Today I am a recovered smoker.
Let’s begin by understanding tobacco. Do you know that it’s possible that smokers have the habit for decades without even considering that they are pulling smoke off of a burning plant? Especially when people smoke in their youth, they often don't realize that they're partaking in a plant.
To be precise, it is one of the varieties of plants that are not edible by human beings. But because of their properties, they were seen as a secret medicine plant by indigenous people who live close to the land and had great knowledge of the plants because it was a matter of life and death.
It's pretty amazing that indigenous people somehow discovered that tobacco burned a certain way and could be used in a certain way because this isn't the truth for every plant.
How certain people discover plants is actually amazing. It is usually not an ordinary saying that you possess just because you live out in nature. Every clan had an individual with certain gifts and powers. They were sensitive, if you will, to plants. Plants have knowledge encoded into their genetic material that transfers to the body of any animal that ingests them. In the case of tobacco, the way that human beings have adapted as a way of ingesting it, they use the smoke.
The plants have information in their genetic coding and with the compounds that they possess, the capabilities or the abilities of a plant, and they took risks with their own bodies by experimenting with them. They became very knowledgeable and eventually were considered to be holy within their clans because of this working knowledge.
It was always custom to burn tobacco and bring it into the lungs for its desired effects. As you can imagine, if you took very poor people who were not polluted and they set their intention on a spiritual purpose for using the plant, not to feed it, you can imagine the profound effect it would have on the individual's chemistry. That's right, puffing on a tobacco leaf in a pipe could create a very powerful vision for the individual.
The individual would have greater clarity and connection to their own mind. It was an expansion of consciousness that this plant offers. Indigenous ancient people did not only inhale the smoke of the tobacco leaf, they would grind it into a fine powder and have a medicine doctor blow it into their nostrils.
The other way to absorb tobacco is to place it under the tongue or in between the cheek, leaving it in the mouth and allowing the saliva to digest it and extract its essence. Absorption mainly occurs through the digestive system in this way.
The most profound way to work with tobacco is to have it blown into the nostrils in a fine powder format with other natural plant ingredients mixed in. This method is the most profound way to listen to the medicine. It is actually an extraordinary heart opener. It literally opens one's heart to a variety of messages as one learns to work with this medicine in a non-addictive way. A person could actually be unfrozen and a gateway is opened that allows a person to work with stronger plant medicines and access their knowledge.
That is why tobacco must never be used habitually. Tobacco contains properties that could become very addictive to the untrained mind. It calls very strongly to the physical body, and psychologically, it could be very addictive because the initial physiology changes when you ingest it. There is euphoria and ecstasy.
That is why tobacco should never be used habitually. In fact, none of the plants that are used as medicine should be used habitually; the patterns of using these plant medicines should be sporadic. Especially the addictive ones like tobacco, and contrary to popular belief, cannabis.
Anything that makes a person feel good is potentially addictive. The first thing that happens is we form a habit around it; we just habitually use it. When we can't easily stop using it, now we are addicted. Of course, any addiction can be stopped by the individual who is addicted, but they have to strongly want it. Their will and their power to not use that substance have to be greater than their will to use it.
Modern tobacco use, like most things we do in the modern world and especially in the Western world, is done excessively. My thesis of why we do this in the first place is because we are generally unhappy. And so, we are more sensitive to anything that can make us feel happy or make us feel good. We are likely to cling to that thing for dear life.
Also, modern men have gone off the instruction plan that these medicines come with, built into their energy. Either we can't listen or we do not have proper instruction, or we enjoy relishing in excess. In the West, we are arrogant. We feel superior to everything, including Mother Nature. It is a very young person's way of thinking.
If you put matches in the hand of a five-year-old, they are likely to set a fire and enjoy watching something burn. This is a childlike characteristic.
Smoking has so many parts that are soothing. Part of the soothing nature of smoking is the ritual and the familiarity. This is the case for any type of drug use. The familiarity is similar to having a baby's bottle. We associate comfort with the substance that comes along with it.
We also talk ourselves into deep addiction. We tell ourselves along the way that we need this particular substance, without it, we're lost. We dig ourselves into a hole that we can't easily climb out of.
The other problem with cigarettes is that people must realize the intention of the person who is preparing the plant medicine for consumption. It is everything to what happens to your chemistry. Because the person who's making it has energy happening on a conscious and subconscious level, it could be physically real or latent. The person who is making the plant medicine, if their intention is wrong, that will affect the plant's intention as well, which will then influence how the person receiving it absorbs it.
At first, this sounds metaphysical or even spiritual in nature, but it's actually chemical. If you understand the interconnected nature of everything, then you begin to understand how every emotion has energy, everything with movement has energy, and everything affects everything else in a way that we don't detect well, but nonetheless, it's there. You have nothing to lose by understanding that the intention of tobacco companies is to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The intention of the tobacco company is to make people addicted to nicotine as a substance, and people become victims of this, I don't know.
They become ensnared in a cycle of dependency, unaware of the true intentions behind the production and marketing of tobacco. The tobacco industry capitalizes on people's vulnerabilities and exploits their desire for momentary relief or pleasure.
But as an Indigenous person who has witnessed the sacredness of plant medicines, I implore you to reconsider the habitual use of tobacco. It is essential to recognize the deep wisdom and respect with which ancient cultures approached these plants. They understood that the power and potential healing properties of tobacco should be approached with reverence and used sparingly, not as a daily indulgence.
In our modern society, we have lost touch with the true essence and purpose of tobacco. It has become a commercial commodity, devoid of the spiritual and medicinal significance it once held. The intention behind its production has shifted from healing and connection to profit and addiction.
We must reclaim our understanding of tobacco as a sacred plant, not to be used flippantly or habitually. The misuse of tobacco has dire consequences, not only for our physical health but also for our mental and spiritual well-being. It is crucial to approach it with caution and to seek proper guidance if we choose to incorporate it into our personal practices.
Let us remember the teachings of our ancestors and honor the wisdom they passed down to us. They knew that the true power of tobacco lies not in its habitual consumption, but in its ability to open our hearts, expand our consciousness, and connect us to the profound wisdom of the natural world.
So, I urge you to reflect on your relationship with tobacco and consider embracing a more mindful and intentional approach. Let us strive to honor the traditions and wisdom of our ancestors while navigating the complexities of the modern world.