Heroic Dose or Hubris?

Key Takeaways

• The “heroic dose,” a concept popularized by Terence McKenna, emphasizes a high-dose experience but should not dictate how individuals explore psychedelics, as the journey is personal and varied.
• Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” parallels the psychedelic experience, where personal transformation often involves facing internal challenges and returning with new insights.
• Psychedelic experiences should be tailored to individual needs, avoiding the pressure of fitting specific standards, and success lies in finding a personal “dosage sweet spot” and integrating the experience into daily life.
• Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators and psychedelic-assisted therapy near you in the United States.

Demystifying the Notion of the “Heroic Dose”

Our goal for today is to break down the good, bad and the ugly of a “heroic dose.” At Psychedelic Passage, we use the term “macrodose” as an umbrella term for any dose that causes an altered state of consciousness with psychedelic components to it. 

The macrodose dosage is extremely dependent on the person taking the substance, it could be 1.5 grams of dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms for one, while someone else might need 4+ grams. 

History of the “Heroic Dose”

The term “heroic dose” gets tossed around alot in the world of psychonauts, originally coined by Terence Mckenna, who was one of the forefathers of the psychedelic resurgence in the 1960’s. 

Like the forefathers of America, infamous names like Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Albert Hoffman, Terence and Dennis Mckenna helped create a psychedelic culture that would act as the bedrock for future psychonauts all over the world. 

With the fresh resurgence of psychedelics in the 60’s, harm reduction wasn’t exactly on everyone’s mind. The idea of limiting external stimuli and looking inwards at yourself must have also been a novel idea in our western society, being only a generation past WWII.

Back then, the world of psychedelics had a direct connection to counterculture, which by definition means being “in opposition to those of the established culture.”

Now, we’re moving much closer to welcoming psychedelics into the established culture. Yes, it’s a slow process, but think of the progress we’ve made. From Michael Pollan’s, “How to Change Your Mind.” to clinical trials, psychedelics are wiggling their way into mainstream media.

Keeping that in mind, Terence Mckenna’s idea of a “heroic dose” was quite simple: taking 5 dried grams of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in a dark room, laying down blindfolded with no external stimuli and seeing where it’d take you. 

As time went on, a new concept emerged, similar, but all-encompassing, coined the “monomyth” or “Hero’s journey” by Joseph Campbell.

Campbell was an author, mythologist and lecturer who focused his work on comparative mythology and comparative religion. 

Joseph Campbell, on a search to find what universally embedded themes in the human experience, discovered a common vein across many cultures and generations.

He discovered a narrative framework that has permeated storytelling since as early as 2112 BCE: a hero going on an adventure, facing challenges along the way, and returning transformed. 

Hercules is one example of the hero’s journey in Greek mythology, with it being a popular arc in movies, books and video games in today’s society as well. 

Intersection of Psychedelics & the Hero’s Journey

When looking at the hero’s journey, it can be broken down into four phases: separation, descent, initiation, and return. It can be against great odds, have supernatural aspects, and is usually transformative in its nature.

“This is why we love the underdog. This is why we love comeback stories. The idea is that there is something embedded within our human nature that allows us to identify with these processes and with these characters, whether fiction or nonfiction, who go through this. It’s just something that we are familiar with and inherently know and understand in human nature.”

If we compare it to a psychedelic experience, especially in terms of a rite of passage like we see indigenous cultures, we can find a lot of overlap. 

As you ingest a substance, you separate from the sober reality you were in. You then descend into an altered state of consciousness where you may be met with personal content that has been confusing or difficult to address in the past.

Because intentional psychedelic use typically addresses inner demons or a challenging internal landscape, it takes bravery and that in itself is an act of heroism. 

By taking the chance to go on an adventure to the deepest parts of yourself, you come out of the experience and return to your life changed in some way.

How long the transformation lasts is up to you and the preparation, integration, and mindfulness work that you commit to. Sharing your experience to a community is an important part of the process to be able to integrate the experience back into your life. 

The hero’s journey can be a helpful template to base life experiences such as psychedelic experiences off of, because sometimes the suffering people go through overshadows the bravery they exhibit in their search for healing and connection. 

Drawbacks of the Hero’s Journey

Since it has taken on so many forms over so long of a time, the hero’s journey reflects the context and limitations of the culture it’s regarded in. 

In our Americanized, western society, we’re individualistic, we celebrate hard work. Everyone’s the main character in their own story, right?

