Newsgroups: rec.drugs.psychedelic,alt.drugs.psychedelics,alt.drugs
Subject: Psychedelic Experience FAQ [3/3]
From: [g--os--s] at [brahman.nullnet.fi] (Gnosis)
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 96 18:51:14 EET

<> 5: FOR THE VOYAGER
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   This section is intended for the person who is preparing him/herself
   for his/her first voyage to the world of psychedelia.

<> 5.0 Preamble

A first trip is an unforgettable event that few things short of marriage
and childbirth can match in terms of emotional intensity, and for your own
sake it is best to treat it seriously.  To quote Andrei Foldes,  "You are
born alone, you die alone, and you trip alone."  PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS ARE
NOT TOYS.

<> 5.1 State of mind

If you are depressed, annoyed at the world, sick, or just looking for
a good time do not take psychedelic drugs.  LSD and psilocybin are mental
magnifying glasses, and if you already feel like shit you will merely
spend the voyage groveling in your own insignificance and feeling even
worse.  The skilled voyager may be able to use this to his advantage
and resolve a problem during the trip, but it's not pleasant and not
recommended for beginners.

If, on the other hand, you are healthy, happy, and looking forward to
the trip as a pleasant voyage to a far-off land you've always wanted to
visit, you are in good shape.  Happiness is magnified just the way anger
and fear are.

<> 5.2 Don't worry, be happy

By now, you're probably completely freaked out and convinced that the
psychedelic experience is some horrible ordeal where even one little detail
going wrong will lead to 12 hours of hell.  This view is, fortunately,
false; this FAQ has an unfortunate tendency to stress the negative side
of things.  With low doses, just get the basics of set and setting OK, and
everything will go perfectly.  Only with higher doses is there any real
risk of a bad trip, and even then careful preparation, ruthless self-
analysis, and well-selected companions can reduce the risk to nearly zero.
(If you are planning a high dose journey, see the HDS.)

But let me tell you a little story.  My first trip was on a medium dose
of Psilocybe semilanceata, and I later ranked it as level 2-3 out of 5.
At 10 PM one day, a friend called me up and told me to come over, we're
going to trip _now_.  We had been planning in general for a while, but
an unexpected opportunity had cropped up and we decided to use it.  So
there I was, with one hour to prepare, never having used a drug other
than alcohol in my life, going to trip in a completely unfamiliar apartment,
with no triptoys, no suitable tripping music, and in general completely
unprepared for what was going to happen.

So, we dropped.  And I was bowled over.  My world view shattered.  6
hours of ecstasy, hovering on the edges of sanity.  And despite the lack
of preparation, it was a truly incredible and almost entirely positive
experience.

All I can say is, don't worry.  Just approach the trip with an open mind,
and everything will be alright.

<> 5.3 Tripping just for fun

Most guides to the psychedelic experience, including this one, are geared
for the high-level mystical flavor of trips; yet if you estimate your
dosage correctly, for the first time your trip is unlikely to be
stronger than lvl 3, and nothing *truly* cosmic is likely to happen,
at least unaided.  There are hence two days to deal with this.

#1, you could try to gear the trip in a mystical direction.  This requires
darkness, lack of sensory input, very carefully selected companions and
a quiet setting.  Even then, you can only 'get somewhere' if you meditate,
or more precisely just stay motionless with your eyes closed, for the
duration of the peak; there will still be 3-4 hours of other trip time
on hand.  Hence, the logical answer is to:

#2, forget about the mystical aspects, just get used to the state, and
above all HAVE FUN!  Earlier on, we listed an extensive selection of
triptoys, try them out!  Walk around your apartment, venture outside
(maybe even in daylight?), visit a nice park...  don't be afraid to
smile and giggle.  The phrase "tripping fool", while it sounds a bit
weird to the uninitiated, is a perfect description of the state you're
likely to be in during the trip.  You'll do lots of silly and/or
child-like things, playing with nifty rocks or plants or whatever,
staring open-jawed at how incredible trees look.  And you will be fully
aware of how "un-adult" your behavior is, but it won't matter one bit
because for those few hours of happy psychedelia, you'll be able to
rediscover just how it feels to be a kid again, drop all those pointless
ego-games, and experience the world for the first time once again.

<> 5.4 Viewpoint by Jake <[s 766184] at [aix2.uottawa.ca]>

I was just going over the Psych Exp FAQ, and thinking to myself what an 
great piece of work it is (kudos to Gnosis [and Nipo!]).  But it struck
me that it really represents only one "style" of tripping (the one that
myself and my closer friends happen to subscribe to), which is very
cerebral, spiritual, calm; *healthy* one might even say.  Its the sort of
approach that most of the people in this group seem to take as well, the
kind of approach you _have_ to take with things like DMT.  

