Due to the general discouragement of talk about Ketamine, I never voice my opinions on it.
Since this thread appears to be progressing in a "respectful manner", I suppose this is my only opportunity.
I am well aware of the negative side effects, and I practice moderation in all I do (with exception of Mushrooms, but they have always been kind to me, and I still use them responsibly with regards to setting).
I treat K as having a very specific purpose in my personal use. I ONLY use it in a safe environment (on a couch or bed). I ONLY do at most twice in one sitting, and I will space out usage of it so that addiction/consistent use risks are minimized. Also only insufflated, I have a thing with needles, no thanks.
I'm not quite sure what other people experience from it, as very few people I discuss it with have similar experiences as myself.
Mushrooms make me feel apart of a greater whole, and I feel more aware of my place in everything.
Ketamine, performs the opposite, and in my opinion, can be very scary to those unaware of what they're getting into (supposing they go to the "K-Hole" rather than stopping at tipsy drunk feeling).
At first, I forget I'm human, forget everything. Then, I exist, and I'm the only thing that exists. I feel as though I am the entire universe. Then, a person comes into existence, and I realize that person is myself. It does not feel like myself yet, so I see this identity, this physical form, and can look at it from the eyes of a third party completely unbiased. I then realize "Oh... that's me? Hm... wow, why am I -that- person? What are they like?".
Memories start coming back to me, the most important people in my life first, and I question my actions, feelings and stances towards them. Contemplate why I'm doing the things I'm doing, whether or not it's a good idea, and how it affects these people who are apparently so important to this identity I have assumed.
Memories start flooding my mind, of all the things leading up to this point in my life, as I'm still not quite sure I exist yet, but I'm regaining the sensation of reality.
I then begin to dance to the music I gifted myself prior to this event. I am celebrating a rebirth, I feel as though nothing existed before this moment in time, but I know this entire history prior to it. It feels exactly as I imagine being born would be, a world exists prior to yourself, and you are now in it.
Over the next 30 minutes, I continue this celebration, afterwards to ponder all the thoughts that came to mind during the rediscovery of myself.
One other combination I will do, is same setting (safe in room, no hazardous objects, soft comfortable spot). Consume several grams of cubensis, and wait 3 hours for it to start kicking into the most powerful part of the trip, and then perform the same ritual as above. It adds... a different perspective that I can't quite describe. Separated from everything, yet connected to everything at once...
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Out of respect for the rules, I shall not discuss this again after this post, assuming this one is even appropriate...
My use of Ketamine has to remain a secret even amongst some people in real life, due to the negative stigmas associated with it... so rarely do I get to discuss the experience I go through.
If a DMT Nexus approved psychedelic can invoke the experience I receive from K, I am highly interested in learning about it.... but I know of nothing else currently.