I recently volunteered at a small local festival, and had as many Ganeshas with me as I was able to afford. Over the course of the festival, I must have had about 30-40 hits, and a quadruple drop just before my last shift on Sunday night. The only feelings I had were an incredible sense of happiness and gratitude, as well as a clarity of mind that I had never before experienced. When I was communicating with other people, all emotional attachments to a specific result were stripped away, and I was seeing things as they were, and not distorted by the usual misperceptions we human usually succumb to when we are unable to distinguish facts from opinions.
At times I had slightly trippy visuals, for example when I was on my litter picking shift, dancing among the crowd, and I left tiny bits of coloured paper, fragments of neon feathers etc. lying where they were (lots of people there were dressed up as different kinds of animals), and the sight of the otherwise clean field gave me the impression of glancing at the Universe, with the bits of colour in between resembling galaxies doing their mystical dance ...
Any other substances I took (for example ketamine, some 2C-I etc.) didn't seem to have much effect on me at all, which shows how strong the overall effect of the acid must have been to mask the effects of those psychedelics some people there had incredibly intense reactions to those chemicals!
Unlike the common belief that acid makes people mad, I was experiencing exactly the opposite. In fact, the organisers told me that every one of the volunteers had done an amazing job, but that they were particularly impressed with me (and towards the end they even gave me a little bit of money for my efforts!). I know that to be true because I was very aware at all times of how to perform my job in the best possible way, and I was constantly feeding back information about what could be improved (it was only the second year the festival was being held, so obviously not everything was perfect, but I was incredibly impressed with the atmosphere they managed to generate). Obviously I was doing things which would have been considered mad by the uninitiated, but which every intelligent person would easily have recognised as simply being uninhibited.
I have since then stopped smoking, not had any alcohol (except on one occasion see below), and even weeks after the experience I keep finding myself overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude, to such an extent that I have to fight back the tears in order to not have to re-apply my make-up all the time!
Another positive effect is that at the age of 38, and a lifetime of indecision as to what to do with my life, I have made the decision to study as a psychotherapist, as it gives me great pleasure to help others, and I have been able to put that interest to use on various different occasions. In the past, whenever I had an idea about what might be suitable for me, I always ended up thinking Well, maybe not ... after talking the idea through with friends. This time I am able to implant the idea more firmly in my head, the more I talk about it to friends (including a good friend who took lots of acid during the sixties, and then became a psychotherapist in the 1970s), and I have taken the first steps towards achieving that aim.
How potent the drug is was made very clear to me on another occasion a week later, as I was at a party and I lost my phone after having taken just one single blotter. I had had two pints of cider before (I usually very rarely drink) and it resulted in a lot of anxiety, which I was unable to get rid of all night. I returned home pretty soon afterwards, and it took me hours until I was able to relax enough to sleep, although when things go smoothly I seem to be able to sleep after any amount of acid. Luckily I got hold of the person who found my phone the next morning, which put my mind at ease again. I too have noticed their bitter taste, but I can't think of any chemical which would have such a profound effect on the brain in the kind of doses which fit onto a little bit of paper.
I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who is interested in experiencing the therapeutic effects of high quality LSD, and who has at least a basic understanding of set and setting. Happy tripping!
