ADAPTED FROM CHAPTER 2 OF THE PSYCHEDELIC EXPLORER’S GUIDE BY JIM FADIMAN
What Takes Place During an LSD Session? How the trip will go down is one of the major questions facing first-time psychedelic users.
Few people are aware of how an LSD session unfolds hour by hour, despite the fact that most people who want to use LSD are aware of the wide range of advantages connected with its use.
What happens when you really place the tiny piece of paper on your tongue after you’ve prepared your set and setting? The specifics of each voyage vary depending on the individual, but the broad steps are always the same.
STAGES 1 AND 2: TAKING THE PSYCHEDELIC AND THE FIRST ONSET
Takes around an hour for stages 1 and 2. Take the remaining time after taking the psychedelic to speak with your guide.
Do you have any other opinions about the experience? Inquire about them. Do you experience any anxiety?
Tell your guide that you are worried. It is best to voice any worries before the psychedelic starts to take effect.
You might wish to lay down after the initial effects start to take effect. This will be simple if you want to spend the day indoors. It’s a good idea to take the psychedelic nearby or at the location of your trip if you’ve decided to have it outside.
Find a state of relaxation throughout the early build-up. Use the act of observing your breath as a form of meditation. Start playing the music you’ve chosen for the day if you have.
Your grasp on reality will soon begin to wane. You’ll start to swerve out of control. You will start to feel the effects of a light intoxication.
By maintaining your breath, you can relinquish power to the LSD. Take a few slow, deep breaths while focusing on your five senses.
Your mind will be inundated with fresh ideas throughout the early buildup. Avoid becoming too overwhelmed. Instead, savor the onslaught of impressions and visuals. Watch them like a curious onlooker. Don’t try to manage them.
STAGE 3: LETTING GO AND OPENING. What Takes Place During an LSD Session?
The “full-on” stage follows the first buildup. The “Opening and Letting Go” stage is another name for it.
Your thoughts are entirely focused on the effects of the LSD at this stage. The third stage lasts for about three to four hours and immerses the consumer in an unusual environment.
During stage three, you must entirely let go. All worries, emotions, or thoughts that are unnecessary for the journey should be let go. Give up whatever expectations you may have for the session. Let go of any worries or troubles that are personal. Once each experience, emotion, or visual event arises, let it go.
You can only encounter this new dimension of reality when you let go of control. You fully enter the psychedelic experience as your awareness of this parallel universe grows.
You might have odd, possibly unsettling feelings when you let go. Physical or emotional emotions may be experienced. Friends have called similar sentiments “strange” and “odd” on previous travels. One pal believed she transformed into an alligator. Talk to your sitter for help if your ideas start to frighten you out. If you require assistance, ask.
STAGE 4: PLATEAU
You have adjusted to your new mindset in stage four. LSD trips no longer feel strange, but rather everyday. Feel free to sit up when you reach this new level of freedom and check in with the guide. In this stage, you’ll experience a sense of returning to normal social functioning. Although reality will seem less distant, you’ll still feel very drunk.
Even if the trip’s high point has passed, you’ll keep learning new things about yourself and the world around you.
Use this chance to do whatever you want. Do so if you want to lie still and listen to music. Please feel free to stand up and move around.
The Plateau stage lasts between two and three hours.
STAGE 5: GENTLE GLIDE
Acclimatization, which characterizes stage four, is what characterizes stage five, which is characterized by a gradual reacquaintance with reality. Your intoxication starts to wear off, and you start to think rationally again.
The fifth stage is a great time for doing personal work. Much of what you have learnt will be applicable to your daily life. Carry a journal with you and record any learnings from your journey.
The fifth stage is a fantastic time to walk outside and take in the scenery. One of the common emotions induced by psychedelics is a sense of oneness or unity with nature. Discover this unity firsthand with the Earth’s flora, animals, water, and trees.
STAGE 6: END OF THE FORMAL SESSION
You will continue to have new thoughts and behavioral patterns as your intoxication fades as you do so. Keep an eye on these ideas. If you want to, you can put them in writing.
An enormous sense of gratitude and appreciation for the relationships in your life is frequently felt at the end of an LSD. You’ll experience an outpouring of love for and acceptance from your loved ones. If you want to call these people, just call those who have used psychedelics before.
A formal session’s conclusion is a great opportunity to put your experiences into perspective. Take out a journal, make a list of categories for your life (social, professional, psychological, habits, etc.), and record any thoughts you have about each one.
I was on a self-improvement craze when I first used LSD in my early twenties. Because of this, a lot of my insights were how I could develop personally.
Remember that these are only extremely broad descriptions of the various phases. The individual’s own experience within each stage will vary.