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Hemp FACT #81- D. Miller Pt.2
Date: 95-04-11 10:48:04 EDT
From: ADBryan
Part 2.
From "Dennis Miller Live" on HBO, Friday, Nov. 11, 1994, 10:00 pm
"Is their anything more fruitless than trying to legislate sexual behavior? You know according to the law, you can't even get a blow job in Georgia? No wonder Sherman hustled through there. And really if you stop to think about it, who is hurt by the time honored unavoidable trade of prostitution? Only the guys who pay extra to be hurt. There is no sane reason to cling to this archaic legal attempt to curtail an activity that will be around until the end of time. You know, you could come back to this planet ten thousand years from now and man could have evolved to the point where he doesn't even take in nutrition from a hole in head anymore, but I guarantee you that he'll still be cruising ninth avenue trying to get a knob-shine from somebody named Desiree.
"What sort of perfect harried experiment society are we striving for folks? One where you will be forced by the puritanical mentality of your pin-headed Gladys Kravitz neighbors into a tightly constricted, over-regimented existence? A life safe from the temptations and rewards of the flesh? If that's your kink - go for it. But for the rest of us, let's save the money we're wasting trying to regulate other people's private lives. If an individual wants to smoke a joint, or shoot up, or munch blotter like tic-tacs and drop out, let them. All right? Let's put the billions we're wasting on a drug war, fought by fitness fanatics on steroids and three-martini senators rolling in pork, let's put it back in the educational system. Let's free the courts and jails of lonely men and broken women who feel the need to buy and sell sex. Let's let hookers and their johns have a safe building somewhere off the streets, inspected medically and taxed up the wazoo. Let's go on from there to tax liquor and cigarettes so that those industries can pay for safe one-lane drunk-proof highways and air purification systems. Most importantly, let's stop retending that people are going to lead the lives that we tell them to lead. Let's stop pretending that a few simple prohibitions on substances and activities will yield up a nation of Beaver Cleavers: polite, clean, sexless, and ready to serve their fellow man, no questions asked. People are people. They're going to with their lives what they want to do, whether you like it or not. There is nothing you can do about them that won't break the bank, overcrowd the prisons, or corrode an already oxidized judicial system.
People are perennially going to get f***** up and f***, and we will continue to get f***** over if we don't concede the fact that there is absolutely f***-all we can do about it.
"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong."
Dennis Miller
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If anyone has suggestions for topics, let me know here or email.
Date: 95-04-12 11:16:24 EDT
From: ADBryan
his article may be a little old, but it's still worthy.
From the Baltimore Sun 5-9-1991
SURPRISE ! HORROR STORIES OF DRUGS IN THE WORKPLACE DON'T HOLD UP
By David Morris
St. Paul Minnesota
It has been a while since drugs made the front page. So let me bring you up to date on recent findings about drug use that didn't make it to prime-time news.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that the giant utility Utah Power and Light, "spent $215 per employee per year less on the drug abusers in health insurance benefits than on the control group." Employees that tested positive for drugs at Georgia Power Company had a higher promotion rate than the company average. Workers testing positive only for Marijuana exhibited absenteeism some 30 percent lower than average.
Scientific American, after exhaustive research, found that the studies usually cited to prove the dangers of drug use in the workplace were either shoddy or misinterpreted. Astonishingly, the magazine could identify only one study on workplace drug use that has passed through the standard peer review process for scientific evaluation.
That one, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, studied 180 hospital employees, 22 of whom had tested positive after being hired. It found "no difference between drug-positive and drug-negative employees" with respect to supervisor valuations or performance. Except for one intriguing item:
Eleven of the negatives had been fired during their first year on the job, but none of the positives.
More recently the American Psychologist, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, reported on a 15 year study of the San Francisco-area children by researchers Jonathan Shedler and Jack Block of the University of California at Berkley.
Their report reveals that adolescents who occasionally use drugs are healthier than both drug abusers and drug abstainers. Moreover, those who abuse drugs as teen-agers have distinct behavioral problems that were identifiable years before there drug use began. Drug use is a symptom, not a cause.
Says Mr. Shedler, "the most effective drug prevention programs might not deal with drugs at all."
