8 Things to Do While You’re Tripping On Magic Mushrooms
If you’re planning on taking magic mushrooms and wondering what you should do while you trip, we’ve got you covered.
Below is a quick guide to get you started on your journey and some suggestions that other users have found to be helpful, mind-opening, and immensely enjoyable.
What Are the Best Things to Do On Shrooms?
Below are some of the most popular and most rewarding things to do while tripping on shrooms. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to plan things to do. Some of the best trips reported by psychedelic users begin with no plans and allow the shrooms to guide the user through the experience.
Still, if you feel you need a plan for your trip, the below suggestions can help you have a rewarding and positive experience.
1. Journal
Taking shrooms usually leads users to a profound experience, so journaling is a popular option among psychonauts. Writing while you trip and going back to read what you wrote the next day or down the road can help you integrate what you learned about yourself or the world.
Journaling can be as rigid or loose as you want. You might notice that carefully documenting your experience is most helpful, or you may find that just writing whatever comes to mind is best. Journaling while tripping is personal, so you can experiment a bit to find what works best for you.
Related: 100 Journal Prompts To Identify The Shadow.
2. Experience Nature
Shrooms often give users a sense of connection with the world around them, so a trip in nature can be a liberating and notable experience.
Tripping in public can be challenging and may lead to potentially negative or traumatic experiences for some people, especially new users.
As such, heading out into nature for new users can be as simple as sitting in the grass in their fenced-in backyard.
Others who are comfortable with being in public or in an unfamiliar place can go for a hike, sit on the beach, or simply take a walk in their neighborhood to get some fresh air.
3. Just Sit With Your Thoughts
Sometimes, shroom users find that lying down in a comfortable and familiar place (more on the importance of “setting” later) with the lights off and eyes closed is the best option. This allows you to experience the effects without any distractions, and it often provides the best introspective experience.
Feeling like you need to do something while you trip isn’t necessary, as your mind and hallucinations might give you enough to think about and experience.
Also see: The Art Of Mindfulness: How Psychedelics Can Help You Live In The Moment.
4. Express Yourself
Psilocybin is notorious for sparking creativity, so expressing yourself via some art medium can be profound. Whether you’ve attempted creation before, painting, writing poetry, writing music, crafting, sculpting, or some other form of expression can help you get the most out of your experience.
5. Experience Art or Music
If you’re not quite ready to express yourself via art, experiencing other peoples’ creations can be a great way to trip.
You can listen to your favorite music or music you’ve never heard before or check out the psychedelic-inspired artwork from artists like Pablo Amaringo or Alex Grey.
Something as simple as looking at a colorful poster could provide hours of entertainment while you trip, so experiment to find what you enjoy the most!
Related: Best Psychedelic Music Festivals to Check Out in 2023.
6. Talk With Friends or Family Members
If you’re tripping for the first time, it’s recommended that you do so around a limited company. Usually, it’s advisable to avoid contact with people other than your sober trip sitter.
If you’ve tripped before or are currently tripping and feel comfortable interacting with other people, you can consider talking with family members or close friends while you trip. Trip conversations are often insightful, deep, and meaningful, as shrooms tend to make you feel more connected with other people.
It’s crucial that you limit your interaction with people you trust entirely, as strangers or acquaintances can make you feel uncomfortable and lead to a negative experience.
Related: Is It Safe to Take Shrooms Alone?
7. Play Video Games
Video games offer engaging visuals that can be enticing while tripping on shrooms. The colors, movement patterns, and even the music can all contribute to an enjoyable psychedelic experience.
It’s best to stay away from games in the horror genre or those that make you feel tense or stressed out.
Relaxing games, particularly those that focus on beautiful visuals and creative gameplay are recommended.
8. Watch a Movie
Finally, if you feel like you need to focus on something but not quite as actively as video games, you can opt to watch a movie.
Again, it’s best to stay away from horror movies, thrillers, and other genres that could lead to a bad trip. Relaxing, feel-good films or those that are introspective and creative are usually best.
Suggested Reading: 32 Psychedelic-Inspired Movies & Documentaries To Expand Your Mind.
Other Things to Consider Before You Start Tripping
Before you dive into a shroom experience, there are a few things you should know and consider that can help you decide what to do while tripping. Below are some things you should think about that will likely be more important than your activities during your trip.
How Long Does a Mushroom Trip Last?
A mushroom trip typically lasts for about four to six hours, but this timeline can vary quite a bit in either direction, depending on a few factors. Larger doses tend to create longer trips, as will a lower tolerance, slow metabolism, and expectations of a long experience.
If you feel like you need to plan for things to do during your trip, you should aim for about seven hours’ worth of activities.
Also see: How Long Do Shrooms Take To Kick in?
Should You Prepare Things to Do Before Taking Shrooms?
Whether or not you should prepare things to do during your trip depends on your intentions. Many users take shrooms solely to connect to their inner selves or the world around them. Psychedelics like magic mushrooms offer many people a unique reflective experience, and planning activities can detract from the trip if this is your intention.
If you’re looking to have your first mushroom trip and don’t know what to expect, or you have used the psychedelic before and have a better or less intense experience when you have things to do, go ahead and plan a few hours of activities based on the suggestions above.
Taking shrooms is a personal experience, so you should always do what feels right for you and not feel compelled to follow others’ suggestions.
Set & Setting
Shroom trips are highly dependent on your set and setting, which is to say, your mindset going into the journey and the physical place in which you intend to trip.
Before taking shrooms, it’s a good idea to set your intentions by thinking about them or writing them down to read during your trip. Any intention is fine, even if it doesn’t match what appears to be “normal” on the internet or from other sources.
Whether you want to see the world in a different way, gain perspective about yourself or others, or enjoy not being fully connected to reality for a few hours, take note of your intentions, as they can influence your experience significantly.
Your physical setting is also essential to get right. Most people find that a comfortable and familiar environment helps to put their minds at ease and avoid a bad experience.
Others looking to explore the inner workings of their minds, explore their ego, or connect with a deeper part of themselves might find that a challenging or unfamiliar setting works best, but this isn’t recommended for anyone but experienced users.
Additionally, most users benefit from having a sober and trusted trip sitter to guide them through the experience and make them feel safe. Some people prefer to take magic mushrooms alone, but this again isn’t recommended unless you have plenty of experience with magic mushrooms already.
Related: The Tripsitter Guide to Using Psychedelics Responsibly.
Wrapping Up: Things to Do for the Best Shroom Trip
Shroom trips can be profound experiences or relaxing and interesting ones, depending on what you’re looking to get out of them and how you set up your experience.
For many people, not having anything planned to do is best, as the shrooms might guide you to what will be most enjoyable in the moment. Doing what feels right for you is always best, so if you think you need to plan some activities, go ahead and do so!
Some of the most popular options are enjoying nature, meditating, playing video games, watching movies, creating or experiencing art, and talking with trusted family members or friends.
No matter what you plan on doing during your shroom trip, it’s best to go into the experience with intentions for your trip and at least start your journey in a comfortable and familiar setting.
Having a trusted and sober trip sitter around will help keep you grounded and feeling safe no matter what activities you choose to explore during your trip.
