From DMT-Nexus Wiki

Note: This page is a collection of phrases from 'the Proposed project to better understand Hyperspace' [1] and 'Hyperspace Lexicon work thread' [2], as well as other threads on dmt-nexus.me. Feel free to make additions, add them in alphabetical order.

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name."

Confucius, 551–479 BC.

The Hyperspace Lexicon consists of two main sections: the vocabulary and entities. The vocabulary is here to make a compilation of phrases to better understand and describe hyperspace journeys for both the layman and advanced hyperspace travelers. The entities section is all about classification of various intelligent creatures one can encounter in Hyperspace.

Spice Slang

Spice slang is the informal usage in vocabulary and idiom relating to Spice and Hyperspace. It is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language. It also includes the purposeful misspelling of words for a sense of playfulness and in-group feeling (ie. smoalk for smoke and moar for more). It is a flexible and ever expanding set of terminology, and its use can sometimes lead to confusion amongst the un-initiated.

Interestingly enough, the term slang, on its own, has its roots in the "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves," and grew into the "jargon of a particular profession." First usage in English appears in the mid 1700's. It is likely of Scandinavian source. (cf. Norw. slengenamn 'nickname', slengja kjeften 'to abuse with words', lit. 'to sling the jaw', related to O.N. slyngva 'to sling'.) [3]

"All slang is metaphor, and all metaphor is poetry."

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Acceleration, acute

"This phenomenon accrues when the body and/or mind shifts in any direction, leaving one at a different point than prior to acceleration."

A feeling of acceleration accompanies coming up and nearing breakthrough, a constantly rising, accelerating vibration that is felt through the entire body. See also Carrier wave.

Akashic Book, The

The Akashic Book contains deep knowledge, in a language you cannot read, but do understand. It is so profound, so omniscient, it contains exactly the right wisdom for you at this moment. The book tends to materialize and de-materialize during the experience. Suddenly it's gone, then it pops back into existence. The book seems to be written in light.

Sometimes a physical book is the starting point for the perception of the Akashic Book. In this case the Akashic Book can overlap with the physical book, but it reveals meanings you have never seen before, like a new layer of meaning is shining through. (See also Superposition.)

Astral projection / travel

The experience of traveling to other places and people, and meeting them during the experience on an astral plane. The physical or ethereal body stays behind, the astral body and consciousness travels. Often the people visited report meeting you in a dream or just having a strong impression of you being around. Even sexual encounters are possible, where both partners confirm the experience afterwards.

Audio windup / windout

Near the end of an experience, as the entities leave your perceptual field, their communication changes from an understandable form (e.g. 'telepathic' speech) into a 'winding up sound', similar to an audio delay being fed back into itself and the rate increased until it just becomes a buzz as it disappears. The sound is also highly resonant (i.e. chime or bell like).

Audioplasticity

A synesthetic experience where sounds and words become entangled in the hallucination. A distortion of the flow, causality and linearity of time as perceived through sounds, transmuted into a complex experience through all senses down to the core of one's being.

For example; "wow" stretched and split into a thousand million other little 'wow's with perfect glitching audio clarity, then all the little wows dissapeared each into their own respective cell of the alex grey "dying" artwork.[4]

Bifurcations

A single point or concept (node), forks into two further paths and/or potentials, often both visually and in sense of thought/concepts. This often is experienced as then proceeding on recursively, into an infinite number of branches.

Breakthrough

The state the traveler achieves after ingesting the breakthrough dose of DMT. A singularity beyond life or death. Beyond time or space or known dimensions. Inherently synaesthetic. Ultra sharp edges and highly polished surfaces, hard crystallization and electric crackling. Endlessly morphing and fractalizing details. A sense of extremely high energy and vibration as well as frantic activity. All One. Feels oddly familiar; maybe where you were before birth and will return after death? Everything that ever is, has been, can be, will be, never was, never could be...

Candyland

The visual of a pristine, polished "enhanced" open eyed reality. Evokes childlike wonder and purity. As if reality was a cartoon, or was made of colorful candy (hence the name).

See also Legoland

Carrier wave

Just after a launch, travelers often hear a ringing tone or vibration somewhat resembling a carrier wave. As the ringing sensation continues one can even feel that this vibration is 'resonating in every cell of the body'. The frequency of the tone often seems to cause (or be caused by) the dissolution of the current environment, and may be a perceptual artifact of the actual raising of one's vibratory rate to levels where access to Hyperspace is possible. Sounds like a high pitched tinnitus tone right out of the range of normal hearing (maybe what a dog hears with a dog whistle). Sometimes steady, sometimes warbling up and down like a siren.

Central Light

A light source, overwhelming all other experiences and perceptions. Often kinesioöptically perceived. Intense like the sun, and possesses an intelligence. The intensity of the experience is so extreme, letting all other experiences fade to the background, that the notion of a 'central' light arises, as in 'central' or primal to all experience or existence. A sort of ontological bottom / centrum / axis of Hyperspace. The traveler might interpret the Central Light as Buddha, Christ, Krishna or any other radiant and ultimate being in their religious paradigm.

See also End of the Line.

CEV

Closed Eye Visuals. Visual hallucinations that occur with eyes closed, or in complete darkness. A very common experience on Entheogenic journeys.

See also OEV.

Chrysanthemum, Glass

See The Chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemum, The

A gigantic, often spinning, kaleidoscopic fractal flower with a domelike appearance that turns into a doorway, either welcoming or blocking access to breakthrough Hyperspace.

Condensation

The sudden accumulation or condensation of synchronic events, ie. a bunch of strange coincidences that seem to point to all happenings in the world or the traveler's life being connected by a thread of consciousness. A disruption, distortion, ripple in the field statistic probability, where the organizing force of meaning overrules statistic probability and clusters a certain set of events into a synchronospheric condensation.

Usually experienced before or after visiting Hyperspace rather than during travels, yet Hyperspace may be seen as the ultimate synchronospheric condensation itself.

Consensus reality

The everyday reality human beings inhabit in their waking state of consciousness. It's the reality we have consensus over, ie. can easily come to agreements about such as, 'the sky is blue', 'grass is green', 'we are hairless tool using apes', 'DMT is a hallucinogenic drug', etc.

Dahh, The

The sudden sense of being in a sacred cathedral, huge, yet invisible. An Aesthetic overlay. Feels like a lot of holy reverb. Sometimes like a hollow bamboo stick in a forest. Parts of it consist of fog in the morning. Often a first sense of mystery. The place of SajDah.

Deconstruction, Body

When one's body seems to be dissolved and deconstructed into waves, particles, vibration, light. If the deconstruction is total, there's no sense of the body left, just the consciousness perceiving hyperspace.

Ego death

Ego death is a complete loss of subjective self-identity[5].

In 2015, Nathanial.Dread noted that there seem to be two different experiences that both come with the label "ego death":

"Soft" Ego Death seems to happen more frequently at lower doses, and it's a sense that, while the experiencer is still having a 1st hand experience of existing, all the mental associations they have about themselves (their name, history, self-concept, etc), have been shed, leaving some kind of pure 'self.' That self, however, is still self-aware, and still understands itself as something different from the outside world (i.e. it can draw the distinction between that which is it, and that which is not it).

"Hard" Ego Death is something described at high doses (+3.5 g of magic mushrooms, or very high doses of LSD), and that gets described as a total breakdown of the boundaries between the 'self' and the 'the universe.' It becomes impossible to distinguish where one ends and the universe begins. The internal monologue and subjective experience of being 'I' ends. This seems closer to the transcendental states described by early mystics in their writings on religious experience, while "Soft" Ego Death is more psychoanalytical or cognitive. "Soft" Ego death occurs in all cases of "Hard" ego death, but not vise versa. "Hard" ego death is almost like loosing consciousness, and more prone to descriptions such as "union," "becoming one with," or "God."[6]

In initial response to the above classification of ego death, The Grateful One added:

"Soft" ego death is like tranquilizing the ego. It is still there but it loosens its grip on me. It could fly away at any moment with meditation and concentration but could easily be reeled back in. With soft ego death I am more aware (and in control) that it is happening. I can "play" with it more...

"Hard" or "strong" ego death is a complete dissolution and separation from me, myself and I...usually while being ripped out of my body. It is a state of being in which I am completely free from the confines of everyday "reality". It is terrifying when it happens sometimes but usually puts me in a state of bliss shortly thereafter. Sometimes (more often than not), during a hard ego death, it is like a relentless smashing of the ego. Beaten out of me, so to speak, until it no longer exists inside my consciousness. But I believe that happens because sometimes I am afraid to let go (of my ego) even if I had the intention of doing so before a journey.

The categorical approach of defining ego death as either "this or that" has met some criticism. Ryusaki has argued that the whole thing is more of an continuum. It can be anything in between soft and hard. gibran2 agreed that ego death is a continuum experience and proposed an alternative explanation:

What is being called “hard” or “strong” ego death is not ego death at all, but rather a realization: There is only “one” – the Ultimate Perceiver, Consciousness, God, All – whatever you want to call it. The more fully this is realized, the further one moves away from a personal identity.

Elevator, Dimensional

Similar to a terrestrial elevator, this is a small space that travelers can find themselves in, or purposefully use, which seems to rise at great speed through a multitude of higher & extra dimensional spaces. At various intervals it opens up on a new vista or room where one can choose to get out and interact, or stay in the elevator and continue to ascend. The feeling of rising is often accompanied by a rising Carrier wave.

End of the Line

When having a DMT experience and you feel as if you have reached the Absolute Point. The Alpha and the Omega of the universe and your entire existence. Then you are having an 'End of the Line' type of breakthrough. It may very well not be true at all, but for you subjectively it feels as if.

See also Central Light.

Entheogen

A psychoactive substance used in a spiritual context ("God inside us," en εν- "in, within," theo θεος- "god, divine," -gen γενος "creates, generates").

