High & Heroic Doses
Preparation for deep spiritual exploration
Overview
What Are High & Heroic Doses?
Warning
THIS IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO FEEL DRAWN TO THIS JOURNEY.
IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE MUSHROOMS BEFORE, DO NOT START HERE!
This guide is for people who are looking to take a High or Heroic Dose of mushrooms. Psychedelic mushroom experiences can lead to a variety of insights and “miraculous” experiences, such as a sense of euphoria and connection to the natural world, a feeling of unity and interconnectedness with other beings, and a heightened sense of creativity and self-awareness. However, these experiences can also come with challenges, such as feelings of anxiety or paranoia, confusion, and difficulty controlling one’s physical body. It is important to approach psychedelic experiences with caution and a mindset of self-reflection and self-awareness. It is also important to have a trip sitter present any time an individual is planning to exceed microdose levels of psilocybin dosage.
Set & Setting
Critical Preparation
Setting: With the high dose journey, this is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! This should be done in a bed, with a bathroom and shower very close by. This could be your bed or a hotel room, but if you are in your own bed, make sure you have a mattress protector on, just in case. Music is not important; silent darkness can be the best, although it is not necessary.
Set (Mindset): Has two parts. First: Your personality, the kind of person you are, your fears, desires, conflicts, guilts, and secret passions. Second: Your mental state, the attitude you have going into the experience and your intentions for the experience.
For high dose journeys the set is very important. You must submit to the mushroom and be ready to see things that scare you. Mushrooms cannot kill you, but they can sometimes make you think you are dead or dying.
Safety for the Traveler
- Make sure you know HOW TO BREATHE.
- Know what other sacraments or prescriptions you are on. Cannabis is ok, but most (if not all) prescriptions will affect your trip. Research everything you are on before doing a high dose trip. Lithium and other antimanic agents can be very dangerous to mix with mushrooms.
- Declutter your environment before your trip. Get rid of any obstacles that you might bump into or trip over. Ensure that you will have a clear path of travel to the bathroom during your trip.
- Fast for at least 24 hours before your high dose. Having less food and waste in your digestive system decreases the chances of digestive upset during the experience.
- Consume your dose on an empty stomach.
- Make tea out of the mushrooms. It will reduce your chances of vomiting.
- Wear loose fitting comfortable clothing. You may want to remove your clothing during the experience.
- High doses can sometimes trigger a “system purge”. Don’t be shy about choosing to wear Depends or other adult diapers during your high dose.
- Make sure you have a mattress protector on your bed.
- Have a simple meal/snack prepared for after the journey.
- KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WILL EVENTUALLY END. Once you consume a high dose, there is no way to end the resulting effects. “Once you get on this rollercoaster there is no getting off until it’s over”.
- KNOW THE MUSHROOMS YOU ARE TAKING. Each batch/kind is different. Read more about potency. If you have not done any of the mushrooms from the batch you are going to use, start small. Do 2g before 5g, 5g before 10g, 10g before 20g, etc.
- YOU MUST BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR SITTER. THEY WILL PROBABLY SEE YOU NAKED, AND MIGHT EVEN HAVE TO CLEAN UP YOUR VOMIT ETC.
Preparation
Guide & Sitter Requirements
Sitter Instructions
Responsibilities of the Guide
- Be ready for anything.
- Know what other sacraments or prescriptions the Traveler is on. Cannabis is ok, but most prescriptions will affect the trip. Research everything they are on. Lithium and other antimanic agents can be very dangerous.
- Go over any medical conditions they have before beginning.
- The traveler needs you to do the human things that they cannot: Getting them water, getting them to the bathroom, reminding them to breathe, starting the shower or bath, getting them a towel or dry clothes, getting food for them after their trip.
- Don’t interfere or interact with the trip unless you are asked to do so.
- Unless someone falls and hurts themselves, everything will be ok. This is one of the main reasons a bed is a good place for this journey. Unless there is a life-threatening problem (someone cracks their head open or stops breathing) there is no need to go to the hospital.
