Actor Jeff Bridges practices meditation almost every day, finding the practice “very effective,” he told contactmusic.com.

“It’s good to block out external stimulus for a set amount of time, because, for one thing, it enhances the experience when you are stimulated by something. It brings dynamics to your life,” he explained.

Bridges was one of the first to use the isolation tank developed by physician and psychoanalyst, John C. Lilly. A lightless, soundproof tank, it allows people to float in salt water at skin temperature, and is often used for meditation, relaxation and in alternative medicine.

“He developed the isolation tank, and I was one of his subjects when he was experimenting with it,” Bridges said. “The idea was to explore what consciousness is when you take away all of the senses and you’re floating. You discover that you’re projecting a lot of energy from within you, but normally you can’t distinguish it.”