Cannabis is often used for many things; medicine, ceremonial and/or for fun. We can allow the Cannabis to do whatever it wants without any thought or intention behind it or we can have an experience using an intention that can create a whole new experience with the cannabis plant.
Cannabis as many know is feminine. She is part of mother nature and of course when working with cannabis, can see and feel her feminine essence. We can look at the intentions we set as the masculine. The seed that we plant which is then carried out by the feminine. This then brings a balance of polarities in to harmony.
My intention for this post, is to share how one can go about using intentions with cannabis to get as much out of their experience as possible which can alter the course of their life. Either through healing or whatever the plant shows us which can shift our perception and perspective on the world and the stories we tell. Creating a whole new version of self and life.
I have used intentions many times for my cannabis experience which I will share some of what came from it below. Which is what sparked me to write this blog post. I will also cover how to work with anxiety and paranoia while using cannabis.
How To Set Intentions:
One of the first things I suggest is know your limits. You do not want to smoke more than what you are comfortable with. I also suggest being in a place you feel safe in or comfortable. Whether that be at home, with friends or out in the woods. This is mostly so you can be more aware of what is taking place once you take cannabis.
Also, if you can, use a strain that works for you. It doesn't matter if you use a sativa, hybrid or indica. I personally use indica or indica dominant hybrid as its what works best for me but whatever works better for you use that.
When you are ready, say or think of the intention you would like to experience with the cannabis plant. I have said "I want to have a spiritual experience". You can also say "Show me what you want me to know right now." Have this intention in mind when you are smoking cannabis or whatever form you take it in. Then surrender. Surrender completely to the experience and be aware of what is being shown to you through the duration of your experience. Do not judge what comes up as there will be a significance to what is shown.
Things that can come up:
-You can be shown a bunch of new perspectives on an issue you have been having, breaking you free from what you once felt stuck in
-Giving you a full body sensation of bliss
-Showing you what you're holding on to using paranoia and anxiety (I will touch on this below)
-Healing trauma or childhood wounds releasing it completely
There are a number of experiences one can have. Its about being open to the cannabis, fully understanding that what is coming up or being shown is what you've asked for and needed at that time.
My Profound Healing Experience:
I wanted to share one of the most profound experiences I had using intentions. An experience that totally changed and healed me.
I used the intention "I want to have a spiritual experience" and I left it at that. Smoked my cannabis and off she went...
To give you a quick back story for this to make sense and to show how powerful using intentions can be, I have to first let you know something about my childhood up until adult life.
Since I was born I was always around alcohol. Alcohol was no stranger. Parties were a regular thing. Bars were a regular thing. When my grandmother was a bartender, at a young age (around 8 and 9) me and my sister would visit her while she was working. For a good chunk of time from 18 years old up until April 2015 at the age of 33 I also drank having my first sip at 10 at a family party. I was fully aware of the different stages of drinking alcohol and what it does and can do. I've witnessed a lot from a young age. One of the things that triggered me the most throughout my life was sloppy drinking. or what many refer to as "sloppy drunks". Even though I had a tendency to drink a lot at one time, get drunk, throw up and keep drinking. But it was where they are falling all over the place, can not stand up and just completely belligerent. Even seeing videos online would trigger an anger response. This was something I was working on healing for years.
Fast forward to the night I set the intention to have a spiritual experience. I was smoking a joint with my sister outside on some steps (we live in California where its legal both medically and recreationally). It was an infused joint with kief all around it. The strain was called Watermelon Z which was an indica. I took about 4 big puffs and told my sister I should go in because I was starting to feel it. As I went to stand up, all of a sudden I got extremely light headed and dizzy. I went to sit back down, and all of a sudden my shoulder fell against the wall and I was out unconscious.
It was from that point where the magic started to happen. Being out, I was completely conscious of my unconscious self. I was observing everything. My body was completely sedated. I could not move. There was no part of me that could move. My sister was standing there with me not knowing what to do as I was laying against the wall on the stairs. I remember her telling me "Erica, can you please move or do something? There are people coming and you look like you're passed out drunk." I could not move or do anything for that matter, yet I was aware of people walking by and my sister standing there even though I was out. The part of me that was observing the whole thing knew immediately what this intention was showing me for when I became conscious again.
The experience I had was exactly how I saw those who got belligerently drunk. I was in no different of a situation just a different substance and circumstance.
Eventually I came around about 30 minutes later (not entirely sure on the time but it was a while) and I walked back in to the apartment the best I could. I was literally whipping my body down with a cloth as it was covered in sweat from passing out. I said to my sister as soon as I could with my eyes wide open "ITS GONE!!!!!!!!". That experience completely healed my relationship with alcohol and the triggers that came with it. When I say its gone, since then I have seen videos and have not gotten triggered once. There is zero reaction within my body. I have zero judgments on it and I feel completely neutral to it all.
That was one of the most profound experiences I had using cannabis using intentions. I have also had other amazing experiences like full body bliss and just seeing things from a completely new perspective allowing me to shift.
How To Work With Paranoia And Anxiety:
One of the things to understand is that cannabis is an amplifier. It will show you what is already inside you. Can certain strains just not be right for you? Yes. But if every strain you try produces paranoia or anxiety, its something within you to look at and not cannabis or the strain itself. Yes, some people can not take cannabis for many different reasons but this post is for those that can but just might need to make some adjustments.
I tend to remember what paranoia or anxiety I had when using cannabis. This allowed me to address it when I wasn't smoking cannabis. This is what you can do before consuming cannabis.
What I have found personally, is whenever I would have anxiety or paranoia it was always linked to the feeling of guilt or like I was "doing something wrong." I have smoked for many years and not every experience resulted in paranoia or anxiety. When I first started smoking cannabis at 21, I smoked with friends while I was living in New York State where it was illegal and me and my friend while high asked a police officer where something was. Even then I wasn't freaking out. And you would think that would do it.
Going within I addressed why I felt guilty or why I felt I was doing something wrong. When we know the why, we will be shown or come up with solutions to help our experience better.
For example, the times I got paranoid the most was either when I was smoking outside in daylight or felt if others could smell it they would complain. Of course there were also spiritual concerns. So what I decided to do was go out later in the day or when it was dark and let myself know that everything is OK. It has always been OK. We can always make adjustments. Like going out later or seeing what may work better for us. There is always a solution. You will know what is best for you because you will feel more at ease within. Understanding that neither paranoia or anxiety are real but merely made up. Made up from the vibration of fear. Remove the fear, and you won't have it.
Ask yourself questions on the why. Then you will get an answer from within when you're listening. Guiding you to the best case scenario.
I also want to add, our beliefs are powerful. If you believe you will be fine smoking cannabis, and you truly believe that, you will have a great experience and will be fine. If you go in to it feeling like "oh no, what if I have anxiety or paranoia again?" that too will be your experience. This is why mindfulness in all areas of our lives including our relationship with cannabis is important.
To conclude, find out what the anxiety and paranoia is showing you. What exactly are you paranoid or have anxiety over? Bringing awareness to it, can help release it. It can also help you make adjustments and reprogram going in to it in a much better mindset.
I would love to hear any experiences you may have had by using intentions. Of course, we can always just let cannabis do whatever its going to do by working her magic which she always does. But we can also add to that experience with some direction. Having that yin and yang experience.
Hope you found this post helpful and/or enjoyable. Thank you for reading and happy smoking, eating, vaping or all of the above. :)
~Erica
