unusal question

[Zaron]

what do you guys bealive about jedi using drugs. I know one person on this site but I won't mention who belives that they can bring you in better conection with the force while I personally think that they will destroy it. At the same time my freind has a few valid points that shake my belife. The drug I am talking about is weed. Any perspective would be apricated

[RyuJin]

i feel that anything that alters perception hinders your ability to feel the force properly. i don't even use painkillers when they're prescribed for me...not even when i nearly severed 3 of my fingers....pain lets me know i'm still alive and i strengthen my focus by blocking it. drugs tend to prevent you from focusing properly

[Kitsu Tails]

The answer, IMO, Is really quite simple.... Does it harm your body? Yes? Then no...it is probably not a wise route to take.

IMO The Mind, Body, and Spirit must be in harmony and if you are polluting and harming your body, you are then throwing that harmony off balance.

A good Star Wars example if your interested would be to read the Star Wars Medstar series....It's about this apprentice Jedi that finds a 'Drug' that does wonderous things and connects you to the force at a level unheard of....as well as the dangers of using such a thing. The series in all wasn't IMO any good....but it does provide a familiar, fictional, Star Wars outlook on this same topic.

Just my 2 cents

Remember the easy road is probably not always the better road.

[Zaron]

I agree kiysu tails easy is not always best. But like I said I PERSONALLY think drugs are a waste of time and can mess with your perception and then your conection to the forceas RynJin said but someone I trained is using drugs and to suposadlly highten his conection he will not listen to me no matter what I say. Next question is how do I approach him in a way he might listen to me? like before anything helps

[Kitsu Tails]

You can't make anyone listen to you. In the end he is entitled to do whatever he want's. All you can do is voice your opinion/thoughts/feelings, agree to disagree, and leave it at that. IMO

[Andy]

truthfully, does he get high and meditate, or does he get high and sit and play games on the couch. It it is the latter, its pretty obvious its for recreation and isn't heightening anything.

[jdmcowan]

I don't doubt that some drugs can sometimes remove artificial barriers in our minds that effect our connection to the force. Unfortunately, at the same time, those same drugs can put up new barriers that alter our connection to the physical realm. It may be an interesting experiment to experience some new aspects of the force, but it's not a way to live life or improve yourself. If you want to be able to bring a connection to the force into your fully conscious and aware state, you will need to practice ways to make that connection without drugs. It's harder work, but the benefits are greater.

Jeremy

[RyuJin]

as kitsu said you can't force anyone to listen or to behave according to what you want. the best you can do is try to talk to him, either he will listen or he won't. sometimes you have to let them fall so that they learn to pick themselves up.

i know it's really difficult to let someone close fall (like an apprentice,family member,friend), but sometimes it's necessary...some lessons can only be learned by falling and hitting the bottom of the pit..

[QuigonGen]

my view on taking drugs rituely; no, some drugs will impare your preception of the universe, and the force along with the obv, judgement; not only do they mess up your preception; but the wast left behind T.H.C, M.D.M.A can eat holes in your brain, causing forgetfullness, and loss in "charge" you will lose the neutrel charge from your body that reacts to light and dark viberations.

[Zaron]

Alright I will try to fall back but as all ready mention it won't be easy. He sits around gets high and then tries to use his new found force powers to find girls or something like that. Sometimes he will meditate with it I think not sure though.

[Andy]

Yea, stoner powers do not help with the ladies. So that would be a fail.

[Inari]

Another aspect that hasn't been mentioned yet is that a Jedi respects the laws of the country that he or she lives in. Whether certain substances can or cannot entail a greater connection to the force is in many ways immaterial if they are against the law.

[AdamGolfer]

You can say all you want to him but if he isn't ready to listen he won't change or even consider it. Sometimes you can cause more issues if you keep harping on it. Just let him know you're there for him if and when he ever makes the decision to stop.

[QuigonGen]

girls man of all the things to search for through the force hahahahahaha... but the second how on earth can one meditate as they crash i used to pass out as soon as i took it and went for a trip lucid dreams and astral traveling.

[Zaron]

Good point Inari I never though about that partly because I have not exsacually been on the right side of the law myself but hey who has:) AdamGolfer I am afraid you are right I don't think he is ready sadly. It is just sad to see another strong and dedacated force user get drug down into the filth of this world. Thanks bretheren you have helped me make my mind

[AdamGolfer]

It is absolutely difficult to watch, just make sure they know you are there for them when they do make that choice, that helps ease your own mind and lets them know that when they are ready they know who they can come talk to.

