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This? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong

I've never heard of it before. Nifty!

You can start with mindfulness meditation. Try doing it constantly while you're doing your every day automated chores, like dressing, cleaning, teeth brushing, driving, shopping, and other tasks that don't take up much mental horsepower.

Lightly watch your breathing. Don't alter it, just try to concentrate on it without changing subjects in your mind. Watch what you're doing in the moment. Don't think about what you're going to do an hour from now, or tomorrow, or next week. Don't think about yesterday. Don't think at all, just be in the now. It is a pain in the ass to do and can take months to years of practice, but it will lower the ADHD type tendencies. The more you do it the more you'll be able to concentrate on one thing at a time without jumping around and losing track of what is going on.

The autism stuff can be more beneficial than it is not imho. However, it has to be coupled with the sponge personality type imho. When I say sponge personality type I mean the type of personality that loves to learn new things constantly. They are reading text books, studying new things, reading wikipedia, and doing a bunch of intellectual things all day. They have fun learning new things. People who are autistic tend to love to solve puzzles and figure things out, so that knowledge draw can turn into intellect and then intelligence if you try to figure out how something works. It isn't just pulling in knowledge but putting yourself in an imaginary real world situation where you'd have to use that knowledge. For me this means making programs which is puzzle solving, and recently a lot of psychology and neuroscience stuff. I love figuring out how my own brain works and how I can utilize it in ways the average person can't. I mentioned the book Prometheus Rising the other day as it is all about how to utilize the brain in ways the average person can't do without that unlocked mental horsepower from meditation, types of sex, yoga, tripping, or a near death experience. A friend of mine who is similar has been looking up a lot of crazy math and quantum physics stuff. I think he was reading GEB. A Strange Loop is like a non crazy math nerd explanation of the same thing. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my to do list. MIT has a class under it, but personally I'd rather just read the book. Another friend of mine has been doing a lot of random chemistry work as that is another form of puzzle solving I'd suspect.

The idea is to find a subject you really enjoy and chase it to its extreme. Start at the beginning, even elementary level stuff, and then keep going until the masters degree level, and then the research level, and just keep moving towards figuring more and more out about that type of subject.

The best part is adult ADD has a hole in it. It makes one super interested in something they would normally be interested in, and not much else. It allows for you to find a drive and carry it out beyond the average person. This often involves digging around a bunch of stuff that you wouldn't normally be interested in to see if you bump into something you end up being interested in but didn't realize.

If you want to try enjoying some of the stuff I like, I highly recommend checking out programming. It depends what you want to do, before you choose what to learn. Me, I enjoyed automating tasks in the past. I was tired of having to download all the TV shows and movies I watch, so I decided to write a program that automatically does it and goes above and beyond any previous made software I could download. Then I moved into AI coding and data organization when I started writing bots that collected information which I found fun. shrugs

My boyfriend who isn't crazy interested in figuring things out started playing with an Adriano a couple of weeks ago. He got an LCD and a bunch of stuff and made a little robot thing. I'm thinking about taking some of his stuff and making a system that detects the BPM in music, and then has rerecorded light patterns I can flick through and then I'm going to make a jacket with EL wire in it that lights up for stuff like Burning Man.

There is so much you can do. There is more information in one day on this planet than you can obtain in your entire life. There is an infinite level of things to play with. It really is fun.

So, I recommend trying things differently. Not finding things to do, just to do them, but finding things to figure out and discover like a puzzle. The world is a playground and your mind is the player. It is just how you choose to approach it.

However, I admit a personality change is extremely hard to do. You'd have to force yourself for months to years before falling into it. However, if you get good at meditation and learn how you can reprogram your subconscious in such a way that allows you to alter your personality without forcing it. Everything would come out natural as if you had always already been that way. Explaining that is a pain. Prometheus rising explains how it is possible and asks you to open your mind to it. I can tell you with absolute certainty it is possible, but learning what it is is the first step. Once you figure that out the next steps are much easier. Feel free to PM me in the future if you want help with this, but please start with the book, or some other knowledge gain.

So glad you found this helpful. I would say that the book mentioned above is better suited for very advanced meditators. I found it very interesting but am not yet in the position to take advantage of the maps it provides, although it explains the difference between concentration and insight very well. It has maps of each path and how they interplay.

There are a few books that I have found quite helpful. I tend to divide them into 2 categories, motivation and instruction.

I read the motivation books first. These books, along with my LSD experiences, really helped motivate me to establish a daily meditation practice. I read quite a few but these are my top 2 by a good margin.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle : This was the first book I read and really set me off on this path. It is somewhat surface level but to a former athiest it was enough to make me realize that there is something real there. It is explained in a way that anyone can appreciate and won't scare anyone off.

Be Here Now by Ram Dass : This completely blew me away. If I had read this first without any psychedelic experience, I might have dismissed it as the ravings of a mad man. This really opened me up to possibilities that I never would have considered as a life long atheist. After I read this, I had to let go of my atheism.

You may have had enough experiences that you don't need any more motivation (I would still read Be Here Now for fun because it is a trip in and of itself). As far as instruction, the best book hands down that I have found is "The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science" by Culadasa. It takes you through the process step by step, shows you the theory behind what you are doing and what you need to work on at each stage. It is a balanced approach between concentration and insight. I believe this is the best approach for most people. Straight insight as advocated by the noting method in "Mastering the Core Teachings" seems to be the fastest path to enlightenment but one is more likely to get stuck in a long "dark night of the soul" period without sufficient concentration power.


Some other very good books:

Tao Te Ching

The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young

The Way of Zen by Alan Watts

The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley


> Lastly, on a side note, I had always thought that the final attachment is to ourselves, and that is what keeps us alive. In a rudimentary way, keeping us from killing ourselves, or letting ourselves die passively from lack of taking care of ourselves. Maybe perception is the second attachment? Just a thought and wondering if anyone else had ever considered this.

