Internal hallucinations
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Parabolic Vehicle of Conception by Adam Scott Miller - This serves as an example of visionary art which attempts to accurately portray and replicate the experience of psychedelic level 5 geometry combined with level 3 internal hallucinations.

Internal hallucinations can be described as the perception of imagery and scenes which are experienced exclusively within a layer in front of one's open or closed eye vision and not seamlessly within the external environment around oneself.

At lower levels, internal hallucinations begin with imagery which does not take up the entirety of one's visual field and is distinctively separate from its background. These can be described as spontaneous moving or still images of scenes, concepts, places and anything one could possibly imagine. They are manifested in varying levels of detail ranging from ill-defined and cartoon-like in nature, to completely realistic and beyond realism through seemingly impossible non euclidean geometric forms. They rarely hold their form for more than a few seconds before fading or shifting into another image. The most universal of these images include:

everyday objects, living things, plants, animals, insects, architecture, structures, shapes, atoms, molecules, complex mathematical formulae/concepts, linguistic concepts, mechanisms, technology, machine creatures, words, text, numbers, fictional characters, geographic locations, memories, self-replicating machines, people, faces, eyes, body parts, organs, food, cultural references, fictional characters, logos, religious symbolism, creatures, monsters, demons, mythology, furniture and more.

As these states of imagery become increasingly elaborate (proportional to dosage), they eventually become all-encompassing, fully-fledged 3D hallucinations which surround the person in a fashion similar to dreams. This creates the feeling that one has "broken through" into another reality. The things which occur within this perceived alternate reality can be anything but generally fall under common archetypes such as contact with autonomous entities, imagined landscapes and scenarios that can seem so unlike anything previously experienced that they are likely too complex to be articulated using language.

The content of these experiences are often described to feel almost exclusively of a personal, religious, spiritual, science-fiction, fantasy, surreal, nonsensical or transcendental nature in their overall theme, regardless of the user's religious or spiritual beliefs. It is not uncommon for people to report that higher levels of internal hallucination feel infinitely “more real” than anything the person has previously experienced.

Overall, the degrees of intensity can be broken down into five simple levels:

  1. Enhancement of mental visualization - The lowest level of internal hallucination can be defined as a distinct enhancement of the heightened state of mental visualization that one drifts into when simply daydreaming or using the imagination. It can be described as a short-term detachment from one's immediate surroundings, during which a person's contact with reality is blurred and partially substituted by an ill-defined fantasy. The generation of the details of this internal visualization are partially autonomous in nature but mostly controlled by the content of one's current thought stream.
  2. Partially defined imagery - This level of internal hallucination generally consists of partially defined, blurred and faded imagery within one's peripheral vision.
  3. Fully defined imagery - As the vividness and intensity increases, the imagery eventually becomes fully defined and realistic enough in its appearance, detail and size that it starts to display itself within the one's direct line of sight.
  4. Partially defined breakthroughs - As the vividness and intensity further increases, the imagery eventually becomes fully defined, realistic and all-encompassing enough in their appearance, detail and size that they begin to display themselves as random flashes of spontaneous scenarios somewhat similar to dreams. Although all-encompassing, at this level they are partially to completely blurred and transparent in appearance with the one's physical body still feeling connected to the real world. These hallucinations will usually disappear or shift into another set of imagery after a very short period of time but are capable of becoming fully grounded and long-lasting in their manifestation.
  5. Fully defined breakthroughs - Once the internal hallucinations become sufficiently elaborate they eventually become all-encompassing, permanent, ever-shifting alternate realities which appear completely realistic, extremely detailed and highly vivid in their appearance. They also occur along side of accompanying relevant auditory and tactile hallucinations as well as the sensation of a complete disconnection from the physical body.

Internal hallucinations typically last anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes before the person slips back into reality or into the presence of another hallucination. There are several different methods through which these hallucinations are shifted between.

  • Zooming - Images can switch between each other via the experience of one's vision zooming into or out from the current image to such an extent that it reveals an entirely new image.
  • Morphing - Images can switch between each other via transforming the details of their shape and structure to reveal an entirely new image. This can happen in a variety of different speeds and occur in the style of fluidlike motions.
  • Sliding - Images can switch between each other by sliding in a direction to reveal an entirely new image behind them.
  • Fading - Images can switch between each other by fading into nothingness before fading back into an entirely new image.
  • Splitting - Images can switch between each other via splitting into two or more sections which drift away from each other to reveal an entirely new image behind it.
  • Tiling - Images can switch between each other by separating into a grid formation in which the comprising square shaped sections rotate at different speeds to reveal an entirely new image.
  • Shape transitions - Images can switch between each other by being cut into different geometric sections of infinite variety which proceed to fade into an entirely new image.

