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Offlinepixelpopper
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Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction * 4
    #26361019 - 12/04/19 12:42 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Lately I've been thinking about how I don't resonate with a lot of the popular ideas around harm reduction in relation to psychedelic usage. It seems to me that these ideas are mostly centered around the idea of using psychedelics to only have good / "positive" feeling, euphoric trips - basically recreational and party dosing. The general sentiment is often along the lines of avoiding tripping if you're in a bad place in life, going through hard times, or don't have your shit together, because it will result in a "bad trip".

But I find these times are generally when psychedelics can have the most impact to produce profound healing in my life. Medicine is needed when you are sick, not when you are healthy.

I'm not against recreational usage by any means, and its good to make people aware that they may be in for an entirely different ride if they take psychedelics under certain circumstances. But it seems some popular proponents of psychedelics have turned this kind of harm reduction into the central message about using psychedelics, and they are missing the bigger picture, which is in my view the most valuable side of psychedelic usage - the potential for healing & integration via the exploration of one's own darkness.

Since some of these figures are very popular, they also produce a large fan base of people that just mindlessly repeat everything they say all over the internet & in real life.

Meanwhile, the roots of these substances are in healing, which requires confronting pain, fear, trauma, and cleansing them via experiencing... not simply having positive-oriented ecstatic experiences.



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OfflineEclipse3130
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper] * 1
    #26361047 - 12/04/19 12:58 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

I don't necessarily agree with that as well, it seems rather odd to me trying to manipulate or control a trip to go a certain way, though it is advisable to have an intention going in, and a safe space that will be able to allow you to focus/enact and experience the trip without distraction.

I never understood not tripping when you're in a negative emotional/mindset because that's the only time I ever do, is when I feel stuck or depressed and need help to find a way back to my self. When I'm flowing and happy I never have a desire to dose a psychedelic, it's only when I need help or closure with something going on inside of me. I use them this way medicinally.

I never understood recreational use, because it always ended up in intense realizations/life changing lessons or healing for me every time anyway, I don't see how I could use them for "fun" when "fun" is one of the last things I would call the experience, especially so unpredictable. I may never understand how people can trip and get nothing out of the experience but a good time, maybe i'm just wired differently.

The experience is sacred to me, for the profound healing it can induce, to take that out to the club or a rave for "fun" seems rather odd, that's what micro dosing is for! :lol: but largely it is mass ignorance, and people really don't know, and people do actually wake up to the fact of who they are in these environments though not ideal. There is a lot of unconsciousness around psychedelics in general, as the medicines have been vastly forgotten and swept under the rug for many years, it's a good thing they are making their great return.


--------------------
"In The Material World One seeks retirement and grows Old
In The Magical World One seeks Enlightenment and grows Wiser
In The Miraculous World One seeks nothing and grows Lighter
As we all tread the Homeward Path we will explore many Realms
And one day... we will all Realize that all experiences are Simply
Different ways in which The
All-That Is
Perceives Itself"


Edited by Eclipse3130 (12/04/19 01:07 PM)


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OfflineSocrateshroom
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Eclipse3130] * 1
    #26361098 - 12/04/19 01:37 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

You are both absolutely right.
Many people wouldn't trip if it didn't have the healing potential that it does. And as you've stated, you take medicine when you are sick not healthy.

I think if you are under extreme duress, it may not be the right time to trip. There is a difference between
"I'm stuck and am struggling with depression"
and
"Anything and everything that bothers me right now will set me off and I may do something very dangerous"

Now I don't think many people ever reach the latter but I would argue that those are the moments when "harm reduction" is vital. But the former is one of the many moments when you indeed should take psychedelics (if that is your personal way to deal with trauma and work through these things). I took them at my lowest and they dug me out. I suspect that if I took them at my highest point, I'd just enjoy the "high" and wouldn't be humbled by their potential.

I think this idea of harm reduction isn't for passionate people like ourselves but simply for the people who are trying random things, i.e will go on to experience mushrooms once or twice and have no real deep interest in it thereafter. People like us who seek the experience are more focused on mitigating literal harm (not putting ourselves in a dangerous environment), working with the substance, and contributing our experiences to the collective knowledge pool of our "community" here.


--------------------


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OfflineLosTresOjos
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Socrateshroom]
    #26361122 - 12/04/19 01:53 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

The harm reduction is for the newbies but unfortunately we get diddler's. People who say they never take a dose larger than x. And x is usually around an eight. Which is fine but there's sooo much to be experienced beyond those points. The fear takes hold and some people remain stuck.

