Preparing For your Experience
The word Psychedelic was coined in 1957 by Canadian born British psychiatrist Dr. Humphry Osmond. He combined the Greek words “psyche” meaning "mind or spirit" and “delos” meaning "manifesting." The dictionary definition of the verb manifest is "to become clear or apparent" which is congruent with many reports of deep personal insight and creative epiphany gained through the use of psychedelic substances like psilocybin, LSD, Mescaline, Di-Methyl-Tryptamine, etc .
Psychedelics are typically used in one of two contexts, recreational use, or therapeutic use. While they can hold significant benefits for those who use them in a medicinal or therapeutic fashion, the altered and some would argue enhanced state of consciousness elicited by psychedelics is an experience that nearly anyone can benefit from. That being said, there is the risk of a negative experience or "bad trip", and this risk can be amplified with higher dosage. Fortunately the risk of a bad trip is negligable if proper care and attention is paid to the preparation of your mindset and environment prior to consuming a psychedelic.
The most important part of being prepared for a
psychedelic experience is being comfortable!
Whatever comfortable may mean to you, we recommend being in a familiar location that you feel safe in, and familiarizing yourself with the potential effects of psilocybin, listed below, and the onset/duration of the experience. Be aware that your environment will play a large role in the outcome of your experience, and that auditory stimulation can have significant effect on a psilocybin experience. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have curated a playlist which after years of study has reliably proven to induce profound, meaningful, and transformative experiences.
Dosage
1-2 grams
Duration
5-8 Hours
Onset
~45min
In addition to the physical effects listed above, psilocybin's psychological effects can include; intense euphoria, a sense of wonder and delight, openness to thoughts and feelings that you usually avoid, a sense of peace, a sense of connection to the world, clarity about relationships and people in your life, strong emotions, spiritual or mystical feelings of unity and connectedness, and even out of body experiences. These effects peak about 2 hours after ingestion, and gently decline for the remainder of the 4-6 hour experience. It is commonly reported that smoking cannabis during this "comedown" period can re-intensify the effects of psilocybin.
Typically, people feel very free and open in the days following a mushroom experience. You should try to get a good night’s sleep afterwards, and you may feel a little tired the next day. Most people find that they have an 'afterglow' from their mushroom experience that can last days or weeks, improving their mood and outlook and keeping them more open to others and new ideas. Issues that you explored during the experience will have a new clarity to them. Emotionally difficult topics, memories, and experiences are likely to feel much safer and will bring up less fear when you remember them. You are likely to feel better able to tackle challenging emotional experiences in your life.
The positive effects of mushrooms can last for years, even from just a single experience. In a recent study at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, an incredible 94% of participants who had a single dose of mushrooms said it was “one of the top five most meaningful experiences of their lives.” Another study found long lasting changes in openness more than a year after a single mushroom dose.