Get High Now

by James Nestor

Get High Now is an illustrated, mind-blowing magic carpet ride of more than 175 ways to alter human perception and consciousness without drugs or alcohol. Culled from science, physiology, spiritual practices, and the audio visual arts, these "all natural" highs playfully and safely explore the mind-body connection to entertaining and illuminating effect. Accessible and well-researched, each entry introduces concepts such as lucid dreaming, optical and auditory illusions, controlled breathing, meditation, time compression, and physical and mental exercises, explaining the ways in which they affect our minds and bodies and how to do them. Readers follow the author and his "HighLab" testing team through mind-bending and sometimes hilarious investigations, such as how to lull the mind into hallucinatory states with audio loops; why multiple bee stings lead to euphoric states; what cheeses to eat to induce psychedelic lucid dreams; how to control your breathing to create an out-of-body experience; and many more. Including solo, tandem, and group highs, Get High Now features hundreds of ways to calm or stimulate the senses and open new windows to experiencing the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Psychology, Science, Humor, Drugs, Mental Health

267 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2009

About the author

James Nestor is a journalist who has written for Outside magazine, Men's Journal, Scientific American, Dwell, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Atlantic, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others.

Reviews

[Kelly Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the suggestive title, this book is actually about a lot more than just getting high without drugs. The introduction describes the author's discovery of an eccentric uncle's notebooks filled with recipes for getting high on everything from kava to breathing techniques to catnip to colored noise. In that sense, it's about humanity passing down information about the human condition, in all its manifest weirdness. Ancient traditions and new scientific discoveries about the nature of the mind are brought together with wacky New Age gurus in a buffet of consciousness-altering activities. To top it off, the book is complemented by a website and an app that include visual and audio highs. One of my favorite audio highs involves a three dimensional sound that you experience as a box of matches being shaken in a circle around your head. Some of the highs, especially some of the visual highs, are sickening and are not even recommended by the "HighLab" experimenters. Many of the highs are mild and as ordinary as basil. Others are intricate exercises in making your diaphragm spasm for hours (see 12-Cycle Meth Breath). There are plenty of interesting factoids about things like Yucatan Trance Induction Beats (looping audio on the app!), which are modeled on the 210 bpm drum beats heard in conservative Catholic churches of southern Mexico, and which lull congregants into a deep trance within ten minutes. There are plenty of interesting religious dimensions to getting high, for instance Florentine Self-Flaggelation, a practice not unlike BDSM that causes the pituitary gland and hypothalamus to release endorphins to nerve cells upon whipping the shit out one's back. The entry on Hallucinogenic-Plant-Infused Honey reminded me of the fact that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey and dressed up like Elijah and started Christianity. I should probably buy a copy of this book, a once-through from the library really doesn't do it justice.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get High Now: Without Drugs Get High Now* is an interesting book, but it's hard to recommend to everyone. At it's most basic level, this book is a How To guide on altering mental perception. Generally, the book has two kinds of Highs in it. Boring ways that you should actually try, like breathing exercises and meditation, and interesting ways that you should never try because it's extremely dangerous like taking nutmeg (never consume large quantities of nutmeg. It will mess you up.) If you are interested in trying new things, I can strongly recommend this book. If you are interested in the crazy things people are willing to do to get high, this book is for you. Finally, if you want a book to put on your coffee table that makes you look like an interesting character and impress your guests, then by all means, get this book. If you aren't any of those things, I'd recommend that you stay away, because this book isn't for you. It's one of those books that you get out of it what you put in. Get High Now!(Without Drugs) has very simple premise and is competently written, but it's a topic better suited for a blog series rather than a book. The book is okay, entertaining at time and  at others, but it's novelty wears out somewhere in the middle.
If you're on the fence about the book, check out their website first. It has audio highs that are talked about in the book along with visual highs such as the one above. They even have an app!

[John Gentry · Rating 1 out of 5]

look call me crazy but when I bought this book I anticipated being able to get high now (without drugs). instead I was told old wives tales, and given instructions for various tricks of the mind involving patterns both visual and audio. so basically I was pretty damn disappointed. and no matter how many times I try picking it back up that disappointment never leaves. 1star.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book filled with optical illusions, audio stimulants and others theories I had not tested out. It is one of those books that would take someone a lifetime to get through, if they do each stimulant individually. I only did a few.
My favorite was a popular one, off Page 162 - Chronosynclastic Infundibulum. It was pretty cool to do.
I think all scientific minds will appreciate this read, but not many others. I suggest checking out the website, then the book.
(2.5/5)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. I bought it purely for fun, and it has provided me with entertainment worth what I spent, so no complaints. Most of the exercises in the book won't actually get you high, just provide you with heightened or slightly distorted senses for a period of time. A few of the breath exercises were quite interesting, and really gave me a new sense of how connected we are to our breathing-whether we realize it or not.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came across this book while researching yoga breathing techniques (some offhand comment in a blog). Thought it would be interesting, and I was not let down.

