Just thought I would cement me finally managing to register on here with a bit about my self - Relating to Psycho-Active substance use.

Experience: The only "True' Psychedelics I have used are LSD And DMT. I have used both of these around 10 and 6 times respectively so I am actually a very inexperienced user at this stage. My highest dose has been 320ug and 60~ish mg of DMT-Changa.

The reason I have decided to sign up here is mainly because as a person, I have decided that psychedelic substances can not only help me greatly in life but as for recreational use they are very safe. This forum never fails to show up when Im doing research on my next experience which is why Ive signed up here. There are many friendly people and so much info makes it one of the most appealing forums for psychedelic research and discussion.

I hope to garner a better understanding (Of DMT in particular) and one day hopefully help other people also gain a better understanding themselves. SWIM Is interested in psychedelics and I want to be able to help and guide them as factually and properly in the future.

An issue I am currently experiencing is that when using DMT I become severely Scared/Resistant to the experience up until about a minute after the peak when I can calm my self enough to relax but by this point its all over and I have no chance to potentially break through (which I have never done)
Any Advice Appreciated!

Thanks!

Everyone has had anxiety shakes before smoking for the first few times, and still on.
However the intrepid such as myself does not fret, I face my endeavor with confidence and acumen.
You just have to let go and be unperturbed, not be in a state of trepidation.(which I found myself in the first 2 times I smoked)
Welcome to the Nexus & happy travels my friend!

Hello and Welcome to the Nexus!

It is not so much about fear as it is about respect. These are powerful substances, that command our undivided attention and utmost respect. DMT (vaporized or smoalked) in particular has such a rapid onset that it is very unsettling to most that take it. Sometimes it turns people away from it altogether, and that is okay too! DMT isn't necessarily for everyone. Anyone who says that they do not feel any apprehension before blasting off with DMT are likely kidding themselves or have learned to overcome these feelings with practice and patience.

The key is to push through it, and believing that it's all okay. Before jumping in, remember you'll be back in a few, short Earth minutes. If you really want the experience, go have it. Don't let yourself stand in your way. Learning to "let go" is something you'll hear all the time, if you stick around the Nexus. It is a simple phrase, that is easier said than done, as with most things in life. Search the forum and you'll see that many, if not all of us that came before you have had the same doubts and fears (myself included, as seen in the linked reports). It is manageable.

I still personally have a lot of pre-flight jitters before a DMT journey and I always will (not so much with other psychedelics, although the come up on mushrooms, my favorite plant ally, can be pretty uncomfortable at times ).

Preparation, persistence, and practice are very useful tools. Set and setting go hand in hand with them. You need to be physically comfortable, be in a safe place, be in a good state of mind, perhaps have a trusted friend or family member nearby to discuss what happens afterwards, or have a notebook nearby to jot some notes, at the least. Light some candles, burn incense, smudge, get out all your comfy pillows and blankets to surround yourself with, or do whatever feels right for you whenever you are setting the "mood" of your immediate tripping environment. I LOVE being surrounded by soft throws and warm blankets after a powerful journey. It is like being hugged by the universe. All of these things are ways to cope with the absurd, beautiful, alien yet familiar nature that is DMT.

I've even been known to use little mantras to help calm myself before hand. Small, short phrases that can be repeated to help build confidence. "Do what you will, I'm letting go" is one that I use a lot. It allows me to communicate my intention to the experience and to myself. It sets it in stone, makes it real. I'm less likely to be a chicken that way...

As for fighting the experience while it is happening. This is very common too, and it all still boils down to the art of letting go. One of the easier ways to "let go" is after you take your hits and place your device down somewhere safe, close your eyes and lay down, preferably somewhere soft and warm. Then just breathe, and go with the flow. Don't try to over-analyze while "there" ... just be ... observe ... learn... be humbled ... and then come back here and share it with us!

All in all, sometimes the vaporized experience is simply "too much too fast" and not a lot is gained from it. Oral preparations are better in this regard because they allow you to explore the space for extended periods of time. But that is another story!

