Bake: Time to Experiment
This is my favorite chapter in this book because this is the chapter in which you get to learn all about being yourself and discovering what works best for you. While experienced users might already know what their dosage requirements are, we are also going to cover setting up the different aspects of a meditation practice. We won’t just be covering weed in this chapter—we will be exploring several different types of experimentation to set you on your path, headed in the right direction.
While some of you probably already consume cannabis and some of you probably already meditate, this chapter is going to take care of the prep work to combine these two activities together in an organized manner that will help you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually get into the practice.
Before you get into the basics of experimenting with cannabis, you need to start by preparing your tools and setting. Let’s begin with what will become a very important part of your practice, especially during the experimentation process: your journal.
Journal
The journal you use for this practice will be very personal to you. It will contain not only your usage information, but your deeply personnel revelations, feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Whom, if anyone, you choose to share your journal with is up to you. If you do build into a group practice someday, imagine the intimacy you will experience if you and your group members do decide to share your journals with one another. Cannabis use invites intimacy into your life in a truly uninhibited manner. Where you decide to take that is up to you as an individual practitioner of course, but in a group setting, intimacy itself breaks down barriers, allowing for closer, stronger bonds that result in stronger, more powerful magic and workings.
Your journal will, in a way, serve as a Book of Shadows. It should be treated with reverence and honor. Therefore, be sure to show it the respect it deserves. In other words, don’t pick up a notebook from the local discount store. Make this journal something special. I personally love either hand-bound books or leather-covered books, or combinations of the two. I have seen leather-covered binders that allow for the removal and replacement of pages. Whatever works for you and creates a feeling of respect when you look upon it and work with it is the one you should use. You may go through several journals over the course of your practice, but this one will always be your first. This one will document those first moments of intention toward hitting your peak experience. This one will always document the first steps on your journey, and it may indeed be something that you one day feel the need to share with others, perhaps as a partner helping someone on their journey.
Your journal entries should be kept in a chronological order, with each entry dated. Be sure to include information regarding the strain used, THC count, THC-A count, CBD count (if this information is available to you), method of consumption, dosage, and time of consumption. This is all your technical information. (We will discuss this more when we get to dosing.)
Begin your journal by writing out a dedication to your practice. You may want to use something like “I dedicate this journal to the spiritual journey I now embark upon with cannabis as my guide.”
Next, set an affirmation for your practice. Include this in your journal and before each meditation. I use “I grow with each step I take. I learn with each breath. I will bloom and flourish along the way.”
Questions to Write About
Consider these questions and then explore them in the pages of your journal.
1. Why do you want to undertake this practice? What are your expectations?
2. Describe the area in which you will perform your meditations. How does it look now? How will you change it or add to it to make it your perfect meditation location?
3. Do you need to purchase or find anything to complete your area? If so, write out your shopping list.
4. What do you like best about your meditation area?
Setting
The other information you will want to include is what is called “set and setting.”
Your “set” is what you bring into your experience. This includes your beliefs, emotions, and intentions. Your “setting” is the environment in which your experience takes place (Gray 2017, 17).
For our purposes, we want to create the most spiritual set and setting we can. This poses the question of where your sessions will take place. You will need to make sure it is a location in which you will be able to both comfortably meditate and comfortably consume in your chosen manner.
Over the summer, I had a bell tent set up in the yard (until the humidity just got to be too much). This was no ordinary tent, though. It had a circular gray rug, dozens of large meditation pillows, and a memory foam twelve-inch-thick mattress. The bedding and pillows were done in a bohemian pattern of pink, orange, teal, purple, black, and white. It was my haven for a while, and where parts of this book were conceived and written. I was able to smoke without bothering anyone and I could meditate and contemplate and work without anyone bothering me. The breeze and sounds of wind chimes and nature from my two-and-a-half acre wooded yard were precisely what I needed. Unfortunately, we had a particularly wet and hot summer and I needed to pack things up before the humidity did permanent damage. I hope someday to replace the tent with a yurt or cabin instead.
You obviously do not have to go to the extreme of a yurt, or even a tent, but you can if you want! What matters most is that the place you choose is comfortable for you. When you first begin, you will be using a partner, so the ideal location must be able to provide comfort for the both of you, but it does not have to be the ideal location for both of you. You each get to decide what works best for you as an individual.
You also don’t always have to practice in the same location. If you can practice outside, by all means do it! Invest in some decent meditation cushions you can carry to your location. (Just be aware of laws regarding the consumption of cannabis. Don’t get caught consuming somewhere that isn’t legal, or even just being somewhere that isn’t legal). Part of my property is wooded, and I look forward to practicing outdoors in the fall, with the cooler air and the beautiful foliage, often with a small firepit nearby. This would always be my most ideal location, but unfortunately fall only happens for a few weeks out of the year here.
