Aspiring Psychonaut

[RBK]

Hi...new here. Maybe I just missed it, but I didn't see an introduction forum, so I'll go ahead and start with the question I had.

I took my first dose of MDMA last month, and let's just say it's a whole new world. Now, I'm not of the persuasion that you should indiscriminately get verschnickered, so I'm carefully planning for my next little trip down Mystery Lane, possibly in September or August. I'm still at the point where I'd rather tinker with my brain chemistry, rather than totally revolutionalize it. But while the 2 red buddhas I took were fantastic, I feel the need to move forward and to use these chemicals to enhance my life and mind as opposed to frivolously consuming feel-gooders.

I've considered many options, from candy-flipping to acid, to shrooms, but I ran across a particular description in Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head that caught my attention, which after some consideration I would like to try at some point if I can get some reliable and detailed information. The passage is as follows:

Although I am, compared to some, a psychonautical chicken, I did try one such chemical cocktail--a martini-mix of MDMA with a vermouth-sized whisper of 2CB. I will not tell a lie. That combination was a magic meld of warmth, euphoria and clear light.

Pinchbeck also describes 2C-B as a "super-sanity" drug and suggests that at low doses it would be an "intriguing, highly productive tool for intellectual labor."

My expression seems to have taken a bit of a confused stumble over the last year or so, and being able to cut through the haze and crystallize my own understanding of things and consider them through the patient energy of the MDMA would be tremendously helpful.

And so I ask, has anyone here tried it? Do you agree with Pinchbeck, or how did your experience differ? What dosages, and what timing would you recommend?

Thanks for the help

 

[GOD]

I had 2cb from a lab a few times when it was legal here and personaly i dont like it . Others do . I think the effects of drugs are very subjective . I`m also sure that its not possible to mix drugs and build a tailor made high . That the effect is going to be different every time . Drugs arent lego building blocks .

 

[Forkbender]

Unless the people who take them are legoblocks in a legoworld.

Welcome, RBK.

Haven't tried it yet, though I have it somewhere lying around. I've heard very positive and very negative stories, so GOD is right in saying that it is a subjective thing. I hear more positive stories than negative ones, though, especially amongst people who prepare well, take care of the set and setting and know how much they are taking. 2cb is active at very low doses (8-10 mg for a light trip) and people react to it differently, so make sure you get a good scale (0,001g accuracy) or have someone you can trust measure it.

 

[Bastiaan]

Welcome!
I haven't much to add really, fork and GOD said it all.. it's very subjective, experiment carefully and sensibly and you'll find your favourite enlightener I suppose
I have only tried some as well, my personal favourite until now is ayahuasca, wich I have only just discovered, my second time will be soon
My to try list consists now of LSD and 2-cb, wich I sadly, not having a lot of connections, have been unable to acquire until now
So I suppose I'll have to stick with mushies and aya now wich I don't mind at all.. I'm sure they'll come my way soon enough
I have had bad experiences (after effects) with MDMA wich I kind of abused so I'm saving MDMA for very special and rare ocasions
Very potent stuff though, a personal favourite for sure
As its subjective I can't really advize you anything but from MY experience I'd recommend giving aya a try sometime
Luck and light!

 

[Caduceus Mercurius]

Hi RBK!

It's on my wishlist, and I now have all the ingredients again. I will probably have some experience with the combination by the middle of August. I haven't tried 2-cb on its own yet, but I think I'll just go for the beeflip straight away.

 

[RBK]

Thank you for your responses!

Of course every experience is unique...I suppose that's part of the charm. But through my readings, it appears to me that each compound has a type of...personality (true? false?). Ayahuasca, for instance, seems to be very alive, and I've read some accounts of biologists who received insights to their research questions while influenced by the yage brew. Perhaps Bastiaan would like to say a little more on that subject since I personally am waiting until graduate school to try it, being a biology student.