  Even on bad trips I come out floored because of what I witnessed. It's never ordinary. Never boring. Always a thrill.
  The mushroom is very sacred to me as well but just like I dishonor others sacraments I have to allow mine to be dishonored by others as well.


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InvisibleShr00mEater
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: LosTresOjos]
    #26361246 - 12/04/19 03:02 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

I think we are mixing terms? What do you mean by harm reduction?

Harm reduction doesn’t mean avoiding difficult issues. It means avoiding driving vehicles or ending up in jail or a hospital.

To me it’s like:
Prob shouldn’t mix the harmalas with the mdma. might try to avoid drinking a 5th of jack while on 20 hbwr seeds. No, don’t eat THOSE mushrooms! First time? You might want to try a lower dose with a sitter.

Are you on any meds?

No, don’t give your cat/dog shrooms.

Etc etc etc

Ugh.... I’m being argumentative and difficult. I just do not see harm reduction as something that is opposed to self discovery.

Think of how many times you prepare everything perfectly for a low dose bliss trip..... and then those super potent monster boomers come on hard and slap the euphoria right out of you.

Not sure confrontation with the dark side needs much encouragement, or that attempting to ONLY have “positive” trips will work out long term.

I guess I am taking issue with the idea that harm reduction is equated to an excuse to avoid deeper and darker journeys.

And maybe that’s your point to, except from the other angle?

*end rambling*

Edit: Socrateshroom, thanks, that makes more sense.


Edited by Shr00mEater (12/04/19 03:06 PM)


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OfflineEclipse3130
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: LosTresOjos] * 1
    #26361303 - 12/04/19 03:33 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Quote:

LosTresOjos said:
The harm reduction is for the newbies but unfortunately we get diddler's. People who say they never take a dose larger than x. And x is usually around an eight. Which is fine but there's sooo much to be experienced beyond those points. The fear takes hold and some people remain stuck.

  Even on bad trips I come out floored because of what I witnessed. It's never ordinary. Never boring. Always a thrill.
  The mushroom is very sacred to me as well but just like I dishonor others sacraments I have to allow mine to be dishonored by others as well.




I think everybody has a dose that works best for them, for me, my curiosity isn't piqued enough to excessively dose myself past what already does me in. Once I hit the timeless place of eternity, or the core of my self - there's really no beyond that.

Sure I could take double a dose that completely obliterates me, but I have no real desire to, sure there is fear but it's the same fear and apprehension the ego produces I experience on any dose.

This is where harm reduction does come in, is there really any point to take massive doses over what does you good because there "might be more to explore" riding the tail of that dragon which is known as the rabbit hole. There's always some psychological risk when taking a dose, better to be safe than sorry. If an 1/8th is a breakthrough therapeutic dose for one person, there really isn't much use of taking 7g unless you have intense curiosity, or rather may scare you away from mushrooms for a long time. If you're breaking through on DMT with 50mg. Is there any point to take 150mg? 300mg?

I agree with there being a dosage framework for each person, microdose, threshold, therapeutic and heroic. I can't fully agree with heroic doses being fully therapeutic though they can bring healing about, they are rather existential, riveting, and unfolding the deeper layers of reality itself. They are for the highly curious and courageous


--------------------
"In The Material World One seeks retirement and grows Old
In The Magical World One seeks Enlightenment and grows Wiser
In The Miraculous World One seeks nothing and grows Lighter
As we all tread the Homeward Path we will explore many Realms
And one day... we will all Realize that all experiences are Simply
Different ways in which The
All-That Is
Perceives Itself"


Edited by Eclipse3130 (12/04/19 03:55 PM)


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OfflineDJ Ed
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper]
    #26361309 - 12/04/19 03:36 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Great thought provoking post and replies.

For me, harm reduction is essentially down to the commercial aspects of social media, YouTube, the internet etc. You know what I mean? Otherwise shit gets taken down. No sponsors. No advertisement revenue. Your channels going nowhere.

Cynical old me!

I only ever do 3.5g dried cubensis upwards to approx 8g dried. So I’m always careful. Harm reduction isn’t sissy, when the shit gets real, you need to be safe.

Take care y’all,
DJ Ed


--------------------
“It’s like when you see a mountain lion,” he suggested. “If you run, it will chase you. So you must stand your ground.”
Michael Pollan: How To Change Your Mind

“The problem is not to find the answer, it’s to face the answer.”
Terence McKenna



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Offlinepixelpopper
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Shr00mEater]
    #26361493 - 12/04/19 05:22 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Quote:

Shr00mEater said:
I think we are mixing terms? What do you mean by harm reduction?





