A Psychedelic Guide - Mushroom trip

Happy journeys

**DISCLAIMER**


This guide is meant to help one along, curious enough to explore beyond the boundaries of normal perception. I am well experienced in this field, particularly with mushrooms. However, one should ALWAYS be sure of their source, wherever & whoever they get them from.


I am merely presenting one path to the perception everyone aware of this world sees. With this being said, I will not be held responsible for any bad experiences one may occur. As with all mind-altering substances, use better judgement.
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A wanderer's guide through the doors of perception
(also how the Doors got their name)

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** Psychonaut: A willing participant in the exploration of altered-states and hallucinogenic experiences brought on by psychoactive plants & elements, with the goal of achieving a greater understanding of the world and cosmos we are all a part of. **

Greetings to all the veteran travelers & the uninitiated :)

In this guide one will find the way to a successful, and uplifting mushroom experience. I will start by listing the essential elements one should have prior to their journey. Some people can get by without following most of this. Remember, a SUCCESSFUL journey is the key here...

The Basics:
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The three MOST IMPORTANT aspects that I can not stress enough are:

-Make sure one is mentally stable. Bad day at work, fight with the significant other, one just got mugged, feeling sick...just don't do it. Wait another day, perhaps one that harmonizes with the day's energies, and one feel all around good.

-Make sure one has nothing to take care of. Travelers are essentially "taking the day off" today\tonight, and should have no pending responsibilities. Make sure nobody is coming over (except fellow travelers). Unplug\turn off the phone.

-Have people one is truly comfortable to be around. Some people are okay with tripping at large parties, some are not, best to play it safe. It's really good to have like 3 or 4 close friends all traveling at the same time. The experience is enhanced, and all grow closer as well :)


The Basics cont...
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-Eat something an hour before the journey. This well help ease any bellyaches one may feel shortly after takeoff.

-Have plenty of fluids. I recommend some nice refreshing water. And OJ (which puts one at warp speed for a short time).

-One will most likely not have an appetite during flight, but have some munchies on hand anyway.

-Be sure to have some good herbals. During the comedown, it's nice to toke on some good herb. :)
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Choose your setting: Indoors or outdoors:
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It is best to PLAN, in advance, where, when & how the experience will happen.

Outdoors:
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My personal preference for the experience is to be outdoors, far in to nature, surrounded by redwoods and clean mountain air. In my opinion, this is the way to do it. Observing nature while the veil of normal, everyday perception is lifted, is a truly magical experience. One should never expect to go about the experience this way, expecting just a day trip, then go home later. Be sure one is prepared to stay overnight, whether choosing to do so, or not.

One should always be sure of the area they have chosen to camp at. If going to a well known commercial camping area, it's best to find a spot relatively far away from other people. Reserve a nice spot in advance if one is so motivated to do so. Make sure to follow 'the basics', use better judgement.

**For the veterans only**


Hiking a few miles in to the wilderness is by far the ultimate experience. However, it can be the most risky. Going back to the 3 basics, it's best to have some close friends on the hike (Chances are if one is even doing this, all good friends anyway). It's also a good idea to have a 'babysitter'. Someone who goes with the party, but does not partake in one's shinanigans lol. Be sure to have fully charged cellphones. During extended, extended camping trips (and even 30-40 mile pilgrimages!!), it's best that one has some experience in wilderness survival and other related skills. Again, use better judgement. Getting lost is scary enough. Getting lost while temporarily insane can get ugly, fast.

Indoors:
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An indoor experience can be just as fun as an outdoor one. Be sure to have everything listed in the basics. The advantage to an indoor trip is that one has the familiar comfort of their own pad (or their buddies). One also has many fun human inventions to play with. Blacklights, blacklight posters, music (musicians channel energy really well whilst playing during a trip), movies, etc... There are many fun things to do.

Again, make sure everything is kosher before the journey.

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Procedure for the journey:
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I will now prescribe to the reader what to expect during the journey. This will be in a sort of timeline format, so one can see how long the onset takes, what they will most likely be feeling\seeing\hearing at said points in timeline, and what NOT to do during the experience.

Prepare for liftoff

In my opinion, day trips are the best. Try to plan on being in full trip mode around noon. However, during a day trip, other people in the world are awake as well. If the experience takes place inside, or in your back yard or whatever, one should be fine. I HIGHLY recommend NOT going to public places where people can see\hear one's antics. As the veterans know well by now, other people will know something is up, and probably call 5-O.

Let us say we begin the experience on a relatively nice, cool sunny day. It is 11 am, and one's friends have arrived at their house, ready for the journey. Again, it is best to PLAN, in advance, where, when & how the experience will happen.

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- 11 am - smoke some herbals, chill for a bit, get everything ready.

- 11:30 am - begin taking the mushrooms. For the uninitiated, it's best to start with a small amount. Eat one or two mushrooms first. They taste like shit, but the experience is worth it.

**One thing to cut down on the nasty taste is to grind them down to a powder, and mix it with some orange juice. Chocolate bars also work wonders with cutting the bad taste.**

- 12 pm - One may begin feeling 'butterflies' in the stomach, and smiling for no reason ('perma-grin'). It may take longer depending on one's tolerance, and what has been eaten previously (if anything at all).

