How do you prepare for a journey?

[BeyondWords]

How do you personally prepare for a journey. Im relatively new to DMT and have only done it a dozen times, not really preparing for the actual journey that day, apart from doing a lot of research before deciding to try DMT.

I personally do not like to do it if I have any bad energy or feelings which have built up throughout the day, or if I feel physically ill such as a headache or hungover.

I know I should try to meditate before hand which is something I keep telling myself I will look into, although this has not materialised yet.

I do not want to to the spice unless everything is well and good both mentally and physically with myself, with no lingering negative thoughts. Am I being too picky or is it a good idea to make sure everything is perfect before journeying?

 

[ichgoftsf]

If you're not afraid to take it, that means that you're prepared for the journey

So I'd say that yes, it is good to minimize negative thoughts/journey when there's no negative thoughts, if you're nervous about that sort of thing.

 

[BeyondWords]

Yes I am always nervous to take it, I think it opens up a wide array of questions, not that this is bad but I often go into the journey with some apprehension, even though I know everything will be good. I guess I'm trying to find a way to reduce apprehension as I find it hard to believe people who say they do not face apprehension before a journey.

 

[d*l*b]

My preparation for journeys is generally:

• Wait for a quiet time and disturbance or distraction is unlikely (usually late at night)
• Make sure space is tidy and there is space to leave pipe after blasting off
• If there is pot, make a little joint for before and after the journey
• Minimise lighting
• Remove clothes
• Get into bed and wait for the bed and body to get to a comfortable temperature
• Take a minute or 5 to relax myself as much as is possible

∞

If you're not afraid to take it, that means that you're prepared for the journey

I am not sure I’m prepared very often then! I’m more often than not afraid (maybe wary is a better description) of DMT.

As there has been times that it has taken me several weeks to get my head round everything I think a good amount of wariness is pretty sensible.

 

[Felnik]

I think your on the right track . I am very particular
about my set and setting . If things aren't close to
perfect I won't go. Over time I've gained the patience to wait
for the right moment even if it means waiting weeks or months
for the right alignment to take place .

Reducing anxiety and fear is a deeply personal thing
that is different for everyone . There are many techniques but for me
experiencing hyperspace countless times has been my greatest teacher .
Deep breathing and talking yourself through tough spots is effective .
Rhythmic chanting is also very helpful. Over time as you get to know the different
flavors of hyperspace you can begin to gain a very strong inner strength that is capable
of withstanding the most extreme onslaughts of ultimate weirdness.
A strong non judgemental grounded observerer mindset is a great
starting place . There's no doubt it can be very scary but over time you can minimize
the bad ones by doing exactly what your doing being careful and mindful .

 

[Al-Wasi]

I've yet to have a scary DMT trip. Plenty of scary times with other trippy substances though. Still I read plenty here before my first blast off and seeing as people do have scary trips. I generwly make sure I'm in a decent mood and wait for a time with minimal distractions and try to center my self before launching into wherever it takes Me.

I've found on my last trip with DMT that I had to keep checking if I was still present in this world as it was getting really intense. It wasn't fear really just more along the lines of an oh my god I'm starting not to feel like I'm still in the real world feeling.

I'm trying to prepare for my next trip so I can let go as I think that may have stopped me from going farther. Its hard to let go of this reality and I'm assuming its gonna take practice.

DMT if far weirder and more alien then I ever expected even after countless LSD and mushroom trips, some that were very intense and horrifying. DMT is just way more intense.

 

[Cognitive Heart]

My general preparation is similar to that of d*l*b.

-Routine check: tidy up area, be somewhere quiet and comfortable(my room/sometimes nature is a nice change), clear space(internally and externally), calm the nerves with meditation and focus my thoughts on preparing my exploration.

-Balance breathing and posture, attentive to environment.

-Strip clothes, be at a nice temperature to avoid cold shaking(blankets work).

-Play some music or otherwise silence, I enjoy natural songs/sounds in nature, too.

-Usually alone, prefer being by myself but 1 or 2 other close friends is occasionally good.

The most important aspects are set and setting, classically speaking of course. There is much truth to it, though.

:thumb_up:

 

[d*l*b]

If things aren't close to
perfect I won't go. Over time I've gained the patience to wait
for the right moment even if it means waiting weeks or months
for the right alignment to take place .

About the same here, most of the times I load the pipe these days it sits on the shelf for weeks or months. Recently it has felt like the time far more often and it has been only a matter of hours before flying. There are times when it fits life well and times when it doesn’t.

I don’t look for a settled mindstate when I fly (a controllable environment is a must for me though), although it is an easier experience when I’m settled. I’m not really looking for an easy ride out of spice though and find the most useful journeys are when I am not in the best of places. Not a way to work for everyone, but it works for me.