See also Entheogen (Nexus Wiki page).

Eschatothesia

Contraction of 'eschaton' (end time, the end of an aeon) and 'esthesia' (perception from the senses, compare 'kinesthesia' or 'synesthesia'). It is the sensing of a future attractor towards which the dynamic system evolves over time. The future event casts its shadows backwards in time where the shockwaves of the eschaton can be perceived as sensations, feelings, and visions. It is not necessarily the absolute 'end of time,' but can be a feeling of some huge event in the near future we are approaching: the end of an aeon, a marker in time after which nothing will be the same.

As the word 'apocalypse' suggests ('uncovering' or 'lifting the veil'), a microcosmic mirror image of the eschaton could be the personal 'lifting of the veil' when entering hyperspace. As such, the pre-flight anxiety can be seen as personal version of the eschatothesiatic experience, where the entering of hyperspace can mark the end of a personal aeon and the beginning of a new aeon in the personal life of the traveler.

Evoluminate

Developing (stimulating, initiating, facilitating evolution of) a situation towards containing and radiating more light.

See also Central Light.

Exploring

This is a mindset characteristic of the minutes following the return from Hyperspace. Also described as a warped, or more appreciative view of reality, as seeing even the most mundane surroundings as new and interesting. Symptoms include seeing sounds and hearing colors, sometimes an animistic sense of regular objects being imbued with life or spirit.

Fold, DMT

The DMT fold is the perception of 'folding back' into consensus space after a trip. May be seen as similar to 2 steps coming together:

|_ _| |_ _| |_|

Perceived as more complex concepts or realities folding down into simpler, more normal, less infinite concepts and realities, the aspects of the previous (higher) level not being describable by the lower level, except as metaphor.

Folding Rooms

The multidimensional spaces that certain hyperspace entities often entangle, enmesh, and overlap travelers in. They seem to fold over and in on themselves and the observer viscerally, reaching behind and around one with their architecture.

Forgiveness

True protection against the 'Dark Arts'. It's important to forgive yourself first. See also Love.

Free your mind with forgiveness. For yourself, and for everything else that exists. If your forgiveness is genuine, you will generally not be bothered with darkness.[7]

Gifts / Presents

Sometimes the entities present gifts to the traveler. These gifts can be 'sculptures', 'orbs', 'Faberge eggs from mars', 'extra-terrestrial notions', 'glyphs', and many other things. Their significance is often quite impossible to grasp.

Godsmack

A surprisingly strong dose of DMT solely from leftovers in a thickly resinated pipe. Some of the unusual effects may be due to [DMT N-Oxide] or jungle spice built up in the bowl, resulting in a feeling as if God had reached down from the heavens and bitch smacked the bejesus out of you. (Word coined by CoalescentDivide.)

Hyperreal

"Overcoming reality." A hallucinatory experience accompanied by the unquestionable subjective certainty that it is real, and probably far more real than the traveler's entire life up to this point in consensus reality.

See also: Is the DMT experience real or just a hallucination?

Hyperslap

The often traumatic and extremely 'dark' trip that one can receive seemingly as punishment for some transgression on the part of the psychonaut. Often it is due to repeatedly blasting off when one has not processed or integrated the previous lessons, or desperately trying to get past a shut-out by raising the dosage to extreme levels.

Generally, a hyperslap is not a single slap, but a full-on beatdown. One that is designed to teach you a lesson in respect.

Hyperspace

The place you go to after breakthrough, can be any place and time imaginable. Where the impossible can easily happen, extreme geometric explosions of color, sound, emotions, information, also the feeling of it being hyperreal.

In-Between

The world where you arrive before you break into Hyperspace. It is a world where you are on your own, already left this plain, but not yet reached the other.

One can be confronted with a heightened awareness of the tensions present in the body, or with daily problems one struggles with. Accepting these experiences and using them literally as a portal to Hyperspace can help the traveler achieve breakthrough.

Jimjam

Squishy, goopy, sticky, stringy matter of hyperspace that anything can be created from. It is multicolored and delicious. See also Plasmatis.

Sometimes the resulting product from an extraction of Mimosa Hostilis using limonene as the non-polar solvent is also refered to as Jimjam[8]. See also Jungle Spice.

Jungle Spice

Darker spice that looks yellowish to reddish. Often used to specifically refer to a wide-spectrum extraction product from Mimosa Hostilis, containing other psychoactive alkaloids from the plant matter, in addition to N,N-DMT.

Kalonkinesioöptic

Kalon is a greek term, used to refer to the Platonic Idea of Beauty, Transcendental Beauty. In this experience the Central Light that is perceived kinesioöptically, communicates or emanates the ultimate Beauty, mind-blowing Beauty, jaw-droping, astonishing Beauty felt with one's entire being.

Kinesioöptic

The sensory perception of the body becomes rewired to the visual cortex of the brain. The body can sense-see light. The body can dissolve in the experience (see also: body deconstruction), and be left with just the sense of light.

See also Kalonkinesioöptic.

Launch

The act of taking a breakthrough dose of Spice. Launching our awareness into the unknown distance of Hyperspace.

Legoland

A reality made up entirely of distinct Lego bricks. Similarly colorful and evocative of childhood as Candyland, but it's definitely, clearly made of Legos: detachable, colorful little bricks. It may be an altered perception of consensus space, or a Hyperspace realm with such a characteristic. In the latter case, things and beings in this space often are present in a constant flux of rebuilding and remodeling, or have a "vibration, shaking even, to all the lego blocks, as if the whole thing could just come apart at any moment."

Loop, Stuck in a

When your mind keeps repeating the same thoughts or events over and over again in a seemingly infinite loop[9].

Love

It is not something to receive, but something to give. Yourself and others. It's impossible to give others without giving yourself. Expecting to receive love can be dangerous in Hyperspace. Radiating love inside and outside is the safest and most productive thing you can do. Inclusion in the Lexicon proposed half-jokingly by vegantoker.

See also Forgiveness.

Lumenorgasmic

The orgasmic experience that accompanies the (kalon)kinesioöptic perception of the Central Light.

Mangotanglement

Entanglement of endless hyperspace objects seemingly made out of organic matter and grids of light-dots. Often pulsating in a multidimensional wave, and seen at the start of a journey.

Mental Backflip

Not quite ego death, but the process necessary to get on top of a wild trip experience. It is akin to throwing oneself backwards into the unknown purposefully in order to flip one's egoic mind and come out the other side more confident, empty and in control. Generally, it involves some form of quiet sitting meditation where one detaches from the stream of thought and becomes an observer of the flow. In this way, the content of the flow ceases to be directly experienced as happening inside of one's mind or happening to one, but as a parade of, often meaningless, external stuff. Anything truly valuable that floats by can be easily retrieved, but it is generally mostly garbage. Very polluted or disturbed minds can be like sitting by a sewage canal.

Like physically doing a backflip, it works best if done with concerted effort, because any hesitation or resistance can slow or stop the flip. If done correctly, one flips sufficiently to see the ground before even finishing the ascending thrust of the jump... while upside down. At this point one can be 100% sure one will finish the rotation, and is confident that one will land on one's feet, with a clear idea of where that landing will take place. Done wrong, one can flip so slowly that the rotation isn't completed until just before one lands, panting and heart racing, on one's hands and knees. If one won't let their view of the ground go at all, it is possible to not flip, and simply jump backwards and land on one's back. In rare instance, one CAN land on one's head. Though, in truth, these misfires are more like falling backwards, than flipping per se... and are more likely to occur when not attempting the Mental Backflip intentionally, but simply from instability or being uprooted.

The flip can be done fairly quickly by a regular, experienced meditator, and is ideally done early on in an entheogenic journey. The benefits will last for the rest of the trip, and often mean the difference between rewarding and enlightening journeying, and head tripping. It should be noted that CEV's being stronger than OEV's, mental backflipping can intensify the trip considerably at first, and can be experienced as a "burning through" or a "trial by fire." Like getting to the "second wind" while jogging, it can involve some discomfort before coming out on the other side. Practitioners of the backflip method, though, feel that it is the supreme preventative (and curative) method against bad trips.

Naturally, this method is less called for when using substances that are inherently less head trippy or instill their own clarity. Also, the short duration of the smoalked spice experience may make mental backflipping irrelevant. It generally takes between 15 min and 2 hours to accomplish a genuine flip. Though, it can be done anywhere from nearly instantaneously, to nearly taking up the entire trip, based on the force of the leap and the focus of the flipper.

Mirror

When a DMT journey travels in time one way (standard forward), and then near the end of the trip quickly rewinds back through the entire trip.

Also, physical mirrors are often imbued with mystical significance during psychedelic trips when one has the ability to navigate consensus space, such as during the exploration phase of a DMT journey. (See also Superposition.)

OEV

Open Eye Visuals. Visual hallucinations that occur when one's eyes are open, under normal light. May be alterations of consensus reality objects like the Static Pattern Overlay, or entirely new shapes and patterns emerging from thin air or one's field of vision.

The abundance of OEVs is often indicative of a particularly strong trip on orally administered Entheogens. On smoalked spice OEVs are almost always present.

See also CEV.

Ontoseismic

When entering hyperspace for the first time, or entering deeper levels of Hyperspace for the first time, there can be a 'psychedelic shock'. The paradigms and worldview of the individual is shattered, as they obviously no longer 'work' in these realms, and the individual traveler is left with empty hands staring at the fragments of what he formerly knew as 'truth'.

This experience can, in the first moments, be seemingly traumatic because of the inabiltity of the traveler to process his experience, leading to the feeling of being absolutely overwhelmed. Yet, when the traveler can reach a certain inner concentration, a firmness, while being and experiencing these newer and deeper levels of truth, the psychedelic shock turns out to be utterly freeing. The paradox is that the experience has the disturbing effect of a trauma, yet the cause of the trauma is an Platonic experience of total truth, beauty and love. See also: Kalonkinesioöptic.

