A brief piece about myself and my history of psychedelic use:
I live in London, always have, probably won't remain here forever.
I grew up with my parents and two brothers, me being the eldest. My mother is a yoga teacher. I was surrounded by many Buddhist texts, Indian traditional music and the smell of incense from a young age. Though, as a teenager I somewhat rebelled against all the "hippie bullshit" my mum was spewing all over the place and it was only when I turned ~18 y/o that I really began to show an interest in any of it. I do believe growing up in this way influenced my future persona greatly. I feel naturally drawn to Eastern philosophies and teachings far more so than our Western equivalents, the concept of self as "God" is far more logical than anything external, and although I'm yet to invest much time into exploring this world, I still enjoy the occasional dip into the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying or a talk from a woman who lived in isolation, in a cave for several years to truly find herself
It's a very informal relationship, one I take lightly and with a pinch of salt, but also one in which I'd like to explore further in the future.
I first began my quest into "mind exploration" or "consciousness expanding" when I was about 16, getting high as a way to "rebel against the system, man!" My first psychedelic experience came when I was 18, although I now feel that this is probably too young an age to start setting foot into such territory, it so happens it wasn't very mind-bending an experience and more of a taste, a peek into the potential that this experience has to offer. Regardless, it was that LSD experience that set me on the path of consciousness exploration.
I have dabbled in many mind altering substances. In my early days it was a far more destructive lifestyle I was living, getting wrecked for the fun of it, going to raves and parties with handfuls of ecstasy pills or cocaine. Purely recreational. Then I began using ketamine fairly regularly. I've had some truly incredible experiences with ketamine, although I no longer use it. Then came the LSD and the psilocybin mushrooms the rest is history!
Throughout my use of psychedelics it has always remained recreational. Not necessarily out of choice, I don't think I've gone "deep" enough to feel as though I've brought back anything significant. Subtle changes in my personality are evident without doubt, however. LSD really did open my mind, but it was my first experience with DMT that really triggered the desire to travel further, go deeper into my consciousness.
DMT... As I'm sure you all agree, words simply cannot sufficiently describe, so I won't try. What a fascinating substance! My first journey into this beautiful world came only last year. I'd read a lot about it years prior with Strassman's book and many trip reports and I was ohhhh so excited to see what the fuss was all about. I lay on my friends bathroom floor, (I know, it doesn't sound like the best place to do it, but it was the only isolated room in the flat, with no people - we made it surprisingly comfortable. And besides, it hardly matters where you're sitting once you leave this plain of existence
), I took 3 pulls while my friend held the pipe. Two pulls in and I signal to stop, but he insists I take one more. Glad I did! As the pipe quickly became unrecognizable, and the room literally fell apart in front of my eyes, I lay back and closed my eyes as I got pulled into this realm made of light and colour of the purest kind. So beautiful, magical! The liquid patterns twisting and swirling so intensely. I lost feeling in my body limb by limb, arms, torso, legs and I floated in this ever-changing world for what felt like eternity (for lack of a better word. "Eternity" implies time even exists). I'm pretty sure I giggled my way through that experience. I felt my body return to me and slowly opened my eyes, laying there for a few moments to catch my thoughts. I think I remained in silence for about half an hour afterwards, simply because I couldn't find the words to describe where I'd just been. I felt ecstatic.
I've since smoked DMT / Changa about 9 or 10 times, and although none quite compare to that first step into this magical, alien world, it is still the most interesting and mindblowing experience I've ever had the pleasure of having. I have since had far more "traditional" experiences, including contact with a female entity of some sort. No legs, two arms and a head welcoming me, guiding me. Very humbling.
Anyway, enough about me. I look forward to "hanging out" here with you all in the future. It really does seem like a wonderful community you have here.
I'll wrap this up with a quote that really resonated with me after my first DMT experience. It's from a DMT experience report I found online once upon a time
Quote:Gone are the oddities of why we are here, how, and what our purpose is. We are all manifests of the same godly single conscience and I truly see my life for what it is… a cell, on a leaf, on a stick, on a larger stick, on a branch, on a larger branch, connected to the biggest redwood in the largest, never-ending forest that ever existed. Suddenly everything feels perfect, pure, awe-inspiring, truly completing. I am nothing, yet everything all at once. Even the multi-verse is gone now, and visions of the future too. It’s just me.
Safe travelling,
TheWilderness