But it made me think of other styles I've come in contact with (and 
participated in), the styles of people who would probably not be too  
terribly interested by an Internet mailing list, the spiritual dimensions 
of a trip, or even the importance of keeping one's head in one piece.  
I'm just curious about other approaches people have run across.  I guess 
this is kind of along the same lines as some of my previous messages.

Take some of my high-school friends, for example.  The operative 
terminology here is "getting fucked up".  When you drop acid or do 
mushrooms you're "all wasted", you've got a "buzz", you're "getting 
off".  Psychedelics are treated like a stronger version of alcohol.  And 
its got the same macho self-destruction attached to it.  You all know it; 
how much can you drop, how much can you munch, how many 
bowls/joints/buckets/bots can you take before you pass out or puke blood 
(yes, I know of people who have vomitted blood doing oil buckets, for 
whatever reason).  When I sent word home about DXM, a bunch of them ran 
out, popped 3 boxes each (in addition to sucking up vast amounts of 
THC) and then "died a few times".  One guy just sat in his apartment for a 
week doing DXM, and eventually tried to pay another friend of mine $20 over 
cost just to go and buy him more. 

A night in the life here is about 6-8 hits of *good* blotter, sitting in a 
dark smoky apartment, unable to move, with Pantera, Machine Head, White 
Zombie, Fear Factory, Sepultura and various other thrash/death maestros  
cranked to 10.  No Brian Eno or worldbeat in their CD racks I'm afraid :).  

They take pride in being able to hold it together.  They'll try to 
freak each other out, do things which deliberately take their minds as 
close to the edge as possible.  If someone starts to get a little edgy 
they jump on it and take it to the limit.

Fun activities are driving fast along dark roads, smashing in television 
screens with your bare fist, fighting.  Thinking is prohibited, of 
course; the whole experience is just a dose, a feeling, a kaleidoscope 
sense show, a chance to freak.

For others I know, a few hits or a few grams means that it's time to hit 
the bars, or drink a case of beer (Yes, a case; for those few who weren't 
aware, you don't even feel it.  Well, I imagine your liver feels it.).

Perhaps this is just the more extreme end of the party-drug mentality... 

<> 5.5 Other points to keep in mind

- The only externally visible sign that you're tripping is dilated pupils.
  Wear sunglasses when you go outside.
- Have you read the LSD and/or Psilocybe Mushrooms FAQs yet?

<> 5.6 Final words of wisdom

* Let go, let yourself flow...
* It's Just The Drugs.
* Everything Is All Right.

<> 6: FOR THE GUIDE
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   This section is intended for the person who wants to introduce friends
   to the world of psychedelia in the most pleasant way possible.

<> 6.0 Preamble

Being a guide is not a task to be undertaken lightly.  As a guide, your
role is to _guide_ the others, to make sure that they come to no harm and
that everything is OK.  This also means that you have to be able to
suppress your desire to have fun and your desire to control the actions
of others so that they suit you.  This is not an easy task.

<> 6.1 Requirements

The minimum requirements of a successful guide are experience with
psychedelics (not necessarily extensive experience, but some nonetheless
and the more the better) and the ability to handle whatever crops up.
A good guide is able to "snap out of it" and interact with reality
even in the middle of a heavy trip, instead of panicing or withdrawing
into oneself.  A sufficiently experienced guide can even abstain from
taking any drugs and just set himself in the same state as the other
trippers; this, however, is easier said than done.

<> 6.2 Role

The good guide has often been compared to a benevolent Zen master.
In other words, the guide's role is not to blabber endlessly and attempt
to control everything the voyager does.  The guide is supposed to _guide_:
help the tripper over the rough spots, perhaps suggest activities, but
most of all (s)he should know when to simply shut up and let the voyager
explore on their own.  The guide should monitor the voyager, but
unobtrusively.  Don't ask them every 5 minutes whether they are OK (this
will just make them nervous), if they are not and you are paying attention
you will notice.

A little outline of what the guide should do:

* The 'rise' phase of the trip is the most important one, since it
  will usually determine what the peak will be like.  During this stage,
  do your best to make sure the tripper is lifting off well.  Both
  parties will be able to communicate at least in the beginning, so check
  on the voyager regularly.

* By the time the peak arrives it will usually be more or less clear
  how well the trip is going.  If it's going nicely, no problem, just
  fade to the background keeping an unobtrusive check on the voyager
  and doing mundane things like changing CDs whenever needed.  If it's
  not going well, see the next section.

* Eventually, the peak will end and the tripper will probably start
  wandering around or playing with the triptoys you brought (you did
  bring some, didn't you?).  Join in the fun!  Being around a tripping
  person will induce a trippy state in you as well.

