Enhancing your journey with the power of music

When considering a psilocybin journey, a profound tool that shapes your journey is the music you select. Research has shown that the right music can support self-exploration, induce a sense of safety and connectedness, and even influences the intensity of your experience.

According to the article by Frontiers, Music programming for psilocybin-assisted therapy: Guided Imagery and Music-informed perspectives, below is my summary of their guidelines and considerations for you to create your own impactful playlist.

Choosing the right music:

• Intensity will vary based on three phases: ascent, peak, and descent.

• Choose music from a variety of genres and styles. These may include: classical, hand pan, jazz, electronic, rock, shamanic, nature, solfeggio frequencies, ambient, overtone singing or world music (eg. Native American, African, Latin, Indian, Middle Eastern, Celtic, Reggae, Sufi, Japanese, Australian, Māori, Flamenco, etc.)

• Avoid music that has language you are familiar with. This will prevent you from getting drawn into the lyrics instead of your journey.

• Listen critically to the music pieces. What kind of emotion does it evoke?

Creating your own playlist:

• Explore existing psychedelic playlists created by research institutes, retreat centers, or experienced psychonauts. They often will already contain music with the features above.

• Arrange the music sequence into waves of emotional and psychological progression. (See table below) Consider your transitions, contrasts and overall flow of the music.

• If you feel really serious about it, consider using tools like Taxonomy of Therapeutic Music (TTM) to assess the intensity of the music piece to place it in the correct timeframe.

EXAMPLE FOR PLANNING (simplified from Frontier article)

Total time: 5.6 hours (adjust accordingly; 15-24.9mg = 4 hr. minimum, 25-34.9mg = 5 hr. minimum, and 35-50mg = 6 hr. minimum)

Phase	Description	Time
Ascent Phase - Opening	Calm, melodic, inviting	23:30 min
Ascent Phase - Onset	Increasingly more rhythmical	17:02 min
Ascent Phase - Build to Peak	Expansive, slow, sacred, solemn	10:30 min
Peak Phase - Going Inside	Dramatic, forceful, dark, pushy, insisting, ambiguous	30:33 min
Peak Phase - Confrontation & Surrender	Expansive, intense, challenging, mystical, sacred, cosmic	30:19 min
Peak Phase - Plateau	Expansive, intense, challenging, mystical, sacred, cosmic	9:29 min
Peak Phase - Transcendence	Sacred, powerful, opening, mystical, spacious	39:31 min
Descent Phase - Emotional Release	Empathic, thoughtful, melancholic, emotional, lofty	43:35 min
Descent Phase - Reflection & Integration	Hesitant, questioning, strange, thoughtful, contrasting	11:27 min
Descent Phase - Acceptance & Relief	Lyrical, affectionate, tender, heartfelt, holding	43:07 min
Descent Phase - Celebration	Celebrative, rhythmical, vocal, repetitious, engaging and joyful,	38:18 min
Descent Phase - Landing and Return	Increasingly more calm, soft, steady and predictable	70:09 min

Music is something that is deeply personal and can be a way to connect with your journey during your preparation phase. It is a powerful ally for you during your journey, so perform this exercise with intention and love, it has the capacity to guide you through a profound inner voyage.