By side effects, do you mean nausea? I’ve never had nausea, but some prefer the taste of the tea rather than eating the mushrooms. Just simmer for a few minutes like making any kind of herbal tea. Probably good to simmer at least 15 minutes to make sure that all of the psilocybin is extracted. Adding a bit of lemon or lemon juice gives it a tart flavor and may help neutralize the alkalinity of the mushroom.
3 Likes
All the above are great ways, wanted to add, in Canada you can buy them in the form of a chocolate bar and the dose is professionally done and labeled on the package. Looking forward to the day that happens in the US.
2 Likes
The minor tremors
Chills
Heat/sweating
Joint and muscle tension.
Heart beat increase
I have heard the tea version helps get rid, or reduce these negative side effects.
And I think the sensitivity to this substance falls on a Bell Curve, with some people being far more sensitive to the side effects than others. I will add the side effects are much worse when taken on an empty stomach, (understandably so).
The Chocolate bars are available on the street too, but I dont trust them.
Have been told there are over 150 different species, I think some species produce much more negative side effects than others.
Also worth noting that even amongst the same species, there can be dramatically different levels of potency’ in each individual fungus.
3 Likes
Yes, well I think the only difference taking it as a tea will make is that it may reduce nausea (which I’ve rarely had). The other effects are from the psilocybin itself, and those effects will vary per person based on dosage. And yes, different species will have different dosages and slightly different effects. Almost all of my experiences have been with p. cubensis (the main species which is cultivated and sold) but my last excursion, 2 summers ago, was with p. cyenescens, which was much stronger than expected and it was the only time I had nausea and vomiting. I think that was because I took a much bigger dose than expected, based on what I thought was a pretty small dose. I wasn’t prepared for how strong this particular species was. A couple of previous experiences with it didn’t seem that strong. I was alone in a wilderness setting and expected a milder experience. It hit me like a ton of bricks. But still got a lot of valuable downloads from it which I journaled about. In that journey, I was actually told that I don’t need to keep doing psychedelics. It was a feeling of “I’ve been there and done that enough times. Now it’s time to get more serious and disciplined about meditation and other spiritual practices.” So that’s what I’ve been doing since then. (Except that I occasionally use cannabis as a psychedelic - usually orally, not smoked - but that’s a whole other thing we can get into).
2 Likes
That is the way to do it, save your lungs for the Bon fires. MJ will affect dream recall, so best to do it rarely if dreamwork is part of your practice.
I think you are right. Its a really unque texture in the mouth, like touching a sea anemone, it ‘sticks’ to membranes, and I wonder if this is what causes the nausea or digestive issues.
Thank you for letting me know about these two species.
The last one I tried had a funny name 
:
googling it, now I realize why it was different than other species:
"Albino Penis Envy magic mushroom (APE)
Penis Envy mushrooms are the caviar of the psilocybin mushrooms world. They’re much more expensive, harder to produce, and give users a stronger and more powerful euphoric experience.
It’s called a Penis Envy mushroom because of its penis-like shape. This shroom is different from other strains because it is chemically more equipped to give off faster and harder trips than usual mushroom strains.
There are several varieties of Penis Envy mushrooms, with the two most popular ones being albino penis envy and uncut penis envy.
When ingesting a Penis Envy mushroom, it’s generally recommended to only consume about 70 percent of the original size that you’d normally consume other shroom strains.
"
2 Likes
“Penis Envy” is a variety of psilocybe cubensis. Seems like folks are breeding stronger and stronger varieties, similar to how all of the different and stronger varieties of cannabis have been bred. I’ve never tried them. Seemed to me that ordinary cubensis was pretty strong as it was and never felt the need for anything stronger. No matter which variety you are using, start very small and slowly work up to stronger doses. Proceed with caution. Have a sitter if you are new to this. Also, I found that the more experience I gained with psilocybin, the more sensitive I got to it. Kind of like the opposite of increased tolerance. Over time, with repeated experience, I needed less. I remember going to one mushroom ceremony where most of the people there felt that the mushroom tea was weak and they didn’t experience much. The ceremony was happening in someone’s farm house. I was tripping balls on a mushroom tea that other’s hardly felt. So other’s left the ceremony and went outside to a fire where they were socializing. Meanwhile I’m thinking “where did everyone go?! Why am I the only one left in the ceremony?!” I thought that they were still feeling the shrooms but had decided to just go out to the fire and party with it, which pissed me off. It wasn’t till later when we compared notes, that we realized that they weren’t feeling the shrooms, so just decided to leave the ceremony and go out and socialize. Meanwhile I’m going through a heavy shroom trip.
