4 ms·

Every Entrepreneur Should Try Magic Mushrooms

116 points by emreas 13y ago

kumarski 13y ago
whoa.....this one had me reading a few times.
prakster 13y ago
Do your two friends agree with you 100%?
- emreas 13y ago
  Yes, I do it every four months or so now and usually try to bring new people with me. Every single one has said it has been life-changing. I make sure the surroundings are perfect and somebody is in the right mindset before doing it with them which is critical.
jules 13y ago
So were the notes worth anything? What I always wonder about these types of experiences is whether the drug really does give you great insights, or it just tricks you into the feeling that you're having great insights.
- emreas 13y ago
  yes. I re-read them at least once a year and still glean insights from them. Some of it is silly, some is extremely powerful.
  - jules 13y ago
    Can you give some examples?
- Aloisius 13y ago
  I also wonder if the experience alters you to such a degree that you continue to think your insights were great. The real test would be to see if a neutral third party thinks they're great.
- cnp 13y ago
  Its a combination of both, but don't discredit the power of wonder, however empty; its a healing, rejuvenating feeling even if nothing materially tangible comes from it.
- coldtea 13y ago
  >What I always wonder about these types of experiences is whether the drug really does give you great insights, or it just tricks you into the feeling that you're having great insights. Or it gives you great insights that are beyond the verbal level, not something that you just can jot down to sell afterwards to have people tell you how smart you are. That is, it lets you feel and see things differently, it doesn't put smart quotes on your mind or make you discover general relativity.
- gnosis 13y ago
  "So were the notes worth anything?" You mean were the worth anything when considered from the perspective of the ordinary state of consciousness? Clearly in one particular altered state of consciousness they were considered worth something. So the question becomes which state of consciousness trumps which other state of consciousness? Or which one gets to decide what's worthy and what's not? Often, people who see themselves as "hard headed realists" think it's obvious that the sober, oridinary state of consciousness is the one and only legitimate state of consciousness, and the rest are mere delusions, and not worthy of being trusted or relied upon for important decisions and the business of life. On the other hand, there are people who think that while in an altered state of consciousness, they can see through the bullshit of consensus reality and the ordinary state of consciousness. To them, it is the ordinary state of consciousness that is deluded, or even pathological or psychotic. Which one is right? And how are the products of and insights from these various states of consciousness to be judged? Can an insight gained in state of consciousness X be legitimately evaluated in state of consciousness Y? Do such evaluations even make sense? I'm not sure there are any easy answers to these questions.
  - NhanH 13y ago
    Just to play devil's advocate here, I can claim that our ordinary state of consciousness is the most legitimate one (the one that is closest to reality, if there is such thing as objective reality), or at the very least the most useful one - otherwise we would have evolved for the different state of consciousness. The burden of proof would be on you to justify that the altered state of consciousness is indeed more in line with reality. Of course, this comes with the premise that consciousness is a necessity. And indeed, our needs nowadays might require a different state of consciousness, now that the very basic survival needs are generally fulfilled.
    - gnosis 13y ago
      "I can claim that our ordinary state of consciousness is the most legitimate one (the one that is closest to reality, if there is such thing as objective reality), or at the very least the most useful one - otherwise we would have evolved for the different state of consciousness." Is your view that that we have evolved for the ordinary state of consciousness a view that was made and evaluated in an ordinary state of consciousness? Should its worth be evaluated in an ordinary state of consciousness? How should we decide if it's valid? Why should something that is considered "most useful" be more valid than something that is considered "less useful"? An ant's view of the a human city may be very useful to it in terms of its own survival and that of its colony, but few would argue that it understands a human city on as profound and deep a level as a human would. Now, which of these views are "right" or "valid"? As for what's "in line with reality", would you consider a Picasso painting to be worthless compared to a photograph because the former is not very realistic compared to the latter? What about a song? Is the "in line with reality" standard applicable to a joke? (Sure, there are some jokes with are "funny because they're true", but that standard does not really apply to puns or jokes that rely on surprise for their effect. Are they worthless?) What about poetry? What about the value of a kiss? Finally, speaking of evolution, Terrence McKenna conjectured that human intelligence and evolution may have been influenced by an encouter with psychedelic mushrooms, whose spores were hardy enough to survive a long interstellar journey to earth, and whose consumption gave human ancestors an enormous amount of novel information.
MWil 13y ago
If you are the author: ctrl + F for "I put up a serious of large whiteboards"
- emreas 13y ago
  thx.
- dllthomas 13y ago
  Maybe "serious" should be the collective noun for large whiteboards. A murmuraton of starlings, a richness of martins, a wunch of bankers, a serious of large whiteboards...
sbarre 13y ago
Someone just watched a Bill Hicks documentary..
idointernet 13y ago
I agree 100% with this post. I did shrooms 1x in Mexico with the most amazing weather, right on the ocean. It changed how I viewed things. It pointed out my social anxieties in that they weren't present. I consider it one of the turning points in my life.
- cnp 13y ago
  My wife had something similar happen to her, a sort of before and after in terms of social anxiety and expectations. One trip cleared that up and the concerns have never returned.
salimmadjd 13y ago
I went to a school with many friends who experienced with hallucinogens regularly. But they always followed these rules: 1 - don't look at a the mirror 2 - cars are for real 3 - you can't fly
- wsr 13y ago
  Can you please elaborate on the point "don't look at the mirror"? What would the person see?
  - salimmadjd 13y ago
    This could have been potential effects of LSD and not shrooms, but they wanted to avoid having a "bad trip". Fear was that you see yourself in the mirror in a way you didn't want to see yourself. Seeing certain negative aspects that may show itself as physical changes, etc.
  - cnp 13y ago
    I always find looking in the mirror to be extremely interesting.
    - hamsternipples 13y ago