As you progress along this path, you begin to understand that the "self" is not a "thing". It is an "activity" that we do, and you can learn to stop doing it. A common misperception is that we would want to kill ourselves without this. The reason for this misperception is that people equate "attachment" with care or love. One of the results of the process is that you realize that you can be unattached to something but still care for it. So we may become unattached to the idea of the self as a separate thing, but that doesn't mean that we wouldn't care for ourselves.

During the "dark night period" people often get this feeling that nothing has meaning, because they have picked everything apart with insight until they are left with nothing. Every sensation has been stripped of its conceptual meaning until it is just a blur of moments of perception. But beyond this feeling of "nothing has meaning", one gets to the point where they realize that "everything has meaning" and this shift in perception marks the exit of the dark night. I believe that the ultimate paradox that you can understand once you are enlightened is that determinism and free will are both true and are not mutually exclusive. That is just my own personal theory but my intuition is that this is the crux of it.

I know I am not explaining this well, it's very difficult to explain in objective logic. You can probably get a better idea by reading "The Way of Zen". There are a lot of paradoxes involved that can only be truly understood from an enlightened viewpoint but the way he explains it you can kind of see what they are talking about. Because certain truths cannot be explained in objective logic, they sort of "point a finger at it" but the student has to look at where they are pointing instead of at the finger itself. In the end one has to let go of trying to understand it with the thinking mind and just practice.

While it's good to spend that time alone learning about your self, ridding your self of negativity, etc. that time alone means nothing if you cannot find how it translates in a group setting.

>>Its not that I don't want to engage with people, but the way most people engage in conversation, constantly adjusting their facial muscles, making appropriate noises "Ohh!", these things make it difficult for me to really appreciate the content of a conversation. I would rather listen dispassionately to a message someone has to deliver and then respond consciously. I do not care for non-conscious interacti

There are times for both. What you will learn is to eventually meld into either situation. It's not about what you think is better. It's about being contextually aware. You can do things like put your self in more situations where certain conversations happen but even if you, say moved to a commune in the middle of nowhere, eventually people would want to PLAY and do something other than talk deeply about things.

>>If I refuse to turn off my conscious mind and allow my unconscious to run amok then I cannot "merge" or "mesh" into the group. Then I sit back and analyze. I analyze the group that forms. What they talk about, what they value, or more importantly what they don't talk about. Most conversation has nothing to do with communicating. Most conversation seems to be about bolstering our own ego's. Talking up our own achievements and talking down on other peoples achievements. From the perspective of increased awareness all of this just feels Alien to me, or maybe I'm the Alien.

But see, those are forms of communication. Everything is communication. Communication isn't reserved to certain forms of conversation. Silly faces are a form of communication. While talking up achievements, your peers are communicating their insecurities. An equanimous person will know how to be on their level while not compromising their sense of self like it seems you're fearing. You feeling alien, or starting from where you are, is just acknowledging unnecessary distance. You are right there with them and that's the perfect place to be. From where they are, as you describe them, they may need to have their hand held so as to be guided to where you are. Maybe it's not going to be you that does that for them so for your own sanity it might be best to find a group of friends that gets it. But just understand what is really happening.

>>I can either interact with people the way they want me to (down on their level) which depresses me just being down on that level. Or I can not interact with people and remain on my pedestal of expanded consciousness, which makes me feel conflicted.

Here's another thing.. You feel like you're above others because you feel like you have discovered something above and beyond them with your journeying as a psychonaut. This is not true. Being a psychonaut we must eventually learn to see spirit in everything. Everything you witness on a mushroom trip or while seated in meditation is just a reminder of what can be seen at any moment in time.

>>Which always brings me back, why do other people matter at all?

Other people matter simply because they exist. To matter is to materialize.

>>My whole universe of experience is only experienced by me. If I can achieve optimal happiness being completely secluded then that is what I should work towards achieving. I see now why people become hermits.

And why is that?

I think you would do good reading the book "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" -> http://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Through-Spiritual-Materialism-Chogyam/dp/1570629579

Stay positive with her. Emphasize to her that you and her are going to get through it together.

SOBRIETY.
Get her away from drugs, all drugs. No pills from doctors, no alcohol, no nothin'. When it comes to consciousness a white coat does not mean shit. Everything they might prescribe can and likely will mess with her neurons in unexpected ways and cause severe withdrawal symptoms. They will downplay this if they even mention it at all. Don't let them do that; demand that the doctors explain all possible side-effects and withdrawals.

Tell her mom about the terrible withdrawal and side-effects that come from messing around with pharmaceuticals. This isn't a conspiracy theory, so many people are too sensitive for the drugs that doctors prescribe and it puts them in a much worse state than they were before. It happened to my mom, it's happened to my friends. Leave the mind alone to heal. You can make it so much worse with drugs that doctors claim will help. If she absolutely is forced to take drugs, convince her and her mom to start her on the smallest, teeniest dose possible.

Here's how to naturally help her when she feels the worst.


Purchase some calming essences:


-Lavender essential oil, the most calming scent I know

-Sage and cedar incense can help purify the air and make you feel uplifted. Also good for clearing rooms of negativity.
(I usually just pick a single leaf or small bundle at a time to burn, but you can do the whole stick too if you wish)

Give her more personal attention:

[This simple scalp massager works incredibly well for releasing tension]
(http://www.amazon.com/Scalp-Head-Massager-Three-Colors/dp/B005ECL1I4/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1421447677&sr=1-2&keywords=scalp+massager)

Go for walks in nature with her. Don't let a sunny day go by where you aren't outside in the fresh air.

Give her the tools for integrating her life into a healthy whole


-[Commit to learning meditation with her]
(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/personal-development-workshops/mindfworkshop_resources/Mindfulness_in_plain_english)
(This is a free pdf book that taught me everything I needed to know to begin a fruitful meditation practice)

-Encourage her to go to yoga classes. Getting back in touch with your body and breath is an unparalleled tool for self-healing.

Does she have a specific religious background (Christian, maybe)? If so, I can probably suggest some books that will help her assimilate her trip. Repetition of positive teachings can be a very powerful tool.

The best and purest statement of spiritual truth I have found is The Bhagavad Gita. If she reads it, it will help her understand her existential struggle in a deeper way. It's spiritual but not dogmatic.