The common denominator of visions and feelings is something I find interesting, since obviously each person's mind is vastly different from the next person's, made up of memories and experiences that can never be replicated. If it were pure hallucination, each trip should be the images conjured up by that particular mind, and accounts would overlap less often than they do. If what I suggest is true, that each specific chemical leads to a certain type of insight, then the combinations (of which there would be thousands of safe ones, if not millions) would also lead to specific insights.

I apologize if I came off a little bit silly, lol, with the "legoblock" approach, but that's the idea behind it. I may be totally of my rocker, of course.

 

[Forkbender]

^It makes a lot of sense. But there is more to it. If you look at why people experience certain things, you need to look at the history of their idea of that experience. People have preconceived ideas about something and this will influence the trip just as much as the type of drug, the mood you are in and the place you are in. Psychedelics are like mirrors, you will clearly see yourself if you look consciously.

 

[RBK]

Hm. As it were, my experience is very limited, Fork. That having been said, so far I concur with you.

I agreed to take the MDMA mostly out of pride and because I was tired of being nagged at...I suppose in a way I had something to prove. But once trapped in agreement that my honor wouldn't let me get out of, I did develop specific ideas about what I was trying to achieve. I did not arbitrarily pop some pills at a rave, and it was by far the most deeply interpersonal, private thing I've ever experienced. I met my goals, so to speak...perhaps even exceeded them.

I assume that it will never feel the same as the first roll, and I don't want to spend time and money chasing after a feeling I can never catch again, especially if it's just to feel it, without any other purpose in mind. I think I might be more shaken up about the whole experience than I'd like to admit...in a way I'm even more confused than I was before and in another way I see things more clearly than I ever did. Therefore, my goal for my next chemical enterprise is to crystallize what I think about life, love and the universe, before I take something like a good dose of LSD that might tell me I'm wrong. Somewhere in there it seems more sensible to have a thought before being corrected, lol. I don't know if that makes any sense.

I'm hoping that, with some help, I will be able to repeat my success in the sense that because I have a goal, and I know what I'm looking for, I will get there. With that in mind, if anyone has any suggestions besides the...beeflip (?), I am very open to hearing it. lol, after all, I am an aspiring psychonaut, and I will defer to the wisdom of those who know better than myself.

 

[Forkbender]

Confusion is part of the process. You should try the drug you think is right for you at this point. If you stand wholeheartedly behind what you do, you will certainly gain the insight you are looking for (though probably in an unexpected way). The crystallization of a worldview can be part of the process too. I've experienced that myself as well.

My advice is to read some taoistic literature or some mystical literature (if you like reading). There's a lot to be found there for those who are willing to see. I have found that a worldview like that is the only one in common literature that shares some features with the psychedelic trip. Throw in some buddhist psychology and a hint of shamanism and you will have some background you can cross out later with your own experience.

Safe journeys,
Fork

 

[GOD]

You sound like your a sensible person . Empty your mind , relax and take a good dose . Then enjoy the ride and whatever happens laugh .

 

[TMthi3dgen]

just some advise i was given when starting out, and i pass it on. you might try each drug seperatly and on its own, because yes, they all have their own "personality" as you said. I found after doing that, that i could then further enjoy the transition from one to another (should you choose to mix) as i could properly identify each one. just a thought.

 

[tryptonaut]

If you look at why people experience certain things, you need to look at the history of their idea of that experience. People have preconceived ideas about something and this will influence the trip just as much as the type of drug, the mood you are in and the place you are in. Psychedelics are like mirrors, you will clearly see yourself if you look consciously.

I always thought my best trips were when it went totally away from my preconceived ideas of what the trip would be like. Happened to me a few times on mushrooms in higher doses. It wasn't always easy because the totally unexpected tends to invoke anxiety at first. Then however you know you just experienced something totally new, something extremely real because you had in no way anticipated it. One example would be when I first had the feeling of being in the world of antropomorphized mushrooms. Like they were people welcoming me into their world. I had maybe heard about it, but I had always thought it was some wishful mumbo-jumbo from ethno-freaks. Then it was suddenly there with me, totally real and totally unexpected.

