A Not So Ordinary Magic Mushroom Picnic

Yesterday Marc, myself and a couple of friends took advantage of a cool but sunny day. We went for a picnic at Lac Du Castors at the top of Mont Royal Park here in Montreal.

We had a barbecue for our vegan burgers and plenty of snacks.

One of our friends the nineteen year old brought some Psilocybin known by most as magic mushrooms or shrooms.
The guys were happy to partake however I am a lot older than them and have never done anything like that except for some weed as a teen so I opted out.

As they nibbled I saw the face of the teen. It looked like he was a child being force fed medicine.

They explained to me that it is very hard to swallow because of the horrible taste. I had to see how bad it was so I asked for a small taste. I was surprised that it was actually almost like shitake that I put in my miso soup. I couldn't understand all the drama about the taste.

Now my curiosity was peaked. I decided to join them.

After a short while the sun had moved so we decided to relocate to a sunny hill overlooking the man made lake.

After one hour I was wondering if it really WAS shitake that I had because nothing was happening.

A while later I realized something was different as the trees in the distance were swaying slowly all in unison as if perfectly choreographed to wave hello to me personally. I laid on the grass and looked up to see a blue sky with magical clouds like I have never seen before so wispy on the outer edges and they seemed to be breathing.

After looking at the pictures the next day I realized it was a very ordinary sky.

Soon nausea set in, but despite that I managed to laugh very hard at stories that were funny but not that funny.

The sun was going down and it was getting cold so we packed up and went to the car. Our driver seemed fine and said so himself.

On the way to Marc's parents house where we are staying for a few weeks until we move to Mexico, I noticed that the traffic lights and the street lamps were absent of their round shape. Instead there were only streams of glowing lights, turning a boring and drab neighborhood into what looked like Las Vegas at night. It was interesting yet somewhat disturbing.

We finally made it back to the house. We entered trying to act like tired picnickers instead of tripped out shroomers. It was of no help that the backpack was leaking oil from a salad and was everywhere. Marc's mother was in there trying to help like a typical mother and she's a senior so there was extra hype.
We tried desperately not to laugh. We went undetected. Phew! The night ended with us going to bed and me still under the effects of the fungus.

Although it is an illegal drug one must question why, as it is a plant from nature used since the beginning of time by shamans and others for ritualistic purposes. It's also known for helping with depression.

There are some that believe the story of Santa Claus and reindeer are associated with the fungus Amanita muscaria.

This mushroom is red and white and found in the north often by reindeer who eat them hence the flying reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh. It makes sense to me how such legends can be created from something real.

So would I ever do it again? I don't know.

My experience was very interesting overall. But a little frightening too. Our usual, everyday perception of life, of nature, and our surroundings often overlook the deeper things. At times I could witness and realize the art and beauty and meaning of everything living around me. It actually felt like everything is alive and crawling with life, like a big great wilderness. Maybe there are dimensions of reality that we can access with a little help after all...