The Great ShopBot Samadhi Experiment

This is a personal project that I have wanted to do for about 10 years now. Thanks to the Bot, lots and lots of research and many nights after work I've got it up and running. I've been using it now for about 2 months. For those that have absolutely no idea what this is, just Google "Samadhi Tank" and do some reading.

It's not often that I display my 'metaphysical side' in the public eye, but the benefits of a floation tank are so numerous, that the greater part of me felt the need to share this with the group. I'm formally trained in the healing arts (Reiki & Integrated Energy Therapy - IET Master Instructor) any other areas for personal development. I always aspired to build one of these things if I only had the time & means...well here we go!

The basic tank portion consists of a sheet of 3/4" RTG sitting on 2X4 treated studs. Side walls are 1.375 thick MDO fastened to each other and the base sheet via 2" X 1/8" AL angle and Kreg panhead screws. Inside the tank it is insulated with Reflectix double bubble foil insulation. Two Low or Zero EMF waterbed heaters were installed and the thermostats tucked under the insulation. The outside of the tank was painted navy blue (some say ShopBot blue)


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Then a Firestone HDPM fish-safe (no outgassing in water) was fitted to the inside of the tank. It is retained by staples along the top edge of the 1.375" MDO and then capped off with AL angle.


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Then the top sides were cut using a 1/4" downcut 4-flute cutter out of 10mm coroplast. Panels are notched at the bottom to sit on the AL 'ring' that caps off the liner. Stainless screws and hardware was used to fasten the sides to the bottom MDO ring of the tank. Finished tank size overall is about 4 X 8 X 4 feet. I'm glad I made it that big...


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The rest of the Coroplast was cut and adhered to the sides/each other using foil tape. This was initially just to tack it in place, but it worked so well that I just rolled with it. So far so good. Here's me laying in it to see how well I fit...Grover is looking in wondering why I built a big crate



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Here's what it looks like from the outside. The 2 digital waterbed heater controllers can be seen on the floor. They need to keep the water at exactly external body temperature - 93.5° F. The sloped roof helps condensation roll gently down the back.


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Here's the business end of the 'water works' in the back of the tank. On the left is a UV sterilizer, in the center a canister filter, and to the right a salt approved pump. Notice the groovy clamps I made on the Bot to hold everything. Also note the Reflectix insulation (you can just see it) that is covering the entire deal on the sides. The entire box was covered 2X in Reflectix. (not shown)


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Here's the inside of the tank while I just started filling it up. The solution level needs to be about 10" high. I brought it up to the 5" mark.


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Now we start to get into what most think is the 'crazy' part of the project. 900 pounds (yes that's correct) are added to the solution slowly over the course of 2 days. The water was about 91° before adding about 400# of salt. Right after, the temp dropped to 68° !!! Salt was agitated by hand to disolve into the water. Then the remaining salt was added. Check out the MOUNTAIN of salt!!! The salt was SO COLD while disolving that my fingers needed to take a break to warm up. Imagine a pile of snow under water.


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All of the salt is nearly disolved and only a little remains. The patterns in the water are from the circulation pump doing it's thing. It only runs when you are not in there.


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900 lbs of medical grade epsom salts will render your body completely weightless. You literally cannot sink. The solution is kept at 93.5° (external body temp) so after a few minutes you get the feeling of complete weightlessness...and since your skin cannot feel the temperature differential, you no longer feel your skin. Just a floating ball of consciousness - provided that you are not monkeying with your ear plugs or feeling the sting of concentrated salt water in your eyeballs. You learn what to do and not do quickly. The 1st float was really about getting past being in the tank. Since you are weightless, you have a tendency to bounce off of the walls if you slosh around. There's no light...no sound...no nada.

What's all this equate to? Probably the most relaxed naturally induced state you will ever experience. When you get out of the tank you have NO IDEA how 'far away' you really were. Your hearing is sharper, everything is more vivid and brighter and you are completely relaxed, yet totally energized like you haven't felt in ages. It's quite nice as the common man's quick track to meditation. You're experiencing things that people meditating took a long time to achieve - in the 1st few floats. The basic physical advantages are complete relaxation of your spine, muscles and majority of your nervous system. Pain seems to just melt away. The epsom salt - being made of magnesium sulfate, will readily give up it's sulphur for carbon, as Mg loves C more than S. This means that the salts will pull out toxins in your body thru the skin that it otherwise would have a difficult time doing. (your skin is the largest organ in the body) A nice bonus is your skin is left healthier and smoother than every before.

