This week, @naturalmedicine is raising awareness about an event on May 31 called "World No Tobacco Day," inviting us to consider whether tobacco is poison or medicine. See Tobacco: Poison or Medicine? Here's my perspective.
Understanding Tobacco as a Medicinal Plant
Respecting the Natural World
"Creator makes no mistakes." This is the way a friend sums it up. Even if I didn't already understand the medicinal value of tobacco, I would assume it is a medicine. I assume all plants are God's gifts, all the way from the waterlily to the poison ivy, even though I don't know anything with certainty. I believe nature shows me my natural self, and I respect all of nature as my relations, my teachers, my allies.
In my experience, tobacco is one of the principal plants I encounter in ceremonies. Tobacco connects us to the spirit world, while sage removes negative energy, cedar cleanses and protects, sweetgrass brings ancestral energy with loving kindness. I see that tobacco is gifted, without smoke, as a way of honoring and expressing gratitude. I see that tobacco smoke is a visualization of a prayer, bringing substance to the words being spoken.
Intending Tobacco as a Medicine
When I think about tobacco, I have to say that the line between medicine and poison is the power of intention. It is my belief that everything in nature serves an important purpose, and in my experience sacred tobacco delivers one of the most important purposes of all: communicating with Spirit. It is given as a gracious offering—a sign of respect.
While tobacco is not a poison, tobacco addiction can be deadly. Everybody knows the perils of addiction, and so it’s easy to understand how tobacco can be abused. In my youth we had a school-sanctioned program called DARE: Drug Abuse Resistance Education. There we saw all kinds of horrifying effects of cigarette addiction, with pictures of the blackened lungs of heavy smokers who died from tobacco-related issues.
I imagine smoke itself could also be questioned as a poison or medicine. Those black lungs don't lie. In my mind, shortness of breath is a painful feeling, while a breath of fresh air is a pleasure. I understand that, and still I find myself feeling blessed by the cedar smoke that caresses my face and enters my lungs in the early morning. These days, my family and I light a fire most days, as part of our homeschool routine—it's one of the ways we connect with nature and keep ourselves safe by burning away the fallen junipers.
Seeing the Sacredness in Tobacco
Tobacco is considered by some to be a sacred plant medicine. I am one who sees the sacredness in it. I'm not a cigarette smoker, but I do have tobacco on hand for meaningful occasions. I’ve been around enough to understand the various motivations for tobacco use. Medicinally, it calms the nervous system, to say the least.
Over the past six years, I've studied various sacred plant medicines. One shamanic practitioner from the Amazon rainforest formally oriented us to five particular sacred plants. One was tobacco. He initiated us in the medicinal use of tobacco. His instruction was to honor tobacco as a gift that calls the spirit to listen. In this way it can be a valuable part of a prayer ritual. Knowing that the higher power is present is a humbling, faith-building, wondrous feeling.
When we hold tobacco in our hands, and when we offer tobacco to the fire, to the earth, to the wind, to the water... this can help to firm our thoughts and articulate our gratitudes, observations, and desires. That’s why I feel confident in saying that tobacco is a medicine. I consider it to be a sacred medicine because I use it for the healing and well-being of my body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit.
Some additional curiosities come to mind:
- How to use sacred tobacco for medicinal purposes
- How to pray
- What makes something sacred?
- What is the evidence that plants have conscious awareness?
My feeling is that the answers will vary from person to person, because each answer is personal, and each of these questions illustrates the idea of intention. On a similar note, I'm noticing some interesting glimpses of the natural world right outside my door, and each one seems to have something to say.
At 9-feet-high, these are some of the tallest sunflowers we've seen. Last week, they started drooping, indicating shallow roots, so we reinforced the stalks. Now that they're standing upright, the buds are blossoming beautifully. This is a reminder of the mutually beneficial relationship between people and plants.
Mutually beneficial relationships exists in all combinations of the four elements, I'm guessing. Certainly, there's something special that happens when the sun rays strike a crystal. Between the earth, wind, water, and fire, there are countless wonders to witness and appreciate. In fact, I've learned a Creation story that begins when the water meets the fire.
Of course we can see mutually beneficial relationships in the plant kingdom. Here, a sacred medicine plant shares its flower pot with some succulents that seem to dominate the space. But their presence is highly desirable to the cactus in the lower center, because of the shade they provide.
Is Tobacco a Poison or a Medicine?
I venture to say that willpower shapes our entire life experience. I imagine anything under the sun can be deemed "good" or "bad"—"poison" or "medicine," depending on my intention. What seems clear to me now is that respect must be given to the medicinal plants, in order for them to be received as a medicine. Ideally, this respect begins in the cultivation and continues in the harvesting. Certainly, this respect must be given when the plant is ingested or inhaled. This respect is the difference between use and abuse.
I'm glad to read your respectful words for tobacco. It did bring a smile to my face. An also beatiful images.
Yes, if we add a group listened closer to our elder brothers and stretched our relationship with plant life I think we would understand more and suffer less.
And I also think that little by little more people are walking up to these kind of relationship with plants some label as poisons.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I know you're a person who respects the plant kingdom, and honors the relationship between plants and people. I appreciate that about you. And I appreciate your encouraging comment. Thank you.
Hey, I hope we can share some good music vibes soon! Thanks for the kind comment.
Absolutely stunning post. Should humankinds relationship with plants shift so that we all understood this sacredness, the world would be a very different place.
It's interesting about how it calms the nervous system..I don't know whether you read my post about my experiences with smoking, but I was definitely using it to calm down at a time I didn't understand my nervous system at all.
Ah, that's an eye-opening perspective about "calming the nervous system" being a misunderstanding. You found a purer, truer, you-er way to achieve that. Thanks for correcting me, and for complimenting too!
You mentioned "...the power of intention..."
I think things are what we make them. A trashcan, when turned upside-down, makes a fine stool. An empty pot and spoon make a fine bell. In the absence of actual sage or tobacco, we can still purify and make things sacred with our intention. The power is actually within us. 🙂
So true! Thank you. Your metaphors are excellent. Yes, and you're totally right about the use of "what's around" being perfectly natural for smudging and clearing the air, and making things sacred with our intention. Thanks for speaking to that; it's a valuable gem of truth.
I like your view. As Paracelso said:
!discovery 35
Wow, that's a profound quote. Yes, in fact, I considered getting into the conversation about "all things..." but hesitated because I second-guessed myself, not wanting to be so matter-of-fact about it. I highly admire this quote, thanks, and I'm grateful for your introduction to Paracelso—I hadn't heard of him before.
Paracelso in considered the father of pharmacy :)
Thank you for the nice content. Have a nive day :)
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There are always two sides to a coin. This is a great viewpoint.
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Wonderful answer Cabe and I think you say it all when you stated that it is the intention behind your usage that defines it. Thank you for sharing your experience with Tobacco and the sacredness of it, which has a long history of being used in this way.
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My pleasure! I feel grateful for this invitation to slow down, check in, and ask myself some questions. I feel comforted by the clarity, after going through this inquisitive journey. Thank you.
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