What I'm referring to is specifically this kind of culture that has developed around psychedelics which seeks to maximize "good trips" and avoid "bad trips" as the primary objective - the way they approach psychedelics as a whole. Its kind of interrelated with "festy" culture where people are doing a lot of these drugs to have a good time.

Like I said, harm reduction is fine as cautionary warnings to those who don't understand what they are getting into, but its been taken beyond warnings and into a mode of operation regarding the usage of psychedelics in general.

An example of what I'm referring to is the youtube channel PsychedSubstance which has almost 2 million subs. Not to bash on the guy, I've enjoyed his videos, but the focus is consistently along these lines. This is a guy who has been making psychedelic videos for years, and one of his newest videos is all about how bad trips are the result of not having your shit together. He doesn't really touch at all on how psychedelics are used to have hard, emotionally strong (bad) trips in order to heal - instead the message is to get your shit together before you trip so you can have a "good trip" instead. And although some of his content does touch on deeper spiritual insights, they all still have this generally goofy character that never conveys anything very serious, to me at least.

It just seems like a very immature view of using psychedelics which is trying to remain immature and hide from the darkness, instead of facing it to learn & grow.


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InvisibleShr00mEater
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper]
    #26361700 - 12/04/19 07:31 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Ahhh, ok, I see.

The psychedsubstance example is a good one. I haven’t watched any of his videos in a few years. I do remember him having a ruff trip awhile back and kinda getting stuck there. I think he even took a break from his channel etc etc

I think I see what LosTresOjos means now when he says “harm reduction is for newbies”, I am here thinking “harm reduction is for everyone” , but for someone who is taking things more seriously, there almost has to be an element of danger involved to get anywhere.

And like you say, there is an idea that we should have a good work week and not fight with our spouse and that’s the only time to trip. Never during actual life events, Yet it is also the psychedelic studies on people with depression, ptsd and end of life that show the most promise.


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Offlinepixelpopper
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Shr00mEater]
    #26361812 - 12/04/19 08:34 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

The PsychedSubstance guy has recently gone through some things in his personal life and also seems to have started regularly tripping again. Its worth checking out his recent videos if you're interested to see what he's had going on.

Like I said, I don't want to rag on him, its just an example of a large following developing around harm reduction as a primary objective, when to me it is more useful as a note of caution to the inexperienced.

Regarding large vs smaller doses - I think its more about the work one does with whatever dose works for them. For one, the effect of doses are highly individual, and one's ability to go deeper on lighter doses is a kind of skill that increases with experience/practice - its the same as becoming skilled in meditation. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

Additionally, very large doses can sometimes be a kind of bypassing because smaller doses can leave you more in that uncomfortable space where you're exploring anxious emotional energy. A larger dose can catapult you out of this space and into that other place. And sometimes its easier to work on the heavy emotional cleansing in a way that lasts past the trip when you stick to consistent, lower doses.


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InvisiblePsyduckMonkey
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper]
    #26362525 - 12/05/19 08:58 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

'Shadow work' is magic. It's for witches to do. Being a witch is a decision: 'yes, I want to see beyond the veil of my fears and my limitations, yes, I want to work with forces beyond my control, yes, I'm aware of the risks and I accept them'. We don't push it onto the unprepared. We don't encourage the unprepared to do it. In fact, we go out of our way to tell everyone NOT to do it, unless absolutely certainly sure about it. Going to war is risky, even if it's a war inside your own soul. You may win, but... you know, you may also lose.

There's a big difference between the mindset of 'I'm consciously breaking the rules of safety to further my path, because I know that going against the judgement of crowds is where my path leads', and that of 'yeaaaah everyone told me that the REALLY COOL kids do 30 grams of mushrooms when depressed, I wanna be that COOL too, yay.. OMG Imma gonna die mushrooms made me gay and transsexual and schizophrenic aaaargh'...

Also, there's courage and there's recklessness. It's hard to put into words the difference between the 'bad place' where a high dose can help, and the 'bad place' where it's really a bad idea, but there is a difference.

I have taken shrooms to do shadow work before. I wouldn't do it lightly. Certainly wouldn't do it to earn any creds. If anything, I'd prefer it to be shameful than cred-worthy, for our sake as a community and a movement.


--------------------
Do you believe in the Third Summer of Love?


