Differences between psychedelic drugs
LSD and psilocybin, while similar, are not the same. Here's a nice article by Ellis Dee (
[email protected]) summarizing the differences:
"Here's a partial list of differences between the effects of LSD and psilocybin, as I see them (your mileage may vary) ---
(key -- P: psilocybin; L: LSD-25)
Duration
P: onset: 30 minutes; peak 90 minutes; duration: 6 hours
L: onset: 60 minutes; peak 2-3 hours; duration: 10 hours
Stimulation
L: pronounced stimulant effect, similar to phenethylamines
P: little stimulant effect, sometimes inducing mild sleepyness
Perception
scope of effect
L: all sense fields -- visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic
P: primarily visual [Eds: We disagree with this one.]
perceptual integration L: profound synesthesia in high doses, especially visual perception of auditory stimuli
P: limited synesthesia, even in high doses
visual
speciificity
L: general, wide spectrum of possible effects
P: somewhat specific, with recurrent forms
aesthetics
L: neutral, visuals ranging from the banal to the sublime
P: visions of sublime beauty the norm
color
hue
L: primary or spectral colors
P: 'earthy' composite warm colors
color-object association, mobility
L: abstract, colors moving and changing freely
P: concrete, colors fused to objects
other qualities
L: transparent, neutral
P: rich, lustrous
patterns
detail
L: fine detail, fractal-like quality
P: little emphasis on detail
form
L: great variety of form; small lines, facets elucidate structure
P: broad interlocking regions containing different colors bounded by curved, clean edges
consciousness, general
ego dissolution
L: profound depersonalization accompanying experience of the underlying unity and boundlessness of everything
P: mild depersonalization accompanying experience of beauty in and empathy with other beings/phenomena
expansiveness
L: very expansive, multiplicity of thought and emotion, sense of boundlessness
P: mildly expansive
cognition and perception
L: cognition and perception are intimately associated, perception seeming to be largely directed by cognitive processes
P: perception is little affected by cognition
continuity
L: high degree of continuity imparted (apparently) by the mediation of perception by cognition
P: little continuity as one intense sensation replaces another
Some of the differences are exaggerated slightly for clarity."
4e. Hallucinations
Describing hallucinations and visual effects is not possible; not only are they literally undescribeable but they're different for different people. But nevertheless, we shall attempt the impossible and provide the following short list of some distinct types we have run across, in approximate order of how high a dose is needed for the effect.
CEV = Closed Eye Visual
OEV = Open Eye Visual
Red/green/blue blips (CEV or OEV)
Possibly the most common type of hallucination, this usually occurs at the onset. The basic idea is that a layer of red, green, and blue blips - kind of like looking at a TV set from real close - is superimposed on everything. Most visible in darkness.
Pixelization (OEV)
The second stage of the RGB effect is "pixelization", ie. everything seems to be composed of separate little bits, like pixels on a computer screen. This effect is difficult to describe, all I can say is you'll know what it is when you see it. People who aren't computer freaks think it looks like a fine mesh or web placed over your field of vision.
Tracers (OEV)
Moving objects that contrast sharply with their background (tip of lit incense stick against a dark room, ball flying against the blue sky, etc) leave colorful trails.
Red shift (OEV)
Everything looks like you're looking at it through glasses with their lenses dyed red. Now you know why hippies loved red sunglasses so much... =)
Breathing (OEV)
A very common effect at medium to high doses, the object in question starts to pulse in and out, bubble, shift, split into multiple layers, morph to the point of being entirely unrecognizable... Usually visible in bigger objects, such as expanses of sand, clouds, textured walls and carpets, etc.
Melting (OEV)
The direct corollary of breathing, best seen in plants and trees. The object in question starts acting like it was made of plastic, and somebody started to heat it; it distorts, flows downwards, maybe wiggles a bit from side to side in a cosmic dance of sorts. Shadows may exhibit a special form of melting: they move by themselves.
Haloing (OEV) [description by
[email protected]]
Usually my shroom visuals start off as a "haloing" of misty rainbow colors off of anything I look at. Eventually, as the trip intesifies, I get what I call "kodaking" or "poloroiding" - the "halos" around the mundane 3-D objects begin to morph into "snapshots" - usually of family members or past experiences recalled from differing perspectives.
The "snapshots" have a kind of "infinite ripple effect" around the edges, as if they are evaporating away in time... this is not exactly right, but I don't know how else to describe it. Ooh, maybe this... They are fractalized around the edges. I have studied this effect for quite some time and I have come to believe that this "hallucination" is due to a shift in the speed at which I perceive light. The "fractalized edges" tend to strobe and flicker and recede off into infinity. The closer I scrutinize the edges the more complex they become - ad infinitum. Good music, good pot, or a combination of both will "animate" the snapshots - get them morphing and oozing into different scenes more rapidly. I call this "imagination grease".
