Bujin's Ultima test notes

Subliminal Club LABS: Public Experimental Testing
#1

Equipment:
FiiO M7 player
Shure SRH940 headphones

Day 1:
Sub A - 2 loops back-to-back from 8am.

During sub:
Within minutes felt in a lightly altered state, and experienced mild pleasurable sensations in my body, moving from the abdomen upwards.

About half an hour in, the right side of my jaw felt tense, and I felt very hungry. May be unrelated to the sub.

After sub:
Some euphoria, and the pleasurable sensations in the body continued, even intensified a little, and remained in a lightly altered mental state for a while.

It’s raining here so stuck inside. Felt like listening to music, so put on Tomorrowland - Amicorum Spectaculum, and just felt fantastic. Later switched to some Blues (Alligator Records compilation). Music sounded more immersive and pleasurable than usual, probably due to the euphoric feelings.

Euphoric feelings started fading after ~1.5 hours but felt really good for a few hours longer. It’s now 4 hours later and I still feel pretty good. Still feel like I’m in a lightly altered state.

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#2

Welcome to Ultima. :wink:

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#3

Day 2:
Sub B - 2 loops back-to-back from 10am

During first loop:
Experienced vague nausea during first 15 minutes, then faded.
Felt unusually hungry from around half way through.

Within the first few minutes a mild ache started on the rear left side of head, then moved to left side, then left temple and jaw, then across the brow, then moved to right temple and jaw, then right side of head, completing the circuit by the end of the track.

Experienced a light altered state, but it felt harsher than yesterday. No euphoria. Felt vaguely annoyed.

During second loop:
Just generally felt in a vaguely annoyed mood. I had a mild headache in my forehead near the end, but there was no circling pattern as with the first loop. Felt impatient for the track to just end and checked the remaining time on several occasions.

After sub:
The annoyed mood started fading after about an hour, but some of it persisted and still does. I kept thinking about doing some cleaning or some work outside on the property, but it rained again so I just did some cleaning, but I felt like I was being nagged into it, which just increased my annoyance. I did feel better about it after I was done but didn’t really feel satisfied, just relieved that it was done.

No real interest in music this time, unlike yesterday. I tried listening to some but I turned it off after a couple of minutes, it just didn’t do anything for me.

Definitely felt more productive today than yesterday, but I didn’t enjoy it at all.

From tomorrow I’ll listen to the tracks late in the afternoon so as to minimize possible interference with work.

#4

When I woke this morning my mood from yesterday had solidified into something unpleasant. I feel strong and focused, but unforgiving and inflexible, and with almost a cold anger running underneath it all. Over the last month or so running Alchemist and then my custom, I had noticed my emotions clearing and purifying, and my heart chakra opening, and feeling more connected to everything. Right now I feel like I’ve not only regressed, but moved to the opposite extreme - my heart chakra has closed and I feel little empathy for anything.

I had two dreams last night which I feel are relevant:

In the first I was being driven home, but they dropped me off a long way from my home and I had to try to find my way back on foot.

In the second there was a tube coming out of me connecting to three purification devices, and my essence was flowing through the tube into each. Each device operated at a different level of my being, and split the essence into two streams, one was the purified essence and the other was the waste sludge removed from it. The three devices each had the valknut symbol on them (which was a symbol of the Norse god Odin).

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#5

The negative feelings from this morning have mostly faded, but still feeling focused and a bit grim, and also feeling a bit … empty I guess, a strange quietude. Not sure what to make of it just yet.

Will listen to my sub A loops in a couple of hours, will go for 3 loops this time.

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#6

Which works better in your opinion, A or B?

#7

I guess that depends on what they’re supposed to do.

I found A to be very uplifting, and very potent in that regard. The euphoria and pleasurable sensations came on very quickly, and lasted for most of the day. In that sense it was better, because it was enjoyable, unlike B. But once it faded I felt completely normal, and I don’t remember any unusual dreams from that first night. I didn’t notice any productivity increase like I did with B.

