Float Stories | Matt

about float stories: we ask people how they heard about floating, what their first experience was like and what benefits they hope to gain.

This is Matt's float story.

​How did you first hear about floating?
I first heard about floating like every 20 or 30-something male did: from Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience. I didn't think much of it at first but the idea grew on me over time.

I had talked about doing it for years by the time I finally googled to see if there was a float center nearby. My girlfriend, now fiancé, bough the me a session at ISOfloat Center in Whitefish. We spent the weekin the woods with no cell service and ended the week with a float.

​What was your first time like?
Unbelievable. I was so worried that I had hyped it up too much. Once I got in chamber and closed the lid, I understood what everyone is talking about - this was a completely foreign experience. As I settled in, I realized that I had never been alone with my thoughts like this. That freaked me about but I listened to the advice I'd been given: just observe your thoughts and breath through any anxiety.

At first my brain seemed to be running at 100 mph but I know now that I just become more aware of it in the tank. It was disturbing how many of those thoughts were worries. Mostly unfounded worries. I started to pop them like bubbles by visualizing the worst case, realizing it wasn't that bad and forgetting about each one. I spent the rest of the time sleeping/daydreaming. Wow.

What benefits do you get from floating?
​Floating for me is a way of unplugging from the distractions of everyday life. When you get in the tank, all of the inputs the brain is processing all-day, everyday are suddenly cut off.

It's that separation from stimulus that brings your unconscious thoughts front and center. I've found that it is only through examining these 'programs' that affect the way I think and feel that I can change them. I can't describe the difference that makes for me.

The tank is simply an environment that promotes my ability to do that. Enlyten Lab - think of it as a place to experiment with enlightenment. It's my way of offering that same peace I've found through floating to my friends and neighbors.