In an interview published in the National Review, Michael S. Gazzaniga, professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School, discussed several studies that found that drug use increases in groups under stress, but that "the rate of addiction doesn't go up no matter what the degree of stress. Most people can walk away from high drug use if their lives become more normal."
The British journal New Scientist reports research that found the majority of those who become dependant on Cocaine return to moderate use or total abstinence without treatment.
Finally, Florida State University conducted a study for the Florida legislature of 45,096 people arrested for drug possesion in 1987. Eighty-eight percent had never been arrested for property crimes like burglary. Says professor David Rasmussen, "this study suggests we are incarcerating people for the use of drugs when they do not commit other crimes and tend not to commit other crimes."
What are we to conclude ?
Relying on these and many other studies, the Washington-based Drug Policy Foundation, a beacon of reason in a sea of hysteria, offers the following framework. Stress causes drug use. The vast majority of those who use drugs are casual users. Those who use drugs tend not to commit other crimes. Drugs in the workplace are not a serious burden on productivity.
Which isn't to say there is no problem. There is. But it's a problem caused more by making drug use a crime than by the use itself.
Part 2 comin' at ya tomorrow.
Date: 95-04-13 10:14:06 EDT
From: ADBryan
Part 2.
From the Baltimore Sun 5-9-1991
SURPRISE ! HORROR STORIES OF DRUGS IN THE WORKPLACE DON'T HOLD UP
By David Morris
St. Paul Minnesota
"There is little argument that drug trafficking has played crucial role in spawning the rise of violent crime," the Washington Post recently observed. Gangs have spread from a localized phenomenon to nationally franchised businesses, financed by drug money and armed with ever-higher caliber weaponry. We're fueling a level of violence rarely seen before, a violence now spilling over into areas that don't involve drugs.
We can't build new prisons fast enough to house all the drug users we want to put in them. In some states, education budgets are declining to guarantee sufficient money for jails. In our panic about drugs, we are willing to sacrifice not only our schools but our liberty. Forfeitures of property by drug users is rising into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and virtually all this revenue goes back into drug enforcement, creating an unhealthy symbiotic relationship between drug dealers and the police.
Last year, for the first time, military troops were used on Marijuana raids. Strip-searches of high school students in Kansas and Missouri elicit little protest, even when no drugs are found. Anderson County, S.C., billboards announce, "Need cash? Turn in a drug dealer." Informers recieve as much as 25 percent of the assets seized from drug raids.
Public pronouncements notwithstanding, the evidence is piling up that the collateral damage from our War on Drugs far exceeds the damage from drug use itself.
David Morris is a columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.....
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Date: 95-04-14 10:38:06 EDT
From: ADBryan
Well this info is a little different. It came from the Hungry Bear Hemp Home Page at www.hempbc.com. These guys even sell hemp seed nutrition bars.
Hemp Seed is one of the most nutritionally complete and balanced foods on the planet in the following regard:
Protein---Second to soybeans in protein content (25%), and contains all eight essential amino acids in amounts and proportions necessary for the production of immune-enhancing antibodies (such as gamma globulin).
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's)---Hemp Seed is the richest plant source of EFA's (80% of total oil volume). They are essential to children for proper growth, used to perform various metabolic rolds, indispensible in the structure and functioning of cell membranes, regulators of cholesterol metabolism, and raw material for hormone-like substances which regulate nearly all body processes.*
* Rudin, Donald O. and Felix, Clara, The Omega=3 Phenomenon, Rawson Associates, NY 1987 pp. 9, 10.
Content of all three EFA's in Hemp Seed Oil
Alpha Linolenic acid (LNA;Omega=3)...25%
Alpha Linoleic acid(LA;Omega=6)......55%
Arachididic acid....................0.5%*
*Sufficient amounts of this EFA are naturally converted from LA in our bodies.
Linoleic acid is abundant in many of our common foods, yet LNA and other Omega=3's are seldom found in sufficient amounts. As you see above, Hemp Seed is very rich in thes EFA.
EFA deficiency (especially Alpha Linoleic Acid) symptoms include the following: skin problems, hair loss, easy bruising, inflammation of joints, fatigue, infertility, kidney problems, a variety of neurological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems, and a whole range of chronic degenerative disease.
