Customer Reviews

Cannabis Spirituality

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Stephen Gaskin is one of the more interesting old hippies who thinks original thoughts about our perplexing world. Cannabis Spirituality is much more about spirituality than it is about cannabis and it is too bad that the book's title and psychedelic artwork will cause some readers to avoid it altogether. Gaskin is a natural teacher who combines serious messages with a playful approach to right living. From the Marine Corps to Haight Ashbury to rural Tennessee is quite a journey. Stephen's life-long study of world spiritual traditions and his comfort with ambiguity and wonder are refreshing antidotes to those who advocate closed systems of thinking. His moderating advice to those millions who use marijuana will also be helpful to many.

Let's get one thing clear here: this book is _much_ more about spirituality than it is about cannabis.

Smoke dope, don't smoke dope; that's not the point. It helps some people and doesn't help others. I haven't touched it in years (and that wasn't me, and it wasn't ganja, and I was just keeping it for a friend of mine, and anyway I didn't inhale). If it helps you, go ahead and make it a sacrament as Stephen describes here, and follow his excellent advice. (And do let's drop this nonsensical "War on Drugs," shall we?)

But that's not what this book is really about. What it's about is realizing that you are God -- not in the sense that your personal, local ego is the divine, omnipotent, omniscient creator of the cosmos, but in the sense that God is _being_ you, if you know what I mean.

If you _don't_ know what I mean, you stand a pretty good chance of picking it up from Stephen, whether you ever toke up (again) or not. As with all his writings, if you're receiving on the frequency where he's broadcasting, you'll pick up one helluva spiritual contact high.

Me, I find that if I go too long without reading him, I start to get cranky -- yell at the dog and kick the kids, or vice versa, or something -- but cracking open any one of his books mellows me out right away. My own receiver, at least, is definitely tuned to his channel.

Yours may be too. Oh, maybe not -- not every "spiritual teacher" (ugh) is suitable for everyone, and you may be better off with somebody else or with nobody at all. That's okay; Stephen isn't looking for followers (and you should beware of anyone who is, both for your sake and for theirs).

But it's worth the trouble of finding out. It's entirely possible that you found this page precisely because Stephen is just exactly what you're looking for.

It's really just a question of picking up his vibe. (And if you know what I mean by _that_, you will almost definitely find him worth reading.) It's not so much that he's going to _teach_ you anything in particular; he'll just knock your mind loose from your brain, maybe only a little at first. And then a little bit more . . .

Mainly you'll just grin and be happy that Stephen is possible. And you'll start to be possible too.

I wrote a review for this book about a week ago and I quickly yanked it. I thought it might be just a little too controversial. Not that I'm a "boy scout" by any means...and if you are a boy scout, there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but I just thought...felt...sensed...
that maybe I was going over the edge with this particular review but the more I thought about it, the more it became clear to me that this is precisely why people need to read this book, to push them over the edge because what happens when we're pushed over the edge?

We discover that we have wings and that we can fly.

This book will help you to fly as well as "ground" you in deeper Truths. A lot of spiritual people are very...well...uh, how should I say this...a little flighty? There's like nothing really grounding them, centering them, keeping them focused. They are like nervous little humming birds flitting from flower to flower, never staying in one place too long because thy don't like regimine.

This books cover a lot of ground on why one needs to approach their spirituality in a safe and sane way. Now you may think that the subject matter alone is for miscreants and stoners...hey, I resemble that remark...but it's not. It's for people who are on the edge and don't know whether to step forward or step back into the world of the mundane.

No, you don't need to make cannabis a part of your life...but it's not the evil that certain groups make it out to be. Even when I was a "boy scout" I got a merit badge in joint rolling.

I believe, with Emerson, no less, that the only evil is limitation. When we limit ourselves, we limit God. Didja ever stop to think about that one? I mean, God created us out of Unlimited Life...out of Unlimited Love, out of Unlimited Light and we're sitting on the sidelines trembling with fear. God put us in the game to win because God loaded the dice on our behalf. And I'm not talking about the "Christian" God...God is too huge to belong to one particular group.

God is the Unlimited Substance of Creation and this book by this crazy 'ol hippie is gonna help you realize with real eyes that you the Living Spirit is living Itself out as every strand, every fiber, every atom of your being. It's time to WAKE the F up...uh, by F, I mean, Fullness...sorry Mr. Amazon censor, it won't happen again...

I believe that Life is eternal...there is always more than enough time...but listen to your soul...listen to that deeper part of you...there's something within you that knows there is more to life than watching reruns of Everyone Loves Raymond and eating cold spaghetti...there is a part of you that knows it is meant to fly and fly high...come join the few of us who are willing to let the sins of the past go and be who God created us to be....F'n great...F as in "fantastically"...sorry...I just had to do it...

Peace & Blessings,
john, 'the Light Coach'

Not a bad little book. It's probably worth the price, but for someone seeking answers because of a cannabis breakthrough, there's not much here.

Cannabis does open up some synapses in the brain which result in opening new doors sometimes, for some people, who just happen to have their minds focused in the right place. For such people, it is no longer a "recreational" drug, but becomes a sacrament.

Stephen Gaskin, an old hippy, does not touch on this. Rather, the book is full of aphorisms and opinions on many subjects. It was rather disappointing to me. I should have known better. On the other hand, to write a book about enlightenment is probably a fool's errand in the first place, because you are trying to speak of the unspeakable.

Everyone travels their own road to Damascus.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre,

author of The Road to Damascus...our journey through eternity

I did not find this book very insightful. I did not like the written language, Stephen Gaskin used. The author's 13 guidelines are all common sense ideas, and if you need to buy this book to learn them than you shouldn't be smoking in the first place. I think the author is just using the cover art and the catchy title to rake in the bucks. It is hard to read because the author does not flow from one idea to the next, he abrupty changes subjects, mid-sentence, leaving me to wonder if this guy has smoked a little too much, too quickly, for too long. Pito:)

I found Steven Gaskin's Cannabis Spirituality to be insightful and at the same time entertaining. I would recommend this book to anyone who is unsure about a way to use cannabis responsibily.