The Brain Stem- Mid Brain
This experience engages the midbrain’s sensory and cognitive processing centers, particularly the superior and inferior colliculi, which regulate visual and auditory perception. The interplay of charcoal textures and vibrational music activates pattern recognition, guiding the brain to find meaning within ambiguity. Sensory input transcends literal interpretation, inviting a more fluid and intuitive form of perception. Additionally, the reticular activating system (RAS), responsible for regulating wakefulness and attention, is directly influenced through its meditative framework. Entering in a quiet, intentional state shifts consciousness between deep relaxation and heightened awareness, reinforcing its role as a liminal space for perception.
Beyond sensory engagement, this integration extends to the dopaminergic pathways of the midbrain, which influence motivation, reward, and altered states of consciousness. Its abstract nature mirrors how the brain processes psychedelic experiences, where familiar structures dissolve and new patterns emerge. This functions as an integrative experience, expanding perception and self-awareness through a dynamic interaction between external stimuli and internal meaning-making. By engaging the midbrain’s mechanisms of sensory processing, attention, and neural plasticity, it fundamentally shifts how reality is perceived and internalized.
Defali Image: Mixed Media-Charcoal, Copper, Thread, Plastic, and Graphic
Soundtrack: Kalimba. Golden Whistle. Water. Egyptian Sistrum. Music of Memory
This journey of barbaric discipline,
of unearthing myself,
oh, how desperately I sought myself.
How I wanted to be anything but human,
yet, layer upon layer, I only saw vibrance in this self.
Why must one escape being human?
Yet this journey of blatant cruelty
I have done, needed itself.
Now, even though I know nothing exists,
I remind myself:
there is this dream, so beautiful,
full of joy and abundance,
I must return to.
This is the dream I gift myself,
the dream of being human.
⬤
A minimum three nights
Chickpea
