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Cannabis in Spiritual Practice: The Ecstasy of Shiva, the Calm of Buddha
An exploration of the use of cannabis as a sacrament in spiritual practice
• Provides instructions for using marijuana for the spiritual practices of spontaneous movement, ecstatic dance, sitting meditation, and gazing meditation, allowing you to open the body’s energies more fully and get closer to the Divine or your higher self
• Includes a new translation of the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism, adapted to include energetic practices and the judicious use of entheogenic substances as a legitimate support for spiritual growth
• Includes access to 9 audio meditations
With the end of marijuana prohibition on the horizon, people are now openly seeking a spiritual path that embraces the benefits of cannabis. Drawing upon his decades of experience as a teacher of Buddhism, breathing, yoga, and embodied spirituality, Will Johnson examines Eastern spiritual perspectives on marijuana and offers specific guidelines and exercises for integrating cannabis into spiritual practice.
The author explains how the great Hindu god Shiva enjoyed consuming bhang, a marijuana mixture that would cause his body to make spontaneous movements. From these cannabis-inspired movements, Shiva brought the body-focused practices of dance and yoga to the world. Examining the spiritual path of Shiva, including the Sadhu tradition, Johnson provides specific instructions and protocols for using marijuana as a sacrament as Shiva did. He explores how to embrace cannabis for the practices of spontaneous movement, ecstatic dance, sitting meditation, and gazing meditation. He reveals how the ecstatic surrender to the feeling energies of the body in these practices is enhanced through the ingestion of Shiva’s herb, allowing you to open the body’s energies more fully and get closer to the Divine or your higher self.
Exploring the Buddhist practices of calming the mind and grounding yourself in sensory awareness, Johnson shows that, while traditional Buddhist teachings forbid the use of intoxicating substances, Buddhists who use cannabis are not committing a cardinal sin--in following our dharma, we must embrace what best supports our spiritual practice. He concludes with a new translation of the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism--what he calls the Five Precepts of Embodied Responsibility--adapted to include energetic practices using breath, interaction with the energies of nature, sacred sex, and the judicious use of entheogenic substances, such as cannabis, as legitimate support for spiritual growth.
• Provides instructions for using marijuana for the spiritual practices of spontaneous movement, ecstatic dance, sitting meditation, and gazing meditation, allowing you to open the body’s energies more fully and get closer to the Divine or your higher self
• Includes a new translation of the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism, adapted to include energetic practices and the judicious use of entheogenic substances as a legitimate support for spiritual growth
• Includes access to 9 audio meditations
With the end of marijuana prohibition on the horizon, people are now openly seeking a spiritual path that embraces the benefits of cannabis. Drawing upon his decades of experience as a teacher of Buddhism, breathing, yoga, and embodied spirituality, Will Johnson examines Eastern spiritual perspectives on marijuana and offers specific guidelines and exercises for integrating cannabis into spiritual practice.
The author explains how the great Hindu god Shiva enjoyed consuming bhang, a marijuana mixture that would cause his body to make spontaneous movements. From these cannabis-inspired movements, Shiva brought the body-focused practices of dance and yoga to the world. Examining the spiritual path of Shiva, including the Sadhu tradition, Johnson provides specific instructions and protocols for using marijuana as a sacrament as Shiva did. He explores how to embrace cannabis for the practices of spontaneous movement, ecstatic dance, sitting meditation, and gazing meditation. He reveals how the ecstatic surrender to the feeling energies of the body in these practices is enhanced through the ingestion of Shiva’s herb, allowing you to open the body’s energies more fully and get closer to the Divine or your higher self.
Exploring the Buddhist practices of calming the mind and grounding yourself in sensory awareness, Johnson shows that, while traditional Buddhist teachings forbid the use of intoxicating substances, Buddhists who use cannabis are not committing a cardinal sin--in following our dharma, we must embrace what best supports our spiritual practice. He concludes with a new translation of the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism--what he calls the Five Precepts of Embodied Responsibility--adapted to include energetic practices using breath, interaction with the energies of nature, sacred sex, and the judicious use of entheogenic substances, such as cannabis, as legitimate support for spiritual growth.
