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It's been at least 15 years since my last trip, but they do make a lasting impression. It wasn't something I did a lot, but it maybe totaled 20 times over about 10 years. Having said that, it's not always a grand magical experience. I had one semi-bad trip, which in retrospect I unconsciously but intentionally set myself up for. You've got to watch that carefully, and be aware of it, what your mindset is going in. I saw others do much the same thing on a number of occasions, so it's something that happens. If I'm completely honest about the experiences, most of the time whatever I was doing was incredibly fascinating at the time, but utterly banal in retrospect. Becoming really fascinated with small variations of light and shadow on a wall, for example. Which is pretty cool while you're doing, but not exactly a mystical experience. The way I always talked about tripping was that it removed the filters from your perception. There's a lot of information coming in that your brain just filters out. That's desirable on a lot of levels, but it's worth reminding yourself that it's happening. Once you've had that experience a few times, it becomes possible to turn it on and off if you work at it. You still won't, most of the time, but it's nice to have the ability when you want it. |
The way the setting made a difference for me were perceived risks. In the same way my cognitive filter was disabled for visual patterns, it must have been disabled for danger too; seeing a candle on the coffee table made me panic about a fire so I put it out, and seeing a friend go out on the balcony of our second floor apartment made me terrified that he would try to "fly" or hurt himself, so I made him come in and locked the balcony door. I can definitely see how a more adverse setting could lead to a really scary trip.