DOSE:

2 g

oral

Mushrooms

(dried)

BODY WEIGHT:

146 lb

It was the end of the year at university, my friends and I wanted to celebrate finishing a very difficult and stressful year. Friend #1 was able to obtain some mushrooms and suggested we go for a hike along some horse trails near a few miles from his home. Four of us decided to participate. We had picked a Friday afternoon that we were all completely free from any schedule, and the weather happened to be absolutely perfect, sunny with a nice breeze. It was the best possible scenario.

We were dropped off at the start of the trails around 2:30 in the afternoon and went into the woods. After hiking for a few minutes, we found a small creek to stop at and eat the mushrooms. It being my first time, I was overcome by a wave of emotions: excitement, fear of the unknown, anticipation of a great experience. The bitterness of the mushrooms filled our mouths and we quickly drank a lot of the water we brought with us to get rid of the taste.

We hung around the creek for a while skipping rocks. Friend #1 found a rock that was in the shape of a mushroom and gave it to me as a symbol for my first Trip. After this, Friend #2 suggested we keep moving along the paths. We continued our hike. We hiked for 10-15 minutes uphill, dodging worn out patches of ground from constant hoof traffic as well as piles of horse dung.

When we finally reached the top of the path, we noticed a lot more foliage and grass along the road. At this point, I felt my body want to move much faster. My velocity continued to increase. I looked at Friend #2 and asked him if I could run. He nodded. I sprinted down the grassy path and it felt as if I broke through a barrier. The wind rushed past me and the shades of green grew brighter as I ran down the path. I only stopped once I reached where the path split into four different directions. My friends suggested we hang out there for a while.

We laid out our towels and sat in the shade that the surrounding trees provided us. This area was almost dream-like. The grassy paths all around us seemed to go on forever, the trees seemed to reaching towards the heavens and the variety of colors that the flowers provided brightened the area even more. As I was lying on the ground watching the clouds, they began to change shape rapidly. The first shape was a ferocious dragon, fire gushing forth from its mouth, but it soon became a peaceful baby dragon resting just as I was. The clouds continued to change for a while as we all rested in silence.

There were so many questions I had for Friend #2, but whenever I would get the urge to speak, something would hold me back. My mind seemed to answering the questions for itself. As time passed, the leaves on the trees grew brighter and brighter, filling my heart with so much joy. The trees also seemed to be breathing, releasing a nice cool breeze whenever they exhaled. I was like an infant observing all of the wonder of the world for the very first time.

Friend #2 stood up at one point and suggested that we move to another location; however, none of us wished to leave. We felt too attached to where we were. He was fine with this, but told us that we should at least stand up. Friend #1 and I stood while Friend #3 continued to sit. I felt like I was walking for the first time in my life. My knees buckled, I stumbled around, always losing my balance. Once I finally composed myself, #2 ran down one of the paths. We stood there amazed at his speed and soon he was out of sight, but I could still feel his presence. While he was gone, I pulled out the rock from earlier and stared at it. I could feel great energy emerging from it. The three of us still at the camp gathered around the rock and silently touched it, feeling the power inside.

After a few minutes, #2 returned from his run. All three of us were filled with so much joy! It felt like ages since we last saw him. We embraced and talked for a while. #3 suddenly got very excited when she remembered that there were blunts in the backpack that we brought with us. The three of them smoked the blunts (I couldn’t due to my job). We all had fits of laughter soon after that lasted a very long time.

Once silence took over, we lay down in the grass and looked up to the sky again. Time passed for hours, but it was irrelevant. #2 and #3 began to hum together, creating beautiful melodies of a C drone. #1 and I joined in and built chords and harmonies over their notes. We were connected to each other, and the entire world through this music. I burst into tears because of the beauty of the moment. This humming continued at different moments throughout the entire day.

Hours and hours passed which was noticeable because of the change in lighting around us. The shadows were getting longer and longer. We all felt that we were coming down from the mushrooms, but we could still feel the effects. #2 told each of us to choose a different path and go on a solo journey while we were still tripping. I picked the path that I stared down for the majority of the day. We all went our separate ways but I knew exactly where the other three were. As I was walking, I was thinking of family and friends, longing to see them all again and sent them good vibes. I couldn’t wait to see my loved ones and embrace them!

As my thoughts traveled, I could start to feel the energy of the horses that had traveled on this path before me. I could see through their eyes and experience their thoughts. I went between many different horses until my mind stopped on the Kentucky Derby winner, I’ll Have Another. This was the day that he had to be scratched from the Belmont Stakes due to an injury, losing his chance at the Triple Crown. I felt the sadness and disappointment he was experiencing. I could see him in the stable, sulking. I talked to him, telling him it wasn’t his fault, that he was such an inspiration and a fantastic horse! I kept him in my thoughts for the duration of the evening.

We all returned to our camp and stood in silence, each of us knowing what the other felt and saw. While we were standing, we heard a strange squeaking noise. Looking around, we noticed that there were four woodpeckers all around us; nature had grown so comfortable with us being there. We watched our little friends look for food and listened to them laugh like Woody Woodpecker. After a while, we decided it was time to leave. The beautiful sunset guided us out of the forest and led us back to #1’s home. We walked for an hour, all of us humming the tunes we had created while in the forest. I felt connected to the world, to life, like I have never felt before. Each of us was reborn and renewed; we all broke through the barriers we had created throughout our lives.

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 96423
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 20
Published: Feb 27, 2014	Views: 3,796
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Mushrooms (39) : General (1), Nature / Outdoors (23), Small Group (2-9) (17)