Look, we’ve all been there. You took an edible, but you forgot you still need to get your 10 minutes of meditation in for the day. Now you’re wondering if meditating under the influence of some OG Kush is a bad idea or if it’ll enhance your meditation session.
Although it’s totally up to personal preferences, there’s nothing wrong with meditating while high on cannabis. In fact, adding marijuana to your meditation session may actually enhance or deepen your meditative practice. However others claim meditating under the influence simply isn’t enjoyable or helpful at all for them.
The benefits of meditating while high
So now that you’ve gotten yourself into the sticky situation of being under the influence of cannabis, you’re wondering what the benefits of meditation are in this scenario. Here are a few benefits of meditating while high:
1. Cannabis enhances your senses
After all marijuana is known for this sense enhancing quality. Things done while high may feel more pleasurable and intense and meditation is no exception.
Marijuana can heighten your awareness and make sensations stand out much more than they usually would. When you get high you might find that your meditation senses are heightened and you feel more tuned into how your body feels.
Often times when using cannabis you can feel your heartbeat more clearly, notice vibration sensations in and on your body, and feel your breath more fully.
2. Meditation can help with paranoia
If you deal with paranoia or anxiety when under the influence, you may want to try meditation. Sometimes a high can be too intense and you need a method of calming yourself down.
For my high friends that struggle with anxiety, you may want to add meditation to your smoke session.
Meditation has long been known to lower cortisol levels and stress in the mind and body. A quick meditation may be just what you need to get you over the hump and start enjoying your high.
3. They synergize to relax your mind and body
Continuing on that note, combining meditation with cannabis may create a deep relaxation effect. The combination of the two can create a synergistic affect multiplying the relaxation.
Cannabis, THC, and CBD are notorious for relieving muscle tension and relaxing the body. When the body relaxes the mind follows suit. This can create a perfect environment and foundation for a deeply satisfying meditation session.
If you’re using marijuana and meditation as a method to relax, combining them could definitely be what you should try.
4. Cannabis deepens your spiritual experience
Some meditators claim that substances can induce intense spiritual states of consciousness, and it’s not just DMT, psilocybin, and psychedelics we’re talking about here. Marijuana can absolutely facilitate a spiritual experience.
I personally have had several deep insights and profound spiritual experiences under the influence of cannabis.
The mindset and state of consciousness that cannabis gives you could absolutely help you see a new deeper perspective. I know this to be true not only for me, but for other meditation practitioners as well.
5. Meditation can help if you get too high
If you get too high you may want to give meditation a try. Being too high is the worst. Feeling disoriented, dizzy, and anxious after a particularly strong edible could potentially be mitigated with mindful practice.
Mindful meditation can be a practice you can try if you lose touch with reality and get too high. Grounding yourself in the present moment with meditation can help you come back from the edge of a bad and overly strong marijuana high.
Although this isn’t guaranteed to work, mindful breathing and present focus definitely couldn’t hurt in a situation like this.
The cons of meditating high
Don’t get me wrong, though meditating high has its benefits it definitely isn’t right for everyone. Here are a few downsides you might want to consider:
1. Easily distracted while high
Being high might actually make it more difficult to focus during a meditation practice. It’s entirely possible that you get high and just completely forget to meditate in the first place.
The increase in distractibility could hurt your focus and attention in mindful practice. I know that this tends to be something I experience in these states of consciousness.
2. Could be too intense
Getting too high before a meditation session might make it nearly impossible to meditate at all. If you know what a strong THC experience is like, then you know that it would be hard to meditate in that state.
If you can barely concentrate on walking from one room to another, how do you expect yourself to properly meditate? This is why I suggest you start very small if this is something you want to experience for yourself.
3. Brain fog the next day
This is absolutely the biggest con for me. I hate having brain fog or foggy consciousness the next day after being high. In fact, I don’t use marijuana much at all anymore because of this.
My awareness always feels blunted the day after a cannabis high. I struggle to be present and mindful the day after.
