Tag Archives: joe rogan

I want to float

January 20, 2014Float Experiencesaltered states, consciousness, depression, joe rogan, meditation, pain relief, relaxation, stressSara

In our December 2013 newsletter, as we were laying the groundwork for our float center, we asked our readers if they’d like to come over and float in the Space Burrito. We figured we had time to handle five people, and imagined we might get about that many responses, maybe double that. We gave them some things to consider about our home float tank, and said:

If all that doesn’t seem too weird and you still want to come try out our vintage float tank, then write us a little something about floating and you. What about it appeals to you? Why do you want to try it? No need to write a term paper; a paragraph or two will do.

Almost immediately, the responses started to pop in. Continue reading I want to float →

Floating and creativity

September 25, 2013About Floatingaltered states, benefits, creativity, experience, flotation REST, joe rogan, performance, sciencecolin

Peter Gabriel, the musical legend, says, “[My isolation tank] was quite useful, in the sense that you could get into a dream state, and I think that did allow…different thoughts and pictures to come through.”

Joe Rogan, the comic and MMA host, says, “The sensory deprivation chamber is the most important tool I’ve ever used for developing my mind, for thinking, for evolving.”

Matt Stangel of the Portland Mercury reports that after floating, “I began to write creatively for the first time in months, but with an uninhibited ease that I haven’t experienced in almost five years. In short, I was astounded by the changes I saw in myself.”

What’s going on here? Why does everyone seem to come out of the tank talking about peace, clarity, and cosmic oneness, or “colors — of cars, of buildings, of the sky — [being] more lush“, or achieving “profound, ecstatic nothingness“, or even “like a DJ had showed up to the party and started remixing my brain“? People seem convinced the tank increases their creativity, but does it really, or are they just tripping?

Continue reading Floating and creativity →

Who floats?

August 21, 2013About Floatingaudience, diversity, joe rogan, photographycolin

An anonymous comment to our survey pointed out that two (of the four) pictures we’ve posted so far include skinny white women in bikinis, and that no one else is represented. This is totally fair enough, and we’re embarrassed to have given that impression — we were focused on picking the pictures that gave the best views of the tanks, and didn’t pay enough attention to other messages that might be present. We don’t yet have our own tanks, so we’re at the mercy of stock photography here.

It’s particularly unfortunate because it’s not at all representative of the floating clientele. One of the things I’ve been most impressed with in the various centers we’ve visited and at the conference we just got home from is the tremendous diversity of people present. I love the way that tanks can make relaxation and spiritual experiences seem welcoming to everyone, including all the people (such as myself) who feel out of place at traditional spas and yoga studios. Male and female, young and old, hippies and hipsters, introverts and people with ADHD, salesmen in business suits and upright middle-American church types are all here. Tanks are popular with heavily pregnant women, with frequent travellers getting over jet lag, with professional athletes, and with people with chronic back pain and mobility issues. Joe Rogan talking about tanks has even got his following of mixed-martial arts fans into it: “If you have an aversion to drugs…you can have very introspective psychedelic experiences naturally in the tank. Everybody should be doing it!”

Once you’re in a tank, you’re alone with yourself, in pitch dark. What you look like could hardly matter less.