The ALTER magazine

Eye-gazing

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Eye-gazing

Editor’s Letter

Hello, Wanderer, Welcome to Alter.

This magazine was created to highlight the social, emotional and psychological benefits of mind-altering experiences. We invite you to take a deep dive into these affairs, through an artistic and experimental journal. Through this, we hope to investigate and showcase altered states of consciousness achieved by substance-free, meditative practices, sensory experiences, along with naturally-occurring psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin mushrooms.

By breaking down taboos surrounding the topic of “psychedelic trips”, we wish to create a world where we are all collectively more intune with our true inner selves, our fellow human beings and nature.

Whether through spirituality or science, substances or exercises, consciousness is malleable. Objectivity is non-existent when it comes to the mind. Our experiences are a function of our consciousness and by manipulating its state, we can become susceptible to discoveries we would otherwise have no access to.

We aim to inspire our readers to explore their minds, and we hope to do so through a combination of anecdotes, experiments and features portrayed through photographs, illustrations, and other forms of visual content.

We would also like to point out that while we intend to showcase generally harmless practices, some of the substances we may introduce could have lasting negative consequences on one’s health and well-being, and therefore should always be treated with caution.

In our inaugural issue, we will be exploring the beautiful act of Tantric Eye Gazing, the experience of substance-free Stroboscopic Light Trips, and finally, the effects and history of Psilocybin Mushrooms.

Join us on a journey into your beautiful mind, but be careful, the floor is slippery, and you might end up trippin’.

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End Note

Psilocybin Mushrooms

Stroboscopic Lights

Eye Gazing

Harm Reduction

Editor's Letter

Table of Contents

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Harm reduction 1

Harm Reduction The content of this magazine touches on various subjects surrounding recreational & therapeutic drug use, altered states of consciousness and psychedelic therapy. As with all mindaltering experiences, we want to advise readers to exercise reasonable caution and conduct their own research prior to embarking on explorations of the psyche.

While the experiences described in the magazine are not inherently dangerous, we wish to remind readers that the outcomes of these techniques may vary from person to person.

Entering a state of altered consciousness is an experience that requires significant research and preparation, and is not to be taken lightly.

For those wishing to explore the concept further, we recommend referring to these resources.

Happy tripping!

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Harm reduction

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Eye-gazing Eye Gazing

Eye-gazing Eye Gazing

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The eyes are the windows of the soul You’ve probably heard the expression before.

Regardless of spiritual or religious beliefs, it is hard to deny that there is something special about the eyes, besides the obvious benefit they provide as a sensory organ. By looking at one other's eyes we can tell the person's intentions (or at least guess), and it can help us establish, maintain or even strengthen our relationships. Eyes may indicate fearfulness and attraction. They may be used for persuasion or to assert dominance. They are instruments we use to communicate with our friends as well as our enemies.

The typical length of maintained eye contact in western societies during a regular interaction is around 4-5 seconds. That’s it. This may vary depending on the relationship, mood, and intention of the individuals involved. However, maintaining eye contact for noticeably longer or shorter than the norm often seems off-putting or strange…

Getting eye contact just right is not an easy task.

Nevertheless, it’s an essential ingredient for healthy relationships, and as such, it has an important role in our lives. But what if we prolonged eye contact way longer than usual?

Did you know?

Eye contact can trigger the activation of dopamine release in the brain, which is the hormone associated with pleasure.

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Eye Gazing

Eye gazing as a tantric exercise (also referred to as soul gazing) is the act of two people looking each other in the eyes for an extended period. It aims to reinforce their connection, create bonds and trust, and just generally feel closer to one another.

Its main purpose is to discover newfound levels of intimacy with a partner. It can be explored with a friend, lover, or even a stranger. Eye gazing is also a form of meditative practice, where instead of focusing on one’s thoughts, they are focusing on their partner’s eyes to become more in line with their inner self. In some cases, in fact, the effects can be so profound, that the two participants experience feelings of love for one another.

Eye Gazing

The exact origin of tantric eye gazing is unknown.

