Mushys

alright, preparation, one of my shroomery pals made this guide for me when I started. READ IT
The dynamics of the group selected for the trip are crucial. Let us consider the aspects one at a time:

Type of friends
To quote an anonymous file, which describes the choice of suitable tripping companions brilliantly:

"Choose someone willing to listen to you sing the same song over and over again, offkey with broken lyrics. Someone you won't mind seeing you, and who won't themselves mind seeing you, drool, or laugh, or cry, or piss your pants with fear, or talk to God. Someone who will hold your hand while you take a shit to keep you from falling in and getting flushed down the drain. Someone, perhaps, a little stronger than you physically.

Definitely, someone who has tripped before, more than once. Someone who has stories to tell -- and things they won't say. Someone who seems to take it all seriously, but still has a sense of fun.

Definitely, someone with some degree of compassion and, gosh darn it, Wisdom.

Definitely, someone who won't leave you by yourself, even for a second.

If you choose someone you might get sexual with, be sure they will accept a clumsy, giggling fool as a lover, and that they won't be offended if you can't perform or forget to. Someone that can keep cool and keep you cool if you get pushy.

If you find anyone who meets all these criteria, consider marriage. Try to be worthy."

Size of group
Tripping alone, especially for the first time, is quite foolish. There are two significant factors in selecting group size. First of all, with inexperienced people, having several friends present will reduce the chances of somebody panicing. On the other hand, as the group size increases geometrically, the tensions and conflicts within the group will increase exponentially, generating a tense atmosphere and increasing the possibility of bad trips. Even numbers are also preferable, if/when the group breaks up into pairs being the one 'left out' is not nice. Thus our recommended total group sizes are as follows:

All people inexperienced: 3-4
One person inexperienced: 2-3
All people experienced : 2

An experienced guide, such as a psychotherapist or shaman(or Jon the fucking Ninja, because he rocks), can sometimes work with a larger group, such as 8-16 people, but usually all the people involved have at least some experience.

Trust in group
This is probably the single most important characteristic. If you can trust the people you are tripping with, you will feel at ease with them during the trip and can use the time 'productively', instead of fretting over the hidden motives of everyone present. Being able to trust the judgment of the guide is thus especially important.

Gender issues
Tripping with members of the appropriate sex present is fun, but it also brings with it the problem of sexual tension. Feelings may bubble to the surface during a trip, but it's also possible to misread others' signals, and you may do something that will prove embarrassing afterward. Also note that people who have a troubled relationship (just broke up, fighting continually, etc) should not trip together, otherwise the trip is likely to focus on these negative aspects.

The central issue is, once again, trust. If all members of the group are willing to trust each other, there should be no problems. Discussion of all issues that may crop up and "share-water-grow-closer" type exercises like group meditation should prove useful. Also consider an MDMA (only) experience together, perhaps with a facilitator.

One of our tripping crews ran into problems with this; for several months there was a highly uncomfortable atmosphere of mutual distrust and paranoia between three members of the group. Eventually the situation became intolerable, it was confronted directly, and through frank discussion the problem was solved before it blew up in our faces.

The moral of the story is: don't let this happen to your group. Discussing issues like this directly may go against etiquette and prove somewhat embarrassing, but it's a _lot_ better than having to deal with constant uncertainty and a poisonous atmosphere.

Decision-making
Conflicts of interest may arise when tripping with larger groups. A set of recommended guidelines:

* Always ask everybody present whether it's OK to change the music, turn on the lights, etc.(shit, thats true, bring your own iPod!)
* Each group member should have an absolute veto power, ie. if everybody else wants to do Z but one person really doesn't want to, then the group will not do Z.(important rule, or you may die mentally)
* The guide is the final arbiter of any disputes.



Dosages within group
The guide(ninja) should take the drug himself to allow better communication with others and to make those 6 to 12 hours of babysitting more interesting; however, his dose should not be so high that he loses contact with reality(so i'm taking about a g). Level 2 or so is probably best. Except maybe for the guide, all people present should be under the influence, otherwise the non-tripper(s) will stick out and drag everyone else down to reality as well. because ninjas are crazy)

LOCATION
The ideal tripping location is at once:

* secluded, so that you don't run into friends/relatives/neighbors during the trip
* in the countryside, so you can get away from the bustle and noises of the big city and enjoy nature(trust me, it sounds cool, but its actually AMAZING)
* familiar, so that you feel safe and comfortable there (bobbys, except we have to be sneaky)
* comfortable, ie. enough mattresses and beds for everybody (which is why I want to go to Bobs house, because his house is always perfect, then theres my room which is a giant futon. if bobby cleaned his room, then it coo)

