Microdosing Magic Mushrooms: A Guide to What Actually Works
~16 MINS READ
What Is Microdosing Psilocybin?
I get asked about microdosing more than almost anything else. At conferences, in discovery calls, through DMs, and increasingly from people searching online for microdosing mushroom therapy near me as they try to make sense of a growing cultural conversation. The question usually sounds like this: I'm not ready for a full ceremony, yet, but I've heard microdosing can help with anxiety and creativity. What do you think?
What I hear beneath the question is something deeper: a longing for change without the vulnerability of surrender. A hope that transformation might arrive in smaller, more manageable doses. A wondering whether the sacred mushroom might meet us halfway, whether someone seeking magic mushrooms in Maine or quietly experimenting with magic mushrooms in Arizona might access healing without crossing a psychological threshold they are not yet ready to face. I understand this longing. I have lived it myself.
During my years in Silicon Valley, when I first developed an intentional relationship with psilocybin in the early 2010s, I was caught in the performance treadmill, chasing metrics, optimizing everything, trying to engineer my way to peace. I wanted the mushroom to be another tool in my productivity stack. Another lever I could pull to become a better version of myself.
What I learned, slowly and with resistance, is that the mushroom does not work that way. It does not optimize us. It returns us. And whether we take a microdose or a ceremonial dose, the invitation is the same: stop performing and start listening.
Years later, after a period away from microdosing, I returned to the practice. Here is what I wrote in my journal after that first week back:
“I discovered a miracle pill, a natural alternative to antidepressants. I have resisted pharmaceutical drugs, despite my doctors' recommendations, due to my PTSD and depression from military service. After experiencing the positive effects of my first week of micro-dosing psilocybin, I'd recommend it to others with depressive symptoms. I believe this may be a way to rewire my system, uplift my being, and support integration…”
That entry captures something important. I came to microdosing not as a biohacker chasing optimization, but as a veteran carrying wounds that conventional medicine had not reached. The doctors had their recommendations. I had my resistance. And somewhere in that tension, the mushroom offered a third path.
This is not a post against microdosing. I have seen it serve people profoundly. But I have also seen it become another form of spiritual bypassing, another way to seek transformation without actually changing. So let me share what I have learned, both from the research and from my own body, my own journal, my own years of walking beside others on this path.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
What This Article Covers
My Experience: What microdosing actually felt like in my body and being
Protocols and Dosing: Fadiman protocol, Stamets Stack, and finding your rhythm
The Science Question: What research shows and why it may not matter the way you think
Considerations Before You Begin: Who should approach with caution
Sacred Practice: Creating ritual, intention, and care around microdosing
Working With a Guide: Why support matters even for this gentle path
Books to Read: Best material on microdosing
Your Next Steps: How to begin thoughtfully
Common Questions: FAQs answered
What Microdosing Actually Felt Like
Let me share more from that journal entry, because I think the lived experience matters more than any protocol:
“My being has been more balanced, peaceful, and energized than a time I can remember. I feel like I am operating at my best. My attention was precise, my mind and emotions were calm, and my spirit buoyant. I felt more grounded and strong in my physical body. At the gym, I was able to lift more weight and move through new thresholds physically.”
This was not a subtle shift. This was noticeable. The colors were brighter. The sounds were more pleasing to the ear. I felt an interconnection, a bond, a unity with other people, with nature, with myself. What struck me most was how I felt further integrated with the world and more myself at the same time. Not escaping into some altered state, but arriving more fully into my own life.
“Increased hunger and thirst for life showed up in consuming more food and water, a sincere appreciation, and enhanced engagement with activities. Also, there were more meaningful moments of pervasive happiness and joy. I had epiphanies as my consciousness was actively engaged, observing my inner dimension and being more sensitive to others' effects”
Here is where it gets interesting. The mushroom did not just make me feel good. It showed me something I needed to see:
“A strong desire has been evoked within to transform my instinctive judgments into curiosities. I see how my desire to share my opinion about the world around me, particularly my partner’s thoughts and actions, feeds her self-doubt. I resolve to foster seeds of self-confidence and reflection. This pattern is also directed toward myself. By doing so, this process fuels mental constructs of shame, fear, and depression, the insistence on nothing being enough, and leaving behind a sense of inadequacy. I believe the mushrooms have supported me to vividly observe this pattern and generate the new will to make a change.”