Some say it was part of the original teachings of tantra, which would make the practice thousands of years old. Others claim it originates in the 20th century when tantric practices started to gain momentum in the western world. No matter the origin, soul gazing has been studied extensively in the past couple of decades, with numerous studies and anecdotes dissecting the effects it may have on the mind.

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Eye Gazing

The Impact of Eye Gazing

By Preslava Yovcheva

“Eyes are useless when the mind is blind.” – If we slightly paraphrase this wise Arabic proverb, we will get another indisputable truth - the eyes are everything if we connect with the mind behind them. The eyes are therefore often referred to as the path to the mind and soul of the person with whom we communicate, verbally or nonverbally. They are often seen as the point of passage between the outer and inner world of a person.

But how can we use eye contact to create human connection?

From ancient times the enlightened in the mysteries of human nature have used the eyes as a portal to the human soul. Practitioners specializing in ancient tantric tradition have taken eye contact one step further and explored the spiritual benefits of staring at someone’s eyes as a meditative practice to connect with their mind and deepen the intimacy. This practice is referred to as eye gazing, or in other words, the act of looking at someone’s eyes for an extended period of time.

I know this from personal experience, and I will now tell you the story that completely transformed my personal life. Three years ago, I and my male best friend were spending a Tuesday evening together at my place, when I accidently stumbled upon an article called “How to fall in love in 15 minutes” posted on an unreliable Bulgarian website. The article immediately made us laugh, as the title sounded ridiculous, to say at least. But having no better plans that evening, we decided to give it a try and prove that this step-by-step guide on how to fall in love is complete nonsense. We quickly scanned the article and only really paid attention to the instructions at the end. Without giving it too much thought, we jumped straight into the experiment.

First, we placed two chairs half a meter apart and sat down facing each other. Then, we set up a timer for 15 minutes and looked into each other’s eyes, while breathing deeply and keeping a soft gaze, exactly how the article instructed. We knew that we were only allowed to break our gaze once the timer went off.

However, this ancient technique is not limited to tantric practices, but it’s a universal method which could be practiced by anyone, even in daily life.

In just a few minutes, you can find yourself on a whole new path in your personal development. It only takes fifteen minutes, to be exact, to fully unlock unexpected emotions within yourself and the person sitting in front of you.

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The first five minutes felt like forever. It was difficult to resist criticizing myself for not being able to concentrate on his gaze. The more I tried to gain control over my thoughts, the more I realized how active and uncontrollable my mind was. Random things occupied my attention. The slight smell of casserole coming from the kitchen downstairs. The sound of cars passing by outside. And the thought of how uncomfortable my seat was. I quickly realized that I underestimated this experiment. However, I was determined to complete this fifteen-minute challenge, so I made a conscious effort to redirect my focus towards him every time a random distraction came up.

For the next couple of minutes, I became less and less distracted by my surroundings, while his presence somehow stayed in my mind longer than everything else did. I gradually became more comfortable with his gaze and the feeling of awkwardness started to disappear.

For the last few minutes, my mind was completely absorbed by his presence, while a sense of awareness had occupied the space around me. I had slowed down my breath until it was almost unnoticeable. The niggling thoughts had fully disappeared, and I was left with a sense of pure unity. I felt like there was nowhere to go, nowhere else to be, and no way that reality could ever be other than this present moment.

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When the timer went on, it took me a few seconds to realize that fifteen minutes had already passed.

I rushed to turn off the alarm and we both started laughing, not really knowing why. Slightly confused, we briefly discussed how this experiment had made us both feel more connected to each other.

And even though we both said out loud that the article was complete nonsense, deep down we felt that our relationship could no longer be platonic.

Here we are today. I am laying on my couch, and he is sitting next to me, watching me rewrite this article for the sixth time, as I’m struggling to find words that can explain how fifteen minutes of eye gazing resulted in our three-year long relationship. I am aware that the events in our lives are a result of conscious decisions and actions. Therefore, I not here to convince you that a few minutes of sustained eye contact will make you fall in love with a stranger, or even a friend. I am sharing my experience to illustrate how powerful eye contact can be and how it creates opportunity for human connection. This impactful practice builds trust, increases intimacy, and helps you recognize emotions. So, next time you want to deepen your bond with another person, give eye gazing a try. In fact, you don’t have to spend fifteen minutes to experience some of the benefits. Continuously making eye contact with the people you interact with can be enough for you to improve your social relationships in personal or even professional plan.

