Turning off DMT visuals?

[unpastor]

It was a number of months ago that I made my introduction to DMT-Nexus. Since early summer I’ve been slowly working through my DMT journey. This journey first started with shrooms and beyond grateful for the progress that was made there. Shrooms also highlighted my neurodiversity: no visuals-in tense thinking. Eyes closed or not. I’ve messed with the variables I’m aware of. Over time, more visuals have come but it’s almost amusingly small. It took time for me to accept this and allow the trips to do their work.

DMT was different. I saw reality break into shards. It made me aware of a lot more. It got me serious and authentic about some things I was being to lackadaisical with. It made me shut up and listen. There was an even life long “hearing” problem that has fixed itself. However, in the last three journeys, there have been no visuals with eyes open or closed. The thinking and experience, all the feelings, are there. They are profound and good. Don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

It felt like I knew why: accepting reality around me is just as good as a psychedelic experience. It was also something I thought I could do and tried making an object disappear from my visual perception while on shrooms, and it did.

So now, I can do .05 or more and, as of now, no visuals. Some visual “effects” and the on coming train of an experience but I can stare at a computer screen, a picture, or the back of my eye lids, and there is nothing else. Even read from a book at minute-6 this morning.

I’ve been aware of how my neurodiversity, and everyone’s, creates different experience, as well as what neurological outcomes could be potential with applied and disciplined use of psychedelics, but this is making me annoyingly curious. Not sure what question to even ask: this just seems unusual.

Anyone else have this?
Ideas what’s going on?

Thanks!

 

[thecosmicjoke]

About the same thing for me. Smoke more. Push your boundaries, it’s all alright.

 

[murklan]

Do you take rue or any MOAI when doing DMT?
I have similar experiences but over a longer time. I think it was about one year to one and a half of DMT (in the form on changa often with some sublingual harmalas) before the visual gradually diminished for me. I was having it on a weekly basis with a month in between sometimes. It is not only the visuals that has changed, I don't get the feeling anymore that I'm going to another place mentally, the earlier 'Ah, I know this place from before, how could I have forgotten!' happens no more.
I have the feeling that the harmalas/rue is the main reason that the DMT has changed. That it somehow blocks or protect.
The last year or so brewed about 3-4g f rue as a tea, drink and wait about 2,5-3h, then I'll vape DMT. Or recently no DMT but only cannabis. I really enjoy that combination even if it's not really that deep as DMT or other classic psychedelics. With rue and cannabis (a sativa type preferably) I get a lot of CEV and dream like images. Really enjoyable but as I said not that deep and meaningful.

 

[unpastor]

Thanks, thecosmicjoke. I'm not one to go light and have also learned from that mistake.

Murklan, I haven't tried an MOAI yet - it's straight DMT crystals. What you describe feels and sounds very similar to what I am.

I think it's worth noting that psychedelics have been almost exclusively therapeutic. It's a part of my spiritual journey and process now. A while ago I felt like I stumbled on a "path" towards the spirit in DMT. It was voiceless and was invisible in everything. This proceeded for a bit. Later on, I had "ascended" and was close to a peak where it was too much. This was the trip that got me serious about things in life. Since then, well, I don't think I ever got to meet an entity and the visuals descended (actually have a hunch what it/they were). It was like DMT got quieter and it was telling me to relax and enjoy its company.

A bit of an update, I've played with DMT on a spaced-out schedule and have tried a few things. I have tried bigger hits and will try some more. Now, I get some visuals with eyes closed and almost none outside. There have been some experiences where the visuals glitched when something in me "clicked". I'm comfortable and can walk around. The other day, after letting out the third hit, I walked to the bathroom and used it. I get the same feelings and insights - however, I often forget I'm on the trip. Once the first build-up and feeling sits in, it normalizes relatively quickly and levels off.

This was bothering me... a lot. Not anymore and I'm curious how my trips will continue to evolve. I know I have more work to do, deeper to go, and Truth//Love to explore.

