A part of my religion is Illegal

[InIRoots]

Hello

I am glad to be a new member here at thegodforums

I have always had a very open mind, and I have always been a beleiver in god, allah, rama, jah, jehovah, whatever you call him {it?}. I believe that religion is something that has the potential to save the human race if used how it was meant to be used. I was raised christian and still love the core message of Christ's teachings, but I also beleive the other religions of the world have much to teach me aswell. I also feel that there is alot wrong with the society that we live in. I have always been a believer in meditation, and control of the enlightened conscience. This brings me to the title of this topic. I use marijuana as a natural aid to my meditation, and for the spiritual potential that I truely found that this plant has. It is something that is very hard for many people to understand, or accept because of how the plant is portayed in this conservative society of ours. However it is what I believe, and I know Im not the only one who feels this way. The advice I seek is how to continue practicing my way of meditation while dealing with the stress, and depression that follows with being an outlaw and the possiblity getting in legal trouble.


Thanks,

InIRoot

[dvnt]

Welcome to the forum.

It seems I'm your antithesis. I worry that if humanity does not mature out of religion soon we are in danger of destroying our selves.

As or knowledge and understand of the universe around us grows so does our utilization of that knowledge - our technology. In a split second we can unleash more energy than has been produced by all the bombs in all the wars of human history. Yet, our progression in civility has not grown as exponentially.

Today we live in a world where Pro-Totalitarians (they call themselves pro-life, a disgusting offense of intellect) like the person who murdered Dr. Tiller in Kansas walk up to people who disagree with them, put a gun to their head, pull the trigger, and then go into court with the defense, "Only god has the right to take a life."

We do not apply second amendment rights to minors because they lack the ability to understand the responsibility of gun ownership. I fear that we make the same mistake daily, moving forward with research and technology that has the power to redefine humanity, while remaining in the bleak and childish social discourse of the dark ages brought about by the undeserved legitimacy that is given to religiosity every day.

You should be ashamed of harboring such fantasies, forsaking a greater understanding that can bring about necessary social progress.

Your situation is profound in it's irony. The prohibition of cannabis use goes hand in hand with the same superstitious and dogmatic framework of mind that manifests your belief in divinity and the supernatural.

The religions of the world do have much to teach us, though I suspect we both have this belief for different reasons. All religions work exactly the same way because they are all a manifestation of the same insecurities -- insecurities that we have a profoundly greater ability to reflect on in the 21st century.

The "spiritual potential" of cannabis is quite a dubious notion to entertain. Cannabis has psychoactive chemicals that effect the organ of the body which gives you your consciousness and identity. Every feeling you have, whether science can quantify it today or not, is a manifestation of physiological processes. I submit that if one can experience spirituality by altering their brain chemistry then one should seriously question where this feeling of spirituality comes from in the first place.

Though my post is strident in tone and intent, I welcome you none the less. We share more in common than you know.

[Zenith]

Hello

I am glad to be a new member here at thegodforums

I have always had a very open mind, and I have always been a beleiver in god, allah, rama, jah, jehovah, whatever you call him {it?}. I believe that religion is something that has the potential to save the human race if used how it was meant to be used. I was raised christian and still love the core message of Christ's teachings, but I also beleive the other religions of the world have much to teach me aswell. I also feel that there is alot wrong with the society that we live in. I have always been a believer in meditation, and control of the enlightened conscience. This brings me to the title of this topic. I use marijuana as a natural aid to my meditation, and for the spiritual potential that I truely found that this plant has. It is something that is very hard for many people to understand, or accept because of how the plant is portayed in this conservative society of ours. However it is what I believe, and I know Im not the only one who feels this way. The advice I seek is how to continue practicing my way of meditation while dealing with the stress, and depression that follows with being an outlaw and the possiblity getting in legal trouble.


Thanks,

InIRoot

Maybe if you stopped using mind altering drugs you would realise that religion is a crock. Maybe it's the drugs that are causing your depression and your paranoid delusions of being an outlaw. I do know what I am talking about as I smoked marijuana for years.

Interesting that you bring this up as in Ireland where I am from there are 'Head SHops' opening up everywhere selling 'Legal' highs. Here is a link to a small article http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0126/head.html

[jonnblaze624]

I also use marijuana. It is not a mind altering drugs if anything it gives you a more heightened sense of things. I admit that it's not so much medicinal as it is for concentration for me.

