Perspective. Anything that was big before paled in comparison to the horizons made available(or forced upon me) during what accidentally turned out to be a huge dose of shrooms the first time around. Like coming back to your suburban garden you've spent so much anxious energy on after a trip to the amazon. Wondering why you'd ever cried over how your little rosebush was slightly smaller than the neighbours, or what have you. When I was coming down from my first trip I wept for thirty minutes straight in what I can only describe as emotional release and catharsis. Like looking back on who you were fifteen years ago kind of perspective, everything seemed small, understandable and insignificant.

I can't speak for acid, and I've heard that ayahuasca is... more, but shrooms can be a comfortable multiplier to experience.

It's a lot of experience and thought crammed into a short period of time. I'm not saying you turn into a completely changed person(as I've heard some do on ayahuasca), but there's no going back. It's not a miracle cure, but it feels a bit miraculous.

Some people I know remarked in that period of my life that I grew up. Became more mature, fixed a few facets of my life and generally grew more well rounded(well, a bit). They didn't quite buy that "it just sort of happens", when I smile and lied to their faces ;)

A friend of mine had to spend a lot of time and emphatic effort into putting the curiousity and willingness into me, and I was pretty dismissive of the whole thing. He said the same thing though, "there was me before shrooms, and there's the life after", and now I find myself making the same speech to people who could use that kick. Then there are some people who I'd be very wary of giving anything, but that's another thing.

That same friend have made the case that it's very similar to meditation(he chased that dragon waaaay down the rabbit hole). I think it was in a Daniel Goleman book they tested MDMA on a veteran Buddhist Monk, who immediately remarked that "This is meditation."

There's a lot to be said about it that only makes sense once you've done it. It becomes much less of a big deal once you've done it, too.

Have you tried marijuana?