ALL YOU need TO KNOW TO find THE right TRIPSITTER
When planning a psychedelic journey, regardless of what dosing you have in mind, you may prefer to have someone with you for support. We call this a trip sitter, or a facilitator. This person makes sure that you have a comfortable and safe psychedelic experience. In this article, we share a few guidelines to help you find the right trip sitter.
What is a tripsitter?
A trip sitter is a person that serves as a steady and supportive presence while you experience your journey. This person helps out with whatever you may need. It should be someone you trust and whom you feel safe and comfortable with, who is able to approach any situation with openness, and who brings a calm and balanced energy. A trip sitter supports you both practically and emotionally. During your psychedelic journey, the sitter stays sober.
A conscious mind
Embarking on a psychedelic journey is not always easy. You never know what you will encounter and how you will react to the things you’ll meet on your path. For a low or mid dose, you can choose a friend or a family member. Please do make sure that this person is familiar with psychedelics, has a good understanding of how the mind and body work and, preferably, has some experience in facilitating. If you’re not sure about what dosing is right for your trip, please read this article, which focuses on dosing.
Choosing a trip sitter
Facilitating a psychedelic trip is not difficult, but it should be done with consideration. This is why you need someone who cares for you, who’s happy to make you a cup of tea but also knows not to serve it to you while it’s still boiling hot. They help you when you need to go to the toilet, if you feel off-balance, for example. It should be someone who can either feel your vibe or asks the right questions to find out when in doubt. Choose a person who doesn’t reject or dismiss anything.
Physical support
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. You may want to hold a hand, at some point, or you maybe you want to be comforted by other forms of physical touch. It’s advisable for both parties to have clarity about what you would like and would not like beforehand. When you are in a non-ordinary state of consciousness, this can be very difficult to communicate.
Creating an atmosphere
It’s important that you pick a place where you feel safe and comfortable, and that the people you plan to have your journey with are familiar to you. Ideally, the atmosphere is warm, embracing and loving, which can be created with heaps of pillows and soft blankets, for example. It’s essential that everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
Psychedelic therapy
If you are planning to make a journey for therapeutic purposes, we strongly recommend doing this in a designated setting only, under the guidance of trained and experienced professionals.
Facilitating with higher doses
If you are thinking about taking a deep dive with a high dose, we recommend partaking in our Spinoza retreat program. The pinnacle of the program consists of a high-dose psychedelic truffle ceremony facilitated by experienced guides and experts. A week prior to this, you partake in a preparation workshop and a week afterwards you will receive practical tools to help you in your integration process. You will be guided with loving care and personal attention.
