JohnnyBeGoode
Rising Star
Hello All,
Having been a frequent guest of this forum in the past and a big fan of most of the information and discussion within, my friend SWIM was recently disappointed with one of the threads. I have decided to join on his behalf to be able to add his two cents and share some of his stories.
While I would never engage in anything illegal, I, like many others on this site, have a good friend who is not daunted by such trivial societal pressures. His name is SWIM. You may know him. Now, while SWIM has done his fair share of experimentation (and then some) in the past and tried most known things, he is now trying to ease back a bit. Having exhausted the novelty of new substances and new combinations, SWIM has decided to focus more on reflection and making each experience count. He still believes, however, that it is important to have a self-reflective trip at least once a year to check where you are in life.
SWIM tried his first psychedelic experience nine years ago with Amanita Muscaria. While this was not as "psychedelic" as SWIM had expected, it stirred a deep interest in the journey to the center of his mind. Living in a place with little access to such treats, SWIM was unable to go further down the rabbit hole for a couple more years. In that time though, SWIM sought to expand his understanding of the experience and of the journey itself by enjoying some herb and reading most of the works of Huxley, McKenna, Leary, Hoffman, Castaneda, and many others.
After moving to a new place a couple years after the doors were first opened, SWIM found himself with all the tools he needed for his journey. At first, he found it difficult not to sprint ahead along the path just to see what lay ahead. The first year started with plenty of Psilocybe cubensis. This coincided with a traumatic loss in SWIM's life, and he found that using these alone (once he had become accustomed to them and how to use them safely) aided in his reflection on the situation, and on his views on life itself. While thinking about the loss was very painful in any state of mind, he found that psychedelics helped him rationalize why he felt a certain way about it and where to proceed. It was difficult for him to think about the same issues sober and not feel greatly distressed, but somehow with the help of psychedelics, he was able to settle his feelings. He tells me that these experiences were not merry happy-go-lucky trips by any means, but rather hours of sitting in teary silent reflection. Nevertheless, afterwards, he gained much comfort from the realizations he had had during the experiences.
He also began formulating his own ideas on the mind and the universe through these experiences and his readings of the afore mentioned psychonauts. One thing that kept popping up in his head during and while reflecting on these trips was the concept of Mind At Large. Huxley's belief that all things were connected in a fundamental way especially helped direct this understanding. While SWIM does not completely agree with all of Huxley's Mind At Large theories, he does think that Huxley was on to something. While it may not be tapping into a genetic memory, nor as Hollywood dramaticized in Altered States as regressing genetically (a comical physical interpretation of some of the fundamental tenants of the belief), SWIM does believe that there is something basically wonderful in the connection of the universe. The energy that binds every cell, every atom, the links between the protons and electrons, all this is a uniting force that connects every single thing in the universe. In that way every atom that makes up the cells in the body is connected to every atom in the air, ground, water, etc and you can think of the universe as a unified mass with constantly shifting contents. Things are not created or destroyed, but simply changed in form. All the same basic building blocks will still exist, just in a different combination.
Once he had overcome some of his negative feelings, and his life returned more to a normal pace, SWIM began to use psychedelics for other purposes again. He again found that they could be used for fun as well, but never lost the respect he had gained for them.
Anyway, that's all SWIM told me for now. This, as an introduction to the forum, is about SWIM's introduction to his own psychedelic adventures. He doesn't want to get into particulars about everything, nor the complete breadth of his journey, in this introduction and would like to be able to contribute to some of the other topics.
One of the main things he would like to do is dispel one of the rumors posted on a testing topic regarding Mescaline. SWIM read in the discussion a mention of testing positive for Amphetamine after use of Mescaline. This is not true and should be removed from this and other forums, as it is an internet rumor. SWIM recently consumed San Pedro resin created by the tek from this forum, enjoyed his trip, and tested himself afterward. No Amphetamine found.
Having been a frequent guest of this forum in the past and a big fan of most of the information and discussion within, my friend SWIM was recently disappointed with one of the threads. I have decided to join on his behalf to be able to add his two cents and share some of his stories.
While I would never engage in anything illegal, I, like many others on this site, have a good friend who is not daunted by such trivial societal pressures. His name is SWIM. You may know him. Now, while SWIM has done his fair share of experimentation (and then some) in the past and tried most known things, he is now trying to ease back a bit. Having exhausted the novelty of new substances and new combinations, SWIM has decided to focus more on reflection and making each experience count. He still believes, however, that it is important to have a self-reflective trip at least once a year to check where you are in life.
SWIM tried his first psychedelic experience nine years ago with Amanita Muscaria. While this was not as "psychedelic" as SWIM had expected, it stirred a deep interest in the journey to the center of his mind. Living in a place with little access to such treats, SWIM was unable to go further down the rabbit hole for a couple more years. In that time though, SWIM sought to expand his understanding of the experience and of the journey itself by enjoying some herb and reading most of the works of Huxley, McKenna, Leary, Hoffman, Castaneda, and many others.
After moving to a new place a couple years after the doors were first opened, SWIM found himself with all the tools he needed for his journey. At first, he found it difficult not to sprint ahead along the path just to see what lay ahead. The first year started with plenty of Psilocybe cubensis. This coincided with a traumatic loss in SWIM's life, and he found that using these alone (once he had become accustomed to them and how to use them safely) aided in his reflection on the situation, and on his views on life itself. While thinking about the loss was very painful in any state of mind, he found that psychedelics helped him rationalize why he felt a certain way about it and where to proceed. It was difficult for him to think about the same issues sober and not feel greatly distressed, but somehow with the help of psychedelics, he was able to settle his feelings. He tells me that these experiences were not merry happy-go-lucky trips by any means, but rather hours of sitting in teary silent reflection. Nevertheless, afterwards, he gained much comfort from the realizations he had had during the experiences.
He also began formulating his own ideas on the mind and the universe through these experiences and his readings of the afore mentioned psychonauts. One thing that kept popping up in his head during and while reflecting on these trips was the concept of Mind At Large. Huxley's belief that all things were connected in a fundamental way especially helped direct this understanding. While SWIM does not completely agree with all of Huxley's Mind At Large theories, he does think that Huxley was on to something. While it may not be tapping into a genetic memory, nor as Hollywood dramaticized in Altered States as regressing genetically (a comical physical interpretation of some of the fundamental tenants of the belief), SWIM does believe that there is something basically wonderful in the connection of the universe. The energy that binds every cell, every atom, the links between the protons and electrons, all this is a uniting force that connects every single thing in the universe. In that way every atom that makes up the cells in the body is connected to every atom in the air, ground, water, etc and you can think of the universe as a unified mass with constantly shifting contents. Things are not created or destroyed, but simply changed in form. All the same basic building blocks will still exist, just in a different combination.
Once he had overcome some of his negative feelings, and his life returned more to a normal pace, SWIM began to use psychedelics for other purposes again. He again found that they could be used for fun as well, but never lost the respect he had gained for them.
Anyway, that's all SWIM told me for now. This, as an introduction to the forum, is about SWIM's introduction to his own psychedelic adventures. He doesn't want to get into particulars about everything, nor the complete breadth of his journey, in this introduction and would like to be able to contribute to some of the other topics.
One of the main things he would like to do is dispel one of the rumors posted on a testing topic regarding Mescaline. SWIM read in the discussion a mention of testing positive for Amphetamine after use of Mescaline. This is not true and should be removed from this and other forums, as it is an internet rumor. SWIM recently consumed San Pedro resin created by the tek from this forum, enjoyed his trip, and tested himself afterward. No Amphetamine found.
.