Marijuana and Effectiveness

[squishytongue]

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if any of you could shine some input onto a situation that I find myself in currently. I am a music student studying at Juilliard and have been increasingly becoming more and more aware that I smoke marijuana on a regular basis. I never used to smoke in high school and only started smoking heavily this year. My question to all of you is: Do you think smoking marijuana everyday will negatively increase my personal effectiveness or will it not have that pround an effect on the success of my future.

A little more detail about the situation. Being a music student, it has always been stressful with the amount of work we are expected to do every night and I have always felt the pressure to force myself to stay up endless nights learning and pushing myself too hard. Recently with smoking everyday, I have realized that I can get all that I need to get done during the day, and be free at night to smoke. I have been so unbelievably destressed everyday and I find myself extremely motivated during the day to be productive.

I would love any/all of your input on this matter!

[irfan]

You sound like you want someone either to reassure you that it's okay or to convince you to stop. In the end, you're gonna have to decide for yourself. If you do a google, you'll see that almost everyone has an opinion, even people with the whole alphabet after their name, and those opinions vary widely. There is no conclusive proof one way or the other.

Personally, I find weed interferes terribly with my dream recall. In itself, that's enough to make me refrain. At least for now.

Coffee is great in the morning, but terrible just before I want to go to sleep.

[Harmonium]

Depends entirely how you use it, how you deal with reality, etc.

Do what works, simple as that, but the responsibility is with you to get what you want out of life; weed can help you if you believe it will, and it can also hurt you. You decide.

Oh hey. It's 4:20

[raykilleen]

Originally Posted by squishytongue

Hello Everybody,

I was wondering if any of you could shine some input onto a situation that I find myself in currently. I am a music student studying at Juilliard and have been increasingly becoming more and more aware that I smoke marijuana on a regular basis. I never used to smoke in high school and only started smoking heavily this year. My question to all of you is: Do you think smoking marijuana everyday will negatively increase my personal effectiveness or will it not have that pround an effect on the success of my future.

A little more detail about the situation. Being a music student, it has always been stressful with the amount of work we are expected to do every night and I have always felt the pressure to force myself to stay up endless nights learning and pushing myself too hard. Recently with smoking everyday, I have realized that I can get all that I need to get done during the day, and be free at night to smoke. I have been so unbelievably destressed everyday and I find myself extremely motivated during the day to be productive.

I would love any/all of your input on this matter!

From what you write it's already obvious that the intoxicating pleasurable effects are entangling your existence and you want to be a slave to this? Stop for six months and reevaluate.

[irfan]

Originally Posted by raykilleen

From what you write it's already obvious that the intoxicating pleasurable effects are entangling your existence and you want to be a slave to this? Stop for six months and reevaluate.

See what I mean?

[raykilleen]

Originally Posted by squishytongue

I would love any/all of your input on this matter!

Ask and you shall receive. Scientifically experience it directly and decide for one’s self i.e. reevaluate.

[Harmonium]

Weed is hardly different from any other addictive way to spend your time, imo, though it's easier to overindulge in. "entangling your existence" would be a bad way to look at it (if you partake of course), and imo would create a self fulfilling prophecy.

I use marijuana as motivation just as anyone uses anything to look forward to as motivation -- at least it's not so different. For me it's actually probably 100x more productive than watching TV (something I never do). It's motivated me to open a nice flow of income that I will still be enjoying regardless if I smoke or not.

For the record I don't advocate using drugs, it's something I do, and have chosen to do, but it's completely a personal choice, I believe marijuana has a bad reputation and for me 95%+ of the people I've met that use it probably just contribute to that. I smoke every day because I enjoy it and really help my anxiety/quality of life, not because I'm trying to be a cool pothead.

About not dreaming: maybe you have overindulged when you smoked. I still dream a lot as long as I don't go too heavy on it. A little can go a long way.

[raykilleen]

Yes ego’s have the sneaky ability to rationalize the likes and dislikes of the mind, there is no right or wrong it’s a matter of preference, I prefer clarity, yet I drink wine, egos are different.

