Magnetic Fields & Spectra of Perception

The Possibilities

Endohuasca@gmail.com

“Colors require a brain to exist, colors are made from mixtures of wavelengths.” - Dr. Anil Seth.

The wavelengths that Dr. Seth is referring to are part of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The human brain processes electromagnetic radiation and creates the perception of color from mixtures of these wavelengths. Humans are generally considered to construct their visual perspective based on the interpretation of EM waves from 380 to 750 nanometers. Slower wavelengths generate the perception of red tones while faster wavelengths generate purplish colors. Technically speaking, Dr. Seth is correct when he makes the claim that colors do not exist outside of the brain. However, while the bandwidth of EM waves regarding the human perceptual field seems to remain within a fixed range, the interpretation of these wavelengths are not always uniform across the population.

For those that remember the viral phenomena of 2015 known as “the dress”, it’s clear that large percentages of the population perceive reality quite differently than others. The viral nature of the image and the distinct differences in the perceived colors of the dress brought the topic of perceptual differences to the forefront of discourse nearly a decade ago. The importance of this example is that there was no negative stigma attached to either side (black/blue vs. gold/white) as can tend to take place when small subsets of the population describe altered perception from the norm.

Over the past decade, psychedelics have gained in popularity across the general public as well as in clinical research for various health conditions. While the classic perspective of psychedelics is that they induce purely hallucinatory phenomena, there is an outlier case study that indicates potentially something else going on.

In 1998, a Canadian professor of psychology named Dr. Michael Persinger published a case study in which it was cited that subjects under the influence of LSD reported being able to see rotating magnetic fields. The description of the case study is as follows: 3 participants sat in a completely darkened basement with no access to light while under the influence of LSD. A 0.5-Hz rotating magnetic field was initiated at a distance of about 6 to 10 feet, intensity range 50 to 500 nanoTesla. The field was created by two horseshoe magnets rotating in opposite directions such that they attracted and repelled once every cycle. The motor that turned the magnets was stopped intermittently and the magnets were randomly removed or attached by the experimenter without the subject's knowledge. There were four trials of 1 min. each for each of the two conditions (8 trials) presented in a random order. The subjects were given 10 minutes to acclimate to the complete darkness of the room prior to initiating the experiment. All three subjects reported either whitish or greenish-yellow and bright purple blobs of "diffuse light that merged and separated as a "field" or "haze" around both magnets about once every 2 seconds. The perceptions were reported only when the magnets were attached and rotating and were not reported when the magnets were stationary or when the motor was operating after the magnets had been removed. The descriptions were quite distinct from phosphenes or the characteristics of magnetophosphenes. When these subjects were exposed to the same rotating magnets at approximately the same distance one week after the ingestion of the drug, they reported no unusual visual perceptions. At that time their proportion of occipital alpha rhythms had returned to baseline levels.

To recap, subjects under the influence of LSD appear to be capable of visually perceiving a rotating magnetic field generated by two horseshoe magnets rotating in opposite directions in close proximity to each other. An interesting observation of this transpiration is that the rotating magnets attracted and repelled once every cycle while the blobs of light merged and separated around both magnets once every 2 seconds. This is significant in the sense that there appears to be a time-centric aspect of the perception that coincides with the 0.5 Hz (one cycle every 2 seconds) generated rotating magnetic field. This indicates that this was indeed an accurate perception and that this suggests enhanced visual perception following LSD ingestion. This leads to the question… what wavelength of the EM spectrum were they perceiving?

We presume that the wavelengths being perceived likely fall outside of the average range of perception between 380 to 750 nanometers. The question is whether this enhanced spectrum is taking place at the ultraviolet (UV) range or lower (below 380nm), or within the infrared (IR) range or higher (750nm). We concede that this could be an overly simplistic perspective of enhanced visual perception. There lies the possibility that it is an expansion of both ends of the visual spectrum (UV & IR) in combination with altered processing of the baseline bandwidth. Nevertheless, a basic approach of exposing subjects under the influence of LSD to EM wavelengths normally outside of baseline consciousness should be a starting point of inquiry. An obvious point of research would be to identify specifically what wavelengths are generated by the 0.5 Hz rotating magnetic field.

