Tripping on psychedelics can be a life-changing experience, one that many people say is tantamount to major life events, like giving birth to a child or falling in love. Many people also find that, after they trip, they feel generally better about themselves and the world.
Some people report feelings of better overall well-being, increased self-confidence and creativity, and reduced stress and anxiety.
Is that too good to be true? Well, yes and no. Yes in the sense that people do really experience these outcomes when they take magic mushrooms. No in the sense that not everyone has such a positive experience. That’s because, in short, some trips are good, whereas others aren’t so good. Just as a trip can be a beautiful and memorably unique experience, so too can a trip be frightening, stressful, or disorienting.
But how you’ll feel when you take a trip is not a matter of chance. If you set up the right conditions for a good trip, you increase your chances of having a good trip. However, if you don’t set up the right conditions for a good trip, you risk having a bad trip.
To set the right conditions for a good trip, you will need to make sure to have the right set and setting. Here’s a look at what those two terms mean.
Set
The term set, when used to refer to tripping on psychedelics such as magic mushrooms, otherwise known as psilocybin, which you can easily buy from a place like this magic mushroom dispensary, means your mindset going into a psychedelic trip.
Being in the right mindset going into a psychedelic trip is essential because it increases your chances of having a good trip. If you’re happy and calm before taking psychedelics, you have a good chance of experiencing a trip that’s happy and calm. If, by contrast, you’re stressed, you have a good chance of experiencing a stressful trip.
Setting
The term set means the setting that you trip in.
Think of the term “movie set,” or think of the expression “to set the stage.” Both refer to a deliberately arranged space or type of surroundings where an event takes place. The space where you trip on psychedelics, such as magic mushrooms, is what we mean when we use the term set when referring to a psychedelic experience.
Setting and Vibe
When movie directors create a set, they also create a vibe for their movie. Similarly, when you create a set for tripping by, say, tidying up your living room and rearranging your furniture, you’re creating a vibe for your trip.
When a movie director is making a romantic comedy, they might create a happy, positive vibe so that their audience feels happy and positive, whereas when a movie director is making a horror film, they might create a stressful, frightening vibe so that their audience feels stressed and frightened.
When you are setting up your living room for a psychedelic trip, your best bet is to create a happy, calming vibe so that your trip itself will be happy and calming.