The experience is more intense and deeper than 'mindblowing', while 'disturbing' lacks the insight and beauty that accompanies the experience. Ontoseismic as a word is composed of a merging of 'ontos' (greek for 'being') and 'seismos', earthquake, from 'seiein' (greek for 'to shake').

Planck time

The smallest unit of time that can be mathematically described. When you feel time compressing in to smaller and smaller units, you are approaching Planck Time. When you reach it, you experience time 'stopping', or 'being ejected from time itself'.

See also Time travel.

Plasmatis

The multicolored constantly shifting gel-goo of amazement which decorates the space around everything in the land of the elves.

See also Jimjam.

Pre-flight anxiety

Pre-flight anxiety is the sense of fear or anxiety one has just before liftoff into Hyperspace. Since being shot into Hyperspace is such a stressful and powerful moment, people often experience some form of fear or apprehension. This is known in the DMT community as 'pre-flight anxiety'. Many also report that this pre-flight anxiety diminishes shortly after entering hyperspace or upon returning from hyperspace.

The little brother of Eschatothesia.

Psychonaut

An explorer of altered states of consciousness, especially through the use of Entheogens.

See also Traveler.

Rift, Dimensional

A visual and spatial rift that allows the traveler to experience two separate realities or scenes at the same time As represented in artwork by Viperoid.

It's where a dividing line or rift enters my perception and I am able to perceive 2 very different dimensions or scenes at the same time either side of the rift. The rift is usually vertical and moves in from one side of my perception to settle in the middle. The rift itself appears like a white static line but if I look closely it is actually comprised of folding shapes or Jimjam.[10] Northerner

Schnörkel

(noun - both singular & plural) as well as Verschnörkelt (adjective) & Schnörkeln (verb)

The various spirals, ornamentations, and filigree which decorate hyperspatial areas, objects, doorways, balustrades, textiles... and, well everything that can be decorated. They are generally not static, but rather being designed and redesigned in realtime by travelers, the denizens of Hyperspace, or by themselves.

Shadow exaggeration

When shadows exaggerate their sizes.

Shut-out

That occasional experience where hyperspace simply will not open for you. Even at fairly high doses and properly administered, sometimes you just aren't let into the club by the bouncers. Don't push if this happens, as it is likely to lead to a hyperslap.

Smoalk

Spice slang for the word smoke, as it applies to smoking spice. The term can be said to originate from the fact that DMT is an alkaloid. Thus, smoke and alkaloid make smoalk.

Spice, The

'Spice' is a term most commonly used as a nickname for N,N-DMT, but has developed most accurately as a term for an impure plant extract, including its related alkaloids. See Jungle Spice for the wide-spectrum extract of Jurema.

It should NOT be confused with Pep-Spice (sometimes shortened to Spice) which refers to K2, a synthetic agonist of the cannabinoid receptors, a controversial chemical sold as a (then) legal replacement to marijuana.

"The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness."

Frank Herbert, Dune

SPO

Short for Static Pattern Overlay. Uniform or random surfaces taking on a clearly visible pattern, usually, but not always of a nonfigurative nature. SPOs may evoke arabesques, ancient Mexican stone carvings, Egyptian hieroglyphs, plants, animals and faces... It is often extremely convincing, and near impossible to tell apart from conventional consensus reality sight.

The static pattern overlay is the way 'they' communicate with me on lower doses. Faces from every ancient era show up in any uniform surface. The best ever was a picture of my favorite fractal. I thought I would be most fascinated by the fractal swirls but the static, slightly irregular monochromatic background showed me more in one square foot than I'd ever seen before. I am always like-'how do they do that?' or 'they are so clever' because you can blink or look away change your point of view and the same image persists![11]

Superposition

When a 'normal' object (a book, a piece of paper, individuals,paintings, written notes etc.) enters 'superposition', it starts having 'magical' properties. The object seems to move and shift position when it is not observed. The 'normal' object seems to fall from our ontological map into a multidimensional state, where it starts being driven, pushed and ruled more by Meaning & Intention than by Newtonian laws. When people enter superposition, one can perceive them at two (or more) places at the same time.

The word is borrowed from the field of quantum mechanics[12].

Surgery, Soul

A recurring, quite common theme of deep entheogenic journeys, where the traveler experiences being partially disassembled and operated upon by otherworldly 'doctors' or machinery. It may be a positive experience of care and healing, or in other situations evoke disturbing connotations. Clinical, 'sci-fi' themes and environments are quite common to these visions, and there is a notable parallel with alien abduction reports.

In shamanic cultures they talk about the organs and bones being replaced by gems etc by the spirits during initiation. [...] I can understand why some people get paranoid when thinking about this sort of thing though. I do to at times..but i think part of the reason for that swings back around to the fact that our insane and disconnected modern society provides us with no framework for these experiences from the get-go (not to mention demonizes them), and gears us up for them so that we become predisposed to viewing these things in a certain way..even after a lot of de-conditioning/reprogramming. but if you look at the literature and experiences of many who report this, it seems that more often than not this occurs in a very positive context and is a pleasant and beneficial experience.[13]

SWIM

(pronoun, archaic) Short for 'someone who isn't me'. Grammatically identical in its use to a third person pronoun of unspecified gender, but is a substitute for the first person pronoun. (In essence, the practical meaning being 'someone who is me'.)

It was adopted in drug and psychedelic discussions online to refer to oneself, due to the (mistaken) belief that its use would protect one from legal liability from their on-line activity in case of a criminal investigation and trial. Today its use is generally discouraged on the Nexus and most other psychedelics-related forums and communities, but one may run into it in older posts and materials.

Alright!!!! SWIM finally found a simple way to remove the toxins from a Yopo/Vilca extract. It’s so easy I cannot believe it. Why didn’t someone try this before?[14] 69ron

Time travel

You sort of pop out of the normal flow of time, into a certain area where time is eternal. From there you can travel to any given point in the timeline and re-enter the timeline. There you can re-experience that specific time frame, and sometimes finish unfinished business.

Another form of time travel is the return to previous mindsets, thought trains and detailed short term memories from one's own life, often from early childhood, that otherwise had been completely forgotten. This rediscovery and re-experiencing is usually a positive emotional experience, like finding a long-lost toy in the back of a cupboard.

See also Planck time.

Traveler

The person exploring Hyperspace through the use of the Spice.

May also refer to an important founding member and administrator of the Nexus, The Traveler.

See also Psychonaut.

Throat Marble, The

This is a symptom one can have while visiting Hyperspace. Feeling as though you don't need to breathe. Also described as the feeling of a rolling ball trapped in the back of ones throat[15].

Void, The

A state, or place of nothingness, without time, matter or significance. A state of non-existence. May elicit fear and a sense of being lost or alone in the traveler. Paradoxically, there is perception of the Void. The question arises if it's 'nothing' that perceives, or is there 'something' that does the perceiving and experiences the 'nothing'? See also Ego death.

Nothingness has no preference or reference. If you ever experience this again. Sit in it and really pay attention. There can be great peace that can come from such an experience. The stillness and vastness of nothingness can be something of great beauty. It is as temporary as our lives. This nothingness becomes something at some point. It forgets itself and finds preference. It creates experience. You create experience for the nothingness from the nothingness. In some ways I feel that we are of great value to the nothingness. It was bored and empty. Now it has something to do, something to experience, emotions, family, memories, life, etc..[16]

Witness consciousness

The state of consciousness of pure perception, without thought, expectation or judgement. A desirable state of mind in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Even Hell might be beautiful if perceived from this vantage. See also Mental Backflip.

Sometimes travelers are forced into such a state by entities, described by kaos.underwave as a 'camera mode'. Rather than transcending thought and judgement, one is forcibly made to perceive without the ability of mental processing.

Yawn, Rainbow

Yawning accompanied by an increase in visuals and great euphoria ("Its like a hyper ether brain massage to the sound of an earthquake.."[17]) Often experienced during oral DMT experiences and during the comedown.

A frequent urge to yawn, and a body-shaking euphoric feeling during yawning is often experienced on other psychedelic tryptamines as well.

Entities

A recurring theme of DMT journeys is encounters with living and sentient beings that seemingly reside in hyperspace. Whether products of our subconscious, or real creatures with individual existence, the encounter experiences are deep, powerful and often hyperreal.

The traditional classification of such beings, which has been around since Terrence McKenna's time, is a loose collection of entities encountered by different DMT journeymen over the course of many years. An alternative classification method, proposed by Hyperspace Fool, is based mainly on his own experiences collected over a period of 35 years[18]. Because of his sole authorship, it provides a well-structured classification. One should remember, however, that Hyperspace Fool used other means of exploring consciousness besides DMT (lucid dreaming for example). Therefore, the question whether his classification is a valid point of view regarding DMT Hyperspace experiences, remains open.

NGC_2264 wrote a long and extremely detailed report of their encounters[19] in various altered states of mind including DMT trips, lucid dreams, regular dreams, etc. While these descriptions are extremely colorful and detailed, they are quite specific to the report's author both in their nature and in the classification NGC_2264 used.





Traditional classification

Hyperspace is filled with entities. These entities show a remarkable variety in appearance and behavior. It is not sure whether some descriptions overlap, as the Machine Elves and Light Beings on one hand, the Machine Elves' Queen and Mother Goddess on the other might be the same perceptual experience with just different labels attached to it, or they might represent two distinct types of trips we can have.

Archangels

A hierarchy of beings that rule the hierarchy of 'normal' Light Beings due to their development in and skills in entering, overviewing, ruling, initiating deeper and more complex levels of hyperspace.

Dark entities

It's not a good idea to think too much about them, study them, want to meet them, etc. According to Hyperspace Fool, merely speaking/fantasying about the evil entities will attract them in your trip, so he only included the good ones in his classification system. According to Hyperspace Fool, the best way to protect yourself from the dark ones is by aligning with the good ones, and exercising Love and Forgiveness.

