Terence McKenna liberated his audiences with tales of doing what he called a “heroic dose” five grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms. I have been on this journey many times myself, but my greatest trip to date was following in his footsteps into South America. While I never arrived at the Colombian village of La Chorera, what I learned from the people and expierence has changed my life forever.
The great psychonauts (someone who uses psychedelics to reach a higher level of consciousness and spiritual fulfillment) like Terence & Dennis McKenna, Paul Stamets and Joe Rogan describes a heroic dose of magic mushrooms as consuming 5 plus dried grams (15-20 grams if they are fresh) of psilocybin mushrooms in silent darkness, alone (the trip last about 4h).
While the thought of being alone with solely your thoughts and a psychedelic substance is some people’s biggest fear, I enjoy these sacred journeys, and I am by no means a stranger to consuming the heroic dose in an attempt to better understand my body, purpose and soul. The reality is, if you truly want to make a change in your life, you need to step outside your own comfort zone and challenge yourself to know what your capable of.
In this article you will read my most recent trip report:
Preparation
So, I was coaching 25 entrepreneurs to make money from their passion-based business in a 3-day bootcamp. On the last day my step-dad pulled out 10g of dried psilocybin and said “its time I try this”. My first thought was “I am far to stimulated and tired for this”, my second thought was “maybe this is a good thing, I am ready for a change and Fynn is with my family”, so we ate the mushrooms at about 6:00pm, followed tea and a rolled joint.
Yoga Time
As I do every journey, I started my yoga practice and set an intention with the mushrooms to be gentle and to help guide me to the answers I am seeking. Then when my step-dad (Gary) went to the bathroom I started to feel really tired and went to my bed to lye down… Immediately with no warning, I entered hell. Within 20 minutes of ingesting the psilocybin, I was shot directly into the infinite abyss of human suffering.
I felt my nervous system go into a panic, I was experiencing my past, present and future all at the same time, embodying every person who has ever suffered, every person currently living, every terrible thing that has ever happened to anyone, every pain and every grievance. Every emotion tied to any human who suffered was being channeled through me.
As this was happening, I was screaming out, moaning, and crying. Later, as I grounded into my breath, I comforted my inner child that was still suffering, thanked my body for being the magnificent vessel it is and individually blessed every body part I could think of.
Then the Laughing
The first phase of dose three lasted about 90 minutes, which for me meant non-stop breathwork. At some point, I knew I had to move, I had to pull myself out of hell on my own. I didn’t know how to make anything better, I just remember somewhat “coming to” and out of the human suffering I began to laugh bigger, longer and louder then ever before – To overcome hell, I had to allow the psychedelics consume me!!!
If you try to fight them or keep control, you are going to have a bad trip. You have to be strong enough and brave enough, you have to trust that you made the right decision and enjoy the process of change. I accept whatever the mushrooms choose for me and wherever they choose to take me. Acceptance of what is and growing yourself to be adaptable is a major part psychedelic therapy.
The Trippy Hippy Phase
When I finally made it out of my bed and back to the living room I sat on the couch and fell into a trance, I was listening to the same yoga soundtrack as I played 3 hours before. I felt comfortable, safe and in a state of love & peace. As I drifted in and out of a meditative state my step dad and I continued to laugh and talk for the last hour or so of our trip.
What magic mushrooms allow you to “see” is your truth, they literally peel back every layer so that all that is left is your vulnerability and raw soul. When 1 of 3 people are being put on antidepressants for symptoms relating to traumatic events, psilocybin is still illegal in most parts of the world. Psilocybin grows naturally across the globe, there are at least 144 species of mushrooms that have psychedelic compounds which allows you to revisit your pain from a safe, alternative perspective in order to bring about a better understanding of the events that unfolded, which is a major part of any sustainable healing process.
Disclosure
I am a well-versed psychonaut who has been taking psychedelics for over 15 years, so I approached this heroic dose with a great deal of experience. I have had all sorts of trips and many breakthroughs as well but I do encourage you to do your research before attempting this therapy.
I am not a registered psychotherapist or doctor. Each person’s physical, emotional, and spiritual condition is unique. The instruction and coaching in this is not intended to replace or interrupt the reader’s relationship with a physician or other professional. Please consult your doctor for matters pertaining to your specific wellbeing.
