Meaning of Life

I have had many fine and wonderful experiences with mushrooms over the past 2 years. But the one that I want to touch on right now is my very first trip. The night started with me being given 4 gelcaps full of p. cubensis caps at around 7:30 by a friends of mine. After that point, time really had no meaning to me whatsoever. After I had eaten the capsules, a friend of mine and I walked up to "the strip" where there are several bars to hang out in, and the one that we picked, ironically enough, was "The Mellow Mushroom", a pizza joint by day and a beer pub by night. It was a warm spring evening, and my friend and I had a nice relaxed conversation on the way to the bar. I was a little nervous because I didn't really know what to expect, but otherwise just I tried to relaxe and was prepared to accept whatever happened. We got to the bar, and met up with two more of our mutual friends, both of which had experience with mushrooms. I had told them I had eaten some and they smiled and me and said "Just remember to relax." This advice turned out to be of great use to me throughout the evening as things started to get going. This particular bar we were in had a "Native Indian" motife to it, with painting of indians in garb and statues of eagles etc. There were little pictures of happy mushrooms carying pizza also, which began to make me laugh a little. A little more background and I'll get to the heart of the story. I am a musician, have always been a musician as I began learning guitar, my main instrument at age 5, and piano at age 9. We went to hear a great band that evening which completely shook my entire world. Music for me is a paradise, whether I'm playing it or listening to it. So I was in the perfect arena for what was about to transpire. When the effects first came on, things began looking strange, beer tasted like nectar, and my friends toyed with me a bit, shaking a box of tic-tacs as I stared intently. I was a little wierded out, but I remembered my friends advice to relax and began a visual massage of my body from head to toe, picturing every muscle relax as I moved down my body. This set me straight as I thought I was at the peek of my expereince, but had no idea for sure so I asked my friend, "Is this it?" He again chuckled happily and said "No, its only the beginning." It was then that I began to helucinate. I ran into people that I recognized but no name surfaced into my recollection. I wandered the bar aimlessly, looking at their faces as they looked different in some way but I could not place just how. I remember thinking that I was in a Olde English tavern of some sort, seeing people that resembled giants and hobbits and elves and such, but they still had distinctly human characteristics. This shook me a little so I found my friends again who asked me how I was feeling. I couldn't really form intelligent sentances at this point so they knew I was well on my way, and my facial expressions and laughter must have told them the rest. I was having a great time so far, and it only got better. This was when the band began to play. It was a 6 peice band: drums, percussion, 1 electric guitar, 1 acoustic guitar/singer with a great passionate voice, an organ player, and a bassist. I was in heaven! They played endless grooves and people gathered in front of the stage to dance. I followed them, dancing through swarms of souls having fun, feeling the music, smiling, having a great time. As things got a little more intense, I thought it wise to sit down for a while. I had forgotten i had come with my friends as I had made new ones dancing, not actually speaking with them but "feeling" them. I could tell which people were nice, and which ones weren't. I sat on a stool at the bar, drank a cold, sweet beer, and gazed in amazement at what was happnening in front of me. It was then that I had an overwhelming thought/feeling that has been with me since that night. It sort of fell on my brain like a brick falls on one's toe. "All these people really need is to feel good/happy and have a good time every now and then." Sounds simple, but to me it was a revelation, a peice of information that could not have been more crystal clear, more divine than at that particular moment and at that particular time. The rest of the journey was spent having conversations with strangers, the musicians in the band, anyone who, in my state, glowed warmly more so than usual. I wanted to spread the feeling I had within me, comfort, joy, a entire symphonic melody of human emotion. And I have found that you can make just about anyone have the same feelings you have if you simply let them flow out of you. A shy person can feel comfort around you, an angry person can feel at ease, and so on if you understand how people work, for which the mushroom was able to give me a little extra insight. Mushrooms aren't exactly toys, but instruments that can help you in an ecstatic way. Its important to approach them responsibly, but do not overworry your mind with whether you are in the right state to partake. Most things will take care of themselves with a little nudge from your powerful mind. I have partook since that night on several occassions, having different experiences each time, only one being "bad" in a way, but necessary to shake me into understanding myself better as well as my friends better. It all depends on how open your mind is to the experience. Be good to each other out there!