"Once they give an answer that is concurrent with whom you know them to be, you can move on to gaining an understanding of what they believed happened during their experience." - Aquapan

"If they seem to be asking for reassurance, remind them with an unworried, calm tone and few words that everything is OK! Everything is going just fine, and perfect. Don't ask too many questions, because it can be confusing. If they seem very agitated, gently reminding them to breathe from their belly can help." - Samanthe

"I once heard a friend say... "i kissed _ and he was a good kisser!" and then went into abreaction to the memory saying, "shame on you!" as if being reprimanded by a scolding parent. A quick reaction on my part was to clearly say that there is no shame here and you can let that flow away with the river. The tension upon their face instantly eased." - Mist

"My dreams immediately after were incredibly warm and informative and it was here that I was able to process a lot of the information from the experience in a gentle and ordered way. (I ended up sleeping for 24 hours with a couple of food and writing breaks)." - Mist (after LSD and 24 hrs awake)

"I wanted to fall asleep, I really did! But my mind was so wound up I was convinced that if I did fall asleep I would die, because clearly I'd completed all my karmic agreements and there was no reason I was still needed on this earth. That's how huge that trip was. Finally I took 10 mg of Valium to knock me out and give my brain a rest. I was still high when I woke up, but it helped a lot." - Samanthe (after LSD + P. cubensis)

"Before I was even able to gather the energy to sleep peacefully I had to eat some food. Everytime I woke I had a ravenous appetite which I completely gave into each time, and which continued for days! I ate whole foods with an emphasis on fresh fruit and veg, particularly root vegetables (carrots, potatoes etc) which were recommended by a friend for their grounding earth energy." - Mist

"My sitters had warm soup and bread waiting when I was ready. Even though I was still really looped, it helped mark the return to normalcy, and it also communicated to me a very important message of 'take care and nurture yourself and others; comfort is important!' I was very hungry and could have eaten more." - Samanthe

"At a trance party once I was approached by a man who really needed grounding. He was spinning off into the realms and didn't know what to do about it as he started to gain fear from all the elements around him. I went to a friend's van and pulled out something as simple as a carrot and said, "Go sit under a big cool tree alone or with close friends and eat this whole carrot slowly". He came to me hours later and thanked me profusely for helping through that tight spot. I know I was only part of the help, as a lot of the grounding came from the carrot being in his stomach and the act of eating. His body was probably low on blood sugar and he needed something to concentrate on rather than his own fears and the slow carrot eating task was perfect for this" - Aquapan

"I find that the healthier I feel the next day, the more I can take from the night before... there's less noise. And a warm meal (even a small one) and some sleep (even a disco nap) really helps with that. When I wake up and I feel like I'm inside of an old fluorescent light bulb -- everything is too bright and there's an annoying buzzing and flickering -- I get almost nothing positive from the night before. It takes nutrition, hydration, and restfulness to really be able to learn." - G.S.

"I spent a lot of time on the grass meditating and picturing red earth energy surrounding me and earthing all the stray energies I picked up during my adventure 'out there', and drawing all my own essence completely back into myself. Hugging trees also works!" - Mist

"I used to make a point of laying on my stomach on the earth under a tree in nature where I could barely hear cars or city noises. When I lay there I imagined the earth's energy entering me and rebalancing my soul. I dreamed with the planet. It was always a cathartic experience to do this." - Aquapan

"Write it down! Writing is very therapeutic and allows lots of ideas to be sorted out and put in order. Plus it gives some tangibility to an intangible experience. Writing it down preserves details and feelings that may fade over time. Writing it down is also a good way to share your experience with others who you may not get to relate it to verbally, and gives you something you can post on the internet if you like so others can read it too and maybe use it to help them integrate their own experiences into everyday reality. If you are into art... express your experience in whatever way you prefer." - Aquapan

"Write things down as soon as you can! Do not put it off! You may think you'll remember salient details, but often they leak away quickly. Writing things down, even in sentence fragments or bits of descriptions of visions, has been a really important way for me to remember insights that I got from trips that reverbate with me to this day." - Samanthe

"Understanding, love and support from others, particularly those who were there during the crisis was possibly the most important thing for allowing the experience to be a positive one. Knowing I had someone whom I could talk to openly and at anytime with no judgment, just love and understanding..." - Mist

"It helps if you're able to talk with someone who has been there before as going way 'out there' to the infinite is a place that's hard to relate to unless you've been there, but of course any one friend who will listen without judgement and just offer love and support is great. Also, if you need to explain or apologise for anything you may have done (eg: really naughty or destructive behaviour following unplugging from consensus reality), it is best to do so in an honest and forthright way as soon as you feel up to it as otherwise paranoia can start overtaking what can be an amazing experience and very positive time for learning (if you let it). Don't expect too much of people's response or reactions though, just accept with the same love and understanding you want them to show you." - Aquapan

Deeply negative stuff can come out in a trip, and once that zombie is unearthed, you can't always love it back into the ground. I think that there is a place for talking about the black marl that pours off the soul while tripping, and a sitter can really help with that. I think it's important that the sitter figure out what they or the tripping person can handle, and surf as best they can. - G.S.

My personal belief is that negatives are best dealt with on the down side, not after a trip. Not while ascending. Ascension is not the place to set things straight. - Scruff

Something that really moved me once when I was still really high but trying to make sense of it, my heart was beating fast and it was worrying me, and I shared this with my sitter. She replied, 'You're feeling your heart, like maybe it's too big for your body?' Her intention was to get me to think symbolically about my heart and love, I think. Framing a thought as a question to ponder, rather than as a set idea, got me contemplating a beautiful open-ended idea ("My heart is so big I have a lot of love to give"), rather than focusing on my biological fear response. Other useful things she said that helped anchor the experience for me were 'just remember, there's a beginning, a middle and an end' and 'if you get lost, pick one note of the music and follow it.' Which I realized of course once I was sober, is a Grateful Dead lyric." - Samanthe

[For the sitter] "Go over the experience in ways that will enable them to integrate whatever happened to them positively. Listen for any negativity over what they have done and whom they may have affected and turn it toward the positive. Don't push them to acknowledge any commonly socially unacceptable behaviors that they may have been expressing throughout the experience. It is highly likely that during the intensity of the experience they were not relating to consensus reality in ways that are considered 'normal'. Keep steering the conversation toward a positive understanding of what happened to them; as at this stage this could influence their whole life. Be very patient with them and allow for them to express themselves at whatever pace they need." - Aquapan