Have a good one!

I think I will take most of this into my next experience, especially the having someone around part. Thanks for the warm welcome!

Welcome,

(If this gets TL/DR at any point, at least go and read the much more entertaining story linked at the bottom. And the quote in my signature. Those will be enough. But if you want a better cognitive understanding of what DMT can do, then read on.)

So here's my understanding of entheogens, and of meditation as well for that matter.

They're tools to help us become more aware of ourselves, to become more self-aware, and particularly of anything we've repressed. This is how meditation and entheogens help us heal.

Surely they can help us become aware of other things as well, but to lesser benefit in terms of healing. And since, unfortunately, that we are in need of healing is why we exist here, the various other awarenesses that DMT and other entheogens can bring us are of less value than the self-awareness they can bring us.

The primary way that being more self-aware heals us is through a process which psychology and neuroscience call "exposure and extinction". The mechanism of exposure and extinction is that by going through an experience, any experience really, we can gradually become less afraid of it. The religious and mystical traditions have their own terms for the process of exposure and extinction. In Christian mysticism for example it's been called "The Dark Night of the Soul." Jesus referred to it when he said, "Pick up your cross and follow me." Your cross being all your repressed negativity, which in his analogies we pick up by being like "little children", being "meek", being "poor in spirit" (i.e. not "spirited", meaning not egotistical), in other words he was telling us to keep our minds still. Buddhists speak of facing our demons by keeping our minds still.

Entheogens and meditation are catalysts for exposure and extinction, they accelerate the process so we can heal faster. And the most powerful of them, DMT in particular, can even provide us with the "exposure" itself, through scary visions and by unlocking our subconscious thoughts and feelings, so that we don't even have to be exposed to difficult experiences in our lives in order to get the "exposure" necessary for us to heal.

So, in this light the anxiety you're experiencing is a very good thing, it's really the way that the highest goal of entheogen use is reached.

I'd recommend some ayahuasca, either traditionally, or perhaps using full spectrum alkaloid extracts, as the latter makes it easier to titrate up to a dose that's sufficiently strong for more rapid healing. Vaporizing it, unless you've got changa and are willing to hit it hard enough, just isn't long acting enough to get the most out of it.

Sometimes we may not want this type of healing, so it should be pointed out that it's not optional. We just keep incarnating and going through terrible experiences until we expose and extinguish all the negativity inside us, because it's that negativity that's causing the terrible experiences to occur.

Until one becomes pretty self-aware it might be difficult to believe that our negativities, our negative thoughts and feelings, are causing the negative events in our lives rather than simply being reactions to those negative events. It would be a fools errand to try to convince anyone of this, but if one so desires they can find out whether or not it's true.

This may sound pretty "woo-woo", but reincarnation was taught by Socrates and Plato, by Jesus (he noted that John was the return of Elijah), and by many teachers in the East. Being a profoundly skeptical sort I didn't find any of that credible. After a voice that sounded like one would expect God to sound told me about a past life of mine once when I was experiencing full consciousness during deep dreamless sleep (a side effect of meditation), and after I realized that I still had a lot of the same problems now, and once I figured out how a lot of them relate both to that earlier life and to larger patterns in human existence, after all that all the anecdotal reports that reincarnation is real now seem much more credible. Again, not something I'd try to convince anyone of (I'm really very anti-faith), but if you really want it you can find the truth. (reminds me of the "The Harder They Come" soundtrack, with the truth "you can get it if you really want", and it does come a bit hard)

Best thing you can do is to just keep your mind as still as possible. See going through the fear as the necessary component of overcoming it, and see overcoming it as non-optional. If you ever find out that what I've written here is true you'll also find yourself chasing your fears, diving into them at every opportunity. I hope you make it there. Good luck.

This is a great tale of Ayahuasca healing by Peter Gorman, one of the bigger figures in introducing Aya to the First World. I don't agree with everything he believes, but the parts about "the doctors" and their effects is priceless: https://thegormanblog.bl...h?q=the+doctors+rustling

Very nice read.

Thanks for posting.