Do you ever want to change the way you see the world? Wouldn't it be fun to hallucinate on your lunch break? Although we typically associate such phenomena with powerful drugs like LSD or mescaline, it's easy to fling open the doors of perception without them: All it takes is a basic understanding of how the mind works....The first thing to know is that the mind isn't a mirror, or even a passive observer of reality. Much of what we think of as being out there actually comes from in here, and is a byproduct of how the brain processes sensation. In recent years scientists have come up with a number of simple tricks that expose the artifice of our senses, so that we end up perceiving what we know isn't real - tweaking the cortex to produce something uncannily like hallucinations. Perhaps we hear the voice of someone who is no longer alive, or feel as if our nose is suddenly 3 feet long.

Another trick I like is sitting in a dark room in front of a television set. Find an empty station with good random static - the fewer interference patterns the better. On an older TV set simply disconnect the coax from the back if you can't find a station with random enough noise. Stare at the white noise for a while and your mind will begin to 'connect the dots' into very animated mental images. Some visuals will be 2D while others are 3D and very spatial. Eventually your mind may even begin to add color to the pictures. People, places, objects, animals, as well as chaotic and indescribable visuals. Provided me plenty of entertainment when I was a kid.