🥂Here's to First Trips🍄

"The mystical experience of psychedelics is ineffable, but we try very hard to F it." -William James

In May of 2019, Colorado legalized consumption of psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called Magic Mushrooms. And the psychonauts rejoiced as we headed to the woods in search of our favorite fungi, and a new perspective on life.

A year and a half later, I sat down with my youngest daughter and her life-partner to talk about their first trip a few days earlier, and by proxy, all first trips. Our conversation was a great example of what should happen after every psychedelic experience: decompression, discussion, digestion and conclusion. Therapy.

We should be sitting with the revelations we encounter, and bouncing them off of our loved ones. We should be doing the work that the therapists are doing in their labs with psychedelics: getting to the root of the problem and mapping a better path forward. We should be treating these chemicals like the incredible gifts they are, and squeezing every precious drop of life-changing epiphany out of our experiences with them. They are, as many a guru has pointed out, a shortcut to enlightenment, a fast-path to "oh shit, now I see!" And it seems like in 2020, more than any time in recent history, a lot of us could use a little bit of, "oh shit, now I see!"

Our home therapy session began off-tape, before their trip, with suggestions for safe use and recovery. As always, all drugs are not for all people, and psychedelics can be problematic when taken by people with underlying psychiatric disorders or untreated trauma. The root of many bad trips is a failure to prepare. The "set" in set and setting is YOU. It is the blob of scarred human flesh who is about to disappear into a wad of psychedelic jello. Suggestion: let go.

(That's why I always encourage listeners/readers to talk to your doctor before changing your medication or trying something new, especially psychedelics).

The days following a psychedelic experience are valuable, and if you take the time to dig into what happened, you will likely realize there is much more to it than you initially realized. Sit down with your people and talk about it while it is still fresh, and help each other make the connections that are often just out of reach. We do this during the interview.

I mentioned in the episode that psychedelics promote the creation of new neural networks. The article I referenced is HERE

Fun Fact: Amanita muscaria, AKA fly agaric or fly amanita, is the holy grail of Magic Mushrooms. Maybe that's why Mario loved it so much. I get a kick out of the game's story line: every time Mario (or any character) feels small and squishable, they can take a dose of Amanita Muscaria and get a different perspective: and they gain both stature and strength.😉

For those who live in a state or country where growing shrooms is legal, check out this YouTube clip to get an idea of how easy (and kind of gross) it is. You don't have to test your shroom for contaminants if you grow them yourself, just like your weed.

And if you are wondering who was lapping water during our interview, here is a picture of Oreo, along with his owners, Riley and Vanessa.