Unfortunately, finding a place that fulfills all these conditions is not possible for most of us, so you'll have to settle for less. If you live by yourself, great, just make sure that you remove all links to the outside world for the trip (disconnect phone and doorbell, tell friends and relatives not to visit). If you still live at home with your parents, pick a time when you're absolutely, completely and totally sure they will not come bursting in halfway through your trip. Consider renting a cabin in the woods for a weekend or maybe just a motel room, youth hostels and the like are quite cheap especially if you split the cost with a larger group. Here in Finland, there are thousands of cheap summer cottages, almost always located right next to a lake and some forest, that fulfill the criteria of an ideal tripping location perfectly.

For the first few trips I would recommend staying indoors, at least for the peak, with maybe a casual excursion into a neighboring park when the effects are wearing off. Another choice is between day trips and night trips. At night, you can see the hallucinations better and the dusk enhances the general trippyness of things, and going outside is easier since there are few people around. Tripping at night also offers the advantage of being able to sleep right after the trip ends, so you wake up refreshed in the morning. Conversely, at night things may also look just a bit too freaky, and getting mugged when tripping would _not_ be pleasant.(its not like X or Acid, you wont have a bad trip, but things like leaves and nature will look alive to you, and your imagination will have more power the darker it is.)

Once you get more experienced and can handle interacting with non-tripping people during the trip, be adventurous and go camping in the woods, try the beach, an amusement park, a rave... Leary (I think) once said that the biggest reason people get bored of psychedelics is that they always do the same things while tripping, instead of trying out new stuff.
(new stuff is always fun, its like finding a new paradise each time, which is...good, dur)

//Get into "packing" a couple of days before the voyage. Load your gear (brain) with everything you think will be useful. Personally I like documents about nature as they are easy to pack (video or TV). Books are fine but bit slower to load. Walking in nature, quiet and peaceful, and meditating ensures I get enough mental energy and happiness along. Try to break the normal circles of work, and if you are stressed, take few more days away from everything before leaving on the expedition.// as in, make sure your not being an emo bitch, pmsing or mad at your mom and dad...remember me on my birthday, i went through super mood swaps.

Consider what you eat the 8-12 hours or so before a trip. You may want some stored food energy for your trip, so a small meal of complex carbs and protein about 3-4 hours before a trip can be useful, especially for the longer LSD trips. On the other hand, fasting or only having juices the day of the trip can give you quality of lightness which is good for the more religious or shamanistic journey.(orange juice, water, root beer, salads, cookies, and donuts) If you eat a meal within 1-2 hours of ingesting you material, it will be absorbed more slowly (unless you use LSD and absorb it under the tongue), and can increase nausea and gut discomfort for those prone to it. You may want to avoid high-fat foods the day of the trip, although a little chocolate is a Mexican tradition with mushrooms.

Avoid unpleasant situations immediately before a trip. If you watch too many horror movies or have a 2-hour shouting match with your parents/S.O., the emotional baggage is likely to resurface during your trip. (watch something funny, or epic)

MUSIC

One of the important factors of the setting is music - especially in urban environment music may be necessery to camouflage and change the every-day-soundscape. Music can tingle your imagination in a myriad different ways. (my god, you will love me forever because this is going to change your music life) Music can take you away(and you will have too much fun, youll love me forever), comfort or make you feel unbelievalably good(do you know what unbelievbly good means? it means you will look back on this day forever) . It can also make you sad, jumpy or angry. Therefore it is very important to make the right choice of music. There is tripping music and there is tripping music - depending on the results one wishes to achieve. I will concentrate on the deeper side; music for shamanic voyages, spacetravels and intense mushroom-magic-trips.(I have more music than you have ever heard, but please, bring your own ipod/cds/anything

I speak from my own experience, thru my own frame of reference, so all of the material recommended might not be on your wavelength - I was often skeptical myself but results often are awesome and surprising. Music you like during your normal states of conciousness is probably not ideal - for instance lots of the ambient done today is not very nice for tripping, but probably ideal listening both before and after the trip. For a voyage try to find music that is calm, not too hectic or fast, not too structured and stays in the background if desired.

