Can Orgasms Alter Your State of Consciousness?
Sex can be an all-consuming activity that engages our senses and being. But, has it ever felt earth-shaking or like an out of body experience? Or maybe you’ve seen colors, shapes, or lights after an explosive orgasm. Can orgasms alter your consciousness?
Some individuals, especially vagina-owners, are reporting some sexual experiences that start to sound a little more like a mushroom trip. Scientists and sexually active individuals everywhere are starting to look into the power of sex and its affects on consciousness.
What is Consciousness?
Honestly, no one really understands consciousness entirely. Many refer to it as a form of awareness or sentience. Some specify that it’s a form of metacognition like you can think about thinking or your memories and sensations. You can direct your attention to the mind inside of yourself reading these letters or feel each of your fingers or toes.
However you want to think about it, for the sake of our exploration, consider it your ability to be aware of the current moment.
What is Sex?
The act of sex is typically stimulating for all parties involved. The pleasure that’s released during sex may stem from a variety of places such as touching erogenous zones like genitals or nipples, as well as feeling the closeness or intimate seduction of your partner(s). And, let’s not forget the magic that can come from masturbation, especially when you add a stimulation gel!
This experience can lead to a build up that we all fondly seek known as an orgasm, and can result in a deeply satisfying release that typically completes the sexual encounter. This release is known as the orgasm, finishing, or the Big O, and is more commonly where we see sex and consciousness intertwined.
How Does Sex Affect Consciousness?
An altered state of consciousness, or non-ordinary states, is essentially a shift from your typical consciousness without being unconscious. This could be everything from meditation or hypnosis to giving birth or taking LSD. And, yes, you guessed it, sex shows signs of altering consciousness.
According to Vox, more than 30 brain systems are turned on during an orgasm, making it an all-hands-on-deck sort of experience that doesn’t just target one area or section of the brain. It’s like a firework show where you don’t focus on one explosion, but rather a zoomed out perspective of everything.
Many explain altered states as being fully immersed or present, losing a sense of time, or even space. These descriptors come up in orgasms where some experience quaking, shaking, visions, or surreal and death-like feelings.
People sometimes laugh and cry after an orgasm and feel positive emotions from the release of feel-good chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine. And, according to New Scientist, there is a sort of deactivation of an area in the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and more specifically, the orbitofrontal cortex.
They argue that this may be “the most telling” indicator for an altered state of consciousness and it’s explained as a way that one releases control or "lets go" in a sexual experience to achieve orgasm.
Tips for Mind-Altering Orgasms
Orgasms having the ability to alter consciousness sounds magical, and it is. Whether you’ve experienced these transcendent O’s or not, these are a few tips to support your pleasure-inducing altered states.
Set and Setting
A feeling of safety and comfort can help you let go and release fear or tension that could stand in the way of your orgasm. It’s important that you’re in an environment or with individuals that help you feel like you can be yourself and safely explore your body. Be intentional with your sexual activity whether it’s by yourself or with others to maximize your pleasure as you open yourself up and “let go.”
Practice
No orgasm is the same. They’re like unique mind-bending truffles that deserve patience and attention. Cherish each delicious taste and enjoy the experience as you explore the power of sex and beyond. And, consider adding lube or other props that can support your adventures.
Read more about sex magic HERE for additional insight into sexual energy and the many facets of this alluring topic.
