Setting
Setting refers to a concept created by Timothy Leary[1] which addresses the physical location as to where the psychedelics are experienced. This is opposed to priming which refers to the pre administration mental state. While the concepts of priming and setting were born out of psychedelic research it has also been proven useful for researchers who have studied the effects of various stimulants, depressants, and antipsychotics such as alcohol, heroin, methylphenidate (Ritalin), methamphetamine[2], cocaine, and crack cocaine[3]. Essentially, where you take the medicine can affect the action of the medicine, via psychosomatics.
Best Practice setting
Extensive medical research has been conducted to establish what are the best conditions for a psychedelic experience. Highlighted areas to address include[4]:
- Music - induces relaxation and stress reduction[5][6] whilst giving a time dependent medium for emotional expression[7]. However, listening to music decreases entropy and potentially the overall therapeutic effect (see Figure 1)[8].
- Lighting - most prefer psychedelic sessions at night and some it strange to start a ceremony at midday[9]. It has been found that using a blindfold to reduce ambient light increases the intensity of the psychedelic experience[10].
- Physical attributes of the medicine - much like placebo, size, colour, smell; all contribute to the effect[11].
- Fasting - to ensure pharmacokinetic stability, patients should fast for an average of 2-4 h (except water)[12].
- Singing - singing, whistling or drumming elicits oxytocin production a neurohormone enhancing calming and social bonding[13].
Pre
To reiterate, to get on the correct trajectory and enhance the therapeutic effect of psychedelic medicine, priming is of the utmost importance: "Have an objective, don't just go in to get fucked because you will. A great goal is to let go of anger and sadness and to be reminded of beauty and happiness" - Sting
During
Remember to let go, the psychedelic experience will temporarily dissolve the neural pathways which make up how you perceive the world around you. However, it is easy to forget this and feel as if YOU are physically dissolving into the world around you (see Figure 2). Occasionally, time distorts however, remember that it will be over. No matter what, you aren't going to die, you aren't going to go mad and the effects are not permanent.
Integration
Integration is the time immediately after the psychedelic experience, it is seen as a closing window of opportunity to integrate new thought patterns into the software of the brain. By employing various technique during the integration period specific positive effects of psychedelic use can be maintained.
Setting Modulation
Once the basics as above have been covered, it is possible to experiment on an individual basis, below is a list of Psychedelic Visualisation Modulators which can be used to explore the psychedelic effect on the visual field.
Psychedelic Visualisation Modulators
| Link | Summary | Settings | Interactive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hop Along | A never ending orbits visualizer. Use keys and mouse to increase speed and angle | Yes | Yes |
| Strobe | Stare at the middle for 30 seconds for to experience an optical illusion | No | No |
| Weavesilk | Generate art | Yes | Yes |
| Balls demo | Colorful balls that follow your mouse (Enable fullscreen for best effect) | Yes | Yes |
| Chromoscope | Explore the Milky Way in various wavelengths | Yes | Yes |
| Particle Dream | Particle visualization with many options | Yes | Yes |
| Cosmic Symbolism | Never ending cosmic zooming experience (click and drag for speed) | No | Yes |
| Draw A 3D Mandala | Draw a mandala with different colors in 3d | Yes | Yes |
| Mr Doob Harmony | Make art by sketching with different materials and colors (many more triptoys at the top of the page) | Yes | Yes |
| Fluids | Colorful physics demonstration of fluid | Yes | Yes |
| Water physics | Physics demonstration. Move around, drag the ball, ripple the water. | Yes | Yes |
| Arkadia | Never ending psychedelic forest | No | No |
| Puddle | Interact with paint-like soundwaves | No | Yes |
| A Way To Go | Draw lines and walk through a forest while creating music | No | Yes |
| Soft Murmur | Create your own mix of background noise | Yes | Yes |
| MyNoise.net | Ambient noise generator with a variety of themes from rain to black holes to busy cafe to kitten purrs. | Yes | No |
After
This is the most important part of the psychedelic experience, afterwards you remain in a neuroplastic state and have the ability to integrate what was learnt during the psychedelic experience.
References
- ↑ Constructing drug effects: A history of set and setting. Drug Science, Policy and Law. Ido Hartogsohn First Published January 1, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1177/2050324516683325
- ↑ Dwyer, R, Moore, D (2013) Enacting multiple methamphetamines: the ontological politics of public discourse and consumer accounts of a drug and its effects. The International Journal on Drug Policy 24(3): 203–211.
- ↑ Zinberg, NE (1984) Drug, Set, and Setting: The Basis for Controlled Intoxicant Use, 1st ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- ↑ Effects of Setting on Psychedelic Experiences, Therapies, and Outcomes: A Rapid Scoping Review of the Literature. Chapter in Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · February 2022 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_298
- ↑ Set and Setting: A Randomized Study of Different Musical Genres in Supporting Psychedelic Therapy. ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci. 2021, 4, 2, 472–478, Publication Date:December 29, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00187
- ↑ Music and soulmaking toward a new theory of music therapy. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Crowe, B. (2004). de Araujo, D., Ribeiro, S., Cecchi, G. A., Carvalho, F. M., Sanchez, T. A., Pinto, J. P., et al. (2012). Seeing with the eyes shut: neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion. Hum. Brain Mapp. 33 (11), 2550–2560. doi:10.1002/hbm.21381
- ↑ “The neuroscience of emotion and music,” in Communicative musicality: exploring the basis of human companionship. Panksepp, J., and Trevarthen, C. (2009). Editors S. Malloch, and C. Trevarthen (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 105–146.
- ↑ Effects of External Stimulation on Psychedelic State Neurodynamics. Mediano, Pedro A., Fernando E. Rosas, Christopher Timmermann, Leor Roseman, David J. Nutt, Amanda Feilding, Mendel Kaelen, et al. 2024. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, January. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00289. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00289
- ↑ The Evolved Psychology of Psychedelic Set and Setting: Inferences Regarding the Roles of Shamanism and Entheogenic Ecopsychology. Front. Pharmacol., Published 23 February 2021, Sec. Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.619890
- ↑ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00289#
- ↑ Set and setting, psychedelics and the placebo response: An extra-pharmacological perspective on psychopharmacology. Ido Hartogsohn, Journal of Psychopharmacology 2016. DOI: 10.1177/0269881116677852.
- ↑ Therapeutic use of psilocybin: Practical considerations for dosing and administration. MacCallum CA, Lo LA, Pistawka CA, Deol JK. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 1;13:1040217. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1040217. PMID: 36532184; PMCID: PMC9751063. Accessed via https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9751063/
- ↑ What’s missing from the scientific study of religion? Dunbar, R. (2017). Religion, Brain Behav. 7 (4), 349–353. doi:10.1080/2153599X.2016.1249927