Entries by Stephen

Quick Guide to Cannabis as a Spiritual Ally

I’ve been prompted to write this “Quick Guide to Cannabis as a Spiritual Ally” because I’m seeing more and more people interested in making use of the sacred herb in that way, some of whom have been “cannabis friendly” for years and others of whom are what some in the field are now calling “cannabis […]

They Call Her Santa Maria

They Call Her Santa Maria. Who is “They?” In the context of the story that follows, “they” is a group of people I know who treat cannabis as a sacred plant. They hold great respect for her, and, for the most part as I’ve observed them, meet her in carefully considered “settings”—as in “set and setting.” […]

Thoughts are Prayers – for Better or Worse

Thoughts Are Prayers This topic, “Thoughts are Prayers – for Better or Worse,” is what you might call the “and Spirituality” side of Cannabis and Spirituality—not directly about cannabis except that with skillful intention and attention, the holy herb can be a powerful tool for self-exploration and understanding in meditative contexts. I’ve been aware of this general principle for a […]

Experience and Perseverance

Awakening with Cannabis: Experience & Perseverance I have no wish to judge anyone for their preferred ways of using cannabis. It’s just that I’ve occasionally seen through the veils and found myself in an exquisite inner landscape that only reveals itself when I’m giving the plant my undivided attention. Breathing becomes deeper and more expansive. Muscles relax, the […]

A Good Way to Teach

If you’ve read Returning to Sacred World you probably recall a number of references to and quotes from Kanucas, a spiritual elder in the Native American Church (NAC). Kanucas was my first contact with the NAC in 2003 and in the years since I’ve had a lot of interaction with him. Returning to Sacred World […]

(Imaginary) Interview With God

Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a megalomaniac or a fire-and-brimstone preacher claiming to have a direct line to a personal God. What follows is a somewhat playful but nonetheless sincere attempt to imagine what such a conversation might entail on issues of planetary and personal consciousness transformation. It contains direct and indirect references to […]

Signs of Awakening

  Signs of Awakening: I’m going out on a limb with this topic and perhaps risking accusations—including from myself—of hubris. A long history of practice and study, however dubious at times in its effectiveness, has brought me to a place where I believe I know a little about whether one’s spiritual work is having the […]

Crop Circles: A Beautiful Enigma

At the risk of being filed by some readers under F for flake, I feel compelled to address the issue of crop circles, with this title “Crop Circles: A Beautiful Enigma.” It’s just too bizarre and mysterious to ignore. Most people have by now heard of these crop formations—”circles” doesn’t begin to describe most of them—and most […]

Principles of the Paradigm Revolution

  Principles of the Paradigm Revolution: A ‘Manifesto’ I suspect that if you’ve found your way here it’s abundantly clear to you that the juggernaut of the current dominant paradigm is not going much further on this planet. That conceptual framework has at its core the belief that the material realm is all there is […]