Being a plant that can grow nearly everywhere humans inhabit plus having a seed with a hull that seals in all these vital proteins and oils for extended periods, Cannabis Hemp is the ideal crop for famine-stricken bioregions (and anywhere else, wouldn't you agree?).
May we also be aware of Hemp as our planet's most valuable natural resource for industrial fiber, medicine and biomass fuel.
More tommorow, same Hemp time (and we all know Hemp time does not mean the same time ;-), same Hemp Message Board.
Date: 95-04-15 10:48:24 EDT
From: ADBryan
Let me wish all of you a safe and happy Passover, Easter or Weekend (your pick). Since this is a religous time of your, I thought I'd bring this article out. This will be another of those that goes on for several days. If anyone wants this in it's entirety, email and request M.S. Word or text format.
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT
According to Jack Herer in The Emperor Wears No Clothes or Everything You Wanted to Know About Marijuana But Were Not Taught in School, "The Essenes, a kabalistic priest/prophet/healer sect of Judaism dating back to the era of the Dead Sea Scrolls, used hemp, as did the Theraputea of Egypt, from where we get the term 'therapeutic'."
The Theraputea of Egypt were Jewish ascetics that dwelt near Alexandria and described by Philo (1st century B.C.) as devoted to contemplation and meditation. Alexandria is where St. Mark is traditionally held to have established the Coptic Church in 45 A.D. The Coptic Church has been neglected by Western scholars despite its historical significance. This has been due to the various biases and interest of the Catholic Church which claimed Christianity for its own. The result is that for the Coptic Church there is very little history. It is however assumed that the Coptic religious services have their roots in the earliest layers of Christian ritual in Jerusalem and it is known that the Coptic church is of ancient origin going back to the time of the first Christian communities and even before.
Tradition states that "Coptic" was derived from "Kuftaim", son of Mizraim, a grandchild of Noah who first settled in the Nile valley, in the neighborhood of Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt. At one time Thebes was the greatest city in the world and history records that by 2200 B.C. the whole of Egypt was united under a Theban prince. The splendor of Thebes was known to Homer, who called it "the city with a hundred gates". (Richard Schultes states that in ancient Thebes marijuana was made into a drink.)
According to E.A. Wallis Budge in The Divine Origin of the Herbalist, page 79, "The Copts, that is to say the Egyptians who accepted the teachings of St. Mark in the first century of our era, and embraced Christianity, seem to have eschewed medical science as taught by the physicians of the famous School of Medicine of Alexandria, and to have been content with the methods of healing employed by their ancestors."
The Essenes were an ascetic sect closely related to the Theraputea that had established a monastic order in the desert outside of Palestine and were known as spiritual healers. It has been suggested that both John the Baptist and Jesus may have been of the Essene sect as they were both heavily dependent on Essene teachings. The scripture makes no mention of the life of Jesus from the age of 13 to 30. Certain theologians speculate that Jesus was being initiated by the Essenes, the last fraternity to keep alive the ancient traditions of the prophets.
Every prophet, however great, must be initiated. His higher self must be awakened and made conscious so that his mission can be fulfilled. Amongst the Essenes' ritual lustrations preceded most liturgical rites, the most important one of which was participation in a sacred meal_an anticipation of the Messianic banquet.
Throughout the ancient world sacrifice was a sacramental communal meal involving the idea of the god as a participant in the meal or as identical with the food consumed. The communion sacrifice was one in which the deity indwells the oblation so that the worshippers actually consume the divine. The original motive of sacrifice was an effort toward communion among the members of a group, on one hand, and between them and their god, on the other. At its best, sacrifice was a "sacrament" and in one form or another life itself.
Next part tomorrow or Monday.
Date: 95-04-17 11:15:48 EDT
From: ADBryan
Hope everyone had a safe holiday.
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT - Part 2.
The central focus of the early Christian church was the Eucharist or the "body and blood" of the Lord. This was interpreted as a fellowship meal with the resurrected Christ. In meeting the Resurrected One in the Eucharist meal the Christian community had the expectation of the Kingdom of God and salvation.
