Cannabis and Psychonauts – Balancing your Trips!
If you regularly read my entries here on Cannabis.net, you would know that I am a psychonaut. In other words, I take psychedelics on occasions (usually no more than 3-4 times a year) and explore the inner-verse of my consciousness.
When I started out, I was no psychonaut. Rather, I was a moron of epic proportions consuming psychedelics as if they were free candy delivered to me by the hands of strangers. For me, during that time, it was all about “Trippin’” and there was no introspection occurring on a conscious level. Sure, as with all psychedelics, you are forced to contemplate some deep issues concerning reality, the cosmos and the significance of your life in conjunction with the entire universe. But all in all, it was mostly about tripping balls and having a good time.
When I turned twenty, I decided to stop consuming ‘drugs’ all together for roughly three years. This was a good time to hone in on my identity, my thoughts and paradigms and understand ‘who I really am’. It wasn’t until I was twenty four until I dropped acid again. With this new understanding, I could truly appreciate what the substance did for me in terms of consciousness, and more importantly, I knew how to use this technology to my benefit.
Thus, before continuing with this analysis of the interaction of cannabis and psychedelics (from my very personal point of view), I’d like to re-iterate that psychedelics is a “tool” and should be used with careful planning and a full understanding of the mechanisms behind each particular substance. If you’re a kid and you’re reading this, I’d suggest you go on a journey of self-discovery prior to jumping into the world of psychedelics. I have known many people who conjured up ideas about ‘who they are’ under the influence of drugs which resulted in a schism between their perception of reality and reality itself. You need to know ‘who you are’ to fully appreciate the power of psychedelics. If you have any questions, you can always tweet to me @ReginaldReefer and I’ll be more to provide my insights. Or just message me here on Cannabis.net.
Now onto the usage of Cannabis within the framework of the psychonaut.
Cannabis: The Drop that Spilled the Glass
This past Saturday I dropped some Acid. It was the first time in a year since I did it and I felt that the psychedelic mountain was calling me. I took the dose at roughly 9 PM and started feeling the effects maybe 45 minutes later. As I could feel the LSD making itself aware in my body and mind, I still didn’t have the visual effects I was looking for. This is where Cannabis comes in.
When you’re sitting there waiting for the “onset”, smoke a joint or in my case, take a few hits from my Dab pen. I finished my bowl and within 5 minutes the visuals kicked in. Many times, cannabis is the catalyst that begins the trip. It helps your body and mind accept what is happening to it and you can start the journey without a hitch.
The visuals I saw were amazing, but I won’t go into details about my trip here, rather I’ll talk about how cannabis helped shape the trip and enhanced it.
Cannabis: Balancing the Scale
While I never had a bad trip (other than with alcohol), there are moments within a psychedelic trip that ‘shit can get weird’. Sometimes the intensity of the trip makes people become anxious and panicky. This is not a good thing. Psychedelics are tied strongly to your emotions and your perception of the moment. If you become fearful or anxious, psychedelics amplifies the experience and tends to visualize your fears.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people call this a “bad trip” however even when you enter into the ‘void’, the experience can be very beneficial for the right mind. What do I mean by this?
During one part of my trip this past weekend, I went to the bathroom. I saw myself in the mirror. I was wearing a black hoodie. I turned off the lights and saw the ‘shadow version of me’ in the mirror. I danced, moved and played with the ‘man in the mirror’ and it was all good and fun. At one point, the space where my face was, started to resemble the ‘Grim Reaper’ or ‘Death’. Now for the inexperienced user or people with religious paradigms, this screams “DEMON!” In turn, their fear for the netherworld inspires anxiety and the hallucinations increase in intensity.
I wasn’t afraid of course. I do not fear death. For me, it was either my mind playing tricks on me, or the fact that I played Mortal Kombat X a few hours prior to ‘journeying’ into psychedelia and my hoodie looked simply allowed my brain to make the connection (Maybe I was Scorpian). It could have been merely a reflection of my own mortality at the end of the day. I simply continued to play with the ‘man in the mirror’ for what seemed like hours, then finally bid him goodbye and kept on traveling.
Now, there was a time when the Acid was racing within me, and my experience was becoming slightly intense. During this moment, all it took was a few bowls of my trusty cannabis to set me back again.
Many times, when psychonauts find themselves in a psychedelic frenzy, all you need is a quiet place to smoke up some good ol’ Mary Jane and to relax. You’ll quickly notice how your trip becomes more pleasant and enjoyable.
Cannabis: The Reanimated
While I could potentially write an entire book on this, I’ll leave it on this note. After about five to six hours of tripping, my high started wearing off. Sure, there were still traces of the trip lingering, but it wasn’t as apparent as a few hours prior.
Once more, a trusty hit from my dab pen reanimated the visuals for a short while. This is something I have commonly found when taking psychedelics. When your body is done, you can give it that extra “boost” by sparking up.
For me, drugs are nothing more than tools. I use them when needed and to achieve certain things. For the psychonaut, having cannabis on hand is an essential.
In future trips I’ll be experimenting with the effect of CBD-only and the potential of regulating your highs by using it.
Cannabis is a perfect companion to psychedelics and if you are a psychonaut like me, I’m sure you are very well aware of it.
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