I am not an experienced drug user. In fact, I have very limited experience. My experiences taking psychedelics have been some of the most profound, and life changing experiences of my life. This blog aims to share some of my experience, in the hopes that it provides additional information for those interested in learning more.
Background/Disclaimer
I am no scientist or authority on psychedelic drugs, but I did want to conduct research before using these drugs. My research involved extensive research online, and I also read the book “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan. Michael Pollan is an award-winning non-fiction writer with a journalistic style. In this book, he personally catalogues his experiences with LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. I highly recommend reading this book prior to trying these drugs. Additionally, I recommend conducting your own independent research. Here is another deeper resource: The Essential Psychedelic Guide
Importance of Mindset and Setting
If you have researched psychedelics, you know that the importance of mindset and setting are stressed! From my experience, it is clear how much of an impact these two factors play. For your first experience, I recommend being with a small group of trusted people in an environment you feel completely comfortable in. Being in nature or having it nearby is a great first location. Your mindset is just as important.
Why are these important? Psychedelics amplify your senses and experience, particularly your thoughts and emotions. Be mindful of your mental state as you approach your trip. Fears and anxieties will only intensify as you trip, and you want to be prepared to face these head on. If you don’t think you are up for it, it’s probably best to wait until you are feeling prepared. This is why setting is so important. A calming setting with people you trust heavily impacts your mental state.
A Look into the Mirror
Some recommend that while tripping on psychedelics, you shouldn’t look into the mirror. Well, it depends on how you look into the mirror 🙂 Quick sidenote: If you actually look in the mirror, it likely is not a huge deal. Psychedelics distorts your senses, especially your vision, which will make your reflection blurry and you may be a little confused and surprised. Nothing too crazy to worry about.
As I said before, being in a good mindset and setting is crucial. For me, and many others, the psychedelic experience is a look into the mirror, among other things. The experience will amplify and expose your emotions and feelings, which can be overwhelming, especially if you are not totally prepared. At the same token, being exposed to your feelings can be a liberating, therapeutic experience!
To explain what I mean about ‘a look in the mirror’, it just means that you will be forced to examine yourself closely. You will have to come face to face with the good and the bad of who you are.
Our brains have incredible powers to deceive ourselves in order to hide from fear, pain, resentment, grief, trauma, etc. The psychedelic experience evokes powerful emotion, so powerful it breaks through our brains defense mechanisms. When we are hit with these emotions, the way we react dictates how psychedelic experiences have an impact on us.
Epiphany – Life is Plentiful
My experience with psychedelics has been extremely therapeutic and positive, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been difficult.
Through these experiences, I realized a number of ways I wasn’t being true to myself. I have neglected deeper emotions and feelings in my life and been very focused on others, including their perceptions of me. I have changed who I am around others because it’s easier, or I feel judged or want to hold up others’ expectations.
Psychedelics helped me to the realization that life is plentiful. The experiences remind myself not to hold so tightly to things. No one person, place, thing needs to be held tightly. There’s so much good out there, I have already seen so much of it! Life’s experience is incredible, and to experience a full, vibrant, and wonderful life, you need to let go of things that don’t serve you. Sometimes, you may need to let go of your past self and your ego.
Facing the Ego: A Catalyst for Change
My experiences with psychedelics have challenged me to acknowledge the person I have been to this point, and accept completely who I am now. By accepting who I am, I am realizing that pieces of who I was are not really helping me, and they are pieces I still love but aren’t part of what I want my present and future life to be.
The reason I call psychedelics a catalyst for change is because they can shine a light on your true self in ways that demand attention and action. Whereas a passing thought or feeling can linger and then be suppressed, a psychedelic trip slaps you in the face with truth.
When you realize your truth, the hardest part is having the courage to let your ego go, and make the change. It can be incredibly difficult to let a piece of yourself or your life go, or people in your life go. But having the courage to let it all go and change is extremely rewarding. It’s essential for growth and progress in life!
I hope to continue to make blogs about the growth mindset, but for the rest of this blog, I want to share some of the more lighthearted and beautiful moments from my experiences!
Interconnectedness
In Nature
My first few experiences on psychedelics have been an escape from the city, secluded with loved ones, and in nature. Those experiences were beautiful. They were an opportunity to reflect on my life and dive into a new perspective. One takeaway was feeling so much more relaxed and at peace with a slow paced relaxing weekend in nature. I was able to let the stress and pressure of day to day life fade away, and appreciate the moment I was in!
Being in a natural setting also provides a feeling of connectedness to the natural world. You see so clearly the similarities between yourself and other people, plants, animals, etc. For me, it was an incredibly soothing and peaceful experience.
I came away feeling more compassionate and connected towards the world. If you have ever gone on walk or hike, or star-gazed, or recognized the beauty of the natural world, imagine that experience intensified!
With People
The most impactful moments I have had on psychedelics have been the connectedness I have felt with the world, and especially with others.
While tripping, I have felt love pour out of me like no other moment in my life. I approached complete strangers, with a big smile on my face, wanting to share my happiness and love with them. I have started new conversations, asked them to dance, given hugs, and just feel so connected to mere strangers.
Psychedelics have evoked positivity, compassion, love, and awe of life and the world. As I began to feel more comfortable, I experimented with psychedelics and live music, and that was a beautiful experience dancing and living in the moment, happy and grateful to be alive!
Residual Effects
The beauty of these experiences are that they are not fleeting feelings. Yes, they are intense moments of discovery and epiphany, but these breakthroughs stay with you! Since taking psychedelics, I have felt more in touch with others and the world, more grounded and aligned with myself, and have expressed more love than I ever have.
Psychedelic experiences can truly be transformative moments in your life that you carry with you for the remainder of your life; I know that I will.
Gratitude
From these experiences, I have come away feeling positive, seeing more truth about myself, others, and the world. I feel immense gratitude for being a part of this world, and I find myself wanting to make a positive impact.
I want to help others work through their pain, fear, trauma, etc. and grow and evolve towards their authentic self.
If this blog peaks your curiosity, and you would like to learn more reach out to me! If you want to share your own experience, reach out! I am hoping to start a podcast where I can have deeper conversations about mental health and relatable experiences and stories to help each other through life 🙂
Email me here : tmm13827@gmail.com
Quotes about the Power of Psychedelics/Spirituality/Ego
“Life lived in the absence of the psychedelic experience that primordial shamanism is based on is life trivialized, life denied, life enslaved to the ego.”
― Terence McKenna
“The opposite of spiritual is not material but egotistical.”
― Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
“For me, “spiritual” is a good name for some of the powerful mental phenomena that arise when the voice of the ego is muted or silenced. If nothing else, these journeys have shown me how that psychic construct—at once so familiar and on reflection so strange—stands between us and some striking new dimensions of experience, whether of the world outside us or of the mind within.”
― Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence