The vast bulk of my experience with psilocybin has been through mushrooms, in particular Psilocybe cubensis, P. semilanceata and a Hawaiian Pan cyan strain. I've had a few low dose sessions with truffles/sclerotia that were very much enjoyable and interesting but certainly not earth shattering. Have acquired a decent amount of truffles, I thought I would consume more and push the boat out into deeper waters. These were P. atlantis truffles.

It was a recent but long planned session yet at the same time a fairly spur of the moment decision when an opportunity presented itself. My sister and I would be tripping. We had shared numerous experiences before, and we are very close. It was a Saturday evening so we had Sunday as a buffer day so no stresses for the day after. I was feeling healthy, while my sister had the snuffles but was not feeling too bad. We were both feeling positive about the planned experience. I should mention that I had some work based stresses on mind which would influence my mindset considerably on the trip. My sister is quite experienced with mushrooms and hadn't tried truffles before. We consumed them a little after 6PM, being winter in the UK it is dark then and it was a windy, cold but very clear starry night. The setting would be the living room in our flat, tidied and cleaned. Candles and incense were lit, and some good music put on to enhance the sensory aesthetics of our environment while truffled. We have a tropical aquarium with plants, fish, snails and a large quartz crystal in, overall this is very easy on the brain and eyes and a very nice thing to watch. We had tripped before in this setting, we were alone, and felt very comfortable. I should mention my sister has a little dog, he is a great character and would play an important part in the experience.

Before eating the truffles, I decided to consume a little full spectrum Syrian rue extract. It had been a long time since I had combined rue with fungus and I had experienced some pretty magical things with both Syrian rue and caapi vine in previous times. Around 200mg of extract was consumed on an empty stomach around 6, and the truffles consumed some 40 minutes later. My sister consumed around 10g of the truffles, I ate around 20g. They weren’t too bad, kinda nutty, with a sour aftertaste I didn’t mind that much. It wasn’t long after finishing them that I started to feel effects. For the come up we got cosy. I had to purge, which is interesting as rue doesn’t often let me purge, despite the nausea I sometimes get with it. I purged several times, deep purges and felt to be cleansing and satisfying, ayahuasca style purging. The combination of rue extract and truffles felt a little taxing on my body. Perhaps my dose of rue was higher than it needed to be. But I felt instinctively that my blood pressure was up, and this put me physically a little on edge. I was also thirsty and mucusy and needed to drink a lot of water. Effects began to intensify, and I was enveloped in beautiful flowing liquid visual patterns. They seemed fairly translucent with eyes open, but there was an Earthy reddish/brown hue to the background of this visual realm, a character I think I attribute to the rue’s influence. At the same time I was perceiving the room with an incredible sumptuous crystalline clarity. The lamp shade in the corner of the room was appreciated as a thing of simple but magnificent beauty. I felt saturated with light and earthy ecstasy and bliss. When I closed my eyes the visual patterns intensified and the realms deepened, it was almost like the experience was showing off behind closed eyelids and vying for my attention.

My sister said she no longer felt ill under the mushrooms. She had eye lash extensions that she described falling off quite suddenly, after experiencing some eye discomfort in her right eye. We both had a look and there was no obvious source of the discomfort. She has this carmex lip cream, and she experienced this chemical taste she felt was due to that, and in both instances she felt like the mushroom was rejecting man made artificiality and encouraging a natural, untainted way of being.

Things on my mind such as work related stresses would tug at me fairly consistently but at this stage they weren’t taking centre stage. Our dog was acting funny. He always does when we’re tripping, consistently and without fail. I swear our change of consciousness affects him in quite a profound way, and that pets do not need to ingest a psychedelic to experience effects from them. He was looking at us for a bit so we took him for a walk. The night was cold but incredibly clear. The dog was acting funny on the walk, he had lots of energy and seemed to have much more desire to go off and explore, he behaved in a very similar way last time we tripped and went for a stroll. We stayed in a park for a while looking up at the stars in awe. Such a beautiful, humbling and magnificent spectacle looking up into the universe. Seeing all those incomprehensibly distant stars, looking back through both space and time, yet feeling as a part of them, appreciating we are children of those stars, that the heavy elements from which our bodies are constructed were forged in the cores of dying stars, that life only exists due to death on a truly cosmic scale. Thoughts on us being the universe looking back on itself in awe, being a way for the universe to know itself (a la Carl Sagan). One of the things I respect about these substances, and one of the things they have reinforced my day to day life perceptions, is their ability to cut right through human constructions such as materialism, money, ego and things we seem to think are really important when they are simply human projections of what is considered important. The psychedelics for me cut right through all this and reconnect with me with life, the planet and the universe in a deep, humbling and cosmic way, and even if I never trip again, I will be forever grateful for these insights.

