DOSE:	3 hits	oral	LSD	(blotter / tab)
		oral	Cannabis - High THC	(edible / food)
		smoked	Cannabis	(edible / food)
		inhaled	Nitrous Oxide

BODY WEIGHT:

200 lb

Fifteen years after my trippy 20s ended (a wide array of psychedelics and other fun substances), multiple twists of fate led me to revisit LSD twice during a difficult summer of my life. In my 20s I was trying to find God and using to attempt to achieve this goal. Now I’m in my 40s, am an atheist and didn’t know what to expect , so I was worried about possibly having a bad experience. Leading up, I tried to establish some good daily habits like: “walk 15 minutes a day”, “do a chore a day”, “finish your music project by the trip day so you can listen to it during the trip” etc. figuring “well even if I have a bad time, I can think of these positive things and maybe get a mood lift”. Luckily I had a great time that first night (2 hits), but I also discovered a wave of intense joy when I did finally reflect on my progress. Following that day, I continued my daily habits, and any time I started getting lazy I recalled the intense joy, which would in turn motivate me. Had I stumbled on something?

I was able to secure three hits for a solo trip I decided to schedule on my birthday. This time I decided to tack on another goal (in addition to the ones I’d been continuing with only a couple slip ups) - return to my previous habit of counting all my daily caloric intake (and hopefully lose some of the weight I put back on). Only this time, instead of taking every Sunday off, I counted every single day for an entire month leading up to the day of the trip. I also tried to “set the table” that week by pushing harder at my job, my side gig, my music projects, and my home life. I knew I’d have the day of my birthday off, and the day after. This would be a sort of bonus weekend, and in the interest of total isolation I secured use of a friend’s cabin by a lake. No responsibilities, humans, etc.

At sunset I walked down to the dock, smoked a little weed, ate half of a 100mg THC gummy, and put the tabs under my tongue. I assembled a playlist of Yes, Genesis and King Crimson, set up my speakers, rope light (great accessory for tripping btw), laptop and N20 chargers, and let it begin. And I am happy to report that yes, the euphoric wave came back when I reflected on not only my month of calorie counting, but all my other daily chores/walking etc (and the 10 pounds I lost!).

Music sounds great on LSD. But it sounds *really* great on *more* LSD. Three hits really pushed the synesthesia aspect - it’s hard to describe accurately but I recall “feeling” certain notes push against me as I heard them, or give me shivers, etc. It was enough to bring Steve Howe’s guitar on “Drama” alive as a snarling tiger on my eyelids, transform their cover of “America” into an orchestral overture and epic sound poem, turn Genesis’ “Selling England By The Pound” into an idyllic day-in-the-life-of-Britannia saga, and animate the live improvisation “Providence” from King Crimson’s “Red” album.

And of course I listened to my project. I am very proud of my work and being full of synthesizer swells and tinkly keyboards, it fed my synesthesia very well. But I also realized “shit… it’s time to start another project”. At this point I also realized that adulthood and LSD combined have given something that really works for me , and has given me a new outlook on self improvement. I’m also applying these lessons outside of the “do it so you can get off during the trip” paradigm, which has done wonders for my overall motivation. I have set up another opportunity in three months. I’m going to have that new project finished, and lose enough weight to fit into a “Close to the Edge” t-shirt I got as a birthday present. I am looking forward to all three grueling months of this, and a return of that joyful bliss that’s brought me to tears both times I’ve felt it. It seems the more time and/or effort put into the plan, the more powerful the joy. Of course LSD is not all roses, there’s always tough moments and emotions you have to work through. But having that joy in my back pocket helps big time!

Some other fun moments:

My thoughts were starting to spiral a bit (went a little heavy on the nitrous) and decided to start staring at the mounted deer head the cabin’s owner had on the wall. It slowly fell apart, wave by wave, in time with the music, and undulated until I blinked. Then it would start all over again. I was fucking transfixed and it did sort of pull me out of my spiral. I made a note of being able to use this to escape bad thoughts if they came up again. Luckily they did not.

During the evening I would go out on the deck periodically, and smoke a one hitters’ worth of weed. It was a cool night and the insects sounded beautiful. The trees danced along with the insects and the music playing through the open screen door... “Moonchild” under a bright quarter moon and the crickets chirping… that’s the good stuff.

Last time, the “main part” of the trip lasted about 5 hours before starting to wear off. I guess because of the additional tab, it really didn’t start falling off until 6.5 hours in. At this point, I started watching “Kill Bill” and had my last couple nitrous chargers. Each time, the screen came back alive as if I was in the peak again. But this time it fell off as the nitrous wore off, as opposed to lingering for several minutes. (Nitrous and psychedelics go together like peas and carrots, btw)

I am not a doctor, psychologist, or shaman. So I am not going to claim that this will work for anyone else. But it has worked for me. Set goals - make them attainable - and then attain them. Reinforce the positive aspect with psychedelics. Rinse and repeat. I also have a rule that, luckily, I haven’t had to deploy: if I screw up on my goals - not just a miss here or there, but just completely eschewing the plan - then I bail on the trip. Keep the positive association, don’t let failure taint it. I hope to continue this past the next trip. I hope fortune continues to smile. I hope this helps someone that reads it.

Exp Year: 2024	ExpID: 118361
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 44
Published: Nov 6, 2025	Views: Not Supported
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LSD (2), Cannabis (1), Nitrous Oxide (40) : Combinations (3), Glowing Experiences (4), Music Discussion (22), Personal Preparation (45), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)