Phenomenological and neurophysiological evidence for an altered state of consciousness induced by Floatation-REST

Toberl, T., Feinstein, J., Khalsa, S., Reggente, N.,

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Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy)—suspension in a warm, salt bath that strips away exteroceptive input—offers a rare subtractive path into non-ordinary states of consciousness. Across two studies in anxious and depressed adults, we mapped the phenomenology of this state and, for the first time, its electrophysiology. Floatation-REST reliably induces an altered state organized around the dissolution of bodily boundaries—a profile that, on the 5D-ASC, closely resembles ketamine and low-dose psilocybin. This dissolution arrives in both positive and negative forms, yet only the positive, oceanic dimension is mechanistically tied to affective benefit. Its physiological signature is elevated delta power relative to an exteroceptive (film) condition, echoing the low-frequency hallmarks of psychedelic states. We name this state aquahenosis—oneness with water—and argue it warrants attention not merely as a clinical tool, but as a distinct inducer of altered consciousness.

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