Two shared experiences that I can review positively are:
Group pharmahuasca.
A few friends gather in a space that has minimal outside interferences and is physically safe and comfortable. For each participant there is a mattress or couch and a blanket. Initially there may be some quiet background music, but after the medicine has been consumed and everyone prepares to take off on their journey, the music and lights are dimmed. The session proceeds in silence. Silence is broken after all participants have returned, but the atmosphere of stillness is maintained as much as possible, allowing participants to make the transition as smooth and gradual as possible. In a quiet tone, some of the experiences can be related and shared, allowing for better integration of the experience. Tea, dried fruit, nuts and sweets aid the body and senses in a soft landing.
A "light" variation to this substitutes the pharmahuasca with changa. The general ambiance is the same.
Psychedelic bicycle trip.
Outside the city where I live there are some forests and heaths interspersed with asphalt-paved bicycle lanes, allowing for hours of cycling through nature, undisturbed by motorized traffic. I find this scenery the best way to introduce people to psychedelics. When arriving in the forest, mushrooms are consumed at a nice clearing and 15 to 20 minutes are spent there before embarking on the trip. At the moment the mushrooms start subtly taking effect, a highway is crossed on an overpass, signalling a last contact with the busy and nauseating city vibes, followed by the immersion into the living serenity of nature. Then, gradually, the trip starts building in intensity. As the ego is progressively dissolved, cycling always works and is almost effortless. The ever changing natural surroundings provide lots of friendly visual stimulation and distraction from getting stuck in repetitive thought patterns. The alternation between being enclosed in the cozyness of a forest area and then suddenly floating through the open expanses of the heath just is wonderful. Overall, the effects of the trip are of a joyful physical and mental relaxation. The main side effect is that upon re-entering the city, it is just a shock to see how people live there. A good hearty meal and a glass of nice wine is a great way to conclude a glowing day.
It seems to be almost impossible to have a bad trip, even on heavy doses. Again, I find this the perfect way to introduce novices to psychedelics. It can also be done with LSD instead of mushrooms, if you don't object to eight or more hours of cycling.
This is best done on a summer's day, but a nice variation is at that time of season when semilanceata's can be found in the meadows. When halfway the trip twilight falls, the atmosphere can be magical.
Shared experiences that are not really my kind of thing:
Santo Daime church.
I know several people who are members and I've been there myself once. I'm determined to try it at least one more time, but I think it's just not my cup of tea. I find that there is far to little room for the individual in their type of group thing. The people there are mostly kind and sympathetic though. In general, I respect the Santo Daime movement and despite my different opinion, they have my sympathy. They get to deal with all kinds of people who have no experience or reference with psychedelics, so I can understand some of their rules and strictness. The strictness does not seem to apply to their "religion", you don't don't have to buy into it very much other than putting up with it.
Western Shamans.
I cannot speak about all these shamans, as I have too little reference to pass sweeping and generalizing judgement. However the "shamans" that I (sort of) know and also the people I (sort of) know who gravitate towards it and the first hand reports (both positive and negative) that I have heard from visitors to these rituals make me personally somewhat doubtful about the whole thing. My final thoughts below may point at some of my reasons for this.
Shared experiences that I find crap altogether:
Tripping at parties, raves and festivals.
There is no sensible or rational point to it, the setting is about the worst you can get, you are often surrounded by drunks, tweakers and other very ungrounded and irresponsible people. The atmosphere can be very volatile and underneath the manic happiness the despair is sometimes palpable. Altogether not very inspirational. There may be exceptions, but these are IMHO really exceptions.
TL;DR
My particular take on "ritual" is that it should be practical and rational with regard to means and ends. Keep the setting safe, the interaction sympathetic and the rest is just unnecessary distraction or even unhelpful impediment. Some people may prefer to be provided with a contextual narrative, but I think one use of psychedelics is to help one to liberate oneself of such imposed constructs.
