Marijuana and meditation - your opinion

Ok, so I've been meaning to explore this for a while. I smoke, and I also meditate, but I hadnt really tried both at the same time. Yesterday, I smoked a small amount and decided to sit.

After a first experience, it seems that that pot really helped with my meditation. I've been extremely busy lately, and I've had alot on my mind. When I meditate I catch myself constantly thinking about what I have to do at the shop, planning out my next day, and so on. After about 10-15 minutes, I start getting restless, frustrated, and I feel like I've accomplished nothing.

Yesterday, the weed just seemed like it quieted and focused my mind. I meditated for about 30 minutes, most of it felt like deep, concentrated meditation. I got in touch with some deep feelings that were looming inside me. It was great.

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What do you guys think of this? Have you ever used pot (or anything else) to help you meditate?

Looking forward to discussing this with you!

 

Really a lot of different things occur to me. But I will keep it to about three main things - (1) You meditate for yourself, not to impress anyone else, and fuck them all - so if being stoned and meditating make your life better then so be it, (2) marijuana dampens down kundalini shakti, and so slows down whatever evolution occurs, which itself is questionable, to wit, upon what scale can the unqualifiable, unquantifiable spirit be said to evolve? Though some persons feels like kundalini shakti somehow spiritizes matter, it's questionable, but my experience is that shakti slows down during a pot buzz, and so do the leaps in mental change, and that may be of benefit if you're fire is always burning very bright, and (3) once you have well trained your mind you can meditate anywhere or in any way, but if you're starting out then you must meditate straight because meditating and experiencing quiescent state of mind while stoned is easy, it's doing it during state of duress that takes practice and which is the real value of meditation - that is, meditation serves one most when one can do it to prevent a mental breakdown, or during times of huge stress and turmoil. For that strong meditation ability to develop you must develop meditation muscles.

 

I suppose it depends on your particular type of meditation. When I meditate I just try to silence my mind's voice, the ego, and I find if I'm stoned, that voice goes into overdrive and so meditation gets really hard.

What I have found, in terms of other substances and meditation, is that when I trip, if I feel the trip is about to take a turn for the worse, I use some meditation techniques, and suddenly everything is good again.

 

It's so strange how ganja effects everyone differently! Foe me it's the complete opposite. I am much more focused and quiet when I meditate and I've smoked. I'm not talking about large amounts either. It seems a small amount quiets my mind. I remember feeling like I was simply gravitating. Not trying to control, restrain, push back, I was just sitting there, existing.

It's funny yopu say this because I took up meditation in part to prepare myself for psychedelics. Turns out I'm going to keep up with it either way. It's truly changed my life. :2thumbsup::sunny:

 

weed and meditating....

when you smoke you become intoxicated, your blood becomes acidic, your thyroid and hormones become less regulated, your adrenal glands go into over drive due to the seratonin and dopamine release....so basically your in a toxic state

however, any medicine is toxic, the more effective and cleansing it is the more toxic it is, so perhaps marijuana could be considered a mental cleansing.

smoking in relation to meditating seems to effect you in two ways

- the smoke: disrupts your REM sleep
- the cannibinoids releases heavy seratonin amounts
- to some it may induce paranoia (few)
- weed stresses the body and *ALL* of its functions

due to the single fact that smoking disrupts your rem i think that it is usable for meditating but you really DO NOT go into the most relaxed state you can if you werent smoking.

If your questioning whether weeds and meditating will go together maybe start out with some simple yoga after smoking to slow you down?...see how it goes?

 

I guess this is very much an opinion thing so here's mine: I smoke pot occasionally and I meditate but never at the same time. I guess I'd view it as a form of cheating, similar to use of steroids in sport. Are you really developing your ability to meditate properly if you're using a substance to help you get there?
On the other hand, if you use it in the same way one uses training wheels on a bicycle with the intent of learning to one day ride without them, maybe that's not such a bad thing. If your ultimate intent is to be able to fully meditate without smoking beforehand then I guess it might have its place.
Of course, its ultimately up to you, this is just my opinion. Peace

 

OK Balsama don't even get me started on the ''burning out my braincells with ganja'' thing, it's common knowledge now that that's bullshit.