B made me want to do stuff, so improved my productivity, but I didn’t enjoy it. And still don’t, although it’s slowly wearing off. However, it does seem to be triggering some deep changes within me, and I believe it impacted my dreams. So I’d say B was the more effective for me, although I’m not sure at what exactly, given the deeper and longer lasting impact.

I’m hoping round 2 of each will help me understand a bit more. Hopefully I can give a better answer then.

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#8

Day 3:
Sub A - 3 loops.

In the early afternoon I had to go out to post some packages and buy a few things, and by necessity interacted with a few people. My state was still influenced by how I felt in the morning, although the negative aspects (like the anger) had mostly faded, and I felt strong and highly focused, like nothing outside me could affect me.

That state hasn’t changed at all today, I still feel that way. And it feels right, like I discarded some unnecessary bullshit.

I listened to all three loops back-to-back, starting at around 3pm today. The first two loops I listened to while working, whereas with the third loop I sat on the sofa and gave it some dedicated listening time.

1st loop - No change to mood at all, that feeling of strength and focus was impervious to whatever the sub was doing. It’s like track B went too deep, and track A was seemingly ineffective against it. Near the end of the loop I felt hot, especially in my head, with a mild headache, but no emotional change.

2nd loop - My head and face still felt hot, and I still had a light headache. By the end of the second loop my mood had lifted a little bit.

3rd loop - Since I was entirely focused on the sub for this loop, I fell into a deep altered state really quickly. There were two songs playing in my head, sometimes separately, sometimes intertwined. Various thoughts and images flashed through my mind. Throughout it all I still maintained that intense focus.

At the end of the loop I immediately put some music on, and it sounded beautiful. But, it was very different from Saturday when I played sub A for the first time. There was no euphoria, there were no pleasurable bodily sensations. My state was mostly still the same as before I started playing the sub, just a bit more positive. As soon as I finished listening I got up and did some cleaning and tidying up, barely giving it any thought.

Over the next couple of hours my mood lifted somewhat, and I found myself humming a few songs. And I still have that feeling of focus, it hasn’t faded one bit all day.

I’m actually looking forward to listening to sub B tomorrow. Even though I didn’t enjoy the experience yesterday, it seems to have had a deep impact on me, and I want to see what happens next with it.

#9

I only have a fragmented memory of my dreams last night, but I do remember that at least one was again related to Vikings and the god Odin.

I still have that strangely intense focus from yesterday.

#10

Day 4:
Sub B - 3 loops.

Felt fine today, no negatives to speak of before running my loops. Still felt very focused. Due to work commitments I ran my loops today later than I wanted to, which I think negatively affected the experience.

Loop 1:
By around the 20 minute mark by entire body felt very hot and I started sweating, but that feeling faded somewhat after a few minutes and settled down into a warmth in my head. I did feel some mild nausea and headache in my forehead from ~30 minute mark. I also felt a mild ache in upper front and rear teeth. I felt very hungry (I’m not sure why these subs make me hungry, but it seems to be consistent) so I took a break after a first loop and ate a sandwich, then ran the second loop.

loop 2:
I ran this loop while relaxing on the sofa. I had a mild headache during the first half, but I dozed off about halfway through then woke up just before the track finished.

loop 3:
Ran this immediately after the second loop. I mostly stayed in that half-awake state, didn’t doze off completely. However I had a headache at the top of my head for almost the entire loop.

After:
I think dozing off impacted the experience, because afterward I just felt a bit groggy and tired, and experienced no real productivity increase. I felt that slightly annoyed mood again, but not as bad as last time, plus a mild headache that came and went.

Due to running my loops late, I’m posting this only 3 hours after I finished the third loop, as I’ll be heading to bed very soon. In hindsight I should have dropped the third loop today, and going forward I’ll do that rather than run them too late.

#11

Fragmented dreams again, no clear recall.

I think the signs are there that I could use a rest day - the diminishing returns from the subs plus increased headaches during and after running.

Edit: Cleared by Saint, so today will be a rest day.

#12

I think the 3 loops I was doing was too much so yesterday was a necessary rest day to reset. I restarted today with two loops of sub A back-to-back from 3pm

1st loop:
I felt some heat in my head plus a light headache while listening. Went into a light altered state at some point.