Christ communicated life to his disciples through the Eucharist or Christian sacrament. Christ said in describing the sacrament, "Take, eat, this is my body, this is my blood. Do this as often as you will in remembrance of me." (I Corinthians 11:24-25) Baptism is defined as the Christian sacrament used in purification and the spiritual rebirth of the individual. I Corinthians 10:1 makes it clear that the smoking cloud of incense was directly related to baptism.
I Corinthians 10:1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat: for they drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
In the Biblical story of Creation, God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed and to you it will be for meat." (Genesis 1:29) Marijuana is technically an herb and was considered a spiritual meat in the ancient world. From this passage in Corinthians we see that the spiritual cloud resulting from the burning of incense was instrumental in the baptism of the Israelites. This baptism is also compared to the "eating and drinking" of the spirit of Christ.
Spirit is defined as the active essence of the Deity serving as an invisible and life-giving or inspiring power in motion. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the sacrificial cloud or smoke contained the Spirit of God (Christ) and was instrumental in inspiring, sanctifying, and purifying the patriarchs. In Numbers 11:25 the cloud results in the Spirit resting upon Moses and the seventy elders. This passage indicates that they prophesied ecstatically. "Prophesy" is defined as follows: to utter or announce by or as if by divine inspiration; to speak for God or a deity; to give instruction in religious matters. Throughout the Holy Bible prophets of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The smoking burning cloud of incense contained the spirit and was instrumental in bringing about the spiritual revelations of the prophets. In the ancient world marijuana was used to reveal the future. The virtues of marijuana include speech-giving and inspiration of mental powers. "Psychoactive" is defined as effecting the mind or behavior.
When we of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church think of mind or behavior we think of that inward essence or element that makes up the individual. This is the person's spirit. We are all spiritual beings. It is just as important to keep the spiritual part of a person healthy as it is to keep the physical body healthy and in fact they are related. Hence marijuana and its relationship to spiritual food.
In the Apocrypha (Book of Jubilees), Chapter 10, God tells an angel to teach Noah the medicines which heal and protect from evil spirits. Surely God taught Noah about marijuana. In the ancient world marijuana played an important role in purification and protecting from evil influences.
Part tres manana, amigas y amigos.
Date: 95-04-18 09:39:23 EDT
From: ADBryan
Poster's note--All of the information contained in the Sacrament (and yes I've been spelling it wrong) comes from:
--
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Cannabis Reform Coalition
S.A.O. Box #2
415 Student Union Building
UMASS, Amherst MA 01003
Part 3.
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT
Note the following concerning the transfiguration of Christ:
St. Matthew 17:1 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 When yet he spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
The Bible Dictionary by John McKenzie, page 898, says concerning the transfiguration that the cloud and the formula of the utterance of the Father are derived from the baptism of Jesus. He says that the change described in the appearance of Jesus suggests the change which is implied in the resurrection narratives.
Some of the synonyms for transfiguration are transformation, metamorphosis, transubstantiation, and avatar. These terms imply the change that accompanies resurrection or deification. Across the world, legends of godlike men who manage to rise, in a state of perfection go back to an era before human beings had cast away from the divine source. Hence the gods were beings which once were men, and the actual race of men will in time become gods. Christ revealed this to the people of his day when he told them to whom the word of God came, "Ye are gods." (St. John 10:34)
St. Matthew 17:2 says that during the transfiguration of Christ that his face did shine as the sun. The face of Moses also shone when he returned from the cloud on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 30:34). The shining countenances are the result of their resurrections, of their being spiritually illumined in the cloud of smoking incense.
Most people are under the impression that Christ baptized with water. As you can see from the following account of John the Baptist this isn't so. John the Baptist baptized with water and Christ baptized with fire.
St. Matthew 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water into repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
It is only logical that this baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire is related to the baptism of Christ in the burning, smoking cloud of incense and to the baptism of the patriarchs in which the patriarchs did all eat of the same spiritual meal (incense). In the section dealing with the "Holy Spirit" the Encyclopedia Britannica states that Christian writers have seen in various references to the Spirit of Yahweh in the Old Testament an anticipation of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. It also says that the Holy Spirit is viewed as the main agent of man's restoration to his original natural state through communion in Christ's body and, thus, as the principle of life in the Christian community.
