But you won’t experience ‘Altered States’
Total relaxation waits
in a deprivation tank
By Lori Steinhauer
Of the Emerald
In the movie “Altered States,” Dr. Eddie Jessup
hallucinated his way back to the earliest stage of evolu
tion inside a sensory deprivation tank.
Within the airtight tank, Jessup floated atop a solu
tion of Epsom salts and water and sank deep into
meditation. Soon his imagination took a tumble
through time and he envisioned himself as a primitive
monkey being chased and beaten. A now “altered” and
raging Jessup suddenly broke out from isolation and
dodged into the city streets.
For viewers of the movie, “Altered States” turned
sensory deprivation into a mysterious phenomenon.
However, sensory deprivation, or “floating” as it
is termed at the newly opened Eugene Floatation
Center, is more a means to relaxation than a mystic
mind trip, says Wes Bigelow, owner of the operation.
Bigelow says while everyone experiences something
Former ‘frat’ band now
a local market sell-out
With the first 1,000 newly pressed copies of
their first album “Law and Order” sold-out in
nine days, the Crazy 8s could say that they are
well liked here in town.
Once a “frat” band from Oregon State
University, the group has tightened up its act
considerably to become one of the biggest draws
in the Northwest, packing clubs-in from Ashland
to Vancouver, B.C.
With opening acts resembling the likes of the
Clash, Romeo Void and The Blasters, the Crazy 8s
are an eight-man band in the “two-tone” tradi
tion of the English Beat and Specials. Still, the
band’s personal influences extend well beyond
that genre, their sound banks fusing ska rhythms
with light, funk-laden bass with Latin per
cussives and punchy horn breaks, all into a pop
music framework.
The Crazy 8s will perform at the Factory
Restuarant at 47th Avenue and Main Street in
Springfield tonight and Saturday. The music
begins at 9:30 p.m.
different inside the tank, stress reduction is one of its
main functions.
“The first time it will be real novel, and after that it
will be a tool that can be used in a lot of ways,” he says.
Jane Bernstein says at first the sensation of floating
was “scary,” since she had never experienced anything
like it before. But after a few minutes Bernstein says she
became acclimated to the tank, and she now floats for
relaxation several times a week.
“When I first went in, it felt like 1 was going head
first into a waterfall, and 1 didn’t know when I was go
ing to hit bottom. But when I got totally relaxed it felt
like free falling.” she says.
“It’s like dreaming, except it’s not — 1 know where
1 am,” says Linda Horsfall, who also enjoys floating.
“What’s nice about it is you go in there, turn the lights
off, turn the sound off, and shut out the rest of the
world. It can actually be a kind of sensual experience. It
made me be very aware of my body. It’s the only place 1
know of where I can let go.
“The relaxing part doesn’t always hit me until
maybe an hour after I get out, and it stays with me the
rest of the dav.”
Floating in saline saturated water in a light, sound
insulated shell measuring about 9 feet long and 6 feet
-wide was the idea of neurophysiologist John Lilly, in
1954 while working for the National Institute of Mental
Health, Lilly ventured into the use of flotation tanks to
disprove theories that sensory deprivation had adverse
effects on the mind.
About two decades later, Glen and Lee Perry began
selling tanks for private home use in California.
Today flotation tanks cost anywhere from $3,500 to
$8,000, with the more deluxe models equipped with
lights, music, jacuzzi jets and even video tapes,
Bigelow says.
The tank at the Eugene Floatation Center contains a
stereo system. In addition, a second tank with the add
ed feature of a video tape machine soon will be
available for floating at the center.
Bigelow says that although sensory deprivation
tanks have been relatively hazard-free, he takes certain
precautions for users of the tank. Before floating,
customers must fill out and sign an agreement stating
they have no infectious skin disorders. In addition,
they must claim responsibility for their physical and
mental conditions upon entering the tank.
Photo by Michael Clapp
Sensory deprivation tanks like the one at the Eugene
Floatation Center provide the latest way to unwind.
The tank also has an intercom system to Bigelow’s
desk, in case any problems arise in the tank. The inter
com can also be used “if people want to grit into some
kind of therapy,” Bigelow says.
An operator of several flotation centers in the East
said after seeing more than 10,000 people come
through his center, only four or five people had bad ex
periences, Bigelow says.
“It’s an uncommon occurrence,” he adds.
Before entering the tank, customers shower and
put plugs supplied by the center in their ears. When the
.session inside the tank is over, music comes on the
speaker in the tank, to signal that time is up.
Floating at the Eugene Floatation Center regularly
costs $20 for an hour and $45 for three one-hour ses
sions. Bigelow is running an introductory offer for
students, which costs $15 an hour, or $10 for any hour
between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m, Also, after one float anyone
who sends two new clients to the center gets a com
plementary float. The center is open Tuesday through
Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and is located at 1342
High St., Suite 2. For appointments and information,
call 484-1530. ' '
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