That being said, I don't meditate with marijuana. I did it once, it had very interesting results, but now 99% of the time I meditate completely sober. I agree with the general consensus in this post that true meditation can only be done one way, which is pure and sober.

 

well pot might be working with meditation now but you may want to try without being stoned for more mental clarity..It doesn't make me want to meditate at all...

 

i think its pretty relaxing.

 

I've been Puffin the magic dragon for 20 years and meditating for close to 5 years so most of my evening session has almost certainly been in a purple haze.

Alas, I'm pushing 40, another birthday for me this Sunday so I plan to quit all smoking in the hope I can spend more time with my kids.
My last medical last year showed a clean bill of health, a decent set of lungs, low cholesterol so I'm torn between quitting while I'm ahead and thinking I'm bullet proof and carry on.

Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe wrote some of finest work after drug and alcohol induced type meditation?
He sat in a dark room after a jolly good session and keep a pen a paper handy for when he finished connecting with the Cosmos.
He also died age 40 hence my feelings of quitting, I've had a good run. There is a shelf life for this sort of thing, or so it would appear.

But I believe mara ha wana helps because it raises ones vibrational state, that raises your frequency, that enables almost effortless connection with the Cosmos and pure vibrant consciousness. And great fun.

Small doses are the key, says he who has smoked most of his life lol

 

I like reading your posts as your honest and not putting on aires. We get lots of preachers practicing here. Most of whom have never spend a solid hour in sitting meditation.

It was funny you acalled pot 'mara' since as I'm sure you know 'mara' is the Buddhist term for demon, specifically the demons which prevent a growth of awareness.

However, you'll find that I also do smoke the good herb (kine bud, not kind bud - to all you kiddies, as based in the term 'da kine' which in Hawaiian means - 'top notch.') But I do notice a specific difference in transformative power of meditation during times of clarity. And for those starting meditation some teachers have a rule of one having to not do any drugs for two full weeks before learning. I would have to concur, that the ability to settle the mind in absence of any helpers is perhaps the true value of meditation practice. Since there's ostensibly nothing else which can accomplish this inner peace.

 

Marijuana can be an effective tool to living life fully and navigating the potential pitfalls along the way.

 

Hey Marina, how apt is your name? Just add a j and u and what have you got? If you get my drift:rockon:

 

Mindfulness meditation reduces stress, using brain imaging, genetics and immune system measurements. That was a great read for me.

 

Disclaimer: “When you deceive yourself that you work for the good of all, it makes matters worse, for you should not be guided by your own ideas of what is good for others. A man who claims to know what is good for others, is dangerous.” ~[I AM THAT, dialogues of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj]

Perhaps one should approach with caution since following the likes, dislikes and attachments of the mind (desires) may lead to suffering, if one wants to move beyond suffering one needs to move beyond the mind. Using marijuana is simply a like or dislike of the mind whereas meditation is a means beyond mind, an attempt to towards clarity, away from the delusional dreamstate (maya). Through study and practice of the yogic sciences one may be exposed to Tantra (branch of the yogic sciences) particularly the part that involves entheogens (psychoactive substances used in a spiritual context) DMT, mescaline, psilocin/psilocybin, peyote, LSD, etc. Yoga could be considered awareness through suppression whereas Tantra would be considered awareness through indulgence, however the very nature of these types drugs are to stimulation not bring the mind to a stillness, unless one has prepared (physically/vital energy/mentally) through years of disciplined training under the guidance of an experienced practitioner/shamanic who has been cultured through thousands of years of trial and error, drug/meditation experimentation could be extremely dangerous, certainly not recommended for the common persons. If one has not already come to a certain inner space of extraordinary awareness and balance the encounter might become unpredictable, perhaps taking one further instead of closer to reality/Truth, not one step closer towards expansion of consciousness. Recognize it’s not the drugs themselves rather the influence they have upon the mind and subtle energies flowing through ones system and say perchance you do activate or open unprepared energy pathways (nadis) one runs the risk of short circuiting or overloading the nervous system (complications of kundalini rising), whereas the weak minded or easily influenced simply become entangled with the intoxicating/pleasurable side effects of sensory stimulation with the looming possibility of dependency, more suffering.

 

From my experience- I can meditate better sober. But when im stoned it makes me WANT to meditate more.. A little paradoxical