meditating

Meditating While High: How to Use Marijuana With Meditation

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

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How to Transform Your Life With Meditation

What if I told you there was just one practice you could implement for only 10 minutes a day that could completely change your life. Yep you guessed it, meditation is the practice I’m talking about. By cultivating a meditation practice for as little as 10 minutes every day you could: “Just with a 10 minute practice once a day?” you ask. And the answer is of course yes, the compound return on a 10 minute investment of meditation has been proven to do all of those things. What is Meditation? I’m sure if you’re reading this article you probably already know what meditation is, but just to be safe I want to give a full explanation of what meditation really is before we continue for anyone that doesn’t know. At its core, meditation is the practice of training the mind to focus and become more aware of the present moment. It’s about cultivating a state of mindfulness, which allows us to observe our thoughts and emotions without judgment. Meditation is the tool of observation and awareness of the present moment. Awareness is the key to all meditative practices and its the thing that allows for real change to occur in your life. If you aren’t fully aware of yourself, your thoughts, your behaviors, and your environment you definitely won’t be able to change it. You need to know what needs to change first before you can change it. What’s the one practice that can jump start this process of positive change in yourself and your life? Meditation. How meditation can transform your life Establishing a meditation habit in my life has been extremely beneficial. If you’re looking to transform yourself into a overall better human being, meditation is a powerful tool to help you achieve that. Meditation can physically change your brain People who regularly meditate have a more developed brain areas responsible for concentration, decision making, emotion regulation, and memory. By implementing meditation into your daily routine you can physically transform your brain to function at a higher level. Here are a few of the brain structures you can literally change with a 10 minute daily meditation practice: Improve your sleep and overall wellbeing I can’t begin to count the number of times I couldn’t sleep, put on a YouTube guided meditation, and 10 minutes later found myself dosing off to sleep. A quick session of meditation at bed time can help unwind your mind, let go of tension, and fall asleep quickly. Not only can a meditation session at bedtime help you fall asleep, but people who meditate during the day have an easier time falling and staying asleep compared to non-meditators. Modern science tells us that meditation fosters the autoregulatory nature of the brain, helping you produce melatonin at the right times and amounts for restful sleep. But that’s not all. What if I told you that people who regularly meditate physically require less sleep. Yep, meditation can actually replace the and reduce the amount of sleep you need every night, giving you more waking hours of the day. Research from Oregon State University found that 10 minutes of meditation could replace 44 minutes of sleep. Now this doesn’t mean you can just meditate for 2 hours a day instead of sleeping. However, it does mean that if you lost an hour of sleep last night, a quick meditation may make up for that lost hour. Increase your self awareness Are you the type that likes to introspect and understand yourself better? I definitely am, and meditation has been a fantastic tool for increasing that self awareness. It’s not just meditation that allows for this increase in self awareness, but the cultivating of mindfulness and practice of self observation. Slowing down and focusing the light of your awareness on yourself can unveil all kinds of hidden thoughts and emotions inside. I find that I’m much more likely to discover something about myself when I’m being mindful versus when I’m being unconscious. Without mindfulness we can brush all of our problems under the rug and focus our attention on the distractions of the external world. The problem with this is that no real internal progress is ever made if we don’t turn our awareness on ourselves. We first need to become aware of the problems before we can change them. A simple meditation habit every day can make a much larger difference in this area than you might think. Reduce stress and anxiety This one is pretty well known and deeply researched. Meditation can absolutely cause a reduction in stress and anxiety. As you saw earlier in this article, meditation literally shrinks the area of the brain responsible for fear and anxiety. There is all kinds of scientific literature you can read out there that will all say the same thing: Meditation leads to greater peace and lower levels of stress and anxiety. You don’t need to read the science to know this however, It’s pretty self explanatory. Just give a quick 5 minute meditation a try and you’ll see for yourself that you’ll just feel better after slowing down and being mindful. It’s not complicated, in fact it’s the simplest thing you can do and you can start right now with nothing but your mind and 5 minutes. Become a kinder human being There’s actually a whole subsect of meditation called “loving kindness meditation” that focuses on fostering a loving and kind attitude. I find that just by mindfully breathing for a few minutes before a social event I’m almost always kinder and more understanding of the people around me. But hey don’t take my word for it, let’s look at the science. The Journal of Experimental Psychology recently found that mindfulness meditation leads to an increase in empathy and kindness towards others. This makes complete sense to me because if you’re able to create some space between your thoughts and behaviors with mindfulness practice you can start to have more control over them and

