MAPS’ ‘The Zendo Project’ Turns Bad Trips Good

[TheBlackPirate]

MAPS’ ‘The Zendo Project’ Turns Bad Trips Good
In Culture, Everything / By Gabriel Montoya

Taking psychedelics can be a positive, uplifting experience that opens the mind and heart to new possibilities, spiritual healing and a deeper connection to the world around you. It can also go the other way, especially in a public place such as a giant music festival in a remote locale filled, surrounded with strangers and law enforcement. Have no fear, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and The Zendo Project are here.

“Founded in 1986, MAPS is a is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana” according to their website. From exploring the effects of MDMA on veterans with PTSD to expanding minds with honest information about cannabis, MDMA, Psilocybin, and other illegal for no-good-reason medicines, MAPS is on the cutting edge of psychedelic research and education. Which brings us to The Zendo Project: Psychedelic Harm Reduction.

[video=youtube_share;4j1uc4xqer4]http://youtu.be/4j1uc4xqer4[/video]

If you happen to be a hyperspace cowboy, (that is to say, someone who has fearlessly imbibed psychedelics such as LSD, Magic Mushrooms or DMT fully aware of the potential for the next six to eight hours to buck & roll in any manner of ways), odds are good you have had at least one or two moments where it all seemed too much to handle. Perhaps the vibe of the people around you made things take a bad turn. Or maybe someone dosed you with Magic Mushroom Tea at Burning Man, which is trippy enough on its own. Maybe it was that brown acid from Woodstock. Who knows? Regardless of how it was incurred, in a setting such as Burning Man, which takes place in the dangerous-to-the-unprepared Black Rock Desert, a bad trip can turn deadly. The Zendo Project’s mission is to make sure you come back from your trip safely through compassionate care in a safe environment.

[video=youtube_share;CphDzpr8wL8]http://youtu.be/CphDzpr8wL8[/video]

With a little luck, a lot of love and compassion from the trained Zendo staff, you might even turn the whole thing into a positive drug story.



The Zendo Project is a wonderful alternative to putting someone in jail or the mental ward of a hospital simply because they are having a rough time on a psychedelic. According to their press release, The Zendo Project, which ” has a presence at five major events: Burning Man (Black Rock City, Nevada), Envision (Costa Rica), AfrikaBurn (South Africa), Bicycle Day (San Francisco, CA), and Lightning in a Bottle (Bradley, CA),” has “assisted over 700 guests and trained 500 volunteers.”

As we transition out of the darkness that is The War on Drugs and into a period of enlightenment about psychedelics and their potential to heal, entities like MAPS and The Zendo Project are sorely needed. Last summer, The Zendos raised over $69,406 from donors in 32 countries to expand their efforts to events worldwide. You can donate to MAPS and the Zendo Project here: maps.org/donate.

More: An in-depth interview with Zendo Project Director, Linnae Ponté,

http://socialunderground.com/2015/11/maps-zendo-project-turns-bad-trips-good/

 

[Shamandrums]

M.A.P.S. 'Zendo' project began in 2012 & provides awesome online resources (including: links at MAPS sites, ways to become further involved such as applications for volunteering) & does training courses, both online, at events like BM & festivals where MAPS members work with you to understand this phenomena as "sitter" volunteers. I highly recommend checking this out, to better understand how to work through difficult experiences with psychedelics. This can help by equipping you with physic martial arts & the best altitude & methods to assist someone in real need of understanding.

The goal is to work with the experience rather than labeling it as a "bad trip" & waiting for time to pass. Support can create opportunity for a transformation or the importance of just "being there" which often truly helps people through these moments. These experiences can become break-through, even positive, life changing events, an issue at the heart of harm reduction. %) http://www.zendoproject.org/author/zendo/
[url]http://www.zendoproject.org/volunteer/
[/URL]

 

[Nige.Netzband]

Hi there,

I have been following Zendo work for some time, such a brilliant idea! I am just wondering, are you aware of any complications for UK nationals to volunteer for you? Of course the work is unpaid volunteer work but I just wanted to clarify it is possible and that there are no insurance issues or anything like that. I am currently in Sheffield UK but will be coming the US for most of 2017. I am a psychology MSc and psychopharmacology PhD candidate. Additionally I have many years experience within a psychedelic community setting. I have filled in the on-line registration forms and I am also on your mailing list, is there anything else I can do to get involved? Would also be flexible on dates and locations.

Additionally, quite a grand proposal, but have you looked into expanding the Zendo Project to the UK? With the every growing number of festivals, along with the apparent increase in the use of psychedelics, I feel many people would benefit from such a harm reduction service. If so, I would be keen to get involved - or perhaps even look at getting a team together!

Thanks in advance

 

[TheBlackPirate]

I agree Zendo is awesome. I recommend contacting them directly with your questions via Zendo's site.

www.ZendoProject.org