ElevatorAlley
Rising Star
Based on all that I've read, I don't think my trips so far provide any especially new or exciting information, but I would like to document them and maybe see if others have guidance for continuing this path. I've also found that reading newbies' experiences were very useful to me in interpreting my own challenges with respect to extraction, ROA, etc. So maybe these data points will be found useful to someone.
For the past couple of weeks, I had been diligently working extractions on both acacia and mimosa root barks. Basically Q21 tek except with citric acid for the initial acid boil, and an added limonene defat step for the acacia. The mimosa yielded a thick black goo, while the acacia yielded waxy tan crumbles that quickly dried to a crunchy, powdery consistency. The tiniest speck of either product instantly reacts with Ehrlich's reagent to form a deep, brilliant purple. Surely neither of these products is especially pure -- I'm new to extraction and using food-safe ingredients -- but I don't have my heart set on crystals, I have my heart set on hyperspace.
My first administration attempts were with a Nectar Collector, which I have a lot of experience using for hash oil. I thought it would be similarly effective on the black mimosa goo. It was not. The nail cooled too quickly and vaporized too little of the goo. Partly I think this is because the acetates were not completely freebased. While heat-freebasing the first batch on a spoon, after a certain thickness, additional heat would form big bubbles that would pop, splattering bits of product everywhere. This seemed incredibly wasteful. So I believe the heat from the nail was also doing some of the job of evaporating the acetic acid, which cooled it too quickly. Also I think the product probably contains too many plant oils and the like to effectively vaporize a strong dose by this method.
Nevertheless, I tried a couple of times with the NC, holding the thin hits while I heated and reheated the nail. I did get some relatively mild experiences this way -- a strong carrier wave accompanied by thin flowing waves of a crystalline texture. However I realized that this ROA was not working out for the product I had, and this game of torching and retorching a titanium nail while the DMT carrier wave arrived was not sustainable. Sooner or later I would burn myself or worse.
Next ROA was the Glass Vapor Genie. I'm also quite handy with this tool, which I'd used to vape weed and hash many times in the past. I ordered a few concentrate pads, and loaded a small gob of goo atop one in the center of the pad. The first few draws were very sour and vinegary, confirming my suspicion that the product was still heavy with acetates.
This was a much easier ROA, and once the vinegar was purged and the DMT started flowing, I arrived at a similar intensity of experience as with the NC. Unlike the NC, I realized I had room to increase the dosage substantially with the GVG.
For my next attempts, I put another concentrate pad beneath the first to raise the material closer to the heating element. I covered the surface of the pad with significantly more goo, along with the leftovers of the previous attempts. For good measure, I also layered some of the acacia crumbles on top.
Once again, I endured the sour taste of purging vinegar. (I was still using goo from my first, probative extraction round. I think subsequent extraction rounds improved the freebase step. I used a stainless steel pan instead of the finicky spoon, and just based on smell alone, I believe the outcome was much better.) Once that was clear, the DMT itself vaporized cleanly and smoothly -- no harshness, no plasticky taste. If anything, it was quite pleasant in taste and feel.
I have had (so far) 3 trips off of this same dose. With each one, as the material dries out further, the vaporization happens more quickly and effectively. At first, I needed 4 or 5 draws or more to achieve a moderate level of intensity. The most recent (an hour ago), I was thoroughly incapacitated after 2 good draws. I find that the lung control/capacity to effectively heat the material, fill the pipe, effectively clear the pipe, and retain the inhaled spice is quite challenging, although I have pretty powerful lungs for this kind of thing. I have taken to using a paper bag to breath in/out after a hit, so I'm not solely relying on holding my breath to make the most of the spice. Needless to say, this becomes a little much to manage after the experience starts to come on, but I think it's helpful to make the most of a thick first hit.
