Interesting article here by a long term floatation REST facilitator and investigator. He describes an adapted MILD technique for the induction of "Alternate Waking States", OBE's and lucid dreams using the float tank. The author takes a rational view of such phenomena but his descriptions and insights are highly intriguing. He describes a high success rate with this technique at inducing these states (80% of instances) and he also describes a spill over of such experiences into his sleep while outside the tank. I'm intrigued about the potentials of floatation and had a hunch that sleep interruption and then getting into a floatation tank could synergise in a really interesting way in inducing altered states such as OBE's and lucid dreams, and this is the most in-depth and expansive thing I've read that goes into detail about precisely this. Does anyone here have experience with floatation, particularly from a projection perspective? I spoke to two Zen float tent owners recently who told me (unprompted) about their OBE's while floating, and these experiences occurred spontaneously without their attempts to induce them. Anyway, makes for intriguing reading.

http://www.richardbonk.com/AboutRich...tationTank.htm

Floatation Tank and Consciousness

Altered States: from Fiction to Fact:
Introducing the Alternate Waking States Induction Method

Richard Bonk M.Ed.

Although REST has been the subject of a multitude of research studies and has been shown to be useful in clinical applications, much of the public's awareness of the floatation experience stems from the movie Altered States. And, it is often in the hope of producing unique, stimulating and consciousness altering states that many people decide to float. For many individuals, floating becomes a "done that," once in a lifetime experience when they emerge from the Epsom salt waters relaxed though certainly not significantly "altered." However, many regular floaters do experience heightened states of awareness and unusual mental phenomena. In an effort to examine these unique states in a controlled setting it was important to develop a technique in which these ephemeral states could be reliably and regularly facilitated. Following then, is

1) an introduction to the Alternate Waking States Induction Method (AWSIM), a technique which has proven effective in the engendering of "altered" states of consciousness in individuals while floating,

2) a brief overview of significant phenomena observed with reference to categorization thereof,

3) implications and possible applications, and,

4) suggestions for further research.

I) Introduction

As a REST facilitator and investigator of over 17 years I can attest to the subjective, experiential reality of altered or alternate waking states. It seems more accurate to refer to these unique states of consciousness as alternate waking states because, rather than consciousness being "altered," a specific state, when certain conditions are met, changes naturally into another normal, yet alternate, albeit perhaps under-utilized state of consciousness. (Like going from the normal waking state, through the hypnogogic and into the sleep/dream cycle.) These states are waking states because the experiencer has partial or full waking awareness and access to cognitive functioning, even though the body may be "asleep" or otherwise immobilized. I have recorded dozens of spontaneous alternate waking states experiences which run the gamut from lucid dreams to precognitive visions to out-of-the-body experiences. Since the floatation experience has been a potent catalyst for me in the spontaneous production of alternate waking states, I have sought to develop methods to produce these states with a regularity and reliability which would facilitate structured investigations. In the following article I will introduce a technique christened the Alternate Waking States Induction Method (AWSIM) documenting the development of a technique which has proved effective in producing these ephemeral states of consciousness with a reliability allowing for laboratory study and practical application.

Tank Facilitated Lucid Dreaming and Beyond

In recent years there has been a rekindled interest in dream research, owing much to the pioneering studies being done with subjects who report "lucid" dreams, or dreams wherein the dreamer is aware that she/he is dreaming. Dr. Stephen LaBerge of the Stanford University Sleep Research Center, leads the pack, with many years of work training "oneironauts" or "dream sailors" to awaken within their dreams and carry out prearranged tasks, including signaling to the outside world. Dr. Laberge, having recorded hundreds of such dreams, has developed a method which he refers to as the Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams, or MILD, enabling willing subjects to experience lucid dreams with the regularity required for laboratory investigation. LaBerge believes that with enough motivation and practice, anyone can learn to dream lucidly and recommends following these steps:

1) As soon as you sense yourself waking up in the morning, try to keep your thoughts focused on the last dream you were having. Remember what the dream felt like, its texture and its setting, and memorize as many details as you can.

2) Spend the next 15 minutes reading, meditating, or doing any other activity that requires full wakefulness.

3) Then, while lying in bed, affirm to yourself, "the next time I dream, I want to remember to recognize that I'm dreaming."

4) Visualize yourself back in your last dream, with the difference that now you recognize that you're dreaming.

5) Repeat the affirmation and visualization until you feel that your intention is firm. Let yourself fall back asleep. If all goes well, you will soon find yourself in the midst of a lucid dream.

Having a keen interest in "altered" or, preferably, "alternate" states of consciousness, including dream and allied states, I eagerly attempted the above suggested method, experiencing moderate success until a modified version of the technique was developed, wherein results immediately increased in number and intensity. It was serendipitous to discover that a more mechanistic rather than mnemonic approach yielded results more consistently.

For one and a half years prior to this time, I had regular access (2-3 times weekly), to a floatation tank, where I spontaneously experienced "alternate waking states" (AWS). I experienced these unique states at a frequency of 2-3 per year. No pattern or prerequisite stimulus could be discerned, save the fact that it seemed necessary to lose consciousness, as if falling off to sleep, whereupon, I would "wake up" into an alternate space or reality. The states seemed to be characteristic of what the above dream researcher describes as lucid dreams, although the quality and intensity would vary, oftentimes seeming more akin to what is referred to as an "out-of-the-body experience" (OBE) as described in various parapsychology texts.

These peculiar states held a special fascination for me, so much that I decided to find a method for inducing and maintaining these states, in order that further observations could be made. Thus, Dr. LaBerge's MILD technique invited personal experimentation.