Once some data points are generated, it could offer insights as to the potential bandwidth of wavelengths in which psychedelic experiences take place and potentially much more.

A friend of ours, Dr. Edith Ubuntu Chan underwent an experience known as a “dark room retreat” back in 2013. This retreat consisted of spending 9 days in complete darkness. In many cases, subjects report experiencing mystical-type visionary experiences after a few days in the dark and having them continue until eventually being exposed to light. Dr. Chan had an interesting experience that is not commonly reported regarding having the ability to see the outline of furniture in her retreat room. The following is an excerpt of a conversation we had regarding the experience:

Dr. Chan: It was a gradual onset, so I don’t remember exactly when it started. I think it was a few days into the retreat that I began to see a fuzzy glow of light around the objects. It was a whitish/grayish light that radiated about a foot from the edge of the bed and chair.

JC: Did that sensation intensify in the following days at all?

Dr. Chan: Yes. All the experiences got stronger and stronger with each day in the dark. The clarity of visions and colors that I experienced were noticeably strongest from days 3 through 9. Some say that it takes 3 days for your melatonin levels to become “saturated”, and after that more interesting visuals and other sensations that’s traditionally related to DMT experiences will manifest. But for me, almost right from the get-go, I experienced powerful, life-changing visions starting from Day 1.

JC: Intriguing. There’s been much speculation that “dark room retreats” upregulate the “Endohuasca” system leading to increased levels of endogenous DMT coinciding with visual “hallucinations”. I find it especially interesting that it seems as though there was clearly a tangible aspect of your visual acuity pertaining to seeing objects in the dark. Were there any other experiences/visions that you experienced alongside this?

Dr. Chan: Yes. From the very beginning I saw interesting geometric patterns. These visuals intensified with each day of the retreat. Usually I need to close my eyes and enter a meditative state to see these patterns with such clarity but during the retreat, the patterns of light and geometric shapes continued whether I had my eyes open or closed. And whether I was consciously “meditating” or not. Often the light patterns got so bright that you could have swore someone opened a window or door and let in the light patterns from the outside!

JC: That sounds like quite an experience. What is it like when the retreat ended and you are exposed to the outside world?

Dr. Chan: Following the 9 days and nights of complete darkness, on the 10th day we go outside during sunset time. We were all given sunglasses to wear until our eyes could adjust to the intensity of the light. It was the most glorious and beautiful thing I ever saw. The magnificence of the color spectrum was surreal. Everything you look at, it’s like watching 8K TV dialing it up the contrast to the max… and then multiply that by 100! That intensity of colors gradually faded back down over the rest of that day, but to this day it never went back to the dullness that I saw before the darkroom. The enhanced color spectrum has stayed enhanced ever since. I still see subtleties in all colors that other people don’t seem to notice.
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JC: I can only imagine what that must have been like. Do you find that stress levels effect your color perception at all?

Dr. Chan: That’s a very interesting question! I do know that when I do Wim Hof hyperoxygenation breathing… the colors get more enhanced. When I’m not breathing enough, the color look noticeably more dulled. You know… I rarely feel tired or out-of-breath, but when the colors of the world look duller, that’s how I know I need to breathe. I’ve learned to use it as my barometer.

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While experiencing mystical-type experiences from prolonged exposure to complete darkness is an intriguing field of research within it’s own, the fact that Dr. Chan was able to see the outlines of objects in her room while in complete darkness is equally interesting. What spectrum did she perceive to view the white/grayish light emanating from the bed and chair?

