Hello,

I have been researching this and debating this question for a while now, I think a sitter would be absolutely nescessary when taking high dosages of salvia or iboga. But I was wondering specifically about san pedro.

I am in peru and have been drinking san pedro once a week and slowly increasing the dosage I have got to the point where if I increase the dosage this week it will be a rather strong experience. I have been doing this alone so far but I was wondering if in the throws of a full blown san pedro experience do you guys think a sitter/facilitator is absolutely necessary? Or is it kind of a personal preference type of thing? Do you think I could possibly hurt myself if there isn't someone else around of sound mind and body that could help me out?

Thanks

yep, you are right, for high dose experiences a sitter is a necessity. i would recommend somebody who is really affectionate and full of compassion. ever broke down crying in someones arms? you want such a person that can stand grief and suffering and comfort you.

most people can sit you through happy times, the ones that can deal with shipwrecks are rare, so chose wisely. i don't say you will shipwreck, just in case it happens it will make a huge difference.

take care, much love
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ah ok, thanks for confirming my intuition I was thinking the same that I really need to find someone that is very gentle and loving. I actually had a shipwreck exp outside iquitos 2 years ago and it was with someone who was a complete asshole and had no idea how to deal with someone in that state of mind he was yelling at me and put me into a guilt trip so I am very careful about who I choose. Do you have any references of good facilitators/shamans in peru?

nope, sorry. i can recommend people in brazil. never been there, but heard from a very good friend about them. usually they do not accept everybody, you will have a chat with the faciltzators first, talk about you and your intentions. i had a chat with one of them via skype, sounded good. but still, unless you find a buddha, peilople will be people.

I take giant doses of San Pedro on my own without a sitter, or while I am facilitating for someone else, but I have drank it a few hundred times already and had some minimal training from Peruvian shamans.... So what works for me might not be best for others.

I think if you are worried about whether or not you need a sitter then you should probably just have one. When you are confident in your abilities to get along well with the plant then you wont wonder if you need a sitter or not. Better safe then sorry - San Pedro is often very supporting and gentle, but can surly surprise you sometimes with tremendous force...

One of my strongest SP ceremonies ever was actually with a really tiny dose I thought would be super mild.... Sometimes San Pedro just has a lot to say! lol

Where are you in Peru? I love it there - I'll be back in July

i absolutely believe in the concept of a sitter.
sometimes peeps need one.........

that said,
my first times with acid, salvia, mesc, shrooms and deems,
was all alone.
i dont freak out easily.
and i have a tendency to sit down and do nothing when over buzzed.

naturally mileage may vary.

Oh ok cool thanks for the replies, yea Im not planning to go to brazil as of right now. But yea travsha the first ever experience I had with san pedro was the strongest I've ever had and I was alone I actually handled it quite well, but after a very rough and strong ayahuasca experience I am just thinking thinking maybe I got lucky and was being wreckless with my practice but now that you say you have drank by yourself massive dosages I may give it another go. I've been drinking once a week for a bout a month slowly increasing the dose and the last time I drank was a pretty strong experience but still not as strong as my first experience. I am in pisaq right now I was thinking about doing a nightime ceremony at the ruins in a few days or so, do you know of any good places to drink by myself in or around pisaq where I wont be disturbed?

Thanks

Mescalines one of the most forgiving psychedelics i've experienced, in terms of dosage and the overall experience. There's aspects to the mescaline experience that lend to it to be much easier to deal with; the dosage is fairly broad and the timescale of the comeup til peak and after spans over many hours.

The high energy, stimulating, empathic quality of the mescaline experience is very unique. For me, it stays from the beginning til the end, even into the high-dosage realms, it's there, right by your side. It's something that i've never felt in all my experiences with the various tryptamines.

The introspective quality to the mescaline experience is also unique. I mean, other psychedelics (mushrooms, LSD, etc) have an introspective quality to them for sure, but mescaline seems ime to do this very non-intrusively, although it can go very very deep in that area.

I've taken several high dosages of mescaline extract and also tea. Don't get me wrong, mescaline can be VERY visual, immersive, even visionary, you just have to take enough; it can take quite a bit of mescaline for most to push the envelope. There's been times during the peak where I was essentially layed out just the same as mushrooms or any of the others are capable of doing; full on crystaline 4D cities, jeweled ruins, hyperdimensional forests and structures and temples (completey hyperspacial); but even during those peaks, due to everything I stated above, the experience even at those levels is very manageable. It's just in a different playing field from other psychedelics.

But, it's your body, your physiology, your own mind, so ultimately it's your call regarding the sitter. Which ever route that will bring you the most comfort throughout the experience.

<3

Ok thank for your opinion thats the reason why I am gravitating towards san pedro because of these characteristics I think I will go ahead and do it on my own I'll report back after my experience.

Thanks again

Sitters are important though sometimes no sitter is better than having one.

I once got beaten up by my trip sitter who was drunk and started play fighting but didn’t seem to realize that I was genuinely not wanting or willing to fight in that state of mind!

My idea of a good trip sitter is a very good friend or girlfriend though they needn’t be with me talking to me, they should just be around. Asleep is fine too. I always did Anahuasca trips aside my sleeping girlfriend (now wife) and found this to be far preferable to having her awake or god forbid nagging at me!

When it comes to having a bad trip though I rely on myself and tried and tested methods of suffering and surrender. Not sure anyone could talk me out of a bad one really.

Really seriously awful bad trips are the ones were communication and relationships break down with other people to such a horrifying extent that it no longer really feels to be due only to the fact you are tripping.

Then again these conversational abominations only occurred with Cannabis added into the mix.

I hope a nighttime ceremony goes well - dress warm! It gets cold as shit at night in the mountains....

I dont know Pisac as well - I have only spent abut a day at a time there... I am usually around Cusco more. I would find somewhere a little private though - people have gotten robbed camping out at night around the cities... Actually, if I was drinking outdoors at night in Peru I would probably want a sitter just because of other people or animals that might bother you. Unless you find a friends private yard to hangout in, then that would be chill.

oh ok yea im not too worried about getting robbed in pisaq i dont think there is too much crime it is a small town. But i found a nice secluded space that i think i will go to during the day anyway. thanks for all the replies guys.