My indoor meditation is done in my yoga/meditation/infrared sauna room. This is my indoor haven. I have different options for my meditation positioning, including several meditation pillows, a “Rama Meditation” chair, a zero-gravity chair, the sauna itself, or just a yoga mat with conveniently placed bolsters. As someone with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, my comfort needs vary by day, so it is important for me to have these different options to help deal with any physical flare-ups.
You need to make sure you do what you need to make the space comfortable for you. If the space works for both you and your partner, that is great, but if it doesn’t that is okay too. You won’t be “taking turns” in the same session. Some people prefer to be indoors, while others only like to meditate outside. I’m lucky enough that I have a place for meditation both indoors and out. Depending on where you live and your living arrangements, you may be confined to one or the other.
If you have land, find a spot that calls out to you. You will want something in the shade, so you don’t have sun glaring into your eyes (even if they are closed, it can be hard to concentrate when it’s bright) and to prevent sunburn. Tall grasses can help hide you from the world and the world from you. Maybe you have a flower garden that will work. Whatever is most comfortable for you will be the best option. Try out different spots in the yard. Take a moment and just sit with your eyes closed. Is the grass too scratchy? Will you need a blanket? Is there a rock poking your hind end? Do what you must to make your location perfect.
If you need to be indoors, then you need to follow pretty much the same steps. Make sure you aren’t in a location where the sun will shine right in your face through a window. Make sure it’s going to give you peace, quiet, and privacy. You want a place that calls calmness, serenity, and tranquility to mind. If you have the space for it, design your own meditation room. Bring in whatever you need to make it comfortable for you: a heater, fan, blankets, pillows. Make this your sanctuary. What do you need to be comfortable? Some people prefer the minimalist approach and like a yoga mat with maybe a neck roll and bolster. Others may prefer the snuggly sinking comfort of a pillow pile. Use your creativity to create a space that is sacred for you. This space needs to require a bit of effort in planning; that doesn’t mean it has to be elaborate, but again, don’t just throw something together. This is the place you want to be when you experience a closeness with Spirit and a oneness with the universe. Make it reflect that.
While designing your space, you will want to take into consideration your seating and lighting arrangements. Some people are more comfortable meditating while seated, others while lying down—just don’t get so comfortable that you end up constantly falling asleep. With the added relaxation of some good ganja, you may end up falling asleep several times in the beginning. It will be up to you and your partner to decide how you want to deal with situations like that, which we will discuss more in a bit.
If you can meditate outside, you will want to sit on the ground as much as possible. You may need to put a blanket or pillow underneath you for comfort, but don’t use a chair if you can help it. If you really do need a chair (trust me, I know how hard getting to and from the ground can be!), try using a zero-gravity chair. Remember your partner can help you with it if necessary. A zero-gravity chair in a reclined position helps keep your body in alignment with the earth. It can also add to the lightweight floating sensation of a high. Otherwise, keep yourself as connected with the earth as possible. Lie down outside if you want, but you will probably need at least a thin pillow under your head, and perhaps a sheet beneath you. Bolsters can help add to outdoor comfort, or even to your indoor setup. If you want a pillow pile outside, then do that. Try a hammock. Whatever it takes to bring you peace and focus in a safe, comfortable location.
When it comes to lighting, there obviously isn’t much you can do about it outside during the day, but if you meditate at night, you may want a lighting source. Candles may not work well outside, depending on the type of candle and how breezy it is, but you can always try lanterns or torches for a glowing fire illumination.
If firelight is not an option, try flashlights with either different colored plastic lenses or different colored lightbulbs. Blue is a very calming color and may help soothe you into your meditation. Color-changing, LED, battery-operated touch lights are easy to transport and can be used for brightness during setup and then tapped into a different color mode to create your desired meditation atmosphere.
Inside you can use just about any type of lighting you want: candles, colored lights, salt or crystal lamps, even lava lamps. All of these can help you set a mood that is peaceful and relaxing, yet still gives you enough light to see so you don’t fall over something while trying to get up or run into a wall trying to find a light switch. Some people do prefer to meditate in complete darkness, but this may not only be a little unsafe, it may also make you fall asleep. Try a blue or violet lighting arrangement to calm yourself, but also to give you enough light to keep things safe. No matter what you use, your lighting should be soft, not glaring.
There are other items, such as statues, plaques, crystals, and gemstones, that you can add to your room or space to help enhance the mood for the meditation you are about to undertake. You may want to change these mood enhancers to correspond more with the meditation you are performing. Nothing is set in stone. You can make these changes whenever you want. Experiment to find out what works best for you.
