I've been lurking for a long time and you guys are so awesome I couldn't resist not joining in any longer.

A friend recently sent me these pics. He claims it's his first recrystallization with warm heptane.

Looks good to me. But what do you think?

As far as a little background on me, I've been exploring psychedelics for over twenty years. I recently came across DMT as it seems to be much more popular and available now. Although the trip is short, it was the most profound experience I've had to date.

One area that I'd like to seek advice in is how to best prepare others for such an experience. Haven never had a proper shaman to guide me I can only try to impart my own methods. Simple things like being comfortable with anything one might need within arms reach, relaxing lighting and, usually, quiet. I love music with low doses but it distorts too much at high doses to be enjoyable.

What advice do you give your first timers? Where should I start to become a proper shaman?

Advanced gratitudes!

Welcome,

Nice DMT you have there

No need for a shaman in my opinion, let your intuition and the molecules themselves be your guide. I have administration tips here, but I strongly believe that these things are best learned and explored on ones own so-to-speak, which can include others of course.

The word shaman fits in certain cultural contexts, but I think there are better words to use nowadays for a person seeking to explore hyperspatial possibilities with exogenous use of endogenous neurotransmitters. Labels aren't exactly necessary here because in my opinion what we are doing goes so far beyond our language anyway.

Explore the link as well as the rest of the site, you will get a feel of others techniques and eventually you will have your own personal crafted method of psychedelic use that you will find works best for you.

Thanks for the reply and the link. It'll serve as a good checklist and source of ideas for newcomers. I have my process to find my calm place. At some point, I have to rely on others to do the same.

I agree about labels. Shaman can imply all sorts of things but at the same time I think it got my point across. I'm not looking to commune with aliens or have a religious experience. There is plenty to explore within and this tool gives us some interesting ways to manipulate perception. As with any tool, some instructions can be useful -- while others can be dangerous.

For instance, I feel compelled to warn people about things like:

-- It can go from a relaxing mushroom like experience to an intense sojourn in a single toke.
-- If you do breakthrough, you may have anxiety, fear of the unknown. That's normal. It'll pass
-- You may feel like you're going to die of suffocating, fever, freezing, heart palpitations. It'll pass
-- Remember, nothing bad is happening; you're safe, healthy and should try to relax/explore

In the end, one does die in a way only to be reborn again in the same instant. I can't help but wonder if such experiences will make the true end easier to understand and possibly accept.