[squishytongue]

Thanks for the input everybody. With the whole "try it and see for yourself" idea, I'm having trouble rationalizing whether or not I am better off smoking or not. I feel as if I am neutral to the idea of smoking, but because I enjoy it and still get all of my work done, why not indulge? It's difficult because sometimes I wonder if I perhaps am psychologically dependent from just casually smoking. The cigarette smokers favorite line "I can quit anytime, I just enjoy it". Ideas?

[irfan]

Originally Posted by squishytongue

Thanks for the input everybody. With the whole "try it and see for yourself" idea, I'm having trouble rationalizing whether or not I am better off smoking or not. I feel as if I am neutral to the idea of smoking, but because I enjoy it and still get all of my work done, why not indulge? It's difficult because sometimes I wonder if I perhaps am psychologically dependent from just casually smoking. The cigarette smokers favorite line "I can quit anytime, I just enjoy it". Ideas?

Well, then, try Raykillen's advice! Only set your own time-frame. Stop smoking for a week, or a month, or three, or six, and see what happens.

I did find that when I smoked in the evenings, I was foggy in the morning. I could feel a negative impact when I had hard-hitting meetings with sharp-eyed people first thing. I also find that it's the once substance -- more than all the classic demons -- that tends to encourage me to use it compulsively. I also find that it's not really good for socializing with people I don't know well, although it's fine for hanging out with friends who are also stoned.

Might be completely different for a musician!

[raykilleen]

Originally Posted by squishytongue

Thanks for the input everybody. With the whole "try it and see for yourself" idea, I'm having trouble rationalizing whether or not I am better off smoking or not. I feel as if I am neutral to the idea of smoking, but because I enjoy it and still get all of my work done, why not indulge? It's difficult because sometimes I wonder if I perhaps am psychologically dependent from just casually smoking. The cigarette smokers favorite line "I can quit anytime, I just enjoy it". Ideas?

Consider the fact that mind/ego may be conflicting with the subtler inner voice (consciousness) in favor of short term pleasures verses long term happiness. If you are truly interested in resolving this notion practice observing the mind and your thoughts; how thoughts arise, move and clear, how they entice and try to convince, view the mind from a distance as if you were watching someone else’s mind, you may sense a different perspective, awareness that you are not the mind but the one who is watching. Explore the inherent natural intelligence/creativity that arises, you may be able to make use of it.

[Fred Tracy]

It just depends on why you're doing it.

It sounds like you're smoking because your daily life is very stressful. This will quickly form a dependency to be very, very bad for you.

I don't think weed necessarily has to lower your productivity (although it does for me, hence why I don't smoke), but if you're doing it to escape from something that you need to learn how to cope with that normally.

Once that's dealt with, if you want to continue smoking, go for it.

[Andrew Brunelle]

As long as it is not hurting your grades, you shouldn't worry too much about it. I've smoked a few times, but it didn't really do much for me, other than act as a benzodiazepine, and a mild one at that. I'm sure I didn't smoke very much, very little in fact, but it simply made me feel like a couch potato with a very relaxed feeling about me. But it acts as a form of escapism, which is never a good thing in excess, although sometimes we all need to escape from this world in moderation.

I would rather escape into a book or something a little more consciousness-raising, but everyone's path is different. I'd rather read a couple Pavlina articles than smoke a joint, but that's just me.

[Clint Cora]

Yes but don't forget that one should not evaluate the effects of taking weed just on whether it impacts music and stress. There are other areas of life to consider as well.

[HoldenC]

“They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the ♥♥♥♥ing effort. There is a difference.” ~Bill Hicks

[Harmonium]

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by HoldenC

“They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the ♥♥♥♥ing effort. There is a difference.” ~Bill Hicks

I don't know about this Bill Hicks.

I was never very motivated on MJ, but then my nickname was inertia as a child.

I do know a person who can smoke 20 bowls and then do a full days hard labor, mixing concrete and laying down bricks and fiber glass, then tend to his orchid collection, feed all his amazonian discus fish and koi, rabbits dogs and birds, prepare lunch, make some music, do a few lines of coke, have a few beers and watch 10 minutes of t.v before passing out in bed, just to get up and do it all over again the next day with as much gusto.

it depends on the personality. You have to motivate yourself, and not let yourself get dragged down by the natural tendency to just want to Sloth.

I was never very good at it (not being a sloth that is)