Fair enough, but MA ain't in the Bible belt, son. Honestly though I could probably 'activate their sense of wonder' by just saying you can pretty much see God in a very literal sense while smoking DMT. I don't even believe in God and I've seen a very Christian version of God before, with heavenly bliss and universal love and everything.


Yeah, that's what annoys me about the whole thing. Skeptics act like tripping is "just getting high." Is appreciating great art just getting high too? Because they're very similar. I like to look at tripping (with the right mindset, of course) as self-generated art; honestly, it fulfills a very similar function, except it's tailored to the user on a very personal level, of course.

a friend of mine compared it to art recently too. Hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it's true.

I did DMT twice recently, didn't break through, but the second time was pretty intense, acid-like open eye visuals and a bit of a mind-blowing revelation plus some crazy ass geometric stuff going on with closed eyes that actually illustrated the revelation. I had a bit of a panic moment, though, and realized I shouldn't do DMT until I'm over my ex and more emotionally stable.

So you're familiar with Grof, MAPS, the World Psychedelic Conference et al.? great stuff!

I totally agree. Nahsil, if you're looking to be a psychologist, you probably aren't going to be able to get away with loaded language and expect to get clear answers.

I read part of Grof's LSD and Psychotherapy, yeah, and I've heard of those groups. I've looked at some of the research studies done, showing a correlation between psychedelic drug use and things like increased empathy, "spirituality (:P)", and some other pretty positive things. Not 100% proven, but it's interesting stuff, and of course it makes sense to me. I don't know if I'd want to actually do work in that field; I'd rather approach psychology with a quasi-Eastern religion emphasis than a psychedelic drug emphasis, but it's something I'll keep an eye on.

edit: lol, do you really think my word choice on a metal forum is indicative of my academic word choice? I was a literature major first and I write like a boring ass academic, trust me. But actually, I've seen "spirituality" used in studies. There are "inventory scales" or whatever they're called that check for "spiritual" aspects of personality.

Breaking through is really intense; you'll know when you do, there's always the intense sensation of going or leaving, and of communicating with someone or something else. It's good to be prepared, though. My first time I freaked out when I couldn't remember who I was and could only speak in gibberish, and that ended up souring the hallucinations as well.

How would I know the difference? Did you post papers here? No harm done, man. I'm just looking out for a fellow sharing an interest of mine.

It's an interesting field. In fact, as much as I enjoy the fact that the 60s happened, I actually blame the hippies for ending up spoiling the methodical studies that were going on. Not that I blame them, but it gave the gov't a really easy target and pretty decent excuse to shut the whole thing down. I'd probably go into it myself if it didn't involve med school, the thought of which makes me want to run screaming.

Reminds me of the time I sank below language into the wordless world of animals and couldn't understand English anymore. A man came by and saw me lying there, made some cottony mouth noises at me. Took him three tries before I recognized that he was asking me if I was alright. Of course I was, so I waved him off with my foot. Talk about spoiling the hallucination. Never been able to get back to that immediacy of experience.

+ but damn .. couldn't remember who you were. No wonder you freaked out. At least you remembered you were supposed to be someone!

It seems to be pretty commonly accepted that taking psychedelics while alone, looking in the mirror while tripping, listen to harsh music, etc. are bad ideas. A couple years ago I took some psilocybin candy (and smoked like half a bowl when it started to come on then a few hits 3 hours or so later), alone, listened to a bunch of Emperor, and looked in the mirror in my bathroom several times, and had a great time- nothing mind blowing, but still very interesting, and enlightening in its own way, even if it wasn't immediately so- it did help me realize how "lost" I was at the time; I had been far too heavy into drug use (still smoke plenty of weed, though I had some time off for a while until I started going to community college, but I was doing some really stupid shit back then), not really doing things with music like I should (and do now), unsure of almost everything about myself- but I didn't really realize any of that for a long time after the trip. Psychedelics are the best. I need to get my hands on some mushrooms and see about finding a hook up for acid soon. DMT sounds very interesting too; sounds like what Salvia is SUPPOSED to be and then some (all salvia was for me was a weird, eventually outright uncomfortable body buzz and mental "loops"- was fine after smoking weed, but got to be pretty nasty on its own).

Nothing wrong with a good stare in the mirror while tripping. I love watching my face morph.

Also, "bad trips" aren't as dose dependent as many think. I had a much worse experience on three grams of mushrooms than on seven.

Sure, but bad trips are much more likely to occur on large doses, given the trips in general are a lot more intense, and more likely to be overload. That feeling of "this is too much, I want this to end" really tends to fuck things up, especially when you've still got hours to go. You can certainly have a bad trip on a lower dose depending on set and setting, but every serious bad trip I've ever had has been on a large dose of something, almost always something I wasn't experienced with and dosed more than I was comfortable with.

