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Known for taking up to 40 grams of magic mushrooms at one time to explore what’s beyond, the late Kilindi Iyi once said “If y’all are hearing music, y’all didn’t take enough.”
While it is possible to not hear the music on therapeutic doses (much lower than 40 grams, more in the 5 gram range) – for someone new to psychedelics, or even for a seasoned psychonaut – a thoughtful playlist can provide great comfort. Playlists can help bring thoughts and feelings to the surface, and if things get challenging the music can gently remind you that you’re still lying in bed on planet earth, with your therapist, friends, or loved ones who are supporting your journey.
The songs vary from gentle and calming to purposefully challenging, all chosen to let your thoughts and feelings bubble to the surface so you can go deeper and get answers to important intentions. Many songs are powerful enough to invoke a wide range of emotions and each song can become its own journey. While together in a playlist lasting several hours the music guides you, and welcomes you back with familiarity, as your trip comes to an end. For LSD, or a longer acting psychedelic, there is plenty of music to journey onwards. These songs are also great for calming background music for any occasion (if you don’t have access to psychedelics try meditating to a playlist… you might be surprised what comes up).
When using psychedelics it’s strongly recommended you set up a container of safety which includes: mindset, setting, and dose.
1. Mindset is about setting intentions – write down 3 to 10 questions or intentions you want a deeper understanding of. Don’t have any expectations because people find they get exactly what they need out of their journey when they set intentions without expectations.
2. Setting is physically where you are – make sure you’ll be comfortable and without interruption. The people who’ll hold space for you is an important part of your setting. Ideally they’ll be people with an understanding of the medicine, and it’s often nice to have both male and female energy. They’re there to keep you safe, take notes if needed, get you water or help you to the washroom, ensure your sleep mask stays on, and hold your hand if things get challenging.
3. The dose is how much you take – 5 grams is the standard “heroic journey” coined by Terence McKenna. Although he suggested doing “5 grams of dried cubensis alone in dark silence” – as more people turn to psychedelics as an alternative medicine, safety is of the utmost importance. We’re not doing it alone, we’re using playlists to help guide, and it’s important to know that psychedelics aren’t for everyone. Mushrooms are statistically one of the safest drugs and most experts agree around 5 grams is a good amount for a transformative experience, but please do lots of independent research into possible risks and downsides, how to mitigate these, and when to avoid large doses altogether.
***Start each playlist when the medicine is consumed and you’re ready to lay down comfortably with your sleep mask on in order to achieve a meditative state of relaxation before the onset and peak. It’s important to note that you absolutely can’t listen to these playlists on the free version of Spotify because it will be forced on “shuffle” and there will be commercials. The songs are curated in a specific order so you don’t want them to shuffle, and commercials are exactly what you don’t want to hear on a deep psychedelic journey! Double check that shuffle play and repeat are turned off because often when the main play button is pressed Spotify defaults to shuffle and keeps these user settings. Turning on an 8 second “crossfade” in the Spotify settings helps with smooth transitions between songs. Be on airplane mode so no texts or calls interrupt your journey. And have good speakers/headphones that will play the full dynamic musical range.
Playlists 1-7:
1. Brain Clean – Playlist 1 begins with “Grande Mareacion” by Maneesh de Moor and ends with “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff
5. Sweet Life – Playlist 5 begins with “Everlasting Moments” and ends with “Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6nJFAPAD2bvW5FKpAeFXDl
6. Healing – Playlist 6 begins with “Dawn” by Garth Stevenson and ends with “Why Worry” by Essie Jain
Some of these resources provide products and services involving psychedelics in a medicinal context. Please check to see the legality of these substances and services in your area.