Float away in isolation!
First used in 1954 to test the effects of sensory deprivation, isolation tanks or floatation tanks as they are often referred to are now being used more widely for meditation.
It is a temperature-regulated, saltwater tank that you float in, and it blocks out all light and sounds. It creates a sense of being weightless like in space. It allows you to relax and helps to block out other thoughts by removing the senses that might stimulate your thoughts of other things. Essentially allowing your brain to ‘go to sleep’.
While it may not be something that you can access or afford to do on a regular basis, it is something that if you have the chance to try might be an interesting experience!
Why isolation?
An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank inside which subjects float in salt water at skin temperature. They were first used by John C. Lilly in 1954 to test the ef-fects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation and relaxation and in alternative medicine. The isolation tank was originally called the sensory deprivation tank. Other names for the isolation tank include flotation tank, John C. Lilly tank, REST tank, sensory attenuation tank, and think tank.
Ever thought of what it would be like to have your sensory input completely cut off while in meditation? According to many people who have tried sensory deprivation they say it is a great form of therapy.. Imagine the “distractions” being completely cut off, leaving only pure unchecked consciousness. This is the essence of what sensory deprivation is.
A sensory deprivation tank is a temperature regulated, saltwater (Epsom) filled tank that blocks all light, sound, and creates the illusion of being “weightless” like in space. The weightless feeling comes from the salt and the temperature regulated water. The water is warmed to “skin temperature” effectively making it feel like there is nothing touching you, but you’re floating. Imagine what it would be like to put your brain in a box with nothing else stimulating it besides the vastness of your consciousness. People have reported hav-ing incredible experiences like OBE’s and traveling the cosmos, to reaching a state of peace that is so therapeutic and positive that people swear by it and now regularly have sessions in the tanks.
By comparison, characterizations of sensory deprivation like this one by comedian Joe Rogan begin to sound downright grounded — and Rogan’s descriptions of hallucinations, heightened levels of introspection, and the sensation that the mind has left the body are actually among the most commonly reported experiences among tank users. Even re-nowned physicist Richard Feynman described having hallucinations and out-of-body expe-riences while using sensory deprivation chambers. -said I09.com
Article Source: The Mind Unleashed