3 ms·

Plus: "Different," and shorter-acting, than most other common psychedelics. Minus: Can be really rough on your guts, relative to other psychedelics. Do not eat

Plus: "Different," and shorter-acting, than most other common psychedelics. Minus: Can be really rough on your guts, relative to other psychedelics. Do not eat beforehand, consider making "tea" with lukewarm water. Contrary to popular advice, I am not a fan of "trip sitters" because the presence of third parties tasked with judging your sanity can be a little stressful. If you are not comfortable being totally alone, the psychedelic experience might not be one you enjoy. Or it might be.

drooogs 8y ago
> Contrary to popular advice, I am not a fan of "trip sitters" because the presence of third parties tasked with judging your sanity can be a little stressful. i totally see where you are coming from with this, and i mostly agree for experienced trippers. that said, the worst thing that's likely to happen with a sitter is that they mess up the vibe and you don't enjoy the trip. much worse things can happen when you trip unsupervised. i've seen a dude try to jump off a three story building (to be fair he was probably not in a good mental state before the trip began) and have to be physically restrained. another of my friends, very experienced with psychedelics, lost his shit on shrooms and ran up to a security guard and starting talking to them, which got him suspended from school. anecdotally, i have found that most people have the good sense to just stay put and not do dangerous things while tripping, but shrooms in particular seem to make people get up and move around and do crazy (risky) shit. maybe you don't need a sitter, but you do need to take measures beforehand to stop yourself from doing stuff you would regret. having a relatively sober friend around can prevent most of the truly awful outcomes, especially if they are bigger than you.
hosh 8y ago
In Ayahuasca ceremonies I attended, the sitters take a much smaller dosage to connect them into the ritual space. Their job is not to judge your sanity, but to keep you from harming yourself, or to attend to some needs (such as, getting to the bathroom). They are usually experienced with Ayahuasca, and know how to be guided by the plant spirit of Ayahuasca while bringing in common sense. Being experienced, they know what it is like to explore this, to give soqce when needed and when and how to help. In the group I was with, they often recieve training. Like the one time I started talking with the consciousness of fire via the (convenient) camp fire started outside. I had learned how to progressively acclimate to greater degrees of heat (something useful if you have ever experienced kundalini arousal). I stuck my foot on the top of the fire to try to wake up the energy channels there (something I had only managed to pull off three years after this experience outside of ceremony space using Taoist neigong training). The sitter with me was concerned but let me continue. One of the things with working with this consciousness is that inhibations burn away. Things that seem risky now seem like fun. The Fire invited me to hug the Fire and get closer. A different guide went "no, don't do that". Then the sitter said, "Ok, I smell bacon" (meaning, my flesh is cooking) "get your feet off the fire" I went "awww" and complied.
kjeetgill 8y ago
I'm not saying they're 100% required but I've always been pro-trip sitters; preferably someone who's been there before that you're comfortable with. It can also depend on where you are / what you're doing. If you're at home vs. at a festival or out camping. It's nice to be able to turn to someone and say, "Hey, let's go get a Powerade." and not have to worry about how to make that happen.

drooogs 8y ago

> Contrary to popular advice, I am not a fan of "trip sitters" because the presence of third parties tasked with judging your sanity can be a little stressful. i totally see where you are coming from with this, and i mostly agree for experienced trippers. that said, the worst thing that's likely to happen with a sitter is that they mess up the vibe and you don't enjoy the trip. much worse things can happen when you trip unsupervised. i've seen a dude try to jump off a three story building (to be fair he was probably not in a good mental state before the trip began) and have to be physically restrained. another of my friends, very experienced with psychedelics, lost his shit on shrooms and ran up to a security guard and starting talking to them, which got him suspended from school. anecdotally, i have found that most people have the good sense to just stay put and not do dangerous things while tripping, but shrooms in particular seem to make people get up and move around and do crazy (risky) shit. maybe you don't need a sitter, but you do need to take measures beforehand to stop yourself from doing stuff you would regret. having a relatively sober friend around can prevent most of the truly awful outcomes, especially if they are bigger than you.

hosh 8y ago

In Ayahuasca ceremonies I attended, the sitters take a much smaller dosage to connect them into the ritual space. Their job is not to judge your sanity, but to keep you from harming yourself, or to attend to some needs (such as, getting to the bathroom). They are usually experienced with Ayahuasca, and know how to be guided by the plant spirit of Ayahuasca while bringing in common sense. Being experienced, they know what it is like to explore this, to give soqce when needed and when and how to help. In the group I was with, they often recieve training. Like the one time I started talking with the consciousness of fire via the (convenient) camp fire started outside. I had learned how to progressively acclimate to greater degrees of heat (something useful if you have ever experienced kundalini arousal). I stuck my foot on the top of the fire to try to wake up the energy channels there (something I had only managed to pull off three years after this experience outside of ceremony space using Taoist neigong training). The sitter with me was concerned but let me continue. One of the things with working with this consciousness is that inhibations burn away. Things that seem risky now seem like fun. The Fire invited me to hug the Fire and get closer. A different guide went "no, don't do that". Then the sitter said, "Ok, I smell bacon" (meaning, my flesh is cooking) "get your feet off the fire" I went "awww" and complied.

kjeetgill 8y ago

I'm not saying they're 100% required but I've always been pro-trip sitters; preferably someone who's been there before that you're comfortable with. It can also depend on where you are / what you're doing. If you're at home vs. at a festival or out camping. It's nice to be able to turn to someone and say, "Hey, let's go get a Powerade." and not have to worry about how to make that happen.