I am definitely going through a McKenna phase at the moment, and two questions that seem to reoccur are: "are you suggesting everyone should experience psychedelics?" and "do you think people who haven't need a guide?" These are two crucial questions that anyone who would attempt to do anything that may alter public opinion on the matter should answer. I think this means I should answer them, and I will, but citing McKenna, because I think he nailed it.
To the first, McKenna seems to answer yes and no. To an extent, he definitely excludes those who would be unfit from experiencing psychedelia, while at the same time suggesting that if you haven't, it's like you haven't had sex. While this is is a hypocrisy on the surface, I believe the paradox is the fault of the language, the answer is really, "if you can handle it, you must try it, if you can't, don't even consider trying it" This leaves a gray area, but at the same time I don't think this is a contradiction- it's a spectrum. On one end you have those who definitely shouldn't use entheogens, on the other end you have those who really need to experience this, and then everything in between.
For me there was no question. Even when I had only the slightest concept of what we were talking about, I knew I had to see what it for myself. For anyone who hasn't tried this and feels that same way, don't go munching just yet, stay tuned to this blog. For everyone else, you either know what I'm talking about or you don't. Now, don't get me wrong, there are people (most of them by definition) who really aren't suited for psychedelics. A subset of this group would probably melt down and the consequences would be dire, but this is a minority, and they're pretty obvious, and for that matter, if they are that... "bad"? then it would at least be obvious to the rest of us (and we should act accordingly). However, if you fall in the gray area where the worst case scenario is a bad trip, then I really think you should consider giving it a go, because that's where we all were before our first trip. Just make sure you know what you're getting into, and make sure you read about the next question!
To the second question, "does one need a guide if they haven't tripped before?" McKenna answers that no one should do this without a guide unless they are confident they don't need one. It's a bullshit answer. No one should do this without a guide. If they're confident they don't need one it's only because they've already done it. If they have, and they're still "confident" they're bullshitting themselves. The general public has no fucking clue what this is all about and they have no business getting into it without the required education, and right now that is only available with a guide.
For me... I didn't really have a guide unless you count the internet. Just about everything I know about this I have the internet to thank for it. When it came to my first trip, if my dealer and my roommate seemed ok with the amount I was taking, well that was enough for me, but then again, I'm also the kind of person that you can't tell not to do something. I'm the kind of person that does whatever the fuck I damn well please and I'll piss on the consequences later. However, thinking about the people I love in my life, I would rather ALL of them come to me as a guide, at the least and as if for no other reason, to enrich the experience. People tend to think of a guide as a "babysitter". I think of it more as a travel agent. A guide will help you get the most out of the experience; it is a good thing. Babysitters are for people who ignore guides and may end up hurting themselves because they don't know how to listen. We all know who these people are.
To conclude, I really felt I had to lay this out before someone blamed me for some stupid mother fucking jumping out of a window while tripping on mushrooms. Don't do the things I talk about if you're going to fuck up, Ok!? For fucks sake, psychedelics are for grown ups, if you're too fucking stupid to know the difference then stay the fuck away! Otherwise, knock yourself out, I'll see you on the other side. I know this is subjective, but so is everything else, KMA.
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