Witty commentary and fun exploration of the various ways that people have intentionally, inadvertently or through illusions, confused the brain. The title is a solid piece of clever marketing. Really, though, its not so much about getting high, but about the different ways the mind and body interact to cause various feelings of joy or confusion.

It really serves as kind of an intro to new-agey type things (lucid dreaming, yogic breathing, some compelling visual tricks that your mind just cannot process. Well researched, fun and quite interesting.

[Jane Demuth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read several of these books about getting high without drugs. They all disappoint me in the same way - cheeky writing, and a playful approach to the subject matter. Also, with respect to the authors' own personal experiences, looking at a Magic Eye of a sailboat is not the same as getting high. I think these books are chiefly addressed to the recreationalist, not those who are interested in extraordinary experiences of the Other but wary of exogenous chemistry.

This book was better than most. But I think I'll stick with the ancient yoga texts that are my bread and butter in this regard. They, at least, come with disclaimers that improper application of the methods described therein may lead to death, dismemberment, Or Worse.

[Chayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book that talks about ways you can get high without the use of illegal drugs. They cover topics such as self-hypnosis, licking toads, lucid dreaming, taking all kinds of different herbs and spices, and even have little "get high now" experiments. One of the funniest, is closing your eyes in the shower, allowing the water drops to splash against your eyelids, creating a kaleidoscopic reverie of colors. I haven't really tried much of what they suggest, but it's still something cool to have or give as a gag gift.

[James Goeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and short "chapters". No hocus pocus new agey clap trap. It merely explains the techniques and the "why" they might work for you. So far a single beer will alter me more than nay of the techniques....but I don't need the calories. They are probably like anything else....you need to practice them before they will work.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

seems gimicky at first glance but this is really a handbook for seeing the world in new ways. I have tried quite a few of these exercises and almost all of them deliver.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer on how to play around with your mind-body.

[Anna Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a number of great meditations, breath work exercises, and optical & auditory illusions in this book. However, the author's pseudo-witty, sarcastic tone is annoying as hell.

[Nathan Hebda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it for the interesting instruction in less popular breathing and meditation techniques. Thats about a quarter of the book. The rest is just mediocre illusions and, despite the title, drugs found in nature. Also the supplementary website is no longer up. Also, I appreciate it when artists don't take their work seriously but Nestor almost mocks you for reading it throughout the book. Not surprised the author doesn't include this in his current online portfolio.

[Phil Calandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Get High Now" encompasses techniques to alter one's perception and consciousness to experience an augmented sense of reality. This is done without the drugs and alcohol. It should be noted that some of these techniques may be dangerous, and others may need professional guidance. The author does cite several meditations and breath work exercises that are excellent from a spiritual perspective.

[Stef · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calling the majority of the things/experiments/illusions in this book "highs" is a bit of a stretch. The term "high" as it's used here is murky if not extremely liberal--it appears to be anything that temporarily drags your attention away from your daily routine. I can imagine that being a part of HighLab, the group testing out the safer stuff (e.g., meditating as opposed to eating large quantities of nutmeg), was a fun way to get some friends together; I could see myself enjoying this way more under those circumstances. But just reading this on a lark out of curiosity, without going to the website for the audio and visual aids, wasn't such a great time; the majority of the highs come across as preposterous, impractical, or pure filler (e.g., magic eye tricks). It's as if you had to be there (in HighLab) to get it.

[Elizabeth Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "get high" refers to the perception altering effects of this entertaining collection of optical illusions, brain twisters, logic problems, and mind blowers. Best ingested in small doses. Reading straight through is a bad trip (headache inducing).

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, maybe not as in depth as I would have expected. The information is a bit watered down and most of it I already knew about. It's trying a little too hard to be "hip", but luckily I didn't spend any money on it and found it at the library instead.

[Emily A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The website has some cool auditory effects, but the book itself is mostly shallow.

[Dana Jerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'll always keep this book on my shelf, because its better than parlour games- its science with friends and trancendental visualizations!