The varieties of psychedelic experience

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1. pmoriartyJan 2015
   If you didn't think it was a super transformative experience, you probably only took a low dose, and perhaps didn't have the proper set or setting.

   Check out the Marsh Chapel Experiment,[1] "Varieties of Psychedelic Experience",[2] the "Psychedelics Encyclopedia",[3] and Erowid's trip reports[4] for examples of people who did have massively transformative experiences.

   That said, from what I've read, it's relatively rare for LSD to radically transformative in the long run (for various, psychologically interesting reasons). However, short-term transformation is relatively common, given a high enough dose and the proper set and setting.

   [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment

   [2] - http://www.amazon.com/Varieties-Psychedelic-Experience-Class...

   [3] - http://www.amazon.com/Psychedelics-Encyclopedia-Peter-Staffo...

   [4] - https://www.erowid.org/

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2. gnosisJul 2013
   This sounds like the author took a low to moderate dose of mushrooms. It's possible to have much more profound experiences (both positive and negative) than what was described in this article.

   I can recommend a book called "The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience" for a more comprehensive look at some of the possibilities. Also, see the trip reports on erowid.org.

   Psychedelics may be best for people who are naturally inquisitive, like seeing things from novel perspectives and walking in other people's shoes, are comfortable with encountering material from their subconscious, and who enjoy questioning themselves and the world around them.

   People who are very set in their ways and who think they've got the world figured out might be in for a rude awakening when their certainty is pulled out from under their feet. Then again, maybe that's just what some of them need.

   It's great that the author thoroughly educated himself about the effects of the drugs he was about to try, and planned his day. The world would be much better off if more people did that.

   I was also very pleased to see that he tried to use his time constructively while tripping. Way too many people's sole aim in taking drugs to "party" or "get fucked up". That's a complete and utter waste of the potential of these enormously powerful substances, and borders on abuse, IMO.

   The main thing I was disappointed with was that he didn't have an experienced and trusted trip guide or a sitter with him. That's very important, especially for inexperienced users. Fortunately, his decision to walk around the city by himself turned out fine. But it might not have. When tripping, you don't always make the wisest choices. An experienced sitter can help keep you safe.

   There's a really great book called "The Secret Chief Revealed" about a therapist who guided hundreds of trips for his clients. One of the more interesting techniques that he used during his sessions was to ask his clients to bring a stack of personally significant photographs with them (in particular, photos of family members and loved ones). Looking at these after the peak of the trip could be incredibly helpful. That may be something to think about for your next trip.

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3. disgruntledphd2Mar 2014
   Interestingly enough, there was a student at Harvard in the 1960's (recounted in the Varieties of Psychedelic Experience), who did a placebo-controlled study of psilocybin (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment).

   Long term follow-ups seem to indicate that the differences (in terms of a self-report questionnaire, at least) were maintained over 25 years.

   In the book at least, it was concluded (by the primary researcher) that the blinding was completely ineffective (though I don't think that this was confirmed with a manipulation check).

   I would say that placebo-controlled studies of psychedelics, for similar reasons that placebo-controlled studies of other drugs (cigarettes, coffee, alcohol) will be difficult. Namely that a placebo should be identical to the treatment in every respect except for the active ingrediant, and what's the active ingrediant?

   Its really well-worth checking out the Varieties for some good pointers to research in the 50's and 60's, there was quite a lot of it, and although some of it was methodologically unsound, and there are very few RCT's, the sheer amount of studies should probably carry some weight.

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