A usual program of tripping music goes like this:

1st hour
Upbeat, relaxing, perhaps not terribly profound music. The Orb's _Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld_ is a favorite, "Little Fluffy Clouds" is guaranteed to put you in the right mood. (jon prefers modest mouse, nirvana, young jeezy, tupac, fran ferdinand, red hots, or 2 gorillaz songs)
2nd-3rd hour
This is when the peak will occur, so the musical selection must be made very carefully. Pick something very quiet and soothing, there are plenty of suggestions coming up. (like modest mouse, pyschedic furs, gorillaz!!!!gorillaz!!)
4th-6th hour
More of the same or perhaps nothing at all. By this stage the music is purely in the background and your selection won't matter all that much. (mostly some really long trance club music)

The times are for psilocybin, multiply by two for LSD. And now for the common types of tripping music:

Ambient
lots of music goes under this name today, and it may very hard to find something truly ambient among all those new ambient- techno/dub releases... All time favorites of mine and many others include Ashra Temple, John Cage, Cluster, Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Steve Hillage, Daniel Lanois, Pink Floyd, David Toop & Max Eastley, Tangerine Dream and Tuu. All of these move on the more serious tangents - worth checking out. Many music stores lump these under the misguided heading "New Age" next to crystal-healing music, bleah. On the lighter, more techno side of the ambient - try Aphex Twin, James Bernard, FFWD, FSOL, Pete Namlook, The Orb (especially the newer releases), William Orbit, Seafeel, Sun Electric or Terre Thaemlitz for instance.

Ethno
music from the different cultures around the world and especially music by shamen or music aiming to a religious or spiritual experience - shamanistic drumming, australian dijeridoo sounds or chantings by gregorian or buddhist monks, for instance. "Meditative music" compilations can be excellent. There are huge volumes of this sort of music published around the world.

Minimalism especially Terry Riley. Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Lamonte Young have all made "psychoacoustic music". Riley is especially- er.. "beyond words" - something unbelievalable. For connoisseurs.

Silence
either complete or 'The music of Mother Nature' - best tripping music for as long there have been humans around to trip. The patter of raindrops falling surpasses just about any music humans can come up with. A must try. Perfect.

Other
some people get off on listening to, for example, industrial or rap. While both are undoubtedly great when 'enhanced', they also tend to feature unpleasant or downright scary themes that are best avoided until one is thoroughly familiar with the drug. At times, more 'meaty' techno (trance, acid, progressive) is excellent - personally, I find Orbital's _Orbital 2_ to be brilliant - but usually too much percussion (beat) is not a good thing. Many people also like classical music. Basically, try out the music you normally like, but with a bit of caution.

Anyway, for a real "trip" I say: after the takeoff, turn the lights off, turn the volume to the edge of subliminal, and relax & tune into the vibe of the Earth.(you will orgasm yourself to a world you will never want to leave, NEVER, NEVER)

Triptoys
should only be pulled out after the peak is clearly over and your group has entered the phase where you have some energy again instead of just floating in hyperspace. Of course, some people just continue with music or more spiritual pursuits. In alphabetical order:

* Books are an acquired taste. Most people find reading difficult, but for others reading while tripping is the only way to understand, for example, Joyce.
* Citrus fruit, especially oranges. A mindblowing combination of smell, texture, and taste. Juice is a decent substitute.
* Crayons or paints for drawing.
* Drumming can provide a nice trance-inducing experience, either one person doing it for everyone (the Michael Harner shaman approach) or the group doing a drumming circle.
* Gelatin-based foods, ie. Jell-O, chocolate pudding, etc. Wiggle wiggle wiggle... Gummy worms are nifty too.
* Glow-in-the-dark anything, preferably not skulls and skeletons though for obvious reasons.
* Flourescent anything.
* Flowers (fresh ones) look gorgeous and smell wonderful.
* Food is another category of its own. In addition to the perennial favorites of citrus fruit, candy and Jell-O, try ice cream, baby food (the fruit-and-berry kind), carbonated soft drinks... Only small portions are needed though, during a trip you can't really _eat_, only _taste_.
* Incense, especially when it's dark and you can wave the glowing end of the stick around and create serious tracers, or watch the smoke drifting with a flashlight. The smell also adds a nice touch to the atmosphere.
* Koosh balls, the bigger the better, are positively cosmic. I especially recommend the "Rainbow Koosh" which is big and colorful.
* Mirrors can be interesting, but also risky. Unless you have high self-esteem, and most people don't, it's common to see your face become covered with hair/bugs/pimples/whatever when you look... but then again many people love mirrors when they trip, and there have been cases where people's self-esteem improved after an extended mirror-staring session.
* Movies almost deserve their own section. Since everybody has their own favorites, I'll just list the most popular ones. _The Mind's Eye_ and _Beyond the Mind's Eye_, both pure computer animation, are classics. So are Disney's _Fantasia_ and _Alice in Wonderland_. _Koyaanisquatsi_ (sp?) is another favorite. Avoid 'mind-fuck' films like David Lynch's works, _Natural Born Killers_, _Tetsuo_ etc; they're too scary and hard to follow when under the influence.

