Psychedelic experiences are incredibly difficult to describe partly because they are, by their nature, subjective and partly because they don't seem to conform to the "rules" of sober reality. I have seen the uninitiated speak on this subject and they are often under the false impression that a psychedelic experience like being very stoned with hallucinations and this is an unfortunate and damaging misconception. That misconception can lead people into trips that they are not fully prepared for. For the sake of educating those who have never tried this strange class of drug and for the entertainment of those that have, I will make an effort to describe what a psychedelic journey is really like.
You don't feel high at all in a strange sort of way. I would describe effect of the drugs as a profound shift in consciousness rather than a high. You don't, exactly, feel like you have changed but, rather, you feel that the way you perceive the world around you is different. This is a subtle distinction but an important one. It adds greatly to the gravity of your trip because you can't easily dismiss the thoughts and feelings that you had if they were not ,simply, the product of a high. They were, instead, as organic and natural as anything in your sober mind. The only difference is that these trip thoughts were born out of an alien type of thinking.
Next to the shift in consciousness, the hallucinations are almost an afterthought. When the entire way that you think changes there is little desire (or need, really) to question what you are seeing because everything feels natural. You know, somewhere in your mind, that these things are not real but also, in a sense, that they are. You know that they do not exist in a psychical form but you also understand that they are visual manifestations of your thought. Their lack of solidity makes them no less significant. You begin to feel like a veil has been lifted from your eyes and that you are seeing everything, your thoughts, your feelings, the world, all of reality as it should be. For a time, you could believe that the psychedelic reality is the "real" reality that hides behind the limitations of your unaltered perception.
Psychedelics are extremely intense. This may be the hardest message to get across because there is nothing I can compare them to. I suppose the closest example I can give is being in a car accident or in a fight but without the negativity. It may better to put it like this, they are so intense that, for a time, it becomes impossible to reflect on your situation. You, instead, are living entirely in the moment and few things can be as exhilarating (or potentially disturbing if you are not ready for this). You find yourself feeling freer than you ever thought was possible. There is a danger here, though. If one fights the intensity and tries to resist, he or she will be crushed by its weight. The freedom becomes a prison and the joy turns to terror. When you take a psychedelic drug you must choose to either submit to its power or be forced into submission. This is the thing one must be most prepared for before taking a trip or he or she may end up learning a hard lesson.
Despite all of their strangeness, psychedelics are always, somehow, familiar. It can be described like visiting a childhood home which was almost forgotten but instantly recognizable. When you trip, you get the sense that you have come to a place that you have been before and where you can expect a warm welcome. It is a beautiful and welcoming feeling that is like nothing else in the real world. I am not religious but I can understand why many people perceive a spiritual element in this aspect of psychedelic use. For them, it is as they are returning to the origin of their soul and are welcomed by familiar entities, if only, for a moment. No matter how you look at it, this is a very powerful feeling.
You must forget the concept of a bad trip. The difference between a good trip and a bad trip is your perception of the trip. You must be open to the experience because all trips have something to teach. One may say something like this: "My trip was bad because I spent an hour weeping." I would respond by telling them that, perhaps, they were upset by a recent event but hadn't realized it until the knowledge was drawn out of their unconscious mind by the psychedelic drug. In this sense, a "bad" trip can force one to learn something about oneself. You, then, can say that these bad trips are, in their own way, good.
The experience doesn't end with the trip. There is often a wonderful afterglow when you awaken the next day but the effect that I am alluding to is far more profound and infinitely more valuable than a pleasant morning. Though your consciousness has returned to normal, you have not forgotten that it can change. You know that you have the ability to think differently about things and, with a little practice, you can now summon that other kind of thought. You, forever, gain the ability to view things from two angles and this is an incredibly valuable skill to have in your life.
