Remember the first time you got high?
I don’t know about you, but for me, it was a POWERFUL experience. My toes were tingling, my head felt like cotton wool, and I giggled in an uncontrollable state of utter abandon that I still remember warmly today.
I was completely immersed in the experience of this strange and wonderful thing happening in my body. With great curiosity and amusement, I followed the high unfold and change shape.
But as I grew more accustomed to using cannabis, I ceased to be immersed. Instead, I began to take the effects for granted.
I was no longer curiously observing the high but often mindlessly preoccupied with something else: talking, writing, thinking, or even browsing the internet.
This dulled the effects of coming up: though I still technically felt “high,” it was a diminished high, and I didn't appreciate it nearly to the extent of those first times.
The results were twofold: One, my dosage tended to steadily creep up. A part of me chased those first highs, hoping I’d get the same euphoric feeling by consuming more.
Second, I began to lose my appreciation for the experience of coming up. And that's a shame, because in many ways, the come-up is the best part of the high.
Why?
Well, one of the many remarkable things about the human mind is its ability to adapt. We can get accustomed to almost any state. No matter how mind-blowing an experience is the first time, after a while, we tend to find it mediocre at best.
But we are sensitive to change: we focus more on the delta in an experience than the absolute level. This is why the come-up-stage should technically be the best part of the entire high: it's when the change in our experience is most palpable.
So, even though the precise feeling of your first high may be hard to recapture, you can at least get closer to it by being more mindful about how you come up. Come-up meditations encourage you to focus on the effects of the high and explore your consciousness. Not only does this help you appreciate the experience more, it also makes the high more potent, meaning you’ll effectively get higher on the same amount of weed.
Or, you can get as high with less weed, thereby saving money. Either way, you win 🤷♂️
My goal is to publish new come-up meditations at a regular pace, continually introducing new elements of mindfulness to help you enjoy your weed more, be more purposeful about how you use it, and continue to explore your own consciousness.
The meditations will draw on many sources such as:
Books.
Research articles.
Personal experiences.
Mindfulness resources, like The Headless Way and the Waking Up app.
And more.
Ready to begin your journey?
The best place to start is taking two minutes to define the purpose and dosage for your high.
Or, you can head straight to the first come-up meditation below 🧘
Come-Up Meditation #1 (8 mins)
In this come-up meditation, you’ll be guiding your attention to the experience of being high. You’ll also be performing a famous experiment devised by British philosopher Douglas Harding, which reveals something surprising about consciousness. You don’t need to consume cannabis to enjoy this meditation, but if you do, I recommend you start the meditation…
Enjoy!
-G.G.
P.S. If you know anyone who might be interested in Smart Cannabis Use, please nudge them this way 🙏🏻
Smart Cannabis Use is for informational purposes only. You need to be aware of and abide by the laws in your area. Please also be aware that cannabis is not suitable for everyone, such as minors or those with certain mental health conditions. You are responsible for your own choices and actions.