Music is a key factor to help you get into a meditative state of mind. There are a ton of songs designed specifically for meditations and yoga. Look for albums that have natural music—these are songs with sounds from nature mixed in with the music. I personally love Sequoia Records and Paradise Music.
Some meditations work better with certain types of music, while others work better with other kinds of music. This is going to be up to your own personal taste, but I do recommend building as large a meditation music library as you can, just to give yourself more options. When you listen to a song, think about what it means to you and what the music is saying to you, and then find a meditation that ties in with those same thoughts. You will find perfect combinations this way. Use sites like Pandora or Spotify to help discover new artists and songs.
Candles are good for more than just your lighting. They help set the mood for your meditation. Blue and white candles have calming effects and may help you sink into your meditation more deeply. Purple and white also have spiritual qualities. You may also want to choose colors that correspond in some way to the meditation you are going to perform. (Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kynes is a great reference tool to keep on hand.)
Candles also come in different scents and you may find something that really helps you relax, but also provides light and ambience at the same time. Otherwise, you can burn incense or drip a few drops of essential oil onto a lit charcoal tablet (in a fire-safe container) to release a strong burst of scent into the air. Lavender, frankincense, and patchouli are all meditation favorites, but you will want to experiment with different scents to see what works best for you. Look into the correspondences of different scents to find one that will reinforce the purpose of your meditation. My favorite go-to prepackaged incense is Ganesha from HEM Incense. This scent has been extremely helpful to me in learning to meditate, and since I use it so often, my brain now associates the scent with meditation, providing me with an excellent trigger that helps me slip into a meditative state.
Finally, you can bring in decorations to help enhance your meditation. Pictures or statues of your deities are always a nice addition, along with other representations of nature such as plants, flowers, crystals, or a small water fountain.
Even if you can’t set aside a designated space that is only used for your meditations, find a space you can use and then bring in what you can to make it more special during your sessions. Pack those items up at the end of your session and keep them safe in a nice box or chest. Again, choose something that shows these items are honored for their purpose and the role they play in your spiritual meditative sessions.
As you begin the meditations or as you begin your dosage experimentation, you may find that what you thought would work simply doesn’t, and you may have to make some changes. This is all an experimental process for finding what works for you and what doesn’t. Trial and error are a part of any practice. Simply use what you learn to make your practice better, more comfortable, more complete, and closer to your peak every day.
Dosing
Now that you have your location set up, let’s talk about dosing.
The information available to you will define what kind of specific dosage details you have. I can walk into my dispensary and purchase strains in packaging that contains specific information about their THC and CBD levels. This is information that isn’t available to most small personal growers if they have no methods for testing. That being said, it doesn’t mean you can’t still learn how to dose yourself accurately—even if you don’t know precisely what the dose is.
First, I want to cover cannabis that has analyzed cannabinoid levels. There is also a big misconception I want to cover here. Just because someone uses medical cannabis does not mean they have ever hit a peak experience, or even been high at all. I am in an online medical cannabis support group and asked my fellow group members (a very active group of fifteen thousand people) about their peak experiences and was surprised to see how many knew very little of the spiritual uses of cannabis at all; few had actually achieved their own peak experience. For medical users, the rule of the road is slow and low. Low doses slowly until you learn your tolerance level and where you feel the best. For many, many medical cannabis users, this is as far as they go. They use it to help their conditions and to relieve their pain, not to get high. I can’t tell you how many medical patients I have spoken with who not only haven’t been high, but are scared to even try. This is a big reason why I highly encourage the use of a partner when you are starting out. It’s awesome to have someone there to reassure you throughout the process. It also builds an extreme intimacy because you will find yourself being very open and uninhibited with them. This can be a scary prospect for some people, but the cannabis also helps you face that fear. (More on this when we get to partnering.)
If you know the percentage of cannabinoids and what doses are necessary to help your symptoms without getting high, you know your starting point. That is where you will start your slow and low process from. For example, if you normally vape two hits of a 30 percent THC indica for pain relief, start with three inhalations and go from there. Give your body and mind time to react to the new dose to see how it feels.
It’s important to remember while doing this that different forms of consumption need different amounts of time to take effect. Edibles take longer to have an effect but provide a longer sustained high. This can also vary greatly from person to person. This shows the versatility of the plant itself, as it can and does affect people differently. A strain that might work well for me may make a friend of mine nauseous. The same goes with dosages. The most important lesson of this chapter is that everyone is different, and everyone will be affected somewhat differently. You must learn what works well for you.
If I am looking to hit peak quickly for a short working, either smoking or vaping works best for me. However, if I need to sustain the experience, then I use a combination beginning with an edible, followed by smoking flower, and add a vape when/if necessary for a boost. This is what you will want to aspire to eventually: to know your body and the effects of THC on it well enough that you know what it is you need to hit different levels of “high.”
