Effect of Current Mood on Trips?

[autodidactus]

So I've been having many different strong feelings lately. Happiness, Sadness, Anger, etc. I've been considering seeing what DMT would be like during them but I can't say I'm not hesitant to dive in.

I know set is such an important thing with tripping but with DMT being such a short experience I'm curious how it would be. Anger would be one that I wouldn't want to do it during but like sadness or melancholy i think would be interesting.

Any of you guys ever intentionally do it when you weren't necessarily in a neutral, normally "ideal" trip state?

 

[anrchy]

I've actually wondered this same thing. Obviously it would have to be when one of those emotions is active rather than just a background feeling.

 

[autodidactus]

glad to know someone out there is wondering too haha.

might find out today. also wondering how music that compliments that emotional state will affect it too.

 

[DMT_Tom]

Such a good question, autodidactus. In my experience is it fear and panic that really get between me and the lessons and good experiences DMT can provide.
I keep thinking of Anarchy's signature "Fear is the Mind Killer!" which makes me feel bad when I don't smoke DMT due to fear! But honestly I've had a horrible experience after trying to smoke in a panic-y, heart-pounding state.
Anything else mood-wise, like depression or confidence or what ever, takes a secondary position to the whole mood of fear in my limited experience!

 

[Make Shift]

IMHO, a place where you will not be alarmed by anything whatsoever is very important. Your mind is already in the zone, enough of startle there, anything that can influence that trip negatively could ruin the entire trip.
As for the personal mind set, I feel it's always better to be very relaxed (this specially applies when smoking freebase) because the speed of the onset is appalling, a distracted or let's say not being ready to smoke could lead to a negative experience. I have had an experience where we're talking and sitting, and suddenly light it, even before you know what's happening, you're out of your body and that can be taxing.

 

[Infectedstyle]

probably the last time I used DMT was being unable to sleep at 5 AM while being very down and pretty sad. Had been dosing moderate amounts of mxe as well. I was also curious. DMT usually isn't ultra-deep for me, it's pretty mild. The normal greeting force instilled a fear that it does a lot of times, but slightly more. I literally asked for a cleansing and felt a wamrth envelop me and being taken away from my body by some imagery going upwards to space. I felt a profound sense of neutrality and it stayed for after the experience.

 

[autodidactus]

interesting stuff. Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[travsha]

If I feel horrible, that is when I need medicine the most. I ask it to help me figure out the cause of my pain and heal it. Works very well.

I wouldnt using for numbing or running away - sometimes in the process of healing and understanding it actually gets worse at first.... But that is because you need to call it to the surface to heal and understand it.

I consider entheogens to be medicine, so the best time for medicine is when you are sick right?

 

[autodidactus]

If I feel horrible, that is when I need medicine the most. I ask it to help me figure out the cause of my pain and heal it. Works very well.

I wouldnt using for numbing or running away - sometimes in the process of healing and understanding it actually gets worse at first.... But that is because you need to call it to the surface to heal and understand it.

I consider entheogens to be medicine, so the best time for medicine is when you are sick right?

yea, I just have reservations about relying on "medicine" to help me with things where working on it without would possibly make me stronger. ya know?

 

[DisEmboDied]

Prob my favorite time to take it is when I'm depressed, I feel so much better afterward for a couple of weeks. Anger and sadness are dissipated by it, from my experience...

It is an alignment.

 

[travsha]

yea, I just have reservations about relying on "medicine" to help me with things where working on it without would possibly make me stronger. ya know?

You can work with something without relying on it. I just wouldnt let a bad mood deter me as in my experience these medicines help me go deeper into that mood to really understand it and work through it. I like working through things. And just because you use a entheogen to help you work on something doesnt mean it isnt still work - just means you have more support and for me it helps me go deeper quicker.

I dont really feel like I rely on anything and I regularly take long breaks. But when I have trouble understanding something I feel like plants really help me find my way through that confusion and inspire me on how to work through things outside of ceremony.

I can give you an example of how this work goes for me. Recently did 7 Ayahuasca ceremonies in 10 days as part of a coca dieta. Ayahuasca is not a gentle teacher for me at all - she is very rough on me. When I ask her for advice instead of showing me how to work through something she gives me challenges and obstacles I have to navigate in ceremony - and figuring those things out in ceremony gives me insight into my personal life. So she actually gives me more work, but work that helps me learn faster. She also helps me build character and discipline - I often say that she teaches me how to suffer with a smile, or suffer in style. I find myself feeling super sick, rough puking, and having to help someone else (I often assist others) - and even though I feel super sick I have a giant smile on my face. Teaches me the power of perspective when things are rough.

