New discovery: Why people smoke weed.

I discovered today why people smoke weed. They smoke it because that the functional state of having ‘taken the edges off’ with pot is an exact replica of the state of true mindfulness.

Lest you believe my discovery of why people smoke weed is an over-generalisation, be aware that it may not apply to you. It only applies to people who smoke weed a lot, all the time, not for medical reasons, and not because they’re insane.

Although, maybe it applies to those people too. Perhaps they can let me know.

There is the inevitable admission to go along with this that yes I have smoked weed. Who hasn’t? (Not many, that’s for sure.) I have smoked it at home, I have smoked it alone, I have smoked it while bushwalking, I have smoked it while doing mundane things. I have also smoked it leaning over the steering wheel of a car, cranking along at 120 kph along the Coorong.**

And I haven’t smoked it since well before I turned 30. I grew out of it; most people do. And of those who continue, they tend to fall into two camps: Those who smoke it for medical relief, and those who have mental health issues. This is my observation of humanity coming into play. I don’t know one person who smokes regularly, and for leisure, who is over the age of 30, who doesn’t have mental health issues. Take from that what you will.

I discovered today that the functional state of having ‘taken the edges off’ with pot is an exact replica of the state of true mindfulness.

It is the state in which you are aware of your body in its entirety. You are supremely focused on doing just one thing, even if that one thing requires you to be dexterous and alert. It is a state of heightened mind, paired with an aware body.

Now, let’s be clear that ‘an aware body’ isn’t just being aware that you exist. It’s knowing, and feeling, exactly what every part of you is doing and feeling, all at the same time – with precision. It’s a situation in which movement also becomes very precise, because you only do what you need to do in order to achieve … whatever it is you are doing.

In my case, I was making a cup of tea.

Importantly, the state of mindfulness – and that state of focus that comes only after having smoked weed – is a state wherein your mind is absent of chatter. Why would you talk to yourself constantly if you are focused entirely on what you are doing? It’s almost impossible to do that; in fact, it’s why so many people advocate mindfulness to start with. Become mindful, stop talking to yourself constantly.

Your mind will take any opportunity to start talking to you again, of course. When the realisation of the connection dawned on me, my mind started jabbering away like an idiot. Of course. I had to calmly file the idea for this article and continue on.

Those new to mindfulness practice get disheartened by the resumption of chatter. It’s silly; better is to recognise when you drop into a state and recreate it as often as possible. Efficient practice of mindfulness helps you to redirect your attention to more important things more easily. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

Once I recognised the state, I actively recreated it while driving. It’s a lot like driving on your own for the first time: Remember just how much attention you paid on that first solo drive?

If you have ever been 100% attentive on something, you will know exactly how much more quickly you get things done, and how much better than usual you did them. This is true for everything from work to sex.

That state of mindful focus is quite amazing. Not only is it a worry-free zone; and not only does it make you uber-efficient; it also makes you feel extremely capable. It enables you to test your physical capabilities on the tiniest scale (how much effort is really necessary to hold an object? Much less than you imagine it does!); it helps you do things with clarity, and skill.

Naturally, these things make you feel good about yourself, too.

I can hear you thinking that it’s just much easier to do if you have drugs to push you there; and if you can be like this a lot, then that’s awesome right?**

I don’t agree. It’s much more satisfying without drugs. If I can get myself to that state by switching my attention, and you have to fart about with illegal substances, pay for it, have all the right paraphernalia, and still have to smoke it and hope it’s any good, then there’s no contest, right?

 

 

** Author’s Note: I don’t condone smoking pot. I am also not a marijuana apologist. I had blissful experiences smoking it, and godawful ones. In fact, I find that those who smoke weed a lot tend to be socially inept and, more often than not, are boring, one-track people who get stuck in a groove and never get out. Having said that, it’s not my issue if you smoke weed – so if you’re thinking I’m having a go at you, that is your big deal, not mine (ahem, paranoid). And if you think I’m advocating it, that’s also your issue and not mine. Take from this post what you will.

2 thoughts on “New discovery: Why people smoke weed.

  1. Um. I know people – quite a few, actually – who are over the age of 30, who smoke dope casually on a regular basis, and do not have mental health issues and are not using it for pain relief.

    1. That’s perfectly fine. I didn’t say my experience was applicable with a paint brush. Each of our social circles is quite different, and I dare say that the outcome has as much to do with how a plant is grown as how susceptible one is to problems. That’s beside the point of the post anyway.

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