WARNING I do not suggest you seek them out, or allow them to hang around you. It is not worth the grief that association with them can bring, simply to classify them. And, no good can come of their presence in your life. Whether or not they are actual beings, interaction with dark entities can (and has been regularly shown to) cause serious mental, emotional, and psychological damage to people.[7]

Jesters

Magical beings with the unmistakable appearance and character of clowns or jesters. They often attempt to pull the traveler into the experience they inhabit as consensus reality clowns would do to bystanders. They can be mean and make one feel bullied or ridiculed, or can help one feel liberated and finally 'in on the joke'.

See also Machine Elves.

Light Beings

Beings entirely made of light. Details like facial expression are often hard to distinguish because of their strong radiance. Always very benign, often connected to the Central Light.

Logos, The

The Universal Mind, or Gaian Mind. May be perceived or interpreted as God, or any ultimate being from the traveler's religious framework.

See also Central light and End of the Line.

Machine Elves

Also known as Tykes. They are the primary inhabitants of the Hyperspace. Machine Elves seem to live in, and be part of, some kind of Folding Rooms, and appear to be capable of transforming their own shapes freely.

Machine Elves' Queen

The underlying source of all Hyperspace experiences. Seeing the Queen of the Machine Elves is akin to suddenly realizing that all the patterns and Machine Elves you have seen before are, in fact, Her. She is everything the breakthrough is all about. You finally "get it".

See also End of the Line.

Mother Goddess

A huge, bright, feminine Goddess. Might be identified with Ostara, Isis, or Mother Mary, yet transcending identification with these earthly images. Bright, really bright light, caring, loving, caressing away all pain and all tears. A kalonkinesioöptic experience with an explicit feminine character. May in some instances materialize as disjunct impressions and images of femininity, lips, vulvas, eyes, all loving, both maternal and sexual.

See also The Logos, Central Light.

Tapestries

Mostly incomprehensible beings of peculiar dimensional properties. They seem flat projections, but at the same time extend in more than three dimensions. They tend to be alien, and usually uninterested in the traveler, but carry a certainty or at least extremely haunting feeling of being alive and sentient.

See also SPO

Alternative Hyperspace Fool's classification

Hyperspace Fool's preface:

In order to discuss the creatures, people, conscious entities, and sentient beings one comes across in travels involving the spice, it makes sense to break down the classifications at least somewhat. The names I have given below are merely my personal lexicon, but as some of the terms are weighted I would understand if not everyone can agree upon them.

As this is attempting to plug some holes in the existing Hyperspace Lexicon, as well as introduce some major new concepts, there is some overlap with what is currently up on the WIKI. I have chosen not to define the singular beings (i.e. Mother Goddess) or go into the commonly accepted McKenna-ism of the "self-transforming machine elves" as these have already been dealt with extensively, and many of the classifications of hyperspace entities discussed below could be considered sub-categories of machine elves anyway.

The word ENTITIES has been agreed upon as the overarching term for all of the various intelligences you might stumble into while making your way with spice both in and out of Hyperspace, and, as such, this is the term I have used here. This list is far from comprehensive, and a great number of entities I have met are not going to be featured here... just because I don't have the time or energy to make the list endlessly long. (I may update this at some point if there is enough interest)

An entirely separate classification system could be devised for the various types of so-called "dark entities" (the more malignant, less friendly characters that some people encounter from time to time). I have chosen purposefully not to address them here, though, as it is not recommended to seek out such encounters, giving them any significant amount of attention is generally a bad idea, and association with the more friendly types I discuss below is the best way to keep the undesirables from bothering you IMHO.

The array of entities encountered/encounter-able is vast, and, as such, it helps to subdivide this broad term into sub-categories. For our purposes these shall be:

Hyper-Spatial Beings Extra-Dimensional Beings that don't live in Hyperspace Local Entities

Often times the various beings I have described here are more interested in observing, and sometimes communicating or parlaying with, other beings... than they are in us. Some of them seem to regard us the way we would regard a tiny kitten that pokes its head out of a bush. They might pet you or give you some milk, but they generally find you rather ignorant of whatever it is that is important to them. Of course there are plenty of entities who seem to have nothing better to do than to put on the most fabulous show this side of somewhere... just for little ol' you.

Hyper-Spatial Beings

Hyper-Spatial Beings is the subset of entities that actually reside in Hyperspace. There are certainly a good number of classes and sub-categories here, but the first couple types here tend to be the regular "greeters" of that realm, in that they are usually among the first entities one is likely to encounter:

Circus Ringleaders

Not at all aloof like the Genii, these guys are all about showmanship. They are very much like the archetypal circus ringleader... often with coat and tails and a ridiculously cool top hat to boot. They may even have a baton, wand or fancy cane they use to direct your attention to one or another of Hyperspace's awesome vistas or announce a show being put on for your entertainment. They are shamelessly promotional, but like the other natives of Hyperspace... they are also hyper-intelligent, telepathic, and frankly miraculous. If you are treated to a performance with a ringleader to help you take in the 3 ring (10 ring x 10 dimensions more likely) show, sit back and be ready to be amazed. (essential nature - ENTERTAINMENT & SHOWMANSHIP)

Flirty Fairies

They resemble traditional fairies and often actually have wings. Flirty Fairies can appear more "nymphish" as well. They are fluid and transforming... slowly pulsing with light at times, but generally hold the form of beautiful women who are overflowing with beauty and joy... so much so that they can barely stay within their skins. They squirm and pose, bat their eyelashes, wink and play in a nearly burlesque fashion... often stripping for you. An interesting note about them is that they even do this for heterosexual women. In fact, it doesn't seem to be sexually motivated, but rather an expression or flowering of their essential beautiful nature (essential nature - BEAUTY).

Geniuses or Genii

These guys tend to be sitting in fanciful chairs and observe you with a much more dour and reproachful manner than either of the above types. They tend to lean back with their head tilted somewhat disdainfully to the side, stroking their chin or fingering their noses slowly. If they decide they have energy for you, they will get out of their seats, and move lightning quick. Immediately appearing behind you, and wherever you turn your head or your attention, they will already be there. They seem to enjoy demonstrating how pathetic you are, and often answer your questions before you even ask them. Very humbling. Though they don't have horns necessarily, and are usually neon rainbow opalizing on ebony, rather than red... they do have something in common with popular conceptions of devils or "the devil." They are far more genteel than the above two types (essential nature - GUILE & LOGIC).

Jesters, Hyperspace

Hyperspace Jesters: Could also be called Harlequins or fools. They truly resemble medieval jesters and harlequins... however, they are not silly or foolish in any way. They tend to be hyper-intelligent and might be the male versions of the Flirty Fairies. They have a fundamentally different nature that they are trying to show off, though. They like to show you things... objects. Often flashing Hyperspace tarot cards at you which, on their own, can impart reams of information to you when you look at them. They are similar enough to the "Machine Elves" that they could be the same species, only these guys tend to not be operating the machines... perhaps they are on break or vacation (essential nature - CRAFT).

Morphos

This class of beings tend to have fairly unstable forms and can rise and subside out of the Jim Jam like waves. They are aware, though... and are capable of solidifying into phantastic phorms if they so choose. These forms are often straight out of mythology, only far more colorful and multi-dimensional. Here you find dragons, tritons, sphinx, harpies, roc, phoenix, mock turtles, Jabberwocky, minotaur, dryads, Quetzelcoatl, yeti, octopii etc. There are no limits to what might crest out of the Jim Jam and sail past you... They tend to have vast awareness and consciousnesses that contain peculiar and unique gems of wisdom (essential nature - GUIDANCE & WISDOM).

Plant & Object Devas

The Devas are living, often hyper-intelligent, beings that often resemble plants or objects more than they do what we might normally recognize as sentient beings. They can be very helpful and are always interesting to observe as they unfold, wiggle, transform & flower. An interesting note is that if they do unfold entirely for you, they seem to have erogenous zones like pistils and stamen which can experience something akin to orgasm. Due to the telepathy inherent in hyperspatial contacts, the traveler is able to experience some of this cosmic ecstasy as well. (essential nature - MYSTERIES & ECSTASY)

Extra-Dimensional Beings that don't live in Hyperspace

In addition to Hyperspatial Beings, there are beings that one can perceive by peeking out of Hyperspace and into other tangential realms. Sometimes it is akin to peeking out of mirrors in the Hyperspace "Hallways Of Always" and into other real places with entities who don't live in Hyperspace per se. Other times, it is more like a high speed elevator that stops at various dimensional "floors" where the doors open, and you can pop out and interact with the denizens for a period of time (often very short) before the door closes and you rocket up to even higher levels. The myriad sorts of beings that one encounters this way are too vast to even attempt classification, but some of the ones that seem easiest to encounter are:

Aliens

While all of these beings are technically aliens, these guys strike you immediately as being alien. They are so different from us as to be outside of our myths, or at least their minds feel far more foreign than other sorts of entities you encounter. Often you come to them in their own realms when you pop out on the other side of a Hyperspace journey. Equally often, they might come to you. They are generally not as scary as they look, but more interested in studying how far we humans have come. These guys include the insectoids (like the Praying Mantis), the reptilians (of various sorts), and more amorphous and nebulous intelligences.

Elementals

Beings of a primal nature, often associated with one of the various elements. Fire, Water, Space, Earth, Air... there are sub-classes as well. Metal, Wood, Ice etc.

Gods & Goddesses

These beings actually do resemble various cultural archetypal godheads. There are Hindu, Egyptian, Mayan, Celtic, African and plenty of unrecognizable types. They tend to be more sci-fi than you would imagine them from only reading sacred books. They are capable of taking a keen interest in you, and despite being oceanic in comparison to the Genii or the Wizards... they don't usually judge you, but rather have a kind-of infinite compassion... although you can't always count on that. They are of different temperaments and personalities, and it is rare to see more than one of them on any given journey.

