The flicker of the candlelight that illuminated my cave-like bedsit in southern Mexico was mesmerising. The flame danced gracefully to the lo-fi hum of the air conditioning unit that shielded me from the scorching 34°C heat outside. This solitary beacon of light marked my transition from the relentless glare of electronic screens to the comforting embrace of darkness. As the candle gradually burned down to the end of its wick, I embarked upon a days-long psychedelic journey of introspection and sensory deprivation. I was alone in the womb of the pitch black.
A daunting shudder quickly morphed into a gleeful thrill – a sensation akin to the onset of a DMT trip – before I drifted off into a 12-hour slumber. My 29 years surrounded by squinting, stimuli, electronic devices and drama was over. Deprived of external distractions, all I had was the present moment. Research suggests that minimal sensory input induces deep relaxation and a period of transformative contemplation (masturbating was banned for this reason). There was nowhere to go: The darkness frogmarched me into my inner kingdom.
The NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who credits his two most recent most valuable player awards with drinking the Amazonian psychedelic potion ayahuasca, inspired me to take the plunge into the abyss for my own odyssey after his four-day darkness, which made news around the world. He went in search of guidance and clarity, and emerged grateful for a “great reset”. I set out for six days and nights in search of solace from the chaos of daily existence (seriously, who can handle scrolling thr…
