I’m 27 days into NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month where writers attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I’m 90% done, right on schedule, when my neck and shoulder pain becomes unbearable. I can’t write on so I seek relief in the form of yoga, ask for massages from my partner, then use a massager, most of my pain is gone by this time but there is still some residual pain and I have 1,200 words left to write today.
I seek solace in one of my favorite relaxing locations: the bath tub.
I decide to attempt to stay still for the full 20 minutes it takes for Epsom salt to work its magic. I’ve frequently used a wash cloth over my eyes to help create a darker dark. I was able to come the closest to meditating throughout my underwater stay as I’ve ever been. My mind is a ceaseless train always seeking stimulation and songs.
I’ve been listening to Oliver Sack’s Hallucinations and have learned much lately about hallucinations in the blind and olfactory hallucinations in the people who have lost their sense of smell. I decide to attempt an experiment where most of the participants experienced hallucinations. In my bathtub I was nearly in a sensory deprivation tank, around the 10–15 minuet mark I began to see a slight swirling as if a sunspot was taking up most of my vision. “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden began to play at this…