2 Likes
Agreed, same thing with Heroin. This is why I think this fungus is so scary and dangerous for first timers. Having a spirtual guide or expert with you the first time I think is essential to help guide you through things, and montiter the dosage.
Agreed. This is very important. (A sober sitter.)
Pardon my French, but I think they call it this because it causes my 
to get ‘sucked’ into my body. 
Its worse than a tub full of ice. 
I really wish they would list this as one of the negative side effects
1 Like
Appreciate you letting me know this.
2 Likes
It’s also good to have a scale so you can weigh your dose. Start with .5 grams and gradually increase to higher doses. Some people say that the caps are stronger than stems. That is folklore. Caps and stems from the same mushroom have the same psilocybin content. But if you get a different variety than what you are used to, be cautious and start small again.
2 Likes
@_NightHawk999. I never noticed that particular side effect, but then again, I never used the “penis envy” variety and I was never that focused on that part of my body while tripping. But again, “penis envy” is just a strong variety of cubensis, so no different than taking a larger amount of a different variety. Perhaps you are referring to a feeling of coldness. That I did experience. It was wierd . . . for several years I went through a phase where I would feel very cold as it was coming on. I would shiver and shake and turn up the heat and climb under a pile of blankets. Then that phase stopped and I even felt flushes of warmth. In more recent years I never had that feeling of coldness. I heard about one ceremony where one guy got such bad shivers that they put him into a sauna for a while. I don’t know what the explanation for this is. In Chinese medicine they talk about coldness or heat as qualities that can be trapped in the body. Perhaps this medicine just releases coldness or heat as needed. Just a guess.
1 Like
I try not to focus too much on that part of the body, but I mentioned it because it did make peeing a little difficult.
Definitely might be tied to the cold sensations and cold sweats. Same experience for me, the chills and cold sweats are not the most pleasent sensation.
The heat waves are a lot more pleasant, but would not be if you are in a hot enviornment.
I believe it, they are no joke. A taste of the Arctic and the Desert all in one sitting, no wonder why they call it a trip. 
It reminds me of the dying process. Andrew says on death beads when the fire element begins to leave the body, people cannot get warm, no matter how much you turn up the heat, or how many blankets you give them.
2 Likes
@NightHawk999 As I said, I went through a phase of that, and it wouldn’t last the whole trip, it would be one phase of the trip. Then after a few years that went away. It seemed like it healed whatever was causing that after a period of time. I didn’t experience the trouble with peeing. It does tend to activate the sympathetic nervous system, so may be harder to just relax and let go. Take long slow deep breaths into the belly. Turn off your mind relax and float downstream.
It’s said that John Lennon based this song on part of Tim Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) Psychedelic Guide which they loosely based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
3 Likes
3 Likes
@_Barry. Great article! I’ve heard good things about Rhythmia.
3 Likes
Andrew speaks highly of it.
2 Likes
Yes it is only a portion of trip, but one of the less pleasant parts.
I had a cool dream I will tell you about later.
“an floaf down stream”
“surredender to the void it is shing”
Really good lines, great song. Very fitting advice.
Andrew recently said surrender is very important for these types of experiences
3 Likes
Yes indeed! And it can be a struggle for the ego sometimes, especially if you’ve taken a dose that it hurling you towards ego death and the ego is screaming “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
3 Likes
Yes I think that is a big part of it, and why fighting it can make people so miserable, or send them to the hospital.
The other thing to consider is Mother Nature created a cruel poisen, that causes its victims to basically become parallyzed if they eat too much. (think of mice, rats, rabbits, etc), and makes them a nice snack for the more vicious carnavores in the woods.
Have you heard of the Lions Gaze Meditation?
3 Likes
One person’s poison is another person’s medicine. For those called to engage with these medicines, it is all about finding the right medicine, the right dosage and the right set and setting to accomplish whatever your intention is.
And no, I don’t know about the Lion’s Gaze meditation.
2 Likes
Amen.
The mystic swims in the same water the psychotic drowns in.
To my knowledge it is a Dzogchen practice. Andrew has a video on in in the meditation videos section I think, it is talked about here at the end of this video:
Basically the meditation confronts the source of thoughts emotions and other aspects of mind.
I mention this because It only took a small cap and stem for me to have an extremely powerful experience:
Long story short, I was SO GREATLY APPRECIATIVE to you and your wisdom and guidance, at the end of the ride, I wanted to give you a GIANT bear hug! Words cant express my gratitude so I wont even try. Thank you my friend.
The details: While riding the wave of negative symptoms, I meditated to remain calm, then I did this Lions Gaze meditation, and it blew my mind what I expereinced after that, Impossible to put into words. Truely mindblowing and amazing!
3 Likes