In terms of mental benefits of the tank, it is downright amazing. Since most of your brain is being used to help you keep your balance, sit upright and walk, the brain finds other things to do when you are completely weightless and sensory information is greatly reduced. Endorphin production goes off the charts and the body heals much quicker since it is not spending energy holding you up or filtering out the huge amount of data that comes in every second. Theta brain waves are produced enmasse, and this becomes the frequency that you run on most of the time in the tank. It is associated with high creativity, problem solving and visualization. While my experiences haven't been 'all trippy', the speed and volume of information that comes to me when I throw a tough problem 'out there' is astounding. I can tell myself that the goal of my session is to come up with a perfect solution to a problem that I have been having, and my brain goes into hyperdrive using information from the logical and creative brains (left & right) simultaneously, giving me multiple possibilities. It's really a 'trip' to experience being your own oracle of sorts. It can be everyday stuff too...Like 'how can I hold this part down' or show me some new designs I can work with etc.

There are many other benefits too that I won't drag on telling you about...but being that several ShopBotters I have had conversations with around the world seem to be on their 'higher path' I thought that there must be others too that may have thought about making one of their own tanks. This won't appeal to most, but that's OK.

Rough material costs were about $1500 for everything including the salt.

-B

That's pretty awesome. I've always wanted to get into one of those with nothing but a chocolate milkshake.

nice job.

Nice! I've been wanting try one of these ever since I first read about in one of John Lilly's books.

How much of the cost was for the epson salts, and how often do you have to replace it.

Thanks guys. The salt was about $350 for 1200 lbs. I found a place to buy in bulk & wholesale. The owner said that many tank builders have purchased from him.

The salt/solution will last for years. The solution might have to be topped off from time to time with water, but other than that, the salt only leaves when it's on your skin when you exit the tank. You take a shower before and after a session. I bought extra salt in case I needed it. I've got about 100 lbs more than what is called for in the solution. A good filter and UV keeps the water crystal clear. Nothing can live in the salt...but I didn't want to chance anything funky. The UV is rated for 325 gal of salt...but the solution is only about 200 gal.

If you look on the net there are float centers around the country. If you want to try one out before you make one, buy 5 sessions and give it a go. You'll need a few sessions to really start getting a taste of what it can do for you.

-B

That's pretty cool.

I hope your not going to regress back to a Neanderthal and go running through the streets naked.
Oh! that's right you’re not including the hallucinogenic drugs, are you?


I've always wanted to finish watching that movie and now you've given me incentive. I saw it with my girl friend when it was released back in 1980 but when William Hurt went running through the streets naked she walked out. It was the only time in my life I ever walked out of a movie. Well later she walked out on me guess I should have known.

It's NOTHING like Altered States the movie...but then again, I have no experience with ketamine or peyote extract...so your results may vary


-B

That's crazy awesome.

I'm a pretty straight secular-rational guy (having two sisters that are into new age stuff does that to you) but this is one thing I really believe would be absolutely super to try out. The neurobiological arguments seem entirely plausible, and hey, who wouldn't wanna be weightless? (Floating around in the Red Sea was a really great experience, after all.)

Hm, I have to check if there's any commercial floating services here in Sweden for me to try out, I kinda doubt it.

Which leads us to:

The DIY price seems right, but how much time went into this project?

Maybe a plane ticket to Salt Lake city would be cheaper? I just wonder if your head would float with the same height as your body being that your body would have more weight and density? This looks like a neat project. Good job.

Henrik,
The time is a tough one as I spent about a year off and on researching, designing and gathering parts here and there. Actual build time altogether is around a week or so soup to nuts.

The Great Salt Lake can't sit in your basement at 93.5°F in complete darkness with no sound...The tank has a much higher concentration of salt than the GSL and epsom is very different than what is in the lake...