We see Arjuna on the battlefield, this impressive warrior, bent, burdened, eyes glistening, pleading for the meaning of life.


Krishna, totally calm, responds in effect, "Oh, you really want to know?"

The Bhagavad Gita

Keep the faith and trust that this dark cloud will have a beautiful silver lining!

Beyond the obvious choices, Watts' The Book, Ram Dass' Be Here Now, Huxley's Doors of Perception, Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience, and of course Fear and Loathing (all of these should be on the list without question; they’re classics), here are a some others from a few different perspectives:

From a Secular Contemporary Perspective

Godel Escher Bach by Douglass Hofstadter -- This is a classic for anyone, but man is it food for psychedelic thought. It's a giant book, but even just reading the dialogues in between chapters is worth it.

The Mind’s Eye edited by Douglass Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett – This is an anthology with a bunch of great essays and short fictional works on the self.

From an Eastern Religious Perspective

The Tao is Silent by Raymond Smullyan -- This is a very fun and amusing exploration of Taoist thought from one of the best living logicians (he's 94 and still writing logic books!).

Religion and Nothingness by Keiji Nishitani – This one is a bit dense, but it is full of some of the most exciting philosophical and theological thought I’ve ever come across. Nishitani, an Eastern Buddhist brings together thought from Buddhist thinkers, Christian mystics, and the existentialists like Neitzsche and Heidegger to try to bridge some of the philosophical gaps between the east and the west.

The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way by Nagarjuna (and Garfield's translation/commentary is very good as well) -- This is the classic work from Nagarjuna, who lived around the turn of the millennium and is arguably the most important Buddhist thinker after the Buddha himself.

From a Western Religious Perspective

I and Thou by Martin Buber – Buber wouldn’t approve of this book being on this list, but it’s a profound book, and there’s not much quite like it. Buber is a mystical Jewish Philosopher who argues, in beautiful and poetic prose, that we get glimpses of the Divine from interpersonal moments with others which transcend what he calls “I-it” experience.

The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila – this is an old book (from the 1500s) and it is very steeped in Christian language, so it might not be everyone’s favorite, but it is perhaps the seminal work of medieval Christian mysticism.

From an Existentialist Perspective

Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre – Not for the light of heart, this existential novel talks about existential nausea a strange perception of the absurdity of existence.

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus – a classic essay that discusses the struggle one faces in a world inherently devoid of meaning.

----
I’ll add more if I think of anything else that needs to be thrown in there!

That's a good question. I learned to meditate using the TM method ( https://www.tm.org/), but it can be cost prohibitive. Luckily I was able to get mine paid for because I'm a veteran, but I know they do offer discounts and whatnot depending on circumstances and income level. Some people have issues with TM (those people generally don't actually know the method and are just basing it on personal conjecture) and usually pop in every time someone mentions practicing this way - just as a heads up in case that happens here ha. However, I don't really abide by the TM method anymore - I'm much more exploratory in my practice now. That's the great thing, once you learn "what" meditation feels like, you're able to try different practices and methods.

Anyway, beyond that, I suggest checking out /r/Meditation - they're much more in tune with helping others begin - lots of resources, practice types, etc. Here's a good place to start: https://www.reddit.com/r/Meditation/wiki/faq#wiki_how_do_i_begin.3F

Don't get too caught up in "am I doing it right?" or focusing solely on the results. It's a practice, and it takes time to develop. The best advice I can offer is to really dedicate yourself to a practice, set time aside everyday, and just do it. If you feel like something isn't working, try a different type of meditation.

I also recommend this book: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Awakening-Meditators-Ram-Dass/dp/0553285726/ Ram Dass writes in a very clear, understandable manner, and this book really helped me expand my meditative practice beyond my normal routine, helping me incorporate meditation into more waking parts of my life, such as walking meditation.

> CBT

I would recommend for those that want to learn more about CBT or those that experienced any sort of trauma in their life to read
Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal
http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Heroes-Survivors-Trauma-They/dp/0553383744



As a veteran I've seen this help for war, rape, spousal abuse, abduction, divorce, etc, in a variety of people some of who weren't even aware that they had stress, anxiety, or PTSD.
The book is easy to understand with examples and practical examples of how CBT can work, and how other therapies work, sometimes cause harm, and the shortfalls that one might experience when starting out.



I've written many rants about how to meditate, but honestly, go read this book, or take a vipassana retreat, or pick up Mindfulness in Plain English or even Be Here Now.


the goal of meditation is not to react... it's to give the mind a chance to just observe what is happening in the mind, without reaction...

without attachment to craving -OR- aversion. That doesn't mean you stop thinking. It just means that you don't focus on the thoughts and judge them. you just watch it like it's a river you're normally swimming in and now you've tied an anchor which is the breath... and you're just floating on your breath in this river of thought letting it all go by.
Eventually the torrent slows and you're left with a dribble.



I've always been a fan of saying "whilst tripping" .... "just let go.... You've got yourself tethered to this pole of your normal reality... of your normal thoughts... of how things work and why" ... "all that, let it melt away, go with the flow, just watch. You see all this interesting stuff floating by.. nay by this point ripping by trying to carry you away... and you fight to hang on to the edge... You're just a ship upon a river... Just release and float.. wave at the thoughts as they come and pass by. Greet them, say hello.. how do you do, who are you..? get to know them... listen for awhile... take it as an interesting ride down a river and soon instead of a roller coaster or riding rapids you'll just be floating in an inner-tube enjoying the view. You don't have to bring the thoughts with you or talk about them. You simply watch.



You don't have to give them voice, or even explain, or attempt to debate or rationalize them. You don't have to linger or hold onto or rescue them... you can.. just watch them come and go. Like guests visiting you, or waves washing over you, and once again leaving.




A key that helped me was that I would go do yoga in a park or in nature, a class would be fine too, and then directly after while my body is stretched out and calm but a little tired and my mind is focused and cooled off.. I would sit down and meditate in nature.



