Foop's Magical Mushroom Guide

[Foop]

These past couple weeks I have seen more and more thread popping up asking advice about mushrooms and how to take them. These threads are filled with replies from people who, while having the best intentions, are spreading bad advice and falsehoods. The one or two mushroom guides up already are very comprehensive and well put together but I just feel as if they aren't the most user friendly, so I thought I would throw in my own take and hope that it is found helpful. This guide is not a complete overview of all methods but describes in detail MY method for all things mushrooms. (Im also posting this up in Recreational Marijuana because I feel that it will be seen by the most eyes looking for help, but if a Mod thinks I am wrong than by all means move it to where ever you see fit).

Backgroud
I'll start with a little background about my mushroom use to give you guys a little bit of an idea as to where I am coming from. My first large mushroom trip happened when I was 18 and it was the single best experience of my life. I had already been smoking Marijuana daily for 2 years and had dipped in to a few other drugs by the time I ingested my first mushrooms. My dose was around 4-5 grams dried. The only reason I started so high was because I was inexperienced and have a much larger than average body type (6' 5" 250lbs).

The trip took place up at my friends condo which opens up onto a lake (a beautiful spot to trip). It was me and two of my closest friends. The first 3 hours were incredible, my mind was racing at a million miles per hour and each new minute brought a new revelation about my life, my friendships, my ego, my personality and just the world in general. I learned more about life and the way of things in those 3 hours than I had my entire life (and I am not exaggerating in the slightest). My senses were hightened 10x fold, colors were vibrant and vivid, surfaces breathed and swirled all around me and each noise I heard made my body erupt into orgasmic pleasure.

I popped in a Radiohead CD, sat in a chair and let the music wash over me. Each rising crescendo in the music would bring my entire body to an orgasm. Not a normal orgasm where it lasts 2 seconds and you ejaculate, I'm talking about every nerve in my body screaming with ecstasy and slow building orgasms that would last entire minutes before slowly resting my body back into a state of wonder without ever ejaculating. Think Tantra.

At the same time my mind was racing with all these wonderful thoughts about the things going on around me. My brain could dissect and analyze things on a level far beyond what any human could ever dream of. In this time I saw my friends for who they truly were, warts and all. I no longer saw them as just side players in the story of my life, I saw them as complete beings, just like me. This trip put me into perspective with the world around me and I have not stopped thinking that way to this day.

Okay, so there is my first trip for you, hope it gives a decent general idea of the kind of things possible on this wonderful drug.

Why Mushroom Do What They Do
I won't put this section into scientific terms that no one without a medical degree will understand, I'm going to put it into laymen terms and paint the simplest picture for you. There are hundreds of different strains of Mushrooms and some strains can give you vastly different experiences over other. But since the vast majority of mushrooms tripped on are Psilocybe cubensis, we will just assume for this guide that those are the kind you will be using. Cubensis contain a chemical called Psilocybin which is what makes you trip. The easiest way for me to describe what this chemical does to your brain is that it opens the flood gates. There are receptors in your brain that filter out your thoughts. A human beings brain can think of a thousand different things at the same time but it is these receptors that stop this from happening, keep your mind grounded to one train of thought at one time. Mushrooms "dissolve" these barriers and allow your brain to work at its full potential. Now that is the simplest explanation possible and leaves a fair bit of the science part out of it, but at the same time I think it is easily understandable.

Set and Setting
This is the key to having a good trip or a bad trip. It stands for your mindset and the surroundings you will be in for the trip. A mushrooms trip is not something you just jump into on a whim, you have to mentally prepare your mind for the journey days before you even consume them and you have to always control your setting to make it as inviting as possible.

The smallest bad vibe can turn a trip on its head and have you tripping bad for hours. Your mind should be cleared of all that shit going on in your real life, forget all that stress and anxiety and fill your head with good thoughts and ideas on how you would like your mushroom trip to go. Never trip in the presence of strangers or people you do not know too well because you are only asking to have a bad experience. You must control your setting at all times. If you even feel the slightest inkling of a bad vibe coming towards you as a result of your setting, change your setting or do something to counteract the vibe (maybe you start worrying about a light that shouldn't be on or if a door is locked).

