During this entry for the sake of catching you up I’m going to summarize my last 4 floats. So lets just jump right in to it.

Float #2:

So the following morning of my first float I was really nauseous. I had slept better than I had in quite some time but my stomach was really off. I honestly contribute this to the fact that I really hadn’t been eating because of my anxiety. Its weird to note that when I don’t eat my anxiety gets awful, but when I’m anxious it kills my appetite.

So all of these factors contributed to me calling in sick to work, which for the record is something I absolutely hate doing. Trying to get my brain to calm down I decided a follow up float would be the best thing. So once I woke up I booked a float for the upcoming hour. I got up, got dressed, and headed off to Lucidity. My head was again in a mental disarray and all I could think about was getting in the tank to sort it out.

When I got to the center a sense of calm started to come over me. I went in, showered, and climbed in the tank. This was the beginning of a great float. During this float I was able to relax must faster than the first. During this float I experienced some light flickering, mostly yellow and red circles. They say when you’re in the tank your mind will fill the gaps in time and space with visuals. This was the first of those experiences. I also felt like I was melting into my own body, like my mind, body, and soul were all blending together. After the 90 minutes was up I climb out of the tank feeling lighter as I did before. This time I spent a significant amount of time in the Zen room. I picked up one of the books and began to read for about a half hour. After leaving I was able to go home and get something to eat. My mind had sorted itself out in the tank.

Float 3:

This was honestly the most disappointing float that I had. I scheduled this for about 4 days after my second. It was set up for 5:30 pm, so right after work. Looking back, there were several factors that led to this not being a good float. First and foremost you should know that before showering is when you are instructed to put your earplugs in. In my haste and excitement to get back in the tank I skipped this step. So after showering I put the ear plugs in and climbed in the tank. What ended up happening was water seeping into my ears because the ear plugs didn’t have a good seal. In addition to my mistake, the air in the tank seemed to be a lot more humid than usual. This was causing sweat to bead up on my face. Trying to wipe the sweat away ended with me getting water in my eyes, which due to the salinity of the water, burns. A lot! I was trying to use the floating halo that I had used during my previous two floats and it was a constant distraction because I was aware of its presence. Lastly, I found myself bouncing into the walls much more than I did during my previous two floats; Also annoying. So by the time I was nearing what felt like the end of my float I spent the remaining time just ping ponging off the walls of the tank. After exiting the tank and showering off I could feel the water deep inside my ears. This feeling lingered for about 5 days.

Even though the float was disappointing from a mental aspect, when it was over I could still feel the physical difference. The light body feeling was still there which was encouraging because it helped me know that even though I may have never reached the theta brain wave state, my body still found relaxation from the weightlessness.

I knew going in, just like anything else in life, that nothing is perfect. So while I CAN say that overall the float wasn’t what I expected, I CAN’T say I was discouraged from continuing to float. Looking back I also realized that I was going in the tank with expectations of expanding on the light visuals I had seen in the previous float, which also made it really hard for me to let my mind go. I was trying to steer it in the direction I wanted it to go as opposed to letting it do whatever it wanted.

Float 4:

To date, this was the best float experience that I have had. This was a super last minute planned float. It wasn’t a walk-in but I didn’t schedule this one until a couple hours before going in. Mentally, at this point I would say that I am back on track. My anxiety levels have finally reached the normal range and I have gotten back on a regular eating routine. So we have a solid baseline going in from a mental health standpoint.

After the last float being a disappointment my expectations had been brought down a notch. I think the realization that going into the tank with expectations would hinder me from getting where I ultimately wanted to go made a huge difference in my floating experience. So this time going in I was going to just try to fall asleep.

My float was scheduled for 7 pm. This is much later than any of my previous floats, which I was happy about because I knew that it meant when it was finished I would being going home to sleep and there was nothing I could think about doing after that would be distracting me. The plan this evening was to go in the tank and try to fall asleep. After my first few floats I didn’t think this would be something I could actually achieve but with that being the goal I knew I would be forcing myself to relax. After this float I think this will always be the strategy.

