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Foreword This is a book about marijuana. And relationships. And consciousness. It may be a book about you. This is a book for people who are using marijuana who question whether they use it too much, too often. It’s not anti-marijuana by any means. It’s meant to assist people who are exploring their relationship with cannabis.
CHAPTER ONE MANIPULATING CONSCIOUSNESS
How do we change our minds? Biochemically? Or consciously? How do we make decisions? And how do people change? What is consciousness? How does marijuana affect consciousness? And what is our relationship to marijuana, to ourselves, our minds, our decisions? It’s trippy to think about.
You either have a problem or you don’t. You’re either sober or you’re not. It’s as if there was a sharp distinction between addiction and not. Once in a diagnostic category it seemed hard to escape. Labels were applied. This approach elicited resistance and shame and, in my opinion, was counterproductive. It supplanted delving and understanding with categorization. Life holds mystery and complexity. Life transcends labels.
SO, WHAT’S YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MARIJUANA? STRANGER (0-5 points) CASUAL ACQUAINTANCE (6-9 points) DISTANT FRIEND (10-12 points) INSIDE CIRCLE (13-16 points) BEST FRIEND (17-20 points) LOVER (over 21 points) If marijuana is becoming a more important relationship to you, you might be getting hooked. Chances are you are beginning to alter the course of your life as a result of this relationship. You may be giving up friends or goals or a chance at the happiness that might be within reach. You may want to seriously reconsider this relationship with marijuana.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was President Obama’s first choice for Surgeon General, famously came out and apologized for his opposition toward marijuana. But he still maintains that 9-10% of those who use marijuana will become addicted. And we know that cannabis is especially harmful for teens. 9-10% addicted? That’s nearly 2 million marijuana addicts in the United States.
THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A DEEPER LOOK “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.” ~ Blaise Pascal
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus felt that change was the basic nature of reality and that it was impossible to step into the same river twice. If that’s true, why do we need to alter anything? It’s always altered already. Yet so many people perceive their surroundings to be in a sort of unbearable stasis, to the extent that they need to change where they are, what they are doing, and with whom.
Buddhists speak of “The Hungry Ghost,” a being with a distended belly and a thin neck, always hungry and never satisfied. It’s a metaphor for addictions as well as other compulsive behavior or obsessive thought. Consider the Ghost: for one thing, forever haunted. Hanging around in a place that once held some special meaning that has now shifted, even though the Ghost is still searching. The Ghost hungers. Due to its thin neck, it cannot even receive that which it hungers for. And the stomach cannot digest it.
Do you remember being in love? How would you describe that feeling to someone who had never experienced love? It transcends language, yet encompasses the realms that are sensual, emotional and psychological. It feels like magic. I think most marijuanics are searching for magic. They hunger for it … and more … and more.
AI Summary
The Little Green Book by Michael Stratton presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.