Opinions - How Ready is Ready? Advice for an LSD first-timer

[Nature Boy]

A good friend of mine has been toying with the idea of doing acid now for a while. He never did it when he was younger because he heard all the myths about it and decided he didn't need it. Now he's very keen to do it because he's read up on it and understands what it can do but is still very worried about what could go wrong.

I advised him to drink a couple of beers and have a few drinks beforehand, to relax him and then he can get over the doubts but I'm not sure if he'll do it.

Anyone have any advice what to tell him?

[transit]

Swim’s first lsd experience was life
changing. </span>There is a thread elsewhere on
this forum where someone asks whether to use drugs when they lose their
virginity. </span>Almost all of the responses
said “no.” </span>Swim would say the same about
combining other drugs with one’s first lsd experience. </span>Keep it clean and simple and experience it
for what it is the first time. </span>There are
lots of other set and setting kinds of stuff to deal with anxiety, and if the
anxiety is too great it may be better to wait.</span>

[Dimitri]

I agree completely with that answer. I m even more strictly....IF your
friend as ANY doubts, he shouldn't do it. Has he had any other
experiences with tryptamines or Peas or hallucinogens in general?

There are several reasons for bad trips, paranoia, terror, breakdowns,
psychosis. Beeing afraid is one of the reasons, someone might
experience his deepest fears potentiated to infinity. Doesn't mean, it
will happen, but it might happen. Therefore just the person himself can
judge this, because it is HIS brain, HIS emotions and HIS personality
interacting with the drug. How can someoneelse judge on the readiness of a person for deeper experiences...tricky I think.

I would tell him not to do it. If he still does, it is not your responsibility whatever happens.



And...I think no, your friend cannot understand what it is doing, not
even when he read thousands of books. Sorry shouldn't sound arrogant,
but I don't mean it this way. Acid is one of the most complex drug
... not many people can say such words as: "I understand Acid".


Edited by: Dimitri

[Nature Boy]

Too late guys. He did it. He loved it though and had a great time. In fact, he responded to it much more positively than I expected. He described it as "taking a holiday to outer space". I think he got it alright.

[Dimitri]

Well then it is okay!

Meaning probably that he skiped his fears and worries and got over it.
Thats a different setting making it easier to cope with the experience.

Have fun!

[Nature Boy]

One of the other main things he stated was that the drug has a very bad reputation for the effects it delivers. His theory (much like mine), is that LSD is quite harmless when taken in small, responsible doses.

[Solidly-here]

Everyone has Second-Thoughts before their first Trip.


When I read Dimitri say: "IF your friend as ANY doubts, he shouldn't do it" it reminded me of many people whom I've talked to over the years. I have NOT heard one person tell me that he didn't have ANY doubts before his first Trip.


Even when you know others who have Tripped a lot, you still hear that Set, Setting, Attitude is important for a good Trip. After all, how many of us would want to Trip right after hearing that my Mother has in-operable Cancer?! But, what if I hear some other news just before a Trip? Can I just Let Go of that fact, OR will it cause me problems during a Trip? This creates doubt (after all, have I prepared fully for this Trip? Well no, not fully, but hopefully good enough).


So, how can a person (who has never Tripped before), know how pure his attitude is? This fact invites second-guessing: "I feel pretty good ... but I wonder if it's good enough for a great Trip." OR "I feel good now, but what if I feel sick later ... will this hurl me into a bad Trip?"


Once a person has had his Virgin Trip, many more of the doubts fade away (but they're still there in spirit). I still remember my former doubts, but now I try to ignore them (for example, "That may be a problem for HIM, but I am more together than that; I will not allow my Trip to go there").


I have not met anyone (so far in my life) who said that he has never had doubts about anything (or even, a person who never had any doubts since turning 18). In fact, this is one reason I Trip ... to release (some more of) my doubts about life, and my place in it.


Since I am sensitive about the needs of others, Iwant to make sure that I do not purposely hurt other's feelings (or cause them un-due problems). Therefore, some of my doubts are around: EVEN if I believe that doing this (fill in the blank) is OK ... it may, eventually, cause problems for someone else. This belief makes me aware of the Direct Impact of my actions (and then adds the Doubt-Layer, the In-Direct Impacts of what I do).


Doubts are normal. Doubts are human. When a person has developed a solid no-doubt attitude, he may end up like a Hitler. This is right (I am right). Everyone else is wrong if they disagree with my opinion about this (or that, or even that). If they disagree with me, they are bad people. ... Well, intolerance is for another thread.


Congratulations nature_boy! Now you have a friend who has taken a holiday in outer space. And congratulations to your friend: "Hi. I welcome you into the Club." Zooming through the Universe at the speed of light is wonderful. I highly recommend it to the world.

[Nature Boy]

The thing with acid might not even be preparation. I've heard of people organising everything beforehand and still freaking out. I think it could be a very random reaction (a bad trip) that tends to happen to a certain type of person (naive, disenchanted, worried). The consistency in trips is so diverse that it's impossible to tell.

I'm glad I've avoided anything majorly upsetting but the theory is that they can happen anytime you drop, even if you are well experienced.