 

[d*l*b]

-Strip clothes, be at a nice temperature to avoid cold shaking(blankets work).

Mmm, I find clothes a bit of a hindrance when in abstract states. For me they are constrictive. I have done a few journeys recently with clothes on at lower doses but I would rather be naked under a duvet for serious work. There is a bit of a downside to this if you end up throwing it off mid-journey, coming back to earth you can feel quite exposed (and cold).

-Usually alone, prefer being by myself but 1 or 2 other close friends is occasionally good.

Do you work naked with your friends? I have only ever done this with an ex once, I dunno what most people would think if I suggested a concept like this.

I am not much of a fan of group travelling, I think I am at my most vulnerable when in extreme psychedelic states and believe that if everything goes sideways I would rather deal with it myself than have someone else try to help. Others being around also has a tendency to distract me and can anchor me in this reality too much – others breathing, moving, making body noises all seem to cause issues for me.

People I can work with are rare. Nowadays I tend to sit for others (even that I haven’t done in a couple of years now) and save myself for solitary work.

 

[BeyondWords]

There are a lot of very good responces here, and it shows that I am not the only person who approaches a journey with apprehension.

I was having a think weather my lack of journeying was due to fear and anxiety or if it was due to needing complete conditions. I have now come to the realisation that it is a combination of both, and that it is quite a normal feeling.

Because I am new to journeying I have not been able to fully understand why I feel my anxiety although I do know that a lot of people feel this way. It is nice to know that people can minimise their anxiety and enjoy the experience more

 

[MrDiMiTri]

My dmt journeys are always done alone either in my bedroom or in the living room, and usually at night. I prepare the chosen room by putting on some ambient music a few candles and some scented candles. If its done in the living room I will bring down a cosy duvet.
I nearly always have 2 or 3 beers to help remove any anxiety I have, some wont agree with this but just a couple does help me relax and I no longer smoke cannabis, so that's not a option.
I will lay in the bed or on the sofa covered with the duvet and just relax until I feel it is time to blast off, this could be 5 minutes or maybe an hour but I always make sure nothing will disturb me. Once I am ready I will hit the pipe.

 

[Tyler_Trismegistus]

I used to do all my journeys alone until I met my current girlfriend who I KNOW is the other side of my soul that returned to me (oral DMT experiences together have more than confirmed this for us). Now what we do to prepare, is turn off the light, turn on my blue light, turn on an ambient music selection like desert dwellers. Then when I go, shell lay down while I pack whatever enhanced leaf blend we decided to make that day into my bong and take my dose and lay next to her. Having her there has helped me through a few very intense uncomfortable experiences that I dont know how I would've handled alone.

 

[Japansage]

The best new thing Ive learned from this thread (most other stuff im already doing) is getting naked? Seems like alot of you do it to blast off, must enhance the experience, i might try it sometime.

 

[Shanghigher]

I've only done it a couple of times so far, so I haven't really perfected a technique as such (although stripping off does sound amusing - must give those dice a roll).

It's actually a lot more stressful for me than other psyches to get in the frame of mind do to. Generally speaking, I:

- Choose some good, familiar, upbeat music (went with this the first time:

)
- Lock the doors
- Make sure there is a sizeable space for me to crash.
- Relieve myself of any bodily pressures.
- Relax.
- Maybe some dutch courage.

I then layout everything in front of me ready to go, and grab it and go for it as soon as I feel the urge cannot be denied.

This is very different from other psyches, which generally involve a good sleep, a good eat, and dropping early in the day. There's pretty much no apprehension for lucy/mesc now as I've normally been looking forward to it for a couple of months before I actually do it.

 

[Makyo]

It depends, sometimes i just dive right in it, very impulsive, i pick up my pre loaded VG and hit it, that way i don't really have the time to be anxious, at other times i prepare for quite a while.

Sometimes i start thinking about smoking DMT at work, and i feel tense the whole time, when i get home it takes me a while to get calm enough to pick up my VG.

What i do then is, meditate, this is the only way to get my nerves under control.

The place i choose to trip is a room upstairs where my computer is and a few seats to lay down, i turn on a few colored lights (yellow and red) sometimes a lava lamp (green) and a backlight, and dim all other lights.

I usually lay down to meditate, close my eyes, put on some soft music and let all thoughts come and go, let them roll over me like waves until i reach a state of emptiness, a warm calm feeling takes over and i'm ready to go, i try not to think anymore, i just pick up my VG and go for it.