That perspective easily transfers into my real life as well. When challenges come up I face them with a smile instead of feeling sorry for myself. Glad I drank the brew and learned that lesson faster because it is a helpful lesson to have!

 

[mad_banshee]

If I feel horrible, that is when I need medicine the most. I ask it to help me figure out the cause of my pain and heal it. Works very well.

I wouldnt using for numbing or running away - sometimes in the process of healing and understanding it actually gets worse at first.... But that is because you need to call it to the surface to heal and understand it.

I consider entheogens to be medicine, so the best time for medicine is when you are sick right?

yea, I just have reservations about relying on "medicine" to help me with things where working on it without would possibly make me stronger. ya know?

Thats an interesting perspective! It makes sense though. I only trip when I feel just about at the top of my game mentally and ready for it. If I don't feel top notch I won't try. Maybe I should reconsider.

 

[Global]

I have found that the thing about DMT is that it tends to defy my mood more often than not. It seems to craft my mood regardless of how I was feeling. Many of my best experiences came out of feeling exhausted, worn down and physically uncomfortable, while I've had some terrible experiences when I go in cheery and clearheaded.

 

[NotTwo]

I have found that the thing about DMT is that it tends to defy my mood more often than not. It seems to craft my mood regardless of how I was feeling. Many of my best experiences came out of feeling exhausted, worn down and physically uncomfortable, while I've had some terrible experiences when I go in cheery and clearheaded.

I'd very much agree with that. Last week I was feeling quite negative and anxious about a recent set of unpleasant events. I smoked dmt despite this (3 times!) and found the experiences to be delightful. So current mood doesn't seem to affect what happens or how one feels in the experience. I think it can yield valuable insights into one's mood also.

On the other hand setting seems to be really important. You need to know there are going to be no distractions and that the surrounds are comfortable. The only time out of many that I have had something resembling a bad trip was when I set it up wrong beforehand. First, I had put on a tight jacket because it was a bit chilly. Just as I took my last toke I felt the constriction of the jacket and wanted to rip it off which by that point I was no longer capable of doing. Second, I had chosen a time when I had other duties but thought "no problem hiding out the way for an hour" when in fact I knew I could be called upon any time. I try to go through the same sequence of disconnecting - mobile, phone, computer sounds (like Skype) and door bell and ideally have a space for myself of 2 or 3 hours.

 

[Global]

Distractions are definitely an issue with very literal consequences. The experience hinges on your attention.

 

[anon_003]

I'd like to echo what everyone else is saying about DMT crafting the mood more often than your previous mindset. Of course everyone is different, but DMT in particular seems to take me so far away from my state of mind before smoalking that the old me is almost completely obliterated and replaced with an updated version.

My best experiences have been when I haven't used it for a while, and have kind of forgotten the gist of it. It seems that the more frequently I use it, the higher the odds of the trip being very unsatisfactory or even very dark and uncomfortable are. My other favorite times to smoke it are when I am in the midst of a big life transition, or after I have accomplished something personally significant here in meatspace.

Of course, there are some caveats.

I will never smoke DMT anymore if I feel physically unwell. This is just begging for an uncomfortable experience. Like being HUNGOVER, sick, or after eating way too much food (talk about projectile vomiting).

Like Global pointed out, distractions are something to take very seriously. It has always confounded me that people will blast off at concerts.

I would also strongly encourage not to use DMT if you are trying to use it as an escape. Escapism and psychedelics do not mix one bit. This is an excellent way to get owned by the other side. The operators can tolerate a lot, but I have consistently found that if I am smoking regularly just because I have lost interest in life at the moment, sooner or later a hyperspatial beating is in order. If you are looking for an escape, there are plenty of other substances that are better suited.