Your head floats even with your body & you can tilt it back too. You can also just fold your arms and use them as a pillow if you want. Whatever is most comfortable.

Thanks for the compliments.

-B

Just needs a "Gravity, just Say No" sign...

cj

Very Nice Brady... I also have been trained in Reiki-II ... and have been an avid practitioner in meditative practices such as Kundalini Yoga and practice Buddhism. I have always wanted to try out an isolation chamber. Now that I see what you have done here I just might be a few months away from building one myself.

Thanks for the compliments, guys. There's not really a whole lot to it & I spent more time researching a double checking myself before building. I wanted to make it very elaborate, but decided to do the no-frills version to make sure I had the basics down pat. Plus, my old house will only let me get 30X96" panels max down the steps...so that had to be considered when building it, or I would have just milled out an organic shaped mold on the Bot and laid up a fiberglass tank.

-B

is that a Sensory Deprivation tank?

How damn COOL!!!!!!!!!
How does it reallly feel after time?

immediately all of carlos Castenedas stuff comes to mind, although not deprivation tank. then my childish side remmebers the simpsons episode where he talked to johnny cash the wolf on a pyramid(actually mini golf course)

BRADY
Thats very intresting to an old country boy like me.
I tried a meditation class one time but i got asked to leave cause i kept falling asleep and snooring.
On a serious side does it help to heal things like back disc problems ? i I know you arent no doctor so i will take your info with a grain of salt.. (get it )SORRY i couldnt help it.....I am going to google ...

Gene,
There are many benefits to the tank, including relief of back pain. The tank equally distributes your weight across your spine, allowing your spine & supporting muscles to completely relax. This is something that is difficult to achieve on this planet using any other method. I've had 2 back surgeries and nothing helps my back more than a float when the cold, damp weather rolls in...you know what I mean by this!

If the instructor threw you out for falling asleep when you were supposed to be meditating, then - you are better off not learning from that person in my opinion. For someone new to deep alpha & theta brainwave states (the frequencies associated with meditation), falling asleep is a common occurance. It is afterall, the state you are in just before waking. The tank offers an accelerated path to arriving at alpha and theta brainwave states while maintaining full consiousness. If you fall asleep in your tank, so be it - you can try again during another session.

It turns out that my preconceived ideas about my tank experience are very different than actual. What is really mind-bending to me is that some of the time, I can get into the tank, float for a while, feel like I am just floating around in a box, and then get out of the tank. When I get out of the tank, it is as if I am sucked back into the physical world and I had no idea how relaxed and 'far gone' I was until I actually get out of the tank. Usually when you meditate, you can feel the transition from one brain state to another, as there are visual and physical cues to tell you where you are - so you are completely conscious of where you are in the brainwave spectrum. With the tank, it isn't this way (at least for me) and the shifts to different states are so subtle that I haven't been able to notice them until getting out of the tank.

Being a purist, and a long time meditator, I frowned on the idea of using any kind of audio in conjunction with the tank. That being said, I have been listening to some of the Hemi-Sync music put out by the Monroe Institute for the past few years. I highly recommend any Hemi-Sync program, as it facilitates left & right hemisphere syncronization and helps you to use both halves of your brain more fluently. I noticed a big difference after listening for a few months. I am thinking about piping in some of this music to the tank as I think that it would enhance both the tank & Hemi-Sync experiences. I just have to come up with a way to keep it all water & salt proof and still be able to make adjustments or stop/start from in the tank. If you are not ready to build your own tank, and are not ready to go back to learn meditation (Transcendental Meditation is probably the best to learn - http://www.tm.org/ ), then I highly recommend the Hemi-Sync programs to get your feet wet and start exploring your own inner space. There are some excellent excersises on each CD to help you clear your mind and get relaxed - something that we all could use with our busy schedules.

Sorry so long winded...

-B

Brady,

Attach a pair of sound pads from the 06 Jamboree to the outside of the box. They would be exempt from both salt and water.

Rodney

Thanks Rodney - that's exactly what I was going to do. I just have to find a salt-proof remote of some sort to cue things up and adjust volume etc while in there...

-B

Brady
How do you do Transcendental meditation?

Gene,
This is something that you have to learn in person http://www.tm.org/learn/index.html

-B