After awhile you can gain the upper hand and your thoughts become less overpowering. They are still there, but eventually you can switch them off, I usually don't make any effort to "switch off" switching off would mean I ignore possible warnings or synchronicity. I just don't attach or avert to the thoughts that float by. They are simply thoughts, what I
control is myself, not the thoughts.



if you ever want to go really far... find a vipassana retreat and take the 11 days to sit it. Your life will be changed.



I would stay away from repetitive mantra based meditation.. it's positive brain washing... and doesn't fully unlock your full potential or your intuition or higher self..


i'm not saying I don't use affirmations, yoga, focused visual meditations, along with feeling based prayer, dreams, and ritual. They all serve a purpose and are important tools. I like to work with a wide range of tools for a wide range of purposes.

Absolutely, my friend. I'm sure most of these can be found online for free but I have listed the Amazon links for familiarity (I prefer books as opposed to online).

Books

Aldous Huxley: The Perennial Philosophy

Baha'u'llah: The Hidden Words

Baha'u'llah: The Seven and Four Valleys

The Kybalion

Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching

Michael Singer: The Untethered Soul

Wisdom of the Buddha

The Bible

Two powerfully insightful Youtube Channels (many more are similar):

Monadic Media

Gary Lite

Film

Inner/Outer Worlds

In the end, all of these (and much, much more) seem to confirm the truths we find and experience in psychedelics. I hope they bring you comfort and happiness.

)

-Don Bo Byuti

Nobody But I

G9D

The psychedelic experience is by Timothy Leary, and is a manual based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. On amazon here.
The pyshcedelic explorer's guide is by James Fadiman, found here.

The power of now is good too, it will certainly prime you for ego death. I definitely recommend reading Be here now too, the illustrated middle part that I used during the come-up are just fantastic, you see people mention it all the time here. So many great things to meditate on in there. Opening the doors of perception, I have not read this one, but I have had it recommended often. The joyous cosmology by Alan Watts is short but great too. He describes his experiences with LSD, and the world that you enter. He is amazing with language.

So far, my thinking has led to be believe these are core things I aim to achieve:

• Intense focus and concentration
  
• Highly increased ability to learn
  
• Highly increased ability to unlearn
  
• Better (in terms of efficiency and a better correlated model to the things I'm thinking about) abstract thinking
  
• Achieve a better and faster (read: more efficient) way to analyze and think about things
  
• Meta-cognition
  
  ----
  
  > The 4 Hour Chef
  
  Very interesting. I've actually been taking cooking courses on Rouxbe (presumably the best online cooking school).
  
  > Moon-walking with Einstein
  
  I actually bought this book recently. I'm been developing my mental palace, which got me interested in this book. I plan to read it, but is second to my current book I'm reading on Epistemology, Prometheus Rising. It's quite interesting because the book has a list of exercises to better understand the contents of each chapter, and I've already meditated for over an hour by chapter 2 as it's exercises have requested. Regardless of the book, I've been putting in at least half an hour a day.
  
  I agree with you that exercising seem to the the key.
  
  > Shamata-meditation
  
  There are a variety of <something>-meditation it seems. How would one go about finding the best type?
  

Start with: How to Change Your Mind (start with this detailed annotated summary). The pop culture starting point these days. The summary is all you need to read to understand the entire book but the book is well worth the time.

After that you'll have more ideas where to do. Below is a lot of stuff. I've watched/read all of them, so happy to answer any questions/give more guidance.

​

Study the "classics" by taking a look at these (skim the long ones to start):

Seeking the Magic Mushroom (first western trip report on mushrooms)

My 12 Hours As A Madman (another historically important trip report)

The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based On The TIbetan Book of the Dead (classic book on guided trips)

LSD My Problem Child by Albert Hoffman

Al Hubbard: The Original Captian Trips

​

Docs to Watch:

The Sunshine Makers (documentary)

Orange Sunshine (documentary)

Aya: Awakenings (documentary)

Dirty Pictures (documentary)

A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin (documentary)

Hoffmans Potion (documentary): r/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFfblVjCwOU"

​

And a whole lot of others:

​

Books

The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – James Fadiman
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction – Gabor Mate
Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream – Jay Stevens
Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from clinic to campus – Erika Dyck
The Natural Mind: A Revolutionary Approach to the Drug Problem – Andrew Weil
Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience – Stephen Siff
Acid Dreams: The complete social history of LSD – Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain
Drugs: Without the Hot Air – David Nutt
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life – Ayelet Waldman
Neuropsychedelia: The Revival of Hallucinogen Research Since the Decade of the Brain – Nicolas Langlitz
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America – Don Lattin

Videos

Terence McKenna discusses the stoned ape theory

A Conversation on LSD – In a video from the late 1970s, Al Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Humphry Osmond, Sidney Cohen and others reflect on LSD’s heyday

Alison Gopnik and Robin Carhart-Harris at the 2016 Science of Consciousness Conference

The Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry – a discussion between Thomas Insel and Paul Summergrad

Documents, Articles & Artifacts

Al Hubbard’s FBI file

Remembrances of LSD Therapy Past – Betty Grover Eisner’s unpublished memoir about her role in developing psychedelic therapy

LSD, Insight or Insanity – Transcript of excerpts from hearings of the Subcommittee
on the Executive Reorganization of the Senate Committee on Government Operations [concerning federal research and regulation of LSD-25] May 24, 1966

The Brutal Mirror: What an ayahuasca retreat showed me about my life —A Vox writer’s first-person account

​

Forums

Ayahuasca.com: Includes experience reports, discussion of spirituality, ecology, healing, and recovery by means of the vine are collected here. A place to learn from members of ayahuasca churches, as well as a few foreign language channels.

Bluelight: A 20 year old online harm reduction forum that fosters open and factual discussion of drugs and provides support for those seeking recovery from addiction.

DMT Nexus: A hub for underground psychedelic research on botanical sources of tryptamines and other psychedelic compounds.

5Hive: A newer forum devoted specifically to 5-MeO-DMT — synthetic, botanical or toad-derived.

