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Sensory deprivation (42)

This post is on the SM/Bondage/Fetish web board.

23 Jan 08, 7:13 PM
Oh_Ingrid
UK(SW), 6 yrs

billy_switch wrote:

S_C_V_1 wrote:
I am occasionally taken to a couple of clubs completely blind and deaf. I have an mp3 player covered with ear defenders and a blindfold. My hands are tied together and i have to be led everywhere.

It means that there are two clubs (actually three now) of which i know nothing of the inside. I've not seen any of the interior except for one toilet cubicle. I don't know if i'm in a small intimate private room on our own, or whether i'm on full public display. I never know what sort of equipment i'm being led towards, or who else is coming with us.

It's very scary, but also very exciting. I often have a kind of "march to the scaffold" feeling of impending sacrificial doom.

And i love it

That sounds so lovely! *Adds to list* heeheehee

Does it matter what kind of music is playing and how loud it is?

Just to add my tuppence as The Holder of his Rope:

The music is actually the only thing he is allowed to control when we go out like this. We did buy a splitter so that I could listen in too, but I don't think we've ever got round to using it. There is a little in-line volume switch that I use to turn down the music when I speak to him. Other than that, I've devised a number of touch-based signals that we rely on for communication.

To make sure he can't build up a mental map of the layout of the clubs in question - which would reduce the element of surprise when I take him places and "do stuff" to him - I make a point of regularly confusing him. I take him in circles, double back, take all sorts of bizarre paths through the place to completely scupper his chances of building that mental map. I'm sure it looks mad but it's great fun.

We've been going out like this regularly for about 7 - 8 months now and despite perhaps 30+ trips to one particular club, he still has no idea of the layout and literally quakes with nerves each time we are on our way there. He just never has a clue what wickedness I may have planned

It's great fun and if anyone wants any tips on how to run this sort of experience, feel free to contact me. We've got it down to a fine art by now

(apologies for the epic - I've not posted for a while....)

Ingrid x
"It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time." Tallulah Bankhead
“How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.” Oscar Wilde

23 Jan 08, 7:57 PM
DancesWithPussycats
UK(TW), 7 yrs

I'v often thought of trying one of the sensory deprivation float tanks, I think there are a couple of places in Fulham that have them. A friend tells me you lose all track of time and start hallucinating as if on LSD.

Of course it won't hurt ... much ... now bend over

23 Jan 08, 8:41 PM
MoonlightShadow
BE, 6 yrs

Miss_Lead wrote:

Shadow that sounds absolutely beautiful - I really must experience this. To only be listening to what is going on internally and to hear your joints relax and unwind must be so fabulous.

Goes off to search for a nice place. Sure there are a couple of contra-indications for me though!.

I see that it's unfortunately rather expensive in London, and usually the UK (about £ 45 for one session of about 1 hour, more interesting to buy a pack of 2 or 3 sessions for a lesser global cost...)

this page gives a few good links: http://www.floatopia.co.uk/links.htm

I also experimented outdoors, such as in the summer, lakes, ponds or sheltered beach area, etc. in warm places, i.e. think more tropical areas than nothern British Isles!... Ideally the water should be around 35ºC, so you don;t really feel the water, and it adds to the intensity of the perceptions. At night is better, as it works better in the dark. Finally, if you do this in open waters, make sure you secure yourself, for instance with a rope round the ankle and tied to a solid point on the shore or near the shore. I've made a few fun devices which help both to float more easily in fresh water and not to dangerously drift away, for just a couple of pounds each. It's not quite the same, but it's a great way to experience nature and oneself at the same time.

My friend and I regularly clutter our local sauna/spa heated swimming pool (warmer than the local sea), too. They recently acquited a large wooden hot tub (38ºC, yummy!) which I invade during quiet times of the day/evening, it's cheaper than a real float.

A warm jacuzzi with the water jets and bubbles switched off is also nice, especially if you don't switch the lights on in the room itself.

As you point out, it's a great way of experiencing your body and the different states leading to complete relaxation.

Feel free to ask me next time you see me, I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for floating!

Shadow

23 Jan 08, 10:59 PM
HisHoliness
UK(KT), 6 yrs

billy_switch wrote:
That sounds so lovely! *Adds to list* heeheehee

Does it matter what kind of music is playing and how loud it is?

Well of course i take my own music with me - a 1Gb mp3 player - set to random shuffle.

Obviously if we're in an area of a club with really loud music, then yes of course i hear it a bit - especially if it's very base.

An interesting side effect though to be aware off - is noise cancellation. If the surrounding noise is similar to the music i'm listening too - many of the frequencies cancel each other out - and i can hear nearby conversations, until the volume of my mp3 is turned DOWN.

But that happens fairly rarely.

Saint Severin, the benchmark by which purity, holiness & normality are measured.
Your Pontiff elect has spoken. Now go about your business. Bless you.
DIY Pope~Pope Chart~Be Pope

23 Jan 08, 11:10 PM
Daddy_of_pain
UK(ST), 6 yrs

ive herd about this sounds exelent i was tould that there is somewere local that dose it so i think i shall give it a try.

MoonlightShadow wrote:

Tanos wrote:
Sensory deprivation

More seriously, I use floatation tanks and that's the best experience in sensory deprivation I now. I actually went floating yesterday...

Floating naked in the dark, water is at body temperature and the amount of salt put in it makes you float without even having to try, it's very close to total absence of gravity. Total silence, which means that the only noises you hear are coming from inside your own body (blood rushing in your veins and arteries), breathing sounds, tiny crisp popping sounds coming from your joints as they relax more and more, etc.

Mentally, it's amazing. I've been floating for several years, and as it is an cumulative experience, the effects on me now are literally mind-blowing; 2 hours of this will compensate for staying up all night in term of feeling refreshed mentally and physically. In the course of a typical session (1 hour) I experience something similar to a deep meditation state or a full blown psychedelic experience.

As I float on my back, my head tends to relax so much that it stretches backwards and I end up with my eyes under water, with just my mouth and nose above water level, which makes the experience as total as can be.

Of course, that type of sensory deprivation is not a punishment for me, and that may make a difference. Should I be locked up in a closet or small room, though, I assume I'd go through a similar state provided there is enough space for my body to be in a natural and comfortable position - which can be standing, too - but as I've never tried standing this way for more than 2 hours, I don't know what would happen it I had to stay longer.

I read the article announcing the TV show on the BBC website and that got me thinking a lot. Although I don't have a wish to to abducted and kept in a dark prison, I hope that in the case it ever happened to me I would be able to use my floating and meditating experience to keep myself safe and sane.

Shadow

23 Jan 08, 11:10 PM
illuminati
UK(PH), 6 yrs

Miss_Lead wrote:
I guess that to prove this, it would have been better with more females to put this to the test. <snip> There must be some different wiring in the brain to not leave you so open to suggestive questioning.

I wanted to see more tests run on them but it didnt really happen did it? Anybody up for doing our own tests?

Hmmm, but can that be classed as a particularly female trait? I guess it's impossible to know as there was only one female subject put through that particular test, which is quite a shame. It was pretty fascinating looking at the different reactions to the sensory deprivation, including the differences in extroverted/introverted characters.

Actually, something else that came to my mind was that all of the subjects seemed to be reasonably intelligent people - what would the outcome have been if they had perhaps added in a couple of people with learning difficulties for example?

I'd be well up for testing, if only I was further down the country!