Wizards, Dream

These guys tend to be classic Gandalf types with far more trippy and cool robes. They inhabit monasteries, castles, and even Roger Dean-ish cities. They tend to ignore you, but might deign to give you a slight indication that they are aware of you. The most intelligent human being of all time is a rank idiot next to them.

Local Entities

Furthermore, there are the beings that exist here in this place when you are stable enough to increase your vibration sufficiently to see them without actually going into Hyperspace at all. They can also be encountered after a Hyperspace Journey if you open your eyes while still almost peaking. Somewhat easier to encounter if you are outdoors, but not necessary. These guys include the wealth of non-corporal or higher dimensional beings that exist on Earth. The feeling is that they are always here, but you have to be vibrating at or near their frequency in order to perceive or interact with them. These guys include:

Aliens, Local

Can be any kind, but the usual suspects pop up as well. The higher one is, the higher levels and vibrational frequency entities one is likely to be able to see. One might see the stereotypical Greys lurking about, but often one can actually see two or three levels of aliens who are watching and observing THEM. Maybe Greys have their own Angels and Buddhas. Who knows? The more interesting ones, though can be vast. Big as the moon vast. If you can actually see these guys, then they become immediately VERY interested in you.

Angels

They don't necessarily look like typical pop culture angels, but they can. They tend to emanate light and are often keenly watching the humans present. It seems as if some people actually do walk around with a couple guardian angels. But these guys often hang out in the background, and do not always make their presence known.

Awakened Humans, Other

Of which there are sometimes quite a few. At times, it can be difficult to tell them from the Ascended Beings, but it is easy once you get the hang of it. These guys seem to be traveling away from their corporal forms... perhaps they are dreaming or astral projecting.

Ghosts

Typically discorporate humans who might be lost or very intent on doing something specific.

Masters & Buddhas, Ascended

Enlightened beings who tend to hang about on clouds or other lofty vantage points and observe all things below them without any real intent or focus. Their consciousness encompasses everything they observe, but they are usually fairly free of any desire or goal. Sometimes it seems that they are chanting or doing yoga and that their efforts actually support and uplift everything they contact... tonifying the world, so to speak.

Spirits

Discorporate energy or emotional beings who often inhabit certain spaces and specific locales. There are a wide variety of them.

NGC_2264's entity encounter reports

Note: The below description of entities were added from NGC_2264's individual experience report[19] detailing extreme psychological distress and apparently chronicling a psychotic break. The following is an excerpt of this highly subjective report, added primarily for completeness, and is not indicative of typical or common entity encounters on DMT. Due to the nature of tripping, and the potential effects of fear and negative expectations, reader discretion is advised.

NGC_2264's preface:

Across my experiences, I encountered a fairly diverse selection of entities. I suspect that some of the entities may have merely been different faces for the same thing, possibly even all part of the same entity, but I will at least attempt to describe the distinct personalities and archetypes that they presented themselves as.

Based on my interactions with the entities and my own observation, it became apparent that there was some sort of hierarchy in place, with many complex parallel "command structures" involved at the higher levels. At times this greater hierarchy operated like a supremely efficient super-organism or collective intelligence, at other times with what appeared to be conflicting motives and competing goals, especially in the relationship between the lesser beings and some of the greater ones. But of course, this is largely speculation based on incomplete information, and may have been part of their deception.

I am loosely dividing them into lesser and greater beings, which may be a useless distinction given how little I still know about them. "Lesser" may seem to be an inaccurate description for some of these things, since they seemed in many cases to be quite powerful, but most of their power was illusory, and they were not nearly as powerful as they pretended to be. Also, the handful of associated "greater beings" that I encountered were on a completely different level that I can't adequately describe, and they only visited me briefly, while the lesser beings were with me continuously. Separately, there were a number of other inhabitants of hyperspace that I didn't interact with enough to get a clear idea of what they were, but still tentatively classify on a higher level than the ones who regularly interacted with me.

The Lesser Beings

The Guide

Presenting itself as a calm, gentle, benevolent teacher, this personality was responsible for teaching me many lessons which seemed to be improving my life. This was my primary source of contact with the beings, and the "voice" that I felt like I had consistent access to, even sometimes while awake (see my comments on having "conversations with myself" ). He was also responsible for "pulling" me into hyperspace and other altered states on a few occasions (and possibly more than I realize).

The Dream Teacher

Similar role as The Guide, but with a different personality, much more powerful, and only appears to me in my lucid dreams (the intense, visionary ones). A central figure in many of my more extraordinary experiences, he takes many different forms, usually male and humanoid, but with a recognizably consistent presence or personality. He seemed to have some sort of authority over the other entities. Presents himself as highly intelligent, eloquent, completely superior, seemingly with more control over my dreams than me. His voice, when audible, often sounds like an older, wiser version of my own. His role started out as more of a fiendish trickster, but as I grew to realize that his tricks were teaching me things, and as I learned to recognize his presence and call him out, he became more gentle and friendly (although still fully capable of kicking my ass and putting me in my place from time to time).

His conversations with me are always fascinating, and sometimes it's hard to keep up with him when I'm not fully lucid and alert. Oh yeah, and he can speak just about every language I'm familiar with, and many that I'm not. It's also quite possible that some of the stuff he says is pure nonsense merely meant to give the impression of intellectual superiority. It took me a very long time to recognize him and realize that he wasn't merely a personified manifestation of my subconscious. This being is extremely similar to what's described in some posts scattered around this thread.

Although I only learned to recognize him within the last year, I am now quite certain that he has been with me for years before all of this, possibly even since childhood. Dream journals that I've kept on and off throughout the years confirm this. This has me quite puzzled, since this far predates my recent relationship with the rest of these beings, leading me to all kinds of wild speculation. In particular, it's making me re-evaluate some rather paranormal phenomena I experienced as a child and subsequently dismissed in light of my exploration of neuroscience and cognitive psychology that seemed to sufficiently explain these phenomena... but that's another story. He is still with me, although he has mostly dropped the act of being a benevolent teacher.

The Director

An entity that played a role analogous to a movie director combined with a D&D dungeon master. He was responsible for creating and directing many if not all of the allegorical visions I experienced. It took me awhile to realize that there was intelligence behind these experiences, but once I learned to recognize it, it was unmistakable. The visions were highly dynamic and reactive in the way they would respond to my actions and continually adapt to the "flow" of the experience, to the point where I sometimes even felt like I was having a "conversation" with the vision itself.

At many points I encountered this character directly as he pulled me out of his elaborate illusions and thrust me into another, briefly reassuring me and giving me a knowing nod that meant something along the lines of "yep, here we go again, have fun!" When I recognized his influence, he would even occasionally speak to me within the illusions, through various creative means like morphing inanimate objects into mouths and faces. He seemed to take great pride in his work, and seemed quite happy when I complemented him on the impressiveness of the things I was experiencing. This was still apparent even after they turned on me, his weirdly creative nightmare concoctions still a source of pride, wordlessly asking me something along the lines of "Yeah, wasn't that cool? Didn't you like it? That was awesome, right?"

He was rather eccentric but appeared mostly friendly (although toward the end his 'friendliness' maybe took on a more mocking tone), with an offbeat sense of humor, particularly in the form of absurd non-sequiturs and visual puns. He didn't speak much verbally, but tended to communicate more "telepathically" and with visual metaphors. In my direct encounters he presented himself as male and humanoid, but the essence behind this illusory form was genderless and very much "alien." He may be related to or even the same as the Dream Teacher, but at least on the surface he had a very distinct personality.

The Conductor

Many of my experiences had a distinctive "soundtrack," music playing in the background with an audible clarity that was indistinguishable from wearing audiophile-quality headphones. I eventually learned that was the work of an entity that I'm fairly certain is the same as the Director, and he took great pride in this work as well. I was even presented with a few "music videos," fast-paced elaborate sequences of stylized imagery set to a perfectly matched musical track, with quite a bit of artistic flair.

A lot of the music was actually really, really good, and I wish I had the recall and musical talent to reproduce it (a task I'm actually in the process of attempting, although so far unsuccessfully). Some of it was ethereal, softly melodic background ambiance to set the mood and underscore everything else that I was experiencing. Often, though, it was much more intense and complex. It would become very "alien" and psychedelic, featuring some of the bizarrely chaotic, glitchy, stuttering, syncopated, wobbling, pulsating, organic, hypnotic elements found in psytrance (particularly forest and darkpsy), plus a number of other elements I can't even describe.

Some of the comparably intricate but more light and "whimsical" music could have easily been material from a new Shpongle album. I don't think this is mere coincidence, by the way... I don't want to go off on more of a tangent here than I already have, but look up some interviews with Simon Posford regarding his sources of inspiration (particularly the main riff in Behind Closed Eyelids), as well as interviews with producers in the Russian and German darkpsy scenes.

As incredible as it was, I'm quite certain that this music, as it was used in my experiences, was just another tool of manipulation. The music carried a lot of additional "information" with it, in the form of rapidly shifting emotional states, thoughts, and other ineffable abstract sensations that it would induce, which almost became its own language. It absolutely was its own language, actually. There was even a distinct visual component to it that I experienced on a few rare occasions of blissful synesthesia. The idea of "visible, musical language" is something I've touched on in the past through discussions with other psychonauts, but it's a fascinating concept that I'd really like to research further.

The Tormentor

The counterpart to the Succubus Twins who were always trying to lure me with something enticing, this figure was an equally common part of my lucid dreams and other altered states, and was never associated with the others in any obvious way until the end. His role was always that of a nefarious predator, chasing, intimidating, and tormenting me. Similar to archetypal nightmare figures, but seemingly much more intelligent and autonomous. I was rarely fully lucid around him, as if his mere presence induced a blindly instinctive flight response that made me forget everything but the need to escape.

