Over Hyping

I'm a long time friend of Lucy and whenever someone asks me for a testimony, or requests a bit of information on what to expect from her, I try to be as vague and as honest as possible. However, I feel the same doesn't apply to some other self proclaimed "drug gurus". To get to the point, I feel the effects of the substance are far to over hyped; especially in regards to the visual aspect. I don't want to completely discredit someones personal experience, but there seems to be a lot of stretched truth or just flat out lies regarding the effects. From my experience, unless you take an absurd amount of this stuff you will not be seeing the literal face of the abrahamic god, the ghost of a dead loved one, self-replicating geometric objects of hyperspace, flying elephants, or an alien world. I mean, maybe you have! Good for you. You can't however tell this to a newbie, it's giving them an expectation that far excedes the experience they are most likely going to have. LSD is a very mental experience. The reality of the visuals are as such for most people on normal doses: visual distortion across the field of view or objects, tracers, emergence of complex patterns, enhanced colors, extended field of focus, enhanced visual acuity, motion appearing in stationary objects. Those effects are a guarantee for most people, dancing elepants are not. So the whole point of this topic is to start a discussion on the over hyping of the effects of LSD and addressing the validity of seemingly outlandish reports (however, you can never really know what someone else has experienced.) So let me know your thoughts.

All said with a good, yet skeptical, heart.

 

Who is Lucy?

 

Slang for LSD. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.


I've had some intense visuals on LSD but it's true it was not the pink elephant sort of thing you see on TV. What I expected LSD to be from films is not what it was. I find most of those portrayals are from someone who has never done it they just imagine what it must be like. But a movie like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a good example of real LSD use. Like the beginning when he is trying to check into his hotel. The faces and the way the rug moves oh yeah been there.

 

I definitely think a Closed Eye Visual of dancing elephants is well within the realm of an LSD experience. I haven't had that exact hallucination but I've had some similar well developed "characters", where all language simply would fail to describe accurately and thus I'd likely use familiar creatures or concepts. I also have had distinct sensations of alien presence on LSD. I was not hallucinating the typical greys or anything but "something" felt otherworldly.

That's just it for most substantial LSD experiences, alot of the trip is ineffable, so while I probably wouldn't tell someone interested in exploring LSD for the first time, that they'll see pink elephants, I wouldn't attempt to disrespect or deny someone who asserts that claimed to have such a hallucination.


I found/find LSD unlike any preconceptions I had of it prior to exploring it and find the places it can take ones mind really difficult to limit.

 

In my experience, smoking weed ramps up the visual effects 10X.

I am one of those who saw Elmer Fudd chase Bugs Bunny off the TV screen, around the room for a lap and then back into the TV.
That was behind ~500+ ugs of LSD and some blonde leb hash.
Everything was pretty much as the op described, though VERY pronounced, then I took 3-4 bong hits of hash and BAM!!!! the circus began, and it was wild to say the least.

Surrendering to the experience plays a BIG part in the overall subjective experience including visual effects.

The most profound, crystal clear and astounding closed eye visuals I've ever experienced was from mescaline (San Pedro potion to be exact).
It wasn't the usual patterns and morphing stuff. I was transported to different locales around the world, all in amazing high def and VERY real appearing.
As GB stated, words fail to even begin to convey the absolute perfection, emotion and dare I say reality of that experience. I can still recall standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the desert and the wonderful reds and oranges of the hills and sunset. Similar to this, but from a higher vantage point.

Also visited the alps, the Himalayan mountains, ocean and South American jungle on that journey with Mescalito. Very exhilarating and a bit terrifying because as far as I was concerned, even knowing that I was standing in my backyard, it was fucking REAL.

I have trip reports around here for both experiences under PB_Smith.

 

it would depend on what you actually see wherever you are. if there is a splat of paint on a wall it could seem to be in the shape of an elephant,
i went to a concert with my sister who has long blonde hair, we got seperated and i proceeded to tap on the shoulder of every long blonde haired person there because every one of them looked exactly like her.
then while watching the show, all the people in front of me,,,their heads would turn into faces. kind of like you would see in a horror movie. it wasnt all at once it was more like how random flashing lights go.

 

First off, crazy experience man! Yes, it definitely seems that intense visuals like this are more likely to occur in very active and/or dark environments. I've had some very intense visuals in the dark; the entire field of view being set into a waving pattern, imagining people in the distance, etc. So yes, under those sort of circumstances, very intense visuals can be achieved no problem. I wouldn't classify them as the sort of hallucinations some may expect, but rather the drug causes the brain to misinterpret visual data (none the less beautiful visuals). But in a more calm setting, say a trip circle with three people in a dim-lit room on an average dose, those visuals are FAR less common to occur. Which is why I find it hard to believe some people when they say a monkey just jumped on the table off 100ug haha. I just don't see why some people need to stretch the truth of an experience. The original trip in itself was probably outstanding. Anyway, appreciate the input man. )))

 

I would totally agree that weed can cause some insane visuals actually. I don't smoke often myself, but I ripped a bong full of swazi gold topped with kief once at the peak of an acid trip and suddenly a coffee cup stain on my desk began to multiply across the entire surface creating a pattern of interlapping circles. But I also spent a half hour trying to clean up imaginary flakes of bud off my desk before realizing there wasn't any and laughing my ass off. Oh, and the tv kept creeping towards me all cartoon like. That was actually one of my favorite trips. Should smoke more during trips in the future.

Anyway, yeah THC can really catapult the capabilities of LSD. So at a dose like 500ug, I believe someone could experience something like that. But I've heard horror stories of mixing the two, even though I can't personally see how it could conflict unless an individual gets extreme paranoia from thc. Then I'd suggest that individual is careful with his substances of this sort.

 

Mixing substances can greatly change the types of visuals you have, but LSD alone is pretty timid for the most part compared to popular belief (primarily those who've never done it.) Haha

 

An angel. :gorgeous:

 

some people might do that in order to get others to try it, but i think some of it is just not being able to put it into the right words. for example, one time...actually the first time i ever took a hit, we had pizza and there was a little man in my throat trying to keep the pizza from going down my esophagus. while you can get a general idea of what was happening to me, you will never know what i went through. the man in my throat was just the best way that words can explain it in a way that another person can relate. whenever i think about this it reminds me of the song "trip like i do" by filter and crystal method.
as for the pink elephants i think maybe one person had that experience and talked about it and others that heard it...well they ran with it when they did cartoons or movies depicting the drug...if it was me that was the first person to describe sid to movie makers, after my first use...then maybe we would be talking about little people in your body trying to control things instead of pink elephants.

 

sorry if that is hard to follow, a second read through should make it clear...had a few glasses of absinthe and while the hallucinogenic effects of it are more exaggerated than any drug ever made...it is still 70 and 66% abv for the two kinds that i had tonite.

 

Unless your setting the bar to Datura or DMT, I think describing LSD's visuals as "timid" is bordering on irresponsible.

 

I had a special edition of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with a bonus disc with lots of commentary and if I recall correctly, it mentioned that director Terry Gilliam never tried LSD. I do think the ground swirling and climbing up the wall aspect was fairly accurate but it seemed a bit of a stretch to me when everyone turned into lizards.

What is this pink elephant thing from? All I know is an episode of The Simpsons where Barney has Mescaline and sees a pink Elephant and Dumbo which wasn't even explicitly drug related.

 

Could be viewed that way with some justification.

 

With Like 1 hit or less of some weak stuff?
Or perhaps they've just done the stuff so much that they have developed tolerance and lost sight of those formative experiences?

 

I didn't put it very well. I was agreeing with your point there.

Visuals and everything else can be intense on a strong dose.

 

https://youtu.be/jcZUPDMXzJ8?t=56s


look at Dumbo at about 1 min 8 sec. i think he's fuckin' faced...

 

and to get back to the OP, yeah i think the visual aspects of a standard dose of LSD can be exaggerated, while the more interesting mental aspects are much harder to explain.

so it's easier to say that this will make you see some crazy shit, rather than explain all of the interesting and variable things it can do with your mind.


closed eye visuals are another story though. i have definitely seen that Dumbo type stuff behind closed eyelids.

with open eyes on LSD...i have "seen" rainbows in a clear blue sky. it was like i looked at pure blue for so long that i was splitting sunlight into all the different colors like my eyes were a prism. i have seen my face completely change in the mirror and an orange glow of a light come from nowhere. i've "seen" the skin on my hand age and then reverse back to it's current state. that was more like imagining it though. visuals, especially on LSD are not consistent for me. sometimes i can have like "HD vision" where i see so much detail in everything, but no classic morphing or breathing patterns. but then on the same exact dose, i can have different visuals, or no visuals.

altered thought patterns and a plethora of interesting effects happen on lower doses of LSD.
strong visuals come with increasing doses.
(you out there mr. writer?)

 

Yeah, I think most of it's just metaphors taken seriously.