The most valuable part of a good setting is a sober sitter. You need a mind present at a trip session that is not high on illicit drugs because it can bring an edge of clarity to any decision making for the night (people high on mushrooms can think the worst idea is the best idea, like walking 2 miles to a gas station in the freezing cold to pick up some cigarettes). The sitters job is to watch and guide the trip in a good direction. Think of him or her as the beacon of the good vibes for the night. If they see any signs of bad things to come, it is their job to adjust in order to compensate. If someone starts freaking even the slightest, it is the sitters job to guide them through it, tell them that the trip is all in their head and that only THEY can control it, that they are in control and not the mushrooms, share stories with them that will remind them of who they are and what they stand for. A sitter is a must for your first few trips but if you start feeling comfortable that you can handle a trip easily, you do not need one, or the sitter themselves can also partake in some mushrooms for the night (at a somewhat low dose however)

Dosage
The most important part. Never ever start out high because you "think" you can handle the experience (for your first couple times). I see too many people think they can take a full eighth their first time around because they have "experience" with pot or "know" what to expect. These same people have then proceeded to bug out for 5 hours while in the throws of the most powerful experience of their life then come crashing down into reality scared to death and shivering.

You start low your first few times around. 1.5-2 grams depending on your body size. One hour after ingesting your dose, evaluate your situation. If you feel that you can easily handle the effects and want something a bit more powerful, redose another gram or two. You can always redose the first hour or two of a trip, but you can never take back a large dose.

1-2 grams will usually leave with a heavy body stone sort of feeling, a few swirling open eyed visuals and some decent closed eye visuals. Everything you find hilarious and enjoyable.

2-4 grams is where you start getting into the exploration of your body and mind. It will give you a very very heavy body high, very pronounced open eyed visuals (surfaces breathing, swirling, touch and feel are ecstastic) and your close eyed visuals will astound you.

Im going to stop at those doses because anyone who finds this guide helpful will not need or should not want to venture into that 5-10 gram range for a long time. Lets just say that any dose over 7 grams is likely to shatter all your preconceptions and notions about you and the world around you, it will change you as a person and give you extremely valuable insights into things you took for granted your entire life (not to mention that your visuals will be completely fucking amazing) but at the same time, a dose that high is very very hard to control and should only be attempted by a very experienced user.

Mushroom Nausea
A big dose of dried shrooms can be very unsettling to the stomach and sometimes about 20-40 minutes after eating you will get these waves of nausea wash over you. The best way to counteract this is to step outside and get some fresh air. Just breath really deep until you feel it subside, go back inside and get something to eat or drink that is very base (ice cream, milk, stuff like that) and it should help the nausea.

The Only Way To Consume Your Mushrooms
A lot of people hate the taste of mushrooms and like to make tea with them or try anything to disguise the taste. Will this is fine, I've always just found that forcing them down your throat with a large glass of Orange juice to be best. No wasted mushrooms and a somewhat fast onset to effects. Yes, dried mushrooms don't taste too good but just chuck them in your mouth, chomp down and wash it down with OJ, it is the best way.

General Trip Timeline
Now this varies from person to person but I will put up how they work for me.

20-40 minutes: Slight effects start to be noticed. Body feels heavy and a feeling of warm energy slowly circulating throughout your body start to form. Effects will slowly build.

40-80 minutes: Effects are extremely noticeable. Surfaces start to swirl and breath. Senses start to get magnified and colors become vibrant and vivid. Brain function is noticeably altered and thoughts become extremely analytical of your surroundings. These effects will start to pick up speed and build and build.

80-180 minutes: This is called your peak. This is when your effects will be at their highest and trust me when I say that you will definitely know when you hit this point (even on your first trip) Same effects as the 40-80 minutes bracket but much much more powerful. Heavy yawning kicks in (an effect that I enjoy immensely, each time you yawn your entire body will shudder in pleasure) Closed eye visuals will be at their fullest (Just shut your eyes and watch patterns and shapes form on your eye lids).

180-300 minutes: This is your comedown period. As your peak finishes, you will start to descend back through the experience. Its like going backwards through the 40-80 minute and 20-40 minute marks. Effects will slowly become weaker and tapper off but your brain will still be functioning at a high level. This is the period that is the most mental and can give you some amazing revelations about the world around you.

Afterglow: This period can last for a few hours after the trip or a few days. It is the period where the Mushrooms effects are all done with but you are left with all the insights and experiences gained while tripping. It allows your mind to analyze these finding and can either leave you in a state of complete joy for a few days (if you learned some good things) or can leave you depressed for awhile (if you finally saw the true nature of things, and realized things you had been neglecting your whole life).