- 1 pm - The effects should be felt by now. If the beginners, who ate only a few like mushrooms like how they are feeling, feel free to eat some more. If one is not liking the experience, just hang out, smoke some herbals, the effects one are experiencing should be very mild, and there is nothing to worry about. The small amount that has been ingested will pass very quickly and one should be okay in a few hours. Drink a lot of water.

- 2 pm - Everyone should be on the same level at this point. One's pupils will be nice and dilated, everyone has 'perma-grin'. Effects include:

- flashing\strobing colors
- moving patterns
- white "fibers" extending from living things (ie: other people)
- breathing walls
- melting effects
- audible hallucinations
- time dilation
- a  feeling of greater 'understanding'
- inner peace
- euphoria

One is probably feeling really, really good right now. The body high mushrooms induce can only be described as euphoric. If one is partaking in an outdoor experience, take in the beauty of nature. Try to "feel" the infinite life force permeating one's surroundings.

- 3 to 4 pm - Everything should be getting intense (in a good way! lol). This is the time known as 'peaking'. It occurs roughly 3 to 4 hours after the onset of experience is felt. This is also the ideal time to drink some OJ. I am unclear to the specifics of it, but the vitamin C in OJ further intensifies the experience. Be careful though, drink a few gulps and wait. If things get crazy, one will be glad they didn't drink more than they did. During this phase, one will probably experience many psychic phenomena. The traveler and their friends will feel like they're having conversations with each other in their heads. Problem here is everyone is going in circles, so we don't know what the hell we are talking about! LOL!!!

- 5 to 6 pm - Things settle down a bit. One is most likely just starfishing on the couch watching Planet Earth, laughing with their friends. If outdoors, one is probably laying in the grass or on some rocks watching the sky. Another reason the outdoor experience is my favorite is one can see the gradual light change as we rotate from day to night. If it's one thing anyone must experience in their life, it's witnessing a sunrise or sunset while the veil is lifted.

- 7 pm - At this point, it all really depends on how many mushrooms one ate, and the quality of said mushrooms. If the traveler got some good ones, they'll be feeling good for about another few hours. If they ate a lot, one will probably be up late in to the night (which is fun, but don't eat a whole bunch at once. It is best to eat them over a period of time). The average length for an experience is about 7 to 10 hours.

- 13 pm - This is the final frontier. The boundary that determines a well experienced traveler from a novice. Some beginners can jump right in to this, others can not. I happened to be able to do it myself, during my first few times. As always, use better judgement.

Drum circle

With us more experienced in the shifting of consciousness, we like to extend it over a few days (yet another reason to do this outdoors, at a secluded camping spot). The Toltec name for this is 'mitote', it involves sitting around a campfire, ingesting small amounts over the course of two or more days (the Toltecs also did this with peyote), sleeping and eating when needed. Obviously one does not sit there the entire time, but whenever more is taken, everyone must take the same amount at the same time. A basket is passed around with the mushrooms, another basket is passed around with jerky and dried fruit. One sits around and communes with the Earth and the skies. Drum circles are very appropriate for these experiences.

I realize this sounds insane to the average human, but the whole point of this is to expand one's mind so they are no longer average.

These are the most profound experiences mushrooms can bring, and anyone actually serious enough in expanding their minds and becoming aware of the hidden worlds around them should strive to reach this level. I make it sound difficult, but it really is not. With repeated experiences, it naturally becomes easier and easier to perceive these states of consciousness.
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What NOT to do!!!
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Okay, nobody likes a bad trip man, but it's a cruel reality one must face at times. I look at it as a cleansing process. Something dark is being brought to light, and it must be observed. Once observed, it can finally go away. The trick to this is to realize WHAT exactly is being brought to light. I offer some insight based off of my experiences:

Most of the time it's a battle with the ego. During one's experience, the veil is lifted and they can perceive the world for what it really is. This directly undermines the perception of the ego, and it will do anything to convince the traveler otherwise. Thus, this is very hard to determine for oneself (while struck within the intense grasp of a bad trip, it's hard to bring any rationalization to light at all).

Do not make the mistake of trying to get rid of the ego. Everyone has it, it's a part of us, and it's not like one can reach in to their head and pull it out. The way I came to terms with this is I just accepted the fact it's a part of me, but it's not me. The very fact that one is able to perceive any altered-states of consciousness means we were MEANT to see these worlds. Which proves these worlds do exist, and the ego is wrong. Just let it go.

And the other most common reason is external influence. Bad images on TV, some random noise...there are a myriad of things that can set one off. Fortunately, unlike the battle with the ego, these bad trips are easily overcome. The trick here is to get distracted or laugh. Start playing some music, change the channel, start up the drum circle, tell some stupid jokes, etc...

If the simple act of observing what is causing a bad trip does not work, and nothing can calm down the distressed traveler, just rest assured everyone WILL eventually return back to normal. Remember, this is a temporary thing, just deal with it, and all will be good shortly.

And now some of the OBVIOUS things not to do:
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- drive around (seriously, wtf?)

- get angry, fight with friends, other people, etc....

- watch disturbing things on TV

- some people trip out at their reflections in a mirror, reflect at one's own risk

- some people trip out with water, play at one's own risk

- eat things that will upset one's stomach

- drink a whole shit ton

- smoke crack\meth\crank etc...
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Well that about covers it. I wish any and all travelers a safe & happy voyage. As always:

Use better judgement!!!