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Invisibleredgreenvines
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: PsyduckMonkey]
    #26362577 - 12/05/19 09:31 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

this all depends on the actual circumstances and person.
for instance, if you are building a huge condo you need 600 trucks of concrete and 2 cranes and 40 men minimum over a period of 10 months but to build a great house for a large family 5 trucks of concrete and 4 men and no cranes are required.

you would not want to have all the rest of the men, and cranes, and concrete trucks lined up and wasting time and effort.


--------------------
:confused: _ :brainfart:🧠  _ :finger:


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OfflineAldebaran
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper] * 2
    #26362591 - 12/05/19 09:43 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Quote:

What I'm referring to is specifically this kind of culture that has developed around psychedelics which seeks to maximize "good trips" and avoid "bad trips" as the primary objective - the way they approach psychedelics as a whole. Its kind of interrelated with "festy" culture where people are doing a lot of these drugs to have a good time.

Like I said, harm reduction is fine as cautionary warnings to those who don't understand what they are getting into, but its been taken beyond warnings and into a mode of operation regarding the usage of psychedelics in general.




I don't think "harm reduction" itself is a problem, like ShrOOmeater says it's mainly intended to avoid *actual* harm where the trip ends in jail or hospital. Also I think it's reasonable to give advice which will help first-time users get a positive experience on a dose which isn't too challenging. First-time users are more likely to have a recreational reason for trying psychedelics, or just a curiosity about them, rather than considering them as 'medicine'. They are also likely to be young, over-confident and may not pay much attention to risk. I think the real aim should be be instill a certain amount of respect for the potential power of a trip.

:aliceshocker:

Quote:

An example of what I'm referring to is the youtube channel PsychedSubstance which has almost 2 million subs




I like PsychedSubstance although I haven't watched his more recent videos, but he is definitely a victim of what DJ Ed said:

Quote:

DJ Ed wrote: For me, harm reduction is essentially down to the commercial aspects of social media, YouTube, the internet etc. You know what I mean? Otherwise shit gets taken down. No sponsors. No advertisement revenue. Your channels going nowhere.




A lot of PsychedSubstance's videos, trip reports e.t.c. got taken down from Youtube, and the channel itself was made less visible in searches, recommendations and so on, which is disastrous if you are trying to make a living off the channel and doing it as a full-time occupation.

This almost certainly explains any over-the-top attitude to harm reduction in his videos. I got the impression he was someone who tripped initially for fun but also out of a somewhat fearless curiosity to try different psychedelics, but like you say he is also open to the more spiritual aspects. I think he's had some quite dark experiences, and talked about them in detail, but these are the kind of videos that got taken down. 

:scaryshroom:

One thing I do agree with is that a 'bad trip' (I'm talking about a purely psychological bad trip which basically boils down to anxiety and other negative emotions) is not in itself a type of 'harm'. I think it helps if your first two or three trips are positive experiences, but once you start exploring the psychedelic headspace, maybe increasing the dose, you are limiting yourself if you trip with the attitude that "I only want positive, happy, uplifting, euphoric trips".

I've never been particularly into the 'psychedelics as medicine' angle - I think they have a lot of therapeutic potential, and certainly allow a very deep level of introspection, but that's not really why I take them. I'm more interested in exploring the headspace on mushrooms for its own sake, I'm interested in consciousness, and also the sheer strangeness that comes out of a mushroom trip - I like to write in a trip journal during the trip and try to describe how it feels, what I'm thinking and seeing e.t.c

At higher doses I think it's almost inevitable that you experience a darker edge to a trip, a feeling of awe or fear as the intensity becomes overwhelming, and the most astounding or spiritual trips are where this darkness finally overwhelms you, at which point you recognize it is not something external and terrifying that is oppressing you, it is something amazing that is part of what you are - another part of your own mind or perhaps the underlying  consciousness of the universe itself.

I think a 'bad trip' is often where you don't get far enough into this process for it to resolve into something more uplifting, or you resist the trip too much. In any case I find that the negative headspace encountered in a trip is usually part of the journey, a temporary part of the trip - the idea that you experience something negative and then you are stuck in a 'bad trip' with no way out, is not very helpful for harm reduction or anything else!

:yinyangtrip:


--------------------
I wrote that, but I meant something else


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InvisibleGrey Fox

Registered: 01/22/15
Posts: 2,653
Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: redgreenvines] * 1
    #26362597 - 12/05/19 09:45 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Safety tips in order to avoid a "bad trip" are helpful for most people to follow.  I think there is an important distinction to make between a challenging trip and an unsafe trip.  The fact is that some people will crack and fall apart during the psychedelic experience.  They can become very unstable, and potentially hurt themselves or others.  It is important to do as much as possible to avoid that outcome and to mitigate potential dangers.

