Newsgroups: rec.drugs.psychedelic,alt.drugs.psychedelics,alt.drugs Subject: Psychedelic Experience FAQ [1/3] From: [g--os--s] at [brahman.nullnet.fi] (Gnosis) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 96 18:51:04 EET THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPERIENCE FAQ VERSION 1.0 Last update: 20 Jan 1996 By [g--os--s] at [brahman.nullnet.fi] (author, layout) & [n--o] at [brahman.nullnet.fi] (author) Thanks to Timothy Leary, Ph.D. (for writing "The Psychedelic & Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. Experience") & Richard Alpert, Ph.D. & [b--w] at [promind.com] (for many comments) & the Visionary Plants mailing list & all the anonymous net-people who added or corrected info & special thanks to our fellow innerspace astronauts for research, companionship, and just being there when needed <> 0: TABLE OF CONTENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1: Introduction 2: Before 2.0 Choice of substance 2.1 Choice of companions 2.2 Choice of location 2.3 Packing 2.4 Music 2.5 Triptoys 2.6 Drug interactions 2.7 Other 2.8 Intentions of the voyage 3: During 3.0 General advice 3.1 Physical interference 3.2 Flight plan 3.3 Differences between psychedelic drugs 3.4 Hallucinations 3.5 Psychedelic level 4: Afterward 4.0 Overview 4.1 Post-trip effects 4.2 The Eraserhead Syndrome 5: For the Voyager 5.0 Preamble 5.1 State of mind 5.2 Don't worry, be happy 5.3 Tripping just for fun 5.4 Viewpoint by Jake 5.5 Other points to keep in mind 5.6 Final words of wisdom 6: For the Guide 6.0 Preamble 6.1 Requirements 6.2 Role 6.3 Handling rough spots 6.4 Summary by an anonymous contributor 6.5 Footnote 7: Conclusion <> 1: INTRODUCTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Much has been written about the varieties of the psychedelic experience, and there is some excellent material floating on the net, such as the 200K transcription of the "Psychedelic Experience" mentioned above. Yet to date, there is no file that prepares the first-time user or covers the experience from a point of view comprehensible to people who have not tripped previously. This FAQ is an attempt to create such a file. The file originally stemmed from the Psilocybe Mushroom FAQ, which included quite a bit of information that turned out to be applicable to all psychedelic drugs, not just shrooms. Thus, we separated the applicable chunks and expanded them when necessary into this file. As before, "we" and "I" alternate randomly between the authors and their assistants. This file is divided into 5 main parts. Parts 2 through 4, "Before", "During" and "After" describe the preparation for the trip, the trip itself, and the aftereffects. Part 5 gives extra advice to the first-time tripper; part 6 gives extra advice to the first-time guide. An additional "High Dose Supplement" (HDS) to this FAQ will be published at a later date; its purpose is to give some additional information for high-dose explorers. Comments and criticism are welcome, as always. Enjoy your flight. <> 2: BEFORE ~~~~~~ All aspects of preparation, mental and otherwise, for the voyage. <> 2.0 Choice of substance By far the most popular psychedelic drugs are LSD and mushrooms; cannabis, while in a way psychedelic, is not within an order of magnitude of the effects of the 'real' hallucinogens (at normal doses at least). It does still provide a way of demonstrating to the alcohol/nicotine/ caffeine user that not all drugs are downers. MDMA is in a class of its own, much of what is written here is applicable. However, at least the way it is commonly used, it tends to be not so much mind-expanding as physically ecstatic (pun intended). Then there are of course DMT, 2C-B and other funky designer drugs, but the average person is not likely to run into them. More information on these will be given in the HDS. For the first-timer lucky enough to have a choice, I would recommend shrooms. A shroom trip lasts at most 6 hours, while LSD can last up to 12 hours, and at least some of those extra 6 hours are nearly always too much especially when tripping for the first time. However, some people think that LSD is a more 'positive' or 'up' psychedelic than shrooms, which depend more on your mood. Personally, I think the short duration is more important, negative first trips are extremely rare anyway. Dosage should be aimed low; after all, you can always increase the dosage next time if you aim too low, but you can't decrease a bad trip. In the black market it is unfortunately most difficult to estimate the strength of a dose, so having an experienced tripper gauge the batch beforehand is a good idea. See LSD/Psilocybe FAQs for exact dosage info. Especially with LSD, don't fall in the trap of "nothing's happening, guess I better take some more" after ingesting the first