Howdy.
I’ve been playing with Gammadrone for a while now and i really don’t know what it’s doing to my brain LOL. fun, though.
i was just curious for the thoughts of those with more experience with altered states and, particularly, entering them at will.
my question is two-fold. first, how do you know which state you’ve entered? since the experience is subjective (from the operator’s point of view), how does one determine if one has actually entered theta or gamma for example, and precisely how deep into that state one has gone?
secondly, as i’ve found being very deep in an altered state actually feels quite like waking consciousness until after the operation at hand is finished, is it more desirable to “unknowingly” enter an altered state, or is it more desirable to consciously gauge one’s psychic descent?
i ask, because the one time i had a completely “real”, visual and auditory manifestation beyond any dispute whatsoever (and no, i was not using a hallucinogen at the time), i was performing a LaVeyan black mass for purely theatrical and psychodramatic reasons. it was not magic as i would define the practise, and yet the room basically came alive with spectres, howlings, chanting from nowhere and silhouettes from the candle flame rising and falling as humanoid figures several feet tall.
i put this all down to being in a state of rapture, albeit without a magical purpose in mind. the experience was my first evocation-like encounter, and it was absolutely awesome. i’ve not been able to repeat the same level of clarity in actual evocations, but the one thing that i did notice at the time was that i felt completely normal. that is, i certainly didn’t feel as though i was in any kind of trance or altered state. later, of course, i had a hard time remembering any but the most impressive details, and of the fact that i felt completely normal through it all, although i was clearly not in a waking state of consciousness.
so, again, how do we know if/what state we’re in, and do we actively seek it through meditation prior to ritual work, or indirectly, through (for example) reciting evocative litany, poetry, the use of music and generally speaking, the use of religious/spiritual rapture?
i realise that complete rapture is the ultimate goal, whatever the method, but with so much emphasis on theta-gamma, it seems ironic that the best way to reach it would be to ignore it completely and just let it come in its own time. am i on the right track with this or am i missing a huge chunk of the fundamentals? if this is actually workable, then theoretically, the best thing i could do to gain sight and hearing is to perform a LaVeyan ritual prior to serious ritual work. lol, i’ll try this out and let you all know how it goes:)
just throwing a few thoughts out there.
kind regards, james.