      me too. I've never actually taken shrooms with other people (yet). only by myself. I've done them multiple times, but the last time, I didn't measure the dose, and I took, easily what would be a VERY intense trip for someone (maybe 5g) and I was highly agitated and couldn't continue my meditation. I had to move around get into nature, etc. but then I had this great idea to go look in a mirror. when I looked into the mirror, I totally fell in love with myself, and felt so much calmness and security, I literally must have been there like a half hour. I just kept staring at my eyes. they kept getting more and more blue, and more and more deep, and some sort of strange peace came about me and my body all over. I knew myself. from that experience on, my whole way of thinking changed and I decided to stop doing stupid shit. since then (been a few months now), I've only been able to focus on getting what I wanted out of life -- for myself and everyone around me too (no matter how awful they might be). I like to say encouraging and uplifting things, only rarely do I see the world in sadness. I can quickly get out of sadness now too. it's all perspective after you've seen without filters I highly recommend shrooms. prepare though. be mentally ready for a mind expanding experience. if you do meditation, do it in a dark room, and try to get as deep as possible before the effects kick in. and then later come out if you want, but always remember you're still you, just you without a lot of those extra filters (that you yourself have constructed!).
gnosis 13y ago
This sounds like the author took a low to moderate dose of mushrooms. It's possible to have much more profound experiences (both positive and negative) than what was described in this article. I can recommend a book called "The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience" for a more comprehensive look at some of the possibilities. Also, see the trip reports on erowid.org. Psychedelics may be best for people who are naturally inquisitive, like seeing things from novel perspectives and walking in other people's shoes, are comfortable with encountering material from their subconscious, and who enjoy questioning themselves and the world around them. People who are very set in their ways and who think they've got the world figured out might be in for a rude awakening when their certainty is pulled out from under their feet. Then again, maybe that's just what some of them need. It's great that the author thoroughly educated himself about the effects of the drugs he was about to try, and planned his day. The world would be much better off if more people did that. I was also very pleased to see that he tried to use his time constructively while tripping. Way too many people's sole aim in taking drugs to "party" or "get fucked up". That's a complete and utter waste of the potential of these enormously powerful substances, and borders on abuse, IMO. The main thing I was disappointed with was that he didn't have an experienced and trusted trip guide or a sitter with him. That's very important, especially for inexperienced users. Fortunately, his decision to walk around the city by himself turned out fine. But it might not have. When tripping, you don't always make the wisest choices. An experienced sitter can help keep you safe. There's a really great book called "The Secret Chief Revealed" about a therapist who guided hundreds of trips for his clients. One of the more interesting techniques that he used during his sessions was to ask his clients to bring a stack of personally significant photographs with them (in particular, photos of family members and loved ones). Looking at these after the peak of the trip could be incredibly helpful. That may be something to think about for your next trip.
- bluedino 13y ago
  High heat will kill the psylocibin - boiling may have weakend them.
- dobbsbob 13y ago
  Larry Hagman has a good story about how LSD changed his life when he was 35 and helped him get off booze/cigarettes. His therapist recommended it too http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n1/13125hag.html http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n1/13125hag.html
dobbsbob 13y ago
You can get really sick from shrooms if you're allergic/take too much or the person you bought them off doesn't know what they're doing and is selling you bunk/poison shrooms. Small amount of LSD will acheive the same thing, plus no sickness :P
- cnp 13y ago
  LSD and Mushrooms are completely different things. Mushrooms are more magical, mysterious, forbidden and strange where LSD is more focused and terrestrial, and less insightful comparatively speaking. It also tends to really wear your mind out where with Mushrooms you feel absolutely fantastic immediately after, and for days following that.
  - dobbsbob 13y ago
    I found LSD more of a mind blowing experience, same with DMT. I did shrooms about 10x in highschool then once in University but felt like puking everytime. Maybe it's just me
    - cnp 13y ago
      I think they become more profound with age. I remember some highschool trips that were basically just very goofy exercises and not much more. Now, later, every trip seems to be utterly mindblowing.
- solistice 13y ago
  You should make sure though that you're actually getting LSD. There's certain knockoff substances that might be sold as LSD, like DOC, 2C-I, and DOB.
gazrogers 13y ago
Stabbing yourself in the eye with a fork can change how you view the world too. Maybe we should recommend that everyone does that?
- kintamanimatt 13y ago
  What an asinine comment.
  - rogerthis 13y ago
    Another one.
- cpursley 13y ago
  What are you smoking?
- cylinder714 13y ago
  Of course not. But let's have a discussion--tell us why you think taking some mushrooms would be injuring oneself. I've never used LSD or mushrooms, and I don't think I've ever been high, save for a few puffs in college, but this gets me to wondering if I've been missing out. It's the risk of having a bad trip that deters me, along with the possibility of getting some bogus garbage from an unscrupulous dealer.
- rasur 13y ago
  Don't take the cork off the fork.
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  If you decide to try it, be sure to write a good trip report for Erowid.
- drewrv 13y ago
  That has poor health consequences. Perhaps we should outlaw forks?
dully 13y ago
Now if I could just find some..
- mbrameld 13y ago
  If you're in the US the spores are legal to buy and possess. There are websites that sell them. Google will lead you to lots of information on how to grow them. It doesn't look too hard.
mindcrime 13y ago
While I have smoked weed 3 or 4 times in my life, and drink like a fish on occasion, put me down on the list of people who have never tried psychedelics, but have considered it many times. This post really makes me want to go out and get some 'shrooms (or LSD) and give it a try. I think I'm going to put that on my "do real soon now" list... I mean, I'm getting older, so it's time to stop procrastinating and DO stuff instead of just dreaming about it. :-(
northwest 13y ago
I regret there's no call-to-action at the bottom of your post: Buy here :-)
Guillaumeish 13y ago
Yes, I totally agree. Every person should try magic mushrooms and/or LSD. Any psychedelic drug. The problem is that not all people can afford to do so (and I don't mean financially afford it, I mean psychologically), not everyone is ready to experience certain feelings. There is a right time to do it, and most of the people (especially the grown up ones) totally need a guide to do it. Someone who knows the stuff you're trying and know how to guide you out of any possible bad trip happening. I'm convinced that these "altered state of perception" should be experienced by the highest number of people. Take a look at: "DMT: The spirit molecule". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4FaDMak-TQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4FaDMak-TQ
Aloisius 13y ago
Before people run out and do this, anyone know of any negative side effects? I'm a bit prone to anxiety and my only experience with a drug everyone said was harmless (prescription pot) was terrifying.
- cnp 13y ago
  Anxiety is a difficult one to get around, but that said it might greatly ease that issue, too. I wouldn't recommend trying them alone without someone who knows the space (very well) and can guide you if your anxiety begins. Physiologically, aside from maybe a tiny bit of stomach discomfort in the beginning, they're harmless, less neurologically damaging than a glass of wine.