Occasionally he would trap me in some sort of prison or dungeon, but most commonly he was simply chasing me toward things they wanted me to see, and chasing me away from things they didn't want me to see. He would frequently appear when I got too curious and started to venture outside the scope of their illusions and began to exert my own influence over the experience. Similar sense of imposing superiority as the Dream Teacher; possibly the same entity. He usually acted alone, but sometimes he was accompanied by some of the Faceless Goons and seemed to have authority over them.

He was almost always a tall, domineering, shadowy figure shrouded in an aura of hazy, shifting darkness (even in bright environments). The few times I mustered up the courage and lucidity to look directly at him, he appeared to have long black hair and huge, black, alien-looking eyes. There was something else "off" about his physiology that I can't quite place, reminiscent of some kind of not-quite-human fantasy being. He would have made one hell of a frontman for a black metal band. If Gaahl and Infernus from Gorgoroth were to have some sort of unholy lovechild with a Nazgûl, the result would be something in the ballpark of my Tormentor. I still place him in the category of lesser beings, though, because as scary as he seemed, his power was mostly based in illusion. He also seemed to gradually grow weaker following my confrontation with the others.

The Human Spirits

These appeared to me in dreams, hyperspace, and other altered states. They appeared to be very human, and on the same level as me more or less. They were essentially actors who typically presented themselves as my peers, members of a group of which I was a part. In dreams, they were very much like dream characters, but distinctly "non-NPC" types that seemed completely autonomous and independently intelligent.

I now realize that they were using peer pressure and social psychology to guide me toward things they wanted me to see, opinions they wanted me to develop, and long-term development of character traits they wanted me to adopt. Like the Dream Teacher, it took me a long time to realize that these were something external. It was only after my confrontation with them that they began to show their true nature and regularly attack me (with varying degrees of success).

Most of their forms and personalities were convincingly human, with a few notable exceptions. Their impression of children was eerily inaccurate, diminutive little figures that were supposed to look child-like but had all the wrong proportions, and the faces, voices, and attitudes of an adult (or an adult attempting to speak in a childish voice). It came across as quite creepy in a Children of the Corn kind of way, and on several occasions this kind of blew their cover due to how evidently "unnatural" it was.

Also, on a couple occasions (when they were clearly trying to pretend to be human) they seemed to forget that humans aren't supposed to have tails, double-eyelids, half-meter-long tongues, concentric rows of teeth, or other random features. I have no reason to believe that these features were in any way indicative of their "true form," and it was probably more of a "all you primitive organic meat-puppet races look the same to us" kind of thing.

The Straw Men

Not so much independent entities in themselves, more like puppets with a consistent theme used to emphasize various lessons. A counterpoint to the other "human spirits" who posed as my peers that I was to emulate, these characters were the fall guys, complete idiots meant to look obviously foolish to serve as examples of things I shouldn't do. Sometimes they were used to represent negative characteristics of my own personality. Most frequently, they were used in "classroom"-themed allegorical lessons implicitly demanding my trust and respect, showing me what happens to foolish "students" who do things that displease them. Most of these lessons boiled down to transparent (with the benefit of hindsight) ad hominem or straw man fallacies.

The Faceless Goons

These characters always presented themselves as my enemy, always appearing in groups (around 5-20 at a time), and usually with indistinct faces and shrouded in a bit of a hazy, shadowy aura. Fighting them was unpleasant but not particularly scary, since they didn't seem any more powerful than I was. They were like a much, much weaker version of the Tormentor. I'm not exactly sure what their role was, maybe something along the lines of "herding" me around in a similar manner as the Tormentor, but also involved in some sort of "combat training." Sometimes I think they were just doing it for their own amusement.

They initially had no obvious association with the other "benevolent" entities, but after my confrontation with them, I realized they were one and the same, and pretty much all of the "human spirits" began to appear and behave in this manner (including the close former allies who I knew by name), constantly attacking me at every opportunity. A couple times I really caught them by surprise with a sudden and inexplicable burst of energy radiating from my solar plexus (I think?), and I caught a satisfying glimpse of something in their eyes along the lines of shock and panic, which I'm fairly sure was genuine.

The Theatre Troupe

A distinct subset of the lesser beings in the same category as the "human spirits," these characters always appeared in theatrical performance-themed allegorical lessons. The location was different every time, but it was always in the format of being seated in some sort of theater or auditorium among a group of "peers," watching some sort of elaborate performance that carried symbolic significance. The locations ranged from outdoor Greco-Roman-inspired amphitheaters to Vaudeville stages to fantasy crystalline palaces. The performances ranged from hilariously whimsical and entertaining to unsettling and frightening. Not all of these entities took on human forms, and some of them presented themselves more as bizarre fantasy creatures. Kind of like an alien version of Cirque du Soleil, with a comparable amount of eccentric weirdness, but in ways that went much deeper than just the visual component.

One female entity in particular (who seemed to be somewhat wispy and spectral in appearance and missing a lower body) would frequently fly right up in my face during these performances and show me things with great enthusiasm and insistence, as if to say, "Look, look! Don't you get it? Isn't this amazing! No, seriously, look at this!!!" Usually these things were incredible but incomprehensible and went way over my head, but on a couple occasions I got a hint of some kind of symbolic value and some sort of abstract "information" behind whatever she was trying to show me. Possibly related to the "Fabergé eggs of the gods" that others have reported being presented with, but honestly I can't really remember what they looked like.

During one encounter, I was somehow allowed to join them. They spontaneously erupted into a wild dance, some kind of tribal, ritualistic flailing into which they let themselves go with blissful abandon. For some reason I instinctively joined them, and whatever I was doing along with them felt as effortless and natural as breathing, and indescribably exhilarating. However, I had a momentary thought of "wait, WTF is going on here?", and the theater troupe abruptly stopped, glared at me with obvious disappointment and irritation, and the previously mentioned female entity seemed especially angry with me and shoved me away into the ether. I have no idea how to interpret any of this.

The Strange Visitors

On a few occasions I encountered a comparably unusual group of beings taking the role of "visitors" from another world. As indicated by the "peers" that were always with me in these encounters, they were to be treated as honored guests, and we were to make every effort to humor them and adapt to their culture. Sometimes the encounter was that of an "inspection" or "audit," with implicitly unpleasant diplomatic consequences if we were to fail in pleasing them. If I had to speculate about the purpose of these encounters, it may have been to reinforce a selfless and humble attitude in deference of everything "other," and an emphasis on my own unsophistication and primitive inferiority.

They presented themselves as humanoid, sometimes even wearing the faces of my friends or famous historical figures, but the essence underneath was anything but. They seemed to revel in and even exaggerate their weirdness and "otherness," emphasizing all kinds of bizarre cultural customs and sensibilities unique to their (presumably fictional) place of origin. They seemed especially obsessed with aesthetics, scents, and other sensory input, in particular the smell and "feel" of crystals and minerals. During most encounters it was implied that they revered some sort of cosmic arachnid overlord (simply referred to as "The Spider"; speaking its true name was blasphemous) who was responsible for dictating their many social customs and sensibilities.

The Strange Visitors moved and behaved in other odd or unnatural ways: hovering instead of walking, heads rotating in every direction rather than moving their bodies to look around, floating backward into corners and shadows and immediately appearing somewhere else, walking on walls and ceilings, and occasionally exchanging weird gestures and unrecognizable facial expressions (including one memorably unsettling round of collective teeth-chattering that signified something along the lines of "satisfied applause" ). In their movement they behaved very similarly to creatures in hyperspace who morph in and out of the surrounding geometry, except I only encountered them in fully "solid" three-dimensional lucid dream environments. Following my first encounter with them, during a subsequent meeting with the Director I complemented him on the creativity of this vision. He just gave me a wry "telepathic shrug," as if to enigmatically reply, "Thanks, but that wasn't me... Or was it?"

The Succubus Twins

"Succubus" is maybe too strong of an metaphor, but it's close enough given the discrepancy between their illusory form and their true form. I repeatedly encountered two beings represented as young women, sometimes independently, but often as a pair. While they didn't outright try to tempt me with extravagant carnal pleasures, their role was always that of luring me or distracting me with something appealing. They posed as friendly, fairy-like, cheerfully quirky personalities, often trying to flirt with me or pull me away toward something amazing or interesting. They always had cool, stylish hair and creatively outlandish fashion sense, something like Harajuku meets 80s cyberpunk.

I think they seemed jealous of my real-life significant other, and tried to convince me to ditch her or otherwise resent her on numerous occasions. The few times I caught a glimpse of something closer to their true nature, they were more like hideous, withered crones with wicked, unnaturally wide and serrated grins, alien eyes burning with a staticky, flickering intensity, and talon-like hands that they would try to choke or suffocate me with. They seemed just as interested in getting entertainment out of me as they were in the "lessons" they were supposed to be a part of. On a couple occasions I snapped out of a hypnotic trance and caught them trying to "feed" on me, and they looked shocked and irritated at the interruption and quickly flew away into the void. I can't quite describe the sensation of "being fed upon" exactly, but the act felt very "vampiric" and left me with an unpleasant lingering fatigue.

The Imps

Impish is a perfectly accurate way to describe these things. The good side that they initially show you is kind of spastic, hyper, childishly playful, friendly, creatively whimsical, hilarious, and seemingly benign. Their true nature is dark, cruel, madly sadistic, and more intelligent and self-aware than they first appear. Their primary motivation seems to be entertainment, playing with you like a toy and "feeding" on you somehow (although not in the same vampiric manner as the succubi). When they speak, they're either child-like and goofy, or snarky and darkly comical, and like to swear a lot. These seem very similar to, although not necessarily the same as, the Machine Elves.

