Education
Education
The Second Step in Safe and Responsible Use is Education.
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We plan to create and offer various educational materials, workshops, and curriculum to enable those with little to no experience with these plants and fungi to become informed about their powerful effects, and their safe and responsible use.
Education is key to making informed choices. Before partaking in an entheogenic experience, one should have a complete review of potential physical, psychological, or social risks that may be present. We also understand people will make choices based on various degrees of information. However, there are five points of instruction we want to emphasize in our educational campaign to help safeguard responsible use of entheogens.
1. Entheogens are not for everyone. Some people should not take entheogenic plants or fungi at all or without exercising extreme caution, including people with a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or who are currently taking certain medications. In these cases, consultation with a medical professional is essential.
2. If someone has severe depression with suicidal ideation or PTSD, it is advised to first seek professional support and ask that professional’s advice. Many counselors and therapists are glad to work with a client before and after an entheogenic journey.
3. Unless you have expert guidance, it’s best to start with small amounts, using more only after you become familiar with the material and the terrain.
4. Don’t go solo (with nontrivial doses). Have at least one trusted friend (called a sitter, guide, or facilitator) be with you, sober during the entire journey, and commit in advance to honor that person’s instructions if he or she tells you to do something. Entheogens can amplify the whole range of human emotions, including anxiety which can sometimes lead to distress. Having a sitter gives you a certain comfort and mental freedom, can help keep things safe, and provides support to enable deeper growth and positive transformation.
