Disclaimer – Nothing on the CotM website should be interpreted as medical, legal, or mental health advice. Please consult with a mental health professional, a medical doctor, and/or an attorney for expert advice on the use of psychedelic medicines.
If you need professional support and are not finding it, contact Fireside Project.
Responsible Psychedelic Use
At the CotM, we recognize psychedelics as sacred sacraments that can open doors to deep spiritual insight, healing, and connection.
Such experiences should be approached with intentionality, care, and respect.
This page outlines core principles for safe and responsible psychedelic use, rooted in both traditional wisdom and contemporary understanding.
Mindset and Setting
Before engaging with psilocybin or any psychedelic, it is vital to consider mindset (set) and environment (setting).
Your internal state—your thoughts, emotions, expectations, and intentions—shapes the journey just as much as your external surroundings.
Choose a space that is safe, comfortable, and free from distractions. Be with people you trust, or consider solitude if you feel ready.
Self-Administration vs. Guided Journeys
While some individuals prefer to journey solo, many benefit from the presence of a trained facilitator or guide.
A supportive guide can help you navigate challenging moments, hold space, and ensure physical and emotional safety.
Whether you choose self-administration or guided support, preparation and informed decision-making are key.
Preparation and Integration
Preparation involves more than setting a date and dose.
It includes clarifying your intentions, minimizing external stressors, and preparing your body and mind.
Integration is the process of reflecting on and applying insights gained.
Journaling, community support, therapy sessions and spiritual practice can help turn mystical experiences and even challenging ones into lasting transformation.
Dosage: Start Low, Go Slow
Proper dosage is essential.
Higher doses are not inherently better and can sometimes overwhelm rather than illuminate.
Your body, mind, and spirit will respond differently depending on your history, sensitivity, and context.
A thoughtful approach to dosage encourages gentleness, not ego-driven intensity.
The Myth of the “Heroic Dose”
There is a cultural tendency—especially among newer explorers—to prove one’s strength through large doses.
Unfortunately his “heroic” mindset can backfire once in a while, leading to psychological distress, trauma, or dangerous behavior.
Psychedelics are not a test of resilience; they are an invitation to surrender. True strength lies in humility and discernment.
Large doses are better handled in increments, every hour or two, adding a little more, after starting with a smaller dose.
This way, the user is less likely to shock and traumatize their system and they can psychologically adjust over time as the dosage is incrementally increased.
You can always take more, but if you took too much, you can’t adjust it back down.
You’ll just need to relax and ride it out if you have too much too fast.
Psychedelics as Amplifiers
Psychedelics don’t change who you are; they amplify what is already present.
Emotions, memories, and instincts may surface with unexpected intensity.
This is why preparation is critical—so that whatever emerges can be witnessed, honored, and understood.
Microdosing vs. Macrodosing
Microdosing psilocybin—taking sub-perceptual doses on a consistent schedule—can gently support mood, focus, creativity, and emotional regulation, as well as increased resistance to unhealthy addictions and toxic situations, helping to pivot to better life choices.
In contrast, frequent high-dose use can be destabilizing or diminish the reverence one holds for the experience.
Consistency and moderation often yield deeper growth than dramatic highs.
Sensitivity Over Time: Upregulation
With ongoing psychedelic use, many individuals experience upregulation long term – a growing sensitivity to the medicine.
A dose that once felt manageable may, years later, feel overwhelming.
Awareness of this dynamic is essential; repeating the same dose without listening to your body can cause unintended harm.
Less truly can be more effective as the years go on.
Risks of Overuse and Abuse
While psilocybin is non-addictive, it is not immune to misuse.
Overuse or compulsive seeking of peak experiences can interfere with emotional balance, social relationships, or spiritual development.
Mindful use, with spacious time between deep journeys for integration and healing is helpful.
Always With Consent
Never give a psychedelic to someone without their full, informed, and willing consent.
This includes jokes, pranks, or “helping” someone who hasn’t asked.
Unconsented psychedelic use can lead to deep trauma and spiritual harm.
At the CotM, we uphold the sacred principle of personal sovereignty.
Harm Prevention
Psychedelics are powerful sacraments that can support deep spiritual insight, healing, and connection when approached with intention and reverence.