Grateful for this forum, it's been a solid resource.

 

[thecosmicjoke]

Thanks, thecosmicjoke. I'm not one to go light and have also learned from that mistake.

Murklan, I haven't tried an MOAI yet - it's straight DMT crystals. What you describe feels and sounds very similar to what I am.

I think it's worth noting that psychedelics have been almost exclusively therapeutic. It's a part of my spiritual journey and process now. A while ago I felt like I stumbled on a "path" towards the spirit in DMT. It was voiceless and was invisible in everything. This proceeded for a bit. Later on, I had "ascended" and was close to a peak where it was too much. This was the trip that got me serious about things in life. Since then, well, I don't think I ever got to meet an entity and the visuals descended (actually have a hunch what it/they were). It was like DMT got quieter and it was telling me to relax and enjoy its company.

A bit of an update, I've played with DMT on a spaced-out schedule and have tried a few things. I have tried bigger hits and will try some more. Now, I get some visuals with eyes closed and almost none outside. There have been some experiences where the visuals glitched when something in me "clicked". I'm comfortable and can walk around. The other day, after letting out the third hit, I walked to the bathroom and used it. I get the same feelings and insights - however, I often forget I'm on the trip. Once the first build-up and feeling sits in, it normalizes relatively quickly and levels off.

This was bothering me... a lot. Not anymore and I'm curious how my trips will continue to evolve. I know I have more work to do, deeper to go, and Truth//Love to explore.

Grateful for this forum, it's been a solid resource.

Just wanted to come back to this thread and correct what I said. I think it's beneficial to push limits, for myself personally, especially with a substance like DMT or mushrooms that I know well. However, I can't recommend telling a stranger to smoke more DMT. That was irresponsible of me, and also, smoking too much DMT can lead to confusion which is generally unfruitful and annoying. You know yourself, and you sound very put together, but don't take my heavy-handed advice to simply smoke more DMT. I look forward to watching your story develop via the nexus.

 

[unpastor]

Just wanted to come back to this thread and correct what I said. I think it's beneficial to push limits, for myself personally, especially with a substance like DMT or mushrooms that I know well. However, I can't recommend telling a stranger to smoke more DMT. That was irresponsible of me, and also, smoking too much DMT can lead to confusion which is generally unfruitful and annoying. You know yourself, and you sound very put together, but don't take my heavy-handed advice to simply smoke more DMT. I look forward to watching your story develop via the nexus.

Hey, this is appreciated and taken under advisement. I agree with your sentiment. While I'm new here, psychedelics have been something I've been studying since my second rehab and actively using for almost two years. As someone in recovery, and with the work I'm involved in, I'd like to be a kind of voice that both advocates for these medicines and also helps people not ruin their lives with them. Wisdom, community, and authenticity are some of the things I "preach" now.

It's taken work to get to taking .05 or higher. It took a lot of work just to be able to get through the first and second hits. I'm really aware of some minor areas that need to break still but a lesson I keep walking away from, and this is not unique to me, is that I don't "need" DMT or psychedelics to fix things. DMT kind of scolded me for constantly coming back to it so it could fix me.

Another note, if this helps with context, is that since last year I have felt called to shamanism. It helped me feel sane with the things happening to me and what I was processing, but never got around to applying myself to it. I've studied it from a distance and it comes up a lot in my studies as a polymath and armchair philosopher...might be fun to know I was an evangelical pastor for 15 years. Recently, I finally made myself study shamanism and am working through a book on it. It helped me immensely put context into my life and brain. There isn't anyone around me doing this kind of work and I'm pretty much the"expert," which is terrifying. lol.

If I'm put together, it's only because I was broken! Lol. Thanks again and will update this probably after the New Year.

Side note: There's also a future mescaline trip that I need to carve out time for. It'll be a first time and looking forward to it, since I don't know what to expect. I think that's part of my problem with DMT - I know what to expect (and working on dropping those). I'm an analytical fuck that's learning to let go of his left brain, with a drive and stubbornness that is selective but won't break in front of Heaven or Hell.

 

[CommonConduit]

It was a number of months ago that I made my introduction to DMT-Nexus. Since early summer I’ve been slowly working through my DMT journey. This journey first started with shrooms and beyond grateful for the progress that was made there. Shrooms also highlighted my neurodiversity: no visuals-in tense thinking. Eyes closed or not. I’ve messed with the variables I’m aware of. Over time, more visuals have come but it’s almost amusingly small. It took time for me to accept this and allow the trips to do their work.

DMT was different. I saw reality break into shards. It made me aware of a lot more. It got me serious and authentic about some things I was being to lackadaisical with. It made me shut up and listen. There was an even life long “hearing” problem that has fixed itself. However, in the last three journeys, there have been no visuals with eyes open or closed. The thinking and experience, all the feelings, are there. They are profound and good. Don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

It felt like I knew why: accepting reality around me is just as good as a psychedelic experience. It was also something I thought I could do and tried making an object disappear from my visual perception while on shrooms, and it did.

So now, I can do .05 or more and, as of now, no visuals. Some visual “effects” and the on coming train of an experience but I can stare at a computer screen, a picture, or the back of my eye lids, and there is nothing else. Even read from a book at minute-6 this morning.

I’ve been aware of how my neurodiversity, and everyone’s, creates different experience, as well as what neurological outcomes could be potential with applied and disciplined use of psychedelics, but this is making me annoyingly curious. Not sure what question to even ask: this just seems unusual.

Anyone else have this?
Ideas what’s going on?

Thanks!

When you ascribe the lack of visuals to your neurodiversity, would you mind sharing which diagnosis specifically?
It's the first time I've heard anyone make that connection, but I'm pretty new here!

 

[unpastor]

When you ascribe the lack of visuals to your neurodiversity, would you mind sharing which diagnosis specifically?
It's the first time I've heard anyone make that connection, but I'm pretty new here!

I'm cautious about self-diagnosis, as we can see how well that's managed. My name has been on the list get on the waitlist for a full evaluation for a year. No promise on when that will happen. These concepts are actively being studied, theories advancing, and difficult to understand without a lot of study. I by no means have the criteria to appropriately pinpoint some things. I am a sponge and just learn. I pick up things from people. I study everything I have to go through.

I have a psychiatrist, and psychologist, and have had a few counselors. They know about all my supplements, pharmaceuticals, and psychedelics.
My step-father is PhD and my mother has two masters. She specializes in mental health and everything I'm about to blab randomly on. They are a part of my discussions.

My ex-girlfriend (PhD in Integrate Psychology) and former master addictions counselor have helped me with some of this.

There are hunches I have. This is what I'm considering.

My Family Genetics:
- My father has a high IG, possibly autistic, and a high-functioning alcoholic. My mother also has a high IQ and is bipolar.
- My only full-blooded sibling is either schizophrenic or schizotypal, and possibly autistic.
- I have a (probably) high IQ. I don't fully know, educated guesses. I've taken some tests.
- My two eldest boys (young teens) do things in school I remember doing.

I was cleared of ADHD a few times but definitely exhibit symptoms. This could be explained easily enough with my recovery journey. However, the ADHD-like part of me has always been there.

Current Diagnosis:
CPTSD (significantly reduced)
Depression

Random Facts:
- I struggle with suspended disbelief and reading fiction.
- I can't be hypnotized, at least not yet, and have tried.
- Dreams are so quickly forgotten I don't recall seeing anything (this has been changing a bit).
- I'm an analytic/empathetic fuck, with a charm and a whit. I have a way with people.

