Hi guys,

new member here and new to Deems, trying to figure things out and get my first breakthrough.

Very experienced psychonaut I'd say, been to high doses of acid and shrooms many times over many years in addition to various other psychedelics.
Eventually I became a more or less full-time spiritual seeker, started reading Asian spirituality, learned to meditate and attended multiple long-ish silent retreats, became a Buddhist and now am treading a mixed path of Vipassana and entheogens.
I meditate 2-3 hours every day and keep exploring various means that seem to be of value for spiritual insight.
Deems seems doubtlessly to be one of them and for a long time I thought I wasn't ready for it but recently I decided it was time.

My vaping efforts have been less than stellar however.
I've never been much of a smoker. Never smoked a cigarette and not more than a handful of joints. Weed never appealed much to me.
In short, my lungs are really not used to smoke of any kind.
And I'm starting to think that my cough reflex seems to be on the rather extreme end.

I've experimented with the GVG quite a bit, read a lot on the technique and did my best to follow the instructions, be careful with the flame and subtly tweak things.
I still have a terrible cough instinct and keep coughing the Deems vapor out despite my best efforts to take shorter tokes and whatnot.
Many a trip have come on while I was in the throes of a coughing fit.
Not that it made the experience bad or anything but still, could be better.
It has certainly contributed to my pre-flight anxiety since I have learned to dread the coughing fits but know I must persist for the reward will be more than worth it.

I've resolved to start vaping 5-10 mg every day or so to condition my lungs and maybe even start smoking pure mullein in addition to mixing mullein with Deems in the GVG.

I'm starting to put together an e-mesh as well but that will take a little tinkering first.

So my question is basically, in addition to any advice some more experienced Nexians may have on handling a bad cough reflex, can I just buy mullein tea and use it for smoking or does it need to be a blend specially made for smoking?
Is there any difference between the two?
As you can see I know basically nothing about smoking ahaha...

I've smoked mullein tea without any problems, as far as I can see the tea I bought is just chopped up leaf, same as a smoking mix would be.

Obligatory internet caution: YMMV, check the ingredients

Hello hubris101,

I too am into Vipassana (Goenka), Buddhism, and entheogens (obviously). Good to have you here.

Have you thought about pre-dosing with an MAOI? It offers more time to take smaller inhales, leaving the lungs less bothered through not having to take such big hits. Mullein does help a bit with the cough reflex, but not much IME.

Good luck and be happy

Hi and thanks!
Glad to be here for sure.
I know so many people who have done the rounds with Goenka retreats, never went to one myself but have learned and practiced Mahasi for a while.

Pre-dosing MAOI you mean like chewing Syrian Rue seeds?
I watched a video on this by Mintylove the other day and was thinking about ordering some seeds to try.
I've also tried Changa but the smoking was just as bad if not worse.

I'll order some Mullein tea for sure then and start experimenting.

I can only say the same. Try an MAOI, extracted harmalas or Syrian rue tea (NOT a nice tasting tea) or swallowing the whole seeds. Take this orally or sublingual. This gives a lot more space for the DMT. You can take smaller puffs, relax and continue for more puffs until you are were you want.
I've also mixed DMT with Mullein in the GVG. Don't know it it made any difference thou.
Good luck!

One thing i'd like to add: remove any stalks and/or seeds/seed hulls before you smoke any herbs, to ensure maximum smoothness possible.

I'm having similar problems with vaping, despite being a smoker of over 30 years, my throat/lungs want to reject DMT vapor. For me, it is much easier to smoke changa - i make it with sage and basil and mullein which is a pretty smooth (and tasty) mix.

If your lungs want neither smoke nor vapor, i guess you'll just have to go the oral route!
Whether that's "traditional" ayahuasca using caapi vine and chacruna leaves, or anahuasca using rue seeds and eg. mimosa bark, or pharmahuasca using extracted harmalas and DMT, it is an amazing experience. It lasts like 3-5h. It may take a few attempts to get the oral dosage and timing right, it's kinda finnicky.

Personally, i use self-extracted alkaloids in capsules. I take the harmalas (~200mg) first, then 30min later the DMT (80mg-ish) with another little bit of harmalas (20-50mg). I like to have a third capsule prepared with another 40mg of DMT, in case i want more 1-2h after ingestion of the second capsule.

I'm pretty heavy at about 95kg, you should probably start with lower amounts. Like half of everything maybe, and go from there. It's also a good idea to experiment with harmalas alone to find your sweet spot of full MAO inhibition without too much nausea, before adding DMT to the mix.

Yes! I have to get into this more. I've tried the oral route two times, didn't work very well. But I'll give it another try, or two.

this might be helpful
https://www.reddit.com/r..._every_timewaste_no_dmt/

Hi!
Thanks for the in-depth answer, very kind of you.
Ayahuasca has of course been on my list as well.
For the first time I however really would prefer to do it in a proper retreat setting before I trust myself with doing it alone like all other psychedelics.
I've already booked an ayahuasca retreat at a reputable center in the Netherlands where it's tolerated by law enforcement for January.
I'm going on a 3 week meditation retreat in a month and thus leaving some buffer time after that to allow for proper coming down and integration.
Don't want to risk too many unpredictable effects.

At just over 500€ all in a retreat like this is not something I can afford to do regularly but for my first time or to help introduce a reluctant friend to the experience later down the line, sure.
If all goes well and I know I want to integrate Aya into my psychedelic toolbox I'll probably go the extracted harmalas route as well, some rue seeds are already in the mail and freebase DMT is already prepared.

Thanks for all the advice in this thread guys, I'll keep you posted on my efforts and certainly come in raving when I manage my first breakthrough haha!