This is what I mean when I say the mushroom returns us rather than optimizes us. It showed me my own pattern of judgment, how I was directing it at my partner at the time, how I was directing it at myself, how that very pattern was feeding the depression I was trying to heal. No amount of cognitive understanding had revealed this as clearly as those quiet mornings with a microdose and a journal.
I encourage anyone who microdoses to journal. Not elaborate writing, just honest capture. The mushroom speaks quietly. If you are not paying attention, you will miss what it is showing you.
“To date, I have received no reports that sub-perceptual doses have caused any social disruption, personal upset, or any form of work-related difficulty.”
Psilocybin Microdosing Protocols
A microdose is a sub-perceptual dose of psilocybin, small enough that you may not experience obvious altered states or impaired function. The key principle: you should not feel high. If you notice significant visual changes or anything resembling a trip, the dose is too high.
That said, my experience was not entirely sub-perceptual:
“Each day, while on 300mg of psilocybin, it took about 30 minutes to sense the effects on the body. Usually, the sensations were delightful, similar to a larger dose of mushrooms but more subtle. The colors were brighter, and the sounds were ever more pleasing to the ear.”
So there is a spectrum here. Some people notice almost nothing. Others, like me, when beginning, feel a gentle aliveness that is unmistakable without being impairing. You will need to find your own sweet spot.
Common Protocols
The Fadiman Protocol: One day on, two days off, repeated for four to eight weeks. Developed by Dr. James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide, this is the most widely used schedule. Typical starting dose is 0.1 grams of dried Psilocybe cubensis.
The Stamets Stack: 5 days on, 2 days off, combining psilocybin with lion's mane mushroom and niacin. Mycologist Paul Stamets developed this approach based on synergistic neurogenic benefits.
Intuitive Dosing: Maintaining at least one day between doses while listening to your body. This requires honest self-awareness about whether you are using the substance wisely.
My own approach that first week back:
“I took one pill each day in the early mornings, Monday to Thursday. I noticed an increasing intensity develop throughout the week. The original intent was to partake each weekday and take a break on the weekend. Since Thursday was an anomaly, I felt nauseous after taking it, so I chose not to take a pill on Friday.”
The nausea taught me something. More is not always better. The body has its own wisdom about rhythm and rest. I learned to listen.
Practical Notes
Starting dose: 0.05 to 0.1 grams of dried Psilocybe cubensis
Upper range: 0.3-0.4 grams (anything higher risks perceptual effects)
Variability: Psilocybin concentration in mushrooms can vary significantly, so start low
Timing: Early morning works best; late dosing can affect sleep
Tools: A precision digital scale helps with consistency, recommend premeasured pills for consistency and ease of integration into life
The Science Question: Does It Actually Work?
Here is where I need to be honest with you, even if it complicates the story I just told.
The most rigorous scientific evidence paints a complex picture. A comprehensive meta-analysis in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews analyzed fourteen studies with over 1,600 participants and found no overall cognitive benefit from microdosing compared to placebo. The landmark Imperial College London study, the largest placebo-controlled microdosing trial ever conducted, found that psychological improvements were equal in both microdose and placebo groups.
Read that again. People who thought they were microdosing but were actually taking a placebo reported the same benefits.
So was my experience just placebo? Was that week of balanced peace and those insights about my patterns with my former partner all in my head?
Here is what I have come to believe: it might not matter the way you think it does.
If expectation, intention, and ritual play a profound role in healing, then the practice of taking something sacred, of paying attention to your inner life, of journaling your insights, of hoping for change, these things matter. Perhaps they matter as much as the molecule itself. The question is not "is it real or placebo?" The question is "does it help people live better lives?"
And I have seen enough to know that for many people, whether placebo or not, microdosing has been highly beneficial. It increases the quality of life. It opens doors. It creates windows of clarity that were not there before.