The content within this component can be further broken down into four distinct subcomponents which are described and documented below.

Image examples

Autonomous entities

Namaste (Trifoliata Mystica) by Luke Brown - This artwork serves as an accurate example of a generic geometry-based autonomous entity seen during a psychedelic experience.

Autonomous entities can be described as the visual experience of perceived contact with beings which appear to be sentient and autonomous in their behaviour. This is a shared subjective effect component that can manifest as a result of both external and internal hallucinations.

Autonomous entities seem to act as the inhabitants of a perceived independent reality. Although many entities seem largely unaware of one's presence, generally speaking they tend to be expectant of the person's sudden appearance into their realm and often choose to interact with them in various ways. The behaviour of a typical entity can vary wildly and seems to depend heavily on one's current emotional state of mind. For example, whilst many will act as loving, kind intelligences, teachers or healers, in certain contexts, they are equally capable of acting as indifferent, uncaring or even as malicious tormentors.

Entities can take any form but subconscious archetypes are present and commonly include humans, friends, family, loved ones, strangers, oneself, shadow people, bodiless super intelligent humanoids, aliens, elves, animals, giant spheres, insectoids, beings of light, anthropomorphic beings, plants, conscious inanimate objects, fictional characters, cartoons, robotic machines, gods, demigods, goddesses, bio-mechanical intelligences, hooded figures, demons, indescribable monstrosities, spirits, angels, shamans, ghosts, souls, ancestors, fantastical or mythological beasts, glitch creatures and more.

Personality types

Regardless of appearance, there are distinctly different personality types of entities which one may encounter, each of which represent a particular subsection of one's own consciousness and can be identified primarily through their personality, but also sometimes their appearance. These are broken down into 3 separate categories below.

  • Representations of the self - The simplest personality type of an entity can be described as a mirror of one's own personality. It can take any visible form but clearly adopts an identical vocabulary and set of mannerisms to one's own consciousness when conversed with.
  • Representations of the subconscious - This category of entity personality type can take any visible form but is felt to be a supposedly conscious controller behind the continuous generation of the details regarding one's current experience. This is controlled simultaneously along side of the management of one's current own perspective, personality and internally stored model of reality. When conversed with, this category of entity posses abilities which allow them to directly alter and manipulate one's current experience and heal past traumas. They usually adopt an attitude which wants to teach or guide the person and will operate under the assumption that they know what is best for them.
  • Representations of specific concepts - This category of entity is by far the most varied type in terms of its visual form and immediately perceivable personality. It can be identified as a simulated sentient representation of any internally stored concept and adopts an appropriate personality to fit this to an amazing degree of accurate detail. For example, this specific concept could include people you have met throughout your life, specific fictional characters or symbolic representations of concepts such as abstract ideas, emotions or key parts of one's own personality.

Communication styles

Autonomous entities can communicate with a person via a combination of normal spoken word, telepathy, geometry-based visual linguistics, mathematics and morphing coloured structures of different textures which are innately readable as representations of specific concepts.

In terms of the conversational topics which autonomous entities choose to discuss, they will usually convey insights regarding the overcoming of personal issues or problems within the one's life. However, they can also speak with cryptic or nonsensical messages which seem to have no clear or obvious meaning behind them.

When communicated with through spoken word, the level of coherency in which these entities can communicate with is highly variable but can be broken down into 4 distinct levels. These are listed below as:

  1. Silence - This level can be defined as a complete unresponsiveness from the side of the entity and an incapability of speech despite their obvious presence within the hallucination.
  2. Partially defined incoherent speech - This level can be defined as audible linguistic conversational responses and noises which sound like words but do not contain any real content or meaning beyond a vague sense of emotional intent.
  3. Fully defined incoherent speech - This level can be defined as audible linguistic conversational responses and noises which contain fully defined and understandable words but often lack grammatical structure or an overall sense of general coherency.
  4. Fully defined coherent speech - This level can be defined as audible linguistic conversational responses which contain understandable words and a fully defined grammatical sentence structures or an overall sense of general coherency which conveys its point on a level that is on par with that of own intellect.

Image examples


Settings, Sceneries, and Landscapes

Settings, sceneries, and landscapes can be described as a shared subjective effect component that manifests as a result of both external and internal hallucinations.

These can be defined as the experience of the setting in which the plot of an external or internal hallucination occurs. These settings manifest with infinite variety.