We walked back home and smoked a particularly delicious joint, and our dog started acting really funny. He seemed to be very excited, brimming over with energy, and then he started barking at us to get our attention. He never barks unless there is a reason to. We watched him as he did this, and his attention seemed to be focused on something in the room, his eyes seemed pretty clearly to be following something, and this thing seemed to be in motion. At the same time he was giving us lots of affection while he continued to act very excited. This isn’t the first time he has acted strange. On a pretty heavy LSD and mescaline trip, again with my sister, he had been acting bizarrely. I was on the sofa, my sister was lying on a cushion in the floor opposite me, with a coffee table in the way. I also had a good friend there, and we all watched as he seemed to be going after something, and it seemed to be moving as has was moving a little. We watched as he very clearly seemed to be trying to chew on something, or grab it in his mouth, slightly higher than he was as he was craning his head up a little to chew this thing. A crazy speculation with not a shred of evidence to back it up, more a hunch based on observation, but it almost seems like there was a thread or strand of energy or something between my sister and I, and he seemed to be able to perceive this in some way. How amazing would it be to see what he was experiencing then, or any time for that matter. Each species perceives the world in a unique way, and dogs are well known to have very acute senses. We only visually perceive things in the visible light spectrum, which is a very tiny percentage of the entire electromagnetic spectrum. I guess the big question here is if, as it appeared, the dog was perceiving something, was this something to do with our consciousness being projected outwards or was it something external.

I don’t bother with phones when I trip, and it is usually off, but I wanted to text a friend (who was with us last time on our LSD/mescaline trip). I got my phone and it had no signal at all. This may not sound that odd, but I live in a fairly big city and my phone only ever has full bars of signal where I live. Before I let crazy bemushroomed thoughts runaway with me, I thought rationally that this is due to an outside factor. But as I watched my phone, a single bar of signal popped up, then a little later two, then down to one, and then it was gone again. It returned later on in the eve but was weaker than it normally is. The next morning it was full again as usual. I thought this was pretty odd, coupled with the way the dog was behaving at the time. Our brains, to some degree, are bioelectrical machines, and brain waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, like light or radio waves, just at a different frequency from these. This experience overall was suggestive to both of us that perhaps consciousness can extend beyond the limits of our skulls. A big claim to make perhaps but the whole experience was very vivid. This isn’t the first time I have experienced bizarre technological quirks when tripping. On the previous LSD/mescaline trip a playlist I had made for the occasion had somehow incorporated 12 or so seconds of a song I don't have on my ipod or the computer it is linked too.

The rue definitely added more time on to the experience, the falling awake part was long and extended. We each had a puff on a new vaporiser, and for both of us, this was very powerful. My sister made a salad which unfortunately I couldn’t stomach at the time, try as I did. She felt light headed like she might faint, and I was plunged into a pretty confrontational mind space, where work stresses and life issues were slamming into my mind with a great degree of force, and looping over and over again. I felt like I was on the edge of panic at times, but fought with that, I didn’t want to bring down my sister’s experience with my psychological battles, and I don't think she could have helped me anyway. She saw me as a dependable rock during these experiences and it felt important to maintain this. I had noticed that the rue and mushrooms combo had a darker, more wild and confrontational edge than mushrooms alone had, and the cannabis really brought this to the fore. We watched Spirited Away which seemed like quite a fitting thing to watch after the events of the night. The film was nice but I found it hard to focus on as my mind was overactive with confrontational looping, and I had little influence on this. The issues raised though for the most part were valid, and I am grateful for the therapy. I had a strong urge to shower before bed due, and this cleansing seemed to be an important post session ritual.