Things To Do While Tripping
Walk: Taking a walk in nature is a MUST. around 1-2 hours into your trip you should go for a walk outside. Just start walking and let your feet take you. Take it all in. Nature is a wonderful thing on drugs. Trees swaying and bushes "talking". Colors all around you popping and just looking plain amazing. You don't even need to talk with any other people who may be with you on your walk about. Just let your group keep quiet and take it all in, go with your brain.

Videogames and TV: I find videogames to be almost impossible to play while tripping and just a plain waste of an amazing experience. But pop in one of your favorite movies and prepare to see it from an entirely new angle. A movie usually fits best into a trip during the comedown stage, after everyone is off their peak just pop in a DVD.

Social Circle: This is going to make me sound like a gossip girl, but just sitting around in a circle and talking about worldly topics is one of my favorite things to do. Just sit around and share your thoughts about anything, your life, the world around you, any philosophical pinnings.

Music: Music is key. listening to one of your favorite bands can help the come up stage and mellow out any trip about to turn bad. Just shut your eyes and let the vocals and instruments wash over you. Your closed eye visuals will correspond to the music (as I was listening to Radiohead, I shut my eyes and had the feeling of flying down through building made out of pure joy, sounds corny I know).

Tripping Attire
Wear something extremely comfortable. A loose fitting shirt and sweatpants are best. If you worry too much about the way you look and don't want people thinking you are a slob for wearing sweatpants, well you probably should not be taking Mushrooms in the first place. After you ingest the mushrooms, hit the bathroom, grab yourself a drink and find a comfortable spot to sit for the first 30 or 40 minutes.

Food, Drink and Other Cravings
Most people lose their appetite while tripping on Mushrooms and don't feel the need to eat till after they come down, but there are some who don't. So get all your food and beverage needs squared away before you start tripping, nothing is worse than showing up at Wendy's trying to order food when you think you're at an Arby's.

As for beverages, water has always been my favorite and I find that soda reacts badly with mushrooms in your stomach.

On mushrooms you can experience some pretty weird cravings. You may feel the need to eat or drink something you've hated your entire life, you may feel the need to strip almost naked and just lounge on a chair. The best way to go about things is to just satisfy these cravings if your sitter deems it okay (taking a scenic drive would be a no no). If you feel the need to shed some clothes and drink out of the fish tank, by all means do it, fuck what your friends think. If you leave a craving unfulfilled sometimes it can turn a trip bad or at least send you into fits. One such story for me was after a night of tripping with a close friend, I woke up in my parents bed (they were on vacation you sick fucks) next to a bottle of Mountain Dew (which I absolutely hate) and a full but open pack of American Spirit cigarettes with no real recollection of why I bought them in the first place.

Mushrooms and Other Drugs
Im putting this section up for people who have shroomed before and are wondering what it is like in combination with other drugs. Please do not mix drugs your first time tripping, wait till you are more experienced.

Weed+Mushrooms:Two of natures greatest enhancers meet. Smoking a bowl after you eat your mushrooms can ease you in easier into a trip and make the come up a little more enjoyable. Smoking a bowl during your peak can highten it even a bit more. And smoking a bowl while you come down off mushrooms will put your ass right back into your peak. Smoking weed while shrooming can extend a normal 5 hour trip into a 7 or 8 hour ordeal. It can also magnify the effects heavily.

Ecstasy+Mushrooms: My personal favorite, this is called a Hippy Flip. Remember all that talk about preparing your mind and getting into a good set? Well Ecstasy puts your mind into an instant and amazing mindset and almost guarantees you have a great trip. That feeling of pure bliss and joy and openness you get on Ecstasy coupled with the effects of Mushrooms is an experience to not be missed. But what you do not want to do is dose the Ecstasy first. Coming off of Ecstasy while peaking on Mushrooms is not fun at all. Dose your mushrooms, wait 90-120 minutes and then dose your Ecstasy. 1 pill works just fine, but I like to dose 2.

Nitrous Oxide+Mushrooms: If you ever wanted to be an Astronaut growing up, now is your chance. Taking a hit of Nitrous while peaking on Mushrooms will launch your body and mind into the stratosphere. It will amplify all your effects 10x fold. But please, if you are going to dose Nitrous, only do it 2 or 3 times during a trip because you don't want to abuse the shit. And also please only do this if you NOW you can handle it, I am not exaggerating when I say it mega amplifies your trip. Fill a balloon up with Nitrous, take a deep breath ( 3/4 capacity with Nitrous) cinch off the balloon, inhale regular air, and then exhale the hit back into the balloon, repeat 3 or 4 times.

