Now I'm kinda curious whether fairy tales are the result of these visions or the other way around. Probably both.
Dennis McKenna, mentioned in the article, is the brother of the late Terence McKenna.
Plenty of common psychedelics have durations in excess of 12 hours. Some even in excess of 24 e.g. high doses of 2C-P. This may be a novel compound, but the duration is not necessarily an indicator.
Maybe people know these things make you see small people, and then they are primed to do so.
Though I don't know any reports of profound conversations.
Like, I know at least two people who’ve done it in group settings with people who saw “elves” and they themselves didn’t see any.
“Valid” as a descriptor is probably best replaced with “average”.
I have some earnest questions, and please take it in that spirit, though I realize these might easily be interpreted as being negative.
To disclose, I've done LSD probably 15 times and 4-ACO-DMT three or four times. I haven't done it in years and I'm OK if I never do them again. LSD no longer hits the same way it used to such that the unpleasant parts now far outweigh the good parts.
Getting back to my questions, I've been under the understanding that ayahuasca can be punishing (vomiting, scary trips) but people often find it was worth it due to the insights they gain in the process. After the first handful of trips, are you still finding out new things? Are you so familiar with the terrifying aspects that they are no longer terrifying? Or are you lucky that the good aspects are still worth the price of admission? Is the driver for you insights or just the novel experiences which arise?
My wife's therapist went on an ayahuasca retreat and said it was like going through a wringer emotionally but it was really worth it. It had me wondering if maybe I should try it. A year later the therapist did it again and said it was like going through a ringer every night for four nights and she got nothing from it. :-(
There are tough parts physically sure, you mostly get used to those parts, sometimes I'll have long stretches of not vomiting and sometimes it'll be every (or multiple times per) ceremony.
As far as "finding out new things", we often use this analogy of layers of an onion (of which you tend to cry more with each layer coming off :)). Breaks between sessions to integrate are needed- after a retreat you might find that some of your baselines have shifted, and you need to find your new normal (or make changes in your life to break out of the old patterns you didn't realize you were stuck in because it was just normal/programmed and not a choice previously). After you've adjusted/integrated other things may begin to surface that were just overshadowed by the energies you've cleaned up before. (A good shaman has cleaned themself to the point that their own energies no longer dominate their vision, and they can "see" outside themselves to diagnose/heal others). Anyways sometimes the physical side effects are just too much for some people and it's understandably not the modality for them...if you spend your ceremonies being entirely consumed by those effects, you can still make progress drinking with a good shaman (though it might be a few ceremonies before you get your head above water).
I still get surprised (especially with master plant diets). Ayahuasca isn't addictive but I think for some of us there is an intellectual addiction to it. The scary ones are the ones I look forward to now :).
I'm very biased but I'd only recommend doing retreats that offer master plant diets in a traditional Shipibo context if you're looking to make lasting changes. The master plants (adjunct plants taken alongside ayahuasca) offer a whole other dimension that ayahuasca alone doesn't even scratch the surface of. A weekend retreat in someone's garage might be ok for a "tuneup" or to see where you're at once in a while, but it's not the place for deep work or for someone new imo (and you risk opening a box that you won't have time to wrap your head around).
The universe finds a way...
> it's not a "valid" trip unless you do You can definitely have a life-changing experience without encountering machine elves.
Those are primarily associated with DMT (the one time I tried it, I too had such an encounter and I didn't know it was a thing until years later).
I'm sure I'll be corrected on this but I think DMT and Psilocybin ultimately affect the same pathways so it's just more evidence that Machine Elves are real! (/s on the real part).
In chemistry it often only takes a single atom difference to totally and radically change a molecule's properties.
Unknown compound ATM.
I've done plenty of psychonaut adventures in the past but it was only that one experience with DMT that actually gave that experience -- but it was also the only time in which I completely disengaged from local reality.
