Timothy Leary’s Flotation Tank is up for Auction
|Whoa. Timothy Leary’s flotation tank is up for auction. If the Melvan was the dream trophy for grunge fans, this float tank is the ultimate item for gurus.
Are you intrigued by the healing or consciousness-changing potential of flotation tanks? Now is your chance to experience the flotation chamber in your own home with a unique piece of psychedelic history. When John Lilly, inventor of the flotation tank, heard that Timothy Leary was dying of cancer, he called up tank experts Glenn Perry and Craig Ingles and flew to Los Angeles to give Timothy a tank. On February 16, 1996, Dr. Lilly and the Samadhi Tank Company delivered the tank to Timothy Leary to help ease his end-of-life suffering. On hand to help set it up were Craig Ingles, Zach Leary, Dean Chamberlain, and Doug Rushkoff. Soon thereafter, Leary made the ultimate journey, passing on May 31, 1996.
A couple years ago I got in a local float tank, and I highly recommend the experience for anyone suffering information overload. For those of you in the Bay Area, there’s a flotation center inside of an art gallery. Check it out here.
I’d love to own my own someday. If you can afford one, this is the one to get. Proceeds from the sale of Timothy Leary’s flotation tank benefit MAPS, a groundbreaking multidisciplinary organization for psychedelic studies (of which I am a proud member). Bidding just began at $5K here.
Click through for more info from the press release.
Manufactured by Samadhi Tank Corp. in 1995, the ‘Classic’ model features water filtration and water temperature control systems. It is ABS plastic inside and out; complete thermal isolation, completely light proof, with a silent air circulation system to ensure an optimally isolated experience.
The float tank is a little larger than a twin sized bed and chest high (4′ x 8′). It is filled with 10″ of water with epsom salts to create ideal floatation conditions. The user is pushed to the surface and floats like a cork, weightless as an astronaut in space. There is a lightweight door that you can leave open or close if you want to minimize outside noise and distraction. The tank is clean, in excellent working condition and contains an inside fan and stereo speakers.
After Leary’s death in 1996, the tank lived at the forest compound of visionary artist and light painter, Dean Chamberlain and Stacy Valis. It was given a blessing when John Lilly came for his light portrait in 1997. During this time It was used by some but not many, including John Perry Barlow, Doug Rushkoff, Oz Janiger, and Dean Chamberlain. It has been in temperature control storage since Oct. 2001.