This week, 
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.
All content is original, captured on camera and written on May 28, 2020.