Guidelines to Reach a Meaningful, Healthy, Safe, and Life-Enhancing Experience.
These guidelines do not encourage anyone, for any reason, to take or experiment with illegal substances. Any experimentation must be undertaken with personal responsibility and with full awareness of the laws of each country and of the potential risks to oneself.
Furthermore, individuals considering this path must be fully aware of the potential psychological, emotional, and social consequences that such actions may entail. These effects may include the resurfacing of repressed memories, significant shifts in personal perception, or transformative life changes—such as alterations in career direction, social withdrawal, or changes in personal relationships, including divorce. It is important to recognize that these outcomes are neither inherently positive nor negative; their significance depends on the individual's age, life circumstances, and the intent behind their decision to pursue such interventions.
Ultimately, all experiences of this nature tend to involve a period of discomfort in the short term, but they often lead to profound personal growth and a redefined sense of self. This transformation may bring individuals into deeper alignment with the subjective essence of the cosmos, fostering a richer and more integrated understanding of their existence.
Contents
1.First Notes
This blog, originally established in 2017 is specialize on Psilocybe cubensis, has been continuously enriched with updated knowledge and insights to assist individuals in achieving meaningful and transformative experiences during some of the most significant moments of their lives.
The motivation for this work stems from a noticeable rise in the use of psychedelic substances, as people increasingly seek alternative methods to explore consciousness, gain profound insights, or satisfy their intellectual curiosity for broader, unconventional understandings of life. This trend has been further amplified by a global awakening that gained momentum following the societal disruptions of the 2019 pandemic.
In response to this growing interest, many individuals have sought my guidance to navigate their psychedelic experiences safely and with purpose. Leveraging my personal and academic expertise and experience, including my qualifications as an MD in Transpersonal Psychology, I have developed accessible and practical guidelines aimed at empowering psychonauts to achieve meaningful, safe, and life-enhancing experiences.
This paper presents these guidelines, along with essential notes, answers to frequently asked questions, and additional resources, to support those embarking on a journey of self-discovery and transformation through the responsible use of psychedelics.
Psychedelic Mushroom Guidelines aim to help psychonaut reach deep and meaningful altered states of consciousness while maintaining their awareness as much as possible, without disrupting themselves and externalizing the experience.
A well-structured session makes the psychedelic experience far more likely to be meaningful, healthy, safe, and life-enhancing.
This is a personal guideline developed by the founder of Transpersonal Adventure, Menelaos Agathangelou, through years of personal interest, long-term experimentation, my masters on Transpersonal Psychology, readings and reasearch for the Master degree about religious perspective on the concept of Peak experience( Mystical Experience) and updates based on personal observations and feedback from other participants who have used these guidelines.
The Psychedelic Mushroom Guidelines paper is the result of my lifelong research.
Please note that everything in this paper is theoretical and lacks scientific background. These guidelines are just reflections of the experiences and understanding of people.
Your feedback about your trip, any recommendations or ideas you have about the guidelines, or your experience itself is highly appreciated.
Please send your feedback to contact section of my website with the subject line "Psychedelic Mushrooms Experience Guidelines"
2.Guidelines Perspective
These guidelines are for an alone-indoor voyage, where the aim is to create an introverted experience that is entirely different from a company-outdoor setting, which can turn the experience into an extroverted one.
3.Important Notes
When the session is outdoors, it is best to recommend no more than 6g
as you cannot( and should not) allow yourself to submit to the experience fully (i.e., lose the sense of reality, lay down and enjoy the trip).
There are several reasons for this:
Avoiding submission can develop stress in the mind and affect the overall experience.
Insects may go in your mouth, eyes, and ears if you submit as you will not have any sense of the outside world.
People may call an ambulance or the police if they see you, or they may try to help you, which is not necessarily what you want at that time.
Your body temperature and needs change very easily minute by minute, and you may find yourself being very uncomfortable and not enjoying yourself and the experience.
On the other hand, small doses outdoors can be vital and life-enhancing. However, the experience will be more extroverted, and it may not provide a deep personal insight into your internal world (except on some occasions). This information is given without devaluing that experience.
4.Frequent Questions
Regarding the question of:
1.Whether or not to have company during the trip:
it is recommended that you are alone so that you can explore your personal insights and express them in any way possible (such as drawing, moving, singing, crying, acting like an animal, speaking with energies etc...) without any second thoughts.
If the psychonaut is afraid to take them alone, then that information can be a good starting point to begin their own psychoanalysis with a very smaller dose. By exploring what makes them scared or why they are dependent on that company, the psychonaut can gain a deeper understanding of themselves.
