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One persistent myth about the psychedelic experience is that it involves hallucination and delusion. This can happen but it is really very rare. I would like to be very clear about the language I use here. When I write illusion I mean perception being bent, stronger colors, tracers, thinking the doorbell sounds like a piano. This will be commonplace. When I write hallucination I mean the experience of something that is not there, meaning the dog speaking, a face in the distance, a snake hissing in the bathroom. With hallucinations you can understand that it is not really happening, and they likely only persist for a short amount of time until this settles in. Hallucinations will most likely not occur but may happen in the peak if you are more prone to these types of experiences. 

Delusion is seeing and believing, meaning having the experience that something really is happening when it is not.

What happens in these moments is that we encounter the unconscious in various forms, usually in the shape of thoughts, memories, intangible feelings or emotions without a clear context, but also in different kinds of seemingly external imagery and imaginary apparitions. Often this leads people to the feeling that they are being transmitted information, that they encounter spirits or have telepathy. While I am not dismissing the possibility that this can happen, the most useful approach to understanding these aspects of the experience are as encounters with our own mind, and to accept that they are no more dangerous than that. They are often externalized, take the form of objects or other beings, because these aspects of our mind are not integrated with the conscious. Learning to interpret the language of the unconscious mind can be a very valuable tool when investigating ourselves. There is no easy way to do this, but Carl Gustav Jung is a good place to start.

How do we prepare ourselves for spiritual experience? The psychedelic experience can, for better or for worse, shake us to the core with what it shows us, and the only real way to prepare for it is to have extra time associated with the trip. The experience may be a true rebirth, where we literally from one day to the other feel like a completely new person, and we may never identify with that old self ever again. A milder variety may feel like a reboot of the computer of our mind, and even a soft rebirth can be incredibly valuable to us.

If you land from a trip with some major change in mind, like breaking up with someone or quitting your job, I recommend that you give it a month or so before you go through with the decision. While many insights will be valuable, it should be understood that these substances also amplify the perceived value of the insight, and the unfortunate truth is that many of them will not stand the test of time. 

We may seriously face our demons when we use psychedelics. This means that we can use this to reach that pivotal moment when we make the change that may have been coming for ages. We may see the consequences of our actions much more clearly. This is part of why psychedelics are so effective to treat addiction. These treatments reach effectiveness with proper integration technique and associated therapeutic practice.

It is naturally not easy to follow all of the above advice. If we want to increase safety these tips aid in that. These substances should always be approached with caution and hence I will come back to my original point: If you have doubts, do not take them. You do not need these substances. They can be fun. Other things are also fun. They may help you, they may not. Other things can help you as well. The only real advantage is that they facilitate, that they can make things happen faster. That means that a lot happens at once, and hence the whole process is more fragile and volatile than committed traditional therapy or deep meditation practice. 

It also takes less commitment than actually changing in life, this may seem like an advantage but it really is more of a problem than anything. Without that same commitment to change, the change is unlikely to consolidate, and the whole thing may distract from actually making real changes. This is one of the most central problems with regular use of psychedelics.

Psychedelics can only give perspective, these substances are not shortcuts to change your life. Only you can do that. For that you don't need anything more than commitment. If you are able to commit to the concepts above you are likely capable of this type of change without the substance. If you are not able to do that, perhaps this is where you should start. I am not trying to be cute, what I am saying is that without commitment this is just going to feel like change, it won't be actual change, and if you have the commitment it takes to change with the experience you most likely can achieve the change without it as well.

The unfortunate truth about our problems is that we most often choose to live with them, and hence we won't change unless we truly want change, and if this battle is won the change is already present.

Simon is one of our community bloggers here at Chemical Collective. If you’re interested in joining our blogging team and getting paid to write about subjects you’re passionate about, please reach out to David via email at [email protected]

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