A Heroic Dose Of Mushrooms
Tales From My First Psychedelic Experiences
In the summer of 2020, during a time that was a trip in itself, I decided to embark on an exploratory program of experimentation with Psilocybin Cubensis: Magic Mushrooms. My motivation for studying the effects was more than recreational — I sought to explore potential treatments for mental illnesses, especially depression and schizophrenia. As I am neither a scientist nor a qualified psychiatric practitioner, it would only be fair that my experimentation should be confined to myself as a subject.
Throughout four sessions, I started with a dose of 1.5 grams (considered a “threshold” dose) and incrementally increased the amount to 5 grams (Terence McKenna called this a “heroic dose”). Having read about the “heroic dose,” I set out to reach that level as if it were some egoistic accomplishment. In so doing, I came to learn just how erroneous that line of thinking was.
First of all, setting out with any expectations from these kinds of experiences is potentially a recipe for failure, or in other words, a bad trip. Secondly, treating interactions with the mushrooms as if they are a mountain to climb for any reason will be revealed as a vainglorious lack of respect for their very nature. The experience will humble you to realize that you must approach these substances with respect…