[Zenith]

Some side effects of marijuana.

# Impaired perception
# Diminished short-term memory
# Loss of concentration and coordination
# Impaired judgement
# Increased risk of accidents
# Loss of motivation
# Diminished inhibitions
# Increased heart rate
# Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
# Hallucinations
# Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
# Increased risk of cancer
# Psychological dependency

All of the above effect the mind which makes marijuana a mind altering drug.

[jonnblaze624]

That study was probably done by firstime smokers or weak minded people I've been smoking since, let's just say almost a decade. I don't suffer from any of the side effects listed

[dvnt]

Some side effects of marijuana.

# Impaired perception
# Diminished short-term memory
# Loss of concentration and coordination
# Impaired judgement
# Increased risk of accidents
# Loss of motivation
# Diminished inhibitions
# Increased heart rate
# Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
# Hallucinations
# Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
# Increased risk of cancer
# Psychological dependency

All of the above effect the mind which makes marijuana a mind altering drug.

Come on Zenith, I expected better from you; especially since you said that you've tried the stuff yourself before.

You can attribute most of the things on that list to far less nefariously stigmatized substances and/or pass-times: alcohol, tobacco, TV, video games, golf, gambling. Some of them just aren't true.

There is no solid evidence that it damages reproductive or immune systems. Unless I'm mistaken or the studies are illegitimate (which they very well may be) there is evidence that the active psychoactive chemical in cannabis, THC, actually inhibits the growth and distribution of cancer cells around the body. Of course there are carcinogens, it's smoke, but you've inhaled carcinogens with essentially every breath you've ever taken. There very well may be a higher incidence of susceptibility to becoming the host of something nasty; again, it's smoke, it's damaging your soft mucus tissues. There is no evidence I'm aware of that it actually decreases your bodies ability to fight off infection.

I'm not saying it's a smart idea to smoke cannabis, but it's a far safer means of altering your mind than alcohol. I think it's entirely unreasonable for it to be any more stigmatized or legally prohibited. IMO, the most unfortunate thing about it is that it's sold on a black market and if you wish to partake you may be contributing to some less than savory individuals. There's a solution for that which is as obvious as it is effective.

[blykokotov]

i agree dvnt....weed is WAY safer the alcohol...so if thats legal so should weed be.....but if you practice a elightened mind set then your need for weed wouldbe none...it would simply be something you are doing at the moment...and if you got in trouble that wouldnt change anything....you would simply be happy with what ever it is you are doing at the moment.......so from the elightened stand point you have two ways around this situation....either just do it and not worry about getting caught because all that is is audio and visual stimulants that create a adverse reaction with the chemicals in your body causing you to have negative effects ( thepoint of enlightenment is to realize that and thus not let it effect you)....or since you arefollowing that ideal then you shouldstop smoking because it has such a negative effect and by doing that you would become closer to your "self" and advance in you enlightened road...i dont think that the deep "enlightenment" is the answer though....its simply another way of thinking....but its all thinking...and you can never truely excape your "unconsious" because its just you thinking....changingwhat you think about changes nothing...it might make you a happier person and all...but just like religion...its just something different....theres no such thing as right or wrong....nor is there such thing as perfection, because there is nothing to base perfection on...just the best ofwhat we have/know now....so using your enlightened stance...there should be no problems...ever...with anything.......i love weed myself:-)

[InIRoots]

Wow, I havent checked this in a while,

As i expected I would get alot of posts claiming that my feelings toward the perception of life that when used right, cannabis can bring. It can at times make me feel as if closed minded soceity is right, and the experiance of seeing ones true self is simply drug induced, just an illusion not real even though it is what I see as the truth, right there in front of me. Fortunatly though I know that i am by far not the only person who feels this way. What about the Rastafari who smoke herb and reason to reach a peacefull solution to a problem, and to aid in their understanding of themselves, and of the bible, and their religion? Or what about the Sadhus of india, who honor shiva by smoking charas (hashish) daily in order to reach a more enlightened state? If any of you were smart, you would know what an enteogen is, and how they have been used by every culure throught all of history since the beinning of the concept of god (which is love) himself.

As for what people know about cannabis, 90% is either a lie, myth, or stereotype, spread by the government and people ingorent of what marijuana really is.

Honestly before judging me, and jumping to conclusions, you should better understand the subject instead of broadly speculating that my beliefs are illusions just as many people think that your own beliefs are mere "illusions"