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The Benefits Of Fasting And Meditation

Meditation and fasting are two practices that have been used for centuries to promote physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Fasting has been known to increase clarity of mind, sharpen awareness, and have numerous health benefits. Meditation, on the other hand, has gained popularity as a means of reducing stress and promoting mental clarity. But does combining meditation and fasting create a recipe for greater growth and consciousness? or is it a potentially dangerous mix? The short answer is that meditating while fasting can enhance each practice separately and increase the potential benefits of each when combined. However, you should exercise a normal level of caution as you would with any form of fasting. Benefits of Meditation and Fasting: Both meditation and fasting have numerous benefits for physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing as individual practices. So you’d think that when combined the overall effect would be even greater. And you’d be right! Here are some of the key benefits: 1. Reduced Stress Both meditation and fasting have been shown to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This can help promote feelings of relaxation and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. As long as you don’t tax your body too hard with a overextended fast, fasting is a great addition to your destressing tool belt combined with meditative practice. 2. Increased Mental Clarity The mental clarity that a mindful meditation can leave you in is such a peaceful and pleasurable state of mind. Fasting has also been shown to have cognitive benefits, including improved focus and concentration just like meditative practice. Combining these two practices is a fantastic way to reach that desired pinnacle of mental clarity. When you fast, your body enters into a state of ketosis, where it begins to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose. Though most evidence for this is anecdotal, during ketosis personal experiences indicate that fasting can definitely promote mental clarity and focus. Adding mindfulness on top of a fast can seriously heighten your base level of awareness to higher than normal levels. 3. Spiritual Growth The increased level of awareness discussed above can help you make serious spiritual breakthroughs. With heightened awareness and mental focus you may be able to have insight into yourself and the divine. Fasting as a spiritual practice has been around for thousands of years in every tradition you can think of. The great religious and spiritual leaders throughout history knew the power fasting can give you. Meditation has of course also been used in every spiritual tradition to help connect, slow down, and grow spiritually. The combo of fasting and meditation will make for a potent state of mind for spiritual growth. 4. Greater health and wellbeing Fasting on it’s own has long been held as a way to purify and detoxify the mind and body. Toxins stored in the adipose tissue in the body are released into the bloodstream to be filtered out of the body during ketosis and a state of fasting. Not only does ketosis purify the body, but also the mind. The build up of stress and brain fog have in many cases been shown to diminish during a fast. If you can bring meditative practice to your fast you can increase the initial mental benefits of your fast. Meditation is a great way to increase wellbeing during a fast. How to combine meditation and fasting While both meditation and fasting have numerous benefits on their own, combining them can be even more powerful. As we talked about earlier, fasting can promote mental clarity and focus, making it ideal to pair with meditation. Additionally, fasting can help deepen your meditation practice by promoting a sense of inner peace and stillness. Here are some tips to help you with combining meditation and fasting. > see my article “7 Best Types of Meditation: Which is Best For You?” Things to watch out for 1. Getting light headed Many fasters report getting light headed during their fast. Dizziness and fatigue are not uncommon symptoms that occur during a fast. It’s important not to over do your breathing during a meditation, as this could exacerbate any lightheadedness and dizziness. If you start to feel dizzy or light headed take a drink of water and don’t push yourself too hard with breathing focused meditations. 2. Fatigue and tiredness You may find that during your fast you become more lethargic than usual. If you become tired during a fast, you may find meditation to be more difficult than usual. It’s best to meditate in the morning or during the day to make sure you’re not too tired. Meditating at night during a fast is a good way to end up falling asleep on accident. 3. Hunger distractions With fasting comes hunger. Although this is part of the journey of a fast, you may become distracted by the discomfort of hunger. This can be very distracting for someone who’s trying to focus on their meditation practice. However, this could be a perfect opportunity to bring your awareness to your hunger to practice mindfulness in the midst of discomfort. > see my article “Struggling to meditate? 7 Common Issues And Their Solutions” Should you meditate while fasting? The decision to meditate during a fast or fast for greater meditation benefits is a completely personal decision. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to this question. You may find that you want to give it a try to see if it really can heighten your meditation practice. You may also find that fasting isn’t for you, which is completely okay too. Meditation by itself is a fantastic practice to develop and poses no risks unlike the potentially troublesome fast. Try it out for yourself with a healthy level of caution and you should be good to go! Practice self awareness and caution when going about a fast. You may find that it just takes too heavy a toll on your body and that it’s not for you. If you