dose. Wait at least one hour with psilocybin and at least two with LSD before taking more to 'upgrade' a trip. However, in the words of Dave Gross <[d g ross] at [morlock.punk.net]>: But not too low. The first trip is important, and there seems to be added potential when first encountering the psychedelic realm. IMHO, it can be good for the first trip to be a powerful one (i.e. dive in rather than wade in). There are two considerations -- reduce the possibility of and the severity of a potential bad trip, and increase the power and baffling intensity of a good trip. Both are important. If safety were the overriding consideration, the person wouldn't be considering an illegal mind-fucking chemical in the first place. There needs to be a balance between safe conservatism ("How to trip safely") and enthusiasm ("How to see god, be god, and make god obsolete while listening to Pink Floyd"). <> 2.1 Choice of companions The dynamics of the group selected for the trip are crucial. Let us consider the aspects one at a time: - Type of friends To quote an anonymous file, which describes the choice of suitable tripping companions brilliantly: "Choose someone willing to listen to you sing the same song over and over again, offkey with broken lyrics. Someone you won't mind seeing you, and who won't themselves mind seeing you, drool, or laugh, or cry, or piss your pants with fear, or talk to God. Someone who will hold your hand while you take a shit to keep you from falling in and getting flushed down the drain. Someone, perhaps, a little stronger than you physically. Definitely, someone who has tripped before, more than once. Someone who has stories to tell -- and things they won't say. Someone who seems to take it all seriously, but still has a sense of fun. Definitely, someone with some degree of compassion and, gosh darn it, Wisdom. Definitely, someone who won't leave you by yourself, even for a second. If you choose someone you might get sexual with, be sure they will accept a clumsy, giggling fool as a lover, and that they won't be offended if you can't perform or forget to. Someone that can keep cool and keep you cool if you get pushy. If you find anyone who meets all these criteria, consider marriage. Try to be worthy." - Size of group Tripping alone, especially for the first time, is quite foolish. There are two significant factors in selecting group size. First of all, with inexperienced people, having several friends present will reduce the chances of somebody panicing. On the other hand, as the group size increases geometrically, the tensions and conflicts within the group will increase exponentially, generating a tense atmosphere and increasing the possibility of bad trips. Even numbers are also preferable, if/when the group breaks up into pairs being the one 'left out' is not nice. Thus our recommended total group sizes are as follows: All people inexperienced: 3-4 One person inexperienced: 2-3 All people experienced : 2 An experienced guide, such as a psychotherapist or shaman, can sometimes work with a larger group, such as 8-16 people, but usually all the people involved have at least some experience. - Trust in group This is probably the single most important characteristic. If you can trust the people you are tripping with, you will feel at ease with them during the trip and can use the time 'productively', instead of fretting over the hidden motives of everyone present. Being able to trust the judgment of the guide is thus especially important. - Gender issues Tripping with members of the appropriate sex present is fun, but it also brings with it the problem of sexual tension. Feelings may bubble to the surface during a trip, but it's also possible to misread others' signals, and you may do something that will prove embarrassing afterward. Also note that people who have a troubled relationship (just broke up, fighting continually, etc) should not trip together, otherwise the trip is likely to focus on these negative aspects. The central issue is, once again, trust. If all members of the group are willing to trust each other, there should be no problems. Discussion of all issues that may crop up and "share-water-grow-closer" type exercises like group meditation should prove useful. Also consider an MDMA (only) experience together, perhaps with a facilitator. One of our tripping crews ran into problems with this; for several months there was a highly uncomfortable atmosphere of mutual distrust and paranoia between three members of the group. Eventually the situation became intolerable, it was confronted directly, and through frank discussion the problem was solved before it blew up in our faces. The moral of the story is: don't let this happen to your group. Discussing issues like this directly may go against