Welcome to the Trip Reports Sub-Forum of the Shroomery!
There are lots of stages to any trip, both before during and after the psychedelic experience itself. First there are those little inklings, that knowledge that you?re ready to blow your own mind. Then there?s the planning of the session (if there is any planning that is ? we all know how psychedelics can inspire spontaneity in us.) And finally there?s the session itself, which on its own is divided into phases as you travel on a journey metaphorically reminiscent of the entire scope of human history and each individual human life ? you rise, you fall, and along the way, you hope that you learn something from the journey that you have embarked upon.
Sometimes it?s hard to realize just what you?ve learned through your experience immediately after the fact - these things need time to soak in. That?s why I?ve always believed that one part of every trip that is vitally important to understanding them in their entirety is the recording of that trip. There is something about writing out your experiences that illuminates your vision of them and enables you to have a clearer perception of their meaning, their themes, and their underlying purpose in the greater spectrum of your brief and flickering existence on this earth.
I can?t even begin to communicate how much I encourage each and every one of you to contribute to this forum as a record of the unrecordable, our very own library of experiences that are singular and spectacular. Tripping is impossible to completely describe in words, and yet that?s why we?ve all gathered here on the Shroomery - we?re all just awestruck by a thing we can?t communicate and have found a place where we can, through words and language, actually engage in discussion and description of the psychedelic experience. It is human to strive to do the impossible ? have faith in your ability to put the world of psychedelia into words.
Finally, remember: there are no real guidelines for how to write a trip report. A trip report doesn?t have to be long, nor does it have to be short. A trip report can be a poem. A trip report can be a painting that you scan into your computer and post up for all to see. A trip report can be whatever you want it to be ? just like your trips themselves!
A Few Friendly Tips and Suggestions
- Communicating the inexpressible is a difficult task, so you should aim to make the reader?s experience as easy as possible. Formatting is your FRIEND! This IS the internet, where attention spans wax and wane like the phases of the moon. No one is going to be a grammar nazi and make you write your report a certain way ? but it?s only going to be a big help to the reader if you make it easily readable.
- Don?t write your entire report as one endless paragraph. Paragraph breaks are not just aesthetically pleasing; they give a sense of rhythm and give the reader more of a willingness to follow the story you?re writing out for them.
- Going along with that, punctuation and capitalization and all those little grammatical flourishes you hated your English teachers for lecturing you about ? they can only make your trip report better. Remember, you?re writing a trip report first and foremost for yourself ? but if you post it here, it means you want people to read it, so you should try and make it as readable as possible so you can properly communicate your experience.
- When naming your trip report, try to include the substance ingested in the title.
- At the top of your trip report, enter the types of psychedelics ingested, how they were ingested, and the dosage of each ingested. For trippers reading your report, this will give a clearer indication of the intensity and nature of the trip.
- I really encourage anyone writing a trip report to ask questions of themselves, the trip, and those reading the trip report. Look to create a discussion about your experience ? the Shroomery is your most valuable resource in exploring the meaning of your trip, because you are surrounded by people who are well-versed in tripping and who can (and are most likely willing to) help sort your thoughts out if your trip has left you soul-searching.
- If the aim of your trip report is not just to record the event but to invite others to speculate upon its meaning/significance in the context of your life, a little background info on yourself would always be welcome. Not necessarily a full biography, but some idea of where you were at the point in your life when the trip occurred.
- Finally, I?d simply ask that you avoid trip reports (and we do get ones like this) that essentially boil down to one paragraph of:
Quote:
OMG I ate shroomz and I got mad fuxx0red then I smoked sooooo much herb and passed out it was awesome I?m?a do it again this weekend peace 420
External Links for Reference
Erowid.org Experience Vaults - Essentially the most comprehensive collection of trip reports on the net, this is a great place to surf for good examples of well-written reports. Watch out for gold-and-blue-starred reports.
Also, a service I?d like to offer to anyone interested is helping you edit your trip reports. I just graduated from college with a B.A. in English and American Literature and I could sure use some experience editing, so I get something out of it too. I can?t make any promises about the rapidity of my response if you PM me or e-mail me your trip report, but I would gladly give a trip report a look and help to edit it if you feel that you?re having a bit of difficulty organizing and structuring your thoughts.
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