My Second Float

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I had been working in IT for about 5 years and was absolutely sick of it. I would listen to podcasts throughout most of my day to stay sane. One of those podcasts was The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe Rogan would talk about this sound and light isolated “float tank” he owned that was filled with salt water. It sounded amazing and the introspection that he got out of his experiences sounded like something I wanted for myself.

I looked online to see if there was anywhere in Portland that had a sensory deprivation tank. I found one gentleman named Chris who had a float tank in his home. He let people float in his tank for a small sum of cash, so I called him and booked an appointment. When I told Sandra about getting naked into a float tank all by myself in someone else’s apartment, she basically told me that it wouldn’t be happening. I cancelled my appointment.

What seemed like just a few weeks later (it may have been months now that I think back on it) Sandra surprised me with several Groupons for floats at an official float center called Float On. We scheduled our appointments and took the plunge. I’ll save you from the story of my first float, as it was actually not very special. In fact, it was actually largely disappointing. “Well” I thought to myself “that was a lot of hype” and was done with it. What I hadn’t realized was that Sandra had bought about a dozen Groupons and really wanted to try it again. Eventually she convinced me to go in for a second attempt, and that float changed my life forever. 

Sandra Art small
A painting Sandra made after her second float.

Going in I knew what to expect. I knew what it felt like to float on top of water. I knew what it was like to be still for 90 minutes. I knew it wouldn’t be completely silent as I would hear my own heartbeat and breathing. I knew what to expect. I knew not to expect anything. However it was that lack of expectation that completely changed what my second float would become. I got comfortable quickly. My mind stilled. My mind then opened. Soft reds covered my vision (or lack of vision) and a deep jungle green took over my consciousness. I saw myself from a third person perspective and who I saw was a very bright soul. I saw a young man who emanated warm and positive vibes, and exuded self confidence. The best part was that I was seeing how other people saw me, without my ego coloring my perception. I liked the person that I saw. It was this moment that I found and still find monumentally powerful. You see, for most of my life I have been very critical of myself, always viewing myself as a glass half empty rather than half full. For the first time, I was able to see myself without being chained to my self. It was a gift given to me in the float tank that continues to affect me to this day.

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4 responses to “My Second Float”

  1. Melissa Rachel Black Avatar

    I love your description of your second float! ” I saw myself from a third person perspective and who I saw was a very bright soul. I saw a young man who emanated warm and positive vibes, and exuded self confidence. The best part was that I was seeing how other people saw me, without my ego coloring my perception. I liked the person that I saw.”

    We totally do see you that way. Keep it up 🙂

  2. Melissa Rachel Black Avatar

    Oh and Sandra’s painting is beautiful.. I want to see the whole thing.

  3. […] Sandra and I walked off stage, hugged and hugged and hugged and then sat down for a post speech interview (we’re a pretty ridiculous couple, so good luck to the people editing that footage). Afterwards, two Canadian entrepreneurs getting ready to start a business named the Float Shack introduced themselves. I didn’t realize it at first, but I had called them some months ago about a public incident regarding their previous name choice that infringed on another center’s. They received an unfair public attack from the other center and in the middle of the night I saw the attack and called them, leaving a voicemail explaining that the float community is a very positive place and that despite the incident, they are surrounded by people who will help them in any way they can. They brought this up to me and told me how much it meant to them; that during their difficult time this call was a ray of positivity that helped them stay strong. I don’t know how much this call really influenced them, but they sure did seem grateful. And this is when my first set of tears started leaking. The fact that I could positively influence someone like this remind me of the feelings I had experienced during my second float. […]

  4. […] Wait, actually it started months before that when we realized we were building communities at the Float Shoppe as gatherings, women’s groups and meditation classes started bubbling up in our space. We knew that this was something special and something we wanted to help flourish. Meditation groups in a float center are fine, but other groups tend to be a bit loud, so we knew we would need a new space.Okay, the story goes back even further, but for that you’ll just want to read my first few blog posts documenting how Sandra and I first met and then started our float center. […]

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