Hello everyone! Before I introduce myself, I'd like to echo what other new members like myself have said. I stumbled upon these forums during my usual preliminary research process before trying a new substance (in this case DMT). I was pleasantly surprised at the respectful and informative community here. As we all know, Internet forums are usually plagued with immaturity and misinformation, but that doesn't seem to be the case here, which is why I'm very grateful for the opportunity to join you guys! I look forward to learning and contributing to the best of my ability!
With that being said, let me introduce myself. People call me Mike, I am a male in my late 20's living in the US east coast. While I am definitely a newbie to DMT (only a handful of trips a few weeks back) I have quite an extensive history of experimentation (and addiction, unfortunately) with many other substances. However, I believe strongly that whether these experiences were positive or negative, I'm grateful for everything I've learned from them.
For example, when I was a young teenager, ecstasy was my life. I was young, felt invincible, not to be bothered with the fact that my brain needed time to recover from repeated doses of MDMA and MDA. As one might expect, after about a year of this, I was left with a deep depression, that fortunately with Paxil and therapy, was eventually overcome (though getting OFF the Paxil was one of the hardest things I've ever done.. They don't tell you that part when they prescribe it lol). Anyways, the point is that from that terrible experience, I learned the importance of research and treating these mind-altering substances with respect. Now that's not, of course, to say I didn't later learn hard lessons with other drugs, but I have since "rolled" on occasion with proper preloading/postloading and recovery time to minimize toxicity. This is just one example.
Now, DMT. Haha where to begin? Let me start by saying that hallucinogens/psychedelics are nothing new to me. I've had many amazing trips (and a couple bad ones) on shrooms, LSD, 2C-E, some 5-MeO's and NBOMe's. But DMT is just so much more interesting to me. Here's what first astonished me: So I started with one small hit, to "test the waters" so to speak. And WOW, not much hallucination, but the sheer physical euphoric pleasure washing through my body was nothing I had ever experienced. So waited an hour or two, and took two hits this time. INCREDIBLE visuals, the most vivid and eye-pleasing I've ever had! I remember thinking, "wow, and I thought one hit was awesome, but it barely compares to this!" So of course I waited to return to baseline and took three hits. MINDBLOWN. Again, DWARFED the two hit trip, which itself dwarfed the one hit trip. From what I understand, I had a sub-breakthrough experience that was without a doubt, the most intense thing I've ever felt my whole life. Completely left my body, the room, and my reality. I feel like I was very close to a breakthrough. I think the only thing that held me back was an intense wave of nausea, that freaked me out because I was worried about the fact that I wasn't in my room or even in my body anymore, so what if I threw up? And that psychological tie to my physical body is what I believe held me back. All that aside, the experience was profound to say the least. I tripped a few more times in the following days, still never breaking through, but that first 3 hitter really changed the way I look at DMT. I gained a lot more respect for it. It's interesting, as a side note: I'm about as non-spiritual as one can be, non-superstitious, atheist (maybe slightly agnostic) but you know, scientific, mathematical, logical, evidence-based theory and conclusion, the whole nine yards. My girlfriend is a devout Christian. (I know, imagine the discussions we often have lol) but we are very accepting of our differences. But she seems to think that my "lack of spirituality" will prevent a breakthrough. I hope this isn't the case, I don't believe it is. But it brings into question why it is that DMT fascinates me so much. No, I'm not searching for faith, I am a creature of curiosity. May I find some level of spirituality throughout my endeavors, I would embrace it. Could my fascination represent a subconscious yearn to find some level of spirituality? Maybe. But I'm not looking for answers. I'm exploring the unknown. Already, thanks to much I've learned on these forums, I have gotten much more comfortable with these explorations. Whether it be a few drops of essential lemon oil for nausea, or a good 15 minute meditation exercise prior to blast off.
Anyways thanks guys for reading, sorry I probably rambled on a lot more than necessary for an introduction. But thanks for all the useful info I've found here, and I'm glad to become a part of it!