If you have access to those analysis numbers, this is one way you can keep track of what your journey will require for a successful round trip. Most of the time. I say most of the time because some people do build up a tolerance level depending on how often they use cannabis. This problem can be solved in a few different ways.
First, prevention. Don’t overuse to begin with, then you don’t have to worry about building up a tolerance in the first place. This option is pretty much not in the realm of possibility for medical users, as many of us already deal with tolerance issues and medicate daily out of necessity, not for a high.
Second, rotate strains. Pick out a few different strains that work well for you. Mix them up. Try using each one for only a few days at a time before moving on to a different but similar strain. This has helped me, medically, from getting overly tolerant to one strain and building a resistance to it. It helps with this type of use too.
Three, take a tolerance break. It’s that simple. Don’t use anything for a week or two. Give your body a chance to eliminate some of the THC built up in it. While everyone has their own “remedy” for removing THC from their system, the most efficient manner is … don’t consume any new THC and let your body work it through. Time—that’s all it really takes. You also don’t have to wait for every trace to be gone; you only have to lower your levels enough that a normal dose again has the same effect it once did.
More important than knowing the actual percentages of THC you are consuming is noticing how it feels to you. If you are new to consuming cannabis and are going to smoke flower, you need to make sure you learn how it affects your body and mind every step of the way. This is more of the experimenting you get to do. And you get to do it over and over again before you even combine it with a meditation.
As I’ve stated before, when it comes to dosing, you are going to start low and progress slowly. You also are going to pay very close attention to how each dose makes you feel. For smoking, it’s generally recommended to wait up to twenty minutes in between doses to feel the full effects. That’s all we are going to be concerned with for a while—feeling the full effects of each dose, documenting them, and learning about how cannabis tends to make you feel.
While seasoned users have felt a high or already elicited peak responses from the pipe, virgin users can find the task intimidating. There is a good reason why I want you to ease into a high if you haven’t before, or even if you have, but you’ve had a bad experience in the past and are approaching the act with some trepidation. Cannabis, particularly certain indica blends, can definitely trigger anxiety. If you are already anxious, it can increase that anxiety. While some hybrids do help decrease the chances of anxiety caused by use, beginning your experience already anxious may not give you the best experience. On the other hand, the cannabis may relieve your anxiety! This again all goes back to the importance of going low and slow and documenting along the way.
This is an entirely different way of learning how to get high than what many people have experienced in their lives, the biggest difference really being the intention behind the high. My very first time getting high as a teenager had literally nothing to do with anything spiritual. It was done more to find out what the big fuss was about and to get friends of mine off my back about trying it out. Simple peer pressure. All through high school I had friends that used, but I never did. I was always the clean, sober one who made sure everyone got home safe and sound. I wasn’t a partier, though I went to parties. I wasn’t just a designated driver, I was THE designated driver. So over winter break my senior year, when I finally decided to give in at a party one night, my friends were a bit surprised. Turned out they would also be a bit regretful. After smoking a bowl, with no real set intention whatsoever, I hid my head under a blanket, with my friends laughing at me, until the munchies hit. We went to a local restaurant where I consumed a large Greek salad. I followed that with a piece of triple chocolate cake. After the cake, I decided I was hungry and ate another entire large Greek salad. Followed again by a piece of triple chocolate cake. After three salads and three slices of cake, my friends dragged me out of the restaurant and swore they never wanted to be around me high again. I didn’t get high again for another year. It would take many more years before I actually learned about getting high and setting an intention along with it. So, if you have been getting high for years, but never with a set intention, don’t feel bad! We can work on changing that and opening you to a new world of focus, clarity, peace, intention, Spirit, and, of course, magic.
While you are experimenting with different doses, your biggest tasks are to be aware and to communicate what you experience to your partner. Your partner’s job will be to assist you in maintaining your comfort and your high (when necessary), and to document your feelings, statements, reactions, and so on. Some people may want to film or audio record their sessions, and while this is entirely up to you, I don’t recommend it for several reasons. For one, there is the possibility of legal issues depending on where you live. No need to give anyone unnecessary ammunition. Second, people watching themselves on any type of video is often uncomfortable. You may not like what you see, and this may leave you with another wall to bring down. Third, being filmed may leave you feeling somewhat vulnerable, therefore not being able to fully let go and give in to the high. Fourth (yes, I have a few reasons!), it’s impersonal. This is an intimate journey between you and Spirit, being documented by your partner. Keep it sacred. The less technology involved the better. While you may need technology for things like lighting and sound, let’s draw the line there.
