Generally, I think trip reports are about as interesting as hearing someone tell you about their dreams, so I’ll keep it brief.

The first time I experienced the magic, I was in Amsterdam. The Smart Shop asked your weight, and how much experience you had (or wanted to have), and gave you your dose.  The shrooms were fresh from a fridge, and tasted like absolute butt. The trip came on fast – walking back to the hotel, I was on my knees following the patterns in the cobblestone streets. After a few hours, we tried to eat dinner, but it was too soon and the salad was squirming. It was the bomb.

Generally, shrooms make me laugh. So much that my stomach is sore and I run out of Kleenex from laugh/crying. At Burning Man 2003, I had fireworks inside my eyeballs when I shut my eyes. At a gothy bar, I met Quentin Tarantino on a patio and introduced him to the majestic tree I was hanging out with (to the delight of my friends) while we had a long chat about I don’t know what else. It was a really long time ago. And last year, I tripped with a friend who had never tripped before. We talked about how time goes so slowly, and then so fast, and we were so snotty from laughing and crying from laughing, and then we were worried about whether the kitchen in our Airbnb was closed, or open (could we go in or not)? Completely ridiculous. But very important at the time.

So far, the magic has taught me to let go, to live more, to laugh more, and to just be in the moment. I do like it when things get a little weird. I’m still looking for a huge life lesson, but not quite ready to go for a huge dose. Going higher generally just makes me wish I wasn’t as high.

Sometimes I wish this blog had comments, I’d like to know what you think. Let’s talk about this when we meet. Hopefully we will sometime.

Saturday and Sunday I was doing a lot of harvesting. I’ve gotten about 5 plates like this so far.  Not bad!  

The dehydrator is going nonstop. Be sure when you pop them in to dehydrate that the mushrooms aren’t touching and that you dry them to “cracker crisp.” A couple of these in my picture could benefit from some social distancing.

Now the tub looks like this, below. I think the dark color is from dropped spores, and you can still see a bit of “pee” – I’m doing all the fanning but this tub still wants more air. Weird.

The stragglers should be ready to harvest this evening, and then we’ll see if this tub has another round to go.

It’s hard to tell from this photo, but the colors are definitely yellow and brownish – not green. I don’t think there’s any contamination – and the tub smells great – earthy and mushroomy – like a forest floor. We should be good, and I’m keeping an eye and nose on the progress.

On Tuesday – I posted that the tub had pins.

Here’s where we were on Tuesday.

Yesterday (Friday), we were here.

Today (Saturday), we’re here.

This tub is still struggling with getting enough fresh air, so I’ve started fanning it (I open the lid and fan it up and down to introduce fresh air into the bin) about 3x a day. I don’t know if that’s why I’m not getting a nice canopy, or if it’s genetics, or both.

We’ll see what happens as we move into the later flushes.

How do I know the tub isn’t getting enough FAE?

1. The shrooms have fuzzy feet.

2.  I’m getting a lot of aborts.

3. All that mycelium pee at the beginning was a concern. It’s mostly gone now, but the first two symptoms are ongoing.

I’ve cranked up the fan, I’m doing actual fanning, and we’ll stay tuned.

In the meantime, these beautiful guys were ready to harvest. I’ve put them in the fridge and plan to dry them tomorrow with some of their friends.

I had a feeling this was about to happen… after 11 days, this tub looked ready to fruit, and I looked at it today, and voila – pins. I should have moved the tub to fruiting conditions last night, but I ran out of energy and just got to it today.

The yellow you see isn’t contamination – it’s mycelium “pee” which means the tub isn’t getting enough FAE (free air exchange), which totally makes sense as I had the tub taped up waiting for the mycelium to take over the substrate before I put it into fruiting conditions. The substrate was well colonized (see yesterday’s post), so I put it into fruiting conditions today, which turned out to be late, because the tub started to fruit anyway. I keep missing this changeover point, usually because I’m not home, or just getting home, but things work out ok.

What did that move to fruiting conditions entail? I’ll tell you.

1. I took off all the painter’s tape and put filters on all the large holes.
2. I covered the little holes with micropore tape.
3. I took the towel off the bin and moved the bin near a window. Shrooms don’t need light to grow, but the light keeps the mushrooms growing in the right direction.
4. I put a fan near the bin to ensure there’s lots of fresh air circulating around the bin.

Here’s what the set up looks like now.

What’s next? Since we already have pins, mushrooms are next! I haven’t grown this strain before – it’s the OG Huautla – but it shouldn’t take long.

More updates soon.

I put these in the tub the day before I left on a trip, and came home to great progress.

This is another great podcast – it’s long, but 100% worth it. Tara (who I podcast-meditate with regularly) and Roland (who is one of the fantastic folks from Johns Hopkins and also beyond peaceful despite a state 4 cancer diagnosis) discuss the intersection of meditation and psychedelics, and how opening the mind can be accomplished by both, and both can work in tandem. Folks, the Doors of Perception was published in the 50s and here we are 70 years later and all I can say is – ok, we’re making progress.

Meditation, Psychedelics, Mortality: A conversation with Tara Brach and Roland Griffiths – Tara Brach

Meditation, Emotional Healing, and Spiritual Awakening from Tara Brach, PhD – Psychologist, Author, and Meditation Teacher

Tara BrachJanet

“And so the way that I’ve seen it is that the type of experience that people can have under the influence of high dose psychedelics can be almost like a trauma in reverse.”

This quote is from the podcast below. I was listening in the morning, and was half asleep when I heard it, and it jolted me with the truth of it all. Yes! Yes! That is what’s happening. Whether you have big T trauma or little T truama, the medicine helps you identify, and inspect.