Not every culture reveres individuality, for example, Japan places more emphasis on the collective, or being a part of a whole (Individualism Vs Collectivism Cultural Differences). 

The hero’s journey can also seem too simplistic. Healing is not a linear process, but is dynamic and fluid. Your needs and ideas of progress will shift and transform over time. 

Through the psychedelic healing process you may feel like you go on many hero’s journeys, each offering a new piece to the puzzle that is you.

Drawbacks of the “Heroic Dose”

The idea of the “heroic dose” might give the notion that there’s a specific or “right” way to explore psychedelics, but that’s completely false. Psychedelic healing is deeply nuanced, and meant to be tailored to the personal needs and desires of the individual.

The problem we have with the idea of the “heroic dose” is that it negates the power of psychedelic healing in other formats. It may leave people with the wrong idea, like that they must take a large amount of mushrooms in a dark room to have a meaningful experience. 

If you’ve read or listened to our content before, then you may know that our co-founder Jimmy has had powerful and overwhelming experiences at 2 grams of dried psilocybin-containing mushrooms, and much easier experiences at upwards of 8 grams. 

It just goes to show you that you don’t really get to decide how your experience goes, and so there really shouldn’t be a standard to feel like you must adhere to.

The other problem that follows the idea of the “heroic dose” around is the ego. Having a heroic dose experience can give some people a false sense of superiority. 

“I’m reminded of a LinkedIn exchange that I had with somebody years back. This was a venture capitalist in the psychedelic space and we were DMing on LinkedIn and they made a comment and I found it to be somewhat narcissistic, so I challenged them on it.

I was like, ‘it seems like the statement that you made was rooted in ego’ and their response was ‘nope, had a heroic dose, I killed my ego a long time ago.’ I think this psychedelic bravado type of dynamic psychedelic bragging rights is certainly within the space of talking about psychedelic experiences. And what I share with people is that these experiences are not trophies.”

Regardless of our life circumstances or progression of healing, we’re all on equal footing here, and no one should trump superiority because they’ve had more or a certain type of experience.

Finding Your Sweet Spot

We believe that any time you have the courage to look within yourself, that’s something to be celebrated, and the simple act of having a “heroic dose” doesn’t automatically mean you’re doing any better than anyone else.

Instead, we’re here to remind you to find your dosage sweet spot. It may change over time as it depends on many factors such as your intentions, life circumstances, and emotional bandwidth. 

Recommended Reading: Determining Therapeutic Psilocybin Dosages 

The impact of the psychedelic experience isn’t dose-dependent, and psychedelic experiences shouldn’t even be solely defined by their therapeutic impact. 

What we are trying to avoid and move away from is the pressure we put on psychedelic experiences to be one thing or another, to fit into the box of our expectations.

Psychedelic experiences can fall under almost any context, and what they boil down to is this: after a psychedelic experience, is there a possibility for a more understanding and loving relationship with yourself? If yes, then can you bring that into the world around you?

Question From The Community

Is it safe to do a psilocybin session outdoors in full daylight?

Logistically, it depends on the context. There can be a lot of variation between your backyard, a quiet campground with some friends, an outdoor mall, and a crowded baseball game or concert. 

Certainly using psychedelics to connect with nature is powerful and can be quite impactful. One of the most important aspects of any psychedelic experience is having a plan going into it. 

Create a few contingency plans, think about situations that may arise where you’ll need to take some action. For example, you may need to use the bathroom frequently, you may experience temperature fluctuation in your body, and you may get a sudden burst of emotion. 

Take some time to reflect on how the setting you choose will interact with these possible situations, and if it’s conducive to your needs or if it will act more as a barrier.

Personally, our co-founder Jimmy Nuygen prefers environments well within his control, while still acknowledging the power of combining psychedelics and nature, especially at night.

If we take a second to recognize what mushrooms are, we see that they are above ground fruiting bodies, small parts of a much larger, underground mycelial fungal network. 

Mycologists and foragers alike report entire colonies of mushrooms sprouting overnight, under the cover of darkness. 

That being said, there’s some merit to having an overnight intentional psychedelic experience outside, connecting to the mushroom and gaining something that was not there the day before. 

It removes some of the external stimuli that comes with the bustling of the day, while tapping into the wisdom of the mushroom. Regardless, the choice is yours and proper preparation while really thinking about the implications of your desired setting can greatly boost your success.

Nature Loves Courage

You don’t have to be a hero to reap the benefits of psychedelics. The great thing about these substances is the versatility in which they adapt to each of our unique psyches.  

