shrimps2004
Bluelighter
Psychedelics are, like is being said, a catalyst to change... ego death is a tremendously powerful experience, but the change comes from within, from what you do with yourself afterwards. I know people who have experienced ego death and ended up completely freaked out and terrified that their worldview was crushed, and allow the experience to negatively impact their lives. I know people who have tripped plenty and hard and feel that it's just fun and hasn't done anything to them except give them some experiences. And I know people, myself included, who used their experiences as a springboard to better understanding this existence and living life more fully.
So like I said, the psychedelic is a catalyst, not a magic switch that changes you instantly. I think they can be a very valuable tool to show you the way to a better life, but if you focus on the drugs and keep using them beyond what is beneficial to you, they will become a dead-end street, as Fishface says. If psychedelics motivate a positive change in you, you need to work on cultivating that change every day in your sober life or it will not last.
To shrimps2004 - Tripping is all about what you make of it and how you view it. Some people do not wish to have their perception of reality altered, and whatever they experience makes them uncomfortable, and they allow darkness into their lives after a psychedelic experience. But if you look at what you experience as an experience to be learned from, then even if you have a traumatic experience, you can come out a better person. I have had several extremely difficult and, at the time, traumatic experiences with psychedelics (especially mushrooms), but they do not affect me negatively at all.
Question: did this friend say he was negatively changed, or just that he was changed? Because psychedelics are very likely to change you, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm a much happier and more balanced person as a resault of my psychedelic experiences.
Bottom line: don't try psychedelics if you're not prepared for your view of the universe and life to change forever... make sure you're prepared for reality to be blown apart and re-assembled. It can be a beautiful experience, but it's serious business. You might trip and just have fun and never move past that level. But they are powerful tools and should be treated that way.
im assuming he was changed for the positive but it initally frightened him in the beginging..im starting to realize phychs are not a joke and must not be underestimated, i hope i can change for the positivly cuz honestly i could use it