etiquette and prove somewhat embarrassing, but it's a _lot_ better than having to deal with constant uncertainty and a poisonous atmosphere. - Decisionmaking Conflicts of interest may arise when tripping with larger groups. A set of recommended guidelines: = Always ask everybody present whether it's OK to change the music, turn on the lights, etc. = Each group member should have an absolute veto power, ie. if everybody else wants to do X but one person really doesn't want to, then the group will not do X. = The guide is the final arbiter of any disputes. - Dosages within group The guide should take the drug himself to allow better communication with others and to make those 6 to 12 hours of babysitting more interesting; however, his dose should not be so high that he loses contact with reality. Level 2 or so is probably best. Except maybe for the guide, all people present should be under the influence, otherwise the non-tripper(s) will stick out and drag everyone else down to reality as well. <> 2.2 Choice of location The ideal tripping location is at once: - secluded, so that you don't run into friends/relatives/neighbors during the trip - in the countryside, so you can get away from the bustle and noises of the big city and enjoy nature - familiar, so that you feel safe and comfortable there - comfortable, ie. enough mattresses and beds for everybody Unfortunately, finding a place that fulfills all these conditions is not possible for most of us, so you'll have to settle for less. If you live by yourself, great, just make sure that you remove all links to the outside world for the trip (disconnect phone and doorbell, tell friends and relatives not to visit). If you still live at home with your parents, pick a time when you're absolutely, completely and totally sure they will not come bursting in halfway through your trip. Consider renting a cabin in the woods for a weekend or maybe just a motel room, youth hostels and the like are quite cheap especially if you split the cost with a larger group. Here in Finland, there are thousands of cheap summer cottages, almost always located right next to a lake and some forest, that fulfill the criteria of an ideal tripping location perfectly. For the first few trips I would recommend staying indoors, at least for the peak, with maybe a casual excursion into a neighboring park when the effects are wearing off. Another choice is between day trips and night trips. At night, you can see the hallucinations better and the dusk enhances the general trippyness of things, and going outside is easier since there are few people around. Tripping at night also offers the advantage of being able to sleep right after the trip ends, so you wake up refreshed in the morning. Conversely, at night things may also look just a bit too freaky, and getting mugged when tripping would _not_ be pleasant. Once you get more experienced and can handle interacting with non-tripping people during the trip, be adventurous and go camping in the woods, try the beach, an amusement park, a rave... Leary (I think) once said that the biggest reason people get bored of psychedelics is that they always do the same things while tripping, instead of trying out new stuff. <> 2.3 Packing Get into "packing" a couple of days before the voyage. Load your gear (brain) with everything you think will be useful. Personally I like documents about nature as they are easy to pack (video or TV). Books are fine but bit slower to load. Walking in nature, quiet and peaceful, and meditating ensures I get enough mental energy and happiness along. Try to break the normal circles of work, and if you are stressed, take few more days away from everything before leaving on the expedition. Consider what you eat the 8-12 hours or so before a trip. You may want some stored food energy for your trip, so a small meal of complex carbs and protein about 3-4 hours before a trip can be useful, especially for the longer LSD trips. On the other hand, fasting or only having juices the day of the trip can give you quality of lightness which is good for the more religious or shamanistic journey. If you eat a meal within 1-2 hours of ingesting you material, it will be absorbed more slowly (unless you use LSD and absorb it under the tongue), and can increase nausea and gut discomfort for those prone to it. You may want to avoid high-fat foods the day of the trip, although a little chocolate is a Mexican tradition with mushrooms. Avoid unpleasant situations immediately before a trip. If you watch too many horror movies or have a 2-hour shouting match with your parents/S.O., the emotional baggage is likely to resurface during your trip. <> 2.4 Music One of the important factors of the setting is music - especially in urban environment music may be necessery to