Just like any other float I show up to the center early, mostly because I love basking in the smell of the lavender oil diffuser. This is something that really helps my body relax before ever making it into the room and something I plan to invest in for myself. After about 10 minutes my room is ready. I’m sure to use the bathroom this time and make sure I take all the proper steps before entering the tank which mostly refers to the ear plugs. My center offers two different kind of ear plugs, one being the standard plug you’re likely used to seeing: foam like, pointy, squishy, multicolored. But in addition they also offer a silicone based plug which I had never used before. After my last disappointing experience I figured to switch it up and try these new plugs. They are orange and round. The way they work is you actually lay them flat in your ear and spread them out so you’re covering your whole ear cavity. I knew they were going to work when I heard the suction on my ear canal. I hopped in the shower and turned my head to the side to test the seal and I knew that these were going to be right.

Into the tank…

This time I decide to not use the halo. Now that I have some float experience I felt confident I could allow my neck to relax without it. I was also hesitant to use it again because of the previous experience and how much I felt it played a factor in not being able to drift away. Usually I cycle my eyes between open and closed, which honestly makes no difference because you can’t see anything, but this time I committed to closed the whole time. I think closed eyes makes a difference for the sole reason of keeping yourself from trying to find anything going on inside the tank. It is a way of allowing yourself to stay aware of your surroundings, which is something I really wanted to let go of this time. Again, I’m falling back to the plan of trying to fall asleep during this float.

After about 10 minutes I can finally feel myself relax to the fullest. I know this is happening because for the first time in the tank I can truly hear my own heartbeat and my breathing has slowed down immensely. This time things feel different. I’m back to the place I was during my first float, where I can no longer tell where the water ends and air begins. I no longer have awareness of space or time. I am where I want to be. The first thing to happen on this float was the lights from my second float. This time there were reds and yellows. Instead of focusing on them and spending time thinking about how I had gotten here I just let it happen. This led to more colors adding in greens and blues. This was enough to make me smile and I could feel the joy swelling inside my body. After a little while I was feeling another thing from my second float and that was my body drawing into itself. Again, instead of focusing on it, I just let it happen. My mind drifted to a scene from one of my favorite book where the character is creating a tomb out of crystal and diamond that he is encasing his father in so they could view him in his current state forever. This is what felt like was happening to my body. The stone was wrapping itself around me, preserving me in this place in time forever.

The next real visual was like the scene from the movie “A Bug’s Life.” At one point Flick and some of the other characters were riding on a seed from a dandelion floating in the breeze. This is where I was. I was drifting on a breeze, holding on to the seed, watching the ground pass below me. I rode this for I’m not sure how long and then for the first time during this float I bumped into the wall and the visions were gone.

After being brought back to my body I was able to reflect on everything I just saw and felt. I was trying to figure out if it was a dream, but I knew that I had never really fallen asleep. It was amazing to sit and think about what my brain was capable of. If I could learn to let my mind find this place outside the tank I wonder what kind of peace I would feel when living my day to day life….

Eventually all good things must come to an end and I began to hear the music fade into the tank. The piano seemed far more soothing than it had before. Climbing out I felt that oh so familiar feeling of a light body and clear mind. While the float ending is the worst part it shares equally in being the best part because you can now start to feel the effects of what you just did. I popped out my ear plugs and showered off. After drying off, while I was getting dressed I noticed a bottle that I hadn’t really paid attention to before. It was ear drying drops. How nice they provide these at our center. I dropped a few drops in my ear and I headed out of the room. I walked back to the Zen room to write in the journal what I had just experienced.

Float 5:

There really wasn’t a whole lot happening during this float. This one I would say was mostly similar to float #2. Nothing major happened but something funny did happen before I ever made it to my room.

After getting let back into the hallway I went to the bathroom and forgot to lock the door so one of the employees walked in on me. Which honestly makes me laugh a little because nothing is really awkward to me.

That was the highlight of this float trip experience. I did get to have a good conversation with her after my float as this was another 7 pm float and I was the last person at the center. We spoke about my upcoming membership and about the differences between the open tank and the closed tank. I have yet to try the open but she said the primary difference is the humidity and that it may feel a little colder in the open tank. I now know that the owner, Angela, actually splits her floats 50/50 between the open and closed tanks. I also learned through research that Dr. Justin Feinstein, the guy from my first blog who created the float lab in Oklahoma dedicated to researching the effects of floating, also uses open pools for all of his research.

Well… That’s it for this one. Sorry it took so long to get this one up, with the holidays and everything happening I have been super busy. I got most of this typed up and drafted late last week but didn’t get a chance to finish it until today. I hope to see you guys next time, and I think the next blog will be more of a Q&A for some of the common questions I get, for those of you who are starting to truly get interested. Until next time, FLOAT ON!