There is certainly nothing wrong with believing that everything has a spirit. But there is no way to prove or disprove it, so passing it off as absolute fact is misleading.
I identify as a follower of the Left Hand Path, which means that I place all importance of my operations on the result. As such, I do encourage skepticism.
I also encourage, however, a suspension of disbelief, as magic does not work if one has doubts, within themselves or the process as a whole. Enter the ritual to prove magic wrong, and you will succeed in just that.
With that in mind, almost every word I say is going to be UPG. Everything I say, take it with a grain of salt. If it contradicts your experiences, it's absolutely no problem, as my focus is on what works.
Communicating with the plant's spirits, is what leads me to make the above claims. I would advise you not trust me on my word alone, but suspend disbelief and talk to the little plants yourself.
Listen for replies, thoughts that definitely feel foreign. Hell, even do a Q&A with a plant, writing down every thought that comes to mind. Read back, and you will see it isn't your own thoughts. Even try asking it about something in the past or the future that you don't know about, attempting plant-based divination.
Magic is empirical before it is rational. Trying to cram the esoteric into rationalism is an easy way to attempt to whitewash and humanize something that is more than simple and human. One of the reasons I am against the Psychology Paradigm in general. Simply because I've seen it work. Objectively, on others, for others, with visible, measurable effects, often circumstantial, but I have seen spells come into fruition.
Still, on your profile you state you practice magic atheistically, so I'd be interested in hearing about that.
Then again, like I said at the beginning of this post, whatever works, right?
Take whatever I say with a grain of salt, test it out with an open mind, see what you get, and even if it doesn't fit what I said, that's OK, because now you have your own experiences, more valid than mine.
I respect your opinion and I respect the plants and nature. But this was not all about smoking. If somebody merely does not want to smoke marijuana because of the so called effects then there are other alternatives that may be of a healthier choice. I am not saying that Tea is the same as Marijuana, I am saying Tea can substitute for Marijuana. If you need something for a spell, lets say Sage, I do not go and use Parsley, but I can substitute the Sage with dried Sage or Mixed Herbs and I find it woks quite well. You do have a good opinion, but this was just merely to help people
And I agree. Personally, I would never smoke anything, so I can understand that. I was simply pointing to some things I've learned as well as a source on the use of drugs in shamanism.
Inhaling smoke is never medically safe, if that's what you're asking. There are all sorts of carcinogens released when something is burned in such a manner.
It doesn't leave tar in your lungs like Tobacco would do. I've personally smoked tea myself, it doesn't have any effects and even keeps tobacco cravings at bay.
