There are many activities that you might want to do when you’re tripping shrooms, but the specific activities themselves are less important than set and setting.
Why are there some activities I should avoid when I do shrooms?
Psychedelics are unique and fascinating compounds for many reasons, but one of them is that they’re so unpredictable. The same person will never have the same experience twice, and two people can take the same dose in the same location and have radically different experiences.
LSD, shrooms, and other psychedelics amplify what is already present. They don’t necessarily take something that’s external and put it into your experience, but they amplify your sensitivity to what is going on for you. Shrooms amplify feelings you have internally within your mind and body and also the external environment that you’re in and how it impacts you. This is why you want to create the best conditions to have a positive psychedelic trip.
How can I make sure I have a good trip?
In order to have a good trip, you have to consciously and deliberately make sure your internal experience and your external surroundings are conducive to what you want to experience. In psychedelic circles, this is referred to as having good set and setting. Set refers to our own internal experience and what we bring to the experience and setting corresponds to our external environment.
What does “set” mean with psychedelics?
Set corresponds to all the things you bring to the experience as an individual. Things that we can include under set are our beliefs of what psychedelics can do, including what they are and what kinds of experiences you can have while you’re on them. Your current life is also included in set. For example, your emotional state at the time you plan to do shrooms, as well as your personal history and past experiences. Set also includes your motivation for the experience and what you’re trying to get out of it. Things that you can’t change, including your personality traits and your particular tendencies in the way you think, can also be attributed to set.
All these things have a huge influence on your experience. There are some things within set that you have control over. For example, if you’re feeling incredibly upset on the day you had planned to trip shrooms, then maybe that’s not the best day for a trip. Likewise, if you hold the belief that every trip is likely to turn bad, you might want to reexamine that belief before getting into a tripping experience.
How can I make sure I have good “set”?
First, surrender to the experience and have a strong intention. This is supported by a couple studies on psychedelics. Surrendering and having a strong intention do not have to be contradictory! You should simply have a clear idea of what you’re trying to get out of the experience. It could simply be to have a good time, or it could be to have deep insight into your personal patterns, or it could be to connect to nature. At the same time, you should be willing to surrender to the experience and allow this intention to take whatever form it happens to take.
So have a solid intention, but do not be attached to how that intention will manifest. Be totally open and receptive to floating downstream – wherever that stream is taking you. You definitely don’t want to resist or fight the experience and try to swim back against the current or even grab onto the riverbanks to help you cling on to what is familiar and comfortable.
Should I trip shrooms if I’m feeling anxious about my life?
It depends. Studies have shown that one of the things that most predicted a challenging experience while tripping was having a lot of anxiety and negative feelings about your life. People who were excessively preoccupied with things going on in their life outside the trip did not have an easy trip experience.
That means that when you’re preparing for your trip, you should try to clear your mind as much as possible. Even before your trip, if possible, go out and spend some time in nature. Go on a hike or do some exercise to clear your mind, or meditate or journal. Just do anything that snaps you out of your usual head space. It’s important to really make space for the trip in your life, rather than throwing it into your usual routine. You want to feel like you’re in a calm, positive and open head space. Ready to dive into the unknowns that psychedelic experiences can confront you with.
Do I have the personality for tripping?
Before tripping shrooms you should definitely consider what influence your personality traits or mental dispositions might have on the experience. For instance, one study found that people who registered as having more neurotic tendencies than others, were more likely to worry and over-analyze and therefore have a negative trip. That doesn’t mean that if you are neurotic you should never trip shrooms, it just means that you should be conscious of mitigating the impact your anxiety has on the trip experience.
Hyper rationality is also associated with a less mystical or deeply meaningful trip experience. People who have hyper rationality personality traits tend to be less likely to have deeper feelings of oneness with the universe because they’re constantly trying to understand what’s happening in the trip. Again, just because you have this personality trait doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trip – it just means that you need to be conscious of creating the type of experience you want to have.
If I have a family history of mental health issues, should I trip shrooms?
As already stated here, psychedelic trips can amplify what is already present. If you have a family history of schizophrenia, bipolar, mania, or manic depressive disorders, you should certainly weigh the cost versus benefit of tripping very carefully. If you are able, consult with a medical healthcare professional who can help you make that decision more safely.
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