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By Terry Turner
As legalization spreads across the U.S. and the world, there is much discussion of its use for medicinal and recreational purposes but often forgotten is its use as a guide to spirituality and enlightenment.
At the February 1, 2020 meeting of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, Terry Turner, an ordained Minister of Religious Science with a Master’s Degree in Consciousness Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology, will present a talk on Cannabis as Spiritual Practice.
Tracing its use back to 2000 B.C.E. in the ancient Hindu Vedas where cannabis was revered as a sacred plant used for health, pleasure and meditation, Rev. Turner asks the question is it morally acceptable to get high? Rev. Turner challenges our reliance on materialist science and technology for solutions to life’s various challenges and our tendency to consider ancient spirit-based cultures as primitive and superstitious.
The U.S. government enforces this belief by continuing to deny the protection of the 1st amendment which prevents government from “prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” to any group which uses cannabis as a sacrament.
Rev. Turner points out that the cannabis plant, being a mild psychedelic or entheogen, was seen by ancient cultures and remains today as a powerful and sacred tool that deserves to be treated with care and respect. He notes the states of consciousness available through cannabis use can be even deeper than those achieved by seasoned meditators without the years of discipline and training. Used reverentially and with proper intention, it is capable of ushering its initiates into the realm of savikalpa samadhi, the portal of mystical or unitive consciousness.
Rev. Turner will explore the uses of cannabis in the practice of spirituality by exploring the intent of its use, how to create a safe and sacred space for its use, the importance of set and setting, understanding the proper ingestion and dose and concluding with a guided session of meditative techniques which can be practiced for spiritual benefit either with or without cannabis.”
Rev. Turner will make his presentations in both Palm Springs and Joshua Tree on Saturday, Feb. 1. Everyone is invited to attend and there is no charge for admission.
The Palm Springs/Coachella Valley MAPP meeting will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 12 noon at Crystal Fantasy, 268 N. Palm Canyon, Palm Springs CA 92262.
The Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley MAPP meeting will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. at the legendary Beatnik Lounge, 61597 Twenty-Nine Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree CA 92252.
Background information on Rev. Terry Turner
Terry Turner is an ordained Minister of Religious Science. He holds a Master’s Degree in Consciousness Studies from Holmes Institute as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology. He has been a sojourner on the spiritual path for almost 50 years and has been using cannabis for recreational medicinal and mostly spiritual purposes for about 50 years as well. He is also an informal student of such diverse disciplines as evangelical Christianity, kundalini yoga, I Ching, holotropic breathwork, entheobotany, and shamanic studies. He currently makes his home in Desert Hot Springs, CA
