For me, the classic mushroom ride has three broad phases: charging, tripping and vibing.
The onset may be gradual or sudden, but at some point early on, I find myself in a psychedelic palace of bright geometrical colourful light, soon to be plugged in to the great alien charger in the sky. Sometimes parts of my body, often starting with my teeth and jaw, are nuked one pixel at a time. Sometimes great surges of high voltage energy course through me in incandescent waves.
Then suddenly, it stops. I am unplugged. The energy drains away and the lights go out and I am left shivering uncontrollably. I reach for a blanket and pull it over me. And the journey begins. I know this place. It’s like waking up in a recurring lucid dream. I know that I am in for a hard and humbling existential journey into the heart of the human condition and the human story. There will be suffering and pain, but with it insight and compassion.
The trip varies in length and intensity, and can be more or less enjoyable or challenging. As it fades, I find myself back in the “real world”, ready for the third phase. In this phase, I surrender to the music. I listen so intently and intensely that I am almost aware of nothing else. It is a whole other trip in its own right, but dictated by the musical imagination of the artist. At this stage of the playlist, lyrics are introduced, which fires the imagination, as it resonates and vibes ever more deeply with the music.
This vibing phase has a strong emotional and then spiritual texture, as the music moves into sacred mode with a choral mass setting. We bless and are blessed.
bread of life 