For some, it does not work well. You do not know until you try.
The research also shows that even at microdose levels, measurable neurobiological changes occur. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor increases. Default mode network activity shifts. Neural complexity rises. The brain is doing something, even if standardized tests cannot capture it.
Organizations Leading the Research
The Beckley Foundation: Founded by Amanda Feilding, the Beckley Foundation has pioneered microdosing research through collaborations with Imperial College London and Maastricht University. Their work includes the first placebo-controlled self-blinding microdosing study and ongoing research into microdosing for mood, cognition, and pain.
Third Wave: Founded by Paul Austin, Third Wave is a leading psychedelics education platform focused on intentional, responsible microdosing. Their resources on protocols, harm reduction, and practitioner training have reached millions. Austin emphasizes microdosing as a skill to be cultivated through clear intention and supportive mentorship.
“Back to the analogy of the swimming pool, there’s no need to jump into the deep end right away. With this protocol, you want to get a sense of how these medicines work.”
Considerations Before You Begin
I want to be straightforward here. In all my years of working with people around psychedelics, I have never personally heard of someone having a serious problem from microdosing. The doses are small. The effects are subtle. For most people, the practice is remarkably gentle.
That said, I have seen people for whom certain indicators suggest caution. And while serious issues seem highly unlikely, it does not mean they are impossible. So let me share what I know.
Who Should Approach With Caution
Lithium users. This is the one clear danger I am aware of. Research suggests a significant seizure risk when lithium is combined with psychedelics, even at low doses. If you are on lithium, please do not microdose.
History of psychosis or schizophrenia. Personal or family history here warrants real caution. The research is not definitive on microdoses specifically, but the general guidance is to avoid or proceed with professional oversight and extra caution.
Bipolar disorder. There are reports of microdosing triggering manic episodes in some individuals. Proceed carefully if at all.
MAOI medications. These may interact dangerously with psilocybin.
SSRIs and SNRIs. The interaction is less dangerous but may blunt effects or create unpredictable responses. Consult someone knowledgeable if you are on these medications.
Common Experiences
Some people report mild nausea, as I did on that Thursday. Some experience increased anxiety rather than decreased, especially if the dose is too high or the timing is wrong. Insomnia can occur with late-day dosing.
If you are considering any form of psilocybin work, my free Ceremony Readiness Guide includes screening questions that apply to microdosing as well. It is worth taking the time to reflect honestly on your own situation.
Microdosing as Sacred Practice
Here is where I part ways with the Silicon Valley biohacker approach.
The Mazatec people of Oaxaca, Mexico, who have worked with psilocybin mushrooms for thousands of years, do not see them as a productivity tool. They call them Los Niños Santos, the Little Saints. They understand them as sacred beings with whom reciprocal relationships are established.
When I returned to microdosing after my time away, something had shifted in me. I was no longer looking for optimization. I was looking for healing and expansion of consciousness. And that shift in intention changed everything.
“I hold deep gratitude that such medicine exists, I have access, and I plan to continue.”
That gratitude is not incidental. It is part of the practice.
Creating Sacred Container
Prepare a simple altar. This does not require elaborate materials. A candle, something from nature, an object that holds meaning for you. The altar signals to your psyche that this is not just consumption. This is practice.
Set intention before each dose. Not a goal to achieve but a question to hold. What are you paying attention to? What pattern are you watching? What are you hoping to learn?
Create ritual around consumption. Rather than taking a capsule mindlessly with your morning coffee, pause. Breathe. Acknowledge what you are receiving. Even thirty seconds of intentional presence shifts the quality of the experience. Possibly, express your gratitude to life. Find your relationship.
Journal. I cannot emphasize this enough. The mushroom speaks quietly. My insights about my patterns with my former partner, about how my judgments were feeding her self-doubt and my own depression, these would have slipped past me if I had not been writing. Capture your experience. You will be grateful you did.
Bringing More Care Into Your Life
The deepest invitation of microdosing is not about the substance at all. It is about the way of being that the practice can cultivate.