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Part 4. Tomorrow. Anyone wishing the full text of this article can email me. Specify MS Word or text format.
Date: 95-04-19 10:01:06 EDT
From: ADBryan
Just finished watching "Texas" (had to tape it). Surely they could have done better than Bobby Ewing playing the part of my 5th great uncle Stephen F. Austin.
Part 4.
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT
The patriarchs were recipients of a revelation coming directly from the Spirit (incense) and this was expressed in the heightening and enlargement of their consciousness. It is clear from Scripture that this spiritual dimension was also evident in the life of Jesus, in whom the experience of the Hebrew prophets was renewed. Through the Eucharist Christ passed this spiritual dimension on to his apostles. One of the apostles even makes mention in Philippians 4:18 of a sweet smelling sacrifice that is well pleasing to God.
Christ compares this baptism to the drinking of a cup.
St. Mark 10:38 "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
This cup is referred to as the cup of salvation in Psalms 116:12.
Psalms 116:12 "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
It is called the cup of blessing in connection in connection with the eucharist.
1 Corinthians 10:16 "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood and the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of one bread.
Here we see a connection between the cup of blessing and the communion of the blood of Christ. Blood is the life-giving substance of the living being. Christ communicated life to his disciples through the Eucharist or Christian sacrament.
In I Corinthians 10:16 we note the mention of bread as the communion of the body of Christ and that we are all partakers of one bread. This is the spiritual bread or food used by Christ and his disciples. (A synonym for the Eucharist or the Body and Blood of the Lord is the bread of life.) It is interesting to note that the finest marijuana in Jamaica is called Lamb's bread.
1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 11:25 "After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
If these passages are compared to 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, it is plain that the "eating of one bread" is the same as the patriarchs "eating the same spiritual meat" and the "drinking of one Spirit" (the cup) is the same as the patriarchs "drinking of the Spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." By making this comparison we see that the terminology of the Eucharist is directly related to the smoking cloud of incense used in the baptism of Christ and the patriarchs.
It is interesting to note that smoking was referred to as "eating" or "drinking" by the early American Indians. Peter J. Furst in Hallucinogen and Culture states the following:
"Considering its enormous geographic spread in the Americas at the time of European discovery, as well as the probable age of stone tobacco pipes in California, the inhaling (often called "drinking" or "eating") of tobacco smoke by the Shaman, as a corollary to therapeutic fumigation and the feeding of the gods with smoke, must also be of considerable antiquity."
In Licit and Illicit Drugs, page 209, the following is quoted:
"Columbus and other early explorers who followed him were amazed to meet Indians who carried rolls of dried leaves that they set afire_and who then "drank the smoke" that emerged from the rolls. Other Indians carried pipes in which they burned the same leaves, and from which they similarly "drank the smoke".
Date: 95-04-20 10:00:06 EDT
From: ADBryan
Wow, what a night!! Actually heard a tornado passing by. Luckily it didn't touch down in my part of town.
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT -- Part 5
The Encyclopedia Britannica states in the section on "Sacrifice" that the interpretation of sacrifice and particularly of the Eucharist as sacrifice has varied greatly within the different Christian traditions because of the sacrificial terminology in which the Eucharist was originally described became foreign to Christian thinkers.
We (Poster's Note--The poster is not a member of any organized religion) of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare that the true understanding of the Eucharist has been passed down from generation to generation so that we are able to give an accurate interpretation of the sacrificial terminology used to describe the Eucharist. We have shown, using history and Biblical passages, that his terminology is directly related to burning smoking incense. We have shown that the "eating" or "drinking" contained in the terminology concerning the Eucharist is associated with the inhalation of smoke. We have shown that marijuana was used as incense and that it was the number one spiritual plant of the ancient world.
We of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church declare that the cup that Christ baptized his disciples with in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire was in fact a pipe or chillum in which marijuana was smoked. This is a bottomless cup and soon as it is emptied, it is filled again and passed in a circle. There is a picture of this cup or pipe below, as well as on the cover. Like the pipe of the ancient North American Indians, this cup was a portable altar.