Alcohol+Mushrooms: A beer or two while coming up can certainly put your mind in an easy place and mellow a trip out, but being drunk and tripping is a no no. Why take one drug that enhances and mix it with another drug that dulls everything and makes you stupid? You can do it if you want but I just find it fucking stupid.

Cigarettes:If you don't have any pot to smoke, cigarettes can be pretty good for a mushroom trip. Every half hour or so, step outside, catch some fresh air and smoke a cigarette, it has a calming effect and they can be perfect for mellowing out a trip or thwarting off any bad vibes.


And there you have it, I hope this guide helps some people as they venture into the world of Psychedelics. One quick end not however. Mushrooms are not a drug you take to get "fucked up". And if you take them for this reason, you are abusing their effects and will eventually find yourself in the throws of a painful and bad trip. Mushrooms are a very unforgiving drug and if you misstep in their presence or abuse them, they will make you pay for it. Mushrooms are there to allow a person to see themselves and their life in an objective manner, it leaves your ego dead and lets you analyze things in a way you never could possibly imagine. They allow you to see your faults as a person and give you the chance to better yourself, but at the same time I will not deny the power of the trip. The effects are very very fun and amazing and should be enjoyed to their fullest, just don't take them for the soul purpose of "tripping balls".

And if anyone has any other questions that aren't addressed in my guide, feel free to post them up and I will try my best to answer them.

[A-STONED-APE]

Damn, could have used this last night.

[enevitable]

People must love making mushroom guides: http://forum.grasscity.com/general/7...hroom-faq.html

[bigsol33]

yea dude i love shrooms and i also feel that videogames are a total waste wen ur on shrooms. theres to much stuff to focus on. An i hate everyone saying how bad shrooms taste n how they dont know if they want to do them because of it. idk maybe its just me but i feel that the experience that u get from shrooms is so great that the taste shouldn't even be a deterrent. its just a taste its not like its going to effect u more then a couple of seconds after u eat them.

[umopp]

good stuff if i ever do shrooms ill definitely refer back to this thread +rep

[Foop]

Originally Posted by enevitable

People must love making mushroom guides: http://forum.grasscity.com/general/7...hroom-faq.html

The only reason I decided to make my own was because that one is ripped right from Erowid's FAQ and I think it can be somewhat hard for new people to understand. I just tried to make a guide that was completely user friendly.

[GrandaddyPurps]

im book marking this for later

good stuff

[FuglyFungus]

Great guide....+++Rep.

[LiFe]

Wow, excellent guide, hope people will use it, I know too many people getting heads down into a mushroom trip and freaking out. People should understand it changes how you think and Set and Setting is really goddamn important.

Also, I've done many mushroom trip and now it seems like my Peak don't get in until I smoke weed. Last time I felt weird and on the verge of the peak for 45 minute before finally smoking and TOC I got in my peak after my second toke

Also, when on the comedown, a good sleep is needed. Tripping gets you tired. But if you get in bed and can't sleep, dont stay there eyes open, you'll get crazy thinking about your trip, do something.

Finally, don't be an asshole after this thinking everyone should try mushrooms and shit, get back to reality, many people get weird a week or two after a mushroom trip because they have problems to cope with reality. It hasn't change and forget about the bad things that may have happen during the trip.

P.S. Looking in the mirror is fun but don,t get freaked out by how you look, you are tripping and what you are looking at is an exageration of how you are used to look at. And remember that time slows only for you, even if you think you just spent 2 hours watching the tv, the sober person on your side watched it for 15 minutes.

[Foop]

Im with you Life, I've had a few mushroom trips where I've been just on the verge of getting to the peak but needed a bowl to push me full on into it. And thanks for bringing up time distortion, I totally spaced that in the guide.

[Str8 Tripppin]

I'm getting that orgasmic feeling just by reading your guide, I'm gonna have to rep you for that one man...I actually enjoyed reading that.

Also, shrooms are an amazing thing, really a life changing experience.

[berzerker]

On the topic of consuming them, do you hafto chew them or can they be swallowed whole?

[Foop]

You have to chew them. and pretty well too. Just grit down and take the taste, know that after you stuff them down you will be rewarded.

[Foop]

Also, any joints or blunts for the night should be rolled before hand. Nothing worse than trying to roll while tripping hard. I once sat in a chair for 20 minutes trying to roll my bag back up after loading a bowl up.

[Str8 Tripppin]

You can just put the shrooms on like a burger or something, and it's really not the taste thats bad, it's more of the texture of the shroom that's bad in my opinion.