The experience for us both us was experienced very vividly and clearly. The experiences and insights, particularly regarding contemplations on the possibilities of consciousness, didn’t evaporate when the experience did, and are still with us both now. I’ve been looking into OBE’s recently and this experience was an encouraging boost to persevering with techniques. A book I’m reading takes a scientific and sceptical approach to OBE’s and discusses the concept of the “extended mind” as a possibly hypothesis of how they can operate, and this experience seemed to at least hint at this possibility.

My sister and I had a chat before bed and we were both really glad we had the experience. My psychedelic experiences are more spaced apart these days but this was the most amazing one I'd had in a long while, the power of truffles isn't to be underestimated! That night I didn’t really sleep, my mind was still active, and yet despite that the next day I didn’t feel too bad considering. We had a family dinner in the evening which was nice. I had an early night that eve and woke Monday morning feeling good and refreshed. There seems to have been a sustained, positive, grounded afterglow that has stayed with me from that experience. It seems perhaps our dog also had something of an afterglow. Both my sister and a neighbour who looks after him during the daytime independently said he seemed a lot more communicative than usual, and when I came back after a weekend away, he showed great affection towards me in a way I've never encountered before, and I've known him for most of his life. Was definitely a group experience that transcended species boundaries!

For me personally, psilocybin in any of its fungal forms is a very special thing. I have a lot of reverence of ayahuasca and iboga, but I particularly cherish mushrooms. They are in an incredibly multifaceted and well rounded wholesome package. Therapy, cosmic and Earthly connection, joy, contemplation of the mystery, sometimes all at once.

Do any of these experienced ring any bells for others? Has anyone else had really bizarre experiences with pets or thoughts about extended consciousness? And has anyone experienced technological or electrical quirks or malfunctions during or following tripping?

Thank you for such a nice report.

I haven't had yet, as far as I know, any electrical happenings under psychedelics... but weird pet behavior? Absolutely. And specially with mushrooms.

Precisely the first time my wife and I tried truffles, our cat (rather her cat, he's known her twice as long as he's known me) kept behaving strange and funny around her. At first he looked concerned, even if she was not showing any physically alarming signs of discomfort. Cat got close to her, poked her gently, pupils dilated. Stood close to her most of the time.

Another time, also with truffles, I was in one of those amusing visits to the bathroom (the man in the mirror is generally fascinating) and the cat suddenly started to stare at one hanging towel and visibly react to something I could not see, stalking it for a minute, walking sideways with his eyes locked in, as if there was something in it. Needless to say, nothing I could see at all.

Thanks. Really interesting to hear about the cat. One of my few previous truffle sessions was with a girlfriend and her two cats, it was her first experience and a really good night. They didn't know me that well, but seem to take a shine and an interest in me. It was quite piercing when they looked right into my eyes, in a good way. I also recall their pupils being large and dilated. Really intriguing to hear about the feline bathroom towel experience. It is also strange in that I've heard a fair few reports about dogs and cats seeming to react to things when there doesn't appear to be anything there. I wonder what they are picking up on these instances.

Yesssss yessssss yesssss.
Reading this part made me go right back to one of my most cherished experiences where I was staring at the stars with my cousin after eating mushrooms. We were standing on top of a hill in complete amazement with the spectacle above our heads.

I feel exactly the same as to what mushrooms make me feel about man made things like money and other materialistic things.

Mushrooms really are my allies, like I have a special connection with them. It's weird to explain. I have taken truffles a few times, with some very nice easy going experiences, but I guess the dosages were not high enough to reach this kind of experience.

I must say though, that I have tripped with my two dogs a few times as well, but I found them to be more relaxed instead of energetic. I always felt that they could feel the energy calming down and this would calm them as well. I was always grateful for their behavior

It's nice to be able to have these experiences with someone so closely related. I have had many of these with my cousin, who was like a brother to me. Those moments will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Thanks a lot for your report!!!

