Weed, Mary Jane, pot, marijuana. All these slangs for the cannabis plant have negative connotations. There's the timely image of the adult loser who can't seem to get off of the couch in their parent's basement to get a job. There's the hippy 'stone head' who can't remember where he was five minutes ago. Television commercials, movies and sitcoms paint a picture of 'loserville' going-nowhere-in-life culture when it comes to cannabis consumption. The idiot, Nancy Reagan's legacy still stains our conscience. Racism being a primary reason a plant is made illegal over a substance like alcohol which is legal yet ruins far more lives. What if I told you that cannabis has made me a more open minded and critical thinker? What if I told you that it has cured my annual bouts of eczema which I get each winter from emotional and external stress. This due to the changes in temperatures. Eczema is skin issue brought on by an auto-immune disfunction. Would you believe me if I told you that I'm a more forgiving yet lovingly assertive person when I'm called to be? How would you like to adopt a lifestyle that makes you braver yet more relaxed at the same time? How about being more cheerful and less anxious? Most everyone, save for a nihilist, would sign up for such a regimen.
Fifteen years ago I started my journey with this wonderful plant by purchasing hemp milk at Whole Foods. I could see a positive difference in my physical capabilities with it's promotion of healthy testosterone production and a more relaxed affect. It was also easy to digest. When the CBD craze hit almost a decade ago I would buy the topical creams, the gummy's and all other oral forms, not to mention the tinctures. I have even consumed it in cigarette form. This is important because when it came time to consume THC my body had built up an effective tolerance, even though I had only used CBD. In November 2020, a dinner guest brought some pot to a business meeting I had at home for my non profit. A day or so prior, I had relayed to him my anxiety due to a court case of mine having been resolved. He heard the strain in my voice over the phone and stated he had something. I knew what it probably was. All I had to aid me up until that time was my Wim Hof Method Program (deep breathing and cold water therapy) and some beer, wine and whiskey on occasion. I took about eight hits. I'd always heard of folks passing out after a few inhalations. I was expecting a ride to the moon. Nothing happened, save for being a little more talkative. I wondered: 'did I do it right?' My body told me yes, when I woke up the next morning experiencing 'flu like' symptoms which wore off by 10:00. Save for a bad trip while taking too much Delta 8 on a canoeing trip by the Georgia state line, I shelved weed and went back to the Wim Hof method and beer. Reader, never take synthetic anything, including CBD-THC. It's toxic, harmful and not well researched. Delta 9 or CBD only is the only option if you decide to take it on.
This past November comes around and I feel a sense that I wanted to permanently eschew all types of alcohol for my physical and spiritual health. I had seen the lives it had destroyed all of these years. I witnessed how it had embarrassed and emasculated so many. I saw the thousands of dollars lost in legal fees it produced in those arrested. I wanted to refine my longevity, emotional health program even more. Two years ago I had adopted a schedule of only drinking in odd numbered months and going dry during the even ones. That paradigm worked well but I wanted to push it further. I hated the way alcohol metabolized while I was sleeping, waking me up at night with a sugar rush. I also felt like caffeine was not helping matters either. I put out chocolate, sodas and my beloved sweet tea. I only started to purchase organic sodas that contained natural cane sugar, sans the caffeine. I bought Delta 9 rock candy with caffeine at a hemp dispensary and hated the effects it took on my body. I surmised it would have been a wonderful product had it not had caffeine. THC and caffeine, two diametrically opposing substances that could reek disaster on a liver, I could do without.
Earlier this month I went back to the same dispensary and asked if they had Delta 9 THC without any stimulants to offset the zen effect, while making my nervous system flutter. They did and I bought a bottle of 25 gummies (10 milligrams of THC in each tablet). What ensued in the days afterward was one of the most validating experiences of my life. Read my schedule carefully:
(1) At around 2:00 on the second Saturday in December I started my biweekly Wim Hof Method. This involved 2 minutes of deep breathing from the stomach to the mouth (you can either stand, sit or lie on your back). At the 2:00 minute mark, I exhaled and held my breath for one solid minute. I inhaled and held that for :30 seconds. I repeated this cycle once more.
(2) At around 2:30 I walked into a local river (Coosa River) from a beach and submerged myself in 45-50 degree water for about 2-5 minutes.
(3) At 2:45 I arrived at the local YMCA and took a sauna for about :30.
KEY - While in route to my river wash I consumer 5 milligrams of CBD laced with Delta 9 THC. I placed it under my tongue for 10 seconds, chewed it and swallowed it.
When I arrived home at 3:30 it was the most euphoric effect I'd ever felt. This over any food or sexual activity I'd experienced. In the following days I was more focused, at peace and discovered that my mind had been open to a point where I was discovering I was able to come to more options in daily problem solving dynamics. I felt a bit like Bradley Cooper in that movie Limitless.
Reader, it was then I knew that I had missed something all these years. I was then I knew I did not ever want to consume alcohol or caffeine ever again. It was then I knew what I could do to make myself the perpetual better man. Deep breathing and cold water work great without cannabis. Cannabis works alright without Wim Hof. You are missing out on a life altering lifestyle if you do one without the other. THC is not necessary for your cannabis based lifestyle. As a matter of fact you can get by with THC less cannabis. Yet, it is my discovery that the THC makes the zen effect more pronounced. There are negatives such as the proverbial hunger, 'munchie' effect, creepy headspace feeling and dry mouth. But, these can be offset by starting out with really low doses and graduating up. I recommend taking it before bed so while asleep you don't have to experience all the weird side effects. As my Christmas gift to you I highly recommend a deep breathing, cold water and pro cannabis lifestyle. I recommend deep breathing, cold water at least twice per week. with cannabis added to it every other week. 10-15 milligrams total (any way you want) by the end of each alternating week. I take my cannabis at the start of the week, Sundays one full 'cigarello' or (1/4 or 1/2 gummy) and remainder of gummy on say a Wednesday, so the effects can go a full week. Add in acupuncture, (Dr. Will Stewart) Frost & Stewart Chiropractors yoga, massages, bar therapy (I suggest Jennifer at Stewart & Frost Chiropractors) Delete sugar from your diet if you can. You will love more deeply and have an amazing cerebral potency while being able to handle your emotions better. Keep in mind all good things must come in moderation. Cannabis is potent and it can knock you out if you don't have the right tolerance for it. Start off small with no more than 5 milligrams or smoke it a few times to build up resistance. Orally, it can stay in your system longer and have a more sedative effect you may not be ready for.....................................................
Scientific results witnessed between alcohol and cannabis: In October I was watching television on a Friday night while having a couple of beers and a shot of my once beloved Fire Ball Whiskey, I have each fall. Having my beer with salt I noticed a fibrous growth developing in my right lower gums. I've had them removed before through oral surgeons. In December that same fibrous lesion produced by the October alcohol drink started to melt back into my gums when I started using CBD, THC. Now, it is almost non existent. IMPORTANT -cannabis aides in combating INFLAMMATION! ALCOHOL EXACERBATES IT!
PLEASE never ever abuse any substance but manage it to your benefit only.
Merry Christmas as this health inducing, emotionally tranquilizing, critical thinking gift of the sublime I present to you all - John
# meditation # deep breathing # Wim Hof # Cannabis # Cold water therapy # acupuncture # yoga
