Customer Reviews

Get High Now (without drugs)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got a copy of this thinking it would look cool on my coffee table and honestly, it's more than just a pretty cover. It's hysterical! Kinda reminds me of the Worst Case Scenario books -- when they first came out, before they were overdone. The techniques, seriously, really do work for a quick, legal, mid-day energy boost (some of them higher than others). I work from home and have found myself trying a few of these "tricks" to get a little inspiration and creativity. It's like I'm tapping into some kind of weird energy. The website is a great design ([...]) with audio and video highs and I'm downloading the iPhone app. Great for writers, creatives, non-religious spiritualists, yoga fans or 20-something guys who like to snicker at the cover. Oh, and it does look really cool on my coffee table.

James Nestor has compiled over 175 ways to get high, without the expense, legal ramifications and/or risk to your health that comes from the doing the other stuff. Ironically, alcohol & tobacco are the most dangerous drugs known to man, yet they're legal. Add a little processed sugar to the mix and you'll be dead before you know it; at least you avoided criminal prosecution.

Seriously, this is quite an engaging resource for tapping into our senses, to produce natural highs; and they really work. I just tried the "hypnagogic induction" and I inadvertently created the most incredible lucid dream I've ever had; filled with amazingly detailed designs that would make Peter Max proud. The good news is, it's completely safe and cost-free during these tough economic times. No wonder this thing's selling like crazy.

Not all of Nestor's suggestions are for everyone, of course. Personally, I can't imagine eating or smoking ants to get a buzz, or looking for that dopamine high if I happen to get repeatedly stung by bees. Thanks, but no thanks.

However, this book comes highly recommended for anyone trying to get the most out of their natural states. The brain really is a marvelous device and it functions best when no outside chemicals are introduced into the mix; hear that, kids?

Nestor has unlocked the keys to our imagination; but this "Twilight Zone" won't freak you out.

Middle-aged and silver-streaked hippies definitely notice this title and I can state from personal experience that it arouses curiosity. (It's true that the more things change, the more they remain the same.) The cover jacket describes Get High Now as containing "over 175 sensory trips and tricks for visual stimulation, compressing time, lucid dreaming, meditation, and more." And indeed it does. Some of them are more mundane, such as self-hypnosis and some are quite bizarre, such as sungazing; many are quick and simple and can be done almost anywhere. The author has compiled these methods from many eras and sources around the world, and with a group of volunteers, tested all of those that have no undesired effects, which the majority of these entries are. There are a few methods that the author does not recommend but has included for their intrigue--anthropological oddities, he calls them.

Although it is unlikely that I would sit down and "read" this book, it makes a great travel book, bathroom book, or for reading any time you have a few minutes to spare. It could also be fun to experiment with some of these methods in groups. Get High Now also offers an audio-visual web component if you want to expand your repertoire. I love this book just because it stimulates perception and thought processes--like having a portable jungle gym for your mind on hand. Groovy.

I bought this book because, like all humans, I like to get high once
in a while. To my surprise and delight, most of the book is devoted to
the story behind the high, rather than actual instructions on
achieving the specific high. While you can definitely use the step by
step methods to get high (without drugs), and I have, I found it more
interesting as a straight read-through on the history and factoids
behind each high.

Probably the first altered state of consciousness I ever became aware
of was spinning on a merry go round as a little kid and, like most
people, I've discovered and enjoyed other highs throughout my life. As
a world traveler, it's not hard to notice that different cultures all
over the globe have distinct methods for achieving altered states.
It's a universal impulse for mankind and one that's as natural as any
of our other desires. This book researches dozens and dozens of
"highs" from all over the world, and presents them in accessible,
often hilariously written little nuggets. Most include scientific
explanations, which I thought pretty fascinating. It's a fun trip
either which way.