Because cannabis is different for everyone, you must know yourself to know what you need and what works best for you. I cannot emphasize this enough. The only way to get to know what works best for you is to experiment and find out.
At the end of the chapter we will go over specific exercises on dosage experimentation, along with how a session should be recorded. Right now, let’s take a little break from reading and answer a few more journal questions.
Journaling Questions
1. What is your “set”? What are your views on and experiences with using cannabis? How were you raised to view cannabis? How have your views changed now? Are you just beginning to use? Medical patient? Long-term consumer? Are you nervous? Are you excited to begin your journey?
Take some time to really think about your answers. Try to be as specific as you can be about what you think and feel about the experience at this time. It will be interesting to look back on in the months and years to come.
2. If you are a regular or experienced user, tell the story of how you came to use and when. What were the views of society about cannabis at that time? If you are new, what brought you to this point in your life?
3. If you are a regular user, what is your normal consumption on a weekly/daily basis?
Partners
Even if you are an experienced user, I highly encourage you to use the partner system. I have met and known “stoners” my entire life who have quite literally spent decades high, and many of those people have not used cannabis as a spiritual tool or to connect with others or with Spirit. In fact, many of them use it as a form of escape, but don’t make the full journey to escape from the body but still connect with the mind. To those who have used for spiritual and connection purposes, you may still want to use the partner system; your input would be invaluable to a beginner. Partners do not have to be teachers, but should be able to feel comfortable in a supportive role. The issues that need support in each partnership can vary greatly. If one person has experience with consumption and the other with meditation, obviously they can work to help each other out. But you may be in a situation in which neither of you has consumed or meditated, or both have done one, but not the other. You may even find yourself wanting to work with different partners somewhere down the line to see what you can learn from and teach each other. For now, you will need to find a partner you want to work with to begin your journey.
Your partner is your confidant. You will want to make a lot of considerations before you choose your partner. While your partner does not have to be someone who wants to use cannabis for meditation, they do need to be 100 percent supportive of YOU using it. If you cannot find a truly equal partner—one for whom you can perform the same tasks as they do for you—then a nonuser is the second best option. And who knows, maybe learning from your experiences will change their mind and make them decide it is something they would like to pursue further.
Our culture has demonized cannabis for so long that it is difficult to totally throw aside the lies and propaganda and the stigma that has gone along with it. More and more people are opening their eyes and their minds to the possibilities of cannabis, though, so your experiences may have a positive influence on others. You may also find that some of the people you might like for your partner are stuck in a situation where they want to overcome fear but would rather watch someone else take those first steps. If you are comfortable with a situation like that, by all means, go ahead. But also remember that the intimacy you experience, the oneness you experience, will not fully be comprehensible to your partner. They will not experience what you experience, so they also won’t be capable of true understanding.
What other qualities should your partner have? They must be trustworthy to you. They must be aware. They must be committed—learning dosages can take a while, and you don’t want someone who isn’t going to have the patience to stand by you and wait. They should be discreet—I’m going to assume you don’t want someone who is going to be blabbing your business all over Facebook. Your partner may be a spouse, significant other, close friend, coven or other group member, or maybe just someone else who wants to experiment too. The important aspect is you must have trust with this person. If you are in a position where the only people who are supportive of this practice are people you don’t know that well, spend some time getting to know them! In today’s world, we want everything right now, now, now. In the word of cannabis, “now” has an entirely different feeling to it, which you will soon realize. Relationships and spiritual practices both take time to build, and it’s time well invested to bring about peace of mind to the practitioner. Build relationships with people who are supportive of your journey.
They must be able to understand that they need to not only pay attention to what you say and tell them, but to observe your nonverbal actions. They must be able to provide comfort in the case of anxiety issues, nausea, or a bout of depression. These are the things people who have not gotten high tend to worry about. Your partner is there to assuage your fears, to provide support and comfort, and to document everything. Let your partner know what you will want and need from them. You may need a bit of coaxing to discuss your feelings; let your partner ask you questions as you go to help increase communication and the flow of information. If there is a problem—perhaps you feel nauseous—they should stay on top of it and make sure the feeling has passed. As you get deeper into the high, your inhibition may drop, making it easier to convey your feelings, but the higher you get, you might also need to be reminded that you actually need to open your mouth and speak in order for your partner to hear you. While you may feel this incredible connection to the universe, your partner won’t be able to read your mind!
Don’t let any of this scare you; the documentation and awareness aren’t because something bad may happen. It’s simply so you can learn about yourself in relation to cannabis use so that you can have peaceful, stress-free, meaningful meditations. Once you learn about yourself, your needs, and your limits, you can fully experience and enjoy the benefits this plant has to offer.
