I knew that my life wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. My office job seemed so fulfilling to my peers, but I couldn’t help but find myself less and less happy every time I drove into work. Dreading a full day of staring at a screen containing nothing that interested or fulfilled me. I was making money though. I was going to buy a house soon. Wasn’t I doing the right thing by staying at this job?

During longer thoughtless portions of my day I began listening to podcasts in one ear. Quietly escaping my office and hearing the world from another’s perspective. This is how the seed of floating showed up in my brain. It germinated, grew, and before long it was all that I thought about. I didn’t know what exactly it would do for me, but through my podcasts I had heard about the incredible visual experience people would have, out of body perhaps? Incredible realizations that transformed the people that whispered into my ears during my weekdays.

It didn’t take long for my mind to be completely consumed with the thought of getting into a float tank and scheduling my first float. As I lay back in the salt infused, slightly warm water, I remember analyzing the space I was in, judging… Was this true sensory deprivation? What senses could I still feel? Eventually I wondered, where is my transformative experience? Where are my visuals? My excitement changed into frustration as the music came on letting me know my float was coming to a close. I left my float thinking I was relaxed, but that wasn’t what I was hoping for.

Thank goodness a friend asked me to come float again. They didn’t say much as to why, but hinted that there was more to find in the space of a float.
Leaving my second float I reflected on the incredible transformative love I felt for myself in the float tank. Something I had struggled with my entire life. I wore a smile on my face that came from feelings deep within me. I thought back to my time in the tank, a time that felt so brief, and remembered the intense greens, the seeing myself from outside of myself and the warmth and love I felt for myself. A feeling I carry with myself to this day.

I arrived at my third float with no questions about the experience. I had no expectations. I had learned that a float is something that unites yourself with your self. Spending time with my deeper core is a gift and a beautiful way to face inward and visit myself in a world where  I am constantly facing outward.

For me the 3rd time was the trick to know that the float was not a trick, not a gimmick, not a shortcut to life, but simply time to spend with myself without distraction, which is why I left my office job and created a life where I follow my own passions, find fulfillment and continue floating to see who I am today.