  - NhanH 13y ago
    Know the space, as in know the experience of using one, or did you mean knowing the geological space of the location so they can physically stop you from doing silly thing? (Just out of curiosity, as I have no idea how one act under influence)
    - cnp 13y ago
      No, meaning they know the headspace of the trip. Experienced psychedelic users understand how to get through the anxiety and fear should it arise and incorporate it back into the trip as opposed to fighting it, and know how to communicate that to others. Bad trips happen, but studies have concluded that given the right set and setting --meaning, feeling secure in your environment-- the risk of such is greatly lowered. Keep in mind that the vast majority of people have good experiences as long as they come prepared.
- quasque 13y ago
  After a bad first trip from mushrooms, I couldn't shake off the feelings of terror from within, and had sporadic panic attacks for months afterwards. I'd never had such attacks before, it was most unnerving. I wouldn't risk trying it again.
- 13y ago
NhanH 13y ago
As a young 20-ish who've never partaken in any kind of drugs. Does anyone have a NEGATIVE story to share? Not the type of "he got addicted and ruined his life" but "hallucinations after all are just hallucinations, and the profound effects are fake etc."
- dobbsbob 13y ago
  I didn't find them very profound, just hallucinations shake up your brain pathways like a snowglobe and you consider things you wouldn't have before that seemed impossible. It also gives you new insight into "reality" and how your brain is largely interpreting everything uniquely and you can't always trust your own sight. Those people who saw the light or aliens/ghosts probably haven't done LSD or they'd realize not to trust anything their brain interprets without sober analysis. "Holy shit, that prophet ghost was a pretty sweet hallucination" instead of writing a book about it and creating a religion.
- neilk 13y ago
  You can read a lot of different stories about it on Erowid. Anyway a lot of people treat mushrooms as a party drug, so I assume those people don't consider themselves to have had profound visions. There does seem to be a subculture of people who take the visions way too seriously. They believe it's giving knowledge of an external reality. I think it's a little bit like a reset button - your beliefs and thinking patterns are disrupted, particularly the ones which you don't normally question. This may happen consciously (as it did with the OP) but I suspect a lot of it is unconscious. I've done it just a handful of times. The most profound experience was negative-positive. I didn't take proper precautions, and I have a tendency to negative thoughts which was highly accentuated by the experience. Think terror worse than any horror movie for several hours (although with some nice parts too). But confronting your demons, literally, has its advantages. Actually more than anything else it's pushed me to try to take control of those negative thoughts. EDIT: FYI there is no such thing as getting physically addicted to magic mushrooms. Quite the opposite, there are regular reports of people kicking addictions as a result.
  - hamsternipples 13y ago
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
stickhandle 13y ago
I'm prone to absolute fits of laughter as opposed to anything resembling focus. Might have something to do with quantity. Or what happened before (pot) or after (lots of beer -- mushrooms made me very thirsty). Anyway ... not the same experience, but fun nonetheless. The key is a happy environ. One tip -- instead of tea, eat them with chocolate ice cream.
whiddershins 13y ago
OP is ~23 at the time and that seems like a very natural age for that experiment. One of the most interesting things about reading Robert Anton Wilson's more autobiographical stuff (Cosmic Trigger? Prometheus Rising?) is that when he talks about doing LSD for the first time with Leary and co, all these guys were in their 30s!! I can't imagine how shocking it would be to have gotten that far in your life, believing and committing to the perceptions you've had, only to have them ripped apart by those megadoses (by today's standards) of LSD. I think that is also why they made such good use of the experiences. Having more life experience, they might have been even more appreciative of the new insight. http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/dp/1561840564 http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/...
parasight 13y ago
Mushrooms can cause bad trips. Keep that in mind. It might not be as frequent as with other substances, but it is possible. I know people who had bad trips from mushrooms. So be careful. A really bad trip can be nightmare.
- gnosis 13y ago
  "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." It's possible to learn quite a lot from bad trips. Some would argue that they're more valuable than good trips, where you may not learn much at all. Bad trips can involve facing unpleasant but important aspects of yourself, your life, that of your friends or family, or the world around you. Try to learn from them and use the insight you get from them to grow and improve your life. That said, I personally think that strong psychedelics are best used under the guidance of a good therapist, who can help you deal with the very powerful and sometimes unpleasant experiences that many people have trouble assimilating on their own. Unfortunately, psychedelics are currently taboo and illegal in much of the world, and most therapists either don't want anything to do with them or are ignorant of their incredible therapeutic potential. However, there are still some theraphists out there who are knowedgeable and willing to work with these substances and with the right clients. It may take some work to find them, but could be very worthwhile to do so, if you are serious about self-discovery and constructive use of these substances.
jotm 13y ago
Heh, I also say everyone should be allowed to take amphetamines (i.e. make them completely legal). But that ain't gonna happen when the idiots at the FDA label even Piracetam as a schedule drug.
kephra 13y ago
I've collected Spitzkeglige Kahlköpfe (Psilocybe semilanceata) for several years, and send more then 100 people on a trip. So some advise from an old hippy, in random order: Its easy to confuse Psilocybe semilanceata with Düngerling (Panaeolus papilionaceus), that is growing on same meadows, but at different times. Its less dangerous to collect magic mushrooms, then to collect mushrooms for food, because most mushrooms mimic a poisonous one. If you collect magic mushrooms and pick the wrong one, then you don't have a trip, but if you collect mushrooms for food, and pick the wrong one you become ill, and might even die. But still, always collect them with someone who knows them well, because else you might pick non magic light poison mushrooms first, think you need high dose to feel something, and next time you take a much to high dose, if you got the right ones. Do not eat them when tired in the evening, but better at the morning before eating anything else. Do not drink or take other drugs same time. I prefer to put them into a yogurt or quark. Drink a tea afterwards, wait 10 minutes after eating them, and then eat as much as you can, because you need the power, and likely are not able to eat anything while on trip. Always take them in a small group of friends you really trust, and one of the group should stay sober, just for the case one goes crazy. Agree beforehand that you care for each other, and that you do not send anybody into a hospital, because insane asylums makes everything worse. They will put