In such cases, it is recommended to have a sitter-guide who has a deep understanding of the experience and can help and understand the Voyager throughout the process.
2.If the psychonaut wants to have company to achieve an ecstatic erotic experience with the help of mushrooms:
If you are not very experienced with such experiences it is recommended to take a smaller dose so that you can have a sense of what is happening, but also for safety reasons for your partner.
However, if the partners want to use mushrooms to reach these stages of erotic ectasis, it is also advised to search for the purpose of that help find the meaning behind that action ( lack of passion into relationship?, feeling something missing and try to fullfill with that experience?, try take relationship to "next level"?...etc).
If couple is experienced with the medicine and they are aware of their goals then is totaly fine.
3. Psychedelic seremonies:
For the Psychonaut (Participant):
Ceremonies of this nature often provide an extroverted and entertainment-focused experience, which can feel more like tourism than a profound journey. For individuals seeking fundamental answers to life's deeper questions, such ceremonies may not be the most suitable environment to achieve meaningful insights.
For the Hosts (Shamans):
To facilitate a transformative experience, it is crucial to create an environment that allows the participant to encounter the "peak" of the medicine's effects. Begin by explaining the entire process clearly, including how the medicine works and the time it takes to activate. Structure the ceremony schedule around the medicine’s timeline.
For example, if the medicine, like psilocybin mushrooms, requires approximately one hour to take effect, administer it at the start of the session. Use the activation period for introductions and setting intentions, which are essential elements of the process. By the time the introduction concludes, the medicine will begin to take effect, ensuring a seamless and impactful experience for the participant.
5.Compounds
The bar chart below represents the three main chemical compounds that alter states of consciousness in every psychedelic substance, namely Psilocybin, Psilocin, and Baeocystin.
Each chemical offers a unique type and quality of experience that can be utilized for various purposes.
For educational or spiritual purposes, Psilocin is recommended and can be found in Cubensis and Azurescens mushrooms.
6.Journey Phases:
A) Preparation Day
B) Setting
C) Dose
D)Session
Three Day Process:
6A)Preparation Day ( The day before)
This involves a series of drug-free interviews during which the subject is prepared for the psychedelic experience. The amount of time necessary to achieve the first stage depends on the nature of the problems and information the Individual wants to solve, the personality of the subject, the drug used, and other circumstances (such as their relationship with these kinds of experiences, unresolved psychological issues, the relation with their sitter/guide, the environment, unconscious psychological complexes, previous life experiences, zodiac, body abilities, level of athletism, religious background, life situations etc.).
During this phase, it's recommended to make fasting from everuthing!
Stay quiet and unhurried, limit your food, conversations, meetings and internet exposure, spend some time outdoors, and reflect on your understanding of the mystical experience. It's also important to share expectations, concerns, and hopes with your guide if you want or into your note book.
To maximize the usefulness of your psychedelic voyage, it's invaluable to write out beforehand what you hope to learn, experience, understand, or resolve. Choose a small number of questions beforehand to organize the direction of the session and focus on specific concepts (spiritual, social, psychological).
The purpose of this phase is to obtain sufficient information about the nature of the emotional difficulties and personal history, develop a relationship of trust between the therapist/guide and determine the course and outcome of the session.
6B)Setting
A comfortable room with easy access to the bathroom, and a variety of soft pillows and blankets, is a good idea.
It is recommended that the room be insulated from outside sights and sounds, including people's voices, pets, and phones, as much as possible.
Your goal is to create and maintain a simple environment that supports inner quiet and self-expression.
Prepare a notebook and pens where you will record your experience, big thoughts, inspirations, conclusions, understandings, information, or instinctual pictures. Anything important that comes to your mind is advised to be recorded in words or images.
If you have unclear psychedelic images, you can send them to the email provided above. I can assist in transforming your personal experiential (awakening) imagery from your psychedelic journey into art.
Additionally, I can provide an anonymous interpretation of these images or insights as a form of psychoanalysis. This interpretation can serve as a valuable tool for your self-exploration and personal growth while also contributing to the refinement and enhancement of this paper.(Appendix Bellow)
5. If it is your first voyage, then it may be difficult to follow any guidelines or try to observe deep and specific things. In that case, it may be better to relax, enjoy, and make yourself familiar with that new environment!
