Thoughtful preparation before your psychedelic journey ultimately leads to better outcomes.
The next few sections provide guidelines to help you prepare your body, mind, and spirit for a safe, positive, and life-affirming psilocybin experience. Following these general rules will help you minimize the risk of having an unpleasant or traumatizing experience.
However, it is important to note that implementing these suggestions does not guarantee a pleasant, joyful experience. The quality and dosage of the medicine you choose, along with various cultural, environmental, and psychological factors, will all influence your experience. In the psychedelic community, your mental and emotional states and physical environment are commonly referred to as set (as in mindset) and setting.
Sometimes, the most challenging and painful journeys provide the best opportunities for personal growth and can act as major wake up calls. Psilocybin allows various subconscious, and even deeply suppressed, thought and behavioral patterns to rise to the surface and show you what you need to see. As stated by Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, psychedelics function as “nonspecific amplifiers of the psyche.”
The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present, and can welcome all things.
Tao Te Ching
In other words, psychedelics act as a mirror for your heart and mind, allowing you to more easily connect with your true self.
Mushrooms embody a living spirit, one that also lives within you and of which you are a part. Preparing your heart and mind before a journey allows you to make the most of your time with the spirit of the mushrooms.
When setting intentions, the goal is to prime the mind with your main objectives, motivations, and questions — the whys of your exploration with psilocybin.
Intentions set the tone for the journey, acting as a purposeful bridge into the unknown and an anchor point to which you can return when things become confusing. Intentions can reflect a commitment to work on yourself. Setting intentions before a journey will help you cultivate the proper mindset and establish a framework through which you can understand and integrate your experiences. You might explore a range of intentions, including:
You can also frame your intentions as gentle, humble requests to the mushrooms: “Could you please show/teach/guide me...?” Many perceive mushrooms as a living guide that can help you reconnect with your Inner Healing Intelligence.
Setting an intention is not the same as holding on to an expectation. The latter can often lead to disappointment and resentment. To get the most from your experience, it’s wise to keep an open mind and let go of your expectations of how you think the journey should unfold. Holding these expectations can often hinder you from seeing what the mushroom wants to show you.
Some people prefer to go into a session without a specific intention — surrendering to whatever the medicine shows them. In these cases, an intention may feel more like an attitude or state of mind rather than a goal or objective. This perspective might be: "What do I need to see?" or "teach me, I'm listening." The key here is the act of surrendering to the journey as it unfolds.
Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself as you get started:
It is beneficial to contemplate and examine feelings that arise when you ask yourself these questions before, during, and after your journey. The practice is to move from the head to the heart and from intellect to intuition.
You may want to write down and review your intentions before a journey to solidify them in your mind and deepen your commitment to persevering through even the most painful or challenging moments.
Prepare one or two intentions per session. The idea is not to create a rigid agenda or a checklist of things to achieve but to be curious and open-minded toward new ways of perceiving, relating, and being.
Planning your journey can give your mind and body time to settle and enter a more contemplative mood. You can schedule days, weeks, or months in advance. Progressively wind down unnecessary activities and create the time and space needed to explore and investigate your inner world — an infinite vortex of complex thoughts and feelings.
Sleep may be difficult while under the influence of psilocybin, as it tends to stimulate energies that have been suppressed, stuck, or blocked. Therefore, for a moderate or high dose, set aside a total of seven to nine hours for the journey and post-journey reflection period, and assume you will be awake during this time.
If possible, you may want to give yourself an extra day to recover and integrate your experiences before diving straight back into the responsibilities of your everyday life. Give yourself as much time as possible to allow new perspectives to settle.
The amount of mushrooms you decide to take depends on several factors, including:
You may feel more comfortable taking a higher dose in a relaxing setting with a trusted guide. On the other hand, when alone in a less familiar environment, you may decide to stick to a smaller dose to maintain more control over your body.
For additional questions about dosage, consider browsing online forums such as Shroomery or Erowid, where many people share their personal experiences with various doses. On these forums, you can also ask experienced psychonauts for advice about your specific situation.