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Struggling To Meditate? 7 Common Issues And Their Solutions

Meditation is great right? Until you end up cross-legged on the floor stressing yourself out over not being able to focus. This can often leave you feeling frustrated, restless, or even doubtful during your meditation practice. Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Meditation can be a challenging practice, especially when you’re just starting out. There are a few common reasons why people struggle with meditation, and luckily, we have the solutions to help you overcome them. Today, we’re going to explore seven of the most common reasons why people struggle to meditate and give you some practical solutions to help deepen your practice and find more peace. 7 Common Meditation Struggles 1. “Am I doing it right?” You may be thinking that there is a right or wrong way to meditate. And if there is a right way to meditate, then you definitely don’t want to do it wrong! Thankfully, there is no right way to meditate. You may want to focus or clear your mind, but the truth is that meditative practice can be whatever you want it to be. In fact, there is even a meditation technique called the “do nothing technique” where you sit and let your mind wander to whatever it wants to think about. Try to leave all expectations of your meditation session at the door before you begin. Your expectations of what “ought” to be done in a meditation session may make you self-conscious and frustrated when you find your mind wandering. As long as you’re taking a few minutes to 2. You can’t stop thinking Many people think that meditation means that they have to clear their mind of all thoughts, and they must be doing it wrong if thoughts keep popping up. However, thoughts aren’t something to be afraid of or avoided in meditation. Instead of judging yourself when thoughts arise and trying to force them out, try accepting your thoughts and allowing them to pass through your mind. Meditation is about accepting the present moment fully and allowing all sensations, thoughts, and feelings to arise and pass away. Your only job is to notice everything that comes up. When a thought comes up just try to notice it, but don’t resist it. There is always another thought to be had, and trying to control them is just going to leave you feeling frustrated. When you start to allow your thoughts to come and go as they please without judgment, you can start to take a step back from them. 3. You feel bored Boredom is a very common problem during meditation. Sometimes it can feel like you’re just sitting there, doing nothing, and your mind starts to wander off to all the other things you could be doing. One of the best things you can do if you’re feeling bored during meditation is to approach your meditation practice with curiosity and openness to whatever arises. If there is boredom, just notice your boredom like you would any other emotion or thought. Just like you would notice any feelings of anxiety or sadness during meditation you can notice your boredom too. It is just another feeling after all. You can also experiment with different types of meditation, such as guided meditations or mantra meditations to help keep your mind engaged and focused. 4. Not feeling motivated to meditate Feeling unmotivated to meditate can be particularly frustrating for people trying to establish a meditation habit. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and feel like you don’t have time to meditate or that it’s not worth the effort. If you don’t feel motivated to meditate, don’t beat yourself up, this is a very common problem. Remember why you got into meditation in the first place. Reestablish your “why”. Maybe you want to improve your focus, become more patient with loved ones, or release stress from your day. The benefits of meditation really are innumerable. If sitting down in unmoving silence just seems completely unappealing to you, you luckily have other options. The awesome thing about mindful practice is that you can apply it to just about any area of your life. Try mindfully making a meal. Pay close attention and focus your awareness on every vegetable chopped, the sound of the water boiling, or the taste of the delicious meal you just made. Another one of my favorite meditative mindfulness practices is going for a walk. Take a mindful walk and make an intention to be present and mindful of everything that you hear, see, and feel during it. 5. You can’t stay awake Sometimes meditation can leave you feeling so relaxed that you end up falling asleep! This happens more often than you think. The time of day that you meditate will affect how sleepy you are and the likelihood that you’ll fall asleep during your meditation. Some people will actually meditate at night on purpose to help them fall asleep, but if you’re not trying to fall asleep I’d recommend earlier in the day. Morning meditations can be a great way to start your day with a clear mind. Afternoon or midday meditations are also a great alternative to those sleepy nighttime meditations to help you take a break from your day. If you have trouble staying awake during a meditation make sure to check your posture. You’re much more likely to fall asleep if you’re meditating lying down. Try meditating in a chair or upright on the floor to stay alert and awake for the duration of your meditation. 6. Feeling frustrated or irritated Feeling irritation and frustration during meditation is very common. Whether it’s directed at yourself, the meditation or the environment around you frustration can keep you from relaxing and enjoying the benefits of mindfulness. Anger is a common emotion and like all other emotions that arise during meditative practice, we should begin to deal with it just by becoming aware of it. Notice your frustration as it arises and just hold it in

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