6C) Dose
What they say (internet websites)
microdose-0.25
light- 0.25-1g
common- 1g-2.5g
strong- 2.5g-5g
heavy-5g+
What I say
microdose- 1g-2g
common- 2.5g-3.5g
strong 4g-6g
heavy 6g-7.5g = Peak Experience
herculean 8.5g- 10g = Your Rebirth
brave herculean 10g-15g
demigod 17g+ = Your Death
6D)Session
Before Take Them:
Take the dose as you please (make it into tea, eat it as it is, grind it and mix the dust with honey, eat them with lemon.. etc.) on an empty stomach.
It is better not to mix it with cannabis as it may interfere with the effects of the mushroom.
Recommended time is 10:00-11:00 morning (so you can experience all phases of the day) and the trip usually lasts 6-8 hours.
Until the next day, it may be difficult to fully understand the journey, as a big part of it may be forgotten along with deep thoughts and conclusions. Taking notes can help save more information for evaluation and reflection.
Prepare a playlist before the experience so it can be easily accessed without an internet connection(available playlist on my youtube channel).
Prepare food and water for the end of the experience, typically around 7-9 afternoon.
Plan your day so nobody will be looking for you and you won't have to worry about anything and close mobiles and internet.
The drawing below illustrates the different possible stages of the psychedelic trip, which have been recorded so far. The stages are separate, but that does not mean that the characteristics of each stage do not affect or present in other stages. The positive embodiment and psychological experience of each stage determines the quality of the trip, its intensity, and the final result of the entire experience.
This drawing represents a personal mapping of the experience with Cubensis.
Stage 1:
Around 30-40 minutes, a possible bad feeling in the stomach.
It's a good idea to clean your room at that time to make a nice environment.
Close your laptop and mobile.
Stage 2:
The stomach feels good now, and the journey has started.
Relax and observe your breathing.
Pay attention to your sensations.
You can write down notes here if you want to record your feelings and the reason for each feeling. It's good to have a notebook and write down every 20 minutes how you observe your external and internal world.
Stage 3:
Approaching the peak of your session.
Possible intense emotions( laughter for different reasons, cry, traspersonal journey, become animals, speak with energies...etc), hallucinations.
You may feel like sending a message to people for any reason (to express your love, your appreciation, or your apology). DO NOT SEND ANY MESSAGE. Record what you want to say and do it another day. It's a big mistake to send any message that day. Write it down and do it in two days.
Stage 4: The most important stage!
"The knock of your door" (a feeling that is telling you to let go and allow your consciousness to decompose).
Accept that call, lay down, and let your mind travel. See what the mushrooms want to show you. That may last from 5 to 40 minutes, depending on the dose.
In small doses or for voyagers not ready for some reasons, the whole stage can be missed (it is the curve in the picture).
Let go of anything that is holding you back - expectations, personal concepts, personal and social problems, habit patterns, fears = submit to the calling!
In big doses, this stage is very obvious with powerful "knock of your door" feelings. If you resist that, a bad trip most likely will follow as a punishment from your rudeness to the mushrooms.
The basic safety rule for psychedelic sessions is that all the material which has been released from the unconscious has to be faced, fully experienced, and integrated. Everything is into your mind so no reason to worry or resist!
For experienced psychonauts or individuals familiar with their psychi enviroment that knock door phenomeno can be presented as participation in very scary and traumatic scene where we find our self in the position to let go our self into the fate of the mushroom (art of self sacrifice). That may come as a sense of choosing to die or allow completely loosing one own mind. That is more common phenomeno on Strong doses and above where the individual experience the essense of peak experience beyond personal Abstract & Aesthetic dimentions into Psychodynamics dimentions.
It is important to mention that such consciously and spiritual brave sacrifice is the action of meeting the universe it self and the results from that cannot be predicted!
Stage 5:
Period of fitting and recognition.
Coming back to reality, coordinating.
Flashes of peak insights may still occur, and coming and taking you small and short trips.
Stage 6:
Hunger time -- do not eat yet!
Time for music if you want (not from mobile). I have some recommendations: best instrumental music which has a flow or personal preference music that you have memories with (not from the internet or social media).
Time for creativity art.
Time for dance if you want.
Time for light exercise or flow yoga (not stretching or heavy exercise!!). Flow yoga like Wing Chun-Kung Fu movements with music( not for the seek of exercise but for the expression- you want to express what you have exprerience).
Stage 7:
Time for personal work - write down your understanding of your experience, your realizations, your findings.
Time for life evaluation - see old pictures.
You can go outside if you want( with your notbook).
Stage 8:
End of the formal session.
Eat light and be sure to drink enough water.
Avoid caffeine and sugar.
Session Appendix
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