So if you do decide to meditate on marijuana, just remember you may struggle to meditate or be mindful the next day. Brain fog is real and it happens all the time after being high.
What meditation Practitioners have said
But don’t take these claims from me, let’s hear it from people who have experienced high meditation themselves. Here are a few things that people have said about meditating under the influence of the ganja.
One meditator that found high meditation beneficial claimed,
“I’ve reached some great places meditating high, like deep states of meditation that brought insights which felt very valuable at the time, it’s easy for me to get into that state high.”
Another reddit meditator found that high meditation was not right for them,
“The practice of meditation is the work towards being completely present in life. Can a person be completely present, if they are high? I would say, no. So, clean and sober is the way to go.”
At the end of the day I think this meditator’s perspective is the most correct,
“A cannabis high could be extremely helpful for some and a hinderance for others.” – anonymous reddit user
The truth is that whether meditating with marijuana is beneficial or harmful is ultimately up to personal preference.
How to meditate with cannabis
If you do decide to meditate using cannabis, you should make sure you do so correctly and with special care & intention. Here is my recommendation for how to meditate with marijuana.
1. Preparing the experience
The first thing you need to do is determine how much and what form of marijuana you will be consuming.
My recommendation is to take a small dose edible an hour before you intend to meditate. Smoking may be irritating and is known to be harmful to your lungs, therefore I prefer cannabis in edible form.
A small dose may be best for enhancing your mindful meditation experience, while a larger dose might be better for the intention of having a spiritual meditation experience.
Once you’ve chosen what form and how much you’re going to take, get your meditation space set up.
> see my article “Everything You Need For The Ultimate Meditation Setup”
Make sure you have water available, a comfortable place to sit, and any music you want to play ready to go.
2. Setting your intention
Before you start your high meditation it’s important to set an intention. If you don’t set an intention you may become distracted or forget to meditate at all.
This intention might be to calm your mind and body from the day, or to look inside and learn about yourself, or something as simple as being more present for the next few minutes.
Having a general direction for your high meditation is a great way to ensure you get what you want out of the meditation.
3. Consuming the cannabis
This step is pretty simple, go ahead now and take the cannabis in the desired form.
If you’re taking an edible, make sure you plan to take it an hour or so before your meditation session. If you’re smoking or inhaling the cannabis, you can do so immediately before you begin.
4. Set a timer and begin
I think setting a timer is important because time can become difficult to gauge when under the influence of marijuana. This will also help you from quitting your meditation too early or getting distracted and forgetting what you’re doing.
Once you begin you should bring your attention on how you feel and notice the effects coming on. How does it feel to come up on the cannabis?
Remember you can always come back to your breathing if you ever feel overwhelmed or lost in thought. The breath is a great anchor in experiences like this.
Continue to focus on your breath, your feelings, bodily sensations, and thoughts for the duration of your meditation.
Are there any dangers to meditating high?
No, there are no added dangers to meditating high compared to not meditating while high. There are no recorded overdoses due to marijuana use in the history of using the drug.
All injuries received under the influence of cannabis are due to impairment of the drug, not the drug itself on the body.
Just take the regular precautions you normally would when under the influence of any drug. No driving or any dangerous activities while using!
> see my article “Can (And Should) You Meditate While Driving?”
I would recommend taking a small dosage, especially at first until you know you can handle a high meditation session.
So, should you meditate while high?
I think the answer here is that it’s completely up to you. Everyone experiences meditation and marijuana differently. Some claim that meditation while high is a hindrance and that you shouldn’t do it. Others say that cannabis enhances their sensations and awareness during meditative practice. It’s safe to say that both are probably right in their own right. Ultimately you must decide what’s best for yourself.
Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a meditation teacher, spiritual seeker, and founder of nurtureyourspirit.org. I’m glad you’re here! I founded Nurture Your Spirit because of my love of meditation, spirituality, and spiritual awakening.