- GenresReligion
144 pages, Paperback
Published August 14, 2018
About the author
Will Johnson
70 books20 followersWill Johnson received his B.A., magna cum laude, in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University in 1968. After graduation, he worked for several years as an art critic in New York before moving to the west coast of North America where he began actively exploring gazing, moving, and sitting meditations. He became a Buddhist practitioner in 1972 and was trained as a Rolfer™ in 1976. He began the formal sharing of the practices of Embodiment Training in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 8, 2018
#CannabisInSpiritualPractice #NetGalley #Cannabis
One of the book subjects is the Cannabis but the author focus and explores more of the teaching of Buddha and Shiva. This is more a personal journal of the author on his spiritual journey to find himself.
One of the book subjects is the Cannabis but the author focus and explores more of the teaching of Buddha and Shiva. This is more a personal journal of the author on his spiritual journey to find himself.
May 21, 2020
Only about a quarter of the way through at this point... so far disappointing. Appears the first half of the book is a general introduction to Buddhism, which is something I don't need. Not the best intro to Buddhism I've read, full of a lot of very quotidian bits with the occasional bomb, see quote, dropped in with no support or development:
"To impose a life of celibacy on a prepubescent child who has not yet had to come with grips with the explosive potency of these energies, is to engage in sexual misconduct."
So yeah, that's the author explaining the 5 precepts and using one of them to condemn the practice of inducting children into monasteries. No opinion on this, just surprised at the casual audacity and disappointed with the lack of support in the text.
OK further along now, into the section on use of Cannabis. If you are already "spiritual" and have a physical practice that puts you in touch with the felt experience of your body, so far I don't see anything here that you wouldn't know already. Special techniques in book covered so far: dance of Shiva (smoke and dance spontaneously), yoga (smoke and do yoga, incorporating more movement), meditation sitting posture as an asana to explore with cannabis...
"To impose a life of celibacy on a prepubescent child who has not yet had to come with grips with the explosive potency of these energies, is to engage in sexual misconduct."
So yeah, that's the author explaining the 5 precepts and using one of them to condemn the practice of inducting children into monasteries. No opinion on this, just surprised at the casual audacity and disappointed with the lack of support in the text.
OK further along now, into the section on use of Cannabis. If you are already "spiritual" and have a physical practice that puts you in touch with the felt experience of your body, so far I don't see anything here that you wouldn't know already. Special techniques in book covered so far: dance of Shiva (smoke and dance spontaneously), yoga (smoke and do yoga, incorporating more movement), meditation sitting posture as an asana to explore with cannabis...
September 29, 2020
Bom Shiva
This short volume, perhaps a long pamphlet or tract, explores the experiential Buddha as the stilling of the ever busy mind, and Shiva as the awakening of the unconscious body.
With due respect toward the Buddhist prohibition of intoxicants, the author presents several methods for stilling the mind and awakening the body. Explaining that sitting meditation is antithetical to the effects of cannabis we are introduced to Buddha's experience with mindful concentration.
For awakening the soma (body), he describes the use of low doses of cannabis, what he calls a homeopathic dose. Choosing the path of somatic realization, we see how Shiva invented yoga.
The book includes a link to download mp3 files containing guided tours of several techniques to try.
This short volume, perhaps a long pamphlet or tract, explores the experiential Buddha as the stilling of the ever busy mind, and Shiva as the awakening of the unconscious body.
With due respect toward the Buddhist prohibition of intoxicants, the author presents several methods for stilling the mind and awakening the body. Explaining that sitting meditation is antithetical to the effects of cannabis we are introduced to Buddha's experience with mindful concentration.
For awakening the soma (body), he describes the use of low doses of cannabis, what he calls a homeopathic dose. Choosing the path of somatic realization, we see how Shiva invented yoga.
The book includes a link to download mp3 files containing guided tours of several techniques to try.
February 2, 2021
I enjoyed this book a lot. Johnson's explaination of the calm of Buddha and the ectasy of shiva, as well as their similarities and differences, added a new perspective into my journey of meditation and understanding. Plus, the guided meditations in this book have really vibed with me and I look forward to using them more.
February 9, 2020
Amazing book! The information shared came at such a critical point in my understanding of cannabis in spiritual practice. Separated in to 2 sections, one part speaks on Buddhist tradition and the second part speaks on Shaivite tradition. I recommend this book to everyone.
September 23, 2022
Summary:
Learn to let go
With cannabis or without is your choice. You have to observe if it works for you or not. Whatever the path, forgive yourself if you slip and jump on the band wagon asap.
Learn to let go
With cannabis or without is your choice. You have to observe if it works for you or not. Whatever the path, forgive yourself if you slip and jump on the band wagon asap.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews