Learnings from the TRIP

Learnings from the TRIP

This is a blog piece on acid; on the recreational and safe use of it. I am in no way suggesting excessive use is healthy, or recommend it. I am not commenting on any other illicit drugs.  

There is a good reason an acid trip is called a ‘trip’. It takes at least 12 hours to pass. In this time you go on a journey through the different phases, and just as visuals morph and breathe, so does the capacity of your mind. It is well known that many creatives micro dose to help open pathways in the brain, and a large amount of creative work has probably been made during a trip. 

So aside from excessive users, you have recreational users who's intentions for a trip are simply to escape reality, see some interesting things, and laugh A LOT. So much laughter. And YES it absolutely is about escaping reality. It is taking a step back. It is removing the clutter, the cloudiness, the shit that keeps us up at night. Because on acid, you are so very present; there is no past, no future, and each moment lasts a life time. There is no rush to get to the next one. 

For myself, this presence has allowed me to learn from each trip. There is extra room to see things a little differently, and space to understand what you are experiencing a little deeper. These learnings are always simple ideas. But that is the beauty of the trip; everything is simple and straight forward, because life’s clutter is gone for a moment.

So here we go. Enjoy. And maybe take something away from this….

Sometimes everything you really need at any moment is right in front of you.

A simple separation of want and need. So often we are so consumed in looking ahead, in dreaming and conjuring up “ all that we want and hope for”, dismissing that this may already be within sight. I learnt to see what was right in front of me, and with such incredible detail. It was a very content feeling, because the wish for bigger, better and more had gone. Each tiny moment lasted a lifetime, therefore it held value, and for once I did not search beyond. 

At some point the loop needs to stop!

Life goes in loops and circles. We build, we plateau, we build some more, we reach a height, then we come crashing down, we stay in the depths, we start to filter in, and then we build again. It loops around, and another circle begins. That is simply how life goes… 

But, if the same circles repeat, if we continue looping back on ourselves and starting at the same place again, we are only moving backwards. Life is moving forwards, and it is a conscious choice whether you choose to take that head on and move with it. It is a decision to ride with the wave, as opposed to retreating back to comfort. It takes a strong consciousness to notice these loops, to see when patterns are pulling us backward. It then takes a great amount of strength to take action, to pull free, and to move on. There is a difference between carrying your past with you whilst you move forward, and latching on while you look back. 

You are your own safe zone.

There is a time in the trip where you have a strong urge and need to be 'safe'. Maybe you try to find it in someone else, maybe a place or surrounding, or perhaps within yourself. You are always your own safe zone, and no matter what happens externally, nobody can take that away from you. It’s easy to forget that; when people hurt you, when things don’t pan out as hoped, and when it feels like life is fighting against you; safety is within you. Strength is within you. And sometimes it may feel so very far away. But, your safe zone is there. It really comes down to a genuine belief in your own strength, capabilities, and self worth. Because, if you don’t choose to see it- how is anyone else meant to. If you cannot offer support to yourself, how are you meant to receive it from someone else. 

Everything really is temporary. 

Each feeling we experience. Even happiness. Moments pass quickly in life, but on acid each feels like it lasts a life time. There is no rush to move past it, and there is much less judgement on each feeling or situation being negative or positive. Because the simplicity of each moment is seen so very clearly. Challenges don’t seem as daunting, and stress and anxiety is over come because your mind is only processing each moment as it comes. It very simply is one step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Small triumphs seem larger than life. 

Stop running and feel the fucking rain. 

You don’t need to dance in it, but you do need to feel it. When you’ve been through hurt, the rain is there to clear the pain. But it can’t do that unless you stand in it. It will not heal until you let it soak you through to the bone. It’s about facing the shit head on, and giving in to the pain for a moment. Graceful acceptance. A moment in the darkness sitting in the helplessness.

Stop running, stand still, feel the fucking rain, and let every emotion wash over you. The storm will pass. And when it does, it’s time to dry yourself off. When it passes, it's time to move forward. One step at a time.

So there you have it. Some very straightforward and seemingly simple take away's from the trip. Not necessarily easy to live by, but when life's rollercoaster throws a few too many loops, it's helpful to go back to these moments. To bring the memories back to life. Because that is the biggest beauty of it all- on an acid trip you don't forget a thing.