2nd loop:
I started to feel good, upbeat. No headache. No drowsiness. I spontaneously started smiling part way through the loop.

After:
I was in a very upbeat mood, with a constant smile on my face. Almost a stupidly happy mood. Even two pieces of shitty news didn’t dent my mood, I just adapted and made plans to deal with both situations and moved on. I noticed only a slight push to start doing things, but once I started I kept going until I was done. I also felt a desire to spend time outside, so just walked around my wooded property while listening to music. It was just a really enjoyable experience.

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#13

Had several dreams about spears last night. :man_shrugging:

I’ve been struggling to fall asleep while on Ultima - too much energy even when really late. Melatonin works well though, it’s the only way I’ve been getting as much sleep as I have, although it makes me a bit groggy in the morning. I’m probably averaging around 6 hours a night at the moment.

#14

Sub B - 2 loops from 11am

1st loop - I didn’t notice anything unusual.

2nd loop - I had a slight headache, but nothing else unusual.

After:
It made me feel vaguely irritated again, which seems consistent for me with sub B. I would love to know why it has this effect on me. There’s some work I need to do on the exterior of the house, and it’s been bugging me to get started, but couldn’t since it’s been raining again. I’m planning lots of work over the weekend though, and there’s a definite desire to get started.

I’ve been wondering if the overnight effect I had the first time I listened to Sub B was due to it or just the residual/bloom effects of my custom. I’m thinking it may have come from my custom since I haven’t noticed anything similar since, although not knowing what’s in B I couldn’t say for sure.

Overall for me sub B is better for that productivity push but sub A is so much more enjoyable. Both are very energizing. In regards to which I prefer - I would happily use sub A going forward, especially in situations when I had time to simply enjoy it, or when I was with other people. I would probably pass on sub B though, for me the improvement in productivity doesn’t compensate for the negative effect on my mood.

#15

Sub A - 2 loops from 9am

I didn’t notice anything unusual while listening, but I was heavily focused on planning my work for the day, which involved taking apart and then repairing some of the siding on my house. When I was ready I went out and worked until I finished without taking a break, despite some unpleasant humidity. Feeling pretty good now, relaxing and enjoying the evening. Sub A always makes me feel good.

#16

1 loop of StarkU.

I spent most of the day working on my property, so by the time I stopped and listened to StarkU I was pretty tired. I lay on the sofa and started the sub, and within minutes I started drifting, but didn’t actually fall asleep. In this halfway state I saw a pitched battle between armored men and shape-shifting were-creatures, and I was one of the creatures. First I was a man running towards the battle, and then I changed into a wolf and slammed into one of the armored men. I could feel the sheer savagery of the moment.

I abruptly came out of this state and felt completely awake. I checked the time and it was about 15 minutes into the sub. From then on I felt energized and buoyant, and I started smiling for no real reason, other than I was suddenly happy. And I’m still feeling pretty good.

I can’t say I was any more productive afterwards, but then I’d already finished my work for the day and it was time to relax.

I’ll do 2 loops fairly early tomorrow morning.

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#17

Slept a full 8 hours last night for the first time since the Ultima test started.

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#18

Started listening to my loops for the day, but already noticed that I’m easily angered by things. It doesn’t help that I’ve had a nagging headache since this morning. I don’t think the headache is related to the subs though.

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#19

I’m glad stage 2 is Stark, and it makes sense since we already have two sets of data points to compare it to - StarkQ and StarkT.

I do miss Alchemist, though.

#20

After I finished 1 loop of StarkU, I went straight outside and did some work I’m been avoiding doing for a month now, because it’s a major pain in the ass. More than that, I was actually looking forward to doing it, despite the hot and humid conditions outside. That must say something for StarkU. But, so far it’s not that different to StarkT for me, which also gave me a noticeable boost after 1 loop.

I’m more interested to see if it has any cognitive or creativity boosting effects, I didn’t notice much when I was using StarkQ or StarkT so I’m hoping StarkU is more potent for that.