[RyuJin]

Yea, stoner powers do not help with the ladies. So that would be a fail.

<tokes up><waves hand> those are the breasts i'm looking for:sHa_lol:
i dunno it just doesn't seem right:sCo_chinscratch:

[RyuJin]

watching one fall is extremely difficult especially knowing that you're powerless to stop it, take comfort in knowing that you offered guidance and sooner or later he will either come around or fate will intercede and point him in the right direction...

[Zaron]

alright I try but to tel you guys the truth I have been waiting for the force to intervine but it has not yet. I am begining to think that the force gives us gidence but that we have to do things ourselves. That may not make sence but what I mean is that I don't think it will. It never did when I was a kid and neaded it's help but I know that I need to be patient and trust it's just hard to do without seeing any improvement in the last year.

[AdamGolfer]

The Force won't intervene, he will make the choice himself. It may never come or maybe if it is becoming that bad an intervention with family and friends might be needed, but that is something you will have to determine for yourself with family and friends.

[Setanaoko]

Oh great, just the person to stumble onto this WOULD be an D.A.R.E. Officer. :P

I don't like the idea of using drugs. It's a shortcut, and most life shortcuts have there drawbacks. In the case of drugs, it shortens your life, or you are playing with your life.

Drugs CAN help you get closer to "the Force". I'm not going to deny that fact. But it does so by altering your mind through unnatural means. You eventually become dependent upon it's use to achieve your higher awareness.

The problem is, a Jedi, or ANY Force Realist for that matter, should be independent. They should be able to achieve things on their own.

Think about it this way, you need to help someone right now because they are in some sort of pain. But you do not have your drugs on you to help them through your Force Healing.

Well, now we have two problems:

1) You are resorting to Force Healing as your only measure.
2) You can't use your Force Healing unless you have your drugs.

You've become dependent upon, not only the drugs, but also the mystical use of "the Force".

I detest using drugs altogether because of the risks. Never did a drug in my life. Unless you count drinking (which I did not begin drinking until I turned 21, and even at that it is a VERY rare occasion to catch me drinking at all, nor will I drink in large amounts).

[AstaSophi]

Perhaps this person needs the lessons drugs will bring. I do not mean the altered brain-chemistry, but rather all that taking illegal drugs brings: danger, troubled people, being outside the law...

I've never taken a drug or been drunk. I find drunks and druggies boring and usually harmful. But I have known people who had to step outside themselves to get what they needed to go on in life through drugs... Some people gain it going through other traumatic events. Some need to have children to progress. Some need to go broke. Some go through harsh injury or illness and find a new lease on life.

Don't get me wrong... I've also known people to fall to drugs and never get out. They usually die.

But by and large it's a phase people go through - sometimes more than once in life. It's not my way - it may not be your way - it isn't a "Jedi" way - but it's not uncommon at all.

In my family of three kids - I'm the only who didn't go through the drug phase. My siblings are doing just fine now... But they somehow had to go through it they have said, and I believe it.

It's good you are concerned - it's a good thing to be as a friend and Jedi.

Your concern is valid - but beyond your own concern how much can you or should you really do?

[Zaron]

thank's guys and once again I don''t just to clearafy I don't like drugs that much and only use one and a while Setanaoko you are right and I never though about that. I knew this was a good idea to bring this up

[Myrrden]

In my opinion, if you're going to use anything to help you connect to the Force, then it should be non-harmful, legal, and not habit forming. There are so many things that you can use to help increase psychic and mental awareness that won't harm you or get you arrested, that there's really no reason to do something that will harm you and is illegal. It's just all a matter of figuring out what works best for you.

For me, one thing that seems to make me more aware and relaxed at the same time, while giving me a greater ease with the Force is a combination of the smell of salt and oranges... most likely a result of growing up on the beach and the scent reminds me of home.

I also love to mix up a drink that's got lemon, lime, cinnamon, vanilla, peppermint and a sweetener (Splenda these days). Each of the ingredients were chosen because of their ability to increase psychic and spiritual awareness and to improve concentration. Completely safe, tasty, and can be made in my Magic Bullet blender in less than a minute with ingredients that are so cheap that it's laughable how many drinks I get out of them. Yet, they don't cause an artificial connection with the Force due to harsh chemicals.

[Zaron]

cool strategy Myrrden. I am trying to look for a combatation tha tremindes me of home but no luck. The only thing I can think of is trying to be near wooded areas as much as poosible do to spending most of my time training with a blade in a large forest, or something watery do to my decesed moms love of the water. Any ideas about this problem would be nice.