While some reading this may think, “Geesh lady, lighten up, we don’t need partners, we just need to smoke,” please realize that with the introduction of legal medical cannabis to some states, there are a LOT of people who have literally never used before. With more and more states having recreational legalization, there will be even more people willing to try. I know it may seem very fun and easy for many people, but there are also many people who have been brought up to believe weed is simply evil and will hurt you or make you do crazy things, and even though that stigma is being attacked from all sides, it can still be a scary experience for some people. For those who are seasoned users, it’s your job to help others who are interested in seeking out the benefits of this wonderful plant.
Session One
How far and how long you decide to go in each session is going to be completely up to you, but for this first session, I recommend setting a good two hours aside to “work,” with time afterward for “recovery.”
Decide with your partner what course of action you would like them to take if you fall asleep—in other words, do they let you sleep it off, let you have a bit of a nap, or wake you up? This is a personal decision and up to you. What you do today you don’t have to do the next time either. For your first session, you may want to just sleep it off, but again, completely up to you.
To prepare for your session you will need:
• Your partner
• Cannabis and whatever equipment you need to use it
• Your journal
• A notebook for your partner
• Writing utensils
• Drinking water
• A small bowl with coffee grounds or lemon zest OR a bottle of lemon essential oil
• Your prepared location (including proper lighting, seating, music, blankets, pillows—whatever you need to be comfortable)
Turn your music on and relax. You may want to perform some quick and easy breathing techniques such as slow and deeply held breaths, or even do a few yoga postures, such as child’s pose or shavasana. Use the affirmation you wrote in your journal. If you use my earlier example, that would be I grow with each step I take. I learn with each breath. I will bloom and flourish along the way.
This can easily be turned into a slow hypnotic chant or song to help focus your mind to a spiritual working.
Remember earlier I mentioned set and setting? The location you have prepared is your setting, the “set” is your mindset. Cannabis simply works best when you allow it to work. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? But it isn’t always. I still often find my mind fighting against me when I’m trying to get to sleep at night. Being an insomniac for decades, it can be very difficult for me to quiet my mind enough at night to allow the cannabis to do its job. If you fight the effects, they won’t be the same as if you allow them to happen. Kick back in your setting, relax, and try your best to focus your mind on how you are feeling. This will also help block out other thoughts. For new users, this can be very difficult. I learned not to fight it in a rather bizarre way, one that had far more to do with my dentist than consuming cannabis.
Have you ever had nitrous oxide (aka laughing gas)? Being one of those people who freak out at the dentist, nitrous oxide is my friend, but it wasn’t the first few times I used it. My natural instinct was to fight the effects of the gas, as I felt like I was suffocating. I wasn’t, of course; it was panic, and I was doing it to myself. Once I learned to let the gas work and to “sink” into it, I found my dentist trips to be much easier to deal with. The first few times I used cannabis at all, I had no idea what I was doing. Sure, I had a little buzz, but I definitely had no clue how to enjoy it. When I began using it for pain relief, there was still so much anxiety—I was in massive pain and literally didn’t know if I was going to live or die. I was highly paranoid that the doctors must know more than what they were telling me, because they were telling me they knew nothing about the infection I had somehow contracted. I was paranoid at even having cannabis in my home. I was scared half to death of what people would think if they found out. (And now I’m sitting here writing a book about it!) I was stressed to my limits. It took a while for me to allow the cannabis to ease my nerves along with easing my pain. It took even longer to be able to allow myself to enjoy it and then explore the possibilities.
When you are ready, go ahead and begin your dosing. Your partner (or you) will have written down the time, dosage, method of consumption, strain information, and whatever other details you have available to you to record. Your partner can use just a regular notebook to record your session, and as you review the notes, you can transfer them to your journal and make any edits or additions as necessary.
If you are an old pro or a medical user, you already have an idea of what it is going to take to get you high, but I want you to follow along with this exercise and still have your partner record your observations. Chances are you probably haven’t focused this much on the process before, and it is interesting to go back later to see what patterns your usage may form, and to really focus in on what you feel and what you experience. You aren’t just getting high for the fun of it, you are getting high to make a spiritual connection. How this plays out is partially dependent on how your body responds.
After each dose, allow some time for it to work. Mentally scan your body. What do you feel? Speak out loud so your partner can record your thoughts.
If you are using something like a vape, the effects can be almost instantaneous. I have seen several people who are occasional to frequent flower smokers be very surprised to see how fast a vape could hit them. Not to mention, the percentages on vapes are increasing all the time. When I began writing this book, 30 percent THC was the norm here in Illinois for medical vapes. Now, just a few months later, 70–80 percent THC is available from the same companies. Until just recently, I generally found flower to work faster for me, but now because some of the vape oils are so high in THC, I have a quicker reaction to them. Again, each person is different and so are the effects.
