DOSE:

20 g

oral

Mushrooms - P. cubensis

(fresh)

BODY WEIGHT:

182 lb

Bali is well known by its many visitors and residents as an island paradise. It is also famous for the ease of finding mushrooms. Personally I have been collecting mushrooms here for an intermittent period of 11 years. The experience is made very special indeed by the intrinsically spiritual nature of the island, the enormous variance in lighting conditions (can go from almost blinding equatorial sunlight to dark tropical storm conditions very quickly indeed) and, quite simply, the fact that there is a lot to look at.

I should make it clear that I am no mycologist and it has proved amazingly difficult to find any meaningful scientific references to the shrooms found so widely in Bali. If ANYBODY has serious information on this, please submit it. I am fairly sure that the common shroom found here is Psilocybe cubensis and also think that many of shrooms sold by beachboys to tourists are cultivated Copelandia cyanescens. If anybody knows different to this, please, please correct me.

Before dealing seriously with experiences, a note about preparation. I have surprisingly seen no references on Erowid about preparing fresh mushroom 'shakes'. This is by far my preferred method of ingestion. Take the desired quantity of fresh shrooms and put them into a blender with about 300 ML juice (Apple juice is my favourite, but Pineapple Juice also works well) with a few drops of concentrated lemon juice, a desert spoonful of sugar and ice cubes. Blend thoroughly for 30 seconds or so. The resulting liquid is pleasant to consume (although a revolting dark grey colour - do not look at it for too long!) with virtually no earthy shroom aftertaste. When consumed the effects come on much faster and more thoruoghly than when taking whole shrooms or tea. It is best consumed immediately but can be kept bottled in a refrigerator for up to two or three days (goes a little rank if kept for longer than that).

The following experience is one which I had only three days ago and it can be described as a fairly typical Bali experience for me. I was in a genial frame of mind without any particular worries. At 3.00 pm I prepared two 'shakes' as described above using 20 g (that would be regarded by most as a pretty heavy dose) of fresh Psilocybe cubensis (I think!) in each, which I had picked early that morning. I then went through my usual ritual of tidying and cleaning the house before consumption at 5.30 pm. I always like my environment to be clean and comfortable before setting off on the experience. Sun sets at around 6.30 pm in Bali and I like my mushroom experience to cover this period and into the hours of darkness. I was joined by a friend for whom the second shake was intended.

After drinking the whole shake, the usual stoning effect took about 15 minutes by which time my legs were very numb and likewise my sinuses (does anyone else get that sinus effect?). After 25 minutes full-on open and closed eye visuals were apparent and I settled into a very comfortable trip phase as the sun was setting.

The 'religion' in Bali is a fusion of Hinduism and ancient animist practices. The local gods are gendered as Dewa (male) and Dewi (female). I ALWAYS find that when tripping, the energy is either male or female and the female energy experiences are more satisfying and never worrying in any way. This was such an experience. Looking at the extraordinary setting sun I was experiencing full-on swirling visuals of Dewi God images... very friendly and not at all threatening. I tend to find that the female (Dewi) energy is almost always dominant when I trip at my own house and it is invariably completely non-threatening. If I choose to trip elsewhere, it is more unpredictable. I guess that this is due to the familiar and comfortable surroundings of my own house and perhaps to a genuine Dewi god energy being present in that area.

I can also see the tallest mountain in Bali from my balcony, Mount Agung. This is known by locals as the seat of the Gods. Invariably when I look at Agung the swirling images are at their most intense and wild. On this particular occasion wild, fractile-type patterns were forming over the peak of the mountain, seemingly gaining energy from the mountain before 'taking off' high into the evening sky. I had a really intense feeling that I was moving with these images and that they wanted me to be with them. This engendered a very special feeling of elation in my mind and heart. As the shadows lengthened and darkness came this imagery was less intense but still very prevalent.

For the next 6 hours I tripped comfortably mostly inside my house. The Dewi energy was still with me and never at any stage did I find this uncomfortable or threatening. Full on spectacular visuals were apparent for four hours even during the hours of complete darkness and the final two hours involved a period of gradually re-gaining a sense of true reality. Through the final two hours my mind started to work very fast indeed and rather than being consumed by the visuals I was obsessed with thinking of people special to me. I resolved that there were at least 12 friends whom I must contact very soon and tell them how much they mean to me (typically it is now three days later and I have not done this!). At 1.00 am I was suddenly hungry, consumed a little food, retired to bed and slowly slipped off into a dreamy sleep.

This is an example of a typical shroom experience for me in Bali. The energy, lighting and physical imagery on this island make the shroom experience very special and certainly better than I have had anywhere else in the world. If a visitor cannot find their own wild shrooms (it can be difficult), then it is not hard to find beach boys in the Kutas area offering little bags for sale. They usually say one bag is a portion and it is enough for a mild experience. Normally the price will be about RP 30,000 per bag (about US$ 3.50).

Once again if anyone has confirmation or otherwise of my assumptions about Psilocybe cubensis (naturally growing in cow pasture) and Copelandia cyanescens (cultivated and for sale by beach hustlers) please do submit that information.

Exp Year: 2000	ExpID: 3440
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Dec 18, 2001	Views: 64,527
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Mushrooms - P. cubensis (66) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Glowing Experiences (4), Preparation / Recipes (30)