people on hard drugs, so those people become asylum addicted. Be prepared that someone might need help after a trip. Those who went crazy will become sane within a week, if you care for them at a good place, e.g. a cottage in the rural, but they might become asylum addicted for decades, if they can get no other help then those who exploit them for health insurance money. Be prepared to go outside. Walking miles is very common on a mushroom trip. The one who is sober must ensure that the group stays together and nobody gets lost. Being alone on a trip is a very bad setting. Do not walk through the city, but through nature, and avoid places where big crowds of people are, e.g. dance clubs or festivals. The sober guy is also the mule for water, and should ensure that everybody is drinking enough. Mushrooms do not cause addiction, but they are an anti-drug. Everybody I know who collected mushrooms in my age stopped it at some time, including me. But never try to blow up your trip forever. Never add more mushrooms to am existing trip, neither because of impatience nor because you want to continue the "fun". The only cases I know of people who got locked in (drug induced psychosis) on a trip are those who eat several times within a few days, and those who went to an insane asylum, where the trip is treated with other even more dangerous drugs. The main trip will be 4-6 hours, followed by an activity phase of an other 6-8 hours, followed by a vibrant phase of several days, where memories of the trip come up very vivid, and feelings are very different. The complete trip takes a week most often. So never take them more then once a month. And never more then 3 times a year. Mushrooms are not a party drug, they are a sharp tool to reshape your mind. Be prepared that memories of your trip will burn deep into your mind. A trip is a lesson you will never forget. So do not take them, if you have bad feelings, in a bad group, in a bad set or setting. Magic mushrooms are called magic for a good reason. You might encounter things that can not be explained by science. Those magic comes often together with a horror trip. e.g. my worst horror trip was when I was walking through a part of the city where lots of drug and drunk people party, and a few of them had green faces. Each of them stuck me with a horror. And the horror became even worse over the next half year, as each of them died on an overdose of heroin.
ChrisNorstrom 13y ago
DO NOT WALK AROUND OUTSIDE while on LSD! That's dangerous and disrespectful to everyone else. I don't know if there's a Acid uprising in St. Louis but there have been an increase in incidences of young men tripping while out in public. One of them scared the hell out of my mom, then stripped naked and ran around yelling "I love LSD" while the police ran after him. The other almost got hit as he walked in and out of traffic. I get they want to experiment but the combination of being a male (doing risky stupid shit) and being young (thinking you're invincible) can have deadly consequences. Please trip at home. Edit: OR at your friend's house who lives on a nice open flat farm.
- kephra 13y ago
  I guess you never took mushrooms yourself. Nearly everybody has the urge to go outside, to walk miles, and to fresh air on a trip. So my advise, take a trip where its save to go outside. Do not take a trip in a big city, but somewhere in nature.
anigbrowl 13y ago
Every Entrepreneur Should Try Magic Mushrooms The title is slightly misleading as I actually believe that every person should... and here's my story why. Liked your essay, but I think you should go ahead and change your title. Psychedelics can make you a better entrepreneur, or a better artist, or (insert role here), but in the sense that becoming a more rounded, experienced and thoughtful person will enhance your professional activities. Your specific profession is orthogonal to your scope for personal development. Nobody should take mushrooms with the goal of enjoying more business success - a compartmentalized approach as implicitly (albeit unintentionally) suggested by your title is likely to be counter-productive when the walls of one's mental compartments start leaking. I knew a fellow who stared at a glass of orange juice during a trip with such intensity that he felt he had become one with it.* He got very upset when someone else picked it up and drank the juice. * in the sense that Van Gogh once painted a vase of sunflowers with such intensity that he became one with it. What your mind chooses to focus its attention on is not a question of value.
dbbolton 13y ago
I really take issue with this title and the general attitude it stems from. Advising everyone in a certain group of people to take any kind of drug should be frowned upon in my opinion. The fact that we are talking about a Schedule I substance, and the fact that author then admits he thinks everyone should try them, make this situation even worse. I guess if you happen to get caught with them you'll have plenty of free time (five or more years) to fine-tune your startup idea in a federal prison. A much better title would have been "one entrepreneur's positive experience with magic mushrooms". I'm not saying that nobody should do drugs or that psychedelics can't benefit people, but telling everyone to use a drug because you had a good outcome with it is downright juvenile.
hamsternipples 13y ago
if you have done mushrooms (or are considering it), and are a programmer, I really highly recommend this video by terence mckenna. it's called "Shamans among the machines." :D he explores the next big step of evolution for humanity will probably be coming from, "programmers on shrooms" :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6P6Nq8JoY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6P6Nq8JoY
danbmil99 13y ago
TL; DR: I took 'shrooms and listened to Enya
eip 13y ago
PLAYBOY: Ever take LSD? GATES: My errant youth ended a long time ago. PLAYBOY: What does that mean? GATES: That means there were things I did under the age of 25 that I ended up not doing subsequently. PLAYBOY: One LSD story involved you staring at a table and thinking the corner was going to plunge into your eye. GATES: [Smiles] PLAYBOY: Ah, a glimmer of recognition. GATES: That was on the other side of that boundary. The young mind can deal with certain kinds of gooping around that I don't think at this age I could. I don't think you're as capable of handling lack of sleep or whatever challenges you throw at your body as you get older. However, I never missed a day of work. -------------------------------------------------- LSD was a big deal for Steve Jobs. How big? Evidently, Jobs believed that experimenting with LSD in the 1960s was "one of the two or three most important things he had done in his life." What's more, he felt that there were parts of him that the people he knew and worked with could not understand, simply because they hadn't had a go at psychedelics. ------------------------------------------------------ When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he deploys a powerful mind expanding tool -- LSD-25. "It must be changing something about the internal communication in my brain. Whatever my inner process is that lets me solve problems, it works differently, or maybe different parts of my brain are used, " said Herbert, 42, an early employee of Cisco Systems who says he solved his toughest technical problems while tripping to drum solos by the Grateful Dead -- who were among the many artists inspired by LSD. "When I'm on LSD and hearing something that's pure rhythm, it takes me to another world and into anther brain state where I've stopped thinking and started knowing," said Herbert who intervened to ban drug testing of technologists at Cisco Systems.
rogerthis 13y ago
Stay away from my kids, guys.

