Meditation and Marijuana
Make no mistake human cultures have always used mind-altering compounds to reach a higher state of consciousness. It doesn't matter whether these compounds were extracted from herbs or completely synthetic. There seems to be a very human need for these types of biochemical compounds to enable human beings to interact with an alternative or “higher” reality.
In the West, alcohol filled this role. Among Native American tribes in the New World, peyote and mushrooms were used to communicate and exist on another plane. In South Asia as well as in the Middle East, hashish enabled people to access a different reality. The same goes with the use of opium in many parts of Asia.
Researchers may differ on the details regarding humanity's need for higher consciousness levels. However, they can agree that altered states of consciousness are somehow built into human physiology.
Let’s put it this way. We wouldn't be able to get high if our nervous systems don't have built-in receptors for biochemical compounds. Take the case of marijuana. If your nervous system did not have certain structures and chemical receptors, you won’t be able to get high. In fact, you won't feel much of anything because you don't have these receptors. (Source: http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-drugs-work-48665)
Believe it or not whatever gets human beings high or gets them to enter a state of euphoria is actually built-in. In other words, we already have natural marijuana-like compounds that our brain processes to achieve higher states of consciousness.
This can involve feelings of euphoria. This can involve pain management. This is all natural, and it's already built into our systems.
When a person smokes pot, they're basically just using these existing gateways. They're not creating anything new. Again, for people to get high in the first place, they already have to be wired a certain way.
In other words, human beings have been using compounds throughout the ages to achieve higher states of consciousness that the human mind is already capable of doing. In other words, we’re just using herbal or biochemical inputs to unlock what our bodies are already experiencing. (source: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/drugs-used-rituals)
If you've ever had amazing sex, that is the product of neurotransmitters firing a certain way at a certain time to produce a range of emotional and physiological states. These neurotransmitters can be triggered with a wide range of chemicals.
If you've ever ran a ten-mile race and felt like you were on top of the world at the end of the race, those are your chemical endorphins. You are experiencing a nice surge of buzz-inducing chemicals coursing through your bloodstream.
Again, whatever altered state of consciousness you may experience from getting high on marijuana, getting stoned on heroin or getting pumped up on cocaine are only possible because your nervous system already has receptors for those. In other words, your body is able and constantly creates chemicals that produce those states.
Of course, normally we don’t experience such intense physiological states for an extended period. You need to take recreational drugs for that effect, but this doesn’t take away from the fact that our bodies and our minds are wired to achieve these states.
Throughout history, human beings have been looking for all sorts of compounds ranging from marijuana to heroine to magic mushrooms to LSD to unlock and unleash the full capacity of the human mind, which brings me to meditation.
Meditation has been studied for decades. In fact, it is one of the most rigorously researched human activities in recent decades. What do these hundreds of studies reveal? (source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation)
First of all, when you meditate, you are able to reduce hypertension. If you're suffering from elevated blood pressure, meditation is one of the best ways to reduce your blood pressure without the aid of chemicals or any synthetic compounds.
It also has been shown to reduce a tremendous amount of stress. There are all sorts of things that can stress people out. However, regardless of where their stress comes from, meditation helps people deal with stress in such a way that they are able to manifest stress at high levels. You learn basic coping mechanisms that enable you to put up with a lot more stress than you would be able to normally.
Mediation has also been observed to help alleviate anxiety and depression. Thanks to the modern stresses of our modern world, it is no surprise that anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications are always in the top ten or top five pharmaceutical products prescribed every single year. Meditation enables you to cope with anxiety and depression without the aid of chemicals.
Also, people who have been practicing meditation for an extended period report that they feel re-energized and their focusing ability has been replenished. Some even report getting a fresh perspective on their lives or certain parts of their lives through meditation. People who create for a living, and I'm talking about writers and artists, report that they get a nice boost of inspiration after they meditate.
The Problem with Meditation
The big challenge to meditation is that you have to relax to enter this mental, emotional and physiological state. This is too much to ask for a lot of people because they are very stressed. Unfortunately, for you to meditate, you have to relax. It's crucial to meditation. Relaxation is a gateway both on a mental and physical level to meditation. So, how do you meditate when you are already feeling stressed?
The Short Answer? Marijuana
That's right. By vaping pot, you can maximize the results of your meditation practice. It doesn’t matter whether you're having a tough time meditating in the first place or you’re meditation sessions are not as deep and as relaxing as you would have hoped. Vaping marijuana both before and during your meditation practice can help you achieve higher levels of relaxation.
Once you enter this relation gateway, you can achieve higher levels of consciousness through meditation. The THC in your system does not have to get in the way. It does not have to distract you. It does not have to confuse. Forget what you have heard.
Used properly and in the right sequence, marijuana can actually aid your meditation practice instead of disrupting it. Here's how you do it.
Prepare to Meditate
The first thing that you need to do is to make sure you do this right. In other words, you have to put yourself in the right situation and give yourself enough time to meditate properly. This means you have to set aside time.
You also have to make sure that you can be alone in a room where you won’t be disturbed. It has to be a quiet room. Ideally, there should be no music playing in the background. It doesn’t matter what kind of music it is, maybe you are partial to certain types of “mood music”. You have to be in a quiet room.
Eventually, once you become used to meditating and you're able to zero in on a deep level of relaxation and focus, you can play mood music. However, when you’re just starting, it's a really good idea to make sure that the room is 100% quiet.