As for the nature of the experience, my last two trips have been the strongest yet. A deafening, pulsating carrier wave takes over, bringing with it mind-blowing vibrantly colored, interlocking crystalline waves that surge around, through, and within me. I would venture to say this is all very familiar to most of you. The waves are anchored and studded with the ideas and concepts floating in my mind from the real world, as if showing the structure that connects them all. The last time, there did seem to be some figures (jester-like in presentation, possibly) guiding the waves and dragging them over/through me. I was only barely aware of them -- there was no contact or interaction whatsoever, and maybe I was just projecting my expectations.
My ego is blasted during these experiences. I have very little sense of who, what, where, or when I am. Fortunately, I haven't struggle with any fear or anxiety at any point so far. My last thoughts to myself as I enter hyperspace is "It's all going to be okay." I wouldn't characterize the experience as especially "euphoric," per se. I don't feel anything in particular about its goodness or badness. It just is, and I am content to surrender to it. I did not use any music. In fact on the last trip, I wore a pair of over-ear headphones to help block out external sound. I would like to experiment with music, but so far I find it unnecessary.
On the second of these two strongest experiences so far, I realized that the previous trip had been about equally strong, but the memory of it had almost completely subsided. I'm not totally sure whether this was actually true, or whether it was a case of false familiarity as felt on salvia. (I decided to finally pursue DMT in earnest after a major, life-changing salvia trip that opened my eyes to the possibilities offered by higher psychedelics.) Likewise, after the most recent trip, the memory of it began to slip away even before I had fully come back down, leaving me with just a few vague flashes and images. However, each time I return, I become better at retaining pieces of the experience.
Reflections/Lessons: I should be careful not to lose my respect for this substance. Before my first attempts, I hesitated for several days. My salvia trip had humbled me in this respect, and I paid a lot of mind to meditation and mindset before consuming the DMT. After a few mild attempts, that reluctance was gone, and I was eager to increase the dosage, possibly too eager. I think abandoning the meditation is not a good idea, and I should continue to develop my sober mindfulness, as I think that would lead to more enriching voyages, and possibly the ability to retain more of the experience.
I know that there is so much further to go with this chemical, and I have barely scratched the surface. I want to go further with proper respect and mindfulness. I plan on attempting potentiation with caapi tea and changa. Any thoughts or advice are welcome.
Thanks to anyone who read this!
For the past couple of weeks, I had been diligently working extractions on both acacia and mimosa root barks. Basically Q21 tek except with citric acid for the initial acid boil, and an added limonene defat step for the acacia. The mimosa yielded a thick black goo, while the acacia yielded waxy tan crumbles that quickly dried to a crunchy, powdery consistency. The tiniest speck of either product instantly reacts with Ehrlich's reagent to form a deep, brilliant purple. Surely neither of these products is especially pure -- I'm new to extraction and using food-safe ingredients -- but I don't have my heart set on crystals, I have my heart set on hyperspace.
My first administration attempts were with a Nectar Collector, which I have a lot of experience using for hash oil. I thought it would be similarly effective on the black mimosa goo. It was not. The nail cooled too quickly and vaporized too little of the goo. Partly I think this is because the acetates were not completely freebased. While heat-freebasing the first batch on a spoon, after a certain thickness, additional heat would form big bubbles that would pop, splattering bits of product everywhere. This seemed incredibly wasteful. So I believe the heat from the nail was also doing some of the job of evaporating the acetic acid, which cooled it too quickly. Also I think the product probably contains too many plant oils and the like to effectively vaporize a strong dose by this method.
Nevertheless, I tried a couple of times with the NC, holding the thin hits while I heated and reheated the nail. I did get some relatively mild experiences this way -- a strong carrier wave accompanied by thin flowing waves of a crystalline texture. However I realized that this ROA was not working out for the product I had, and this game of torching and retorching a titanium nail while the DMT carrier wave arrived was not sustainable. Sooner or later I would burn myself or worse.
Next ROA was the Glass Vapor Genie. I'm also quite handy with this tool, which I'd used to vape weed and hash many times in the past. I ordered a few concentrate pads, and loaded a small gob of goo atop one in the center of the pad. The first few draws were very sour and vinegary, confirming my suspicion that the product was still heavy with acetates.
