Superstudio, Man Cutting Pill, 1972

WRITTEN BY THE MICRODOSING GURU, ANA MARIA BADILA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WOMEN ON PSYCHEDELICS ORGANIZATION

If you’ve never microdosed before, or you’ve tried it and not had much success with it but you do want to give it another try, here is a fair chance.

Also, if you have microdosed and you’d like to optimize your experience, this is for you too.

DUE DILIGENCE

As the microdosing trend starts picking up more and more; people are intrigued and interested in it and the information about it is rapidly increasing. Personal stories, ‘how to’ courses, articles, YouTube videos are flooding the web making it easier to inform yourself about what microdosing is, the protocols you can use, etc. There is no lack of anecdotal information, and the scientific data is catching up, too. So, you might wonder, how is this article going to be different than anything you’ve already read? And the truth is that we will briefly go over the aforementioned topics. However, the approach we will take with this is guiding you on how to apply the microdosing information you can learn to your life in such a way that it fits your needs, supports your goals and improves your life. So let’s dive in!

LET'S TALK ABOUT THRESHOLD

As you probably learned by now, a microdose is meant to be sub-perceptual and not about tripping. It's about bringing a gentle subtle shift in our mind, body, and spirit and it will never create visual distortions, discomfort, or a 'high.' James Fadiman suggested that a microdose of psychedelics could be 1/10 of a regular dose. However, that is just a starting point and for many people it’s a bit too high, hence finding your threshold is an intensely personal practice.

ASSESSING YOUR THRESHOLD

The first step towards finding the dose that works best for you is to know exactly how much you are ingesting, which means you need to measure your dose accurately. Knowing the initial dose that you consume will help you work your way up or down.

Based on your starting dose, how do you know if it's delivering sub-perceptual benefits without tipping into more perceptual psychedelics territory? The key is careful observation of experiential effects.

Using Odin: Microdosing Journal or another tracking system, monitor how you feel daily. This goes for both dosing days and non-dosing days.

If you experience any of the following, you may want to lower your dose by a few milligrams (for example, from 0.10 mg to 0.08 mg):

• Headache
• Dry, red eyes
• Changes in appetite
• Fatigue or exhaustion
• Lightheadedness
• Anxiety
• Shifts in sensory perceptions (visual, or otherwise)

However, if you haven't experienced any of the above adverse effects, you may want to test a slight increase.

CHOOSING YOUR PROTOCOL

We all respond differently to psychedelics, even at such small doses. While your protocol may change after the first cycle (depending on your experience), you'll need to start somewhere. Some of the three most popular protocols to help you get started are the following:

DR. JAMES FADIMAN’S PROTOCOL

Day 1: Dose

Day 2: No Dose

Day 3: No Dose

...Repeat

PAUL STAMETS’ PROTOCOL

Day 1: Dose

Day 2: Dose

Day 3: Dose

Day 4: Dose

Day 5: No Dose

Day 6: No Dose

Day 7: No Dose

...Repeat

MICRODOSING GURU’S PROTOCOL

Day 1: Dose

Day 2: No Dose

...Repeat

Remember, you can always adjust at any point.

COMMIT TO THE DEEP WORK

Microdosing can only do so much. The real power lies in the individual. While microdosing without a set intention and daily practice could provide some returns, it's the deep work that delivers powerful, long-lasting changes.

SETTING AN INTENTION

Before starting your microdosing journey it’s important to take stock of where you are in your life, what are some of the things you’d like to bring in, or let go of and what are your needs (emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, financial, etc).

From here, it’s easy to set an intention for your microdosing practice. Intention setting is a private and intimate experience. Only you can reflect on where you are and where you want to end up. Because of the highly personal nature of this practice, it will look different for each of us. However, here are a few things that can help you. Ask yourself things like: What do you want to experience over the next month? Do you want to foster more profound empathy? Inspire more creativity? Reverse negative self-talk? Intention setting isn’t just about stating hopes and dreams. It’s the first step up a staircase towards achieving concrete goals.

THE SYSTEMATIC TRACKING

Plan to spend between 15 to 30 minutes each day observing, practicing, and reflecting. It starts with logging the experience in your daily journal, from sensory changes and adverse effects to the possible thoughtful reflections. The Microdosing Journal, Odin, has made it easy for anyone to track daily changes in various areas of your life and help you gather personal data. After a month of systematic journaling, you can look back and pinpoint how microdosing has helped or hinder your progress, what can you do to adjust your journey and what are some of your blind spots.

Lastly, microdosing will ask of you to bring into your life different habits, so leaning into these new routines without resistance will unleash the inner healer that knows what is best for you.

WRITTEN BY ANA MARIA BADILA, MICRODOSING GURU

*DISCLAIMER: The materials presented by this web site, www.yawntogether.com, are for informational and harm reduction purposes only and are not offered as medical or legal advice as to any particular matter in any particular jurisdiction. No reader should act on the basis of these materials without seeking appropriate professional advice as to the particular facts and applicable law involved.

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