Mother Nature’s Calling

 

Taina Morales

 

          For my altered states project I decided that I would alter my state of consciousness by fasting for twelve hours, hiking on a new trail with a friend, and meditating after ingesting and smoking medical cannabis. I wanted the environment this took place in to be as relaxing and “sacred” as possible in order to truly allow myself to have a cathartic experience. Hiking is one of my favorite past times. Every time I hike I feel a strong sense of peace, serenity and a connection to something outside bigger than myself. The experience I have while hiking is similar to what people describe to feel when they engage in prayer. I also experience this same feeling during mediation and when I use marijuana for therapeutic purposes. I made the decision to fast so that with an empty stomach my body would quickly absorb the THC and be able to feel the effects of the edible to its full capacity. In other words, I was ready to get trippy…

Most of my fast was spent in slumber. The remaining hours were used in preparation for the hike then traveling to and up Malibu Creek. Once I reached the twelfth hour, my friend and I stopped and found a gorgeous elevated spot on the rocks overlooking the creek. I had purchased a brownie edible and a gram of cannabis flower at a local dispensary, which is accessible to anyone with a medical marijuana card. Much how Jews are required by religion to make pilgrimage to the holy land in Jerusalem, my climb to the top of the creek knowing the ritual that lay ahead of me made my hike feel pilgrimage in it’s own right. After setting up my yoga mat and making sure I had everything ready, at 6:00 a.m. that brownie became my breakfast! I waited about thirty to thirty-five minutes just relaxing on the rocks, listening to the sounds of fresh running water in the creek, observing all the different trees, and truly embracing the natural environment around me. As the edible began to take its course, I began to feel an awareness and strong connection to the forest and wild life around me. Wanting to dig deeper into this state of consciousness, I put on my headphones and began my “mindfulness meditation” playlist on Spotify. I began the meditation by getting in the lotus position and closing my eyes, letting my other sense take the lead. My body began to feel very light and to the point where I almost like I was floating or drifting away off the rock. I had never meditated while under the influence of marijuana so relaxation easier than I thought. There were a few instances in which I had to open my eyes just to make sure I wasn’t falling over or fainting. After about fifteen minutes I decided I would take it up a notch by smoking a small amount of the cannabis flower to enhance my sync with Mother Nature. Five to seven minutes after smoking the flower is when I felt a connection to the mountain like nothing I have never felt before. When I opened my eyes again I was able truly see the beauty of nature around me. Tears of joy began to roll down my cheeks. For the first time in a long time I was able to access a sense of duality. The understanding that even without humans nature still continues to live gave me a feeling of comfortable insignificance. It was like Mother Nature herself had opened my eyes to remind me of the world that exists outside of the rat race mankind has constructed. Though I felt unimportant to the natural world around me, I was able to feel a connection to Mother Nature and the Universe.

Under the influence of the cannabis, I was able to understand how people who use hallucinogens for religious purpose could interpret their experience as having made contact with more divine entity. Much how I experienced a Cathartic connected to the earth and Mother Nature, it is easy to see how someone could also feel the same connection to their God of choice. My meditation lasted about forty-five minutes to an hour. By the time I was done, I had the perfect view of the sunrise breaking through the dark clouds from the prior night’s storm. The message I received as the sun began breaking through the clouds played as a reminder to myself that the light will always overcome the darkness. Another message I felt Mother Nature was trying to give me was to stop stressing over things that only exist in the prisms of my mind and focus on the things that are real around me. It was a very heartwarming experience for me and I took forward to doing it again because for the first time in a long time I felt at one with the universe again.