After about five minutes, enormous slowing down of time. Increasing stability, tranquility, a certain "inorganic quality of consciousness"_moving away from its biological characteristics. Atmosphere of ancient Egypt, becoming aware of her religion, philosophy and art. Insights into the process of mummification, becoming a mummy and experiencing the consciousness typical for it. Understanding it as an interspace vehicle

(organic---->inorganic).

Matter ----> spirit.

Moving into the initiation in the pyramids, feeling a parallel between a mummy and an adept in the sarcophagus. Awareness of granite, becoming the consciousness of granite. Understanding that the preoccupation with granite in Egypt was based on the appreciation of the state of consciousness associated with it. Changes occur on a scale of thousands and millions of years (as compared to seconds and minutes for the biological forms). Return of an old insight: Granite statues are the deities, not images thereof.

Moving into absolute void (experienced as consciousness of the interstellar space). Timelessness. No difference between minutes and millions of years.

Ending up the experience with feelings of regeneration, purification, refreshment, rejuvenation, clarity.

11:15 A.M.-12 :45 P.M.: My first problem in the tank was to relax my tense muscles. I was holding myself in a floating position as if I were in fresh water. My hands were at my sides and my neck was arched; this was very uncomfortable. By putting my hands behind my head I could relieve the tension in my neck somewhat. Then came a part by part relaxation of my whole body until I could experience the saltwater supporting me, and the realization that I didn't have to keep myself afloat. With the awareness of being supported in the water, came the remembrance of becoming a green dolphin in a space I entered on a trip in Chile. The joy of moving swiftly and sensuously through the water I could now feel in the isolation tank. So once again I hecame the green dolphin diving, leaping, turning, twisting in really real joy. My body seemed to be going through these large swift moves of a dolphin, but when I rose to Joe from time to time I was aware of just the slightest actual movement of my body which was magnified into the sensation of the broad movements of the dolphin. Being a dolphin I felt a tremendous warmth and love flowing out of me. It was light, joyful, playful and delicious. At this point John checked to see if I was coping and all I could do was laugh in delight. From the dolphin space I moved into concentration on the heart center to increase the sensation of love. To do this I moved my energy from the O chakra up the rest of the chakras to the Ma'h; then brought the light down through the Ma'h [top of head], the Path [head], the 0th [chest], the Kath [abdomen] to the O chakra again. Once this circular movement of energy started, like tumo [Tibetan energy source in belly], my body heat went up and I became uncomfortably warm in the tank. So I simply moved the energy from the Ma'h to the 0th and reduced the heat. Finally, I simply rested in the 0th without any effort of concentration. My respiration and heartbeat lowered and I found that the water was becoming a little cool. Curious. So I increased the concentration on the 0th and my temperature went up to a comfortable level. Then I got out.

Silk . . . How sweet my hand felt traveling the length of my body. Difficulty in forgetting the back of my head and neck. Effort to relay there most conscious thought (throughout the forty-five minutes) after a few arm-raising exercises first pleasant thought: I am with myself. Soon discovered my eyes open offered same experience as closed so I opened them wide and felt truly blind_(later this ease at relinquishing sight surprised me. I am an artist and certainly rely on my ability to see). I consciously tried for both blindness and deafness but unwilling to relinquish concept of hearing. I knew I could hear and provided myself with my heartbeat as proof_I thought about John's reference to a stabbing_becoming the woman stabbed and wondering what the pain would be like_ thinking in that state perhaps it would be reassuring_and that without it *_I circled on an axis my interior turning slowly (in my head) yet feeling my body cruising_I felt I understood both the barriers and ever-providing space_no matter what direction I traveled, it never felt bounded.

I would have loved to have been a little high_feeling perhaps closer to lingering less consciously on ideas. For a moment I felt myself in the glith without my usual "gear" and it seemed a diKerent ball game altogether. I feel "curiouser and curiouser" that is where I'd like to begin again--empty of uniform.