Smoking and spirituality

[MichaelMaxwell]

Does anyone have thoughts on tobacco products as they relate to the spiritual side of things? I know some tribal cultures think of it as a sacred herb. However I cant help but think that it is symptomatic of some sort of spiritual deficiency. Maybe it's like food where as one should learn to savor each bite instead of just cramming it down your gullet. Where as in tobacco maybe if we savor some pipe tobacco nothing is wrong but mindlessly consuming it is?

Thoughts?

[rei]

interesting topic. and it will be interesting to see whether people can answer the actual question without using their personal bias.

i am not sure we can say anything universal on this issue. i would say tobacco itself can be used in a spiritual way, but all the chemicals added to most cigarettes may interfere with the spiritual vibration of tobacco.

some people use cigarettes to try and fill a void. perhaps they would be better served getting to the bottom of the soul loss, but it's not my place to say that with certainty. and those who worship the pursuit of pleasure would say the surge of dopamine is a worthy goal.

[cylon]

Nicotine addiction creates anxiety in someone when they are not taking nicotine. The two or three minutes it takes to smoke a cigarette feel good because the nicotine levels are reaching equilibrium. The other 23 hours and 55 minutes are anxiety created by nicotine withdrawl. Most people choose to stop this anxious feeling by smoking more cigarettes to lessen those feelings of anxiety, and possibly become chain smokers. Soon they are basically maintaining the nicotine levels, and the anxiety has taken over their lives because they've built up such a tolerance that smoking no longer ends their nicotine deficiency. This is when people light a cigarette, rest it in an ashtray, and then light another one forgetting that they still have one going.

It is a myth that smoking makes you feel good. In reality, all a nicotine addict is doing is feeling what a "normal" person feels for a few moments, because they are not on this anxiety/nicotine cycle to begin with. If you have never had a cigarette, the first one is a horrible, disgusting experience that makes most people sick. You have to over-come that and force your body to not reject it, and you can only do that through heavy smoking. If something was spiritually beneficial I doubt the "first time" would have an effect like that. I can't speak for pipe tobacco but I assume the effects are similar.

I smoked a pack a day plus for over 16 years, quit in February, and occasionally have one here and there when I am out socializing, but as a social prop. It doesn't feel good to me anymore. There is no spiritual benefit to tobacco. The ancient people probably thought that it looked cool to see smoke coming out of their mouths. We tend to assume that the people from the past were wise beyond their years when in reality they were very primitive and superstitious.

[seramadis]

Hi! I read a tale, it was about the Native Americans. Tobacco was sacred for them, they only smoked it in controlled conditions as part of a sacred ritual. When tobacco was smoked there could be no fighting, only peace. For example if the leaders of rival tribes were to meet and smoke a peace pipe together, as long as they were sharing this ritual they couldn't fight with each other. It was a time for negotiations, for truce.

But then along came the white man who didn't believe in the sacredness of tobacco or that tobacco plants (or any plants for that matter) could actually have a spirit and a consciousness of their own. They started to debase the tobacco and use it to satisfy their own base urges and cravings. The tale goes that the tobacco plant was so enraged it vowed that as long as it was being used and abused in this way, it would no longer serve to enrich people or to raise them up, it would only be a poison to people until such a time that people could learn to respect them (tobacco plants) again.

[Anagogy]

Originally Posted by MichaelMaxwell

Does anyone have thoughts on tobacco products as they relate to the spiritual side of things? I know some tribal cultures think of it as a sacred herb. However I cant help but think that it is symptomatic of some sort of spiritual deficiency. Maybe it's like food where as one should learn to savor each bite instead of just cramming it down your gullet. Where as in tobacco maybe if we savor some pipe tobacco nothing is wrong but mindlessly consuming it is?

Thoughts?

Well, I'm not sure how much stock you put in channeling, but this is an interesting, if not long, read: Can smoking be good for you?.

The stuff on smoking is about 3/4 of the way through the page. It is a question/answer format of channeling from a group of beings calling themselves the Cassiopaeans.

I don't personally smoke, and I'm not for or against smoking, but I don't feel we can say with any absolute certainty that tobacco is COMPLETELY bad for everyone, spiritually and/or physically.

[themaster]

I don't know much about it either (personally) but if I recall right one of the oldest people who ever lived was a smoker.. (from paris) if I remember right.. it's just proof that even if smoke is toxic for one's body.. we can repair anything we do to it period.. anything else is limitation or a limited belief

[Donkey1]

Originally Posted by cylon

It is a myth that smoking makes you feel good. In reality, all a nicotine addict is doing is feeling what a "normal" person feels for a few moments, because they are not on this anxiety/nicotine cycle to begin with.