116 points by emreas 13y ago

kumarski 13y ago

whoa.....this one had me reading a few times.

prakster 13y ago

Do your two friends agree with you 100%?

emreas 13y ago
Yes, I do it every four months or so now and usually try to bring new people with me. Every single one has said it has been life-changing. I make sure the surroundings are perfect and somebody is in the right mindset before doing it with them which is critical.

jules 13y ago

So were the notes worth anything? What I always wonder about these types of experiences is whether the drug really does give you great insights, or it just tricks you into the feeling that you're having great insights.

emreas 13y ago
yes. I re-read them at least once a year and still glean insights from them. Some of it is silly, some is extremely powerful.
- jules 13y ago
  Can you give some examples?
Aloisius 13y ago
I also wonder if the experience alters you to such a degree that you continue to think your insights were great. The real test would be to see if a neutral third party thinks they're great.
cnp 13y ago
Its a combination of both, but don't discredit the power of wonder, however empty; its a healing, rejuvenating feeling even if nothing materially tangible comes from it.
coldtea 13y ago
>What I always wonder about these types of experiences is whether the drug really does give you great insights, or it just tricks you into the feeling that you're having great insights. Or it gives you great insights that are beyond the verbal level, not something that you just can jot down to sell afterwards to have people tell you how smart you are. That is, it lets you feel and see things differently, it doesn't put smart quotes on your mind or make you discover general relativity.
gnosis 13y ago
"So were the notes worth anything?" You mean were the worth anything when considered from the perspective of the ordinary state of consciousness? Clearly in one particular altered state of consciousness they were considered worth something. So the question becomes which state of consciousness trumps which other state of consciousness? Or which one gets to decide what's worthy and what's not? Often, people who see themselves as "hard headed realists" think it's obvious that the sober, oridinary state of consciousness is the one and only legitimate state of consciousness, and the rest are mere delusions, and not worthy of being trusted or relied upon for important decisions and the business of life. On the other hand, there are people who think that while in an altered state of consciousness, they can see through the bullshit of consensus reality and the ordinary state of consciousness. To them, it is the ordinary state of consciousness that is deluded, or even pathological or psychotic. Which one is right? And how are the products of and insights from these various states of consciousness to be judged? Can an insight gained in state of consciousness X be legitimately evaluated in state of consciousness Y? Do such evaluations even make sense? I'm not sure there are any easy answers to these questions.
- NhanH 13y ago
  Just to play devil's advocate here, I can claim that our ordinary state of consciousness is the most legitimate one (the one that is closest to reality, if there is such thing as objective reality), or at the very least the most useful one - otherwise we would have evolved for the different state of consciousness. The burden of proof would be on you to justify that the altered state of consciousness is indeed more in line with reality. Of course, this comes with the premise that consciousness is a necessity. And indeed, our needs nowadays might require a different state of consciousness, now that the very basic survival needs are generally fulfilled.
  - gnosis 13y ago
    "I can claim that our ordinary state of consciousness is the most legitimate one (the one that is closest to reality, if there is such thing as objective reality), or at the very least the most useful one - otherwise we would have evolved for the different state of consciousness." Is your view that that we have evolved for the ordinary state of consciousness a view that was made and evaluated in an ordinary state of consciousness? Should its worth be evaluated in an ordinary state of consciousness? How should we decide if it's valid? Why should something that is considered "most useful" be more valid than something that is considered "less useful"? An ant's view of the a human city may be very useful to it in terms of its own survival and that of its colony, but few would argue that it understands a human city on as profound and deep a level as a human would. Now, which of these views are "right" or "valid"? As for what's "in line with reality", would you consider a Picasso painting to be worthless compared to a photograph because the former is not very realistic compared to the latter? What about a song? Is the "in line with reality" standard applicable to a joke? (Sure, there are some jokes with are "funny because they're true", but that standard does not really apply to puns or jokes that rely on surprise for their effect. Are they worthless?) What about poetry? What about the value of a kiss? Finally, speaking of evolution, Terrence McKenna conjectured that human intelligence and evolution may have been influenced by an encouter with psychedelic mushrooms, whose spores were hardy enough to survive a long interstellar journey to earth, and whose consumption gave human ancestors an enormous amount of novel information.

MWil 13y ago

If you are the author: ctrl + F for "I put up a serious of large whiteboards"

emreas 13y ago
thx.
dllthomas 13y ago
Maybe "serious" should be the collective noun for large whiteboards. A murmuraton of starlings, a richness of martins, a wunch of bankers, a serious of large whiteboards...

sbarre 13y ago

Someone just watched a Bill Hicks documentary..

idointernet 13y ago

I agree 100% with this post. I did shrooms 1x in Mexico with the most amazing weather, right on the ocean. It changed how I viewed things. It pointed out my social anxieties in that they weren't present. I consider it one of the turning points in my life.

cnp 13y ago
My wife had something similar happen to her, a sort of before and after in terms of social anxiety and expectations. One trip cleared that up and the concerns have never returned.

salimmadjd 13y ago

I went to a school with many friends who experienced with hallucinogens regularly. But they always followed these rules: 1 - don't look at a the mirror 2 - cars are for real 3 - you can't fly

wsr 13y ago
Can you please elaborate on the point "don't look at the mirror"? What would the person see?
- salimmadjd 13y ago
  This could have been potential effects of LSD and not shrooms, but they wanted to avoid having a "bad trip". Fear was that you see yourself in the mirror in a way you didn't want to see yourself. Seeing certain negative aspects that may show itself as physical changes, etc.
- cnp 13y ago
  I always find looking in the mirror to be extremely interesting.
  - hamsternipples 13y ago
    me too. I've never actually taken shrooms with other people (yet). only by myself. I've done them multiple times, but the last time, I didn't measure the dose, and I took, easily what would be a VERY intense trip for someone (maybe 5g) and I was highly agitated and couldn't continue my meditation. I had to move around get into nature, etc. but then I had this great idea to go look in a mirror. when I looked into the mirror, I totally fell in love with myself, and felt so much calmness and security, I literally must have been there like a half hour. I just kept staring at my eyes. they kept getting more and more blue, and more and more deep, and some sort of strange peace came about me and my body all over. I knew myself. from that experience on, my whole way of thinking changed and I decided to stop doing stupid shit. since then (been a few months now), I've only been able to focus on getting what I wanted out of life -- for myself and everyone around me too (no matter how awful they might be). I like to say encouraging and uplifting things, only rarely do I see the world in sadness. I can quickly get out of sadness now too. it's all perspective after you've seen without filters I highly recommend shrooms. prepare though. be mentally ready for a mind expanding experience. if you do meditation, do it in a dark room, and try to get as deep as possible before the effects kick in. and then later come out if you want, but always remember you're still you, just you without a lot of those extra filters (that you yourself have constructed!).

