I think it's worth trying. It can be genuinely therapeutic, since it can show you another side to yourself; happier, kinder, more confident and more loving.
"It's not just the pills talking, man, I really mean it!" hehehe
Ah. Sounds nice, but I just physically cannot smoke that stuff. It's like smoking hay. Not enough active ingredient, you have to smoke through great bales of it. Or maybe I've just had bad batches.
The technique as explained to me is just to breathe in very deep and hold your breath for as long as possible. I wouldn't recommend it though - I hated salvia. It's only a brief experience, but I couldn't really remember where I was nor, more importantly, why I was hallucinating. Maybe this is just me, but it was very unpleasant.