Truffle ceremony or psilocybin therapy?
In trip therapy, we use individual truffle ceremonies as psilocybin therapy. There's a lot involved. The biggest difference between therapy under the influence of psilocybin-containing truffles and a truffle ceremony alone is the personal preparation and the fact that the truffle ceremony initially resembles talk therapy. The client's goal plays a significant role in the approach.
The goal of customer Stijn
With Stijn's permission, we can share his information without his last name. After booking a psiloflora ceremony at Psychedelic Loft in Schiedam, I asked Stijn what his goal was.
I want to do it as spirituality: self-development.
From this answer, I gathered that the main goal wasn't necessarily therapy, and I suggested exploring the meaning of spirituality. I asked if Samadhi fit his concept.
Thanks for the movie link, I just watched the first part with great interest!
The day of the ceremony
On the day of the ceremony, before we began, we had a good conversation about spirituality, reality, and perception, among other things. After Stijn was ready to take the psychedelics (psiloflora), we continued the conversation until the psilocybin effects peaked. After this, a long period of introspection ensued. As we settled in, we resumed our conversation about our experiences and our desire to understand everything about humanity.
Still therapy?
Although the focus seemed primarily spiritual and experiential, you'll read later that this session actually had a largely therapeutic effect. This happens often, and often makes a truffle ceremony even more meaningful.
After the ceremony
In the days following the ceremony, we exchanged emails about the session's outcome, and these are the beautifully worded responses.
Ask: How was your sleep and what were you able to write about the session?
I did sleep well, not a lot (only about four hours), but it was enough and it was nice to leave Schiedam at dawn.
I haven't written anything down yet, but I wanted to do so here 🙂
So, initially, there were the typical hallucinations—the beginning of the trip! When I lay down on the couch with my eyes closed, it became very intense, mentally and emotionally very deep (heavy), and also physically. My body often experienced small shocks, I sometimes felt very hot and sweated profusely, and had a lot of pain in my stomach (feeling nauseous) and my heart. It was also a powerful rollercoaster, both mentally and emotionally. But in between, there were also moments of insight and acceptance of a great many things. So, although during the experience I felt overwhelmingly unable to let go, afterward, it turned out that so much had been released.
The conversations with you afterwards were also very enlightening, I learned a lot and left illusions behind.
Right after you left, I had to find my bearings for a bit. But after half an hour, I was fine, and I found my peace and contentment (serotonin, aah). It took me ages to fall asleep, but in hindsight, I actually didn't need much sleep.
Now I feel more settled in myself, calm and peaceful, with more self-acceptance. As far as I'm concerned, mission accomplished!
So thank you so much for guiding the ceremony. I'll definitely tell a few friends about it. Maybe there will be a sequel. Maybe not. I don't know, but it's probably written down somewhere 😉
The day after the previous post there was a follow-up response:
I remembered even more details and have described them below. It does provide important nuances and other emphases.
This morning I woke up nice and early again. I feel my body, mind, and emotions more deeply, and everything feels more relaxed. So, if possible, I'm even more pleased with the results today!
The new version of the story:
When I lay down on the couch with my eyes closed, the hallucinations I'd previously seen on the external visual level now continued on the internal level. I saw all sorts of shapes and colors, often changing very rapidly and sometimes moving very slowly or disappearing. So, the classic thoughts weren't really there anymore; I wasn't thinking of sentences and words anymore, but simply observing an enormous, indescribable visual spectacle. At one point, you asked me if I understood what was happening, to which I said no. I wasn't concerned with that either: I was simply observing it all, like a spectator in a theater. That was quite enjoyable, but also very intense. The music also played a role in this. At a certain point, the music became very abstract (at least, I think so) and it became almost just a few tones, pulsations, and vibrations. This also continued on the visual level: at one point—and I think the music stopped for a moment—there were no visual stimuli, and I was simply staring into a black void. When the music's pulsations began, visual sensations also emerged, like Lego blocks moving through space. Here, there was a sense that what I heard was very much in tune with what I saw; auditory and visual stimuli merged.
At one point, my body started reacting very strongly. It felt like a powerful purge was happening, as if my body was trying to release a huge amount of stress. I felt a huge amount of fatigue being expelled, and sometimes my body would shake a little, as if the tension in my muscles was being pushed out. I was also sweating profusely, as if I were in a sweat lodge. But that also felt like toxins were being sweated out. I also felt a lot of pain in my stomach and often felt nauseous. (I'd also been having a lot of stomach problems lately, with acid reflux. So I was probably just purging.) And there was a tremendous pain in my heart; sometimes it was so bad I feared I was going to have a heart attack and die. I also thought that would be incredibly frustrating for Marcel, so I hoped it wouldn't happen. That's probably why I felt like I couldn't let go properly. Even though a lot was actually being released during this whole process. Mentally and emotionally, it was also very intense, a real rollercoaster, and a lot was released. There were also moments of insight and acceptance of who I am. The latter was also accompanied by strong feelings for my father and mother, who also accepted me more for who I am. Music played a role here too, and at the end, for example, there was a piece with a woman singing, more classical music. That felt very comforting, as if I were being placed in the warm arms of my friends who loved and cared for me.
At the beginning of that intense period, you told me it was good to go within, and so I continued to do so, even though it was very intense. But I still had the feeling that something good was happening, and that was clear afterward, because I felt how calm and relaxed I had become.
There was also the occasional feeling of dying and being reborn, although that was more of a sensation than a true visual or sensory experience. Even afterward, something of that lingered: the feeling of being able (or having to) start my life over again. Everything could take a new turn, and it all depends on my choices. Making decisions isn't really my strong suit, so at a certain point I was wrestling with that: what should I do now? Even about simple things like which bed should I sleep in, should I eat now, should I make dinner now, should I take a shower? But after a while, it became clear to me that something always happens: at a certain moment I'm in a certain bed, there's food, and time to shower. Things happen as they should, and it's easier to just deal with it now.
Conclusion
Stijn surrendered completely to the experience, and it's precisely that surrender that produces the most beautiful results. Letting life happen as it should can bring us so much. I'd like to thank Stijn immensely for his trust and willingness to share his story.