- Monitor the person’s breathing. The phrase “Everything will be ok, just remember to breathe” can be extremely helpful.
- Keep notes for the Traveler. They will say and do things that they may not remember. It is your job to help them remember. Audio recording is helpful, just make sure you have consent by the Traveler before the journey begins.
- If someone is stuck in a loop repeating the same word/phrase this is normal and might be a very important thing to discuss after the journey.
High Dose Basics
Dosage Calculation
READ THE COMMON DOSE GUIDE FIRST. FACTORS SUCH AS BODY WEIGHT, TOLERANCE, and POTENCY WILL AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF YOUR EXPERIENCE. Refer to New Dosage Standards to understand precision dosing. Read potency information.
There are two ways of calculating a high dose: the traditional method (dosing based on dry weight of mushrooms) and the new dosage standard method (utilizing our dosing calculator to calculate the exact milligram potency of psilocybin in your dose). You must have lab-tested mushrooms that are listed on our dosing calculator in order to properly calculate dosage using the new standard method.
Traditional Method
According to the traditional method of dosing, high doses begin at 5g dried mushrooms and go up to 20g+ of dried mushrooms regardless of body weight.
New Dosage Standard Method
The new dosage standard method of microgram potency of high doses begins at 15,000mcg and goes up to 30,000mcg+ of pure psilocybin. These microgram dose examples are for a person weighing 100 lbs; a 200 lb person would need to double the dose.
During the Experience
Physical, Spiritual & Practical
What to Expect
The Physical Effects
- Explosive diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- Loss of control of your bladder
- Gas/bloating
- Temporary paralysis (depending on the type and amount of mushrooms)
- Palilalia (repetition or “loops” of words/phrases)
- Feeling exhausted afterward, like you just climbed a mountain
- Continued diarrhea for up to 24 hours after the journey
What to Expect Spiritually
- Depending on how you consume them, the journey will start in 20 minutes (tea on an empty stomach) to one-and-a-half hours (full stomach or eating the mushroom bodies directly).
- Continued “tripping” even after returning to your body for up to 8-12 hours after your journey starts.
- Leaving your body.
- Inner knowledge of your body.
- Visiting other realms.
- Meeting creatures, gods, aliens, things that cannot be described with words.
- Creatures that enter your body.
- Transforming into different things.
- Visions of god, space, the inside of your body, and/or things that cannot be described with words.
- Feeling like “you’ll never get back” (you will, but you might think you cannot).
- Emotions: fear, happiness, love, hate, everything at once.
- Heightened hearing.
- Synesthesia: smelling, hearing or tasting colors.
Navigate Your Journey
- Surrender to the mushroom. If you think “I wish this would stop”, it will not. You are on this rollercoaster; you cannot get off till it’s over.
- Drink lots of water. Sport bottles for drinking water are very nice; there’s less of a chance of spilling it all over yourself.
- If you see a demon, alien, or monster don’t be afraid. Approach it and ask: “Why are you here?” “What can I learn from you?” “What can you help me with?”
- Tell the sitter things you want to remember; taking notes yourself is very difficult.
- If you feel “trapped” like you will not be able to return to the “real world” accept it. Know you will eventually come back, but accept that you might not, and this is now your reality.
- Try starting with a small dose earlier in the day. 1 to 2 grams 3 to 4 hours before should help flush your system out. Defecating during a trip is no fun.
- Ground your ego afterward. If you are shown that “You are God” know that you are not God but everyone is God.
- Try to find a message out of the trip. What did the mushrooms want to teach you?
- Have the courage to go back. If you feel like you don’t need to, then don’t, but if you are simply afraid to, get over your fear.
Need Help?
Crisis & Support Resources
Fireside Project: (623) 473-7433
Trained peer support for difficult psychedelic experiences. Free, confidential, available 24/7.
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255
Emergency: 911. Call immediately for any medical emergency, risk of harm to self or others, or if someone is unresponsive.
Continue Your Journey
Calculate your precise dose and explore other dosage guides.