Mycotopia: All things mycological — discussions of edible, wild, and psychoactive fungi.

The Shroomery: A forum  devoted to cultivating psilocybin-containing mushrooms and sharing trip reports.

TRIPSIT: A 24/7 online harm reduction resource.  Users can chat instantly with someone about their drug experience, or questions they may have about about the safe(r) use of a wide variety of controlled substances.

It's worth a try, but I don't think you should rely on them. Personally I have not done much experimentation with them, but I'm glad that I've changed a lot without these substances. Meditation is the key. I would recommend that if you are willing to go the long-term route. It was the only thing that helped me with my depression, and the level of growth never stops.

The Buddha said that he basically only teaches these 2 things:

1. There is suffering;
   
   
2. There is a way leading to the end of suffering.
   
   Meditation isn't an overnight fix, but it will help transform your mind gradually overtime, and can radically build you a whole new personality.
   
   Every meditator should pick up The Mind Illuminated if you haven't already.
   
   Also, I highly recommend this Metta book. Be patient with this, it can have very life-changing effects, especially for people with depression.
   
   Joining a sangha, or getting in touch with friends who also meditate, or want to overcome their depression will be a lot of help. /r/meditation and /r/buddhism are good to browse occasionally.
   
   Other than mind-training, I highly recommend How To Not Die (a book on why and how to eat a vegan, whole-food plant based diet), which cleared up a lot of things for me. And /r/intermittentfasting as a diet and lifestyle change. This is highly underestimated, as almost all dietitians and doctors underestimate the importance of this, and are unaware of what is the right diet for our chemistry. As for exercise, I personally stopped when I was depressed, as I seemed to be pushing myself too much. Running fast gave me a short-term high, but it was physically too stressful. I started then just going going out, doing long walks (walking meditation) and slowly rising up my energy and building mental clarity.
   
   Take care = ) Hope you find these resources helpful (if you want, I can send you a link on where to get these books for free online if you can't pay)
   
   
   

Discovering the Illuminatus! trilogy in my college years really changed the way I look at the world. Well worth reading. It's got some definite Problems - it's very much a thing of its time, and its attitude towards women is pretty objectifying. That said, it's still a great mind-opener.

Be sure to read the appendices. They lay out explicitly some of the philosophical and magical ideas alluded to in the book.

And then if you need more, go grab RAW's Prometheus Rising which is more explicitly about How To Play With Your Brain For Fun And Profit.

So my first suggestion would be Stalking the Wild Pendulum. This book really introduced me to the concepts of resonance beyond just using it in terms of musical instruments. It was written by a guy that didnt even pass kindergarden, but grew up to be a very respected physicist in his field. Therefor, he knew to convey very advanced concepts in laymen's terms.

Secondly, I would recommend Healing Sounds. Once I gained a an understanding for resonance, I (eventually) came across this book, which teaches you how to use it. Very cool stuff

I'll second the Ayahuasca suggestion. I had a really good experience with it in Peru, ceremony and all... It does not seem to be something you want to take lightly. Prep, setting etc are important.

It's interesting that you mention the entities cheering you on but then maybe withdrawing their support so to speak. From what I've read this is very common with DMT/Aya, and often they are described as huge plant beings or somehow computer beings and their attitude ranges from curiosity about humans to indifference or even hostility, in the sense that we aren't "supposed to" see their reality (it seemed like you felt something similar).

Supposedly also the indigenous Amazonians were asked how they figured out the correct combination of the MAOI plant with the DMT plant to make the Ayahuasca brew (you need the MAOI to keep the body from breaking down the DMT before it can cross the brain barrier... Totally implausible to discover without modern chemistry) and they replied that the vine itself told them-- because in fact they believe the plants are themselves conscious, and so to ingest them is just as much them experiencing our consciousness as it is us experiencing theirs. (At least this is my admittedly limited understanding). Interesting fact: on every continent there are at least two indigenous plant species that contain this same chemical combination... Meaning theoretically alternative Ayahuasca brews have always been out there nearly everywhere, waiting to be discovered...

I did have my own interesting vision during my experience where I was in this elaborate outdoor museum or garden, with a sort of Greek ruin theme/style...columns and temples. And I saw these giant flowers but they were like museum pieces with plaques, not conscious entities. Only later did I read about the giant plant spirit beings and I now suspect it was my own mind's skepticism somehow interpreting the plant beings as something I could more readily accept at the time.

Anyway, you might be interested in some of Daniel Pinchbeck's writings...namely Breaking Open the Head. He talks about DMT and shamanism and in a lot more detail than what I have written here. Definitely a really interesting read.

As for your negative feelings, for what its worth I'll share the info given to me by the shaman before our ceremony... He said remember this world is just a school, and you've incarnated into your life to learn something, and you chose the lesson before you were born, so there is no reason to be afraid. If some issue or topic keeps coming up in your life, say jealousy or depression and so on, that means its probably related to the lesson you are trying to learn. You had to forget what you set out to learn in order to truly learn it, that's how it works. (Somewhat out there for my taste but it's hard to not feel like intuitively something like that must be true on some level).

hey buddy, a couple years ago i took a whole bunch of LSA and then couldnt eat or sleep for 3 days ( lsa in the form of morning glory seeds which i did not properly clean :( ).

during the night into the second day, while i tried to sleep, i went into my minds eye, passing dots that turned to shapes that turned to fractals that turned to galaxies and then constellations. i just kept on going and going and going.

So I put on a Deep Sleep binaural beat, to try and help me sleep. It didn't. It woke me up. or my soul or whatever you'd like to call it (i'm not very good with human words lol)

Every thing came rushing back to me. All those "weird" experiences during a trip. all those "coincidences". everything just seemed to click. the universe started spiraling, or so it felt. it felt like a cosmic or spiritual baton was being passed to me, and then i passed it back to whoever, and then so on until the end of time lol (or whatever. again, bad with words lol).

then i went outside. there was snow on the porch, and i was feeling like a weirdo. so I made a triangle, and made a circle touching the points of the triangle. i then went into the triangle and meditated, and i had the most wild feeling. whether it was in my head or not, i don't know. but it felt like i was doing something i shouldnt be doing. the universe was getting mad or concerned or something lol. (ps i might have gotten inspired somehow by the book "quadrivium" https://www.amazon.com/Quadrivium-Classical-Liberal-Geometry-Cosmology/dp/0802778135 )

I dont exactly remember the thoughts I was having. It was more of this feeling of pure light/energy/whatever the universe is made of.