Creatively written and funny. The author states up front that he did a lot of personal research for this book, and despite his matter-of-fact writing style, I never felt like he got away from the "your mileage may vary" mindset. I enjoyed feeling like I was being encouraged to try the techniques for myself and make my own opinions.
I felt a little bored by the optical illusions. I'm sure I couldn't find 175+ ways to get high (without drugs), and it *does* say "...for visual stimulation..." on the cover, but it felt a little cheap to me.
It would have been nice to know that Quicktime is required for such a large portion of the online content, as it is not available for my operating system.

This is a very entertaining and informative book. The author's no-nonsense (yet funny) style throws one tidbit after another at the reader. There are literally more highs than I have time left in my remaining years to to experiment with.

One story deserves to be told, though: wind roughing. How to get high acting like your mutt. You know, how many times have you seen a station wagon going down the road with a dog's head hanging out ears all a-flapping. Well, we can do that, too, in our own way. The author describes several cars and how to get the passengers to experience the whop-whop-whop of air blowing in the passenger cabin when one window, or another, is lowered just-so-much. One funny example was a Jetta which blew out their ears, almost. Another, a VW bus, was the subject of an experimental fine-tuning to enhance the whop-whop-whop but broke down before achieving success. Seems you can get quite high, dizzy, delirious or what-not doing this. I have to try it with my wife someday.

Then we go to ants, leaves, breathing - all sorts of things. Look, if you can laugh at yourself and your fellowman, you'll get a real, big bang out of this book that I first heard of while listening to Coast-to-Coast AM's midnight insomnia group therapy session.

If there is a scrap of the rebel left within you (I got heaps), if you've ever wanted to meet Dr. Charles T. Tart (I had breakfast with him), if you've ever been a psychonaut (I still am one): you simply must buy this book. Jam packed full of every non-drug means of addling your brain, tweaking, zonking, wigging out and tripping the light fantastic, Get High Now provides opportunities to enter altered states previously unthinked of.

Kriya breathing? Check. Hypnagogic Inductions? Present. Centaur-Level Transmogrification? Here! Exposure to Inescapable Physical Trauma? Got it! Russian Reindeer That Have Just Ingested Urine and Eaten Amanita Muscaria Mushrooms! You'd Better Believe It! (Seriously, those are all actual entries in the book.) And I'll be a hyper-evolved simian's paternal sibling if they don't work! I just spent a half hour practicing Left/Right Brain Counterintuition Discourse and Non-Sexual Public Nudity and I could barely form complete sentences for 10 minutes!!!

Do as Timothy Leary says, "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

PS. many of these can be practiced in the office. 'Nuff said.

This is just a really neat book to have. Very interesting to read and fun to try out different ways to get high naturally. This would be a great gift for a friend! It also would be fun to gather all your friends for a get-together, party, book club, etc. and discuss the material of the book and try out the different ways you could get high! It is just a cute book to have. I would definitely recommend you buy it!! You won't be disappointed!

Despite the attention-getting title, this book has lots of interesting & interactive audio, visual and sensory experiments that you can try, along with the scientific explanations of why and how they work. I have tried several of them, especially those included on the book's companion website [...] and can't find a better word than "trippy" to explain their effects. Many are simple enough that you could try them right now at your desk. One quick fave is the holographic sound from p. 193 (a sound clip is on the site) where the way the sound was recorded makes it sound three-dimensional, as if someone is walking around you--making sounds. Try it with your eyes closed for maximum effect.

Some of the entries are anecdotal and spark the imagination. The author talks about ways that people tried to get high in the past such as ingesting ants, the blood of schizophrenics and by eating certain types of cheese. While you may or may not try them, they make for interesting cocktail party chatter and trivia knowledge.

Due to the amount of scientific info in the book, it would be a fun reference to use in college physiology and science courses.

An iphone app exists for the book, but I haven't downloaded it, yet.

Got an advanced copy of this book a few days ago and can't put it down. It's a crack up. There is so much in here. I actually tried the hypnagogia induction last night -- it worked, and it was very, very weird! Some of the meditations seem like they take a while and I haven't tried them, but the the other stuff like audio and visual highs are cool and [...] is a crazy place to waste a few hours.