[Myrrden]

I actually didn't know just how much I loved the smell until I moved from Florida to Illinois. Illinois just didn't ever really feel right, but on a trip back to Florida, I realized that it was the smell of the air that was all wrong in Illinois. In Florida, the air has a salty citrus smell that's just not so noticeable when you smell it everyday. Of course, there's also the beach and the Gulf too. When I'm in the Gulf, I'm just at home. Last year when I went back to Florida on vacation, after more than 8 years of being away, I went out into the water and just flowed with the waves for hours. My children were naturals at it too, so I'm certain that it's something genetic.

Finding what reminds you so much of home is something you've got to try to pinpoint on your own. See, if you don't love the water, then it won't have the same effect on you. However, if you were to remember that home smelled like pine trees, then that'd be a place to start with. If it were pine that did it for me, then I'd try some Pine Needle Tea. Since for me home is the beach, primarily Florida and Hawaii, and I relate so much to both cultures, then I generally find myself eating fish and shrimp, vinegar on fries, drinking citrus, and eating pineapple on pork and pizza. I can't really explain why having something that reminds me of home seems to mellow me out and increase my connection, but it's clearly visible even to those around me. When in Florida, my wife said she could see a clear change in me, like the stresses of daily life no longer mattered and I was fully in the moment (even with my two pages of detailed things to do). I keep a jar of sand from a Florida beach, because even thousands of miles away, it provides me with an instantaneous connection to what I consider to be my home.

So, just try to think of any little thing that you think is what you subconsciously remember the most about the place you were happiest to be. For a lot of people, it's their childhood homes or specific places that they'd visit regularly. If you can pick out a few things, then you can incorporate them into your daily life until they just become something that you do. For example, when I take a bath... I meditate in the bathtub, it's that whole water thing... I put in a mixture of sea salt, orange peel and seaweed (Nori). The smell of the air in the bathroom can almost instantly put me in the right state of mind for meditating.

Sometimes it's people who helped them form a connection to the Force. So, in some situations, they like to have something of that person to help empower them in what they're doing. For me, it was my grandfather, who was also my reason for leaving Florida for Illinois because he was ill. So, after he died, my grandmother gave me all of his work uniforms from a place he'd worked at for most of my life. I've got one complete uniform of his left, which is one of my connections to him now. It's been over 12 years since he died, yet I seem to not notice that he's even dead. Heck, my daughter has had multiple conversations with him over the years. She'll be seven in March and still says that he comes to check on us at night while we're sleeping.

So, while an object that belonged to someone you admired or looked up to as a hero may not actually be something you can ingest, it still retains energy from that person's life that can help you when needed. As with the case of my grandfather, he was always someone that I saw as one of my protectors, he was the person who allowed me to stay home with him rather than going to church with my grandmother, he taught me how to do woodwork, drive a car, and be as sarcastic as my personality will allow. So, in a way, his uniform and everything else that I have of his provides a protective energy that radiates from them. If I'm meditating and feel the need for extra protection, then I know that all I have to do is have his uniform nearby. Other examples of things that remind me of him are Brut Aftershave, Cigarette-style Cigars, and Old Milwaukee Beer.

If it's a person that can help you to maintain a connection like that, then by all means, seek out the things that remind you of them, which you actually like, and incorporate them into your meditation atmosphere.

If you can find little things like that, which both ground and empower you, then you're far better off than using drugs to try and attain a connection to the Force.

[RyuJin]

i have several things i can use to focus on: fire...this i think has to do with both my zodiac signs...i'm aries(a fire sign) and born year of the dragon(another fire sign) i don't even have to be near fire...just have to visualize a fire and i gain strength...being in the woods also works...i feel much more connected to all of life when in the woods...water works for suppressing my energy....solitude also helps me calm myself and open my connections....i could keep going but i think i'd run out of room before running out of things

[Zaron]

Fire seems to work for me too. I remeber laying in bed when I was a kid just staring at a candle until it ran out. I remember getting sucked into the flame and seeing diffrent things or that's what it seemed like. It's kind of funny even though fire works well so does water even though they are oppisites :) The problem with being in the woods for to long for me is that I seem to get overwhelmed by the all the life. I don't know about now because I was only 12 years old at that time and it's been 11 years, I think I will try again. I still belive drugs do not help in the least at all but hey I wil respect those who do. Anyway thanks for the advice

[Master_Winward]

no one claimin ta be a Jedi should need or depend on any drug ta increase their connection ta the Force

[Zaron]

I completely absolutely agree master winward. IF you need something to help you grow more connected to the force then maybe you should look back at what has and has not been learned. I'll talk to him about it again.