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Eye Gazing

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Eye Gazing

Why should you try it?

Whether you want to strengthen your relationships or just want to try something new, eye gazing could have a significant impact on the way you interact with your fellow human beings. The simplicity of the act makes it a beginner-friendly exercise, with the potential to have a lasting impact on your mental health, confidence, and social interactions. Besides the benefits to your social and your emotional well-being, soul gazing can also serve you with a mild, substance-free psychedelic experience.

Eye-gazing Eye Gazing

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Stroboscopic Lights

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Stroboscopic Lights

What is it like to trip on light?

You don’t need psychedelics to experience life-altering visions.

Hallucinogenic drugs can have negative effects if used in the wrong dosages or circumstances. They are mostly illegal and a trip can last over several hours. However, there are safer alternatives that let you experience and control hallucinations without consuming any substances. Sounds intriguing, right?

If you are looking for a sober trip, there’s an easier way to induce a state of altered consciousness — a strobe trip! The fast, on-off frequency of light can simulate the experience of taking psychedelics such as LSD, DMT or magic mushrooms.

We’re here to uncover how psychedelic light trips work, as well as to share our own experiences with strobe lights. And maybe, in the end, we might inspire you to take a trip of your own — no substances, just pure consciousness and imagination.

Let’s dive in.

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Stroboscopic Lights

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What is it?

What does it do?

If you’ve never heard of stroboscopic light before, it might be a good idea to break down this concept in simple terms. The word strobe originates from the Ancient Greek stróbos, which means «act of whirling». A stroboscopic light, commonly called a strobe, produces rhythmic flashes of light with a high, on-off frequency.

The cyclic rotation of strobe light gives the effect that everything around you is moving in slow-motion. The movements of shapes and images around you seem to lag and glitch as if you were inside a simulation. The act of motion itself is fragmented and deconstructed, made new under the incessant flashes of light.

Let’s take an example from everyday life. Imagine yourself sitting in a car or train facing the window as you slowly drift off to sleep. With the sun low in the sky, shining through the gaps in the trees, flashes of light flicker and dance across your closed eyes.

These repetitive, rapid flashes create patterns on the inside of your eyelids. In a sense, stroboscopic light works the same way.

How does it work on the brain?

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The human brain is a remarkable thing. Even the most complex machines can not compete with humans’ higher consciousness and ingenuity. And yet, those 100 billion or so neurons are also incredibly fragile. If the tiniest thing goes wrong with a particular connection, things can fall apart very quickly. And, oddly enough, the human brain can get weird all by itself. As it turns out, it is surprisingly easy to trick

yourself into seeing and hearing things that aren’t actually there.

The brain can do all that on its own — you just have to know how to manipulate it correctly.

When light is flashed in a specific way, it causes the neurons in the brain to react and fire in a synchronised rhythm that safely guides the brain into a deeply meditative, psychedelic state of consciousness. The patterns that you see while looking into strobing light are the result of excitation and inhibition of neurons, combined with the interaction between the circular cells of the eye and the relatively straight ones in the visual cortex.

This results in vivid, colourful and sometimes twisting geometric repeating patterns.

We must note that, unlike psychedelic drugs, you are in control of how long and how intense you want your trip to be. When you stop, the effect stops. You will be left wanting more and leaving with a smile on your face.

Stroboscopic Lights

‘‘Your vision is suddenly filled...

...with endless patterns of colour’’

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Stroboscopic Light Trip

How can it look in practice?

Picture the heaving chaos of a crowded nightclub. People and objects swarm around you as you make your way through the crowd. You might be a little tipsy or even completely sober. You came to this place to switch off.

To slow down. To stop for a while.