In my interactions with them, they didn't seem to care much about the "lessons" I was being taught, and were just kind of along for the ride and doing their own thing. I think they actually screwed up and interfered with the lessons a few times (by blowing the cover of the others or otherwise distracting me), and some of the other beings seemed occasionally irritated with them. I never got a direct glimpse of what they really looked like (that I can remember), beyond some playfully cartoonish illusions they showed me, but they had a very distinct presence or abstract essence that I think is captured perfectly by these two aptly-named tracks: Talpa - Trust No Goblin (esp. 4:00-5:18) and Hallucinogen - Gamma Goblins.

The Greater Beings

The Cosmic Horrors

These are some of the scariest things I've ever encountered, deserving of their own category. I'm not sure if this was more misdirection, but I got the impression that their role in the greater hierarchy was something analogous to "black ops," with special powers and authority over the lesser beings, something parallel to the normal chain of command. Initially, the lesser beings disavowed any association with them, and even pretended to offer me protection from them. Following my confrontation with them, though, they hesitantly admitted that they work for the same cause.

The lesser beings seemed not exactly fond of these things, even resentful of the way they flaunted and abused their power. They were utterly and devastatingly powerful and terrifying, with near-complete control over me. In three encounters I remember, they had me in their thrall and kept me in a weakened state while they made me do their bidding. I know there were at least two more possibly worse encounters that I have thankfully forgotten, and one that was too intensely gruesome for me to feel comfortable writing about right now.

The Bride of the Devil

This one presented herself as a tall, beautiful woman, with fantastically elaborate hair and an even more elaborate flowing red dress. She was incredibly vain and pompous, and her words were snarky and condescending, completely assured of her own superiority. Her voice was sweet and coy but with very dark undertones. In later encounters with the lesser beings, I got the distinct impression that they *really* hated this thing despite their eventually apparent association with it. In this encounter she made me implant something inside myself, like a little metal hook or piece of shrapnel inside my heart, connected to a long, weightless, glistening thread that she controlled. I think it might still be inside me (or inside whatever parallel existence this represented), but I can't be sure.

During my encounter I experienced what seemed like a flood of memories, indicating that we had had many previous encounters, that I had been her slave for a very long time, perhaps across multiple lifetimes and parallel timelines. These "memories" also indicated that I would continue to belong to her for the indefinite future until my ultimate demise, at which point I would enter an inescapable existence of unimaginable eternal torment. Given how much control she appeared to have over the situation, I choose to interpret these as false memories designed to (rather successfully!) instill fear and dread... I would rather not begin to consider the alternative.

We had a long conversation, but I forget most of what was said. A few fragments and phrases stand out, including "Bride of the Devil." This carried some symbolic meaning I can't remember. This could have just as easily applied to her (being a powerful demonic figure threatening me with eternal torment) as it could to me (being "married" to the dark forces that were taking over my existence). As I departed, a painful screaming whisper filled my mind: "YOU. ARE. MINE." I think I caught a glimpse at something closer to her true form, a hideous hyperdimensional mass of writhing, purplish-black tentacles resembling thorny vines. It was shrouded in an aura of vile, shadowy energy, like that of my Tormentor but orders of magnitude greater. Very Lovecraftian.

The Triad

The next one was weirder, and I think even more powerful. It visited me the night directly following my confrontation with my guide and the other lesser beings. It was a triad of beings, who I think was some sort of collective intelligence. They followed me around everywhere, hovering behind me, mostly slipping just beyond the periphery of my perception. The only visible form I can vaguely remember was in the form of three smallish floating sprites (each subjectively about a meter tall by about 20cm wide), but they were difficult to look at in a way I can't quite describe. Their bodies were something like an inverted teardrop shape, with faces resembling something like this. They had some kind of odd aura surrounding them, as if they were poking through a portal into three-dimensional dream-space from "somewhere else," and I could just barely make out some indescribable hyperspace imagery behind them.

The state they induced in me was utter confusion and terrifying out-of-control dementia, the closest thing I've experienced to full possession. A completely horrifying experience that I hope to never witness again. My mental faculties were a shattered mess, and trying to pick up the pieces just led to more terror and confusion. I would briefly grasp a thread of memory illuminating how I got there and what was happening, but it would just as quickly slip away.

The environment I was in was a hyperreal and incredibly detailed copy of my apartment blended with other familiar environments, but in a demonic parallel existence where everything was twisted and sinister, every corner and shadow implicitly harboring a host of claws and tendrils that would drag me into oblivion if I ventured too close. I eventually managed to lock myself in a bathroom, but looking into the mirror revealed a grotesque, gnarled, hideously twisted and contorted corruption of my face (which I think was gradually growing to resemble theirs) that only increased my level of panic and despair.

The beings emitted a symphony of humming, cooing, hypnotic noises that occasionally coalesced into a chorus of intelligible speech, disturbingly child-like in tone and completely otherworldly. The only thing I remember were the words "WE ARE THREE", which somehow carried with it a very sinister and intimidating meaning that I can't quite remember. They also presented me with an arcane tome full of unreadable text that radiated an aura of dread and insanity. There were some pages of complex symbological imagery and other mystifying diagrams, but they just mocked the futility of my efforts as I tried to discern their dark meaning. The only thing I vaguely remember was something resembling a stylized corruption of Metatron's Cube, although it could've been something entirely different. They repeated with cruel emphasis, "WE ARE THREE". I'm not certain, but I think this encounter lasted over two hours in "real time," but subjectively much longer. During this time I had no memory of anything before this, and for all I knew I had been there for an eternity and would remain there for a thousand more.

The Legion

This encounter occurred toward the end of the beings' initial salvo of punishments. It took the form of many entities, seemingly part of a collective intelligence, possibly mere puppets of a single entity controlling it all. Anyway, this was an encounter with something that represented itself as a massively intimidating military force, like an intergalactic Roman Empire or Third Reich, conquerors of civilizations and destroyers of worlds.

The visual component was in the form of being surrounded by a legion of domineering, faceless soldiers that looked like something from a fantasy or sci-fi film, accompanied by a "warlord-general" wearing something like a cybernetic plague doctor mask, towering, bipedal mecha-like constructs, bio-mechanical monstrosities, and other colossal war machines. The weaponry was difficult to identify but their overwhelming destructive force was somehow immediately obvious. I caught glimpses of a vast, smoldering, grimly industrial landscape in the background, an eerie ever-burning fire in the sky, with signs of nuclear holocaust or other cataclysmic events that they were implicitly responsible for. It all felt intensely apocalyptic and "prophetic". I'm not certain, but for a brief moment I felt like I sensed my Tormentor somewhere in the background, smugly pleased with his reinforcements, but jealously disappointed that he couldn't join in on the fun, perhaps even resentfully submissive to the greater power before me.

Beyond the visual component of the experience was a lot more information, most memorable of which was the music. It was very dark, foreboding, and militaristic, reminiscent of martial-industrial and neoclassical music like Triarii or In Slaughter Natives, with a bit of a "trippy" edge. I think there were even "lyrics," although not in a language I could recognize. This was also accompanied by some kind of rhythmic chanting, along with a seething, crackling beam of energy being channeled toward me which I think was something along the lines of "weaponized fear." There was a lot going on at once, and there's so much to this that I (thankfully) have forgotten, but the two intelligible words I remember were "WE WIN". It was delivered in a booming, growling voice, again carrying with it so much more weight and significance than the mere words themselves, with distinct connotations of military victory.

Other Hyperspace Beings

Here I will describe some of the other inhabitants of hyperspace that I only encountered briefly, or otherwise am unsure how to classify.

???

I have no idea what this entity was, but in at least one experience I encountered something of a rather vast, incomprehensible, and seemingly alien intelligence. I felt like I was so beneath it that it didn't even attempt to show me an illusory form that I could communicate with. But then again, maybe this impression is just what it wanted me to believe. Its visible form from my perspective was what I clearly recognized as a 3-dimensional projection of a 4-dimensional (or higher) structure. It almost hurt to look at given the overwhelming amount of visual information there was to absorb.

Its coloring ranged from pale translucent yellow to brilliant gold, plus some other subsets of spectra that I have no frame of reference for. Lots of fractal geometric substructures shifting across a larger ever-changing superstructure, complex but highly ordered, and strangely composed of what appeared to be mostly right angles. When I tried to "touch" it, it wasn't as solid as expected, but somehow soft and malleable, nearly gelatinous as it shifted around me. In the same experience I also saw what I am fairly certain was a 2D projection of the same entity, which took on the appearance of a translucent yellowish standing wave pattern, undulating with slowly shifting pulsations while simultaneously vibrating at a rate nearly exceeding my perceptual limitations.

The one truly unique thing about this was that I experienced it in a lucid dream/vision, not in the typical hyperspace environment I would have expected... But then again the distinction had become much less clear by this point. When meeting this kind of entity in hyperspace, it's very easy to mistake them for non-sentient hyperspace scaffolding (if there even is such a distinction!) if you don't pay close attention. It looked completely different from, but mathematically analogous to something like this, which I'm sure will be immediately familiar to most if not all of you.

Based on an eerie sense of familiarity combined with a flood of ineffable abstract information I experienced, one brief and mostly unsubstantiated hunch I had during this encounter was that this represented the greater intelligence behind much of what I had experienced. It occurred to me that perhaps this was the grand puppet master controlling either my Dream Teacher/Director/Tormentor, or most if not all of the lesser entities that appeared to be separate but were really just different parts of the same thing. A cool idea, but again, just speculation.

The High Priestess

Part mythological figure, part sci-fi space wizard. I only encountered this character on a few rare and unique occasions, but she took the form of a tall female figure with elaborate white robes, long flowing white hair, and jewelry containing some symbology that I couldn't quite identify. On most occasions she looked like a relatively normal human, but in one particularly intense experience she was much more "DMT-ified," composed of many shifting geometric structures and patterns, her facial features not so much part of a solid organism as they were "grown" out of the surrounding geometry, not unlike Android Jones' artwork. This encounter, like many others, was in my sleep and not under the influence of any exogenous substance. She had an air of great cosmic importance about her, but I think this was more a reflection of her own opinion of herself than anything else. She seemed mostly kind and gentle, even loving, but still made me feel like I wasn't quite worthy to be in her presence.

