bluemason3 said:I actually think it's the opposite, which is why setting and mindset are so critical. If your mind is preoccupied with something, you'll hallucinate it. Hallucinogens definitely ramp up suggestibility.
In my experience, the mental obsession, expectations, and how a session is steered essentially define the trip. It's not some grand "grace"; it's more like a direct provocation.
For example, back when I was deep into studying Buddhist practices and then took LSD, I would consciously try to perform those specific meditations while tripping (unless the dose was so high that I couldn't even function). Every single experience felt incredibly meditative and tied directly to those theories and practices. Outside of that context, the trips just revolve around whatever happens to be on my mind at the time.
The same logic applies to trance states induced by non-chemical methods.
It's just a glorified psychological game.
This is interesting. I gave up on trying to steer psychedelics very early on because, frankly, it feels like a violation—a total lack of respect for the substance. Respecting the substance is far more vital than any attempt at direction or setting (expectations are everything here). Besides, whenever I stop trying to control the trip, I receive much more than I could ever imagine or intentionally direct. With mushrooms, this is especially true; you often have a guide showing you entire universes, initiating you into occult knowledge and bestowing "graces and blessings"... we all know Ayahuasca (DMT) is seen as female, Peyote as male, and mushrooms lean masculine despite having hermaphroditic elements. Even before the mushrooms pulled me into their worlds, they expected me to recognize them as a distinct entity rather than just an extension of my own higher nature. They kept me in a sort of limbo until I intimately acknowledged them as an independent being; only then would they lead me into deeper knowledge, and for every subsequent step, they required a kind of intimate consent. Without it, they wouldn't go any further. Still, I think LSD is the type of psychedelic that doesn't mind being steered, whereas mushrooms only comply in certain phases and for specific purposes, and only with their permission and instructions. Otherwise, the mushroom—in its role as a guide—likes to smoke and has a bizarre sense of humor, behaving quite playfully... it has a distinct personality. By steering, you simply get what you asked for (a hyped-up psychological game)... that attempt at control is fundamentally incompatible with the essence of taking psychedelics, which is—to phrase it simply—"stepping out of your comfort zone." And I'm not convinced that obsessively forcing an intention is a good path; once you decide exactly what state you want to achieve, you've already lost. You can't force spiritual experiences; they manifest on their own once you finally stop trying so hard.