• Keeping Community Close: Tripping with friends can add an entire new set of elements to a psychedelic experience, find out what setting fits your needs.
• Ask Not What They Can Do For You: Discover not only how a psychedelic community can aid in your healing journey, but how you can help further psychedelic research by joining the community research project.
• Ever-Evolving, Always Growing: Not all change is bad, right? Right…but, how?
• Nothing Can Replace Self-Love: Self-love isn’t just about caring for your physical needs, it’s something that everyone struggles with, but everyone deserves.
• Preparing Your Mind Along Side Dosing: Preparing your dose properly is important, but it’s imperative to also prepare your mind for the unconscious material that may pop up in your psychedelic experience.
• Being In Tune With Your Own Needs: The relationship to psychedelic medicine is much different than popping a pill, review why psychedelics are different from daily medication.
• Find The Value in Anecdotes: Still not sure what you’re getting yourself into? Check out other’s stories to get a better idea on how magic mushrooms make you feel.

Client Testimonial:

“My care provider is the most caring, empathetic, skilled and patient facilitator that my wife and I could have hoped for. I have been told that the passage is different for everybody. And whereas the experience was 100 % positive for me, from Zoom prep through in-person and subsequent Zoom integration, it was a happy, profound, and life-changing experience largely thanks to the facilitator. I’m ready to do it again. I have more to explore. My wife, whose idea this was, had a very hard time with old trauma, and the facilitator was there for her and with her 100%. He was amazing and his skill, background, and experience were put to good use. They are a true professional and a great human being.”  

—  Psychedelic Passage Client

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a “heroic dose,” and why is it significant in psychedelics?

A “heroic dose,” a term coined by Terence McKenna, generally refers to taking a high dose of psychedelics, such as 5 grams of dried psilocybin mushrooms, in a setting with minimal external stimuli. The idea is to induce a profound, introspective journey. 

However, the significance lies not in the dose itself but in the personal transformation and insights the experience can facilitate, which is amplified by preparation and integration. It underscores the importance of dosage flexibility tailored to individual needs.

2. How does the concept of the “Hero’s Journey” relate to psychedelic experiences?

The “Hero’s Journey,” articulated by Joseph Campbell, involves a narrative arc of separation, descent, initiation, and return. 

Psychedelic experiences can mirror this journey, where individuals venture into an altered state, confront personal challenges, and emerge transformed. 

This framework helps contextualize the transformative power of psychedelics as a personal adventure towards self-discovery and healing.

3. What are the potential drawbacks of adhering strictly to the “heroic dose” ideology?

Rigid adherence to the “heroic dose” ideology can mislead people into thinking there’s a single correct way to achieve meaningful psychedelic experiences. 

This notion can overlook the nuanced nature of personal healing, foster a sense of elitism, and downplay the effectiveness of lower doses, which may be more suitable for some individuals. It highlights the importance of customizing psychedelic use to personal comfort and goals.

4. How can the ego complicate the experience of a “heroic dose”?

Engaging in a “heroic dose” can sometimes inflate one’s sense of self-importance or foster an illusion of superiority due to the intensity of the experience. 

This “psychedelic bravado” can detract from the genuine insights gained, as individuals might view these experiences as trophies rather than personal growth tools, interrupting the communal and egalitarian spirit essential to psychedelic exploration.

5. What role does preparation and integration play in a successful psychedelic journey?

Preparation helps set the stage for a safe and productive experience, ensuring the setting and mindset are conducive to exploration. 

Integration involves reflecting on and incorporating insights gained into daily life, which is critical for sustaining the positive effects of the journey. Together, they enhance the transformative potential of psychedelics by grounding the experience in practical, personal growth.

6. Can a psychedelic session be safely conducted outdoors, and what factors should be considered?

Psychedelic sessions outdoors can be safely conducted with careful planning. Considerations include the specific environment chosen, potential implications of changing weather, proximity to others, and personal comfort with potential emotional or physical fluctuations. 

Establishing contingency plans and understanding how the environment might enhance or hinder the experience is crucial for success.

References

Bauer, B. E. (2018, December 19). Terence McKenna. Psychedelic Science Review. https://psychedelicreview.com/person/terence-mckenna/

Gerringer, S. (2023). Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey. Joseph Campbell Foundation. https://www.jcf.org/learn/joseph-campbell-heros-journey

Individualism Vs Collectivism Cultural Differences. (2024, August 25). The Psyche Sphere – NeuroNarratives. https://thepsychesphere.com/individualism-vs-collectivism-cultural-differences/