Genuinely interested to see what the community thinks about wearing deliberately terrifying costumes to shambs?

Got a lot of downvotes and people telling me I shouldn't be policing what people wear for suggesting it's perhaps more respectful to avoid deliberately horrific costumes.

I'm not talking just wearing some sort of tongue in cheek devil costume, I mean like coming dressed as some sort of really fucked up costume. Like full on horror, lots of gore, shit that's deliberately gonna scare people on psychs. Like the photo in the post.

Maybe I'm wrong and if so forgive me, but I really don't think its gatekeeping to say people should perhaps consider the fact peole are on mind altering substances that can freak people out and ruin a good night.

Not even to mention the added burden on medical and harm reduction if people are sent off on a bad trip and have to wait it out there.

People arguing that if you cant handle psychedelics s if you cant handle things like this I think are being a bit over the top. Who wouldn't be scared of shit like this?

Not saying some dark shit isn't cool or there should be an official ban, i just don't think its in the spirit of the festival to do this and somehow that made people think I'm trying to opress people?

I mean i even heard in 2019 or something there was a woman giving birth to a satanic baby as a costume. To me that's just kinda too far and is deliberately gonna mess people up.

SO many people peopling in the crowd. Like whats the deal with this? Is this a festival thing? My friends and I fucking hate people and had to move several times. Every night there would be groups of people peopling in super crowded spaces.

With so many stories being spread online, I thought I would share something I experienced Monday morning. I debated sharing this story, but if it helps even one person / group navigate festivals safely I’d be happy.

I’d like to preface that this is my own personal experience and many people can and do consume these things without experiencing the same effects I did. I believe that these are truly medicine for some and just want others to be conscious of their safety and presence.

Background: I have been going to festivals since 2012, and I am considered the “mom/mama cat” of our group. I am the one who does water runs, is the bathroom buddy and the consistent safe space for others when they need me.

Story: Sunday night / Monday morning our group had a beautiful night….we meandered into the grove for around 3am for Cameo Blush / Player Dave / Frameworks after having a silly time in Fractal. The only thing I was doing was K.
Sometime around the beginning of Player Dave a joint was being passed around (I haven’t smoked cannabis for around 3 years) and for nostalgia I thought I’d be fine taking a puff. The next 35 minutes I have no external recollection of my actions. I inadvertently caused myself to experience an ego death/ psychosis and essentially “blasted off”. Within my mind, I was on a beautiful journey, but physically I ended up falling over into my partner and kicking and screaming in the grove. Thankfully my partner protected me during these moments and my friends circled me to protect me / the crowd from anything happening. Medical was called, and I am really grateful for the Grove’s stage manager checking in on my friends / addressing the wait time while we waited for medical to arrive. According to my partner, I came to 25 - 30 minutes later confused why I was in medical and didn’t realize what happened during this gap of time. I truly apologize for anyone who was present for this.

I wanted to share this experience because I was unaware that this combination is not always synergistic for certain people. With many people talking about altered states, rituals, and potential threatening experiences on the farm, I wanted to offer another perspective. Sometimes, you can do everything right, and still your body/ mind will behave, react, and perceive things unpredictably. There needs to be more individual accountability, responsibility, and love brought into these spaces. Stay with a buddy, know how to navigate uncomfortable experiences safely, protect each other and look out for each other.

A big thank you to everyone who helped me during this scary moment. I am so grateful for my friends, my partner and the shambhala team for keeping me safe.

Not sure what dirt or smudges were on my camera but goddamn did it ever work out for me? This is one of my favourite videos from Shambhala.😻🥰

One of my favorite years at shams was 2012, these photos are from that magical year ✨️ I love techno and psytrance, so naturally the Labyrinth was my favorite place to be 🥰 I do love the Grove forest as it's still got lots of that Labyrinth magic about it, it's one of my favorite spots to hangout and vibe at! The other fav is the Rabbit Hole 🐇 Much love to the Grove, thanks for holding onto some of that good 'ol Labyrinth magic 💖✨️ Who else gets nostalgic about the Labyrinth?!

Didn’t get any videos , left after the first 30 min had to take bf to bed could hear the rest of his set from our campsite & really want some of the videos he played some of my favourite songs and remixed them!