Seasoned users may not need as much time between doses. Just be sure you are fully exploring and communicating exactly how your body and mind feel. New users, feel free to take your time. It’s not a race. After taking a dose, exploring, and communicating, go ahead and take your second dose. Your partner will record the time of each dose.
At some point, there are several different common side effects you may feel. Some are positive, some not so much, but be sure to convey these to your partner. You may find a pattern in how you experience them. These common side effects include a case of the giggles, a smile that won’t quit, sexual arousal, the feeling of pins and needles or a light electrical flow through your body, forgetfulness, cotton mouth, nausea, and munchies. These side effects will also vary depending on the strain you use.
When you are ready for a third dose, go ahead. In this first session you are not looking to hit a peak experience, just a decent high. You can go further in your next session. For a new user, it may take quite a few sessions before hitting a peak experience.
You may be wondering why I said to have some lemon zest or oil or coffee grounds on hand. In case you feel like you have taken too much, the terpenes in lemon and coffee may help “bring you down” when you inhale their scent. Experiment with this a little to see if it works for you. Terpenes are the oils in the plants that give the strains their different scents and flavors. In some states, working with terpenes has become very popular and they are able to use terpenes extracted directly from the cannabis in cooking. In other states, like where I live, this is still a dream.
New users may be completely good in their first session with just two or three doses. This should be enough to get a high going for a newer or never-before user. Vaping, again, may take even less. While there are many different ways to use cannabis, some, such as dabbing, are more complex and should be left to those with more experience.
This first session is a mere introduction to cannabis itself and the overall process of setting up your location and working with a partner.
Journal Exercise
When your session is complete and you are ready, take some time to record the thoughts and feelings you have now about the process, what it was like, what you remember. Do this before you read your partner’s notes, so you can compare your own recollections to what was previously documented. This is important not only to see what you remember, but to see how well you are communicating to your partner, and how well they are receiving your message. Include anything from your partner’s notes, such as dosage information and any other notes they made. Your first time is over. If you were nervous, write about how you feel now that it’s over. Was it anything like what you expected? What sensations did your body experience? What thoughts came to mind? Document everything you can.
Subsequent Sessions and Peak Experiences
Some people are only going to need a few sessions to hit a peak experience, while others may take several. Feel free to move at your own pace, but still commit to pushing yourself a little further along in each session. If you find you have any problems arise, use your next session to try to work around those issues. Commit different sessions to different strains until you find yourself comfortable with a few different varieties and confident about how you will react to them.
Again, new users may want to take a slower road that includes several sessions before going for a peak experience, while others may feel ready sooner—either is fine as long as you are comfortable with what you are doing.
Before working toward a peak experience, spend some time simply enjoying the high. Give yourself several sessions of this. You can always come back to this at other times when you need to unwind and relax, so learn now how to get yourself into that “happy place.” Know what it does for your body and the joy it brings your soul.
Once you have given yourself a chance to simply enjoy the high, it’s time to learn how to use it to expand your awareness and mindfulness.
Dussault tells us in Ganja Yoga that “energy flows where awareness goes. If you pay attention to the high, you’ll amplify it, creating an even more open, expansive state of awareness” (Dussault 2017, 63).
Pay close attention to your senses. For me, the first noticeable sign of hitting a peak experience is how suddenly my hearing seems to be far better than normal. Normally, it kind of sucks and I often find myself asking my husband to turn up the TV. Not when I’m really high!
In the summer, sitting out on my deck at night is one of my favorite times to hit a peak experience. My skin begins to tingle all over as I can feel my hearing kick into high gear. The sounds of my backyard at night are just incredible. It would be about impossible for me to not feel the close connection to nature that I do on those nights. Crickets, frogs, owls, bats, and other critters of the night create a symphony of music with their calls to one another. Being out in a rural area, the main light sources are the moon and stars, so it can get pretty dark. However, it also offers a spectacular view of those stars, and shooting stars can be seen with an abundance I had not known was possible before moving to my current home. It is one of the few ways I am able to relax and feel completely at peace, at least on a temporary basis, until my peak experience wears off.
Once you learn how to be aware and mindful in your high, you will then be able to push through the final barrier to hit your peak experience. When you realize that your awareness and mindfulness have connected you to Spirit, you have hit the peak.
While it may feel different to different people, one thing that all peaks do have in common is the feeling of the spiritual awareness of your surroundings.