Before I say more, what exactly is it that you need help with? or is it just a strange feeling and thought process so you're kinda freaking out?

OH yeah the predictions. On the second day, I was with my girlfriend, who was sober, and she started getting annoyed and freaked out because i was saying and doing weird things that had to do with what was going to happen next. whatever that might have been.

I thought I had this prediction that there is this world/universe wide conspiracy meant to keep people/souls in the dark about certain things that would benefit them. and only certain people can notice. or perhaps everyone can, but they're blind for some reason.

but yes to calm down just remember you're human and everything that is going on in your head is a human thing. heavy foods and meat can bring you back down to earth if you're done chilling up there lol

but i may or may not know what im talking about at all. this is all from experience

This book will help you tremendously: The Mind Illuminated.

Enough wisdom will have built up by that time to know where to go next. Then it's only a matter of listening to and following your heart's innate wisdom.

Best of luck.

You might find Be Here Now useful in times like these. It's the story of Richard Alpert, who left on a journey seeking the answers to many of the same questions you're proposing here and came back as Ram Dass to help disseminate the message as he had come to see it. Be Here Now highlights the importance of the present moment and it was the first book that started to make me feel less alone with all my thoughts.

Lots of great discussions and lectures around these topics can be found for free at the Be Here Now network

Hi

Please, read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679723005
you can even find kindle/pdf versions online.

Why am I suggesting this?

This book is a great "mind opener" on totally different models of comprehension of Divinity, and is pretty much "atheism backwards compatible" just like most zen-Buddhism. Try it!

I've had good luck with Alan Watts (yeah, cliché I know, but he is good fun to read), Michael Talbot's The Holographic Universe, and Stanislov Grof's LSD: Doorway to the Numinous.

EDIT: Talbot refers to David Bohm quite a bit. Never checked him out but I think he has some rather interesting ideas about the nature of reality, from a quantum mechanical perspective. Still have to look into this.

Agreed! Absolutely fantastic book - I would also recommend this one as a great, complimentary read: Stalking the Wild Pendulum by Itzhak Bentov

Set = the user's mindset, beliefs, mood, expectations about the drug experience, etc.

Setting = the physical environment in which the drug experience takes place, which can consist of the location, objects in the space (art, plants, furniture, etc.) smells or sounds, music, and other people/beings that are in the surroundings.

Check out James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide if you're interested in learning more. He goes into a lot of detail about different things that contribute positively and negatively to set and setting. Lots of his work is geared at therapeutic/spiritual drug experiences, but it's very useful information even for personal/recreational use to help direct your trip as you'd like.

The Book by Alan Watts is one of my favorite books of all time.

I also really suggest just listening to lectures/videos you can find on youtube of Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Terence McKenna, and more. Here are some good youtube channels to check out:

tragedyandhope

Study Yourself

Omega Point

watercourseway

iReleaseEndorphins

The Journey of Purpose

Agape Insitori

Shots of Awe

Spirit Science

Science and Nonduality

revolutionloveevolve

Infinite Waters

One Mind Messiah

Also here is a playlist I'm working on that I update every few days. Hope you discover something of value :)

These are some of my favourites:

1. The Psychedelic Renaissance (talks about different psychoactive drugs) http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Renaissance-Reassessing-Psychiatry/dp/1908995009
   
2. Be Here Now (hippie, buddhist/hinduism peace and love vibes with wonderful illustrations) http://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411704494&sr=1-1&keywords=be+here+now
   
3. Why Does The World Exist? (more scientific and metaphysical) http://www.amazon.com/Why-Does-World-Exist-Existential/dp/0871403595/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411704588&sr=1-1&keywords=why+does+the+world+exist
   
   That's apart from Timothy Leary's "The Psychedelic Experience" and Huxley's "Doors of Perception" thought, those are must-reads.

I'd recommend reading the book instead. You'll learn much more and it's overall just a better experience. Also it doesn't have Joe Rogan, so that's nice too. (Not that I have anything against Rogan, he's a funny comedian and entertaining to listen to, I just didn't think he was necessary in the film.)

gonna share three books that deal with this, from less directly (at least initially) to most directly dealing with it:

​

1- Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

2- A Guide To The Huna Way

3- Oneness

​

#1 and #3 are reference books to come back to every decade or so.

#1 addresses in great depth and detail the psychological processes you're now beginning to deal with (consciously) and warns of the pits on the way not so much to 'show' you how to avoid them but to make you know that you're not alone at all with any of those feelings and inner processes. Specially so regarding your last sentence.

#2 and #3 are directly dealing with the time-less nature of Reality.

#2 presents the Huna's 'Higher Self' –the most timeless entity out there; the Huna presents a hard-to-miss way of actually experiencing that timelessness yourself (if it goes anything like it did with me).

#3 may seem too 'fringe' to some people; I know it would have me years ago. Still, give it a chance, ignoring anything that may not resonate at first. I did; then it was non-stop mindblowingness. And my stomach feels funny when I think of reading it again, like 'ooooh rollercoaster ahead!'

​

There is also Jung but you already know his work.

Last thing I want to share is (again maybe? if so, well my bad), I had come to such 'realizations' way before coming across any of these books or authors, it happened via 'journaling'; I write everyday, I've recently found out there's a thing called Narrative Therapy, this fused with my earlier routines of stream-of-consciousness writing and [Julia Cameron's] the Morning Pages, it's the way I have been 'journaling' all these years –a kind of fusion of them all. By doing this writing I was 'able' ('allowed') to become aware of this phenomenon. It sure fucked with my mind back then -at the very beginning, knowing nothing or no one into this- but ultimately it helped me discern what was (possibly) a synchronicity and what was entirely a fabrication of my mind.

