Smoking Higher – Tobacco Trumped

Why do people smoke?  There are apparently lots of reasons.  Some enjoy smoking as a social recreation, others use smoking to ‘hide’ from their problems.  It has been recognized that smoking fulfills certain oral fixations including childhood memories of breast-feeding.  Smoking feels ‘sophisticated’ to some people and to others it is medicinal or just plain addictive.  Tobacco itself is known to be highly addictive, especially with all the chemicals and additives put in commercial cigarettes these days.  Other herbs are being used to replace tobacco which offer not only a nice, soothing alternative, but some are so great it almost feels like smoking got trumped by the way certain herbs can ‘take you higher’, and I’m not talking about marijuana.
‘Rolling your own’ is an enjoyable part of the experience for numerous smokers.  In this case, reducing tobacco quantity and starting to increase other ‘replacement’ herbs can be a nice transition to get off regular cigarettes.  Herbs like lavender blossoms, mullein, skullcap, sage, blue lotus flowers and bulbs(or blue lily) and mugwort can be mixed up in various combinations in order to produce the desired effect and taste experience.
Lavender blossoms create a lovely taste in the mouth, counteracting any of the ‘burn’ flavor when starting to experiment with other herbs.  Lavender is calming and relaxing and can simulate the ‘chill factor’ received from tobacco.  Mullein leaves come from the road-side ‘weed’ mullein with long stems speckled with sweet yellow flowers.  When fresh, the leaves are soft and often referred to as ‘nature’s toilet paper’ due to their pleasant texture.  Mullein leaves act as an expectorant and are actually one of the few things you can smoke that are good for your lungs, helping to expel black tar and clear you out.
Skullcap is a nervine, meaning it helps to calm the nerves.  It’s a little stronger than lavender, though not as tasty.  Sage is often smoked as a clearing, cleansing herb and can facilitate clarity of mind and removal of ‘negative’ thoughts and feelings.  Mugwort can help to intensify dreams and has often been known as the ‘prophetic plant’, also inducing lucid dreaming in those who already remember their dreams.  With mugwort added to the smoking mixture, one can really start to take their experience ‘higher’ and find there are greater climaxes to be reached than can be found with tobacco alone.
Blue lotus flower and bulbs, also known as blue lily, was used in ancient Egyptian times in order to open the third-eye and enhance intuition.  The effects of blue lotus can be euphoric and tranquil, especially if drank along with tea of the same herb.

Because of the mythological, cosmological, symbolic, and artistic significance of the blue lotus, many feel that the ancient Egyptians used the blue lotus for its inebriating effects. Because of its mythological and cosmological symbolism, the blue lotus flower was seen as an elite flower that produced shamanic effects.

Over time of mixing different herbs with a small bit of tobacco, one can start to eliminate the tobacco all together and find the addictive qualities have started to wane, comforted by the beautiful properties of these other herbs.  Eventually, smoking will be just a choice and not a need.  Feeling higher than ever before, herbal smoking mixtures can ‘trump’ tobacco and even marijuana effects to produce clarity and consciousness like never before.  At this point, the user can claim control over their reality and choose from a place of power whether or not to engage in smoking – and if it benefits their reality or not.  This is a higher evolution of smoking, the experience of which can trump not only tobacco, but all addictive substances and emotions in life!  If you are going to smoke – smoke smart.