Saltwater Sanctuary | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Saltwater Sanctuary

Sensory Deprivation Tank: No sight. No Sound. Just you.

When the idea came around to do an article about sensory deprivation via float tank, nobody was really jumping up and down to volunteer spending ninety minutes with nothing but their mind. I couldn't totally blame them. We are (for the most part) a pretty obscure bunch: Constantly thinking, creative, control freaks that are slightly OCD...and we are almost always strung out on too much caffeine and focused on too many deadlines.

Having some sort of outside stimulation can be grounding; take that away...well, that's an experience, to say the very least. 

I've long said that sometimes I wish I could take a break from life. Not die, not slip into a coma, but just to have a break where everything can just stop for a moment. Honestly, floating is probably the closest thing I've felt in achieving that. I understand that time doesn't actually stop, but for me it might as well have. 

You go in totally naked. Completely exposed, and I think that speaks more to the deeper point of the session.The physical aspects connect with the emotional ones, I suppose much like most things in life. The water is meant to be body temperature, and is as salty as needed to create buoyancy, the tank door is closed and all light and sound blocked out. The only thing left is you.

I can almost always remember my dreams, daily events, and my mind is far too packed with random information that I can't seem to shake, but I'll tell you this: I have no idea what specific events I experience while in the tank. I can remember the feeling of wondering what will happen this time, then before I know it, a gentle music comes on to let me know my time is up. I take a warm shower and stand under the freshwater in a daze. I take my time and embrace the unregistered experience.

I am engulfed in a temporary feeling of bliss. Something that wasn't there before, or perhaps something that was and is no longer. It is a total step outside of my normal, it's my time for me. It's my chance to get away. It's my break from life and I have no plans of giving up such a luxury.  
click to enlarge Saltwater Sanctuary
Angela Moore
Sensory deprivation tank: No sight. No Sound. Just you.

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