challenges DURING A psychedelic TRIP
Consciously entering another state of consciousness is one of the most interesting and valuable experiences one can attain. A psychedelic trip can be a pleasant and mind or heart opening experience. But as it is with life, there are the good parts and there are more challenging parts.
The challenging parts are absolutely necessary. This is fertile ground for growth. If you feel resistance for mental or emotional challenges, try to breathe into them. Don’t resist such difficulties and move into the spaces you are led into. Try to relax into your experience. Feel what you need to feel. Look deeply into your discomfort with a childlike curiosity.
Because these are the parts that never had the opportunity to heal. Maybe because we didn’t want to see or face them or we had no time to attend to them. Psychedelic introspection doesn’t discriminate, it opens every part of you, and this includes the parts that need repairing. Things that have been ignored or neglected, but nevertheless remain part of us. Embrace your uncertainty and what you’ve been afraid of. With love. You’ll discover that where there is love, there is no fear. Love always wins.
Without hopes and fears
The Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza believed that both hope and fear stand in the way of understanding our true nature. He explained that we are often blind to the forces that determine our lives. And the less we understand this, the more we are at the mercy of hope and fear.
When we are able to enter into any situation in our daily lives, without hopes, without expectations, without fears, without prejudice and without the preconceptions of our conditioned minds, the more we are able to see and enjoy the beauty of reality as it is.
The same applies to psychedelic exploration. Without hopes and fears, without anxiety or expectations, you’re more likely to benefit from your experience. You will be more open and able to accept what needs to be accepted, see what needs to be seen and feel what needs to be felt. We highly recommend practising this in daily life.
The more we understand something, the less fearful we become of it. When we’re less fearful, we have more space to be open, calm and joyful. From there, we can focus our awareness on matters that need and deserve our attention. To things that nourish us and sustain our wellbeing, and which contribute to our growth – ideally resulting in a better understanding of our own nature and our place in the world.
How to deal with challenging encounters during a psychedelic trip
Have faith in yourself and know that whatever you encounter on this journey needs to arise. You may gain beautiful insights, or even feel ecstatic and blissful – but you may also come face to face with your fears or other issues that you may need to address.
Try to relax in what feels scary or challenging. Invite what you’re fearful of. Sit with it. There’s always something to learn there. Don’t let fear get in your own way. Don’t reject or dismiss anything. Simply observe what comes along and remember that everything will pass. You’ll be able to explore your inner realm much more freely.
How to stop a bad trip
We believe that however challenging a psychedelic trip may be, there are no bad trips. Only our rejection or denial of the parts in us that need our attention can make a journey more challenging. Breathe, let go, embrace things lovingly and… Remember, you are the medicine.
- If you feel resistance, connect with the breath, shake or move your body.
- Try to relax into whatever it is that you are experiencing by simply feeling what there is to feel.
- Make your exhale longer than your inhale.
- Always move towards challenging experiences and invite the experience in.
- Going through is the best way out.
- Remember: this experience will pass, both the good and the challenging parts.
- Recall your intention.