​

Give some feedback if you ever do get into any of that.

I like this talk a lot. I wish more psychonauts took people like him seriously.

I do think he's a little bit going after straw men though. He doesn't address things like LSD microdosing (which in no way takes the prefrontal cortex offline), discussed in Fadiman's book (download link), or the potential of psychedelics to treat mental problems or psychedelic creativity.

Disconnecting the prefrontal cortex for an evening can have tremendous benefit, especially for people who have mental health issues that include hyperactivity in the prefrontal cortex, such as PTSD and OCD.

At a deeper level, following the train of thought in the PTSD link, one of the biggest potentials psychedelics have is the ability to overcome learned fears, which are directly related to the effects he talks about. Taking the prefrontal cortex down a few notches takes the learned fears that are stored in the prefrontal cortex down a few notches. Now we're all distracted by the fears we have learned nearly all the time, so liberating them for a few hours can be tremendously beneficial.

My last thought in response to this video is: ...um, what about psychedelic music and art and writing? If these mystical experiences take away everything it is to be human, then Ginsberg could not of written Howl and Jimi Hendrix would not of made such great music. The capacity to make art and music and writing is one of the big things that separate us from animals, and psychedelic mysticism clearly enhances these facilities in at least some people.

Picking on the morons who think talking to God on mushrooms means God actually exists seems a little bit like going after low hanging fruit. This guy is right about everything he says, but I think he'd be a lot more insightful talking about micro-dosing or psychedelic creativity or treatment of mental disorders to an audience that agreed with him about the thesis in this talk.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is any one link that will help you with that. Let me recommend some books to you that might help:

The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult is one of the most helpful tomes you will ever read. There is an entire section of "Chemognosis," which is to say real knowledge gained through this sort of experience.

There are two books by Daniel Pinchbeck I would recommend reading:

Breaking Open the Head

and

2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl

There is a clinical study on DMT, called DMT: The Spirit Molecule that is worth reading. There is a movie version of it on Netflix, but don't watch the movie over the book. Do both, but if you only do one, read the book.

There is also a documentary I would recommend watching on Ayahuasca. Watch this documentary.

Just about to finish the book this is from (Be Here Now by Ram Dass):

This has been one of the most influential pieces of art -- because this book is truly a work of art -- that I have experienced. It takes you from our western society's surface-level understanding of the world around you and dives down with you to the core of what is YOU. Cuts right to the heart of the issue without the ego that is often tied to such an epic.

Ram Dass uses language that us in west can understand and deftly turns it on itself, and inception of philosophy that transcends the silly shenanigans that we all as humans are grappling with, leaving you with the simple truth that is YOU.

Even in his biography, Steve Job points to this book as one of the catalysts for his development during his young adulthood, so that much count for something.

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052

I AM THAT

Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Ursula LeGuin's translation of the Tao Te Ching

Pharmako Series by Dale Pendell

Breaking Open the Head

Zhou Yi - the Book of Changes - this is by far, the most lucid version I have found; profoundly useful and amazing reflections and a true companion along the way.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: Acid Dreams


|Country|Link|Charity Links|
|:-----------|:------------|:------------|
|USA|smile.amazon.com|EFF|
|UK|www.amazon.co.uk|Macmillan|
|Spain|www.amazon.es||
|France|www.amazon.fr||
|Germany|www.amazon.de||
|Japan|www.amazon.co.jp||
|Canada|www.amazon.ca||
|Italy|www.amazon.it||
|India|www.amazon.in||
|China|www.amazon.cn||




To help add charity links, please have a look at this thread.

This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.

Meditation in a nutshell:

In concentration you hold your attention on a thing (called your object) as perfectly as you can for a period of time (5 minutes, 15 minutes, hours...).

In expansion you basically do the opposite of concentration. You allow your awareness to expand, without getting attached to this or that phenomenon.

Get good at concentration first, it's way easier. You will also see some stuff that is relevant to expansion, which helps when you decide to try that.

Meditation is like riding a bike, simple and tricky at the same time.

If you want to learn how to meditate, find your local cult of meditating weirdos. Yoga or Buddhist people. They will probably give you a big dose of ritualistic nonsense along with the meditation instruction but I guess that's unavoidable.

I guess you need a book. This is a nice one : [Journey of Awakening by Ram Dass] (http://amzn.com/0553285726)

Dude, just finished The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test yesterday. It was awesome how much it really put you "in the pudding". Will definitely check it out. Another book on the subject is Acid Dreams: A Complete Social History of LSD. Erowid Review.

There's a book called "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. He was a another harvard professor who explored psychedelics and went to India. The middle (brown paper) section of the book is hand illustrated and is meant to be read while tripping. It is by far the best book I've ever tripped on and I'm not the only one. Here is the Amazon link if you're interested.

His book: Be Here Now is amazing. Best book I have ever read on the self. http://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052

Food of the Gods by McKenna has played a huge part in my worldview, I always go back to that one. And Tales of A Shamans Apprentice by Mark Plotkin is a solid one on contemporary shamanism / ethnobotany / choosing a really, really good career path.

Be Here Now is one of the most amazing books I own, and is pretty much guaranteed to induce spiritual changes when perused on psychedelics.

Ok, yeah, the title of this post is basically what McKenna's Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution is about, but this article isn't old, it was posted on Friday. I don't know what some of you are going on about.

And I actually think she does a good intro and overview, briefly touching on its history and some contemporary studies, and the current state of its illegality.

Read the book "Food of the gods". The author makes a case that habitual ingestion of mushrooms by some of these ancients peoples actually pushed our evolution more in this direction, expanding our consciousness, creating or enhancing our art, culture and the like.

There are many cave paintings that look similar to artwork on this sub, shamans with mushrooms coming out of their bodies, giant mushrooms, etc. He makes a good case for habitual and ritualistic drug use as a force of evolution on early man, literally expanding our consciousness, back during the so-called partnership/utopian-esque era before the dominator culture (which we live under today) took over.

You can try this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021


There is bound to be some info on MAPS or Erowid somewhere if you do some searching.


