Approaching Ganja - The First Test
The First Test of Ganja: Discipline and Recreation
There’s a certain level of self-discipline that is necessary in order to chant mantras or practice japa yoga. That is necessary for approaching Ganja as a teacher, yet it is also crucial to acknowledge that Ganaja is a party girl and hae no problems taking you off to a good time. If you get too serious then she’ll let you know.
The very first time I tried working with Ganja ceremonially, I had already had experience working within ceremonial spaces set up by others working with Ayahuasca. I knew the basic elements of opening space. I did this with someone who had heard me talking about it, and wanted to try this. He got some leaves, from someone who said the strain is good for visionary work.
I formally opened space, and we formally took smokes. We started chanting the mantra. As I was chanting, I was watching the other guy earnestly trying to chant. He is not experienced with chants, but he was giving it all a go, trying sincerely to be Serious about this. It struck me as very funny, and giggles started leaking out of me. Then realizing I wasn’t doing a good job chanting, I got Serious again and double-downed on chanting.
My friend watched me get Serious and started giggling himself. And then he found his composure and tried to get back to being Serious, which triggered a round of giggles for me.
This went on for several passes until I realized something.
Ganja was here.
She was pulling a prank on us.
I spoke out loud, formally acknowledging her presence. That’s when the vision started appearing. I saw a young, fun loving woman, standing heroically at a cliff, being Serious.
It was somewhere here that I learned that being fun-loving is part of her nature. There is a paradox here: in order to do serious work with Ganja, you have to acknowledge that it is in her nature to be a party girl. It was after acknowledging this that we started journeying.
I was able to work on my friend so he got what he wanted. This includes passing on the beginnings of a siddhi for him, as well as introducing him to a spirit name. (Some weeks later, he told me he followed up on that name and it turns out to be important within his family).
There was also a continuation of a dream work – I received a (telepathic) call about this work. I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the phone but I knew what they were saying. I arranged some things (which was not resolved until the Ayahuasca ceremony the week after). When I put down the “phone” (a shiva lingum I had in the ritual space), spontaneously, I told him authoratatively, that was not a phone call. He told me, astonished, that he thought it was a phone call, and he could hear the other side of that conversation. That display didn’t have to happen in front of him, but I knew it was something that he needed to see.
My friend ended up leaving early and I was able to prep for the Ayahuasca ceremony that was coming a week later.
Since then, I was able to get Ganja’s help to bridge into Aya space. It wouldn’t be until years later, that I got serious working with her.
More Thoughts
In one of the later vision, she told me that she has a galactic-wide reptutation for being a party girl. I thought, really? How was she able to get around that much. “Think about it. Lots of people on Earth party with me and would project all around the galaxy.”
I have some friends tell me that she didn’t like all the recreational use. It wasn’t what I got, but these kinds of contradictions are not uncommon. I do know that what she did warn me about, from that very first ceremony, was that there are forces trying to chain her down – the forces of commerciallization. California had just legalized recreational use, opening it wide to a much greater audience. People cashed in to profit from this.
On the other hand, when I visit the local dispensary, I see people take Ganja for a variety of reasons, including pain management and sleep aide. Sure. There are people who will try it just for the flavor. It is this particular nature of her’s that allows her to slip those chains. And sometimes? It was good to take a break from the intense work. It isn’t as if Ayahuasca doesn’t, from time to time, encourage me to relax a bit.
Even knowing that there are people who avoid working with Ganja because they don’t want to be influenced by their connection with the Sacred, I trust Ganja more than the cult leaders running aorund.