Status Updates From Guia do Explorador Psicodél...

Woo

Ch22 & the last words. There's a study that shows more long-term effects, and amongst the things I find most interesting are the super low frequency of bad trips (in proper set & setting) & how nearly all effects seem more noticeable a year after the trip than in the first few months. Then more blabber about how scheduling held back research & made these drugs less safe, & a final message to be open & help humanity

Ch21, long term changes form LSD & mescaline sessions. Decreased anxiety, increased satisfaction & positive emotionality in relationships, better work performance (primarily for productive than financial reasons), more memorable, vivid, & enjoyable dreams, more activity, less fear, more creative expression & religious tolerance, better sex, more self confidence, positive style, dietary, & drinking changes, etc.

Ch20, 2 ayahuasca reports & one from those hallucinating darkness retreats. The realizations from the first guy on the oneness of good & evil, perseverance, & the constant presence of love for everybody sounded really interesting, and his visions seemed to be so vivid & detailed. But the girl from the darkness retreat I think did a poor job wording her experience, it sounded not beneficial & maybe even harmful

Ch18&19, ending pt4 & starting pt5. Where psych research is today & can go from now, which it's kinda crazy seeing how there's been no continuation of the AA studies considering how promising those seemed, and then a recap of the guidelines for entheogenic trips from ch1-2. Prepare, be open, pick out good music, have a cozy environment, try to get outside, and integrate seem to be the most important. Have a sitter ig

Ch16&17, some statistics on those who use psychs. LSD & Psilocybin are the most commonly used, worst trips & best trips were often synonymous, most took for entheogenic or self-healing or exploration, slight gender differences. Some bits about scheduling LSD coming from church going prudes who have never had an actual religious experience, & more suggesting to take these in a proper, helpful manner / context

Start of pt4, ch15. He goes over microdose reports (~10mcg often taken every 3 days). A lot of people feel a subtle interconnectedness that improves creative output, mood in social interaction, focus, instrument-playing, memory recall, vividness of thoughts, & productivity all without interrupting their daily routine or even sticking out amongst most people.

Ch14 & end of pt3, he reflects on a whole his time experimenting with LSD, when Ram Dass first hooked him up with psilocybin, the experiences ppl had w music & eyemasks, & the government abruptly shutting everything down despite its safety profile & promise in therapeutic & creative/problem solving applications, in addition to some person thoughts on the matter

Ch12&13, some accounts on an early group session where participants tried coming up with ideas for children's toys & ways to read a record without damaging the needle & the record (basically predicting CD technology). Then Fadiman recalling taking LSD to come up w magazine ideas or sum, and he ended up taking striking pictures of his wife or something? The book is starting to lose me

Ch11, some personal reports of architects, engineers, etc. who took psychs for his studies. Compounds like LSD seem to get somebody to visualize the model more vividly, & as a consequence classic solutions that were previously ignored or not thought of become very obvious. They also go through thoughts and outcomes much more rapidly, and most report a sustained change in their thinking & practice

Ch10, using LSD in a problem solving context. It involves having a facilitator (like a tripsitter but more for rationality & focus than emotionality), taking 50-100mcg in the morning, eyemasks, calm, simple music, usually a group, notepads (no devices) to take notes, finger food, & ample space to lie down/relax. ~3 hours w masks, some time for individual reflection, & eventually group discussion & takeout for dinner

Ch9, psychs improving creativity w respect to problem solving. Participants were able to think more rapidly, restructure the problem, lower inhibition of thoughts, visualize more easily, get distracted less, empathize more w people & the problem itself, recall the subconscious, associate seemingly dissimilar ideas, stay motivated, & visualize the solution. Improvements were immediate but held up often for months

Ch8, end of pt2. Fadiman goes over his studies & the questionnaire he developed. With his subjects, he saw great improvements in most with relationships, dreams, proper media consumption, emotionality, material values, work, & self-awareness- creativity, activity, & sex varied for guys & girls- less prevalent were improvements in sex, fear, health, habits, & spirituality. Some were worse w things like eating habits

Ch6 is advice on how to help somebody having a bad trip. Subtle, non-invasive reassurance and maybe a gentle touch is all they need- dont get them paranoid. Weighted blanket. Ch7 is myths- LSD being laced, chromosomal & birth defects, insanity, LSD residing in the body causing flashbacks- all untrue. By being cheap & on blotter paper, LSD is very safe, especially in a stable clinical setting. He links a few websites

Ch5 & pt2, psychs in therapy. There's some bold shit here- the obvious helping terminally ill patients improve quality of life, proper realignment for depressed, anxious, & addicted patients, but also relieving autism symptoms in kids & long-term repression of physical symptoms like headaches & paralysis. It seems difficult to put LSD in any sort of model, but it being used to accelerate therapy seems crucial

Ch4, end of pt1. LSD's history, divided into stages because each new wave of people had more of an understanding & different mindset towards it than the last. Hoffman's my goat, Tim Leary was seen by some as the Galileo of his time which is interesting, Ram Dass drops bars- it's a lot of cool excerpts here, & it seems ppl gain a lot from taking a lot, lying down w music, then spending time outside & integrating

Ch3, little excerpt from Alan Watts about 4 conclusions people (or at least him) come to on psychs. One is detatchment from the future & exclusive focus on the present, like staring at a glass of water. The other is the polarity of the world- buying & selling don't exist w/o one another, & are essentially one. The other is relativity (everybody is experiencing "I") & the last is sum bout eternal light idk

Ch2, let go- remember this is something you wanted to do. Have snacks out like nuts, fruits, & juice. Ask the guide any questions- as the guide, reassure & suggest the voyager goes further as slightly as possible. Feeling of dying = ego dissolution. Be comfy. After the peak, go outside &/or look at flower, photos, a mirror, or a picture book. LSD curing allergies?? Integrate slowly, don't take again til ready 4 more

Intro & ch1, some terminology & guidelines for "voyagers" & "guides". As a voyager you want a good headspace & calm environment w minimal outside influences. Be open to everything, have a selection of music that only contains lyrics at the start & end of the trip (8hr playlist), go outside after the trip. Spend time outside day prior reflecting, be free the whole day you trip, integrate the day after. Sitter tips too