gnosis 13y ago

This sounds like the author took a low to moderate dose of mushrooms. It's possible to have much more profound experiences (both positive and negative) than what was described in this article. I can recommend a book called "The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience" for a more comprehensive look at some of the possibilities. Also, see the trip reports on erowid.org. Psychedelics may be best for people who are naturally inquisitive, like seeing things from novel perspectives and walking in other people's shoes, are comfortable with encountering material from their subconscious, and who enjoy questioning themselves and the world around them. People who are very set in their ways and who think they've got the world figured out might be in for a rude awakening when their certainty is pulled out from under their feet. Then again, maybe that's just what some of them need. It's great that the author thoroughly educated himself about the effects of the drugs he was about to try, and planned his day. The world would be much better off if more people did that. I was also very pleased to see that he tried to use his time constructively while tripping. Way too many people's sole aim in taking drugs to "party" or "get fucked up". That's a complete and utter waste of the potential of these enormously powerful substances, and borders on abuse, IMO. The main thing I was disappointed with was that he didn't have an experienced and trusted trip guide or a sitter with him. That's very important, especially for inexperienced users. Fortunately, his decision to walk around the city by himself turned out fine. But it might not have. When tripping, you don't always make the wisest choices. An experienced sitter can help keep you safe. There's a really great book called "The Secret Chief Revealed" about a therapist who guided hundreds of trips for his clients. One of the more interesting techniques that he used during his sessions was to ask his clients to bring a stack of personally significant photographs with them (in particular, photos of family members and loved ones). Looking at these after the peak of the trip could be incredibly helpful. That may be something to think about for your next trip.

bluedino 13y ago
High heat will kill the psylocibin - boiling may have weakend them.
dobbsbob 13y ago
Larry Hagman has a good story about how LSD changed his life when he was 35 and helped him get off booze/cigarettes. His therapist recommended it too http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n1/13125hag.html http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v13n1/13125hag.html

dobbsbob 13y ago

You can get really sick from shrooms if you're allergic/take too much or the person you bought them off doesn't know what they're doing and is selling you bunk/poison shrooms. Small amount of LSD will acheive the same thing, plus no sickness :P

cnp 13y ago
LSD and Mushrooms are completely different things. Mushrooms are more magical, mysterious, forbidden and strange where LSD is more focused and terrestrial, and less insightful comparatively speaking. It also tends to really wear your mind out where with Mushrooms you feel absolutely fantastic immediately after, and for days following that.
- dobbsbob 13y ago
  I found LSD more of a mind blowing experience, same with DMT. I did shrooms about 10x in highschool then once in University but felt like puking everytime. Maybe it's just me
  - cnp 13y ago
    I think they become more profound with age. I remember some highschool trips that were basically just very goofy exercises and not much more. Now, later, every trip seems to be utterly mindblowing.
solistice 13y ago
You should make sure though that you're actually getting LSD. There's certain knockoff substances that might be sold as LSD, like DOC, 2C-I, and DOB.

gazrogers 13y ago

Stabbing yourself in the eye with a fork can change how you view the world too. Maybe we should recommend that everyone does that?

kintamanimatt 13y ago
What an asinine comment.
- rogerthis 13y ago
  Another one.
cpursley 13y ago
What are you smoking?
cylinder714 13y ago
Of course not. But let's have a discussion--tell us why you think taking some mushrooms would be injuring oneself. I've never used LSD or mushrooms, and I don't think I've ever been high, save for a few puffs in college, but this gets me to wondering if I've been missing out. It's the risk of having a bad trip that deters me, along with the possibility of getting some bogus garbage from an unscrupulous dealer.
rasur 13y ago
Don't take the cork off the fork.
fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
If you decide to try it, be sure to write a good trip report for Erowid.
drewrv 13y ago
That has poor health consequences. Perhaps we should outlaw forks?

dully 13y ago

Now if I could just find some..

mbrameld 13y ago
If you're in the US the spores are legal to buy and possess. There are websites that sell them. Google will lead you to lots of information on how to grow them. It doesn't look too hard.

mindcrime 13y ago

While I have smoked weed 3 or 4 times in my life, and drink like a fish on occasion, put me down on the list of people who have never tried psychedelics, but have considered it many times. This post really makes me want to go out and get some 'shrooms (or LSD) and give it a try. I think I'm going to put that on my "do real soon now" list... I mean, I'm getting older, so it's time to stop procrastinating and DO stuff instead of just dreaming about it. :-(

northwest 13y ago

I regret there's no call-to-action at the bottom of your post: Buy here :-)

Guillaumeish 13y ago

Yes, I totally agree. Every person should try magic mushrooms and/or LSD. Any psychedelic drug. The problem is that not all people can afford to do so (and I don't mean financially afford it, I mean psychologically), not everyone is ready to experience certain feelings. There is a right time to do it, and most of the people (especially the grown up ones) totally need a guide to do it. Someone who knows the stuff you're trying and know how to guide you out of any possible bad trip happening. I'm convinced that these "altered state of perception" should be experienced by the highest number of people. Take a look at: "DMT: The spirit molecule". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4FaDMak-TQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4FaDMak-TQ

Aloisius 13y ago

Before people run out and do this, anyone know of any negative side effects? I'm a bit prone to anxiety and my only experience with a drug everyone said was harmless (prescription pot) was terrifying.

