DOSE:

100 mg

smoked

Changa

(plant material)

BODY WEIGHT:

75 kg

A couple of months ago, we had two Swiss couchsurfers stay in our house. They were absolutely lovely and as a parting gift, they left us with what they called Changa. It's basically DMT mixed in with an MAO inhibitor (http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/), which is supposed to increase the potency and duration of the experience.

This was going to be the first time I tried DMT, and I'd heard and read a lot about how powerful it was, so me and a friend had set a specific date for when we were going to take it. We planned to do it the day of our houseparty, before all the people would arrive. I spent the two weeks coming up to it mentally preparing myself and trying to clear my mind of all thoughts, expectations or anxieties.

The day had come. I was ready. My friend wasn't quite as ready. I was going to do it with or without him, as I felt I hadn't spent two weeks preparing just for nothing. In the end, he decided to join me anyway.

The Swiss couchsurfers had left us a note explaining how to take the Changa. In it, it said to use natural materials to smoke it, and smoke until the world disappears. I didn't know then how right they were. I spent another half hour meditating, trying to empty my mind, stay calm and relieve myself of the expected anxiety and worry about what was about to happen.

Me and my friend then retreated to a small, quiet room and had another housemate there with us; just in case something went wrong. Neither of us knew anything about DMT and we both expressed that it was comforting to have someone else there, as we really just didn't know what to expect. I hadn't taken anything else for the past two weeks. I wanted to experience the effects cleanly, wanted my mind not to be influenced by any other substance other than itself - the most powerful drug out there.

The small room we were in has a mattress on the floor and we had a few pillows to make it extra comfortable. The only light in the room was a small lamp in the corner, as we'd switched off the main light which was far too intrusive. We put on some relaxing, chilled beats music; again, nothing too heavy or overpowering, just something that was easy listening and very calm and melodic. I guess we were trying to induce some sort of ritual trance feeling to the place.

The pipe I used was a hand-carved wooden one, very intricate in design. Perfect for the occasion I felt. Me and my friend looked at each other one last time, the last thing I said out loud to him was 'Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed' and I then, to myself, asked Mother Earth for her guidance before taking the hit of roughly 0,1g.

I took, as instructed, the whole hit in one go. I just kept toking until I was sure it must have all been gone. I remember moving the pipe away from my mouth to check if it was all gone. The last thing I remember clearly was seeing the red, burnt ember surrounded by what I can only describe as a ripple effect - just like the one you'd see if you threw a stone into a pond. I felt as if I moved into the smallest circle right at the centre of my vision where the pipe bowl was situated. The effects were utterly overwhelming.

I disappeared. I was no longer in the room or reality itself. The space-time I was in was surprisingly dark. There was hardly anything there but myself. I had lost my ego. I was temporarily terrified. I knew I wasn't dead though. The only visions I had were patterns that seemed to have no specific size or shape. I think I remember them having a slight pinkish/purple hue, but it felt more at the time like they consisted of all colours, all shapes and all dimensions. I was pretty lost and pretty scared of how massively overpowering the effects ended up being. To be honest, I was yearning for reality, as this was not what I expected. I had actually temporarily disappeared into my own mind, lost all touch with my physical self.

To my great relief, after what felt like maybe only 30 seconds or a minute, I found myself back in the room. Kind-off. The next 5-10 minutes of my life were the most interesting I've ever experienced.

The rules of space-time as I had lived and experienced for 25 years were no longer relevant. Now I've tripped before, I've hallucinated sounds and sights; but this was on an entirely different level. I was not tripping. I can only describe it as dreaming. It was like I was living a world between the world I usually experienced. Everything had all colours in it and spacial dimensions did what they pleased. I felt extremely exhilarated. Like I was allowed to perceive things which I'm not normally allowed to.

Let me explain briefly. At one point I focused on the lamp in the room. Instantly, it was like someone had a dimmer switch for it (which it definitely does not have) and the light itself as well as the whole room became ridiculously bright. Like ten lights were on. Then it went extremely dark, as if the light was almost off, and then it 'stabilized' around the point at which it began. This amazed me, as I have yet to find an explanation for it. I doubt the lamp changed the quantity of photons it was emitting, so I cannot explain how, for me, the light did.

I was noticing that it felt like I was seeing many images at the same time, so I decided to look at my hand and see what was going on. As I moved my hand, I could see the traces of images left behind in space-time where my hand had been. I could actually see my hand in the past. My mind was no longer in the present. It was lingering in the past too. I cannot comprehend how I was able to look at where my hand was two seconds ago, a second ago (and intervals in-between, etc.) as well as where it was right now. It was like my mind was refusing to let go of the past and holding onto it for a few seconds.

Those 5-10 minutes were utterly earth-shattering. Apart from those two singular events, too much happened to write it all down. The desk in the room started bending around itself, one side becoming far larger than the other. The curtain on the window stretched to almost the floor while the wall behind it didn't move. The desk turned orange at another point, before going through red-bluish and returning to 'normal.' As mentioned, this did not feel at all like I was tripping. I was in the Dream World. I don't think I made it to the Spirit World, as I think that is where I might have been for the first minute of my experience. I just wasn't as ready as I thought I was. Hopefully I will be next time. Space-time and reality itself had lost all meaning for me. All I could think about was that I live in a world of my own making, my own perceptions, my own constructions. There is a whole cosmos out there I cannot tap into. Think about infra-red, ultrasound, how snakes taste heat signals, how sharks feel your body's electricity, etc.

After 10 mins, the effects went very mild and came down to a level I can confidently call tripping. Mild movements and hallucinations, but nothing like the breakdown of reality I had just gone through.

I feel I should note that my friend experienced nowhere near what I did. But he did back down while taking the hit and took it in two goes as he felt the effects coming on while toking. I did too, but I guess I'm just stubborn and I did really want to communicate with what I now refer to as the Inbetween World. I've read reports about this before. Apparently there is a stage at which you 'Break Through,' and up untill that point the effects don't really come on. My friend's description of his experience is what I would describe as a mild trip.

The whole thing has left me with something. That night I had no interest in taking the pills on offer, the acid on offer, or even drinking. I did partake in the Cannabis cake, but then I've always used Cannabis in a much more spiritual way than most. It has always made me feel closer to the Earth and the great cycle of evolution.

This is a lasting effect. I seemed to have lost interest with most drugs, whether legal or illegal. Especially for entertainment purposes. Coming off the Changa, I did not feel in any way physically or mentally drained like I would off most other substances. 20 minutes after the hit, I was completely back to normal. I mean completely. Again, this is not something like I've ever experienced before. Maybe it's because DMT is produced naturally in the brain itself, I don't know.

This was something else. I haven't stopped thinking about what happened to me just over a week ago now. And I felt compelled to write this for some reason. Maybe just to share the experience I guess. From now on, I reckon DMT, Iboga, Ayahuasca or similar will be the only substances I'll take. I no longer want to intoxicate myself. I want to talk to the spirits. And I suspect one needs a clear head for that. And to give the utmost respect to what you're getting yourself into.

The last thing I feel I should say is that I am a(n environmental) scientist by education and do not believe in ghosts or spirits or the metaphysical. But if the trees start talking to me next time, I will listen.

Exp Year: 2011	ExpID: 93901
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 25
Published: Jan 5, 2012	Views: 3,567
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Changa (816) : Combinations (3), First Times (2), Small Group (2-9) (17)