Last night, I floated for the first time in a sensory deprivation tank. This is an enclosed tub full of salt water and magnesium that suspends you effortlessly in a dark, quiet place. I’ve known about them for most of my life but never thought about trying one until recently. I’m so glad I did. Here’s an overview of my experience and takeaways from it.
I got there half an hour before my appointment. The guy who works there showed me where I’d be floating and explained the process to me. After he set up the lights, music, and tub, he went back out front and I started getting ready. I finished showering about the same time the tub finished filling, so I put in my earplugs, pulled the lid shut, and started floating. I’d never floated effortlessly before then, so that took some getting used to. It was such a new sensation for me that I actually laughed as I sat back and started floating (I had many other moments of genuine, joyous laughter both in and out of the tub). The lights and music stayed on for five minutes before slowly fading out. At that point, there were no external distractions, no responsibilities, and no schedule to keep. Just me and my thoughts.
Once I fully relaxed, I felt no negativity whatsoever. The only emotions I felt in the tub were joy and happiness. I felt very safe, comfortable, and at ease in there. The water was kept at a constant temperature, so I didn’t notice it much. This made it easy to settle in and watch my thoughts. Except for focusing on my breath and repositioning myself when I bumped into the side, I didn’t try to control the experience or feel a certain way. I did my best to just relax and go along with whatever came up. Even when I got a bit of salt and magnesium in my eye a few times, I just wiped it out with a towel and spray bottle of fresh water they provided and went right back to floating without letting it affect me negatively.
This was like getting an hour to talk to my higher self without interruption. I got a lot of insights into my life and things I can do differently or better. Some of these included not taking things personally, being thankful instead of complaining, looking for peace with others instead of conflict, honoring the people around me and my life situation, accepting whatever comes my way instead of resisting it, being true to myself rather than acting how I think other people want me to act, relaxing, not being too serious, and the way floating could change the world if everyone experienced it. Perhaps the most interesting insight that I had was an answer to the question “What’s on the other side of fear and pain?” The answer I had heard before was “Nothing”, but my answer is a little different: “Nothing but freedom”. These insights came easily and without any effort on my part, which I credit to the fact that all I could do in there was float and enjoy the experience.
After I got used to being in the tub, it felt like I had been in there my whole life. I lost my sense of self and awareness of my life outside the tub several times, and time also lost all relevance. I think that this is as close as we can get to being back inside the womb. If that’s true, then I can see why babies are so upset after being born: I wanted to stay in there forever, I was sad when it ended, and, even though the lights started out on a low setting when they gradually came back on, they still blinded me. And I felt so heavy when I got out, as if I had been free from gravity in there. I’m light for a guy my age and I exercise regularly (in addition to having a very physically-demanding job), but I still struggled as I walked toward the shower. When I finished showering and getting dressed, I talked about my experience with the guy who set it up for me; while I did this, I also had some tea, relaxed in a massage chair, wrote down some of my thoughts, and just enjoyed the feeling of being while in a state of deep tranquility and joy.
Floating in a sensory deprivation tank was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I’ve been meditating regularly since 2018 and this was like meditation times ten. I can think of only a handful of moments during which I was as relaxed as I was in the tub. Additionally, I started relaxing much more quickly in the tub than in any of those other moments of deep relaxation. When I got out, I intentionally avoided using my phone (with the exception of taking a picture). It was easy to avoid surfing the internet and checking social media since I had no desire to do so. Normally I have trouble staying away from that stuff for more than twenty minutes, but last night I avoided it for several hours. I think I was able to do that because I felt so good that I wanted to just marinate in that feeling without getting sucked into something else and I wanted to avoid seeing anything negative on my newsfeed. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I took some time away. I felt amazing for the rest of the night, which was a pleasant surprise. If you have never floated before, please do yourself a favor and try it out. Your experience will probably be different in some ways than mine, but I’m sure you’ll get whatever you need out of it and I think you’ll enjoy it. If you do try it, please let me know. I’d love to hear about it.