Make absolutely sure the voyager understands beforehand that you are there
only to help him/her, and that no matter what they ask they will not
annoy you and you will be glad to do it.  Encourage them to communicate
during the trip, especially if things are going badly or they don't
like something.  This is easy to say, but difficult in practice.

<> 6.3 Handling rough spots

People react differently to unpleasantness, but the most common reaction
is curling up into a ball and looking pained.  (Mind you, many people
also curl up into a foetal position when they feel quite good...  so check
the facial expression before you intervene and discuss this beforehand
with the voyager(s).)  If the voyager is not having a good time, change
the music to something happy and familiar, change the location or go out for
a walk (with the voyager, obviously).  If they are scared, try holding hands
and reassuring them that everything will be OK.  If they express a
fear ("Will this ever stop?  Am I going insane?  Am I dying?"), specifically
counter that fear, remind them that they are on a drug, the trip *will* end,
and you will make sure nothing bad happens.  If they are sad, a hug will
often prove helpful.  This is largely common sense, just remember that if
there is clear need you should not be afraid to intervene.  Often, the
negative feelings will 'paralyze' the voyager and they will be unable to do
anything - including say that the trip is going badly - so the initiative is
the guide's.

For any kind of bad trip, it is important to emphasize to the tripper
that the fear is caused by the ego attempting to hold itself together,
and the only remedy is letting go.  Resistance is not merely useless
but very counterproductive.  Although I'm sure Winston Churchill didn't
quite mean it this way, the only thing a tripper with a guide has to
fear is fear itself.

If this doesn't seem to be working - and it may not - the other tool
in the guide's arsenal is the change of setting.  Yes, I am repeating
myself, but this is important.  The tripper will often resist the
idea of changing the place they are in, but if you gently force them
to do it the change for the better can be dramatic.  Aim for contrast,
ie. if you're inside go outside or vica versa, which will make the
tripper erase the earlier bad vibes and start off with a "blank slate".

<> 6.4 Summary by an anonymous contributor

I don't really like the term guide. I would not presume to 
"guide" anyone. In fact, actively trying to push the subject in a 
particular direction is a trap for the guide. The guide loses an
opportunity to learn from the subject's experience. Let's call the
guide the "helper".

These are the advantages to having a helper:

1) The presence of the helper makes it possible for the
   subject to face negative material more bravely. The comforting
   presence of the helper enables the subject to go into
   difficult experiences and cross to the other side. Instead of 
   recoiling, one can really explore "the darkness" and shed a 
   little light on it and on oneself.

2) The helper can help with fears about loss of sanity. 
   Such fears are normal due to the extreme modifications
   in ones sense of the passage of time (help, it's not ending!).
   The helper should let you know what stage you are at, how 
   long it has been, how long it will last. The useful
   aspects of the "time stop" experience remain, but the
   fear is gone.

3) The helper can help remind you what you wanted to explore.
   One can go in with a desire to explore a certain perception
   or issue, and then get completely distracted. The helper
   can remind you at a predetermined time.

4) Memory can be incomplete afterwards. The helper can take
   a few notes to jog your memory and enable you to remember
   the sequence correctly. This should make it much easier to learn
   from your sessions.

5) When things get really bad, the helper can intervene by
   changing the setting. They could change the music, direct
   your attention elsewhere, take you to another room, etc.
   Later, you could return to the problem area when the
   emotional involvement is lower. 

What is almost never emphasized is the fantastic opportunity for the
helper. By seeing how others session's develop, one can learn
an incredible amount about ones own experiences. Also, there is 
nothing like watching someone who's senses are opened, soaking up
the beauty of simple objects like a leaf or a polished stone, to remind 
you pay attention to the joy of everyday perceptions. The helper has
a wonderful opportunity to learn about the human mind. Think about 
all the psychologists who had this tool snatched away from them in
the 60s: I bet many of them would have given anything to continue their 
research! 

<> 6.5 Footnote

The _Psychedelic Experience_ talks quite a bit about this subject.
Instead of quoting the whole thing (which is largely, but not entirely,
condensed above), we recommend that you get a copy of the book for
an alternative viewpoint.  Bear in mind that the _P.E._ is geared towards
large groups of 10+ people and their guides, while we have focused on the
more typical 2-4 person groups.

Also, some people dislike the _P.E._ because they find that it makes
the guide's role much too active, and it has a rather negative tone to it,
ie. "unless you do X, Y and Z you will rot in psychedelic hell".
Personally, I find that much of the advice remains valid despite this, but
your mileage may vary.
 
<> 7: CONCLUSION
      ~~~~~~~~~~
   Please fasten your seat beat, extinguish _all_ smoking materials,
   and enjoy your flight!

(K) Kopyleft Brahman Industries 1995.  All rites reversed.