Thank you for your welcoming words!

As for my experience- most of my experience with ASCs (altered states of consciousness) are actually based on my experience in astral projection. My first experiences with this were actually quite stressful. For those familiar with the experience, you first have symptoms of 'sleep paralysis' which, if tuned in on, are usually met with 'out of body experiences' or OBEs. I struggled trying to cure my sleep paralysis for years before I decided to cease fearing and embrace it, and see what's on the other side. This led to my first astral projection, and I've been achieving them through meditation ever since. It's still a skill i've far from perfected, and i can't generally do it 'on command', but if i can reach a focused meditative state, it's usually achievable. Other than that, the only drug i've really experimented with was MDMA. I had a pleasant experience, but it's not what I'm looking for in ayahuasca.

One of the most important things I can prove (at least to myself) is whether or not spontaneous release of endogenous dmt is the cause of sleep paralysis and astral projection. In my case, the feeling of leaving my body is absolutely a unique one, and if ayahuasca or smoked dmt causes the same experience, there will be no doubt in my mind.

Lastly, thanks for the tip about meeting up with members. You're right, and it is probably in everyone's best interest that it's avoided, but I genuinely feel that these types of experiences really bond people together in a very significant way. It's nice to be able to discuss these things anonymously here, but there's also something to be said for sharing these things with a close friend.