Last summer, in various UK cities, more than 40,000 people visited dream machinegreat space designed for induce hallucinatory experiences with strobe white light And electronic music. “We had guardians there to guide and calm people at first, through breathing exercises,” said Anil Seth, a neurologist at the University of Sussex and collaborator on the project, which includes a team of artists, engineers, designers and musicians.

Between 20 and 30 people were allowed into the room and asked to lie down on the floor and close their eyes. After the 30-minute session, participants used to describe the experience with adjectives like clear, kaleidoscopic, strong And magical. “To see the response from the participants when they came out from behind the curtain and just had this experience was just weird and magical,” recalls Seth. “We really turn something internal and transcendental and personal into a collective experience.”

That dream machine It arose from the idea of ​​an artist named Brion Gysin from an experience he had on a journey. Sitting by the window of the bus that took her to the main road, she looked out at the line of trees they left behind. Guys relates that while he was almost asleep, he had an experience that he considered important. He saw incredible images, colors, and patterns appear and disappear before him. But as the trees moved out of his field of vision, so did his hallucinations. Could it have something to do with the sunlight flickering through the trees?

Gysin invented a fairly simple machine. Die-cut cylinder with holes forming a pattern. The cylinder is placed above the record player; a light bulb is placed inside and starts to move. Lights flashing at the correct speed create the experience.

Based on Gysin’s discovery, the Dreamachine project appeared. One of its main goals is to explain something Seth has been researching for over a decade: strobe light effects on the brain. “This is a phenomenon that is not yet understood,” he explained. “Flickering light creates very unexpected and powerful perceptual effects and conscious experiences that have nothing to do with what’s out there. This is psychedelic effect could be the key to understanding the neural basis of visual experiencebecause the participants reported having visual experience even if they have their eyes closed. “Experiencing the power of your own mind and brain to create an experience is truly transformative,” says Seth.

The composer of the music the experience participants listened to, Jon Hopkins, said it was the first time he had the opportunity to design sound that could be heard in 360 degrees, reaching listeners from anywhere. He added that the work of positioning the sound was difficult but also very rewarding.

What you see is not what I see

What also fascinated Seth were the participants reporting very different experience, even if they are immersed in the same environment. “Of course, this doesn’t just happen in Dreamachine,” he said. “One of the lessons is everywhere, all at once, all the time, we all have different experienceseven when we share the same objective reality”.

One participant, named Angela, said she has vision problems that make it difficult to see colors, but in her experience she saw colors she had not seen in years. “It makes me feel emotional,” he added.