The Beauty of Nature

I had my first experience with mushrooms yesterday and I must say that it has changed my life. I had always been fascinated with drugs and all I'd done before yesterday was marijuana. So about two weeks ago when one of my friends got some shrooms I started contemplating whether I wanted to do them or not. I really didn't know very much about it, and I heard mixed reviews from certain people, so I still was unsure.

So one day I was surfing around and came across this very site, The Shroomery. I read most of the trip reports and was fascinated by some of the unbelievable experiences that people were having. I became very aware of the effects of the drug even though I had never actually taken it yet. I figured I was ready to go on the actual adventure myself, and April 2, 1998 would be when it would happen.

I got over to my friend's house at about 8:30 that night and we each had about 1.5 grams of dried mushrooms. We put them inside peanut butter sandwiches and I didn't even taste them. It was then a waiting game. After that we walked to the movie store down the street to rent a movie and we got Army of Darkness and The Full Monty. I figured we should get some comedies from what I'd been reading (I wanted the trip to be as enjoyable as possible).

At the movie place, about 30 mins after consumption, I was starting to slightly feel something.. Words seemed to sort of pop out at me and lights seemed a bit more colorful, but I just thought it was the drugs doing it.. I figured it was more a psychological thing. When we walked back to my friend's house I wasn't feeling much at all, except I was a lot more talkative than I'd been earlier in the night.

We went inside, started Army of Darkness and that's when things started to get kind of weird. The first thing that hit me about the movie were the colors! I thought it may have just been the tape or something, but the colors seemed so much sharper and almost fairy tale like, they were so bright and happy.

I still wasn't convinced though, because I felt really normal. I was talking to my friend and I was fully aware of everything around me, which was something I'd never experienced with other drugs. When I did marijuana, everything was always so cloudy and it seemed difficult to carry on even the simplest conversations. With alcohol, all judgment was lost (as most people know). With shrooms, however, it was nothing like this. I just felt really happy and really aware of rything around me.

The first sign where I knew they were taking effect was a scene in the movie where there is a huge crowd standing behind the main character. To me it looked as if the crowd was completely in 3D, as if I was wearing those 3D glasses you get at Disney World.

Eventually, when I tried hard enough, I could isolate every little object on the screen. It was like each person was at a different depth and the TV was no longer just a 2D viewing experience anymore.

There were parts in the movie where I actually laughed out loud (and if you knew me, this is something I don't do often). I've never laughed so hard at a movie in my life, and I suggest watching it for anyone who's planning on tripping with a movie.

After the movie ended, I was close to my peak. I had a couple of glasses of wine, and then my friend and I went out for an adventurous walk. The minute I stepped outside, it hit me even more. The trees were beautiful, and I couldn't stop staring at them. It was like I was experiencing nature for the first time all over again. I couldn't stop smiling and looking up at the sky. Everything seemed like a fairy tale land. It reminded me of a land in the chronicles of Narnia (if anyone's read those books)or Lord of the rings. The trees had so much emotion and life to them. The houses all had a friendly nature to them, as if I could just walk up to anyone's door and talk to them.

I didn't want to look at anything except natural things. Whenever a car would drive by I would look away and continue looking at the trees and the grass. The street lights and the mall didn't interest me at all. They weren't nearly as beautiful as the puddles and the trees.

After walking for a while we finally came across a park, and it had just rained that night so there was a huge puddle in the middle of the park. It looked like a small lake to me and the reflection of the trees on the perfectly calm water was incredible.I tilted my head upside down and it was like I was seeing an upside down universe (it's kind of hard to explain).

After enjoying that for a while we got on the swings and the play structure at the park and I felt like I was a little kid again. I even pictured myself as a little 5 year old with no cares in the world. Everything was so I exciting and new. I couldn't stop laughing. At one point, when I was talking to my friend, I was so overcome with joy that I had to stop talking in mid-sentence.

After that we jumped on the roof of one of the buildings in the park and just stared at the sky. I was in awe of the pure simplicity yet beauty of nature. It was starting to wear off by this time however, and I knew it was, even though I never wanted it to end. We then got our bikes out and went for a bike ride, and came back to my house and listened to Enya, which put me in a complete state of relaxation (I really recommend listening to this after a long night of shrooming). I lied on the floor and just let my thoughts wander.

After a bit of that I decided it was time to go to sleep, but I couldn't fall I sleep. I lied in my bed for what seemed like hours trying to sleep and I knew I needed music to fall asleep. If I wanted music though I would have to go downstairs and get my stereo. I still felt like a little kid, and my imagination was running wild, and I felt scared, like something might be down in the basement, so I just stayed in my bed. I finally fell asleep around 4:30 a.m.

The next morning I had to go to work, and I still noticed things on the bus ride there. Colors still seemed brighter and I still couldn't stop looking at the trees. I now have so much more of an appreciation for nature than I had before, and I started to realize that all these material things, like cars and money, will never be able to match the beauty and honesty of nature.

This was so fitting, because today I had an interesting experience. I rode over to the bank on my bike in order to deposit some money into my account and I just left my bike outside thinking I would only be a couple of seconds. Next thing I knew, my bike was gone. It was a $700 bike. For some reason I really didn't care. The experience I had the night before had affected me so much that I realized my bike was not really that important after all.

When I got home, however, I got in a huge argument with my mom about the bike and it really rattled me. I couldn't hold in my emotions and I started crying in front of her (which is something I haven't done in years).

I haven't had the greatest year, and suddenly all my emotions started pouring out. It was really nice to talk to my parents, though, and I believe it was something I had to do. I told them things that had been on my mind for months.

That is my story, it is definitely a long one, and if you've read this far I'm surprised. I must say I hadn't felt stronger emotions of sadness and happiness in the longest time before I did shrooms last night. I think it was very important for me to let those emotions out because I am the type of person who always holds his emotions in.

I also now have so much more respect for nature and my friends. Had my friend not have been with me during the experience I would not have enjoyed it even half as much. It was the companionship that may have been the most important thing of the trip for me.

I hope to trip again in a few weeks, but after the intensity of the experience, I don't want to end up tripping too often. I think it's better just to do it every once in a while as a little vacation. It was a vacation that I very much needed. I definitely will visit the fairy tale land again.