John Lilly is known for inventing the ‘isolation tank’ in the 1950s. He recognised tanks as a means to isolate users from almost all external stimuli. This allowed users to explore the human consciousness without any external distractions. After developing the mechanics of the isolation tank, he then experimented with combining this experience with psychedelics, including LSD.
“In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits. These limits are to be found experientially and experimentally. When the limits are determined, it is found that they are further beliefs to be transcended. In the province of the mind, there are no limits. The body imposes definite limits.” – John Lilly
Later in Lilly’s career he used his research towards communicating with dolphins. He studied how bottlenose dolphins speak. During this work he established centres in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and later San Francisco, solely to study dolphin communication