My hobby of using psychedelic drugs has for a few years seemed to follow an annual cycle of a kind. The middle of a year, comprising spring and summer, always seems to be quite dry, in the sense that there aren't very many psychoactives available. While I see that this is due to certain logistic limitations of the drug scene of our small scandinavian country, I've always thought that the symbolic contents of the psychedelic experience relates well to that of autumn, winter or the harvest moon of rural cultures.
This year, 2004, seems to be no exception. First, I got some psilocybe cubensis spores with which to start the hobby of mushroom cultivation. Mere days after the inoculation of the mushroom substratum, I heard that some new blotter LSD had arrived. At first didn't react at all, however, because I didn't think I'd get any of the small quantity. Some days later, as I was riding home with my horrible squeaky bicycle, I decided to change my course and rode through a park, where quite diverse people are known to hang out. A few people I from know parties and the internet stopped me there, and asked me if I wanted to buy some GHB. I agreed and promised to call them about it later, but I decided to leave soon because they were drinking and selling the stuff a bit too openly in the middle of the public park. Some time after that, I tried to contact them a few times, and when they were finally reached, they had already drunk the whole shitload of GHB. They told me that I could get some of the acid, though.
After a long and hard but as such irrelevant effort, I managed to get a few hits of relatively stong blotter. They had each a monochrome silhouette of Shiva doing her dance printed on some pretty dark blotter paper. I first tried a quarter hit, which allegedly was equivalent to a hit of last year's worst acid. Well, it did work up to a +1,5, so to say, but no true effect without a lot of coffee and cannabis to boost it. So, one sunny autumn morning, I took three pieces between 11 and 12 am.
I started out with a quarter hit, which I had on my tonge for 15 minutes.
After that, i cut out some more, perhaps another 1/4 of a hit, and repeated the soaking. At about t+40min, when there still were no noticeable effects, I took about half a hit more, bringing it to a total of a single hit. Soon after I had swallowed the last piece, I headed to the mall to get something to eat, because my morning coffee and the acid were making me physically uncomfortable. When I got outside, I noticed something not unfamiliar. I was beginning to experience the increased conceptual resolution in my thinking that, I guess, is characteristic to most conventional serotonergic psychedelics.
That is to say I wanted to think more about the perceived environment - insted of just lifelessly looking where I was going I had to gaze up, to the treetops, behind me, down to the earlier iterations of The Life we are about, plants, their strucural relationship to the environment, and all that sort of things. It was all very nice, but I knew that soon I would have to become the focus of this perception myself, but nevertheless, I went to a pizza house to get a vegetarian pizza. I began to get cold, so while waiting for the pizza, I drank a cup of coffee and read a newspaper, in which there was one rather clever article about types of personality. Before I knew it, it was time to get back home. I had a desperate craving for warmth, and while walking, I used the pizza box to warm my hands. Time was for most parts intact (as in consensus perception), but still I had a feeling that my motion was slowing down. I immediately had a hot shower.
At that time, there seemed to be quite an unusual glow to the water, like there had been a large amount of light of a pale temperature in the room.
An emission of green light seemed to be glowing from the drain where all the water was pouring. Some slight visuals had apparently begun taking place, but nothing serious yet. My physiological feeling was subject to some rough non-specific stimulation, but I for some reason couldn't tell if it was of a mental basis anymore. My mind was also racing rather fast, so I took some pillows and laid down of my sofa, which I must say was the best of ideas. I played King Crimson's 'Islands' and was about to fall into a trance, but my speakers lost contact to the amplifier and I had to get up and set up a pair of headphones. While I was at it, I also changed the music to 'He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms' By A Silver mt. Zion, an album that now brings me slight emotional flashbacks. This is because as the music played, I approached the peak, during which I don't think I could have stood up from the sofa even if I had wanted to. I had my curtains drawn, and I looked at the sky, which was furiously glowing green between the dancing leaves of a tree right next to my window.
When I closed my eyes, It seemed I could still see for quite a while. By this time, I had to sigh heavily every now and then, like I usually do when I experience emotional heaviness with psychedelics. I wasn't controlling my thoughts to the extent I usually do anymore. I was thinking of some very personal things, like my childhood, family and related events. I couldn't stop it, since it was in my mind supposed to happen. The only substance to have offered such effectiveness before was salvia divinorum, which on the other hand was almost incoherently powerful at times. Well, anyway, after the peak I was in a mental void, crying a bit. I don't remember anymore, but I guess the peaking stopped at about t+5-6h. The whole thing was pretty much over by t+8h. Before that, I got up and headed back outside, where there was waiting for me perchance the most beautiful day of the year. I laughed most kindly at many things, like birds who seemed to be purposefully emerging from their hideouts just to take a peek. I once again had a coffee, but I had to leave the shop quite hastily because of the uncontrolled laughter, the reason of which I can't really even remember.
So, this time I got to '+++', because I couldn't have handled many more psychic stimuli, and my poor body was shivering from the psychosomatic response to the LSD. I must say it worked very well in the classic medicinal way though - I felt then, and still feel extraordinarily happy to be alive. I thought I was only testing the substance out, but to my surprise the whole experience had an autonomous quality it. This has made me thing about starting a thread to T&A with the topic 'do psychedelics carry memetic content?', as such attributes are often given to them by both the advocacy and the opposition - some examples being dropping out with LSD or experiencing liguistic operators as elves with DMT.. not to mention the Sage goddess. Maybe the most literal among us could even concider the physiological response in the brain to these substances a meme. But, that's it for this time, and as some might say, 'I will repeat'.