What if you approached your morning this way? With intention, with presence, with gratitude?
What if the ritual you create around microdosing extended into how you eat, how you move, how you relate to the people you love?
My journal entry ended with this:
“I felt an interconnection, bond, and unity with other people, nature, and myself. What is remarkable about this experience is how I felt further integrated with the world and more myself.”
That integration does not have to end when the microdose wears off. It can become a way of living.
Why Working With a Guide Matters
Even for microdosing, having a knowledgeable person to consult with can be valuable. Questions arise. Uncertainties emerge. Patterns reveal themselves that benefit from outside perspective. A good guide will evoke new insight and support structured thinking. As well, deepen your connection with your heart and body that may not be otherwise.
When I noticed that my judgments were feeding my former partners self-doubt, I needed more than a journal entry. I needed to actually change the pattern. That kind of integration often benefits from support, someone to help you see what you cannot see alone, to ask the questions you are not asking yourself, to witness your transformation. And to hold you accountable when you forget.
What a Guide Provides
Screening and safety. Helping you assess your situation honestly and navigate any concerns.
Protocol guidance. With so many approaches, a guide can help you find what fits your constitution and intentions.
Integration support. The benefits come not just from psilocybin but from what you do with what it shows you. A guide helps you build practices that make insights stick.
Perspective on when microdosing is not enough. If you are carrying something that needs deeper attention, a guide can help you recognize when fuller ceremonial work might serve you better.
You can learn more about how I structure support on my Offerings page.
“The Stamet Stack can provide medically significant advancements in repairing neurons, removing amyloid plaques, improving mental health, cognition, and agility, and improving overall the ecology of consciousness.”
Your Next Steps
If you are considering microdosing, here is a path forward:
Educate yourself. Read resources from credible sources like Third Wave and the Beckley Foundation. Understand both the potential and the limitations.
Reflect on your situation. Be honest about your medical history, medications, and mental health. Download my free Ceremony Readiness Guide for reflection questions.
Consider a conversation. Even one consultation with a knowledgeable guide can help you approach the practice safely and intentionally.
Create sacred container. Prepare your space, set your intention, approach this as practice rather than consumption.
Start low and journal. Begin with the minimum effective dose. Capture your experience in writing. Pay attention to what the mushroom is showing you.
Build integration practices. Journaling, meditation, somatic work, honest conversation with people you trust. These are what make microdosing actually work.
Stay honest with yourself. Regularly ask: Is this serving me? Am I avoiding something? Is there deeper work I need to do?
TOP 5 MICRODOSING BOOKS
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys by Dr. James Fadiman (2011) The foundational text that established modern microdosing protocols. Fadiman dedicated an entire chapter to microdosing and created the widely-used "Fadiman Protocol" (one day on, two days off). He has collected self-reports from microdosers worldwide since 2010, making this the original reference for anyone serious about the practice.
Mastering Microdosing: How to Use Sub-Perceptual Psychedelics to Heal Trauma, Improve Performance, and Transform Your Life by Paul F. Austin (2022) The most comprehensive contemporary guide, written by the founder of Third Wave. Austin weaves together research and personal anecdotes to show the impact of microdosing on leaders, creatives, and healers. Covers protocols, benefits, potential drawbacks, and sourcing. Featured in Forbes, Rolling Stone, and BBC.
The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine by C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP (2021) A practical handbook and workbook written by a psychiatric nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience. Based in Maine, Spotswood offers science-based insights, safety tips, and personal reflection tools. Covers psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and includes pages to track experiences and progress.
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life by Ayelet Waldman (2017) A candid, often hilarious memoir documenting Waldman's 30-day microdosing experiment with LSD to treat her mood disorder. A former federal public defender, she blends personal narrative with thorough research into the history, science, and policy of psychedelics. Called "genuinely brave and human" by The New York Times.
Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance by Dr. James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber (2024) Fadiman's newest and most comprehensive work, co-authored with Jordan Gruber. Blends extensive research with detailed personal accounts from contributors worldwide. Covers microdosing for depression, ADHD, chronic pain, long COVID, enhanced focus, and physical performance. The definitive update to his earlier work.
