Well, cannabis, like many other medicinal plants, is a medicinal plant. I've always had an interest in current herbal remedies and what herbs ancient cultures/shamans around the world use for ailments. I see nothing wrong with using marijuana for medical reasons, for fun, or for divination. I don't see anything wrong with using any naturally growing plant for medicine, fun, or spiritual reasons. The hard part in society is that a lot of people can't responsibly handle drugs, illegal or prescription. A lot of people can't responsibly handle themselves and discern what is safe or what is unsafe for them to be doing. I used to smoke a lot of weed now and then just for fun, but find that it actually makes my back pain worse. I think because my pain management is all mind over matter, so when my mind is compromised, I'm less able to stand or walk. But I recently gave it up, because overall, I've always preferred to have a clear head. And even though I consider myself drug free these days, I still never had a chance to try peyote, and I'm sure I would if I had the chance, because I see nothing wrong with experimenting with consciousness or divination. That's pretty much what prompted my interest in herbalism/shamanism years ago. But, I've never really found anything spiritual through the use of any substances either. Oh well. Even if I'm not using anything anymore, I still believe it should be our right to medicate, relax or enlighten.
Absolutely! Cannabis has been smoked by Rastafarians and many other cultures for thousands of years for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, and in my mind, there isn't.
Other than using it as an occasional incense and (if I or someone I knew was in a severe amount of pain/anguish) a medicinal remedy I personally wouldn't smoke it. Bad for the lungs. I think it depends on where you are spiritually if using a drug (no matter its class in the governments drug system) will help or hurt your practice.
"Its use as a ritual substance is well documented with evidence dating back as far as Neolithic times. A mummified shaman was found in China in 2003 along with a leather basket containing fragments of seeds and leaves. Shamanistic use of cannabis included burning of the flowers of the plant to induce a trance like state.
Of late hemp has been adopted as a sacred her by Rastafarian movement and the cannabis leaf symbol is often depicted int he Rasta colors of re,black, and yellow. It is considered that the use of the herb purifies the soul, clears the mind, and promotes peacefulness.
The Mahayana Buddhists tradition sees hemp as a particularly sacred plant because it is associated with Buddha, who, so they say, lived on one hemp seed per day as he journeyed towards enlightenment"
Signs& Symbols Sourcebook
By Adele Nosedar
Ah, the flower of life. If our experience, Time magic is strongly affected, in the aspect of made more fluid. It is also conducive towards trances, and in larger amounts, the state of twilight between sleep and wake.
If one has bodily woes, it can help to lessen physical pain, thus making most acts of will, magic, and focus easier.
To understand and begin to contemplate time and ones perception thereof, upon consuming, be it by vaporization or by eating, the novice may feel as if various things have just begun, or have been going on for a very long while, perhaps at the same time. This may be unsettleing to some, to others comforting, to even others, familiar.
In our experience, it also helps with calming ki flow and enabling more control to be possible
On a physical side, it is a vasodilator, and a bronchodilator, ingestion may also allow for more blood to be circulated, and better oxygenation thereof, leading to an altered state of being by that method alone.
In my experience, it helps to loosen me from the physical plane and let me become more aware of the other planes of existence. I have only done a few rituals in an intoxicated state but I felt the power of the speels flowing through me much more powerfully. And as for the dangers of smoking weed... It is very safe, no sort of cancer or anything has been traced directly to smoking the herb. THOUGH it had adverse effects when you take some medicines, consult a knowledgeable friend or someOne you trust to get you through your first high. And if you feel the adverse effects it is up to your judgement on what to do then.
