Just thought i would remind people that plants like cannabis and shrooms and other hallucinogenic plants have been used throughout the ages and still today by sages and shamans across the globe. And yes, it has been and still is used for meditation as well as spirit journeys.
Personally i have been brought up in the norse shamanic traditions passed on through my great-grand-mother to me. I have been trained in the use of certain shrooms, as well as cannabis - both for healing (physical, mental, emotional and spirituall), for meditation and for spirit journeys.
It is not that one relies on the plant for this purpose, but to commune with the plant as an ally can be helpful and insightful depending on the purpose.
However, in relation to cannabis and meditation - one only has to look to india and the "sadhus" (holy men).
"Bhang (Hindi: भांग, [bʱaːŋɡ]; Punjabi: ਭੰਗ IPA: [pə̀ŋɡ]; Bengali: ভাং [bʱaŋ]) Persian "bhanga", is a preparation from the leaves and flowers (buds) of the female cannabis plant, smoked or consumed as a beverage in the Indian subcontinent. [1]
The traditional harvest and preparation of bhang occurs during the celebrations of Holi in March and Vaisakhi in April, hence associated with Lord Shiva. It has now become synonymous with Holi, to the point where consuming bhang at that time is a standard practice.
Bhang Ki Thandai (Hindi) is a drink popular in many parts of India which is made by mixing bhang with thandai, a cold beverage prepared with almonds, spices, milk and sugar. Consumption of Bhang and psychotropic substances has been forbidden by certain Hindu religious sects such as the Shikshapatri."
Wikipedia
or to south american shamanism, or for that matter north european (even norwegian shamans since at least 1500BC)
I just want to state that this is nothing for or against the practice, but as the people on the thread seem interested in the subject there is a lot of history (and literature) on this worth looking into before having too strong opinions.
kind regards
fshortt