Honorable Mention: Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion by Michelle Janikian, An accessible guide covering both microdosing and full-dose experiences, with practical harm reduction advice.
A NOTE ON SOURCING
I want to be direct about something. I do not supply psilocybin to clients. This is both a legal and ethical boundary. People who work with me make their own informed decisions about sourcing, and I am not in a position to obtain or distribute controlled substances.
What I can say is this: if you choose to explore microdosing, verify what you are taking. Misidentified mushrooms are a real risk. When possible, test your material. And be honest with yourself and any guide about what you are considering or using and where it came from.
“Microdosing isn’t about escaping your life, it’s about showing up to it more fully. The real work happens when you pair the practice with honest reflection and track what’s actually shifting.”
An Invitation
I want to return to where we began. To that question beneath the question.
When someone tells me they want to microdose, I listen for what they are really asking. Often it is not about protocols or dosing. It is about hope. It is about wondering whether change is possible. It is about wanting to feel more alive without having to completely fall apart first.
I understand that longing. I have lived it.
What I have learned is that the mushroom meets us where we are. If we come with small questions, it offers small answers. If we come with our whole selves, our hunger, our fear, our longing, it meets us there too.
Microdosing can be a practice of attention, a bridge to deeper work, or a sophisticated form of avoidance. The medicine does not determine which. We do.
Whether you microdose or journey ceremonially, the invitation is the same: stop performing a better self and start coming home to who you already are.
What would shift if you stopped seeking transformation and started trusting the process of your own becoming?
May you find the path that is truly yours. May you walk it honestly. And may you remember that mushrooms are not the destination. It is a potential doorway. What matters is what you do once you walk through.
From my Heart to yours,
Yeshua Adonai
Psychedelic Guide
aboutyeshua.com
Whether you are just beginning to explore microdosing, seeking support for an existing practice, or sensing the pull toward deeper ceremonial work, I would be honored to walk alongside you. Reach out to explore whether this path is calling you home.
Microdosing Psilocybin FAQ
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A typical microdose ranges from 0.05 to 0.4 grams of dried Psilocybe cubensis, with 0.1 grams as a common starting point. The goal is sub-perceptual, though some people like me notice subtle effects like brighter colors and enhanced mood without impairment. Start low, go slow, listen to your body, and find your own sweet spot.
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The Fadiman Protocol suggests about one day on, two days off. The Stamets Stack uses about five days on, two days off. Most practitioners recommend cycles of four to eight weeks followed by at least two weeks off. Listen to your body, as I learned to do when nausea told me to skip a day.
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In my experience and from everyone I have worked with, I have never heard of someone having a serious problem from microdosing. That said, caution is warranted for people on lithium (clear seizure risk), those with history of psychosis or schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or taking MAOIs. Some people experience mild nausea or increased anxiety.
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The science is genuinely mixed. Controlled studies show benefits often equal placebo. Yet I have seen enough people, myself included, experience real shifts that I believe something is happening, whether that is the molecule, the intention, the ritual, or something else entirely. You do not know until you try.
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This requires consultation with a knowledgeable provider. SSRIs and SNRIs may blunt effects or create unpredictable responses. Health care providers have told me MAOIs are contraindicated. Be honest with yourself and any guide about what you are taking.
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Psilocybin remains Schedule I federally and in most states. Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico have created regulated access and dozens of cities are decriminalized, but this varies. Psychedelic churches are pathways to commune with mushrooms as a sacrament. Know your local situation and make informed decisions.
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Microdosing can be an introduction, support after ceremony, or ongoing gentle support. But for significant trauma, treatment-resistant depression, seeking mystical type experience, or breakthrough transformation, full-dose work typically achieves better outcomes. If you are unsure, a conversation with a professional psychedelic guide can help you discern.
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Many people microdose independently. But a guide offers screening support, protocol guidance, integration help, and a perspective on when something deeper is needed. Even one conversation can make a difference.