Namaste.

I haven't been around the forums in some time, but would like to get back on the bus, as I've recently remembered how much I value such a community in my life.

I'm writing this post, because I seek words of advice.
I've recently acquired a good amount of cubensis(?) (I should verify this), and I would like to ingest some very soon.
There's an issue though.
For some reason, I have this fear inside of me about where this medicine will take me.
Which is odd, when put into consideration that I am completely comfortable taking 5 hits of LSD and meditating, or experiencing complete matter dissolution via DMT.

I've only ever consumed mushys two times in my life. The first time was around 1-1.5g and the second time was a gulp of tea and a large cap. Both times were pretty fun, and I was capable of maintaining "control", if you will.. but I seek something much more profound.
I want to go where none have gone before, where the ego is not allowed.

So what do you think? Feel free to share whatever comes to mind.

_/\_

Fear is like a dark hedge maze one must meander and memorize to get to the gates.

Only you yourself have a grasp at whats lurking below the surface of your unconsciousness.
If you know you are stable with diverse psychedelics, it might just be the fear of the unknown.

If you want to have it slightly easier, start with a low dose, and go deeper a littlebit later (but when the memory of the trip is still fresh).
For example 2 gram first, more 2-3 weeks later.

Why do you want to go where no ego has gone? Just curious.

If you want to go there to face a fear, then that anticipation could be manifesting/confusing itself with the fear that you feel.

I have a personal view that fear might not be real, if i choose it not to be real. If I feel the sense of fear, then it might be my body responding to a certain set of stimuli - releasing various hormones that create a certain feeling, or awareness. When I become aware of this, I try to implement different thoughts to reconstruct my view, depending on the urgency of the situation. I've found that many of the things I used to fear were actually self created illusions due to my over complicated evaluations.

Anyways, figuring out fear is a tricky, personal thing. We all have our fears. Hopefully it all works out!

If your LSD trips aren't unpleasant, chances are an equivalent dose of shrooms won't be either. It'll show you different things than acid, though.

A small amount of healthy fear isn't necessarily a bad thing- in some ways it empowers you to know that the trip can get rough, and to know the signs and the things to tell yourself. (Most important: no matter how crazy it gets, remind yourself that you will come down). But if you meditate too much on fear it can color your experience. Be mindful of what you take into the trip, and you should be fine.

My personal experience would have to respectfully disagree with this. I've taken very large doses of LSD many times and have had very few minor encounters with fear. I've had 3.5 grams of cubensis turn me into a quivering wimpering ball begging for it to end.

Not to cast a negative light on the subject. I think the fear I've experienced on mushrooms has shown me some of the most important lessons that I could hope to learn.

They don't seem to really have that effect on me anymore since I've gotten more into meditation. Seems to make it much easier to move through different mind states without getting too caught up on them.

I think this needs to be emphasized as much as possible. I think it was either Nick Sand or Myron Stolaroff (or both) who said that a daily meditation practice is the most important tool in the psychedelic users kit. I joined a meditation group a couple of weeks ago but I need to work on my discipline and work on my daily practice (which is currently non-existent). By the way, hello from the Shroomery (bryguy).

I concur, regular meditation/breath work is essential for controlling one's emotional response to the entheogenic experience. At first it is all about stopping the incessant internal chatter, reaching a state of simple pure awareness, even if only for a few moments. In conjunction with this process is the opening of the heart and actually feeling the flow of love.

The perennial theme throughout my experiences with entheogenics is that love is not merely something to be felt once in a awhile - but that it is the natural default state of being - that we are only 'normal' sane human beings when we are always resonating this feeling.

While tripping, I have observed the sensation of fear to correspond directly to one's thoughts and have nothing to do with the entheogen itself - I mention this since shrooms are occasionally associated with 'bad trips' due to an alleged 'dark vibe' - which I believe to be completely erroneous. The tryptamine is completely neutral - it is the baggage which we bring into the experience that colours the experience. Thoughts function like a vector for emotional feelings, thoughts of fear generate sensations of fear, which if left unchecked will spiral down into a 'bad trip'.

Breathwork/meditation along with movement/dancing are our best means of controlling the direction of the experience. Another useful and effective accessory while meditating or tripping is a clear quartz crystal.

Apart from vaped DMT, i feel most trepidation when embarking on a mushroom trip for some reason, it may be the come up as i find it can feel a bit more physically involved when compared to LSD. You already feel confident with LSD so it can be good to know that the same safety as LSD applies, it can not possibly physically kill you at the doses you're taking, you will survive and perhaps be better off for it too.

I agree meditation helps as you learn to just be aware rather than react and perpetuate fearful mind states, meditation and psychedelics are a match made in heaven.

The fear can also be good, if you encounter fear and see through it then that is a great opportunity to learn about your mind, it can also keep you respectful when approaching such a powerful substance, although i also find diving in knowing you can handle it can be good too. Quite often on my first few psilocybin experiences soon after drinking the tea i'd think 'oh no, i don't want this now' which is one of the worst thoughts to have during a trip, and i found the counter to this kind of thinking is to say 'bring it on full power! throw your best punch!'

The mushroom fear is unique among fears, I've found - unlike the normal anxiety associated with day-to-day life, or even the crippling horror of something like OCD. The sheer intensity of the experience is sometimes scary, even when it's a good one.

Blessings
~ND

Set and setting matter in a mushroom trip but I don't think it gives me any more "fear" than any other trips, In fact it seems a little more gentle than lsd or dmt.

just make sure to get your mind right

I second this. Start with a low/medium dosage and work your way up.
2g or 2.5g would be a good place to start, then you can gradually increase as you see fit and get comfortable with the different levels and "personality" of the experience.
From 3.5g onwards, dose/response seems to increase incrementally, so take heed when taking doses higher than that. Form a relationship with it and slowly work your way toward the deep levels you seek

Hey Spiritual,

Too add on to what everyone is saying about meditation, I've found that it really can increase the immediate effectiveness of meditation to combine it with a corresponding mudra or reiki technique. Regardless of your beliefs on energy or Qi, using a physical action to clearly express the intention of your meditation can help a a lot when in a stressful situation with our without medicine. I practice 3-4 techniques specifically for calming down and grounding myself when I'm not in that situation so I can keep them with me as tools. Just knowing that I have such tools and techniques available makes me feel more confident going into the trips to begin with.

Also I don't know if you're planning to travel solo or not, but if you are having someone in the house but not actually with you can make things a lot less scary, since regardless of what happens help is just right around the corner.

Best of luck,

-Paulo

Edit: I don't know how I forgot this, but as long as you don't have a history of abuse, get an emergency dose of a Benzodiazepine like Xanax and leave it in your medicine cabinet just in case. This is probably the least positive way of ending a trip as far as personal growth goes... But again having lot's of tools available to you can give you the confidence to move forward and never really need to use them.