There is much more that could be said but I think this will serve as a passable introduction to the subject. If you are considering using psychedelics for the first time, keep this stuff in mind when you go in to the trip. It can be very rewarding but you must be prepared. If you are experienced, I am curious to know what you thought of this post and I would like to know how you would describe tripping yourself.
Peace.
All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website unsplash.com.
Here is something I've never seen addressed before: some people are more sensitive than others and in other times would have been shamans or medicine men or druid priestesses. They have a connection to higher consciousness that is exceptional and is often aided by various psychedelics. I am one of those. The question is: why are they exceptional. Perhaps you know. Blessings.
I cant't say that I do. I would suspect that all people can have those types of experiences (give a man some mushrooms and he will trip) but some are better at recognizing and integrating their significance. Where someone who isn't as in tune with their mind, spirit, the cosmos, or what have you, might have a laugh at the patterns they see or the feelings they have, another may understand that these things have a deeper meaning that deserves to be explored.
You raise an interesting here. I would like to know if some people are"better" at using psychedelics than others and, if so, why. Is it a product of nature, a birth right so to speak, or is it born out of nurture? Maybe it takes practice or maybe it is a bit of all of those things.
I'm going to come back to this. Right now my eyes are crossing, been at it too long. Good conversation. Blessings.
Thank you and have a good evening.
Alright. Good nights sleep helps. I am an astrologer, and in the language of astrology have very strong water with a most auspicious placement of the Moon in Pisces: psychic, intuitive, mystic, and even a medium (see and talk to the deceased). I am extremely sensitive to psychedelics. I tried DMT last year. Just a normal dose. Nothing big. Was gone to the other side for 1hr and 45 mins! Rather frightened me, but had some great revelations. I use weed for sleep (insomnia) but have marvelous visions as a side effect. I take only one medium sized hit. That's all it takes. I've learned to tell the difference between imagination, vision, dreams. impressions, hallucinations, etc. I'm even sensing calamities before they happen... and good things too. But all that is another story. I've wondered if there are others like me... and I know there must be. That was why I asked the original question. Anyway, yes psychedelics open one to a level of higher consciousness which, as you say, is revelatory. The insane thing is we have to ask permission of the government to allow us to expand our consciousness. I shake my head. Many blessings.
Haha sleep does help.
I agree that the use of psychedelics or any drug really should not be a matter of law. I wrote a little post a while back about treating getting high as a human rights issue.
As far as people being more sensitive to things, I am certain that we all process things differently and that may be part of the cause. Before treating certain medical conditions that made it hard to sleep, I used have episodes of sleep paralysis. Many people have these episodes and are frightened by them but I found that if I could fall back asleep, instead of trying to force myself to wake, I could become aware that I was dreaming during my dream. In that sense I was able to take advantage of that situation more that some other people. In this case, it was more a matter of practace than something inborn, though.
Cannabis, mushrooms, ,peyote, san pedro, ayahuasca, salvia, etc= Entheogens (i tried chem drugs too), i still find mushrooms the best ones, ayahuasca is just a fashion trend for noobs.
Mushrooms are primal, the first ones. Mushroom is a friend; someone you can talk your problems to, i respect the mushroom. For they are technology, extensions of our mind, realms of the mind. For the body cannot live without the mind.
They are the connection into Hyperspace.
Networks create form across dimensiones with consciousness as an emergente property.
Nice.
Mushrooms are safer than ayahuasca too. If you are on the wrong meds or have a high tyramine diet there is a risk of serotonin syndrome. That's not to say it's bad but it carries more risks. Plus mushrooms are way more user friendly. You just eat them. No fuss required.
Thanks for that.
Ayahuasca is totally trending! 😆
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My experience with hard psychedelics is limited, which is kind of funny, as I came of age in L.A.in the 70s, so people tend to assume everyone there was doing lots of drugs. I was not one of them.
I found your description excellent, not only of the aided psychedelic experience using drugs, but also of the unaided psychedelic experience provided by the chemicals produced by our own brains, for example by long-time meditators, such as myself. And yes, for me there is a strong spiritual element. Always.