I always put the fan on as well, it cancels out background noise, and i put on some ambient music to completely cancel out any outside noises, i keep my cell phone away from me so it can't disturb me and i hope no one rings my doorbell, i can't do anything about that, but once i'm "gone" i usually don't even hear the bell anyway.

I lay my head in the direction the colored lights are, this is important to me, sometimes i apply a blindfold to intensify the visuals.

I don't like to do it in front of others, i want to be alone when i smoke DMT, some people swear by sitters, but i don't like it when anyone is near me at that moment.

 

[anrchy]

Besides dealing with the pre dose anxiety I don't do a whole lot anymore. I used to light incense everytime, make everything as comfortable as possible ect.

I used to use a beanie to shade any light from my eyes and turn all lights off in the room. I used to have to journey with others in the room with me.

I no longer use anything to cover my eyes, light isn't an issue as long as it isn't super bright. I prefer solo but can dose with others. I wear clothes and just lay on top of my blankets and go. I'm able to breakthrough fairly easy so nothing hinders that as long as it's quiet with either a fan on or music.

 

[TiHKAL]

Doesn't matter how many clothes I strip off, I never take off my warm socks. The socks are kind of my talisman on most spiritual journeys with mushrooms / LSD / DMT.
As for not being afraid of DMT I'd say that I am still very careful with the substance. It still feels like a bungee jump without the bungee into a different dimension.

 

[darklordsson]

If things aren't close to
perfect I won't go. Over time I've gained the patience to wait
for the right moment even if it means waiting weeks or months
for the right alignment to take place .

About the same here, most of the times I load the pipe these days it sits on the shelf for weeks or months. Recently it has felt like the time far more often and it has been only a matter of hours before flying. There are times when it fits life well and times when it doesn’t.

I don’t look for a settled mindstate when I fly (a controllable environment is a must for me though), although it is an easier experience when I’m settled. I’m not really looking for an easy ride out of spice though and find the most useful journeys are when I am not in the best of places. Not a way to work for everyone, but it works for me.

Agreed, I was going through a crises and was confused on the matter, my set and setting were almost non existant on the inside of my soul, but i let it happen over a relaxed place and setting physically, along with avenged sevenfold playing in the background "shepard of fire"...
To remind me of who i was, so very powerful it built me up a million of times over, after I almost lost faith in myself.

Smoke it when you need answers, and dont if your unsure of what might happen. The change I undergone was so powerful through avanged sevenfold+DMT, that I will never forget it, how the chorus just fades into infinite at the end, it just seems to me, that we are much stronger than we think, and forever will be unless we let outside influences to destroy us. We are always ready to enter hyperspace, how comfortable it is, is just a feeling that we as humans have, to protect us from hurt, but hurt heals sometimes...

 

[BeyondWords]

Wow, sorry for my lack of contribution to this thread, I totally forgot about its existence. I thought I would receive notifications on updates but that doesn't seem the case.

My dmt journeys are always done alone either in my bedroom or in the living room, and usually at night.

All of my experiences apart from 1 have been in my bedroom which I think is the best place for me. A nice comfortable and happy place! The 1 other time was an exceptionally bad choice of set and setting.

I prefer smoking DMT in the daytime, when there is a lot of natural light, when I do it in the dark all of my experiences are of greys and blacks.

I also like to clean my machine out after every use, and as strange as it sounds I love getting a warm bath afterwards and placing my machine in the bath with me to wash it. Is this weird?!

I used to do all my journeys alone ...

Again, I prefer having experiences alone. I have had 3 experiences with very close friends but my preference is always to be alone. There is no expectation then to describe the experience and I don't get the feeling I am being watched and analysed like when I am with friends.

The best new thing Ive learned from this thread (most other stuff im already doing) is getting naked? Seems like alot of you do it to blast off, must enhance the experience, i might try it sometime.

Yes, this is something I like doing, although not completely naked, simply to my boxer shorts. I have yet to try being fully nude, but the more exposed skin I have the safer I feel for some reason.

eee

 

[Cognitive Heart]

-Strip clothes, be at a nice temperature to avoid cold shaking(blankets work).

Mmm, I find clothes a bit of a hindrance when in abstract states. For me they are constrictive. I have done a few journeys recently with clothes on at lower doses but I would rather be naked under a duvet for serious work. There is a bit of a downside to this if you end up throwing it off mid-journey, coming back to earth you can feel quite exposed (and cold).

Do you work naked with your friends? I have only ever done this with an ex once, I dunno what most people would think if I suggested a concept like this.

Yeah, I feel it depends on the time of the year, mostly. During fall-winter I'm definitely bundled up for exploration. Opposite for spring-summer. I've never been naked with friends, I just find it comfortable to sleep and journey with my own self. One time I was naked with an ex and we were stoned together, definitely more sensual.