About usage.

So, you have some Salvia and you are wondering what to do with it. Well, here is my advice on usage.

Well, first things first. Make sure that Salvia is legal wherever you may happen to be. She is still legal in most places, but not everywhere. The next thing, and I can't stress this enough, if you are not at least at the age of majority where you live, put the Salvia down. Everyone should have a good solid grounding in reality before you try to leave it, or in the words of Adam Corrola, wait until your brain dries out.

Ok, now that the legal stuff is out of the way, let's get to it. ;) First, I would advise having a torch lighter and a water pipe. You probably won't actually need either, but let's face it, torch lighters are cool. Water pipes cool the smoke dramatically and allow you to take much more in. I can trip fully with plain leaves, however, not with a regular pipe. I thought I was a hardhead (someone who can't trip at all) until I got a water pipe. I will tell that story sometime in the near future.

So you have gathered together all your materials and are ready to smoke. Stop. You really should have one other thing. A sitter. Some of you will scoff at this. Some of you in all actuality will not need the sitter at all. However, many of you will be glad that you had one. Let me help you with some advice about how to pick a sitter. You need someone you can trust. Someone who won't try to do something to you while you are tripping. Someone who will sit quietly with you and not bug you during your trip. Also (and this is key, or you wouldn't need someone to sit you anyway) you need to make sure that they will keep you from doing anything stupid while you trip!

Ok, I know what some of you are going to say. "I don't have anyone like that.". or "I don't need a sitter." Obviously I can't make you use a sitter. So if you are going to go ahead and try the salvia anyway, let me give you some advice about that. Actually, I would use this advice whether or not you have a sitter. First, pick a good place. Don't trip in a car. Or by a deep ravine, or a river or lake. You have a brain, use it. And if you are reading this and wondering why tripping at the edge of a cliff might be a bad idea, then put the Salvia down and walk away. She is not for you.

Also, wherever you happen to be. make it difficult to access anything that could be a danger to you, or anything that you might break. You are also best off just being with you and your sitter. Salvia is not a social plant. Please don't be at a party. Set and setting are very important. The thing, I think that people forget about when talking set and setting, is set. They focus on setting, which, is important, don't get me wrong about that, but set is probably equally important. As far as I can tell, set refers to your mind set. This is especially important on those first few trips (and honestly, may be the difference between having them and not having them for many people), be calm. If you go to work and have a really bad day, get home and find that your long awaited Salvia order has finally showed, but you are still in a bad mood from work, then wait. It will still be there tomorrow. Also don't take something to put you in a better mood. There are certain herbs that are known to put people in a euphoric state. I would advise against using them, with Salvia. At least until you get a handle on how Salvia works alone. Same with Alcohol. Now if you are a meditator and can meditate for a while and put yourself in a peaceful state of mind, then by all means do. This may be your best friend for Salvia use.

Oh, I am editing this later because I need to add something. This should go without saying, but apparently it dozen't. Sit Down. No seriously, sit down. Actually if possible, it is best to be sitting in a place where you can lay down. I have read many reports of people who say that they barely had time to make it to a chair. I also read reports where people say that they do their inhalations only to find themselves 5 minutes later on the floor with a broken pipe and icky water all over them. Sit down. Oh, and did I say sit down? good. Sit!

I really only have one more thing to add tonight. If you just found this and thought "Oh, this is all good advice and I am ready to start!". Stop. Do more research. check out the experience vaults at Erowid. They are invaluable. Also check The Salvia Divinorum Users Guide at Sage Wisdom. I send you there because he is really an expert. I just offer a little advice. I will go deeper in future posts. And I welcome comments.