Which is one of the reasons why I never got into drugs, because as I've jokingly said for decades, I'm already most of the way there without them. ;-)
Nicely written and thought-out post. Thank you.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Oh my goodness! There you are again! Blessings.
And blessings to you.
We never know what may bring us into contact in this great big wonderful world.
It is a magical world isn't it? My fascination and vision expand as I immerse myself in it. Blessings.
Mine too. So much to learn and to experience!
I tend to think of psychedelics as a rather forceful (at times even violent) way to discover truth and perspective. I do not want to discount them, I think they’re a wonderful tool in some cases, but I’m holding off for a day when they just kind of find me in the perfect situation right as there is something I am having a hard time see beyond.
You should use the chats to make more friends, your posts may reach more people that way, they’re quit good!
Thank you.
Phychedelics can be forceful for sure lol. If you ever take that step just be in the right state of mind when you do it.
I have some formal training but I am a bit rusty. I haven't written regularly in years. I will continue to put forth a good effort, though.
I will take that advice. I have noticed that I tend to pick up high quality followers from making and responding to comments.
Oh wow I just saw that you resteemed this. Thank you.
No problem. I’d like to see you do well. we do spread ourselves quite thin though so please forgive me when I miss a few posts.
No need to say you're sorry. I appricate what you do.
My dear friend! :)
This post is BRILLIANT! It describes the psychedelic experience exactly the way it feels like! The words you chose are simply perfectly well and paint a very clear picture of how it feels to have a journey. I am a really, really big fan of this post! I couldn't describe it more precise!
This is very helpful for unexperienced psychonauts and I will recommend reading it to everyone around me considering to take a trip. This may safe a lot of people from having a "bad" experience and help them to be able to process what the journey brings to them as they are WAY much better prepared! :)
Psychedelic experiences indeed are so unique you can't compare them to anything. They are the most powerfull tools to self-realization, personal growth and even spiritual growth. Your consciousness is no more bound to the third dimension and your body. You are realeased to realms of yourself and the universe you weren't even able to imagine in your most creative and weird dreams. At some point you enter a dimension where no time exists and even a few minutes in "reality" may feel like hundreds of years. Everything around you is just a direct reflection, a mirror of what you are. You feel so connected to everything and the source you once came from, that you realize you ARE the source yourself deep down inside you where no ego and individuality exists. Everything around you arises from you and you are the creator of yor own unique experience and world. You can take a glimpse on everything your physical eyes aren't able to see. You can take a look at yourself in the most authentic and rawest way. You feel naked on a never felt before level, just like a baby in universe discovering itself and the things around for the very first time.
You can find healing on the most profound layer of yourself as the limitations of mind are no longer there and you can release everything to the outside that was burried within you for a long, long time. You can experience yourself so deeply, wonderful and with such an altered consciousness that it leaves you in a total awe. You sometimes just can't believe how many mysteries you become a witness of. And it changes yourself forever! Depending on how you perceive this experience it may be disturbing or the most beautiful, touching and transforming experience you'll ever make! You must be absolutely willing to accpet that reality as we experience it is not everything that exists and to open yourself to the universe and get the answers of questions inside you - asked consciously or uncounsciously! :)
Thank you SO much for this super valuable post! Upvoted and resteemed of course! <3
Have a blessed and wonderful day and of course a lot of enriching and magical journeys :)
Nice and thank you.
I'm glad you talked about the slowing of time because to put that in the post. That six or eight or twelve hours feels like so much more.
You're most welcome! :)
Your work is amazing, keep spreading your knowledge dear! :)
I certainly will. Thanks.
Excellent advice for newcomers. The willingness to surrender cannot be overstated. When in doubt "what to do" - breathe. In and out. and see everything continue regardless of mind terrors.