If you like mdma, then you will also love mescaline. It's the most similar to mdma in my opinion, only a lot more psychedelic. On the other hand prepare for some difficult experiences when you try other psychedelics - they are often way less "feel-good" as mdma. A high dose of mushrooms can feel like your brain is being raped, quite shocking. Although you can learn a lot from it, much more than from feelgood empathogens like mdma.

 

[Brugmansia]

Did a few experiences, 24 mg oral twice and once snorted 30 mg's.

I prefer snorting it by far since it saves material and the experience is on set with about five minutes. It only lasts about 30 minutes shorter than oral ingestion but it hits you harder.

A body load is what comes on first, followed by a gente calmness similar to that of mescaline. There's background energy which you'll notice if you get up yourself.

With open eyes, my environment glows, with closed eyes, there are colourful visuals similar to those of mescaline. You can totally control them and give them your prefered shape or form.

I could change the whole effect as well, I have been as good as sober for about 15 minutes because I took a shower (I advice this, clean yourself and your skin) and could turn the effect off. Also make it stronger if I wanted to.

I felt very woman-like and erotic, I became very focussed on the touches of my skin by the sheets of my bed. Nipples felt extremly sensual and pleasant.

It makes your mind and entire skin very sensual, tender and sensitive. Just like women often report about their desires in their sex life. I wasn't really a man, more womanish, and I liked it. Earthy and soft.

Mentally it is psychedelic like, much more than MDMA ot pot, but much more less than Acid or Shrooms. It's 70 procent Mescaline and 30 procent MDMA to me.

2-CB is love AND lust, which makes it unique. One of my favorites substances. If I had to pick a colour to describe 2CB it'd be purple in combination with the colour of this forum lay out.

 

[IJesusChrist]

Drugs are tools of the brain and mind. You can use them as toys, or you can put them to work.
What I suggest you do when you take stronger hallucinogens, especially DMT or Ayahuasca, read, read, read about your interests, loves and passions.
You said you were a biology student, I do not know what type... But engulf yourself in the world of biology till you feel it, and make that feeling last till you take off.
The insights will be infinite.

 

[magickmumu]

I had 2cb from a lab a few times when it was legal here and personaly i dont like it . Others do . I think the effects of drugs are very subjective . I`m also sure that its not possible to mix drugs and build a tailor made high . That the effect is going to be different every time . Drugs arent lego building blocks .

I never took 2cb. Or any other designer drugs.
My interest has always been the natural stuff.

2cb used to be legal. But I don't know that many people who actually used it.

 

[Subtle_Nod]

This might annoy some people.

I don't think that anything that causes euphoria is part of a psychonautical journey.

My reason is this - as a psychonaut, your supposed to be exploring your mind - if you artificially change it before you get there, you are no longer exploring the same thing.

Peace and welcome to the forum though.

 

[Mikey_Massacre]

I agree with you. That is why I wouldnt call MDMA a psychedelic,but maybe I am wrong

 

[gammagoblin]

I agree with you. That is why I wouldnt call MDMA a psychedelic,but maybe I am wrong

Well, the euphoria I experienced on MDMA definitely made me think/behave differently (in the sense that I felt that I could just be how I really am, and don't give a shit about any "social conditioning" anymore = I just said what's on my mind), so in this sense I think I see it as a tool for exploring the mind.

 

[Mikey_Massacre]

But usally people(at least people that I know) use it just to feel good,not for the way you think then. But these guys are ignorants.

 

[Subtle_Nod]

Sure, you get to see something else, but at the same time, what you are seeing is coloured by artificial happiness.

There is no good trips or bad trips. If something arises, it is part of the trip - trying to control it is most people's problem.

Causing fake euphoria is part of the trip is just another way of controlling things that shouldn't be controlled if you are looking for your true self.

That's not to say I frown upon you or what you are doing. I hope you enjoy your time here.

I also think there can still be a place for it, it's just not exploring yourself, it's exploring the euphoria.