Christ was the Father of the doctrine of the Eucharist which is the communion that Jesus gave his brethren. Jesus taught that the communion is his body and blood. Jesus was not speaking of His physical body and blood. He was speaking of His spiritual body and spiritual blood that was the communion of his holy church. The supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples "on the night that he was betrayed" (1 Corinthians 11:23) inaugurated the heavenly meal that was to be continued.
1 Corinthians 11:23 "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it and said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, which he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink of this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat of this bread, and drink of this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and let him eat of the bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Christ said, "Do this in remembrance of me." Here the original unity of man with God is restored. In general the reception of the Holy Spirit is connected with the actual realization, the inward experiencing of God.
Marijuana has been referred to as a mild euphoric (the producer of a feeling of well-being) that produces a profound religious experience of a mystical and transcendental nature. This religious experience is said to be brought about by the stirring of deeply buried, unconscious sensitivities so that one experiences ultimate reality or the divine and confirms the feeling of the worshipper that he has been in the presence of God and has assimilated some of His powers.
Part 6. Tomorrow -- Pass it on ;-)
Date: 95-04-21 10:26:00 EDT
From: ADBryan
MARIJUANA AS THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT-- Part 6.
To be lifted above sense to behold the beatific vision and become "incorporate" in God is the end sought in ecstasy. The priest or mystic in enthusiasm or ecstasy enjoys the beatific vision by entering into communion with God and by undergoing deification. The experience of ecstasy, states Mircea Eliade, one of the foremost authorities on religion, is a timeless primary phenomenon. Psychological experience of rapture, he continues, are fundamental to the human condition and hence known to the whole of archaic humanity. (Some of the synonyms of rapture are bliss, beatitude, transport, exaltation.)
Baudelaire, a member of the Club Des Hashichins (Hashish Club) founded in Paris around 1835 and writer of Artificial Paradises states the following about hashish: Hashish is the unadulterated resin from the flowering tops of the female hemp plant.
"One will find in hashish nothing miraculous, absolutely nothing but an exaggeration of the natural. The brain and organisms on which hashish operates will produce only the normal phenomena peculiar to that individual increased, admittedly, in number and force, but always faithful to the original. A man will never escape from his destined physical and moral temperament: hashish will be a mirror of his impression and private thoughts a magnifying mirror, it is true, but only a mirror.
He cautions that the user must be in the right frame of mind to take hashish, for just as it exaggerates the natural behavior of the individual, so too does hashish intensify the user's immediate feelings. Baudelaire describes three successive phases a hashish user will pass through. He says the final stage is marked by a feeling of calmness, in which time and space have no meaning, and there is a sense that one has transcended matter. He says that in this state, one final supreme thought breaks into consciousness. "I have become God."
Realization of one's union with God is necessary in understanding the true Christian sacrament. The understanding of man's relationship to God and God's relationship to man (God in Man and Man in God) was quite prevalent in the ancient world, particularly among the religions that utilized marijuana as part of their religious practice.
Said the great Hindu sage, Manu, "He who in his own soul perceives the Supreme Soul in all beings and acquires equanimity toward them all, attains the highest bliss." To recognize oneness of self with God was contained in all the teachings of Gautama Buddha. In the Liturgy of Mithra (the Persian god of light and truth) the suppliant prays "abide with me in my soul; leave me not," and "that I may be initiated and the Holy Spirit may breathe within me." The communion became so intimate as to pass into identity: "I am thou and thou art I." Athanasius, a theologian, ecclesiastical statesman, and Egyptian national leader who was closely tied to the Coptic Church in Egypt said, "Even we may become gods walking in the flesh," and "God became man that man might become God."
Western theology (Catholic and Protestant) teaches that the spirit created matter but remained aloof of it. In Hinduism and other Eastern religions, the spirit is the inside, the matter is the outside; the two are inseparable. Eastern theologians hive rightly perceived that the God one worships must posses all the aspects of his worshippers' nature as well as his own divine nature. Otherwise, how can he create beings whose nature is entirely foreign to his own? What, then, would be the meaning of the Biblical phrase: "God made man in his own image"?
Part 7 Tomorrow--Pass it on :-)
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