highly recommended

I booked​ A truffle session in a group in Schiedam, and it turned out I had Marcel and Janneke as sitters.
I preferred a guided session, as I’d never done this before​, the package they offer is a safe way to get to grips with chemistry.
I came all the way from Belgium, as only the Dutch medical authorities recognise the therapeutic effects.
The media and people in general still harbour negative preconceptions about it, but I’ve done some research and the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly positive, and… now I’ve experienced it for myself as well.
It’s the best decision I’ve ever made, and I actually regret not having done it sooner in my life. 

I chose Triptherapy.nl because they have a great deal of experience and really take care of the arrangements.
I mean nice décor, comfortable places to sit or lie down, the playlist, the meal and breakfast, and a space where you can feel at ease.
The sitters also take their role seriously and are focused on assessing and guiding us to ensure we approach the experience with the right intention.
They provide you with useful advice a few days beforehand, explain what to expect in the introduction, and answer any questions you may have.
Everything is well organised, managed and predictable; I felt I was in good hands.

Finally, I went in and drank the potion at 3 pm… and, 20 minutes later, found myself in a 6-hour dance with the mushroom.
I now understand why they say it’s a dance.
With my eye pads on (a very important​ (item) I saw the most amazing geometry and worlds of wonder.
To the sound of the background music, I was swinging between highs and lows.
I entered a reality​, a magical realm, which was filled with fractals, interacting figures and symbols, and fluid visions.
I was in complete awe, amazed and utterly mesmerised by the beauty and the glorious expansion of the senses.
It cannot be described; it must be experienced. I have no words for it – I’m sorry.

The music ​-in my head- was so ​more beautiful and rich; I heard colourful, mind-blowing new variations on top of ​what was playing, which were inexplicably deeply connected to my emotions and views.
I was on an emotional rollercoaster, with both good and bad feelings. You go back and forth, although the top ones dominated my experience this first time round. 
I saw the most marvellous, intricate architectures of reality; the space expanded to the size of the Milky Way, and designs so otherworldly that I could never have imagined them before.

One must recognise that there are heroic qualities within oneself, but also dreadful and ugly aspects, and one must be absolutely prepared to have these revealed to oneself.
The mushroom tells you a story about yourself in an audiovisual way that isn’t expressed in words but conveys messages, and sort of helps you to accept who you are,​ both the good and the bad.
To be honest, I saw kingdoms in heaven and beyond bravery,​ but I also saw the sewers, the vermin and the terror, the blood and the frightening sights​, agonising darkness. 
​Yes, it must be said in this context: The cup of joy runs as deep as the cup of suffering.

It is VERY important to approach this with the right mindset, with a genuine desire and intention to trust the reflection you will be shown and to deal with it.
At the start, I asked the mushroom to go easy on me this first time,
and that there would be further opportunities to teach me more about the unconventional aspects of my inner self.​ Talking and being open really does help. 
The nice thing about psilocybin-containing mushrooms is that they give you time to explore ​your intended search and to remain conscious in the background.
I didn’t lose myself or my sense of identity; I went to the loo twice during the trip, so I was still in control of my faculties, although my senses were, of course, slightly distorted (and delayed).
But you don’t want to just sit back and watch the world go by; I dive right in, put on my pads and ride the waves of the music – that’s where I wanted to lose myself.
That’s where you’ve gone wrong ​for For a while, you’re not concerned with who you are or what you think; you simply ARE, swept away on a journey full of wonder and sheer bliss.

Despite the downsides, I ​was shown or​, I am VERY grateful for the experience as a whole. It is – utterly – unforgettable and is enriching my life.
​I also truly believe in the therapeutic effects, as I felt, in a dialogue with myself, and was shown, through emotions and various experiences, lessons to learn,
​obstacles to overcome, and it’s a bit like a cleansing process; it brings a great sense of relief. I definitely feel I need a few months to come to terms with the experience.
I don’t have many traumatic experiences, so ​I am grateful for the positive experience, but I can imagine that if you have any problems,
that the resolution of these issues and the inner struggle against fears or demons can be a confrontational experience within the healing process one embarks upon.
​That is why music is SO important during this experience; it ensures you don’t get stuck, you WILL move on and it sets the pace for the journey.
​It IS a very personal experience, but the stories we shared afterwards have a lot in common; it seems we enter a certain realm, or we react in a similar way.

​The evening before, I wrote down what I hoped to achieve on this trip, and – looking back – I actually received an unexpected, yet deeply meaningful, answer to that question.
​Am I the same person? Yes, there is a continuity in my identity. No, because my personality is more self-aware, more sensitive.
This is so much more than the thrill of a theme park or a skydive; although some may view it as a form of recreation, I really see it as something divine,
with meaning and incredible depth. I literally wept at the overwhelming geometry, beauty and grandeur of the universe.
​It made me feel so small and yet so deeply connected to everything at the same time; it’s hard to put those emotions into words.
​
​I am grateful to the organisers; I now truly regard them as missionaries of awareness.
They really are – to put it sentimentally – beacons of light, helping people to find a sense of wholeness in our fragmented, superficial, consumerist and materialistic society.
​You can only understand its importance and its value to society if you have experienced it.
​To all of you out there, don’t wait until you’re 50, like me, to treat yourself.