This year, 2004, seems to be no exception. First, I got some psilocybe cubensis spores with which to start the hobby of mushroom cultivation. Mere days after the inoculation of the mushroom substratum, I heard that some new blotter LSD had arrived. At first didn't react at all, however, because I didn't think I'd get any of the small quantity. Some days later, as I was riding home with my horrible squeaky bicycle, I decided to change my course and rode through a park, where quite diverse people are known to hang out. A few people I from know parties and the internet stopped me there, and asked me if I wanted to buy some GHB. I agreed and promised to call them about it later, but I decided to leave soon because they were drinking and selling the stuff a bit too openly in the middle of the public park. Some time after that, I tried to contact them a few times, and when they were finally reached, they had already drunk the whole shitload of GHB. They told me that I could get some of the acid, though.
After a long and hard but as such irrelevant effort, I managed to get a few hits of relatively stong blotter. They had each a monochrome silhouette of Shiva doing her dance printed on some pretty dark blotter paper. I first tried a quarter hit, which allegedly was equivalent to a hit of last year's worst acid. Well, it did work up to a +1,5, so to say, but no true effect without a lot of coffee and cannabis to boost it. So, one sunny autumn morning, I took three pieces between 11 and 12 am.
I started out with a quarter hit, which I had on my tonge for 15 minutes.
After that, i cut out some more, perhaps another 1/4 of a hit, and repeated the soaking. At about t+40min, when there still were no noticeable effects, I took about half a hit more, bringing it to a total of a single hit. Soon after I had swallowed the last piece, I headed to the mall to get something to eat, because my morning coffee and the acid were making me physically uncomfortable. When I got outside, I noticed something not unfamiliar. I was beginning to experience the increased conceptual resolution in my thinking that, I guess, is characteristic to most conventional serotonergic psychedelics.
That is to say I wanted to think more about the perceived environment - insted of just lifelessly looking where I was going I had to gaze up, to the treetops, behind me, down to the earlier iterations of The Life we are about, plants, their strucural relationship to the environment, and all that sort of things. It was all very nice, but I knew that soon I would have to become the focus of this perception myself, but nevertheless, I went to a pizza house to get a vegetarian pizza. I began to get cold, so while waiting for the pizza, I drank a cup of coffee and read a newspaper, in which there was one rather clever article about types of personality. Before I knew it, it was time to get back home. I had a desperate craving for warmth, and while walking, I used the pizza box to warm my hands. Time was for most parts intact (as in consensus perception), but still I had a feeling that my motion was slowing down. I immediately had a hot shower.
At that time, there seemed to be quite an unusual glow to the water, like there had been a large amount of light of a pale temperature in the room.
An emission of green light seemed to be glowing from the drain where all the water was pouring. Some slight visuals had apparently begun taking place, but nothing serious yet. My physiological feeling was subject to some rough non-specific stimulation, but I for some reason couldn't tell if it was of a mental basis anymore. My mind was also racing rather fast, so I took some pillows and laid down of my sofa, which I must say was the best of ideas. I played King Crimson's 'Islands' and was about to fall into a trance, but my speakers lost contact to the amplifier and I had to get up and set up a pair of headphones. While I was at it, I also changed the music to 'He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms' By A Silver mt. Zion, an album that now brings me slight emotional flashbacks. This is because as the music played, I approached the peak, during which I don't think I could have stood up from the sofa even if I had wanted to. I had my curtains drawn, and I looked at the sky, which was furiously glowing green between the dancing leaves of a tree right next to my window.
When I closed my eyes, It seemed I could still see for quite a while. By this time, I had to sigh heavily every now and then, like I usually do when I experience emotional heaviness with psychedelics. I wasn't controlling my thoughts to the extent I usually do anymore. I was thinking of some very personal things, like my childhood, family and related events. I couldn't stop it, since it was in my mind supposed to happen. The only substance to have offered such effectiveness before was salvia divinorum, which on the other hand was almost incoherently powerful at times. Well, anyway, after the peak I was in a mental void, crying a bit. I don't remember anymore, but I guess the peaking stopped at about t+5-6h. The whole thing was pretty much over by t+8h. Before that, I got up and headed back outside, where there was waiting for me perchance the most beautiful day of the year. I laughed most kindly at many things, like birds who seemed to be purposefully emerging from their hideouts just to take a peek. I once again had a coffee, but I had to leave the shop quite hastily because of the uncontrolled laughter, the reason of which I can't really even remember.
So, this time I got to '+++', because I couldn't have handled many more psychic stimuli, and my poor body was shivering from the psychosomatic response to the LSD. I must say it worked very well in the classic medicinal way though - I felt then, and still feel extraordinarily happy to be alive. I thought I was only testing the substance out, but to my surprise the whole experience had an autonomous quality it. This has made me thing about starting a thread to T&A with the topic 'do psychedelics carry memetic content?', as such attributes are often given to them by both the advocacy and the opposition - some examples being dropping out with LSD or experiencing liguistic operators as elves with DMT.. not to mention the Sage goddess. Maybe the most literal among us could even concider the physiological response in the brain to these substances a meme. But, that's it for this time, and as some might say, 'I will repeat'.
