A Beginner's Guide to Be a More Mindful Cannabis User
There’s nothing new about mindfulness. The idea is older than psychology, older than medicine, and older than Western culture. As far as anyone knows, it dates to when Sati and Sanskrit were universal languages.
Buddhism has a mindfulness tradition, and now Western culture has embraced it. Cannabis has attached itself to mindful thinking, and it’s worth considering how mindfulness can help you.
A beginner’s guide to being a more mindful cannabis user —
Mindfulness is a condition, state of mind, and body, means and end, and much more. It’s hard to translate original terms, so it has come to mean many versions of the same thing.
Mindfulness describes the behavior of being aware of the moment. It asks you to purge yourself of past and future preoccupations, remember to be aware, and find your way to mindfulness through meditation.
Start with meditation —
1. According to mindfulness.org, you start “by first learning to observe simple processes such as the breath (as outlined above) and the feelings in our physical body. From the outset, this simplification and focusing of mental tasks slows the mind and allows it to relax, engendering immediate stillness and calm.”
With practice, usually in group sessions, you develop skills in observation and core body/mind sensations. You can focus on walking, stretching, exercising, and other basic physical processes as you progress.
2. At some point in your confidence, you will start to observe mental impressions of things nearby. You ask how they impress you, what they mean, and how you feel about them.
Eventually, you can turn that focus inward to observe and evaluate your mood and emotions. Labeling them is not enough if you can assess and appreciate them. You may notice the emphasis on observation—not analysis.
3. Mindfulness is a focus on how your mind works. This stems from and contributes to a greater sense of self-awareness.
It may begin with reflection, a withdrawal from the stresses of daily life. Reflection precedes meditation, leading to mindfulness. Meditation works best when the mind and body have relaxed with reflection and calm.
4. Calming, reflection, and self-awareness lead you to recognize that your mind is inclined to constantly chase many thoughts and moods in different directions. Any life can be better when those chases are reduced or managed.
Those multiple chases distract the mind from observing and appreciating more significant things. Conversations busy your brain and most of your time goes into passing judgment on things and those around you. When mindful, you attach no importance to anything except the rhythm of breathing and the beating of your heart.
5. There are many schools of meditation. They are offered at meditation centers, in real and virtual classes, and with individual teachers. Some schools of yoga and exercise are also linked to meditation. But, if you want a severe route to mindfulness, you won’t find it at the “Y.”
In the long run, meditation does not equal mindfulness. It provides a helpful condition, but it is not the same thing.
Benefits of mindfulness —
According to Psychology Today, “Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present.” It means, “Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.”
It’s a practice where you sharpen your focus, train your brain to be mindful even when not meditating, and engage with whatever’s happening around you.
- Improves memory and school/employment performance.
- Heightens awareness of diet and eating to reduce calorie intake.
- Increases the benefit of exercise by committing the whole mind/body to the physical routine.
- Sharpens decisions by removing mental and emotional clutter.
- Reduces awareness of cancer, chronic pain, and other physical trials.
- It manages brain activity, improves creativity and helps sleep.
Reaching and sustaining mindfulness is a process that is easier for some than others.
What does cannabis have to do with it?
Some research has considered how mindfulness may provide an alternative behavior and practice to using cannabis. However, the study also concludes that much more must be done to determine significant results.
As is, many people who use cannabis and seek mindfulness find some cannabis strains to complement their practice. Those strains provide a physical and emotional uplift.
Smoking cannabis is a purposeful and relaxing breathing exercise. Certain strains induce euphoria and accentuate sensory awareness. Other strains slow thinking and reduce anxiety to reduce physical problems and mental stress.
Sativa strains may interfere with mindfulness practice because of the high energy impact. Indica strains often slow the mind, promote calm, and enhance awareness.
You know that cannabis has successfully treated physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, OCD, and PTSD. You know that it relieves the pains and stresses associated with a terminal disease, nausea, and weight loss. But, the connection between mindfulness and cannabis use needs more research.
Is there a problem with being a more mindful cannabis user —
No, but you must consider it mindfully. An article in Cannabis.net makes the usual mistake of confusing meditation and mindfulness. They are not the same thing.
Meditation is a practice and behavior that facilitates mindfulness, a more profound state of being. If cannabis, smoked or consumed, can enable that condition, you might choose your strain carefully and pursue the rewarding and fulfilling practice.
Mindfulness does not have to take more than half an hour of your day. If you find it demanding, you haven’t reached the optimal practice yet. If cannabis intake allows you to enter that “zone” easily, you may find the experience of mind and body expanding.