But I agree with you OP that challenging trips often lead to the greatest insights and positive changes.  A lot of times a "bad trip" is really just the feeling of being confronted with a difficult truth that the conscious mind has been hiding from: "I have been hurting the ones I love most...", "That painful childhood experience is still affecting me today and I've been running from it my whole life...", "I need to be a better man than I have been because my time on this Earth is short...", etc.  Realizations like that can be very overwhelming in the moment, but in the long run they can yield incredible positive change when we become more aware and act upon that new awareness.

What I find concerning is the idea that a trip sitter or therapist must be present to help you through the trip.  I find this to potentially be very detrimental because it is so important to be completely open and honest with yourself during a trip.  The last thing I woukd ever want is for someone else to plant ideas in my head during that extremely vulnerable time.  It would be easy for someone else's ideas to become implanted in your mind, and become entangled in your thought process.  The trip allows you to meet YOURSELF in a more complete and holistic way.  But this is scary.  And it is human nature to seek an external source to give meaning and interpretation to that which is frightening and confusing.  But that is the beauty of the psychedelic experience.  As frightening and confusing as it can be, you are put in touch with yourself and with nature in a raw form that nothing else can match.  The challenge (and the incredible opportunity) is to be in that space with a humble and open mind to receive what is revealed.  And ultimately, no else can do that for you.  You must do it for yourself.


--------------------
IT WAS ALL A DREAM


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OfflineEclipse3130
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Grey Fox] * 1
    #26362642 - 12/05/19 09:59 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

All the fear exists in the ego, it's just a response it creates as its last hoorah to hold on for its life has been my experience, usually not some horrendous inner, repressed fear that you don't know where it's coming from. It's just the wee little ego protecting itself of course if you resist and fight the experience and listen to the fear, is when your mind can create all sorts of things, primarily distress.

If you go in unprepared is when problems arise. If you go in ready to face darkness and face fear if it arises, it suddenly becomes much less daunting and more of a journey through an obstacle, which 100% on the other side is pure love. :smile: I've struggled with this myself a lot in the past, letting go.. so simple yet so hard. All about complete acceptance and having the right intention to guide and power you through, your intention is your anchor


--------------------
"In The Material World One seeks retirement and grows Old
In The Magical World One seeks Enlightenment and grows Wiser
In The Miraculous World One seeks nothing and grows Lighter
As we all tread the Homeward Path we will explore many Realms
And one day... we will all Realize that all experiences are Simply
Different ways in which The
All-That Is
Perceives Itself"


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InvisibleGrey Fox

Registered: 01/22/15
Posts: 2,653
Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Eclipse3130] * 2
    #26362756 - 12/05/19 10:51 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

I've found that the fear of letting go becomes less and less of an issue with the greater experience that one gains with tripping, especially at higher doses.  For me the more challenging aspect of tripping comes from having to sit for hours with raw emotion that is brought to the surface.  For me when this happens it is usually because of an emotionally challenging event in life that is going on.  Death of a loved one, a painful anniversary, or some kind if personal setback.  The psychedelic (cactus especially) brings those feelings out with power and duration.  But I have found that there is great benefit to just sitting with those feelings and soaking them in.  Even if I dont "learn" something from it, in the end I always feel stronger for having done it.


--------------------
IT WAS ALL A DREAM


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Offlinepixelpopper
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: PsyduckMonkey] * 1
    #26362789 - 12/05/19 11:11 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Some of you seem to not be fully reading and/or understand what I am saying

I'm simply expressing my thoughts around a culture that doesn't seem to ever look at the importance of shadow work in relation to psychedelic usage

I've never said that harm reduction is bad or that everyone should pursue hard trips. I'm just pointing out my own non-resonance with this particular culture.

And I feel that placing such primary importance on harm reduction results in a lot of people ultimately missing the real message.

I had hard times with bad trips for years after first getting into psychedelics. They were not valuable bad trips because I didn't understand what was happening. None of this harm reduction type thought ever helped. The only thing that helped was when I finally learned and accepted that I had some hard work to do, within the psychedelic sessions themselves.