When explored, the geography of these settings are capable of rendering themselves as static and coherent in organization but will usually manifest as a non-linear, nonsensical and continuously ever-changing layout which does not necessarily obey the rules of everyday physics. In terms of the chosen locations, appearance and style of these settings, they seem to be selected at random and are often entirely new and previously unseen locations. They do, however, play a heavy emphasis on replicating and combining real life locations stored within the person's memories, especially those which are prominent within one's life and daily routine. Aside from this they common archetypes include:

Planetary systems, galaxies, quasars, jungles, rain forests, deserts, ice-scapes, cities, natural environments, caves, space habitats, vast structures, civilizations, technological utopias, ruins, machinescapes, historical settings, rooms and other indoor environments, neurons, DNA, atoms, molecules, mitochondria, incomprehensible geometric landscapes and more.

Perspective alterations

Alterations in perspective can be described as a shared subjective effect component that manifests as a result of both external and internal hallucinations. This experience can be defined as an alteration in terms of the perspective in which a hallucination is perceived through. In just the same way as literary plots, these can be experienced through four alternate vantage points which are described and listed below:

  • 1st person - This is the most common form of perspective and can be described as the perfectly normal experience of perceiving the scenario from the perspective of one's everyday self and body.
  • 2nd person - This can be described as the experience of perceiving the hallucination from the perspective of an external source of consciousness such as another person, an animal or an inanimate object.
  • 3rd person - This is essentially an out-of-body experience and can be described as perceiving the hallucination from a perspective which is floating above, below, behind, or in front of one's physical body.
  • 4th person - This the least common form of perspective and can be described as the experience of perceiving the hallucination from the perspective of multiple or even infinite vantage points simultaneously.

Scenarios and plots

Scenarios and plots are a shared subjective effect component that manifests as a result of both external and internal hallucinations.

The components which comprise hallucinatory states (autonomous entities, alterations in perspective, and settings, sceneries, and landscapes) are randomly shuffled and spliced into plots and scenarios. These may be positive or negative to experience and are difficult to define in a comprehensive manner in much the same way that one cannot predict the plot of literature and films.

They can, however, be broken down into basic occurrences which generally entail visiting a setting which often contains interactive autonomous entities. Alongside of these, completely unpredictable plot devices and events force the person to become involved within the specific scenario of the particular trip.

These scenarios and plots can be linear and logical with events that occur in a rational sequence which leads onto other events through cause and effect. However, they are equally likely to present themselves as completely nonsensical and incoherent. The plot of these scenarios will often result in spontaneous events which are capable of ending, starting and changing between each other repeatedly in quick succession. The plots can present as new experiences that are unlike anything experienced within the real world, old experiences such as accurate memory replays or a combination of the two.

Hallucinatory plots and scenarios usually feel as if they are being experienced in real-time. When 20 seconds has passed within the hallucination, the same amount of time will have passed in the real world. At other points, however, time distortions occur, resulting in plots and scenarios that can feel as if they last days, weeks, months, years, or infinitely long periods of time.

Variations

  • Lucid vs. Delirious - Hallucinatory states can maintain a consistent level of awareness throughout them regarding the fact that none of these events are really happening and that the current situation is simply a result of drug-induced hallucination. In contrast to this, hallucinations can also become completely believable no matter how nonsensical they may be in exactly the same way that we do not have any problem accepting absurd and non-linear plots within our dreams.
  • Interactive vs. Fixed – Hallucinatory states can either present themselves as completely separate in a manner that is similar to watching a video play out in front of one's field of vision or they can be completely interactive. For example, conversing with autonomous entities or interacting with imagined objects in a fashion similar to lucid dreaming is entirely possible.
  • New experiences vs. Memory replays – In terms of their subject matter, hallucinations can either be entirely new experiences or they can follow themes of normal everyday concepts and a replaying of specific memories.
  • Controllable vs. Autonomous – Imagery and hallucinations can be partially to completely controllable. This can be described as the content of their appearance always seeming to perfectly follow and fit the general topic and subject matter of one's current thought stream with varying levels of partial to absolute control. In contrast, autonomous hallucinations are completely spontaneous in their subject matter and entirely uncontrollable.
  • Geometry-based vs. Solid – Hallucinations can be comprised of condensed psychedelic geometry or they can appear as made from realistic materials.

Psychoactive substances

Compounds within our psychoactive substance index which may cause this effect include:


Experience reports

Anecdotal reports which describe this effect within our experience index include:


See also

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