The term “heroic dose” was coined by Terence McKenna and consists of 5 grams of dry mushrooms (Psilocybe Cubensis) consumed in a specific kind of Set & Setting. The phrase is specific in that it is reserved only for this brave method of consumption. The rules are simple: 5 dry grams consumed alone, in the dark, in silence, with your eyes closed. The heroic dose produces its effects for as long as 6 to 8 hours. As time dilates during a trip of this kind, one’s suggestive perception of the time frame becomes far beyond that of ordinary measured time.
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5 grams or “committed dose”?
The heroic dose is the result of a journey undertaken which could come in at 5 grams of perhaps even more – or you may stop well before then. Indeed, the quantity McKenna describes is not firmly restricted to 5 grams. For some, it could be higher or lower depending on their individual tolerance levels. On other occasions, McKenna has tended to use the term “committed dose” – the dose, in other words, which humbles you and inspires your respect – which probably fits more with the definition of “heroic” than the figure of 5 grams. This quantity is a defined reference and identifiable for anyone early in their own journey of discovery with mushrooms. But once it has been reached, you could discover that that level of intensity no longer seems that heroic, because your courage will hardly feel challenged if it stays in your new comfort zone.
Feel what’s right for you
A capacity for inner listening is vital to understanding what works for you, and it’s a test you need to do on multiple levels. Perhaps you hold it together well emotionally, but physically you could be causing yourself problems. Listen and know what is best for your body, and furthermore ask whether mushrooms are a path you can tread at all, or if there is another road more suitable to you.
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How to get to a heroic dose
The practical advice for finding that elusive heroic dose is simple: increase the quantity incrementally, in a slow, progressive manner. Such slowness allows you to ascertain how you’re reacting on an emotional and psychological level. If you consider that every experience will be unique and different to the last, you’ll need time to understand how to interact with the psychedelic depths. The first three or four times you consume mushrooms are just sufficient to glean your physiological sensitivity to the substance – and in time you’ll understand the rest. Above all, you’ll grow to understand if you gradually feel better as you dive or not. Normally, experiences vary from the sublime to the problematic, but if you see a prevalence of problematic occurrences, you have to take heed.
Set & Setting
The Set & Setting requirements for a heroic dose are very specific – being alone, being in total silence, etc. – but it falls within the general rules which should always be applied to every one of your experiences.
No sitter
You won’t have a sitter for the heroic dose, but this doesn’t exclude the possibility of having someone be nearby, or even in the same house, who you can contact if you feel like you’re in trouble. A big help when you feel like this is to reach for some music. If at the moment of maximum intensity your thoughts start to torment you – for example, your mind starts to loop or fixate on something , you can use music to distract yourself (at least until you feel ready to re-enter into the silence once more).
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The internal witness
The internal witness is like a part of you – they are not your body and not your thoughts. If you’ve arrived at a heroic dose, you’ve probably experimented previously and found that they’re there when you feel dissociated from your thoughts and manage to observe them as if you were a “third party”. The witness exists in ordinary states of consciousness too, but most of all during an intense experience.
Darkness and silence
Why alone, in silence and in the dark? On one hand, they contribute to the intensity you experience, which doesn’t allow you to engage with people or situations; on the other hand, they allow you to delve deeply into yourself without distractions.
Effectively, even turning on music is a distraction. Indeed, it makes sense only if you don’t, but you have to have it on hand as a getaway because your objective is to explore only as far as you intend to. If you’re about to deviate from the heroic dose instructions. Overcoming the challenges will drive you forward and ultimately teach you something. To win the battle against the difficulty it can sometimes be enough to know that you have help if you need it.
