Yes, hallucinogens can lead to some dark places, but generally I have found that part of setting the scene for a good trip is being in a state of mind where I'm not holding onto anything. Most of my bad trips and the ones I've witnessed have started out of some desire to control the situation or even worrying that the situation is out of control. Drugs aren't nutritive, but the old standbys are standbys because they're fairly predictable in their effects, within a certain range. Research chemicals can be fun, but often they're so exotic, it's hard to say what one is getting for certain. That said, a great place to find out what's new is MIT around Halloween. All those damn orgo majors and grad students . . .
Haha, I was thinking about MIT for either organic chem or programming. I hadn't thought about that before, that's a great idea though! "Most of my bad trips and the ones I've witnessed have started out of some desire to control the situation or even worrying that the situation is out of control."
-I've definitely started to understand that as of late. Though, I'd say that this trip was a bit of an exception to it. At the dosage that me and my buds took, we all generally had a pretty similar trip. The first couple of hours is like gritting your teeth - except that feeling through your whole body, especially your legs. Because of that, we ended up having to move around and go outside. We saw a dead cat and shit went south pretty quick for a good 7 hours, although. It's not like that mattered since time was just non-existent and it felt closer toa week or so.
Well, can't beat MIT! That sucks your trip got ruined because of that. Dead cats have a way of turning up in weird places. Once I was swimming, just off a gorgeous white sand beach. The water was so clear and so perfectly inviting. As I was remarking on how clean and beautiful the setting was compared to where I was living at the time, I spotted kind of an amorphous blob. I didn't have my glasses on, but as it drifted closer it reminded me of something. So, I swam nearer and sure enough, it was the skin of a tortoiseshell cat! My then-girlfriend freaked right out and ran inside to take a shower. As I brushed my teeth of any potential dead-cat nastiness, I kept wondering why anyone would bother to skin a cat. That day was a little like tripping.