Today I want to talk about a topic very important to me. My friends say I’ve become an advocate of it and that’s kinda true so I want to advocate for it here as well, especially since I really need it lately. Guess what our topic is? **lysergic acid diethylamide! …or acid :) **Well, I guess I can say that the things I discuss will be about psychedelics in general since the experience is quite similar in the important aspects. But my favorite is acid, just saying.
Well, anyone who’s been on a psychedelic trip will probably tell you that it’s not something you can describe but something you have to experience for yourself. Well, that’s true. It is such a different state of consciousness that if you haven’t done psychedelics you will not understand what it’s like by just hearing about it. It’s very far from our “normal” mental states. But I want to try to share my knowledge of what is actually going on in your mind during the trip, as best as I can. After a long, ridiculous period of being illegal, psychedelic research has begun again and it’s very promising.
First of all, I think the most important thing about having a good psychedelic experience is really knowing what you’re doing. As long as you’re careful about a couple of things, I think psychedelic experiences are not only extremely fun but also healing. It’s literally healthy for you. I would recommend it to everyone, in the right conditions. So, first of all, you should be careful about the dose. I personally think that slowly going up to 100 mc is better than immediately going for a full dose. But even if you mess up, the toxicity of lsd is very very low compared to a lot of prescription drugs so it won’t kill you. You just might have an intense trip. And then, another very important factor is the “set and setting.” Who you are with for this experience matters! It should ideally be someone you know, someone you trust, someone you love and that loves you. Or someone you can be vulnerable with because you will be as vulnerable as a newborn baby. Psychological safety is of utmost importance. Someone that stresses you out or you don’t trust is not a good idea, trust me. You should be able to talk about everything comfortably, because things will come up and they can be of a very deep nature and repressing feelings is not a good idea on acid. And then where you are is important as well. I prefer to be in nature as isolated from society as possible (and the higher the dose, the more important I think that is). Some of my friends enjoy a trip at home but I don’t think I will do that unless I have a big garden or something. Camping is perfect! Also, you’re current state of mind is important. Don’t do this when you’re stressed or you have something important to do that day. You should aim for when you feel calm and comfortable. It also helps when you have someone who is experienced with you. Like a guide! This actually exists in many places I think. Kinda like a shaman, I guess. But I have to dig deeper into what exactly shamans do. I like being a guide but sometimes it's difficult. One time I took on the responsibility of being the guide for about 10 people who were taking shrooms for the first time. Everyone kept asking me questions and all I could say was “I don’t know!” I was very confused haha, a common feeling on psychedelics I guess. Anyway, let’s move on to what happens in the brain.
So for different substances we get different reactions and I really don’t remember exactly the biological/chemical thing going on but I will share my knowledge as best I can. Normally, we are people of habit. It would be hard to fully think through every single behavior in normal life so our brain has shortcuts. You get used to doing something in a certain way so regularly that your brain makes strong connections between the different parts coordinating that activity: you’re on autopilot! A lot of things we do are automatic. You don’t really think about them, you just do. So what acid does is, first of all, it gets rid of the autopilot. It’s kind of like when you’re a child you haven’t been programmed yet in a certain way and you are curious and creative about everything and then society teaches you things that you internalize. Imagine all of that internalization just gone all of a sudden and you’re back to your child self. Also, LSD creates new connections between different parts of your brain so that’s where the creativity comes from. And another interesting effect is that it deactivates the part of your brain that controls your self perceptions: ego dissolution or ego death. So this part really helps with addictions because one part of addiction is believing that “I am someone who smokes” or drinks or whatever. I almost stopped smoking entirely after my first trip because I realized that I didn’t actually enjoy the activity that much. It’s nice every now and then but constant use makes it a more unpleasant experience in my opinion. Even so, I was unable to quit until my first psychedelic shock. Also, psychedelics are like a key to your subconscious. You know that mysterious thing that we don’t really understand? Well, acid will unleash your subconscious and give you direct access to it, where a lot of our psychological problems lie. All of these make it a super promising tool in mental health and therapy.
Amazement, wonder, speechlessness, confusion, curiosity, vulnerability… these are the dominant feelings I have on a trip. It really feels like being a child again but since you’re not you may panic because suddenly you forgot how to do everything. But don’t panic, just go with it and discover everything with a fresh gaze. It makes me feel almost like a primitive person discovering the world for the first time and it becomes a really cool adventure. And all you’re doing is really basic everyday activities. You’re energetic and your mind is reallyy working. You think about things in ways that you’ve never thought about before, it kinda makes you feel like a genius at times but completely hopeless with some really basic activities too, like just changing clothes for example. But I like to think of it as a new realm, or a new perspective of the world. A different, more genuine you. And every time you enter that realm you don’t start from scratch but you build up your psychedelic character. It becomes easier to be in control and calm in that state of mind after a while. Although I do miss the first shock sometimes.
My sister was going through a hard phase in her life and I couldn’t stand to see her so depressed. And I had gone through a period of my life I like to call a blackhole. I was depressed, had no self-confidence and I was really lost. Then I was born from my ashes on a very special day when I did a full dose for the first time. I remembered that I’m not worthless and I deserve better from those around me and I completely changed my life for the better. I still need a good trip every now and then (every summer at least) to put things into perspective and think about my life and what I want it to be. So I wanted to share that with my sister but I was so scared that it would go wrong. At one point I decided to let her decide, I told her everything I know and offered to take her on a camping trip with some friends. And she said yes! And it was so good, even though we had some trouble during the night that even turned into a good thing. Her reaction made me so proud, I remember she looked up at the night sky and started crying with emotion at how beautiful it was. I thought that was such a natural, sincere reaction and I hadn’t seen it before. And it was so interesting and comforting to have someone who has known me up close all my life with me for that experience. It was a different trip from any other. I realized that our psychedelic selves were similar to each other in ways it can’t be with any other person on the planet.
I think that psychedelics are also very intellectually interesting. The perspectives you can gain are perfect for social sciences and sociology in particular in my opinion. Thinking about how we got to where we are is important in sociology and it's hard to take a step back and see the big picture when we’re so caught up in it. a psychedelic experience is perfect for taking that step back and really engaging with your thought material. It’s not surprising that a lot of great thinkers were into psychedelics. It’s like anthropology but living it, you become a primitive person. For example, I didn’t really understand what toxic masculinity was even though it’s become a popular expression. I literally visually saw what toxic masculinity was on one unfortunate acid trip, and in such a concrete way. I’ve had my fair share of bad trips, but even with them it’s not all bad and I learn so much from them so I don’t really mind. This year has been a not so psychedelic year for me and I feel the absence of it. I really need a reset, I didn’t get to do my pilgrimage this year and I’m already running out of sun :)
Mark Fisher uses a concept called “acid communism” and I’m really curious what that is because it sparks so many cool ideas in my mind just hearing it. I believe psychedelics will be revolutionary and I will advocate for them with all my heart once my thoughts mean something to people. I want to design a psychedelic game at some point, like a treasure hunt but fully customizable and with little mini-games and riddles and puzzles. I need time :)
Watch fantastic funghi and the psychedelic adventures documentary on Netflix!!