The undeniable interconnectivity between my inner world and my outer environment is what blasted all certainties away, even long after the trip. Being the truth-finding obsessed "individual" that I am, I made many experiments happen on psychedelic states of mind, involving other people, the purposeful direction of intent, and witnessing the effects of my own willfull shifts to provoke a reaction.
That was the moment these hallucinations became very significant, because they can be objectively varified, if you will. Often I would take a good friend of mine with my on my journey at psy festivals, one of us being in the psychedelic state of mind, the other being sober - staying present and act as witness. After the trip we would compare notes, of what happened when. More often than not he has compeltely confirmed my "out there" perceptions from his sober point of view. Which has changed everything really.
Ever since I am aware of my telepathic capabilities, to put it in a cheesy and worn way. And that all of us always have this capability but are constantly ignoring it due to our indoctrination into the non-psychedelic state of mind. The "problem solving state of consciousness" as Hanock calls it.
But after you have set out to violently break up a conversation of two people hundreds of meters away from you with sheer intent, and you observe them instantly stopping to talk to one another, looking your direction in a slightly puzzled way... I have collected so many situations where the power of the mind and the intertwinedness of inner and outer world are really tough to get rid of now.
Naturally I went to them afterwards (or my friend did) and explained what we had just been doing. and they loved it and confirmed that it felt like someone had just barged into their conversation impolitely. They loved us doing those experiments after we had explained.
I love how you point out the importance of gaining the ability for ever after to see situations in both ways. Gaining this new viewpoint is entirely priceless for my life, and has really saved me from the fear of death, the narrative that the universe is a random accident with no underlying intelligence and interconnectivity to it and that life is meaningless. It isn't. we just bought the story hook line and sinker.
And I think that may be the reason why psychedelics exist. they serve as ever present reminder of the foundation that will exist as long as physicality does.
Great post, I eagerly followed and I'm thrilled to meet you here in cyberspace and to dig through your blog <3
Much love dude
Thank you.
I like that you mention getting a sober perspective on your trip. Those are always interesting conversations.
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I have been a psychonaught for years and I can say that psychedelics have improved me as a person. Such a beautiful experience. I have a lot of respect for these substances and when I do them it’s a long awaited reunion.
Nice.
Yeah that feeling is the best.
nice post..
Thanks.
welcome
I think you described psychs beautifully. :) I have had both the freeing as well as horrifying experiences, and have to say that after having gone through a I guess what you could call a "bad trip", it is much harder to think that such thing as a bad trip doesn't exist, as just like you said, it can be so intense that it can drive you into some pretty wild and scary thoughts (scary of course only if you judge them as such). But on the other hand, I think I only had the bad experience because I was anticipating that, I was scared because of all the bad experiences I had heard about and that's why I ended up having one horrible, frightening experience that made my life pretty difficult for about 8 months.
I really liked this part: "Despite all of their strangeness, psychedelics are always, somehow, familiar. It can be described like visiting a childhood home which was almost forgotten but instantly recognizable. When you trip, you get the sense that you have come to a place that you have been before and where you can expect a warm welcome." The first time I took acid, I suddenly felt like a kid again - so pure and authentic, without any hesitation about myself, just like I used to as a kid. All full of curiosity and wonder without any judgment. It was beautiful.
Thank you.
I could have worded that a bit better. A trip can feel very unpleasent but I think even those trips can have value. That is true about your state of mind for sure. If you go into it tripping about tripping it can send you to some places you might not want to go.
I really enjoyed this. I have never taken a trip myself, but I love how you identify about perception. I have heard from others that said it is the most amazing experience of their lives. Even some born again believers said they quit all drugs, but mushrooms make them feel closer to the Lord. Be well!
I just found your blog a few days ago and really like it!
Especially that you try to make everything clear around drugs through education.
Drugs aren't bad. The right way of handling with them makes the difference.
greets from germany
Thank you.
Best description of a psychedelic experience I've ever read. Loved the part about it feeling returning to a childhood home you forgot existed.