Next, you have to intend on relaxing. This is crucial. Don't look at meditation as a last-minute Band-Aid solution to the stress and pressure you’re feeling. You're doing it wrong if that’s your mindset.
You have to approach meditation from the perspective of wanting the serenity that it delivers. This is crucial because if you're looking at it as just some sort of last resort, it's too easy for your desperation to get the better of you.
Vape a Sativa Mix
If you're reading this, you probably already know that there are two major groupings of marijuana: indica and sativa. Indica is too strong for meditation purposes. It can put you to sleep.
Please understand that when you're meditating and you have your eyes closed, it's easy for people looking at you to think you're sleeping. However, you are doing something that is the precise opposite of sleeping. You’re actually fully aware and fully awake. In fact, if you meditate correctly, you're actually going to be more aware than you are during your normal waking hours. That's how intense meditation can be.
This is why it's a bad idea to vape or smoke indica. Indica is too strong. If you want to go to sleep or if you need help with insomnia or you just want a nice, powerful hit, indica should be your go-to solution.
However, when it comes to meditation, stick with sativa. The great thing about sativa is that it delivers a mix that both energizes your mind and enables it to “notice” more things while being sufficiently mellow. It really delivers a nice combination of effects that not only mellows you out so you're less stressed and pressured, but also energizes your mind so you can get more out of your meditation session.
Start Meditating with a Simple Breath-Counting and Holding Exercise
The US Navy SEALs have developed a simple meditation technique where you slowly but deeply breathe in and hold it for four to ten seconds. Then you slowly breathe out until you can’t breathe out anymore and hold it for another four to ten seconds. Keep repeating it enough and the relaxation deepens and you're able to focus. Once this is done, you go on to the next meditation technique, which is watching your breath.
Watching Your Breath
Once you're sufficiently relaxed, focus on the air leaving your nostrils. Breathe slowly and deeply, focus your mind’s eye on the air leaving your nostrils and then entering your body again. Stop thinking about everything else. All your focus should be on your nostrils. This triggers a tremendous amount of focus and relaxation. You are deeply focused at this point.
Enter Transcendental Meditation
Once you have watched your breath and you are fully relaxed, think about the nonsense mantra you have chosen ahead of time.
The secret to transcendental meditation is your mantra. This mantra is an unspoken word that you “recite” within your mind. This word has to be meaningless, something like “sha” or “cha” or any other sound. Whatever the case may be it is your mental place marker.
You breathe in and breathe out with your mantra. Every time you breathe in, conclude with a mantra and when you breathe out, conclude with a mantra. Eventually, your focus should be on your mantra, not your breath.
When you're able to do this, eventually, you will be able to lose all your thoughts. That's right. You'll be able to destroy your thoughts before they even materialize. You will achieve a very deep level of focus because all you are paying attention to is your mantra.
How THC Helps Meditation
When you vape marijuana before and during your meditation, you get rid of anxiety, depression and mood issues. This enables you to open your mind to laser targeted efforts at focusing on the present moment. You're not worried about things that can possibly happen in the future and you are not wasting any time agonizing over stuff that happened in the past. Instead, you're just focusing on the eternal present. This gives you a tremendous amount of calm, serenity and peace.
Enjoy that peace. You know that you have achieved a very deep level of relaxation when you can't even form thoughts. You’re just so focused on each and every second as it unfolds.
Most people can do this when they are meditating without the aid of marijuana. However, if you vape pot while practicing transcendental meditation, it turbocharges the process. You are able to really feel yourself in the moment because each moment is an experience.
Don't be surprised to look at your watch before you meditate and feel like you've been meditating for hours only to look at your watch and notice that you've only been meditating two minutes. That’s how deep, profound and powerful your meditative states can be with the chemical assistance of THC.
Prepare Yourself to Exit Your Meditative State
Don't put yourself on a timetable. Just allow yourself to enjoy the deep calm, peace and serenity of your meditative state. Please understand that you're not high.
Please understand that the whole point of this is not to get high. You can listen to music for that. You can hang out with your friends. You can enjoy all sorts of other activities if enjoying your high is your goal.
The point here is to focus on the present moment. You're not supposed to think about it. You're not supposed to feel anything about it.
If you're doing this right, transcendental meditation enables you to unlock the infinite power of the eternal now. I know that sounds heavy but it isn’t because time is the ingredient of life, and it really is sad that most people just waste their time trying to get from one day to the next. What they fail to realize is that each and every second is very precious.
When you vape marijuana while engaged in transcendental meditation, you communicate with this higher-level reality and you live it out. Try to stay in that state. Understand what it's like to live in that state because that is the most empowering mental state you will ever reach.
Don't be surprised if your perspective on life and your personal effectiveness and efficiency starts to change because of the insights you have allowed yourself to absorb when you are in a deep meditative state thanks to marijuana.
After you have savored that inner serenity, prepare yourself to exit this meditative state. Let your breathing becomes shallower and faster. At a certain point, give yourself a countdown, maybe ten all the way to one or five all the way to one. Whatever they case may be send a signal to both your mind and your body that you're going to be leaving the meditative state.
Once you have left that meditative state, don't be in a hurry to open your eyes. The light may be hard on your eyes. So, allow yourself a few minutes to regain normal consciousness and then slowly open your eyes.
If you do this right, you probably would want to meditate with the aid of marijuana again and again. Believe me it definitely takes you to a much more profound level of perception.