To forget about the chaos. The music flows through your body and you start to feel as sense of euphoria. Serendipity surrounds you as you capture the poignancy of this moment. You close your eyes, move to the rhythm and breath deeply. The music begins to rise. The peak of your favourite song.

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Stroboscopic Lights

And then the strobes start.

The beat continues to accelerate, and yet, you find yourself in a land in which everything is slowed. All around you, the world lags — suspended in a state of slow-motion. The light continues to beat against your eyelids, filling your mind, your body.

Whirling. Flashing. Freezing. You look to the ceiling and realize that your vision is suddenly filled with endless patterns of colour.

This is exactly what it feels like to experience stroboscopic light.

It pulls you back to the present, into a state of consciousness in which there is only joy and happiness. A burst of inner sunshine that cannot be described, rather is felt.

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Psilocybin Mushrooms

PSYCHEDELIC MUSHROOMS

Psilocybin Mushrooms

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Psilocybin Mushrooms

“These states of awareness make humans more creative and smarter.”

It’s a common misconception that psychedelics only came into existence in recent years. While psychedelics soared in popularity during the 80’s counter-culture movement, there is concrete evidence suggesting that the use of psychedelic mushrooms dates back as far as twelve-thousand years.

Moreover, it is theorized that the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms may have played a crucial role in human evolution.

‘The Stoned Ape’ hypothesis is derived from the scientific fact that psilocybin creates heightened states of awareness in which humans can formulate new ideas. These states of awareness make humans more creative and smarter.

Furthermore, it’s recorded that psilocybin mushrooms were used during the 15th Century in indgenous rituals. The consumption of these natural substances, resulted in reports of “hilarity, incoherent talking and visions in brilliant colours.”

Therefore, according to some scientists, it may be so that the history of magic mushrooms is far more significant than we ever initially thought…

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USAGE What exactly are ‘Magic Mushrooms’?

Psilocybin mushrooms aka “magic” mushrooms can be found growing in nature. This particular type of fungi is commonly known to produce a compound called ‘psilocybin’, a natural psychoactive element with effects similar to LSD. When psilocybin is taken, it is converted within the body to psilocin, a chemical known to have psychoactive properties. Therefore, psilocybin mushrooms are commonly consumed for their hallucinogenic effects.

Belonging to the group of drugs known as psychedelics — the consumption of magic mushrooms can trigger changes in perception, mood and thought.

The mushroom’s effects usually begin within 30 minutes of consumption when fresh or dried, or as little as 5-10 minutes when steeped in tea or soup.

Depending on the dose, the effects can typically last anywhere between 4-6 hours.

During this time, the person may experience effects such as feelings of euphoria or ultimate wellbeing, along with changes in consciousness, mood, thought and perception (commonly known as a ‘trip’).

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“Both visual, auditory and other sensory experiences will appear.”

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Psilocybin Mushrooms

Micro vs. Macro Dosage of Mushrooms.

When it comes to dosage of magic mushrooms, there is a growing interest in the use of psilocybin mushrooms for health-related purposes; including symptom relief for disorders such as anxiety, depression and pain.

Recent research suggests that low or “micro” doses are perhaps more effective at alleviating the symptoms of certain mental and physiological disorders than conventional prescribed treatments.

Micro-dosing refers to consuming one tenth of a recreational dose, to enhance daily functions, without inducing a profound alterest state of consciousness. With the main motivation to enhance performance, including creativity and mental concentration, it has also been reported to be used to alleviate psychological and physical symptoms such as anxiety and migraines (although medical evidence to support these claims is currently lacking).

Anything above 200mg is considered a macro-dose, and will bring on heavier effects. Both visual, auditory and other sensory experiences will appear. Although keep in mind that every person and every trip is different, so it is important to be mindful of the certain risks involved with taking any psychedelic substance.

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What can you expect from a Magic Mushroom trip?

Well, it really depends on how much you take. 1 or 2 grams of dry mushrooms will give you a lighter experience. Consuming 2 to 4 grams will give you a stronger trip and taking anything above 5 grams, often referred to as the “heroic dose,” will send the user into different realms of existence.