And also what you weren't prepared with an antidote for. If sleep won't happen, I've found dairy to be a really good ride-killer for both LSD and mushrooms without being nauseating in the process. A few bites of mac and cheese, a few spoonfuls of yogurt, a small glass of milk .. should sort things out pretty quickly provided one hasn't dosed excessively. I've absolutely no idea what do to for extreme doses or Amazonian concoctions. That's really a "user beware" situation and not to be undertaken alone.

It's also valuable to remember that these compounds are, in fact, poison no matter how magical or insightful they end up being. Over doing it is over doing it, and a lot of that depends on the biological capacity of the user.

Personally I wouldn't do LSD or Mushrooms, but that's just me, I fear having a bad trip, even with a trip sitter to keep me physically safe, I still would fear what I would experience mentally. What I would consider doing, that is legal is Salvia since it only lasts about 5 minutes, even that though I've heard great stories and I've heard horror stories. A couple friends were into heavier drugs so they got the most powerful salvia they could find. It was 3 of them in the car, the first guy took a huge hit and felt nothing, so the second guy took a pretty good sized hit, nothing. The third guy was about to take his hit when it hit the first guy and he threw the car door open and bolted. The guy that had not taken a hit chased him down and wrestled him to the ground, he was crying and clearly freaked and apparently thought the world was ending. The guy that took the second hit was still in the car and apparently thought he was being stabbed by little tridents. While it's funny to hear later it would have sucked to have gone through.

Yes that sounds like it would fucking suck. While it lasts on average 5 minutes to the sitter (and I've heard of it lasting as long as a half hour of narcoleptic unconsciousness after some entranced hopping and drooling), there's no telling how long it feels to the one having the trip. I've never heard the same story twice from people who experienced its potent mastery. If someone experiences anything at all (and it's in no way guaranteed, even between people sharing the same supply) the only thing I've found they have in common is that their sense of time is totally distorted. What's experienced is unique. It's pretty amazing that way. However, it's utterly unpredictable how much it will take to happen or what will happen. Sitters are absolutely vital. On that stuff I almost played with a candle flame because I thought it was oil.

I'd advise even more caution and preparation than with average psychedelics. At least with those the potency is proportionate to the fraction you ingest. Salvia is a lot less predictable. More is more, obviously, but at some undetermined point you'll probably forget you were ever smoking anything.

Yeah, salvia isn't closely chemically related to more typical psychedelics, so it doesn't operate on the same principles. Figures one of the only legal psychedelics is also often unpleasant and potentially dangerous without a sitter.

Very interesting hearing about everyone's (well most people's) relationship with drugs. Looks like we have the whole spectrum here, from "never have, never will" all the way up to the people who love to get amongst it and have a good time. That's what it's all about after all, having a good time right? I have especially enjoyed reading the insights and opinions of Nahsil, sortalikeadream and failsafeman. One of you mentioned the potential dangers of double dosing on acid, as opposed to other drugs. I'll second that, it can get fuckin scary even for seasoned users. not like say ecstasy when you know if you double dump you'll just get twice as fucked. That's a 3 hour body smasher if you're lucky, whereas obviously acid makes a b-line for your brain and lasts a heck of a lot longer. My mate used to deal acid and he got a few sheets, and one of them had like 10 extra trips, so he was given them away to me and his woman. Long story short, I ended up having about 3 and a half Purple Oms and we sat down and watched the movie Arachnaphobia. Bad move. I was seeing big ugly spiders everywhere even as the sun was coming up and I was lying in my bed.

So if you have several at your disposal and haven't tried it before, go easy, dump half or a whole, wait a good amount of time and see how you feel. Of course the crux of this is every trip you buy will be a different strength. I just wouldn't want anyone to go through what I did that night so I'm trying to explain the best I can and probably doing a pisspoor job lol.

Another common topic that a few ppl brought up is whether or not psychadelics give you any special insight into life. I have found that to be absolutely true. Groovin' through a grey day, seein' things in a new way. The flipside of that is acid has usually given me the roughest comedowns ever. While coming down, I still see my things from a different perspective, but not in a good way. I often just look at people doing basic shit and it just seems pathetic, what people do and say, and I can get real negative and cynical. I would still recommend people try it though, just don't watch bloody spider movies.

I don't know a lot about the differences or much about them (hence why I'm reluctant to do anything), but my bother has only had good experiences from what he's told me. Just colors floating around him that he was trying to catch and once he thought it didn't work and walked into another room only to realize he just walked through a jungle, lol. But no matter what I think a trip sitter is 110% needed

haha .. yeah it can sneak up on ya. And it's smart to be reluctant. Anyone who gives you some "dive in, the water's great!" bullshit had better ask you if you know how to swim first. Caution is not weakness.

The differences are interesting. If you're considering it, the easiest to moderate is mushrooms. Have a nibble, wait a while, see how it goes, increase to taste. Happy hunting. Tread carefully, don't rush into anything, and you should be ok. If you feel uncomfortable about it, just walk away.