Quick Personal Background:
- I struggled with depression and suicidality around 5th and 6th grade. Abuse is part of my story and something I've worked much through.
- I've had a handful of significant concussion impacts from childhood to my late teens. Perhaps the most significant was on the left side of my head, directly on my ear.
- I used marijuana, and cigarettes, and drank heavily during my middle school years.
- Nicotine addiction has continued off and on for most of my life and I can just manage it at a normal level now. It's after sugar which I'm about finished with.
- Alcohol use started around 25 and increased steadily until an utter collapse about 7 years ago. It was traumatic and public, and I lost everything.
- After rehab one, I drank for about three years heavier and heavier. My last drink ended in a BAC of .407, a week on suicide watch, and then off to rehab number two.

Psychedelic Experience:
- A little over two years ago, mushrooms got me over a hump. My trips weren't the mystical experience I heard about. They were intense thinking. I've always been an analytical/empathetic fuck. With eyes closed or open, I didn't see anything. It took an embarrassingly number of trips to get much visual effects at all. The lines on objects wave a bit and things get whitewashed now. Sometimes, I get visuals but they're always short-lived. Even then I'm so lost in the introspective experience that the outside world is almost unnoticed. This is pretty consistent.
- DMT was different. Everything outside my eyelids was visual. If I closed my eyelids, it was black. Things were cartoony, paradigm-shifting, shattering, mezo-American, Tao, etc. It took me a while to work up past "blast off." Never entities but that may have happened - this llama/Jesus thing was hanging on my wall and stuff and the spirit of DMT. Plus my ego...another story.
- The visuals decreased over time to almost none. It will glitch on me but it's introspective and everything is plain as day.
- I've been microdosing at the bare minimum for no more than 2 days a week, and that was an increase recently.

Psilocybin UPDATE:
- I did a psilocybin trip yesterday to explore some stuff. During it, I got the cartoony and some flat vibes of DMT that would glitch in. I could stay with it and it'd distract me. Then I'd shake it off.
- Since the trip (been over 24 hours), on certain times and occasions I can get some kind of "vibes."

Now, if we're okay with drawing a big old circle and pretending like we're probably not the Dr. House of Neuroscience, let me spitball and just blab words out there:

I know IQ is part of this, and potential spectrums stuff. PTSD has been a beast to conquer and it's practically gone. ADHD medications don't work for me - they're like meth, something my mom and brother struggled with and I never have touched, nor dare to. High cognitive filtering is on my list and...well, there are just things about how my trips happen and what I do with my brain. Honestly, it feels like there are so many potential variables and factors that...Ockham Razor might suggest that between my spectrum and IQ, and then my journey through psychedelics and study of them, I built a dualist guard/acceptance of them - I've been on the side of some weird things.

All of that, then, is something I can work on. I've also been slowing down too. I have no immediate plans for DMT or mushrooms in the immediate future. I may be buckling down for work and more work/passion projects. I got bills, plus Christmas and New Year's.

Please, poke holes, ask questions, or make suggestions. I'm grateful for any feedback.

 

[unpastor]

Let me add too, cuz this has come up, DMT made me be comfortable with this..sorta…there aren’t words.

 

[unpastor]

Happy 2025 everyone.

Wanted to provide a bit of an update:

I take DMT once to twice week. These sessions are intentional, with journaling, mediation, breathing, and integration time. Each session, I do DMT 1-3 times. Roughly half the time, I start with a blast off then sometimes do one or two hits after I’ve journaled between each. Other times, I’ll do enough for two big hits but not break through. It kind of depends.

90% of the time I can see fine, with little noticeable effects. Sometimes, with a bigger hit, I get some fractual, lego land, Inca stuff but nothing like I use to. Most the time, however, I just get a little distorted perspectives or a glitch. Occasionally, I get some brighter, semi detailed visuals with eyes closed.

At this point, I’ve accepted this about my trips and have been cutting my frequency back. Eventually, I’ll take a break from it for awhile and then reevaluate.

If any one has some theories, would love to kick them around.