* Musical instruments, esp. guitars, are fun to play with.
* Nature is the ultimate triptoy, period. I extremely strongly recommend going outside, especially at night; I am fully convinced that the forest at night when tripping is *the* coolest thing in the universe. Along with the beach when it's sunny outside, and a lake at sunset, and a snow-covered field on a moonlit night, and...
* Stroboscopes set to around 20-30 Hz are neat. Warning: Strobe lights may cause seizures in people with undiagnosed epilepsy, test them out beforehand.
* Stuffed animals are a must, they're a familiar link to reality, and more importantly they're fun to hug, play with or throw around.
* Television is an ambivalent one; some people like it, others can't think of anything they'd want to do less during a trip. If you want to give it a shot, cartoons (esp. "Reboot") are probably best.
* Vocal play. Toning (playing with only vowel sounds) or glossolalia (made-up language using vowels and consonents) can be very interesting, either as a group or going around the circle one at a time.
* Water: you can drink it, you can splash it, and if there's enough you can even wade around in it or (eek!) immerse yourself entirely in it. I would not recommend actually swimming during a trip though, especially in unfamiliar waters.

Also experiment with the stuff around you. Nature provides a veritable plethora of cool things, even pebbles like my pet rock/amulet Herbert (discovered at the beach one day in an altered state and a faithful companion ever since) can provide hours of amusement.

do you think this is too much info, i dont think so. because theres nothing better than shrooms, and if you actually plan it out, you will be enlightened, and maybe disappointed at normal life.

Clothing should be loose and easy to put on or take off. Your body temperature is likely to rise by a few degrees, so dress lightly.

Bring something to drink (preferably water, although carbonated soda is a neat triptoy in itself) and light snacks to eat afterward.

Keep lights off or turned low. Avoid red lights, having your vision warp towards red during the trip is common and you don't want to make it worse.


What is the goal? Yes...theres a goal that just isnt fun for a night at bobbys, theres a goal.:

1. Increased personal power, intellectual understanding, sharpened insight into self and culture, improvement of life situation, accelerated learning, pofessional growth. Trust me, I'm really crazy and annoying because I learned too much useless information to win trivia, and share with people.
2. Duty, help of others, providing care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fellow men.
3. Fun, sensuous enjoyment, esthetic pleasure, interpersonal closeness, pure experience.
4. Trancendence, liberation from ego and space-time limits; attainment of mystical union.

In the extroverted transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused with external objects (e.g., flowers, other people). In the introverted state, the self is ecstatically fused with internal life processes (lights, energy waves, bodily events, biological forms, etc.). Either state may be negative rather than positive, depending on the voyager's set and setting. For the extroverted mystic experience, one would bring to the session candles, pictures, books, incense, music, or recorded passages to guide the awareness in the desired direction. An introverted experience requires eliminating all stimulation: no light, no sound, no smell, no movement.

Once you are in the air it is relatively easy to forget that you can alter the course of trip. Visuals and thoughts come and go, and everything follows some strangely familiar yet divine and unknown path. So one is left gawking at all this jaw open, as if watching TV. But changing pathways is easy - provided you don't forget it is possible =) Always decide and ponder what you want to see and where you want to go before the experience. A shamanic voyage to the underworld is a snack, as is seeing the future. Usually every tripper forms his own way, follows his own paths, be it for good or evil. _Anything_is_possible_!
So basically, your imagination is finally real...and you can really do anything you want except...well actually yes you can fly if you want. I dont want to tho.

FLIGHT MINUTES AFTER INGESTION
Phase LSD Psilocybin
IGNITION 0 0
Usually the first effects of the drug are perceivable after ten or twenty minutes. Funny or strange things may pop into your mind. One may feel very relaxed or like jumping all over the place. Next you may feel like you were blasting off, up towards the stars, rising high.

ACCELERATION 45 20
If you get any physical symptoms, this is when they will hit. You can avoid or at least reduce nausea by not eating very much before the trip and not moving around too much during this phase. Throwing up is uncommon but not entirely unheard of; having a barf bag around, especially on the first few trips, is a good idea. If you find that your body *really* doesn't like shrooms, a motion sickness pill (Dramamine and similar anti-histamines) beforehand may help. But don't worry about it too much, even if you feel queasy the nausea will end quite quickly.

LEAVING THE ATMOSPHERE 60 40
One will begin entering the realms of the experience; often the first real signs are simple hallucinations with the eyes closed or in darkness, little colored pixels floating around etc. If one is going to go to the toilet, it should be done now.

