Part 2 of 4: A Mild Experience

Read Part 1: Introduction before proceeding, and remember that this article is based on my opinions — not scientifically proven facts.

Now we’ll explore what happens when you smoke Salvia divinorum. When smoking Salvia, a person may experience anything from mild visual distortions to extreme hallucinations in which their entire perception of reality is replaced with a new reality. During either type of experience, it is important to remain calm and to remember that everything will return to normal after a few minutes. Using a lower strength of Salvia divinorum (1x to 5x) makes it more likely that a mild experience will occur, but there isn’t really any guarantee on the intensity of the experience.

During a mild experience, a person may notice walls and scenery pulling away or bowing inward towards their face. Seconds may stretch into minutes, and each individual breath may seem to be separated from the next one by a long period of time. It can be relaxing to simply breath normally, and explore thoughts and emotions during this state. During a mild experience, geometric patterns sometimes appear to move over objects in a person’s field of vision, and other people in the room may look distorted, unfamiliar, or cartoon-like. Hopefully the user will find the state lightly euphoric and enjoyable, and they may even start to laugh. Sometimes though, milder experiences can leave a person with a feeling that their mind isn’t working correctly, and they may just become anxious or agitated. Someone who is becoming agitated, can simply change their sitting position, try to talk to their friend, lay down on the floor, look at something calming, or have someone sing them a lullaby.

Many people who try to talk after smoking Salvia, slur their speech and forget what they’re trying to say in mid-sentence. It can sometimes ease someone back into reality if they are asked to talk about their experience as it is happening, but don’t force them to talk — that’s just annoying.

If a person closes their eyes toward the beginning of a Salvia divinorum experience, the effects are generally considered to be more intense. The next section will describe some things that a person can expect during a more intense Salvia experience.