cnp 13y ago
Anxiety is a difficult one to get around, but that said it might greatly ease that issue, too. I wouldn't recommend trying them alone without someone who knows the space (very well) and can guide you if your anxiety begins. Physiologically, aside from maybe a tiny bit of stomach discomfort in the beginning, they're harmless, less neurologically damaging than a glass of wine.
- NhanH 13y ago
  Know the space, as in know the experience of using one, or did you mean knowing the geological space of the location so they can physically stop you from doing silly thing? (Just out of curiosity, as I have no idea how one act under influence)
  - cnp 13y ago
    No, meaning they know the headspace of the trip. Experienced psychedelic users understand how to get through the anxiety and fear should it arise and incorporate it back into the trip as opposed to fighting it, and know how to communicate that to others. Bad trips happen, but studies have concluded that given the right set and setting --meaning, feeling secure in your environment-- the risk of such is greatly lowered. Keep in mind that the vast majority of people have good experiences as long as they come prepared.
quasque 13y ago
After a bad first trip from mushrooms, I couldn't shake off the feelings of terror from within, and had sporadic panic attacks for months afterwards. I'd never had such attacks before, it was most unnerving. I wouldn't risk trying it again.
13y ago

NhanH 13y ago

As a young 20-ish who've never partaken in any kind of drugs. Does anyone have a NEGATIVE story to share? Not the type of "he got addicted and ruined his life" but "hallucinations after all are just hallucinations, and the profound effects are fake etc."

dobbsbob 13y ago
I didn't find them very profound, just hallucinations shake up your brain pathways like a snowglobe and you consider things you wouldn't have before that seemed impossible. It also gives you new insight into "reality" and how your brain is largely interpreting everything uniquely and you can't always trust your own sight. Those people who saw the light or aliens/ghosts probably haven't done LSD or they'd realize not to trust anything their brain interprets without sober analysis. "Holy shit, that prophet ghost was a pretty sweet hallucination" instead of writing a book about it and creating a religion.
neilk 13y ago
You can read a lot of different stories about it on Erowid. Anyway a lot of people treat mushrooms as a party drug, so I assume those people don't consider themselves to have had profound visions. There does seem to be a subculture of people who take the visions way too seriously. They believe it's giving knowledge of an external reality. I think it's a little bit like a reset button - your beliefs and thinking patterns are disrupted, particularly the ones which you don't normally question. This may happen consciously (as it did with the OP) but I suspect a lot of it is unconscious. I've done it just a handful of times. The most profound experience was negative-positive. I didn't take proper precautions, and I have a tendency to negative thoughts which was highly accentuated by the experience. Think terror worse than any horror movie for several hours (although with some nice parts too). But confronting your demons, literally, has its advantages. Actually more than anything else it's pushed me to try to take control of those negative thoughts. EDIT: FYI there is no such thing as getting physically addicted to magic mushrooms. Quite the opposite, there are regular reports of people kicking addictions as a result.
- hamsternipples 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

stickhandle 13y ago

I'm prone to absolute fits of laughter as opposed to anything resembling focus. Might have something to do with quantity. Or what happened before (pot) or after (lots of beer -- mushrooms made me very thirsty). Anyway ... not the same experience, but fun nonetheless. The key is a happy environ. One tip -- instead of tea, eat them with chocolate ice cream.

whiddershins 13y ago

OP is ~23 at the time and that seems like a very natural age for that experiment. One of the most interesting things about reading Robert Anton Wilson's more autobiographical stuff (Cosmic Trigger? Prometheus Rising?) is that when he talks about doing LSD for the first time with Leary and co, all these guys were in their 30s!! I can't imagine how shocking it would be to have gotten that far in your life, believing and committing to the perceptions you've had, only to have them ripped apart by those megadoses (by today's standards) of LSD. I think that is also why they made such good use of the experiences. Having more life experience, they might have been even more appreciative of the new insight. http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/dp/1561840564 http://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/...

parasight 13y ago

Mushrooms can cause bad trips. Keep that in mind. It might not be as frequent as with other substances, but it is possible. I know people who had bad trips from mushrooms. So be careful. A really bad trip can be nightmare.

gnosis 13y ago
"That which does not kill me makes me stronger." It's possible to learn quite a lot from bad trips. Some would argue that they're more valuable than good trips, where you may not learn much at all. Bad trips can involve facing unpleasant but important aspects of yourself, your life, that of your friends or family, or the world around you. Try to learn from them and use the insight you get from them to grow and improve your life. That said, I personally think that strong psychedelics are best used under the guidance of a good therapist, who can help you deal with the very powerful and sometimes unpleasant experiences that many people have trouble assimilating on their own. Unfortunately, psychedelics are currently taboo and illegal in much of the world, and most therapists either don't want anything to do with them or are ignorant of their incredible therapeutic potential. However, there are still some theraphists out there who are knowedgeable and willing to work with these substances and with the right clients. It may take some work to find them, but could be very worthwhile to do so, if you are serious about self-discovery and constructive use of these substances.

jotm 13y ago

Heh, I also say everyone should be allowed to take amphetamines (i.e. make them completely legal). But that ain't gonna happen when the idiots at the FDA label even Piracetam as a schedule drug.