In Vinpassa mediation, we have the concept of RAIN: recognize, allow, investigate, nurture. The psychedelic experience can open your mind to allow you do the first 3 steps in this process, so you are open to nurture. With the right experience, and the right guide (and that could be you), the experience is very much “trauma in reverse.”

What Promise Do Psychedelics Hold As Therapeutics? – Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta – Podcast on CNN Audio

When psychedelics were first studied more than 50 years ago, researchers noticed that they were useful in helping people explore a greater sense of self. Now, after a half-century hiatus, scientists are studying psychedelics like MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine as treatment for depression, PTSD, anxi…

CNN

So what were these guys up to?

Portland Police Raid Shroom House Overnight

Willamette WeekAnthony Effinger

I saw that the shop had opened, and wondered what the owners were thinking…. And I also wondered how many people standing in line misunderstood the laws passed in OR and thought the shop was legal.

Someone should tell all those people in line that it’s pretty easy to  grow the medicine at home.

When to Harvest

“Harvest right before the veil breaks.”

When I read this the first time, I thought – what in the world does that mean? What veil? What does break look like? What if I harvest too early? What happens if I wait too long? OMG what if I mess up.

Don’t panic.

This is the veil, and this is what it looks like when it breaks.

If you harvest too early – your shrooms will be smaller, and there’s some debate as to whether that means there’s just more concentrated psilocybin. It’s totally fine.

If you harvest too late, your shrooms might drop spores (see the OMG what happened post). It’s a bit yucky, but it’s just cosmetic. They will taste and work fine. I ended up throwing most of those “OMG shrooms” away in the end bc I don’t like dusty shrooms, but they absolutely are edible, potent, and the tub flushed again. Also fine.

If you harvest way too late, your shrooms will be rotten. You’ll know when that happens. They look like rotten slimy mushrooms from the grocery that you’ve had in the fridge too long. This is obviously not fine, but you’re probably not going to have that happen.

Note – you can/will get aborts. Those are mushrooms that grow a bit, and just stop growing. It is said that these are especially powerful, and many people make a point to keep and dry them. I don’t, but maybe you will. If you have little tiny mushrooms and their tops are turning dark and they are not growing anymore – those are aborts. Pick them, dry and keep, or toss and move on. Up to you.

How to Harvest

I wash my hands, put on gloves (because you’re touching something that someone will ultimately eat) and turn the shroom at the base counterclockwise until it comes loose.

Then I take them to the sink, brush or cut off any substrate, and pop those guys in the dehydrator. You can also put them in the fridge and keep them for a day or so if you don’t have time to dehydrate them right away.

You’ll want to dehydrate at a low temperature (120 or less) until the shooms are cracker dry. By that, I mean, the shrooms “snap” when you bend them. There must be absolutely no bend left. If there’s bend, there’s water in them, and they will not store correctly. You will be sad because they will mold. Dehydrate completely.

How to Store

I store mine in small mason jars with a silca packet, and I’m experimenting with a vaccuum sealer. If you use the vacuum sealer, be sure and really pull all the air out of the packet. I sealed some lightly – because I didn’t want to crush the pretty shrooms, and they got bendy again (and I had to toss them).

And that concludes the basic process.

I’ll be starting a new grow soon with lots of pictures each step of the way!

Finally, the world is coming back to plants to treat what ails us. But if you just want to get high and party, this probably isn’t the droid for you.

Maximize your chances for a good trip

I have found that lower doses tend to be more fun, while higher doses tend to be more educational. At lower doses (1.5-2g), I commune with nature and my fellow trippers, the colors are beautiful, I laugh until my belly hurts, and everything is sparkly. At higher doses (2.75-3g), things might be extra fun, but I have also gotten smacked around with a lesson. I’ve not every gone into heroic dose territory. For me, the same dose has done different things on different days. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

Using plants as medicine requires honesty and planning. You need to be honest with yourself about your mindset. Then you need to plan for the right environment and timing to maximize the opportunity to learn. That “set and setting thing” is solid guidance. Do you really want to meet God/experience ego death/have a super intense experience but you’re somewhat concerned your trip might go off the rails? Get a tripsitter, or wait. You can always go again and go bigger. We’re on a journey. No need to rush. God will be always be there. You can visit next time.

My problem with the positive psilocybin studies

The news is full of studies featuring the benefits of psychedelics and psilocybin in particular. I love it. It’s a giant step forward (and back tbh) because people have been using plant medicine for thousands of years until some people decided it was a good idea to make nature illegal…. but i digress.

The results that folks are having in studies like these happen in controlled “set and setting” conditions. But what happens to people who see these studies, and think – yes, I need to work on myself, I’m giving this a try. Maybe they DIY with a group of friends after a few drinks on a Friday night… And they are not going to have the same experience. Depending on dose, they might even have a really bad experience. Mushrooms take no prisoners. Even with a good set and setting – things can get very real. Funguys can be full of lessons you may or may not enjoy. You don’t get to choose your trip. The shrooms choose for you.

These articles need to come with guidance – “these studies were done in controlled environments…. do not expect same results” – similar to what you read when you invest in stocks “past results are not indicative of future gains.”

You can have it all. You can learn from the medicine without going to a serious lab (that’s what a shaman, curandera, tripsitter, or just plain experience is for), but it’s going to take a bit of planning, a lot of reverence for the medicine, and you have to be really honest with yourself about whether you’re in a place to receive.  

And some good news to end on today: Colorado has decriminalized magic mushrooms!