Circling back to the rotating magnet case study, future research regarding the potential ability of darkroom retreat participants to perceive these same rotating magnetic fields seems to be necessary. Perhaps endogenous DMT is being upregulated alongside gamma oscillations due to extended darkroom exposure. Long-time DMT researcher Dr. Steven Barker has famously cited unpublished dissertation research from the 1980’s where it was observed that rat brain samples showed an increase of endogenous 5-MEO-DMT by 1000% and DMT by 400% following LSD administration. Based on this finding, Barker hypothesizes that serotonergic psychedelics potentially induce their mechanisms of action by upregulating the endogenous psychedelic system rather than acting as the primary agonist. Ultimately, the end-point oscillatory activity of the brain could be the key to enhanced perception regardless of the initial catalyst… psychedelics, extended darkness, and the many other ways to alter perception & electrophysiology.

Various cultures throughout history have been known to revere cats due to what might have once been considered “magical” qualities. There are an estimated 400 million domesticated cats throughout the world today with many anecdotes of these feline animals showcasing peculiar habits. Many pet owners have cited the belief that their cats have the ability to see the deceased or other invisible objects due to their habits of staring or interacting intently with… “nothing”. Not to be outdone, some dog owners also describe similar activities among their canine companions. A 2014 study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B observed that many mammals including cats and dogs have the ability to perceive the UV spectrum as low as 315 nanometers. There lies the possibility that our pets are in fact perceiving “something” in the UV spectrum (or other) that exists but are invisible to the human eye. Whether they are “ghosts” or discarnate entities of some kind has yet to be verified.

A common occurrence for psychedelic users that have a cat or dog is that the animal seems to distinctly change it’s behavior when the owner is in the midst of their visionary journey. Many cat owners describe the almost protective type posturing that cats exude when the owner is in the midst of their trip. Dog owners also describe similar activity but the naturally protective nature of dogs makes it less obvious of the distinct behavioral change. Interestingly, a recent 2024 study shows that LSD can have a positive effect on autistic dogs regarding brain synchronization with their human caretakers.

Autistic dogs on LSD! Crazy shit.

Speaking of animals that can perceive the UV spectrum, human children have been observed to have the ability to perceive within the UV bandwidth (Sliney, 2016; Fletcher, 2016; Pajer et al., 2019). This ability apparently decreases with age as the eyes and brain mature. It is interesting to note that technically speaking, the retina is acknowledged to be an extension of the brain and central nervous system (London et al., 2013). It’s been commonly reported throughout history in virtually all cultures across the globe that children have claimed the ability to see deceased family members. These reports are usually under conditions where adults in the near vicinity cannot see the deceased.

As we’ve covered in past pieces, children exude distinct differences in neural oscillatory activity and default mode network (DMN) development compared to adults. There lies the possibility that these neurological differences contribute to some children having the ability to accurately recall memories from people that lived previously. We wildly speculate that this same ability of enhanced memory recall happens in parallel to children seeing deceased loved ones. Interestingly, there is much speculation that children produce elevated levels of DMT compared to adults. While this belief still needs to be proven, it appears to have a logical foundation based on the elevated neurogenesis and neuroplasticity experienced by children (Sorrells et al., 2018; Fandakova, 2020).

It would seem that a logical point of research would be to expose a number of children to rotating magnetic fields in the dark to verify whether they have the capability to perceive this field similarly to adults on LSD.

As cited in a previous piece, Dr. Michael Persinger developed a device called “The God Helmet”, a device that utilizes magnetic field stimulation to induce an altered state of consciousness. It was called “The God Helmet” due to the mystical-type experiences consistently reported from the stimulation. Founder of Skeptic magazine Michael Shermer reported having an “Out of Body Experience” (OBE) when he was exposed to it. Dr. Persinger found that this device increased gamma oscillations in the brain (Tsang et al., 2004) and speculated that it did so by upregulating DMT synthesis from the pineal gland (Hill et al., 2003). The natural progression of this research would gravitate towards exposing subjects to rotating magnetic fields in a completely darkened room while wearing “The God Helmet”. There lies the potentiality that the neural magnetic stimulation would allow for subjects to perceive the rotating magnetic fields.