This was a much easier ROA, and once the vinegar was purged and the DMT started flowing, I arrived at a similar intensity of experience as with the NC. Unlike the NC, I realized I had room to increase the dosage substantially with the GVG.
For my next attempts, I put another concentrate pad beneath the first to raise the material closer to the heating element. I covered the surface of the pad with significantly more goo, along with the leftovers of the previous attempts. For good measure, I also layered some of the acacia crumbles on top.
Once again, I endured the sour taste of purging vinegar. (I was still using goo from my first, probative extraction round. I think subsequent extraction rounds improved the freebase step. I used a stainless steel pan instead of the finicky spoon, and just based on smell alone, I believe the outcome was much better.) Once that was clear, the DMT itself vaporized cleanly and smoothly -- no harshness, no plasticky taste. If anything, it was quite pleasant in taste and feel.
I have had (so far) 3 trips off of this same dose. With each one, as the material dries out further, the vaporization happens more quickly and effectively. At first, I needed 4 or 5 draws or more to achieve a moderate level of intensity. The most recent (an hour ago), I was thoroughly incapacitated after 2 good draws. I find that the lung control/capacity to effectively heat the material, fill the pipe, effectively clear the pipe, and retain the inhaled spice is quite challenging, although I have pretty powerful lungs for this kind of thing. I have taken to using a paper bag to breath in/out after a hit, so I'm not solely relying on holding my breath to make the most of the spice. Needless to say, this becomes a little much to manage after the experience starts to come on, but I think it's helpful to make the most of a thick first hit.
As for the nature of the experience, my last two trips have been the strongest yet. A deafening, pulsating carrier wave takes over, bringing with it mind-blowing vibrantly colored, interlocking crystalline waves that surge around, through, and within me. I would venture to say this is all very familiar to most of you. The waves are anchored and studded with the ideas and concepts floating in my mind from the real world, as if showing the structure that connects them all. The last time, there did seem to be some figures (jester-like in presentation, possibly) guiding the waves and dragging them over/through me. I was only barely aware of them -- there was no contact or interaction whatsoever, and maybe I was just projecting my expectations.
My ego is blasted during these experiences. I have very little sense of who, what, where, or when I am. Fortunately, I haven't struggle with any fear or anxiety at any point so far. My last thoughts to myself as I enter hyperspace is "It's all going to be okay." I wouldn't characterize the experience as especially "euphoric," per se. I don't feel anything in particular about its goodness or badness. It just is, and I am content to surrender to it. I did not use any music. In fact on the last trip, I wore a pair of over-ear headphones to help block out external sound. I would like to experiment with music, but so far I find it unnecessary.
On the second of these two strongest experiences so far, I realized that the previous trip had been about equally strong, but the memory of it had almost completely subsided. I'm not totally sure whether this was actually true, or whether it was a case of false familiarity as felt on salvia. (I decided to finally pursue DMT in earnest after a major, life-changing salvia trip that opened my eyes to the possibilities offered by higher psychedelics.) Likewise, after the most recent trip, the memory of it began to slip away even before I had fully come back down, leaving me with just a few vague flashes and images. However, each time I return, I become better at retaining pieces of the experience.
Reflections/Lessons: I should be careful not to lose my respect for this substance. Before my first attempts, I hesitated for several days. My salvia trip had humbled me in this respect, and I paid a lot of mind to meditation and mindset before consuming the DMT. After a few mild attempts, that reluctance was gone, and I was eager to increase the dosage, possibly too eager. I think abandoning the meditation is not a good idea, and I should continue to develop my sober mindfulness, as I think that would lead to more enriching voyages, and possibly the ability to retain more of the experience.
I know that there is so much further to go with this chemical, and I have barely scratched the surface. I want to go further with proper respect and mindfulness. I plan on attempting potentiation with caapi tea and changa. Any thoughts or advice are welcome.
Thanks to anyone who read this!