X-Ray Vision (OEV) [description by
[email protected]]
I remember riding on a bus with a friend of mine while I was moderately dosed with shroomahuasca (1.5 cubensis shrooms + 1 rue capsule). When I looked at his face, I could see the network of blood vessels pumping blood through his head and brain. I could see through his skin and see his skull. It was really creepy but really cool too. I started laughing so hard I had to put my head in my hands to stifle the noise. On another trip (similar dose - it's my usual), I was looking up at a tree and suddenly I could see every vein in the tree and the sap running through it in very slow but steady progression. I could also see "specks" like little ants coarsing through everything, including my own body. They flowed through space in organic patterns - from the tree, to the deck, to my legs, etc. I do not know what these "specks" were. I first assumed they were some kind of insect, but they were far too small. No one with me (dosed or sober) could see them so I shrugged it off as "tripper's delusion". However, when hiking once (dosed), I was lying on a rock and noticed the SAME THING. This time I scrutinized it and found that there were actually tiny little "bugs" of some kind scurrying along the rocks.
They were smaller than the tiny dirt particles dusting the rocks, but they definitely moved in insectlike patterns. I showed them to my firend, who was also tripping, and he couldn't see them. Then I said "no, they're REALLY tiny, like ATOMS," and suddenly HE saw them too. We were both blown away. I still don't know what they were - mites, bacteria, etc - but they were unmistakeably there. The were eating or excreteing some type of lichen that was all over the rocks and trees in the area we were in. It was amazing. I had been hiking in the same area sober many times and I had never seen them. When I went back once sober, I could see them if I looked REALLY close, but only in the tiny area I stared at, and it really strained my eyes. When dosed, I saw them everywhere (like millions of trails of ants...) Talk about visual accuity!
The Guardian (CEV or OEV)
A few people, including yours truly, are lucky enough to have a constant hallucination that lasts for the duration of trip and even afterwards; Castaneda mentions these in his books and calls them "guides" or "guardians". Two forms include a little blue lattice containing red and green blips, and a bright red star. These may or may not recur in different trips and also flash back after the trip itself is over.
Geometric patterns (CEV)
One type of hallucination is the geometric pattern. There are many subtypes of these: Mandelbrots, spirals, wave interference patterns,etc. The unifying feature is that they tend to be in primary colors and of a fractal nature, ie. the same basic pattern is repeated continually. These are two-dimensional with lower doses, but they become 3D on higher doses. _Psychedelic Experience_ calls this "The Internal Flow of Archetypal Processes".
"The Fire-Flow of Internal Unity" (CEV)
Another type taken from _Psych Exp_, this involves more of *feeling* something than *seeing* it, although there are undescribeable hallucinations accompanying the feelings. The distinct difference to the last one is that the visuals are not geometric and separate, but amorphous, dim shapes directly linked to the emotions one is experiencing, which can be positive (bliss, love, peace) or negative (isolation, withdrawal, sadness).
Traditional patterns (CEV)
Visuals containing imagery from Aztec, Mayan, Native American, Indian and African cultures are quite common. These vary from seeing something exactly like a picture/statue of a native god to more vague visions of scriptures and temples to just a fuzzy idea of the hallucinations being 'drawn' in a specific style.
Hallucinations (CEV, rarely OEV)
Actual hallucinations - ie. objects that are recognizable and appear real, but are not there - may occur on high-dose trips. If lucky, the tripper may even be transported into a literal, as opposed to merely figurative, Alice-in-Wonderland type alternate universe. This is not the same as merely feeling things like "I felt like a satellite" or "I was transported by the music", with real hallucinations the visuals are equivalent to a color 3-D movie on a 360-degree screen.
Entities (CEV, rarely OEV)
Encounters with other beings are a recurring feature of high-dose trips. I will not tackle the complex philosophical issues of what they are (if anything), how they got there, and what they mean; all I know is that they exist. Some common types:
The "mantid", an alien-looking insect-headed creature that tends to appear extremely intelligent and aware and neutral/negative towards the tripper. Can be green or grayish-white.
The so-called "DMT elf", a gnome-like playful, funny and usually friendly entity.
Happy dancing little people that appear in large groups.
Shapeless, but conscious, masses of hyperspace protoplasm.
There are other types, but these four seem to recur quite often.
Clear Light of Reality (CEV or OEV)
Nirvana, ego loss, Non-Game Ecstasy, enlightenment, ultimate truth, "the infallible mind of the pure mystic state", etc. One thing's for sure, you'll recognize it if you get there. =) Again, while any decent trip will seriously reduce the domination of the ego and let you see quite a lot that you wouldn't normally notice, the "Clear Light" kind of total ego loss is quite rare and even experienced trippers consider themselves lucky if they've had a single one of these so-called 'Level 5' experiences.
This should not be taken as a thorough or complete list. Aside from these specific types, you will almost certainly notice that everything, especially nature, simply looks *different*: new, fresh and somehow alien and familiar at the same time. The most minute details will stand out and the contrasts between colors will be enhanced. I find this ability to view the world differently to be one of the most rewarding aspects of psychedelics, and I once more strongly recommend going outside and checking it out.
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i found this on the link....check it out. really interesting stuff.
THE ULTIMATE TRIP GUIDE
=D
http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/psychedelic_experience_faq.shtml