However, like any sacred tool, they require careful preparation and responsible use.
Our harm prevention approach includes:
Education First: Understanding set (mindset), setting (environment), dosage, and integration therapy are essential for safe and meaningful experiences. We encourage all members to learn about these principles before engaging with psychedelic sacraments.
Journaling for Clarity: Reflective journaling—before and after spiritual journeys—helps clarify intention, document insights, and detect emotional patterns over time. Journals also serve as personal evidence of sincere religious use and spiritual growth.
Safe and Supportive Settings: We advocate for safe, trusted environments, ideally with a sober and supportive sitter or licensed Facilitator present. Psychedelics should never be used in situations of emotional distress, physical danger, or isolation without a support plan.
Voluntary Peer Support: Our member network offers non-clinical, peer-based support. While not a replacement for professional therapy, connection with others on a spiritual path can reduce risks and foster integration.
If you need professional support and are not finding it, contact Fireside Project.
Respect for Dosage and Substance: Know what you are taking. Start low, especially with new substances. Avoid mixing psychedelics with alcohol or other drugs, which increases unpredictability and risks.
Know the Law: While the Church provides a spiritual framework and First Amendment protections under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 and The First Amendment of the US Constitution, local laws may vary. We encourage members to understand their legal rights and limitations in their region.
Contraindications with Other Medications
Psychedelic sacraments are not safe or appropriate for everyone.
While many find them transformative, certain mental health conditions, medical situations, and medications can increase the risk of adverse effects.
See Spirit Pharmacist’s website for more specific and up-to-date information on medication interactions
Contraindications may include (but are not limited to):
Mental Health Conditions: Individuals with a personal or family history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or psychosis are generally advised to avoid psychedelic use unless under qualified clinical supervision. Psychedelics may intensify symptoms or precipitate episodes.
Medications: Some medications can dangerously interact with psychedelics. These include:
WARNING – Lithium can actually be FATAL with psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms.
- SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs – have differing issues with psychedelics, including Serotonin Syndrome, which can also sometimes become fatal. See Spirit Pharmacist for more detailed information regarding these medication interactions.
- Stimulants or sedatives
- Heart or blood pressure medications
Always consult a knowledgeable, open-minded medical professional before use if you are taking any prescription medication.
Do your research. Spirit Pharmacist is a great resource and has been tracking and reporting details of different medicine combinations with psychedelics.
- Pregnancy or Breastfeeding: Psychedelics should not be used during pregnancy or while breastfeeding due to unknown effects on fetal and infant development.
- Unstable Physical Health: People with certain heart conditions, high blood pressure, or seizure disorders should not use psychedelics without medical clearance.
- Unprepared Mental/Emotional State: Stress, trauma, grief, or emotional instability may amplify challenging experiences. Grounding practices and support networks are essential to determine readiness.
Microdosing Psilocybin Regularly
I’m finally writing about microdosing, mental health and all of the benefits that I have experienced since 2020. It helped rebuild my neural pathways with psilocybin microdoses, almost daily, for a period of over 5 years.
My brain feels more like an operating system to a computer after microdosing, compared to having my mind dominate and overwhelm my life experience, which was the previous case for me throughout my adult life.
I understand that I can edit my thoughts through verbal prompts now. I can say, “delete that” or, “I do not consent to those thoughts, brain,” and it actually adjusts accordingly now.
I’ve learned to regulate my nervous system through breathing methods, which can be done anywhere at any time.
Since microdosing consistently, my gratitude has been able to increase exponentially as well as my memory, my vocabulary, my mental math skills and my emotional state of being.
My emotions have also increased in clarity, becoming an internal “heart compass” for me to make one decision or correction at a time in my life.
With each better choice, my life continues to improve.
I went from being overwhelmed with way too many decisions – and too much information – all at once – to having one decision at a time in front of me.
Each action became a clear, simple choice – this way or that way?
And, with that new simple clarity, I almost always chose the right way for me and others. Even with mistakes, corrections are easier than ever before.
– Aaron Brader, CotM Founder
“By loving me, I preserve and respect my freedom. By loving you, I preserve and respect your freedom.”
– Loving kindness