IN FLIGHT 90 70
By now the more powerful effects are starting to set in. The body will feel heavy and drowsy.

PEAK 180 120
The peak of the experience. Often quite awesome.
(FUCKING AWESOME, for acid it was melting, for shrooms it was becoming god)

DECELERATION 300 240
By now one will again start to remember the concepts of normal reality and may feel like getting something to drink and eat, or talk and do some moving about.

TOUCHDOWN 10 h 360
By now most of the effects have disappeared and sleeping becomes possible.

REALITY 16 h 12 h
If you trip at night and fall asleep when the trip is ending, this is when you'll wake up... and the odds are you'll feel GRRRRRREAT!
(my first time, I woke up, and ate a cookie...I cried on my friend taylor carter about how awesome life was, then ate another cookie, and turned on the tv)



On that note, it is often a good idea to stay together with your group, or at least some members of the group, and share experiences. The day or two immediately afterwards people will tend to be somewhat inwardly focused, still analyzing what they have found out during the voyage and its importance for them, but after this initial stage of analysis comparing what has happened with other people is quite useful.

There are very few people I will shroom with, hence why i haven't done them yet, and Im delaying it for you kids- i'm sorry, but it has to be perfect. Bobby is all the sudden dating Ashes, and I know shes mad at him, so he shouldnt be finding heaven when Ted and Chris are around
Ted is Ted, he attacked me with his dick. I didnt like it, but hes cool. But hes ted.
Chris just broke up with his GF, and seeing how he is with girls, he needs to be serious and not hang out with her if hes ready.

you havent met summer, taylor, bob, or shelby. ive done shrooms with them before, and have a bond with them that keeps us friends, shelby tho hasnt done it, and shell be joining us, but she has her own.

you two, sadly without haily, have been interesting kids for a while, and seen us do it all, you have a connection for just being kids we hung out with, as well as seeing me rot on my bday.

preperation is futile, and knowing who you will be with is too. dont do it with someone your afraid of. if you and leah want to do it without us, let me know, i hate discomfort. this is all about enlightenment and comfort. where do you want to do it, when, and with who is really important.

Alienation
Sounds a bit too nasty, but perhaps this is also the most unpleasant side effect. In short, after the destruction of the ego and seeing through the games people play in life (see _Psychedelic Experience_), you often start to feel alienated from non-trippers, because they simply cannot *see* through the games they play, and that there are more important things in life than running after pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents on them. Also, since psychedelics *are* illegal, one has to constantly maintain their guard about what one says to 'non-enlightened' people; "what if my parents/neighbors/teacher/ boss finds out I use drugs?". Even with good non-tripper friends, the overwhelming experience which you have experienced, but they have not, forms a kind of barrier. There is no cure for this, other than time and the development of cynicism; and, of course, 'converting' your friends.
Disorientation
Your mind, faced with the daunting task of sorting through all the information it has been force-fed during the voyage, often feels a bit sluggish for a day or two. Concentrating on things and preventing your mind from drifting off into more interesting areas is difficult. You may even experience 'awareness flashes' where, at the most random moments, you'll start to ponder The Meaning of Life, or worse yet, Who Am I, What Am I, and Why Am I? This is why it's advisable to take a day off if possible after a trip.
Euphoria
"LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!!" This is one post-trip effect that nobody should complain about, unfortunately it rarely lasts longer than a day or two. A milder form of euphoria, which I would term "appreciation of the general wonderfulness of things" and consists of being able to enjoy sights such as a clear blue sky even on Monday mornings, may last months, years, or even forever.
Insights
The mind's corollary to impulses (see below), these include such brilliant observations as "Cars are machines!", "People are three- dimensional objects!" and "Mud is cool!". Don't laugh: these are all things you would never have thought of without psychedelic lubrication of your head. And some, maybe even most, of the insights are ones into your personal life and/or philosophy that are likely to prove useful.
Random impulses
During the week or so after a trip, completely random desires or impulses to do something strange are very normal. Typical forms (although these vary widely) include "I *must* jump up on that rock and bounce on it!" and "Grapes! I *must* eat a bunch of grapes!". The impulses are invariably harmless ones (ie. not "I must jump off a cliff"), even if other people may look at you a bit strangely if you carry them out. Following these impulses is a good idea, because it's FUN!




my source is in town till the end of march, but I can only get them about once every other week, and the prices vary on how pure they are. im getting perfect bluie grown, hence agian why it cant be wasted. so dont worry if you miss the fun you get, I can get more if your wanting to try it somewhere else or with other people. this is the eshit.


im done now, you had better of skimmed thatS