camouflage and change the every-day-soundscape. Music can tingle your imagination in a myriad different ways. Music can take you away, comfort or make you feel unbelievalably good. It can also make you sad, jumpy or angry. Therefore it is very important to make the right choice of music. There is tripping music and there is tripping music - depending on the results one wishes to achieve. I will concentrate on the deeper side; music for shamanic voyages, spacetravels and intense mushroom-magic-trips. I speak from my own experience, thru my own frame of reference, so all of the material recommended might not be on your wavelength - I was often skeptical myself but results often are awesome and surprising. Music you like during your normal states of conciousness is probably not ideal - for instance lots of the ambient done today is not very nice for tripping, but probably ideal listening both before and after the trip. For a voyage try to find music that is calm, not too hectic or fast, not too structured and stays in the background if desired. A usual program of tripping music goes like this: 1st hour: Upbeat, relaxing, perhaps not terribly profound music. The Orb's _Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld_ is a favorite, "Little Fluffy Clouds" is guaranteed to put you in the right mood. 2nd-3rd hour: This is when the peak will occur, so the musical selection must be made very carefully. Pick something very quiet and soothing, there are plenty of suggestions coming up. 4th-6th hour: More of the same or perhaps nothing at all. By this stage the music is purely in the background and your selection won't matter all that much. The times are for psilocybin, multiply by two for LSD. And now for the common types of tripping music: Ambient - lots of music goes under this name today, and it may very hard to find something truly ambient among all those new ambient- techno/dub releases... All time favorites of mine and many others include Ashra Temple, John Cage, Cluster, Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Steve Hillage, Daniel Lanois, Pink Floyd, David Toop & Max Eastley, Tangerine Dream and Tuu. All of these move on the more serious tangents - worth checking out. Many music stores lump these under the misguided heading "New Age" next to crystal-healing music, bleah. On the lighter, more techno side of the ambient - try Aphex Twin, James Bernard, FFWD, FSOL, Pete Namlook, The Orb (especially the newer releases), William Orbit, Seafeel, Sun Electric or Terre Thaemlitz for instance. Ethno - music from the different cultures around the world and especially music by shamen or music aiming to a religious or spiritual experience - shamanistic drumming, australian dijeridoo sounds or chantings by gregorian or buddhist monks, for instance. "Meditative music" compilations can be excellent. There are huge volumes of this sort of music published around the world. Minimalism - especially Terry Riley. Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Lamonte Young have all made "psychoacoustic music". Riley is especially- er.. "beyond words" - something unbelievalable. For connoisseurs. Silence - either complete or 'The music of Mother Nature' - best tripping music for as long there have been humans around to trip. The patter of raindrops falling surpasses just about any music humans can come up with. A must try. Perfect. Other - some people get off on listening to, for example, industrial or rap. While both are undoubtedly great when 'enhanced', they also tend to feature unpleasant or downright scary themes that are best avoided until one is thoroughly familiar with the drug. At times, more 'meaty' techno (trance, acid, progressive) is excellent - personally, I find Orbital's _Orbital 2_ to be brilliant - but usually too much percussion (beat) is not a good thing. Many people also like classical music. Basically, try out the music you normally like, but with a bit of caution. Anyway, for a real "trip" I say: after the takeoff, turn the lights off, turn the volume to the edge of subliminal, and relax & tune into the vibe of the Earth. <> 2.5 Triptoys Triptoys should only be pulled out after the peak is clearly over and your group has entered the phase where you have some energy again instead of just floating in hyperspace. Of course, some people just continue with music or more spiritual pursuits. In alphabetical order: - Books are an acquired taste. Most people find reading difficult, but for others reading while tripping is the only way to understand, for example, Joyce. - Citrus fruit, especially oranges. A mindblowing combination of smell, texture, and taste. Juice is a decent substitute. - Crayons or paints for drawing. - Drumming can provide a nice trance-inducing experience, either one person doing it