Whether any given approach is right or wrong is truly relative to the individual having the experience. It could be argued, however, that in many ways there is much to be gained and learned from traditional practices and principles employed when working with these powerful allies and substances. By being mindful of how, where, why, and with whom you choose to partake of these substances, you can prepare yourself to have a much stronger and more full connection with the substance, and that your experience is safe, expansive, healing, or pleasurable, as opposed to scary, unhealthy, or less than satisfying. It must be understood, however, that in many ways experiences with hallucinogens cannot be 100% prescribed or predicted because they are powerful and have their own information and characteristics to impart.
Here are a few considerations to work with if you are thinking about trying a consciousness altering substance for the first time: Or for the experienced.
Respect: Have some respect for the power of the plant or substance you are about to work with in the same way you would might have respect for the power inherent in large bodies of water. The ocean is a very beautiful and captivating environment full of relaxation, pleasure, and life, but it can be extremely mysterious, dangerous, and unpredictable. For these reasons, it requires respect and psychedelics require respect in much the same way. Similar to the ocean, these substances can reveal great depths of ourselves to us that can be exhilarating, enlightening, and yes, very often scary if we are not well prepared. So step one is to have some respect.
Trust Your Gut: The important thing to know about learning to trust your gut instincts is that you first have to be aware of them before you can trust them. If you have a funny feeling about something, it’s for a valid reason, even if your logical mind can’t figure out what that reason is. Trust your intuition. If something feels not right about eating some mushrooms or taking LSD or whatever the substance may be, it is definitely best to wait until you feel in the flow with it.
The other nice thing about learning to trust your gut is that not only will you get in touch with your own wisdom and voice, you will line up with the voice of the plant you are eating (if it is a plant that is, synthetics may be a different story) All plants have consciousness and wisdom to impart and it can help to see it as working with that plant rather than using it. Be open to the consciousness itself of the plant.
