Well there are pro's and cons to reading trip reports. It gives you a picture of what to expect of course, and the more you read the better you can estimate what the scope of possible results is: if all goes extremely well you can have certain magical and special experiences but the worst case scenario can mean ending up in a police station or hospital (this is just an example true for perhaps some substances in some situations). Reports can keep you from making mistakes others have made before you. The same goes for reading threads on a forum, but the upside to that is that often it gets less specific.
The downside to reading trip reports is that you risk experiencing similar themes that others have just because it is suggestive. It can hold you back because if you are waiting for something to happen that you read about it can keep you from discovering original themes and experiences. Actually, I think the best experiences are a result of going in with a mind free from expectation and no will to steer it. Just letting it happen as you go along and having a sense of wonder because it's all so new to you.
Probably the best thing to do is read enough so that you won't get any unpleasant surprises but don't read so much that there isn't much surprise left. Even so, you can read as much as you want about some substances and it could never prepare you for what will happen (e.g. DMT).
Try to pick up not what to expect but how to handle certain substances and take certain stories seriously like salvia being very strong even though it is legal. If you aren't ready for being blown into oblivion, take that as a lesson. But after that, try to forget every detail you have read about and realize that the exact content of a trip will come from your own mind so there are not clearcut rules about your experience being followed. That is the wisest way to learn by the way: after each lesson, integrate it and then let it not occupy your mind anymore to prevent believing in too static truths.
The downside to reading trip reports is that you risk experiencing similar themes that others have just because it is suggestive. It can hold you back because if you are waiting for something to happen that you read about it can keep you from discovering original themes and experiences. Actually, I think the best experiences are a result of going in with a mind free from expectation and no will to steer it. Just letting it happen as you go along and having a sense of wonder because it's all so new to you.
Probably the best thing to do is read enough so that you won't get any unpleasant surprises but don't read so much that there isn't much surprise left. Even so, you can read as much as you want about some substances and it could never prepare you for what will happen (e.g. DMT).
Try to pick up not what to expect but how to handle certain substances and take certain stories seriously like salvia being very strong even though it is legal. If you aren't ready for being blown into oblivion, take that as a lesson. But after that, try to forget every detail you have read about and realize that the exact content of a trip will come from your own mind so there are not clearcut rules about your experience being followed. That is the wisest way to learn by the way: after each lesson, integrate it and then let it not occupy your mind anymore to prevent believing in too static truths.
Last edited: