The 10-Day Mushroom Fast: A Journey Into The Soul

Even for a seasoned psychonaut it‘s an impressive undertaking: eating nothing but mushrooms for ten days straight, and drinking nothing but tea and lemon water. But one anonymous blogger from crackediphoneglass.wordpress.com has done just that. „Why?“ might well be your first reaction; and it was ours as well.

Why fast on mushrooms?

As the blogger states, he embarks on this journey to explore two goals. Firstly, he has been working with mushrooms for the past year and his experiences were „beyond words“, which convinced him that human evolution is driven by consciously working with plant allies such as the the mushrooms. Through the fast he wants to gain insight about how the mushrooms can help him personally to evolve. And the second motivation is that he is fed up with „experts“ stating that psychedelic drugs are harmful - he‘s using himself as a test subject to prove the contrary.

Now, isn‘t that exactly the reckless behaviour that‘s just going to reinforce the negative perception of irresponsible drug abuse? We certainly see validity in this argument, and in the current climate of fundamental misunderstanding of psychedelics it is important not to feed the beast. However, research has shown mushrooms to be of very limited harm, and done consciously in a safe environment such an undertaking is not an abuse by itself.

Psychedelic fasting

Fasting prior to the ingestion of an entheogen is ingrained in most native cultures that work with plants. Fasting is common before and after Ayahuasca rituals, peyote ceremonies and mushroom gatherings. It is not uncommon to prolong the fast for days after the experience, which helps to integrate the insights. Many Ayahuasca resorts, for example, offer juice fasts, which are easier to handle for city dwellers on an entheogenic forest break. But in itself, light eating and fasting in association with psychedelics is an ancient practice.

Throughout the experience, the blogger describes his spiritual experiences as having emerged from the combination of fasting and consuming mushrooms - eating the mushrooms without fasting wouldn‘t have produced these visions. On the second day he describes an encounter with the mushrooms spirit who told him that he will gain much wisdom for his choice to fast.

Fasting with the aim to increase the depth of the experience is sure to do just that, but before embarking on such a journey, ensure that you have an understanding of what a fast is like. It is wise to simply attempt a food fast by itself first to see how you deal with it and familiarise yourself with the sensation. The author of the crackediphoneglass blog is experienced at fasting, as well as with the use of mushrooms.

Fasting by itself can be quite a challenge, particularly during 10 days. Dealing with the sensation of hunger is one of the first things that comes to mind - but as we learn from his diaries, he never felt much hunger during this experience.

A 10 day mushroom journey

From the first day on, the author describes the effects as more profound that anything he has ever previously experienced. He understands that the experience will be one long journey of learning, rather than spread out separate sessions.

Feelings of profound cosmic connection progress and develop through the first few days. The author notes how the effects of mushrooms ebb away after the first use, and that the tolerance build up makes it more difficult to trip. However, it never was his goal to trip as hard as possible: his goal was to embark on a spiritual journey of learning and growth – like a student learning from a master, he accepts whatever comes to him.

On the fourth day of the fast, the author does not take any mushrooms at all. Yet the mushrooms from the previous days are still resonating within him. Since the goal isn‘t to achieve consistently strong trips, but to slide into a meditative and flowing mood, this state allows him to contemplate himself, and his place within Christianity. He describes how he considers himself a Christian, as he values and believes in many of the moral teachings it offers; but at the same time, he embraces all regions, and even considers himself to be anti-religious for forcing their belief system onto everyone.

Towards the end of the fast, the blogger was consuming a very large amount of mushrooms to pierce into the depths of his soul. After the 10 days had ended, he described the experience as the biggest accomplishment of his life, and that he would have given his life savings to learn what he had on mushrooms - gaining this insight, wisdom and understanding.

It is a strong message that he learnt, very close to those taught by religious and spiritual teaching alike; trust in yourself, love those around you, and learn and grow from the challenges life presents you. Even though clergy would deny this claim fiercely, it would not come as a surprise if many religious teachings were founded on the experiences of psychedelics; from prophets who went into the wilds to learn from god, and found his lessons embodied in the power plants. There is no right or wrong answer here, everyone’s experience is, and will be different - as the journey embarked on is unique to your own sense of understanding of the world around you, and what it means to be you.

What is for certain is that an undertaking like this is one of profound significance, and one that had a profound impact on his life.

You can read more about his journey on the blog crackediphoneglass.wordpress.com

Further thoughts

At Zamnesia we emphasise the safe and responsible use of psychedelics. While we never advise to consume entheogens on a daily basis, we recognise the profoundly positive nature of this blogger‘s endeavour. Should you consider embarking on a similar journey, do not feel it has to be 10 days, and take all necessary precautions to remain safe and responsible. Fasting is possible for both shorter and longer periods of time, or not at all. Just ensure that whatever you decide, it remains safe; and there is no need to try and replicate the experience of another.

Luke Sholl

Luke Sholl has been writing about cannabis, the wellness potential of cannabinoids, and the positive influence of nature for over a decade. Working with several cannabinoid-centric publications, he publishes a variety of digital content, supported by strong technical knowledge and thorough research.

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