kephra 13y ago

I've collected Spitzkeglige Kahlköpfe (Psilocybe semilanceata) for several years, and send more then 100 people on a trip. So some advise from an old hippy, in random order: Its easy to confuse Psilocybe semilanceata with Düngerling (Panaeolus papilionaceus), that is growing on same meadows, but at different times. Its less dangerous to collect magic mushrooms, then to collect mushrooms for food, because most mushrooms mimic a poisonous one. If you collect magic mushrooms and pick the wrong one, then you don't have a trip, but if you collect mushrooms for food, and pick the wrong one you become ill, and might even die. But still, always collect them with someone who knows them well, because else you might pick non magic light poison mushrooms first, think you need high dose to feel something, and next time you take a much to high dose, if you got the right ones. Do not eat them when tired in the evening, but better at the morning before eating anything else. Do not drink or take other drugs same time. I prefer to put them into a yogurt or quark. Drink a tea afterwards, wait 10 minutes after eating them, and then eat as much as you can, because you need the power, and likely are not able to eat anything while on trip. Always take them in a small group of friends you really trust, and one of the group should stay sober, just for the case one goes crazy. Agree beforehand that you care for each other, and that you do not send anybody into a hospital, because insane asylums makes everything worse. They will put people on hard drugs, so those people become asylum addicted. Be prepared that someone might need help after a trip. Those who went crazy will become sane within a week, if you care for them at a good place, e.g. a cottage in the rural, but they might become asylum addicted for decades, if they can get no other help then those who exploit them for health insurance money. Be prepared to go outside. Walking miles is very common on a mushroom trip. The one who is sober must ensure that the group stays together and nobody gets lost. Being alone on a trip is a very bad setting. Do not walk through the city, but through nature, and avoid places where big crowds of people are, e.g. dance clubs or festivals. The sober guy is also the mule for water, and should ensure that everybody is drinking enough. Mushrooms do not cause addiction, but they are an anti-drug. Everybody I know who collected mushrooms in my age stopped it at some time, including me. But never try to blow up your trip forever. Never add more mushrooms to am existing trip, neither because of impatience nor because you want to continue the "fun". The only cases I know of people who got locked in (drug induced psychosis) on a trip are those who eat several times within a few days, and those who went to an insane asylum, where the trip is treated with other even more dangerous drugs. The main trip will be 4-6 hours, followed by an activity phase of an other 6-8 hours, followed by a vibrant phase of several days, where memories of the trip come up very vivid, and feelings are very different. The complete trip takes a week most often. So never take them more then once a month. And never more then 3 times a year. Mushrooms are not a party drug, they are a sharp tool to reshape your mind. Be prepared that memories of your trip will burn deep into your mind. A trip is a lesson you will never forget. So do not take them, if you have bad feelings, in a bad group, in a bad set or setting. Magic mushrooms are called magic for a good reason. You might encounter things that can not be explained by science. Those magic comes often together with a horror trip. e.g. my worst horror trip was when I was walking through a part of the city where lots of drug and drunk people party, and a few of them had green faces. Each of them stuck me with a horror. And the horror became even worse over the next half year, as each of them died on an overdose of heroin.

ChrisNorstrom 13y ago

DO NOT WALK AROUND OUTSIDE while on LSD! That's dangerous and disrespectful to everyone else. I don't know if there's a Acid uprising in St. Louis but there have been an increase in incidences of young men tripping while out in public. One of them scared the hell out of my mom, then stripped naked and ran around yelling "I love LSD" while the police ran after him. The other almost got hit as he walked in and out of traffic. I get they want to experiment but the combination of being a male (doing risky stupid shit) and being young (thinking you're invincible) can have deadly consequences. Please trip at home. Edit: OR at your friend's house who lives on a nice open flat farm.

kephra 13y ago
I guess you never took mushrooms yourself. Nearly everybody has the urge to go outside, to walk miles, and to fresh air on a trip. So my advise, take a trip where its save to go outside. Do not take a trip in a big city, but somewhere in nature.

anigbrowl 13y ago

Every Entrepreneur Should Try Magic Mushrooms The title is slightly misleading as I actually believe that every person should... and here's my story why. Liked your essay, but I think you should go ahead and change your title. Psychedelics can make you a better entrepreneur, or a better artist, or (insert role here), but in the sense that becoming a more rounded, experienced and thoughtful person will enhance your professional activities. Your specific profession is orthogonal to your scope for personal development. Nobody should take mushrooms with the goal of enjoying more business success - a compartmentalized approach as implicitly (albeit unintentionally) suggested by your title is likely to be counter-productive when the walls of one's mental compartments start leaking. I knew a fellow who stared at a glass of orange juice during a trip with such intensity that he felt he had become one with it.* He got very upset when someone else picked it up and drank the juice. * in the sense that Van Gogh once painted a vase of sunflowers with such intensity that he became one with it. What your mind chooses to focus its attention on is not a question of value.

dbbolton 13y ago

I really take issue with this title and the general attitude it stems from. Advising everyone in a certain group of people to take any kind of drug should be frowned upon in my opinion. The fact that we are talking about a Schedule I substance, and the fact that author then admits he thinks everyone should try them, make this situation even worse. I guess if you happen to get caught with them you'll have plenty of free time (five or more years) to fine-tune your startup idea in a federal prison. A much better title would have been "one entrepreneur's positive experience with magic mushrooms". I'm not saying that nobody should do drugs or that psychedelics can't benefit people, but telling everyone to use a drug because you had a good outcome with it is downright juvenile.

hamsternipples 13y ago

if you have done mushrooms (or are considering it), and are a programmer, I really highly recommend this video by terence mckenna. it's called "Shamans among the machines." :D he explores the next big step of evolution for humanity will probably be coming from, "programmers on shrooms" :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6P6Nq8JoY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx6P6Nq8JoY

danbmil99 13y ago

TL; DR: I took 'shrooms and listened to Enya

eip 13y ago

PLAYBOY: Ever take LSD? GATES: My errant youth ended a long time ago. PLAYBOY: What does that mean? GATES: That means there were things I did under the age of 25 that I ended up not doing subsequently. PLAYBOY: One LSD story involved you staring at a table and thinking the corner was going to plunge into your eye. GATES: [Smiles] PLAYBOY: Ah, a glimmer of recognition. GATES: That was on the other side of that boundary. The young mind can deal with certain kinds of gooping around that I don't think at this age I could. I don't think you're as capable of handling lack of sleep or whatever challenges you throw at your body as you get older. However, I never missed a day of work. -------------------------------------------------- LSD was a big deal for Steve Jobs. How big? Evidently, Jobs believed that experimenting with LSD in the 1960s was "one of the two or three most important things he had done in his life." What's more, he felt that there were parts of him that the people he knew and worked with could not understand, simply because they hadn't had a go at psychedelics. ------------------------------------------------------ When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he deploys a powerful mind expanding tool -- LSD-25. "It must be changing something about the internal communication in my brain. Whatever my inner process is that lets me solve problems, it works differently, or maybe different parts of my brain are used, " said Herbert, 42, an early employee of Cisco Systems who says he solved his toughest technical problems while tripping to drum solos by the Grateful Dead -- who were among the many artists inspired by LSD. "When I'm on LSD and hearing something that's pure rhythm, it takes me to another world and into anther brain state where I've stopped thinking and started knowing," said Herbert who intervened to ban drug testing of technologists at Cisco Systems.

rogerthis 13y ago

Stay away from my kids, guys.