PSA : Although you shouldn't escape your life. If you are really that unsatisfied then freakin' change something already! :thumb_up:

 

[anne halonium]

tough one.

ive tripped all kinds of places on massive doses inappropriately.
sometimes it flies, sometimes its disaster.

good moods and good times, can turn ugly,
mundane can become horrific.

that said, ive had trips rescue really bad moods also.

the key here is how do ya feel about life in general,
and whats your baseline reactions usually?

if your overall life scene is solid it makes a difference.

consider also, its easier to adjust to 20 minits than several hours.
longer acting stuff can be more problematic.

 

[Spiralout]

i second most of what you said anne,only ting with high doses of things,if its really high dose,whoich seems to be subjective even within the same person,time, substancepurity etc yadaya time gets irrelevant ot just completyey diff; slowing down timenwillfully,orunwillfuly, speeding up, stoping unwillfully or willfullyy.... all kinda paradoxial but logner higher doses do seem to ave a a more dramati chanfge.I look at lsd here alot and think it migt have to do with the bingding affinity, half life of course etc dont know enough about =crainchem to really make a good opinong

dont remember the binging affinity of mesc dmnt etc preettyy sure lsd is high

careaful with those long half life opiates lol treatments by the guv floks

ya know ya wake up still feeling it, yourstill feeling it

so taht matters

subsatnce in question is major player to of course, could take me a dissociative anywhere and feel like uberman king


withb classic psychs though your mooddoes tend to have effect on alot though its moreof wehats underli=ying that
'
if your already looking at that side of the mind, both, mostof the time then theres less osf a switch , or more, it seems

centering yourself and loooking around aas long and intentfully as you want to before during or after, whebever you weant helsp itseems


that centering balaning rekaxing looking around concentrating and centering again and on and on like that seems to be the most you can do for whatver kindof control you have

 

[Jees]

Interesting to notice the relation between mood and mind set (from mind set & setting).
Mind Set, we generally agree on being fundamental.

* Things as "I feel rut today for reason X or Y" can potentially be turned swiftly and not only by spice. Mind condition?

* Deeper psychological biases are another animal and might weight with more gravity on "mind set". Soul condition?

Though both these can be fitted within the term "mood", it's all matter of definitions. That makes it hard to conclude if mood is yes-or-no important for the trips character.

So I concur with AH:

the key here is how do ya feel about life in general,
and whats your baseline reactions usually?

if your overall life scene is solid it makes a difference.

 

[drfaust]

Interesting to notice the relation between mood and mind set (from mind set & setting).
Mind Set, we generally agree on being fundamental.

* Things as "I feel rut today for reason X or Y" can potentially be turned swiftly and not only by spice. Mind condition?

* Deeper psychological biases are another animal and might weight with more gravity on "mind set". Soul condition?

Though both these can be fitted within the term "mood", it's all matter of definitions. That makes it hard to conclude if mood is yes-or-no important for the trips character.

So I concur with AH:

the key here is how do ya feel about life in general,
and whats your baseline reactions usually?

if your overall life scene is solid it makes a difference.

I concur with Jees. What are your baseline reactions? What is your overall life scene?

How much room do you have for "things to go wrong"? How much room do you have for "negative emotions"?

Many moons ago on the very day that I confronted a well nigh psychotic boss that I had who was torturing a helpless assistant of his, I smoalked at a friend's very safe place.

I was kind of charged up from having confronted this guy. The confrontation went well in the sense that I was very clear about his "angry acting out" and venting on his assistants. Because I was not directly working under him but only generally, I had the room to tell him off. We almost went mano a mano outside the office. I told him never to treat his assistant like that again in very angry words.

A few hours later, I took the journey and immediately I was plunged into an eternal hell space in which I felt I would be "stuck forever". I suffered it. I was a hell being in a hell realm and all I was was anger and pain and distance and suffering. I was also the "essence of stuck". The whole realm I was in was illuminated by a black sun. I had my eyes open and could see the literal room and I was still in that "hell". I knew myself in that hell which was not a literal hell but a place so real and so compelling that it was "true" in a relative sense.

I learned something not pretty about my personal hell, my own eternal hell. I was very thankful when my twenty minutes of eternity were up.

I can honestly say that I had the "room" in my life to experience that. However, I never smoalked after a major fight or confrontation again. After these many moons, I'm more careful and I check in deeper into the various levels of my mind set and my life situation.

I have more "room". I benefitted from that "bad trip" as I have from both bad and good trips. I learned something about myself. So, from my experience, I'd say that emotions can be very interesting and very challenging. And that is an understatement.