Thanks man, I'm glad my cosmic revelations resonated! I feel the same way about the fungus, definitely a special ally of mine, we vibe well together, always have done. This experience was definitely more ayahuasca like in character, which was amazing, but next time I eat truffles it will be sans MAOI as the harmalas definitely had a powerful influence on the nature and feel of the trip.

It's funny as we have a number of dogs at our family home and when we trip there they react more like your dogs did with you, relaxed and affectionate. But dogs and cats are like people I guess in that they are individuals and no two are the same, which makes things even more interesting. We have an African Grey parrot at our family home and he is bright and has very sharp senses. Even he seems to react to mushrooms sometimes, it's like he is brimming over with energy and doesn't know what to do with himself, a lot like our dog at times. And yeah it is great to share in these experiences with family, I think I've been very lucky in that respect.

I know Elpo already quoted that full paragraph, but I just wanted to reiterate and also focus on the latter half. Well expressed - though I doubt anyone who hasn't been there would really relate. You put your finger on why I go back, time and time again, though not as often as I would like.

Insofar as electrical devices, I have never really had anything comparable that I wasn't able to explain later. Animals, yes, but I think it has a lot to do with their perceiving a profound change in your countenance, your gait, your habits, your speech and your silence. You don't behave the same way when tripping, and animals are very attuned to even minute changes in behaviour. Looking at yourself in the mirror for a long period of time and touching your face and moving your head from side to side to see different angles, for example, is probably a big departure from the: walk in, splash water on the face and dry with a towel, then grab toothbrush and brush your teeth while multitasking in the apartment to return to the bathroom to lay the toothbrush down again and leave hurriedly to get on with your day - that your pet is accustomed to. If you are anything like me, the only time I look into a mirror for more than 3-4 seconds is when I am tripping! And even then, sometimes I regret it profoundly!

Thanks for posting this. It was a fun read.

By the way, can you categorize or elaborate on the differences between the truffles you had and your other mushroom experiences?

Cheers,

JBArk

Thanks man. It is not too often for me these days either, life is pretty busy. But in a way it makes the experiences all the more special. But yes it is an incredibly wholesome, nourishing and life affirming state of being I think is very special, like being drunk on life.

Animal wise, yes I definitely agree that these changes they are picking up on are very largely responsible for their altered behaviour. Dogs and cats have very sharp senses and I have no doubt they pick up on this. However some of the behaviour I've seen is next level weird. Like our dog barking at us to tell us something is in the room, and following it with eyes. Not like him, unless there are dogs on television. And the time on the LSD/mescaline trip was also bizarre. It really looked to us all that we was trying to grab something in his mouth, and he persisted with this for a some time. When I first saw this it was so weird I was briefly worried he'd gone a bit crazy. My gut tells me he was picking up on something. More than likely from us, but at least not directly. He's a great little chap to have on such adventures though.

I am definitely a fan of truffles. It is quite hard for me to be completely objective here as the rue definitely influenced the nature of the experience, so sometime I look forward to sampling them as is. But the fungal essence coming from was powerful and saturating and beautiful. This experience has made more interested in attempting to grow Psilocybe mexicana. The Jalisco strain produces both sclerotia and mushrooms, so if you get it right you can't really miss it seems.

Great report bancopuma.

I have never tried truffles but I have wanted to grow them for a while. It has been over 5 years since I had anything but cubensis.

I snuffed a psilocybe extract the other night with harmalas, and that was pretty awesome.

I have similar experience with rue and sclerotia combined. After ingesting rue and smoking caapi laced with a little DMT during a sclerotia experience I saw these tubes of energy in the room. My buddy turned off the lights to go to sleep and I just followed this trail of coloured tubes which you could kind of grab but not really move in a way. I noticed that these tubes where hanging in parts of the room where I walked earlier to go to the bathroom etc. They seem tasteful in a way. Haha.

During one of my first trips our dog at home actually picked up a note my mother left for me telling me to vacuum the house during one of my first trips. I thought it was funny as I had surely forgotten to do this in my mindstate and he reminded me of it. This little buddy looks like an alien on shrooms. Just a puppy back then and he seemed to thrive on the energy i give him. He just runs around the garden and looks at me very happily.