Not true. You feel what a non-smoker feels like 5 minutes after your cig - to the next craving. You never experience that "good feeling" (during smoking - 5 minutes afterwards) rush as a non-smoker.

[cylon]

Originally Posted by Donkey1

Not true. You feel what a non-smoker feels like 5 minutes after your cig - to the next craving. You never experience that "good feeling" (during smoking - 5 minutes afterwards) rush as a non-smoker.

True. Just like people who never slam their hand in a door-jam don't know the relief someone who has feels when the pain wears off.

[Mato Kinze]

For the Lakhota People, and most other Native Americans, Tobacco is a very sacred plant. Possibly THE most sacred of all the Plant Allies. It is Wakan. Through its smoke, our prayers are carried directly to The Creator.

In Lakhota rituals, the smoke is not taken into the body or inhaled into the lungs. This is disrespectful. It is drawn into the mouth through the sacred Canupa - brought to the Lakhota People by the White Buffalo Calf Woman - and then blown out so that it may bless all those present and carry their prayers to The Creator.

People who "smoke" do so in a way that is disrespectful to the sacred nature of the tobacco. This disrespect and malign use of the Ally is what makes them sick.

Hecetu yelo.

[MichaelMaxwell]

Do you have some links to more info on this subject Mato Kinze? I looked for a bit and nothing looked very well put together. I do believe there is a way to smoke properly and am interested in the process.

[Mato Kinze]

Originally Posted by MichaelMaxwell

Do you have some links to more info on this subject Mato Kinze? I looked for a bit and nothing looked very well put together. I do believe there is a way to smoke properly and am interested in the process.

Unless you are a Pipe Carrier, then no, there is no way to "smoke" properly. The use of Tobacco is always part of a sacred rite - not something one "does" in and of itself.

The offer of Tobacco - unsmoked - is just as sacred and is one of the greatest gifts one can bestow on another. That is, so long as the Wakan nature of the Tobacco is understood and respected.

As for links, most Lakhota do not develop websites that discuss their sacred Medicine. At least, I'm not aware of any other than this:
http://http://www.elexion.com/lakota/lakota2.htm And that one discusses only generalities.

[MichaelMaxwell]

Yeah I smoke a pipe, not a peace pipe though. My theory is that if smoke to taste the tobacco, not inhale it, and kind of use it as a method to get into the moment, then it is good. If you are just puffing away mindlessly then it is bad.

Also the link didn't work for me...

[Mato Kinze]

Originally Posted by MichaelMaxwell

Yeah I smoke a pipe, not a peace pipe though. My theory is that if smoke to taste the tobacco, not inhale it, and kind of use it as a method to get into the moment, then it is good. If you are just puffing away mindlessly then it is bad.

Also the link didn't work for me...

Try this one:Lakota Culture and Spirituality

Smoking a pipe is not being a Pipe Carrier. To the Lakhota, the pipe - or Canunpa - is not merely a vehicle for burning and inhaling tobacco or other sacred herbs, it is a sacred item unto itself.

To be a Pipe Carrier means to have Knowledge and Understanding of - and most importantly respect for - the ways of the Lakhota people and their sacred rites and rituals. This is an honor bestowed on knowledgeable Medicine People who have demonstrated their understanding and respect to the Elders and Ancestors in High Ceremony such as the Wiwanyag Wacipi (Sun Dance) or Hanbleyca (Vision Quest). Simply owning a pipe - even one that looks like a Native pipe - does not make it Wakan. And simply lighting up a bowl to feel good - no matter what the bowl contains - is not Wakan. What makes Tobacco and the process of burning it Wakan, is the combination of Intent, Understanding, and Respect one has when doing so.

[PerDev]

may be people take that for getting away from worldly things and being more focus on the innner world.. but i think you lower awareness due to that

Originally Posted by MichaelMaxwell

Does anyone have thoughts on tobacco products as they relate to the spiritual side of things? I know some tribal cultures think of it as a sacred herb. However I cant help but think that it is symptomatic of some sort of spiritual deficiency. Maybe it's like food where as one should learn to savor each bite instead of just cramming it down your gullet. Where as in tobacco maybe if we savor some pipe tobacco nothing is wrong but mindlessly consuming it is?

Thoughts?