{"id":8777,"date":"2021-06-21T14:51:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T12:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mapsofthemind.com\/?p=8777"},"modified":"2021-07-01T12:13:29","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T10:13:29","slug":"my-psychedelic-journaling-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mapsofthemind.com\/2021\/06\/21\/my-psychedelic-journaling-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"My Psychedelic Journaling Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"
When I first started using psychedelics, I used to always make sure that I had a pen and paper handy during my sessions. I did this so I could make notes during the experience, as there would nearly always be thoughts that popped up that seemed crucially important to write down and remember. <\/span><\/p>\n Since I started doing more formal, psychedelic therapy style sessions<\/a>, however, <\/span>I\u2019ve made it something of a rule to not write anything down during the trip itself<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>I may take some notes after the peak, but generally the session day is for experience, not for journaling. That day is for me to be in the experience, not to analyse or take notes on it. In terms insights, I’ve found that the most important stuff sticks, and I’ll revisit and capture the next day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Thought I don’t write during the session day, I journal a lot after the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n The day after I will put on the playlist that I used and listen to it again from start to finish. <\/span>Getting as close to the session format as possible, I will also wear my eye mask and headphones again, with the mask slid above my eyes. Listening to the music helps to bring back memories from the trip.\u00a0 The other details also help to recreate the context of the experience which helps to retrieve the memories in as much detail as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n I will then sit or lie down with pen and paper. As I listen to the music, I journal freely about the experience. I follow a directive I found in one of the research studies on psilocybin done at Johns Hopkins, to write up an \u2018open-ended narrative of the experience\u2019. The write up might include feelings, thoughts, or realizations. Whatever comes back up, I journal about it.<\/span><\/p>\n Psychedelic explorer Christopher Bache has written about how he did this the day after each of his sessions<\/a> too. His integration process was so meticulous that he would listen to each track on the playlist on repeat, until he felt he had captured the essence of what he experienced during that piece. Admittedly, I don’t quite go that far. Once through the entire playlist is already 5 hours journaling, and I spread this over the course of a day, breaking it up with walks outside and meals.<\/p>\n Whilst journaling, I also identify key themes from the experience. These keywords may look like: health, gratitude, listening, providing. Though those may look obvious or trite, each word will be infused with my own personal meaning from the session, and having them neatly identified in keywords can help to quickly touch base with the essence of the experience. I’ve found this is useful for longer term integration, or setting integration intentions<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nJournaling on integration day<\/span><\/h2>\n
Journaling as preparation<\/span><\/h2>\n