I then proceeded to employ MILD in the manner prescribed, experiencing at most, fleeting moments of lucidity, and those seemingly related to pre-dream (hypnogogic), or between dream states. One morning, however, approximately 3 weeks into experimentation with MILD, an unusual set of circumstances, (meeting friends for breakfast at 5 AM), forced me to awaken 2-3 hours earlier than usual and function for an extended period of time with full waking consciousness. I returned to sleep later that morning- and experienced a "full-blown" lucid dream. It appeared that the missing and important factor, at least in my case, was the insurance of a longer period of full waking consciousness. A modified MILD had yielded its first success. It occurred to me that if MILD would work inducing AWS in bed, then perhaps a further modified MILD would induce similar states in the tank. (Perhaps this could be referred to as WILD, for "wet" induction of lucid dreams!)

On the second day after having successfully induced a lucid dream during sleep, I proceeded with the modified MILD, but instead of returning to bed, I showered and entered the tank. At first it seemed as if sleep wouldn't come, let alone any unusual experience. But, after an initially uncomfortable period, I found myself awakening into a strange "vibratory" state where it seemed "another body" was rising up and out of the physical body. Then I was aware that I could "see" the inside top of the tank (though in total darkness), which reinforced the uniqueness of this state. I recall mentally telling myself to remain calm because the energy of this state evoked an initially fearful response. But, by maintaining a "calm mental resolve," I was able to overcome fear, whereupon I sensed I was moving through a tunnel, then out through the walls of the tank and out into the next room. I found myself able to move within a perceived environment that seemed to be a composite reality ordered according to laws peculiar to that state and my conscious fancy. I had access to all mental/cognitive powers inherent in normal waking consciousness. For all practical purposes, it appeared as though I had woken up "somewhere else."

I have since had many similar experiences, apparently owing to the above technique. Approximately 80% of attempts successfully generate AWSs. Also, spontaneous AWS experiences, both during sleep and in the tank have risen in conjunction with the above success - from approximately 2-3 per year, to 1+ per month. I have noted that even when my mind-set invited failure, i.e., experiencing doubt, frustration, discomfort, etc., - the AWS experience has continued to replicate itself, indicating that (at least some of) the important variables may be mechanistic. In fact, it seems that as long as a certain small set of requirements are fulfilled, the AWS experience will occur regularly.

The following steps represent a modification of the MILD technique (further referred to for our purposes as the "Alternate Waking States Induction Method," or AWSIM), incorporating the use of the floatation tank, which I have found conducive in the induction and maintenance of AWSs:

1) Gently awaken oneself in the last 1/3 of your normal sleep cycle.

2) Assure a period of "relaxed wakefulness" (as in the MILD method #2) where you perform a task that requires full waking consciousness while carefully maintaining the relaxed post-sleep state. In this case, showering before tank immersion seems effective.

3) Allow for a gentle re-entry into the sleep cycle while in a "novel" environment. The floatation environment is particularly suited to this stage as it seems to encourage and maintain transitional or in-between, i.e., hypnogogic states for extended periods.

4) In some instances it may be helpful to use non-mechanistic, internal processes, i.e., your imagination, emotions, mind-sets, etc., to create an ambiance of relaxed desire/expectation to further facilitate the experience. In my experience, it doesn't seem necessary that mental reinforcement be done upon awakening or prior to entering the tank. However, pre-programming in whatever manner one is inclined, may be helpful if done during the previous day or night prior to sleep. In other words, create an open-expectancy state, where you anticipate a unique experience, and are open to any possibility. Try not to (mentally) create your experience beforehand, as your AWS experience may very different from your expectations.

In summary, I have found that a modified version of lucid dream researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge's MILD techniques, when used in conjunction with the floatation REST system, yields sometimes intense alternate waking states experience with regularity. I have noted that, although the effectiveness of mental programming in inducing such experiences can not be denied, a more "mechanistic" method works at least as well. The 2 major variables according to this view seem to be

1) the necessity of gentle interruption of the subject's sleep cycle, and

2) the subsequent immersion of the subject into the floatation REST environment. If one begins to re-cycle into sleep, one seems to, in more cases than not, experience an alternate waking state, similar to normal waking in that one has access to normal conscious faculties, yet unique in the phenomena experienced.

Since my initial personal investigations, I have introduced the AWSIM technique to others who have experienced similar results. Interestingly, and supportive of my hypothesis, is the fact that the AWS experience will occur in individuals across the board, regardless of their personal experiences or beliefs, as long as certain mechanistic variables are met.

II) AWS Phenomena Observed

Useful Parameters

To effectively describe AWSs I have found it helpful to utilize three subjective parameters:

1) self/ego awareness, or how intact/stable one's sense of self is,

2) intensity, a spectral measurement/assessment regarding how "real" the AWS experience seems in comparison to normal waking consciousness, and,

3) perceptual/psychomotor/cognitive functioning, that is how effectively an individual's sensory, psychomotor and reasoning abilities can be consciously utilized. Psychomotor functioning is considered here not in a physiological context, rather with respect to the degree an individual senses she/he is able to move through perceived space and manipulate objects within it

Though these parameters have been measured via subjective reports, there are indications that they may be objectively measured and quantified, i.e., intensity may be reflected in a change of EEG recorded brainwaves, or other changes in physiology indicating a heightened state of inner arousal. Levels of cognitive functioning may be ascertained via a subject's ability to respond to stimuli presented or to carry out specific, predetermined tasks, i.e., to move the eyes as in lucid dream research where dreamers signal to investigators when they awaken in a dream.

*[Article continues on linked webpage]*