First things first. Get your hands on the magic mushrooms. There are many ways to do this and, depending on where you live. these may or may not be legal.

Magic mushrooms, most commonly psilocybe cubensis, can be grown at home in DIY type growing kits, bought at some stores, or purchased from illegal drug dealers. Alterantively, magic mushrooms can be picked from forests or fields although we insist you exercise reasonable caution if doing so.

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Typically, mushrooms are consumed raw. Chew them well and swallow. That’s it. Of course, there are many other ways of consuming magic mushrooms, but let’s not start a culinary book with magic mushroom recipes now. We’ll save that idea for another day The first effects are usually mild nervousness before the experience, especially for inexperienced users. Slight discomfort is usually reported for some minutes before it “kicks in”. After around 45 minutes to 1 hour you should begin to feel perception changes in sight, sound, and touch as well as all other senses become enhanced. Slight hallucinations are common. Depending on the settings you might feel

euphoric or relaxed, sometimes both on the same trip. It can usually enhance the sense of unity and communion between people and the universe as a whole.

The experience lasts between 2 to 5 hours and has been continuously reviewed as an experience that is fun, beautiful, profound, and even life-changing. As with any type of mind-altering experience, there is always a risk that a bad trip may occur. These tend to be the result of a negative mindset or environment.

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Psilocybin Mushrooms

The Heroic Dose Trying to describe a high-dose psilocybin trip in words is like trying to eat soup with a fork. it really doesn’t work that well. Visual arts such as painting or film are a much better tool to describe these experiences. Artists such as Pablo Amaringo, Alex Grey, and many others have devoted their art to showing what such an experience is like.

Psilocybin Mushrooms

I think we have all seen images of this kaleidoscopic and fractal psychedelic art, but tend to not really think that that’s what the experience is really like. But it is. A heroic dose will make you lose your sense of self. You can encounter fractal geometry spaces, be in union with the entire cosmos, meet different “alien” lifeforms, and so on. It’s no won-

der that such experiences have inspired numerous religious and spiritual beliefs. It is an ‘out of this world’ experience after all.

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Fun Fact

Humans aren’t the only species getting high on psychedelic substances. Jaguars eat the leaves and roots of the hallucinogenic Caapi plant. Reindeer eat the iconic Amanita Muscaria mushrooms and even dolphins are known to ingest the venom of pufferfish to get high. We aren’t the only ones tripping and altering our states of consciousness.

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Psilocybin Mushrooms

what‘s o come?

There’s no doubt that psychedelic substances like psilocybin have influenced the course of our journey and it’s likely that they’ll continue to influence our cultural progress. We might even be on the verge of using these substances again to purposefully alter our minds in order to achieve a more harmonious society and solve many of the pressing issues we face in today’s society.

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End Note

Thank you for following along with this issue of Alter.

We hope that our stories and insights have inspired you to embark on explorations of consciousness of your own — both within your community and beyond. As we transverse this plane of experimentation together, we ask that you join us on our next investigation into the intricacies of the human mind.

In our next issue, we’re diving deep into the elusive, oftentimes fleeting, nature of mind-altering experiences. Altered states of consciousness can span from seconds to years; making it incredibly difficult to pinpoint the precise impact on a person.

By touching on a variety of subjects including lucid dreaming, breathwork, hypnosis and near-death experiences — we hope to shed light on the ephemeral nature of consciousness itself and investigate new pathways of the mind.

That’s all for now.

We’ll see you on the other side!

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Eye-gazing

Credits Art Direction Olivia Soum-Fontez Viktorie Březinová Graphic Design Eva Malek Natália Mareková Olivia Soum-Fontez

Eye-gazing

Writing Adriana Ambrosová Aoife Luna Balint Gergely Eduard Simões Lauren Drake Petronela Vallová Preslava Yovcheva

Photography Adriana Ambrosová Balint Gergely Eduard Simões Natália Mareková Petronela Vallová Preslava Yovcheva

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Eye-gazing