(A clip from the JeffMara Podcast interview with Dr. Edi Bilimoria on YouTube.)

Transcript of the above clip:

JeffMara: I had a guest once that was having an Out-of-Body Experience and during her experience she saw a homeless man on the street that people considered to be schizophrenic. The next day, when she was out on the street the schizophrenic recognized her from her Out-of-Body Experience. Can you comment on that?

Dr. Edi Bilimoria: Only to say it wouldn’t surprise me.
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While there are no formal case studies that we are aware of regarding verified visions of subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia, this is an intriguing anecdote nonetheless. We must remain cognizant that anecdotes indicate a signal that should be further investigated.

There are so many questions regarding this simple anecdote.

When subjects describe experiencing an OBE, it’s very common for them to state that they can see their immobilized physical body while being able to move around with a translucent version (astral) of their body. This has been written off as nothing more than hallucinatory phenomena by most scholars in the field of neuroscience. However, the fact that a subject claims to have been able to perceive this translucent version of the body alludes to the notion that the astral body might be able to be captured visually with the proper visual spectrum camera. What EM spectrum if any does a person’s astral body reside in? There also lies the potential that subjects undergoing extended darkness exposure, psychedelic users, or even young children might be able to perceive the astral body of another person.

There’s only one way to find out.

We will be doing a shallow dive into potential OBE research trajectories in the near future.

Perception seems like such a subjective yet objective field of discussion. Much of our ability to see the physical world and interact with it is based on our perception of what consensus reality is comprised of. As we’ve touched upon thus far, it seems as though the material world provides us glimpses of the glitches in the matrix that act as signals to probe further. Is everything deemed as hallucinatory truly hallucinatory? Or do certain people, animals, or children experience expanded visual spectrum phenomena at certain moments?

There seems to be a systematic manner in which these questions could potentially be answered.

While seemingly outwardly unconnected, the discussion of alien encounters have become more popularized in the media and social circles in recent times. There are wide-ranging perspectives from being purely internally generated abduction experiences at 3am to multi-dimensional entities accessible via exogenous DMT administration with scientists at UC San Diego and Imperial College seriously exploring the phenomena. While this field of research is intriguing, the public perception of subjective experiences such as ET phenomena whether endogenous or exogenously induced is largely labeled as purely hallucinatory by nature. This can make it challenging to further serious discourse in this topic but there lies the potentiality that integrating more fundamental research on basic visual spectrum expansion can open the window towards greater acceptance of legitimate experiences.

Interestingly, Dr. Joe Dispenza has been conducting large meditation retreats where more than 2000 attendants engage in intense meditative and breathwork practices in large hotel ballrooms. There have been many reports of attendees seeing non-human tall, white/bluish translucent-like beings observing the workshops. While the term “group hallucination” can be thrown around when describing this phenomena, there lies the possibility that there’s more to the story than simply imagining things…

It is quite a strange yet transformative era we are experiencing currently as advances in communication and imaging are furthering the discourse of topics once considered to be taboo.

Endohuasca@gmail.com

P.S. The topic of “Bigfoot” is largely ridiculed by the general public and mainstream media. However, we find it interesting that reports of this mythical creature have spanned throughout history and across the globe with indigenous cultures. One aspect that seems important to note is that “Bigfoot” sightings have never been reported in densely populated areas such as Manhattan or Tokyo. The same cannot be said for alien abduction experiences or ghost sightings. There lies the possibility that the natural world exudes a different geomagnetic signature than industrialized cities leading to a change in autonomic signaling and human electrophysiology. This could in theory change the visual spectrum bandwidth of spectators claiming to have seen “Bigfoot”. It’s difficult to say why these sightings have been so consistent across the globe but many modern researchers have claimed “Bigfoot” to be more “inter-dimensional” and ET like than a purely physical creature.