for everyone (the Michael Harner shaman approach) or the group doing a drumming circle. - Gelatin-based foods, ie. Jell-O, chocolate pudding, etc. Wiggle wiggle wiggle... Gummy worms are nifty too. - Glow-in-the-dark anything, preferably not skulls and skeletons though for obvious reasons. - Flourescent anything. - Flowers (fresh ones) look gorgeous and smell wonderful. - Food is another category of its own. In addition to the perennial favorites of citrus fruit, candy and Jell-O, try ice cream, baby food (the fruit-and-berry kind), carbonated soft drinks... Only small portions are needed though, during a trip you can't really _eat_, only _taste_. - Incense, especially when it's dark and you can wave the glowing end of the stick around and create serious tracers, or watch the smoke drifting with a flashlight. The smell also adds a nice touch to the atmosphere. - Koosh balls, the bigger the better, are positively cosmic. I especially recommend the "Rainbow Koosh" which is big and colorful. - Mirrors can be interesting, but also risky. Unless you have high self-esteem, and most people don't, it's common to see your face become covered with hair/bugs/pimples/whatever when you look... but then again many people love mirrors when they trip, and there have been cases where people's self-esteem improved after an extended mirror-staring session. - Movies almost deserve their own section. Since everybody has their own favorites, I'll just list the most popular ones. _The Mind's Eye_ and _Beyond the Mind's Eye_, both pure computer animation, are classics. So are Disney's _Fantasia_ and _Alice in Wonderland_. _Koyaanisquatsi_ (sp?) is another favorite. Avoid 'mind-fuck' films like David Lynch's works, _Natural Born Killers_, _Tetsuo_ etc; they're too scary and hard to follow when under the influence. - Musical instruments, esp. guitars, are fun to play with. - Nature is the ultimate triptoy, period. I extremely strongly recommend going outside, especially at night; I am fully convinced that the forest at night when tripping is *the* coolest thing in the universe. Along with the beach when it's sunny outside, and a lake at sunset, and a snow-covered field on a moonlit night, and... - Stroboscopes set to around 20-30 Hz are neat. Warning: Strobe lights may cause seizures in people with undiagnosed epilepsy, test them out beforehand. - Stuffed animals are a must, they're a familiar link to reality, and more importantly they're fun to hug, play with or throw around. - Television is an ambivalent one; some people like it, others can't think of anything they'd want to do less during a trip. If you want to give it a shot, cartoons (esp. "Reboot") are probably best. - Vocal play. Toning (playing with only vowel sounds) or glossolalia (made-up language using vowels and consonents) can be very interesting, either as a group or going around the circle one at a time. - Water: you can drink it, you can splash it, and if there's enough you can even wade around in it or (eek!) immerse yourself entirely in it. I would not recommend actually swimming during a trip though, especially in unfamiliar waters. Also experiment with the stuff around you. Nature provides a veritable plethora of cool things, even pebbles like my pet rock/amulet Herbert (discovered at the beach one day in an altered state and a faithful companion ever since) can provide hours of amusement. <> 2.6 Drug interactions Most drugs, prescription and otherwise, mix badly with psychedelics so avoid them. Obviously, OTC stuff like aspirin won't matter much - although you really don't want to have a headache when tripping - but for example antidepressants have all sorts of unpredictable reactions, some (e.g. Prozac) reduce the effect but others (e.g. lithium) make it way too much stronger. Hyperreal has a separate file on the interactions between antidepressants and psychedelics, consult it for more info. There are three notable exceptions to the above rule though: * Marijuana, if smoked during the trip, has three usual effects. If smoked beforehand or after dropping, it usually 'takes the edge off'. If smoked during the peak, it will the trip stronger. If smoked after the peak, it will make the trip 'come back' for a while. Note that these are only /usual/ effects, and individual response may vary. * MDMA (Ecstasy) combines well with both acid and psilocybin; mixing MDMA and LSD is called "candyflipping" while MDMA and mushrooms is called an "MX-missile" (mushrooms = M, Ecstasy = X). * Nitrous oxide (N2O) will often propel the trip into level 4/5 for a few minutes. Don't forget to breathe air every now and then when trying this. <> 2.7 Other Clothing should be loose and easy to put on or take off. Your body temperature is likely to rise by a few degrees, so dress lightly. Bring something