When I am indoors, I need my background music to help take me to a peak. For me, my meditative state is extremely dependent upon what I am hearing. It is far more difficult for me to meditate or hit a peak experience without sound. Some people need silence to meditate, so this too is going to be something you need to experiment with to see what works best for you. Even the volume can help or hinder your journey, so do keep that in mind. I have a very specific level of music I prefer—not too loud as to be overly distracting, but loud enough that I can feel myself get lost in the sound. I also use music to help me sleep at night, but that is at a lower volume, so even though I medicate before bed, generally in high doses, the music is far more “white noise” and not at the level I like to get lost in when hitting a peak experience. Very similar dosing to what I would use for a peak experience, but the music helps anchor me and focus my energy into going to sleep instead. As an insomniac, it really does take me focusing on sleep to actually get there. It is very difficult to describe to people who either don’t have that problem or are the exact opposite—narcoleptic and can’t stay awake. Cannabis has helped me add an average of three hours of sleep a night to my life. However, because the dosing for a peak experience and sleep are so similar for me, it’s easy to see why you need to experiment a bit to see what works for you. I kept falling asleep when trying to meditate, until I turned the sound on my music up and discovered the difference that made for me.
I realized this when I was outside one night meditating under the stars. I was astounded by how loud it seemed out in my backyard. I even thought maybe it just seemed that loud because I was stoned and I knew how it helped me fine-tune my hearing. So I pulled out my phone and just started recording in the dark. Turns out it was loud—it wasn’t just me. I figured if it being so loud outside worked out well for me, I would try turning up the volume a bit inside, which of course ended up with positive results.
I hear people say all the time that they can’t meditate, they can’t quiet their mind, but meditation isn’t necessarily all about quieting the mind. It’s about focusing the mind, and cannabis helps even those of us who often feel like a complete scatterbrain to tone things down, once we learn how to use it most effectively for our needs.
Meditating does not come easy for many people, but cannabis can and does provide a magical boost to help you on your path.
When you do first hit a peak experience, you will know. You may have an overwhelming sense of awareness, of joy. You may feel that all things are connected to one another, yourself included. The feeling of true oneness with the universe. You may cry tears of gratitude and love. You may simply sit in awe. You may do all of these things at the same time, or one after another. But you will know.
I go through a particular pattern; it may vary slightly from time to time, but for the most part it follows this order:
1. Hearing intensifies
2. Warm, electric flush starts at the top of my head and flows down my body all the way to my toes
3. Massive power surge and intensified heat in the chakras
4. Cotton mouth
5. Nausea
6. Spinning
7. Sinking (This sinking is sudden, like a drop landing. I land in my sacred space.)
8. Floating in my sacred space
9. Another massive power surge in the chakras, followed by white spinning light in all of them. As this happens, I am able to send my energy out all around me, to share and blend with anyone I invite in. Their energy is then able to be shared and blended with mine.
Some of these things aren’t fun; however, the cotton mouth and nausea do not always happen. Even if they do, they are a signal for me to push through to the peak that is coming. Yes, I have hurled a few times. You might too, but once your body gets more used to it, this will happen less often. Often these negative side effects happen to me for one of two reasons. It may be that I am using a new strain that I’m not as used to. The other reason is that I’m not allowing myself to let go enough. I have to remind myself to follow cannabis into the high and beyond and not try to lead it. Cannabis guides you to your sacred space and then allows you to take over. Fighting it will often induce negative side effects. If hitting a peak was easy, everyone would already be doing it. It’s not easy, but don’t let that scare you off. Anything worth having is worth working for. Once you are able to hit your own peak, you will quickly realize the effort was worth it.
There are also documented benefits to hitting peak experiences. According to Ferrara,
researchers at John Hopkins found that all participants in whom peak-experiences were elicited, including novices and experienced meditators, gained a heightened sense of personal well-being generally accompanied by altruistic feelings toward others, greater aesthetic appreciation, increased sensitivity and creative thinking, and a broad-minded tolerance of others’ viewpoints and values … As should be evident from the investigation the milder and gentler cannabis plant offers access to many of the therapeutic benefits of stronger entheogens, and most notably when combined with concentrated activities (such as meditation, contemplative prayer, chanting, or other such exercise) to actualize self-transcendence (Ferrara 2016, 105).
Imagine living in a world where this was the norm instead of what we have today. We can make the world like this, even if only in our own circles. It’s up to us.
We have covered quite a bit in this chapter, so now I’m going to turn you loose for a bit. Your assignment is to do another twelve sessions with your partner. Each time, be sure to record your dosing information and your reactions. By pushing yourself a little further each time, you should be able to hit a peak experience at least a couple of times within your twelve sessions. Be sure to document everything about it. Do they feel the same to you each time? What differences are there? How do they make you feel? These experiences will probably feel miraculous to you, and that is just the beginning. Next, we are going to work on some meditation basics, and then finally we will get to combine the two practices together.