression or mania.

Themes

In addition to these categories, delusions often manifest according to a consistent theme. Although delusions can have any theme, certain themes are more common. Some of the more common delusion themes are:

• Delusion of sobriety: This is the false belief that one is perfectly sober despite obvious evidence to the contrary such as severe cognitive impairment and an inability to fully communicate with others.
• Delusion of control: This is a false belief that another person, group of people, or external force controls one's general thoughts, feelings, impulses, or behaviour.
• Delusion of death: This is a false belief that one is about to die, is currently dying, does not exist or has already died.
• Delusion of guilt or sin (or delusion of self-accusation): This is an ungrounded feeling of remorse or guilt of delusional intensity in which one believes that they have committed some sort of unethical act.
• Delusion of mind being read: This is the false belief that other people can know one's thoughts.
• Delusion of thought insertion: This is the belief that another thinks through the mind of the person. This results in the person becoming unable to distinguish between their own thoughts and those "inserted" into their minds.
• Delusion of reference: The person falsely believes that insignificant remarks, events, or objects in one's environment have personal meaning or significance. For example, one may feel that people on television and radio or lyrics within a song are talking about or directly to them.
• Delusion of reality: This is the delusion that something which is actually fictitious is real and either has occurred, is going to occur or is currently occurring. The most common example of this is the belief that a television show, video or a movie which one is watching is a real event that is currently happening within the room and is not just a video.
• Grandiose religious delusion: This is the belief that the affected person is a god or chosen to act as a god. An individual can become convinced they have special powers, talents, or abilities. Sometimes, the individual may actually believe they are a famous person or character such as Jesus Christ.
• Delusion of transcendence: This is the belief that one has permanently transcended to a higher plane of dimensional existence as a result of high dosage hallucinogen use. It can also manifest itself as thinking that one has discovered the secret to "transcending" and that they will be able to implement it just as soon as they sober up. Once this occurs however the secret is found to nonsensical or incorrect.

Unity and interconnectedness

Main article: Unity and interconnectedness

This symbol depicts the universe as a "self-excited" circuit. It was originally created by the late theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler in his 1983 paper law without law. The eye represents the self and the line directly opposite represents that which it is perceiving within the "external" environment. The two sections are connected into each other via arrows to demonstrate that it is a singular and unified system.

Unity and interconnectedness can be described as an alteration in the cognitive rules which define both what one's sense of self or identity is attributed to and what it is felt as separate from. For example, most people feel that the self is inherently separate from their external environment and could not possibly extend into it. On top of this, many people feel that the self is specifically limited to not even the physical body as a whole, but exclusively one's internal narrative or thought stream and the image of their own personality as built up through social interactions with other people.

When experienced, this subjective effect directly changes that which one's self is currently attributed to so that it becomes capable of including systems which were previously perceived as separate to one's identity or being. The experience of this alteration results in intense and inextricable feelings of unity or interconnectedness between oneself and specific or multiple "external" systems.

Many people who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion, the destruction of which is often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment”. Depending on the degree to which this supposed illusion has been lifted, it can lead onto five possible levels of differing intensity and degrees of interconnectedness.

These are listed and described below:

1. Unity between specific external systems

The lowest and least complex level can be referred to as a state of “unity between specific external systems”. This is the only level of interconnectedness in which the subjective experience of unity does not involve a state of interconnectedness between the self and the external. Instead, it can be described as a perceived sense of unity between two or more systems within the external environment which in every day life, are usually perceived as separate from each other and from one's identity.

There are an endless number of ways in which this level manifest itself but common examples of the experience often include:

• A sense of unity between specific living things such as animals or plants and their surrounding ecosystems
• A sense of unity between other human beings and the objects they are currently interacting with
• A sense of unity between any number of currently perceivable inanimate objects.
• A sense of unity between humanity and nature
• A sense of unity between literally any combination of perceivable external systems and concepts

2. Unity between the self and specific external systems

The second of these two levels can be referred to as a state of “unity between the self and specific external systems”. It can be defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person’s identity and the specific physical systems or concepts within the perceivable external environment which are currently comprising their central point of cognitive focus.

There are an endless number of ways in which this level manifest itself but common examples of the experience often include:

• Becoming unified with a specific object which is being interacted with
• Becoming unified with another person or multiple people (particularly common if engaging in sexual or romantic activities)
• Becoming unified with the entirety of one's own physical body
• Becoming unified with large crowds of people (particularly common at raves and music festivals)
• Becoming unified with the external environment but not the people within it

This creates a sensation which is often described by people as the experience of becoming inextricably connected to, one with, the same as, or unified with whatever the perceived external system happens to be.

3. Unity between the self and all perceivable external systems

The third of these five differing levels of interconnectedness can be referred to as "a state of unity between the self and all perceivable external systems". It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person’s identity and the entirety of their sensory input including the currently perceivable external environment. The experience as a whole is generally described by people as “becoming one with my surroundings”.

This is felt to be the result of a person’s central sense of self becoming attributed to not just the internal narrative of the ego, but in equal measure, to the body itself and everything around it with which it is physically connected to through the senses. Once this sensation is in place, it creates the undeniable perspective that one is the external environment experiencing itself through the specific point within it that this body’s physical sensory awareness and conscious thought happens to currently reside in.

It's at this level that a key component of the unity experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when physically interacting with an object in daily sober living it feels very simply that one is a central agent organizing the world around itself. However, whilst undergoing a state of unity with the currently perceivable environment, interacting with an external object consistently feels as if the system as a whole is autonomously organizing itself and that one is no longer a central agent operating the process of interaction. Instead the process suddenly feels as if it has become completely decentralized and mutual across itself as the environment begins to autonomously, mechanically and harmoniously respond to itself to perform the predetermined function of the particular interaction.

4. Unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems

The fourth of these five differing levels of interconnectedness can be referred to as a "state of unity between the self and all presently occurring external systems". It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's sense of self, the perceivable external environment, and all which they know to currently exist outside of this through their internally stored model of reality. This feels as if one's sense of self has become attributed to not just the external environment but all of humanity, nature, and the universe as it presently stands in its complete entirety. The experience of this is commonly interpreted by people as “becoming one with the universe”.

When experienced, this effect creates the sudden perspective that one is not a separate agent approaching an external reality but is instead the entire universe as a whole experiencing itself, exploring itself, and performing actions upon itself through the specific point in space and time which this particular body and conscious perception happens to currently reside within.

5. Unity between the self and all external systems

The fifth of these five differing levels of interconnectedness can be referred to as a "state of unity between the self and the creation of all external systems". It is defined as the experience of a loss of perceived boundaries between a person's identity and all external systems of behavior. This includes not just the systems as they currently stand within the present moment but at each known point of their existence throughout all time lines past, present, and future as defined by the person's internally stored model of reality.

When experienced, this feels as if one's sense of self has become attributed to all of space and time including every single past and future event such as the initial creation and eventual destruction of existence. At this point, a number of commonly reported, innately extrapolated conclusions of a religious and metaphysical nature often begin to manifest themselves as profound realizations. These are described and listed below:

• A perspective which feels personally responsible for the self designing, planning, and implementation of every single specific detail and plot element of one's personal life, the history of humanity, and the universe as a whole. This naturally includes personal culpability for humanity's sufferings and its flaws, but also includes its acts of love and achievements
• The sudden and total acceptance of death as a fundamental component of one's life. This is because death is no longer felt to be the destruction of oneself but simply the end of this specific point of conscious awareness-- the vast majority of which has always existed and will continue to exist and live on through everything else in which it resides
• The realization that one's preconceived notions behind the definition of their concept of “god” or “god-hood” can now be felt as identical to the nature of existence and to that of one's true self. This realization is generally reached through the subconscious conclusion that the usually differing concepts of god-hood, existence and self are each now identically defined as that which is the all-encompassing, all-powerful, creator and sustainer of this existence.

Laughter

Main article: Laughter

Laughter can be described as the experience of uncontrollable, intense, spontaneous and consistently manifested laughter which occurs under the influence of certain drugs. Laughter is a physical reaction consisting typically of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system.

Simultaneous emotions

Main article: Simultaneous emotions

Robert Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions

Simultaneous emotions can be described as the experience of feeling multiple or all emotions simultaneously. This can result in states of mind which the user will feel conflicting emotions of any combination such as simultaneous happiness, sadness, love, hate, etc.

Although this effect could potentially occur under the influence of any hallucinogen, it has thus far only been confirmed to occur within the DXM & DPH combination.

Feelings of self-design

Main article: Feelings of self-design

Feelings of self-design can be described as an alteration of perspective in which one experiences a distinct feeling that they are personally responsible for the creation, design, implementation and prior planning of a concept, process or situation which is usually seen as the result of unrelated external causes.

This effect can be experienced at any time but is most commonly felt within moments of such emotional significance that the situation seems inevitable, predestined or perfect to the point where it is exactly how one would have designed it had they have been given the conscious choice to do so in advance. It can be broken down into two separate sub-components which include:

• Feeling as if one designed, planned out and created certain (or even all) certain aspects within one's life such as current or past occurrences, loved ones and key events.
• Feeling as if one designed, planned out and created certain (or even all) aspects outside of one's life such as current or historical events, nature, life, the universe as a whole and the physical laws which it abides by.

Feelings of self design are most often triggered by level 4 states of unity and interconnectedness in which one's preconceived notions behind the definition of their concept of “god” or “god-hood” can now be felt as identical to that of one's self and identity. However, this component is still perfectly capable of manifesting independently as a stand alone experience which does not necessitate feelings of unity or "god-hood".

Exposure to inner mechanics of consciousness

Main article: Exposure to inner mechanics of consciousness

Exposure to inner mechanics of consciousness can be described as an experience in which one feels as if they are being exposed to complex cognitive sensations which contain detailed sets of innately readable information. These do so in such a way that they are felt to convey the organization, structure, architecture, framework and inner mechanics of the underlying programming behind all conscious and subconscious neurological processes. This effect is most commonly interpreted by those who undergo the experience as perceiving the inner workings of either the universe, consciousness or reality.

The experience of this component is capable of bestowing specific pieces of information onto trippers regarding the nature of reality and human consciousness through the simple experience of them. Examples of these are difficult to fully define but common sensations, revelations and concepts are manifested. These generally include:

• Insight into the processes behind the direction, behaviour and content of one's conscious thought stream.
• Insight into the processes behind the organisation, behaviour and content of one's short and long term memory.
• Insight into the selection and behaviour of one's responses to external input and decision-making processes as based upon their individual personality.

These specific pieces of information are often felt and understood to be a profound unveiling of an undeniable truth at the time, but are afterwards usually realized to be ineffable due to the limitations of human language or simply nonsensical due to the disorientation of other accompanying cognitive effects.

A vastly more complex and detailed rendition of this effect is manifested during the experience of Level 8B Geometry.

See also

• Psychedelics
• Dissociatives
• Deliriants
• Hallucinogens