to drink (preferably water, although carbonated soda is a neat triptoy in itself) and light snacks to eat afterward. See 2.6 for a list of favorites. Keep lights off or turned low. Avoid red lights, having your vision warp towards red during the trip is common and you don't want to make it worse. Many people prepare for the trip with some form of bodywork, esp. yoga or massage. Especially if combined with fasting/light eating, these can set a spiritual tone for the trip and reduce "noise" during it. Guided meditation/visualisation at the very beginning is also popular. While tripping, you may not interpret your body's signals in the same way that you usually do. For instance, if you are hungry or thirsty or hot or cold or need to go to the bathroom, this impression may be delayed or changed on its way to your consciousness. If at some point in the trip you feel agitated, dissatisfied, or grumpy and you can't put your finger on exactly why: * Change the music if you're playing music * Change the lighting * Go to the bathroom * Have a cup of water <> 2.8 Intentions of the voyage Directly quoting _The Psychedelic Experience_: What is the goal? Classic Hinduism suggests four possibilities: (1) Increased personal power, intellectual understanding, sharpened insight into self and culture, improvement of life situation, accelerated learning, professional growth. (2) Duty, help of others, providing care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fellow men. (3) Fun, sensuous enjoyment, esthetic pleasure, interpersonal closeness, pure experience. (4) Trancendence, liberation from ego and space-time limits; attainment of mystical union. In the extroverted transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused with external objects (e.g., flowers, other people). In the introverted state, the self is ecstatically fused with internal life processes (lights, energy waves, bodily events, biological forms, etc.). Either state may be negative rather than positive, depending on the voyager's set and setting. For the extroverted mystic experience, one would bring to the session candles, pictures, books, incense, music, or recorded passages to guide the awareness in the desired direction. An introverted experience requires eliminating all stimulation: no light, no sound, no smell, no movement. [...and now a section from another part of the guide: ] People naturally tend to impose personal and social perspectives on any new situation. For example, some ill-prepared subjects unconsciously impose a medical model on the experience. They look for symptoms, interpret each new sensation in terms of sickness/health, and, if anxiety develops, demand tranquilizers. Occasionally, ill-planned sessions end in the subject demanding to see a doctor. Rebellion against convention may motivate some people who take the drug. The naive idea of doing something "far out" or vaguely naughty can cloud the experience. [Psychedelics] offer vast possibilities of accelerated learning and scientific-scholarly research, but for initial sessions, intellectual reactions can become traps. "Turn your mind off" is the best advice for novitiates. After you have learned how to move your consciousness around - into ego loss and back, at will - then intellectual exercises can be incorporated into the psychedelic experience. The objective is to free you from your verbal mind for as long as possible. Religious expectations invite the same advice. Again, the subject in early sessions is best advised to float with the stream, stay "up" as long as possible, and postpone theological interpretations. Recreational and esthetic expectations are natural. The psychedelic experience provides ecstatic moments that dwarf any personal or cultural game. Pure sensation can capture awareness. Interpersonal intimacy reaches Himalayan heights. Esthetic delights - musical, artistic, botanical, natural - are raised to the millionth power. But ego-game reactions - "I am having this ecstasy. How lucky I am!" - can prevent the subject from reaching pure ego loss. [end of quote] In other words, it's a good idea to decide ahead of time what your goal for the evening is, and to check with your companions so you can synchronize your activities, music, etc. Attempting to reach nirvana through za-zen meditation is a little difficult when the person you are tripping with wants to find out what it feels like to rave to 300 bpm hardcore techno blasted out at 100 dB. The counterpart of this is that you should try to avoid defining the nature of your experience beforehand _too_ precisely. In the end, you can only influence the way the trip goes, not control it, and not being able to reach a rigidly fixed objective will simply frustrate you needlessly. As it says above, "turn your mind off."