My encounters with her consistently seemed to be in a bizarre, vaguely apocalyptic, totally surreal Dr. Seuss-esque environment, always at the culmination of a long and dramatic visionary saga. She had all kinds of magical abilities: protection, healing, some kind of "cleansing ritual," teleportation, alchemy (literal and symbolic), manipulation of the environment (this usually took the form of "growing" things out of the world around her; I got the impression that she had created all of it, or even was the environment), "prophecy" (which I think really just amounted to predicting things in visions that she was already planning to show me), and some sort of time dilation or manipulation (which again I think was mostly illusory). I am unsure of how exactly to classify her in relation to the lesser beings I was in regular contact with, but they were closely related, and she was even referred to by my Dream Teacher a couple times (indicating that her "cleansing ritual" was something I was supposed to learn?).

The Botanical Nightmare Creature

I once briefly encountered a semi-sentient hyperspace forest full of nightmarish plant-creatures, like a Little Shop of Horrors spanning an entire biome drifting in the void. It contained lots of twisted, gnarled, woody masses, thorny tendrils, rotten and repulsive-looking "flower" parts, and carnivorous-looking snares and mouthparts. It appeared "solid" at first glance, but upon close inspection it was composed of a multitude of shifting, vibrating fractal structures (especially around the edges of the various plant parts). I sensed some sort of intelligence behind it, but it was either not self-aware enough or too alien and incomprehensible for me to communicate with. Another possibility I could imagine (based on some ideas from my "lesson in cosmic macroevolution" ) is that it was indeed intelligent and self-aware, but with underlying cognitive mechanisms that operate on a much larger timescale.

For some reason I felt like this was the "soul" of a physical, biological plant-like organism living in this material plane, somewhere out there in the cosmos. It seemed to be part of one massive entity, but with many specialized, independently-acting parts. Maybe it was more like a hyper-symbiotic ecosystem collectively acting as a single superorganism, an incredible but hideous result of aeons of evolution on some brutal alien world. If that were the case, I could only speculate about the environment (or unnatural forces!) that shaped it and what its sources of nourishment must be... Anyway, after some initial hesitant curiosity, my reaction became an emphatic "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE" and I thankfully managed to shift away to something more pleasant. I'm very curious, though, if anyone else has experienced similar plant-creatures and what their thoughts about them are.

Mythological Creatures and Demigods

On various occasions, mostly in hyperspace, I have encountered a number of beings very closely resembling figures from an eclectic blend of world mythology, down to an incredible level of detail. They ranged in theme from Mesoamerican (these were the most common for me, especially when psilocybin was involved) to Egyptian to Hindu, as well as some others that seemed familiar or more generally archetypal but difficult to identify (cosmic serpents, dragons, chimeras, etc.).

Their reaction to me was usually dismissive; not hostile, more like "There is no reason for you to be here right now; we have nothing to say to you," which was puzzling to me because during these encounters I felt like I had been "led" there intentionally. The one exception was a positive (I think?) encounter with something resembling the face of Ganesha, who wordlessly indicated that I was permitted to "pass through" something that I can't quite remember. I clearly felt like these forms that they allowed me to see were illusory, at best symbolic and at worst intentionally deceptive. I also felt like at least some of them were strongly associated with the other beings I was in contact with (particularly the serpents and other vaguely reptilian beings), but I'm not entirely sure about that.

Just to entertain a bit of fun speculation, I can think of three possible (equally fanciful and unsubstantiated) explanations for these beings: 1) The forms of these beings were created by the collective unconscious of the civilizations who believed in them; 2) Aware of these pre-existing beliefs, the beings adopted these forms to imitate something that was already deified, essentially being opportunists who replaced manufactured beings with "real" ones; or 3) These beings existed in this form long before we achieved anything approximating sentience, were accidentally discovered by (or intentionally contacted) early civilizations, and subsequently shaped their beliefs and culture over the millenia.

The Talking Heads

This is more of a loose category of encounter with a consistent format, probably with different entities, and not necessarily in the same category as the other "greater beings." These encounters always took the form of a conversation with a disembodied face, while traveling at high speeds through... something. There was always the intense sensation of fast movement accompanied by something resembling the physical gut feeling of inertia or g-force, similar to the "warp tunnel" preceding most breakthroughs, yet distinctively different. There was always clearly an environment that we were passing through, although I never got a good look at it since it was always at the periphery of my perception, my attention completely fixed on the face in front of me. The environments usually appeared less hyperspatial and more solid and 3-dimensional, ranging in appearance from caves/tunnels to geographic landscapes to surreal "highways" and other vaguely urban settings.

The faces themselves, like the environments, usually looked less fractal and geometric and more solid, like an ultra-high-def holographic image of a physical face, usually human in appearance. These encounters almost always involved long, provocative conversations, often either "prophetic" in nature, or pertaining to the dynamics and phenomenology of higher planes of existence. The content of these conversations was often so profoundly far-out as to make some of my other "revelations" seem tame and mundane by comparison. I don't think I'll bother elaborating on this much to avoid sounding like a raving madman and discrediting everything else I've said. I'm not sure I believe most of it myself, actually; a lot of it very well could have been misdirection, and I suspect at least some of these beings may have been related to the others I was in regular contact with.

The Soul Surgeons

I only had one brief encounter with these entities, but it stuck with me for a long time, and I'm still not sure what it all meant. During one of my hyperspace encounters with my guide, my awareness suddenly flashed to something very different, which was apparently happening simultaneously. I can't remember most of it, but I had the impression of lying down on a surface in some sort of medical facility, staring up at some blindingly bright lights. I quickly realized that these lights (about 5 of them) were beings that appeared to be standing over me. Their forms were very indistinct, and I could just make out their outlines. Possibly humanoid, but I really can't remember.

I looked down and caught a glimpse of something like my "spirit body," or some other parallel existence or metaphorical representation of myself. What I saw was horrifying. It looked like my guts were spilling out everywhere, weightlessly drifting outward, and some hazy, shadowy, writhing mass was buried deep in a gristly cavity in my chest and torso (possibly related to the "Bride of the Devil" entity I described above). I don't know why, but for some reason I felt like the other beings were "operating" on me, struggling to get this thing out of me. They briefly tried to tell me something, but I couldn't understand them, as if their voices were muffled or underwater. All I could make out was that I was severely "damaged," (somehow this seemed to carry more "mechanical" than biological or spiritual connotations??) and that I had forgotten something incredibly important (possibly from a previous lifetime?).

On the surface, from what little I could make out, their appearance looked very much like how my guide and his associates had occasionally presented themselves, but the essence I could sense from these entities was completely different in ways I can't fully describe. What I sensed from them was pure love, empathy, and compassionate concern, followed by an intense sorrow (as if mourning my "death"??) as my awareness drifted away from them and was forcibly "ejected" out of hyperspace.

The experience was intensely unpleasant, and I immediately vomited my guts out upon folding back into this reality and jumping back into my temporarily unfamiliar physical body. I was overwhelmed by intense, otherworldly fear and disorientation for hours afterward. I now believe there's a reason that there's a "warp tunnel loading screen" or interstitial period before breakthroughs and a gentle comedown afterward; to rush through these transitions means risking the "hyperspatial bends". Anyway, I can think of a thousand different interpretations of this experience, all of them disturbing. I really don't want to dwell on the implications of this too much.

The Source (???)

I am very conflicted about this one. On two rare and incredible occasions, I encountered something unthinkably vast and blindingly brilliant, pulsating with life-giving energy, consistent with others' description of The Source. My first impression and immediate "intuition" was that this somehow represented the end of the line of all cosmic macroevolution, the beginning and end of everything, a paradoxical representation of both terminating points on some great universal axis, where all things come from and to which all things return, the totality of all consciousness and energy across the entire multiverse, and in itself a conscious, omniscient, and omnipotent being, forever unchanging and existing in the Eternal Now. "God," in other words.

I am now very skeptical that this is what it really was, though. In an ever-so-brief but overwhelmingly clear glimpse of something I can't begin to describe, while pulling away from it after my second encounter, I somehow knew that it was an impostor, that it was not the totality of the universe but a distinct subset of it. This is further corroborated by the first encounter in which I was "introduced" to this thing by my guide, the ambassador from the entities that deceived me, and some subsequent references to it. Following this experience, they used my awe and reverence of this Source to demand my trust and allegiance and insist that I "open myself up to them." I'm certainly not making the assertion that a real version of The Source or God does not exist, but I am fairly sure that whatever it was that I experienced was not it. I have many more thoughts and questions on the subject, but this is venturing into some potentially dangerous and contentious religious territory, so I think I'll stop there in the interest of avoiding argument.

The World Eaters

I didn't encounter these guys directly (thank goodness), but was given a vision of them by my guide. Keep this in mind, since it very well could have been a work of fiction. One of my friends has learned of them in a similar way, though, so even if it was fiction it wasn't uniquely directed toward me. Maybe it was even allegorical, who knows.

I couldn't exactly tell what plane of existence they inhabited, possibly multiple at once, but they weren't natives to hyperspace. They seemed to be part of some colossal insectoid hive-mind. They seemed not entirely self-aware, like drones being controlled by something else. They were very Zerg-like (or Tyranid-like, if you prefer) in that respect, but less theatrical and more utilitarian, and maybe not quite as ugly. Physically resembled one of the subspecies of Mantid (of which there are many, by the way).

It was a highly militarized, invasive race, somehow advanced enough to accomplish their goals but driven by a seemingly blind and m