Edited by pixelpopper (12/05/19 11:26 AM)


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Offlinepixelpopper
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Grey Fox]
    #26362814 - 12/05/19 11:25 AM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Quote:

Grey Fox said:
What I find concerning is the idea that a trip sitter or therapist must be present to help you through the trip.  I find this to potentially be very detrimental because it is so important to be completely open and honest with yourself during a trip.  The last thing I woukd ever want is for someone else to plant ideas in my head during that extremely vulnerable time.  It would be easy for someone else's ideas to become implanted in your mind, and become entangled in your thought process.  The trip allows you to meet YOURSELF in a more complete and holistic way.  But this is scary.  And it is human nature to seek an external source to give meaning and interpretation to that which is frightening and confusing.  But that is the beauty of the psychedelic experience.  As frightening and confusing as it can be, you are put in touch with yourself and with nature in a raw form that nothing else can match.  The challenge (and the incredible opportunity) is to be in that space with a humble and open mind to receive what is revealed.  And ultimately, no else can do that for you.  You must do it for yourself.




I've never had a trip sitter and I haven't tripped with any one else present for years. I do all my work alone.

That said, I do understand the idea behind working with a therapist - if you have actual relational trauma, and generally most personality disorders are associated with attachment injuries from varying levels of abusive/non-present relationships, then a big part of the healing comes from actually building a real relationship with another person. You get from the therapist the love that you failed to get before, the psychedelics allow you to access the original pain while being open to receiving love to heal. You may or may not be able to do this on your own. Having another person there who you fully trust to give you loving acceptance at the time of experiencing the original wounds is one key to the success of the therapy.

You can't really heal attachment issues so well on your own. It is the attachment issues which make you isolate in the first place. You may just end up further strengthening your attachment issues.

That said, I do my work alone. Its something I think a lot about


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OfflineDJ Ed
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Registered: 09/04/16
Posts: 2,326
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Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: Aldebaran] * 1
    #26362929 - 12/05/19 12:36 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

I enjoyed your post, Aldebaran. So much so, if you lived near me I’d be your friend. I think we could have some great discussions.

I was about to post about PsychedSubstance, when I’d read all the replies, but you beat me to it, with much better written language than I could ever produce! I’m one of his 2M subscribers 👊🏻

I’ve not watched many of his recent videos though, probably since they started deleting his stuff, and the videos then became more.......I suppose more commercial and less spiritual. If that makes sense? And the harm reduction has become tiresome!

I have started to watch random trip reports that come up on my YouTube feed. But ultimately, I’ve returned to the Shroomery. I’m finding reading all your posts, and posting some of my own trips reports (I will make better efforts to improve my writing!), has been very therapeutic, and very stimulating. I’m on two week maintenance doses at the moment, so tomorrow will be 3.8g dry B+, and the house to myself, and my two labradors. Oh and Shpongle. In three years now, the self-medication has really been overcome by my curiosity of the psychedelic headspace. I just enjoy the trip. I intend once maybe twice yearly 5g+ trips, with the intention to go with the flow, don’t resist the ego death, and try to measure what impact that has on my mental health.

Take care all,
DJ Ed.


--------------------
“It’s like when you see a mountain lion,” he suggested. “If you run, it will chase you. So you must stand your ground.”
Michael Pollan: How To Change Your Mind

“The problem is not to find the answer, it’s to face the answer.”
Terence McKenna



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OfflineLosTresOjos
Humano
I'm a teapot
Registered: 09/18/18
Posts: 1,347
Loc: Hurling Through Space
Last seen: 2 years, 1 month
Re: Shadow Work vs Harm Reduction [Re: pixelpopper] * 1
    #26362962 - 12/05/19 12:51 PM (4 years, 2 months ago)

Harm reduction is very important. That's why you should get to know the general information first as a newbie. It's very important.

  But an experienced user will not be taking mushrooms at the mall, nor walk into traffic. Their gonna be responsible. They know already. Once you've submerged yourself a few times you should understand how you react to stimuli.

  The fear of taking high doses is always creeping up on me. I fear it. I see 5g-8g of mushrooms in front of me, I start to get the jitters. I sweat, I doubt. But fear is a controlling emotion and I know what I'm doing is safe, as far as dose is concerned. How many people don't ask that girl/guy out because of fear. How many didn't go for a job position because of fear. When have you decided you would not take another step forward because of fear?

    With me personally if I take an eight all I get is fractals. I have an easy time falling into deep thinking. It is beneficial but I prefer the full on psychedelic experience. Being destroyed physical and mentally is where I find my home. I've had some really bad trips that were very eye opening. So bad trips happen, just like life.


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