eBay sale: Leary's Floatation Tank

A rare piece of psychedelic history, Timothy Leary's floatation tank is currently up for auction on eBay in a special charity listing. 100% of the sale price will support MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. MAPS is a leading organization in promoting psychedelic research and progressive drug policy. This unit was given to Leary by John C. Lilly, the scientist and consciousness explorer who first developed the isolation tank in the 1950s.

Auction bidding starts May 17th and ends May 27th.

[eBay listing]

(thanks to Ian Brown for the tip)

Ken Russell - 3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011

1/1/11

dolphin group mind

I took ketamine by the tank at Marine World in Redwood City. I got in to the tank and I had a microphone near my head and an underwater speaker that went down into the dolphin tank. My microphone hit their loudspeaker under water. So I waited. Then I began to feel that I was in direct contact with them and as soon as I felt that one of them whistled, a long whistle, and it went from my feet right up to my head. I went straight out of my body. They took me to the dolphin group mind. Boy, that was scary! I shouted and carried on. I said, "I can't even handle one dolphin, much less a group mind of dolphins!" (John Lilly)

stars on the other side

DJB: Have you ever given ketamine to a dolphin?

JOHN: No. I gave them acid to see if it would knock out their respiration. It didn't. I couldn't understand what was happening to them on LSD except for one thing they did. They turned around along the tank at the same time, and suddenly they turned their beaks down and turned on their sonar straight downwards. I remember on my first acid trip that suddenly the floor disappeared and I saw the stars on the other side of the earth, so I stamped my foot on the floor to find it. That's what they were doing.