If you prefer some human contact but don't want to pay a professional, then I am quite happy to guide you through an experience some time if you'd like. I'm a tripsitter on Tripsit and I have helped a few people through this sort of thing before, although arguably it won't be as beneficial as a professional therapist or shaman would be.

Check out the Quadrivium. It contains a nice breakdown of the theoretical and practical aspects of music and marries these topics with geometry, cosmology, and numerology. Bonus: trippy illustrations.

LSD Psychotherapy is for people who are well-versed in the jargon of psychotherapy and psychology. If you don't belong to that group, I recommend Realms of the Human Unconscious (recently re-released under the title Doorway to the numinuous)

Edit: You can decide if LSD Psychotherapy is ok for you by reading these excerpts from the book. If you can understand those excerpts, then I recommend LSD Psychotherapy as it goes much deeper than the other book.

I think you may have seen/tapped into a higher level of reality. (higher vibrational dimension). I would recomend reading The Holographic Universe! It is a great book.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Holographic-Universe-Revolutionary-Reality/dp/0062014102/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372590816&sr=8-1&keywords=the+holographic+universe

Might I recommend a few of my personal favorites:
https://www.amazon.com/Way-Zen-Alan-W-Watts/dp/0375705104

https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Insecurity-Message-Age-Anxiety/dp/0307741206

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679723005

Daniel Pinchbeck wrote a book that was partly about when he went to Africa and used Ibogaine. It's a combination of autobiography and his theories on drugs in culture. Very interesting and has a cool cover.

Breaking Open The Head

This one is awesome: acid dreams

You have to ask yourself questions about what you want to learn about yourself if you want answers. Rick Strasman who did the clinical research around DMT at the end of his study said that if he was able to do it again, he would only give it to people who had a reason they wanted to do it. Try meditation daily for a while and see what changes. Question reality and your beliefs, do your best to understand them more completely. What you learn will ultimately teach you more about yourself.


"Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet," he said. "Try to make sense of what you see and about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up." - Stephen Hawking


Everyone is on their on path and at different points but you may find this helpful.

Alan Watts - The Real You

Remember, Be Here Now By Ram Dass

Fibonacci Sequence scene from "Pi"

Jah Sun - Mathematics (Feat. Heavy Roots)

The Unit Circle

Relevant subreddits:

/r/holofractal

/r/SacredGeometry

Fun and concise book on the Quadrivium

Also: tetraplex

Acid Dreams is another fantastic book which focuses on the connection between the counterculture and the CIA, including how the CIA distributed acid to the masses

If you find that TED talk fascinating then you should check out this book. Everything is laid out in a very simple way.

This!

Stoned Ape theory on Wikipedia

Terrence McKenna's book Food of the Gods on Amazon which I deffinetly recommend reading.

Here’s pretty much everything you need to know along these lines:

https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052

Sure, who is it by?
Oh I just looked it up on amazon, it actually looks really interesting. Surprisingly I actually have The Tibetian Book of the Dead and I was gonna start reading that next.

Heres a link if anyone wants to buy it.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Experience-Tibetan-Underground/dp/0806516526

Do you listen to Ram Dass? He's the author of the book Be Here Now and is a spiritual teacher. I highly recommend checking him out! I think you would be into him. There is a podcast called "Here and Now" that has his lectures too.

Read Be Here Now. :)

My favorite of all time is The Book: On the taboo against knowing who you are

this book will give some good info
https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021

Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304

Here is a link in case you would like to purchase it.

I'd recommend The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are.

You guys might like this book:

Quadrivium

Also anything by Cliff Pickover

I gained new ways to integrate my experience from Timothy Leary's The Psychedelic Experience.

My favourite show is probably Madventures, the dudes are really exploring the cultures around them and teaching people to just chill and leave the rat race. Here's the first episode (shitty quality, sorry) with English subs.

Read DMT: The Spirit Molecule.

And then check out the DMT-Nexus.

If you want the tl;dr version: There is no evidence that the pineal gland plays any role in endogenous DMT production. A ton of plants contain DMT, check out this list.

If you haven't come across these yet, check out The Book and his audio lectures on amazon. I also have an e-copy if anyone needs it.

DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Strassman M.D., Rick

https://www.amazon.com/DMT-Molecule-Revolutionary-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/0892819278

You mean this gallon of milk grandma?
Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology (Wooden Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802778135/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XzWQDb18BHEKB

Food Of The Gods - Terrence McKenna

>Does this mean all art is actually derived from psychedelic art?

You should read this.

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are - Alan Watts

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Taboo-Against-Knowing-Who/dp/0679723005

https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Experience-Tibetan-Citadel-Underground/dp/0806516526/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496251382&sr=8-1&keywords=leary+psychedelic

I'm not familiar with any psychonaut themes, but there is this

Prometheus Rising and Quantum Psychology. There's pdfs around the net of most of his stuff.

Prometheus Rising

Amazon Link
This guide is the source of everything I said. The self-similar sets are repeated throughout all of nature.

Take your time and make sure to do plenty of research. I highly recommend checking out The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide. Also, as others have advised, work on improving your diet, getting plenty of exercise, meditation and also breathwork. I can't recommend breathwork enough for controlling your emotional state as well as getting the most out of tripping. Along those lines check out this as well as this and this.

Keep in mind that psychedelics are not a quick fix. I've been working through my social anxiety using mushrooms for the last two years; it's working but I now realize that it's going to take a lot longer than two years to fix thirty years of bad programming.

Read Chasing the Scream http://amzn.to/2hzr4nk and Acid Dreams http://amzn.to/2hkDSlm to get a full picture of why we are where we are now.

What others are saying is right. It's a political move to criminalize minorities and rebellious youth cultures.

Ram Dass wrote a book called Be Here Now where he came across the same problem. His answer was mysticism. The term psychedelic means literally mind revealing. As has been said here before, what you are experiencing is already within you. Meditation, yoga, prayer, extreme pain, sex, service ... these are all tools to help you get there. Seek your mind. The answers are inside of your self.