Mindful Alteration of Consciousness
Minimize Risk
Unfold Personal Potential
What is a cannabis high? How can we use it mindfully and minimize risks?
In this 4-hour interactive workshop, we will explore the fascinating psychoactivity of cannabis and learn how the plant affects our ability to concentrate and how it can influence our pattern recognition, perception of time, memory, imagination, empathic understanding and many other mental processes. These effects have been used positively by countless users such as the jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong – but they can also be dangerous.
The workshop is based on the interdisciplinary work of the consciousness researcher and publicist Sebastián Marincolo and teaches very specifically how cannabis users can tap into the mind-altering potential of cannabis for themselves. We will discuss questions such as:
- What are the different types of cannabis?
- Does it still make sense to talk about „indica“ or „sativa“?
- Which varieties can I best use for what?
- What is the best way to dose cannabis?
- How do we avoid being „dazed and confused“ and experiencing a clear high?
- What is meant by „partial tolerance development“?
- What activities can a high help me with, when is it dangerous?
- What exactly is a „high“? How does cannabis affect our consciousness?
- How can I deal with psychoactivity as a cannabis patient?
- What is the „entourage effect“?
- What is the endocannabinoid system, why should I know it?
- Can a high be combined well with meditation?
Target groups
- Cannabis users Inexperienced to very experienced users and cannaficionados with an interest in psychology and personal development
- Artists, musicians, creatives who want to use cannabis for their productivity
- Cannabis patients who want to learn how to deal with the psychoactivity of the high
- Doctors, pharmacists, health professionals who want to deepen their knowledge of the psychoactivity of cannabis and cannabinoids
- Relatives of cannabis users and patients who want to better understand why others use cannabis
- Experts from the cannabis industry
Aims of the workshop
- A sound introduction to the psychoactivity of cannabis
- Explain which mental abilities can be positively influenced under certain conditions, such as focusing attention, imagination or creativity
- Provide a deeper understanding of the risks of a cannabis high
- Practical guidance on how to use the high positively and minimize risks
- Networking and dialog between all participants to share knowledge and experiences
- Empower participants to unlock the transformative potential of cannabis
Part I: Travel preparations
- How can we research the high?
- Potential and risks of the high: an overview
- The surfboard metaphor: the high as a tool
- The multidimensional high: an overview
- The endocannabinoid system: a brief introduction
- What factors play a role in the high?
- Strains, ingestion method, dose, set and setting: an overview
- Craft cannabis versus pharmaceutical cannabis
- Cannabis strains and the „entourage effect“
- Cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids
- Cannabis species: the indica/sativa/ruderalis debate
- Vaporizing, dabs, smoking, eating, topical application: an overview
- Dosing, Part I: Start Low and Go Slow
- No effect the first time? Two hypotheses
- Dosing, Part 2: Practical tips
- Partial tolerance formation: advantages and disadvantages
- Ingestion methods: Overview
- Vaporizing
- Eating
- Topical applications
- Smoking
- Setting goals and mindful experimentation
- Considering the set and setting
- Summary
Part II: The journey
- Preparing for the trip: 5 tips
- Preliminary remarks on the term „cognitive enhancement“
- The enhancement of perception, cognition and moods
- The hierarchy of cognitive abilities
- Complexity brings fragility
- Effects versus potential
- 15 Changes in consciousness: Overview
- Attention: hyperfocus – flow – direction –
- Sensory experiences: – Detail and intensity
- Amazement – the Aristotelian impulse
- Intensified body awareness
- Synaesthetic perception: a central phenomenon
- Episodic memories: new – vivid – detailed
- Imagination: multimodally intensified
- Racing thoughts
- Altered perception of time
- Enrichment of pattern recognition
- Mood modulation
- Improved introspection
- Enhanced creativity
- Enhanced empathy and sex
- Aha experiences and insights
- Summary
Part III: Outlook
- Altered states of consciousness as part of human nature
- Concluding remarks: The inclusion of the high
Sebastián Marincolo
studied philosophy and linguistics in Tübingen and in the USA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under some of the most influential philosophers of his time and received his doctorate with an dissertation awarded by the renowned German Research Foundation on a topic in the interdisciplinary field of neurophilosophy and philosophy of consciousness.
His interest in the nature of human consciousness and altered states of consciousness led to a 25-year research focus on the cannabis high. He has since published five books and numerous articles on the cannabis high as an altered state of consciousness in Germany and in the USA, including with Klett-Cotta Tropen and Hilaritas Press, Grand Junction, Colorado, the publishing house of the daughter of legendary author Robert Anton Wilson.
Marincolo worked closely with the American Harvard Assoc. Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Lester Grinspoon, one of the world’s leading cannabis experts, with whom he had a close friendship. He wrote an expert blog for Sensi Seeds/Amsterdam, the largest cannabis seed bank in the world, and his video tutorials were produced by the American streaming provider Greenflower Media in Los Angeles. His books, articles and cannabis macro art photography have been widely covered in the media worldwide.
www.sebastianmarincolo.de
Instagram: sebastian_marincolo.de
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-marincolo
Praise for Sebastián Marincolo
„Sebastián Marincolo’s work is outstanding and will make a major contribution to the field.“
Lester Grinspoon, cannabis expert and Harvard Associate Prof. Emer. of Psychiatry
“Cannabis is a dazzlingly powerful tool for the expansion of consciousness, heightened sense of presence, increased creativity, exalted aesthetic sensibility, and overall bliss… Sebastián Marincolo has written an exquisite manual for getting high responsibly, deliberately, and productively”
Jason Silva, storyteller, futurist, keynote speaker, known for hosting National Geographic’s BrainGames
“Nobody has ever broken down the nuances of cannabis psychoactivity quite like Sebastián Marincolo in what he calls a ‘bouquet of cognitive effects and enhancements.’”
Gregory Frye, Autor, Journalist und Chefredakteur von The Bluntness
“Marincolo’s research on the marijuana high is years ahead of others working in this field”
Joe Dolce, Autor von Brave New Weed & Moderator des Brave New Weed podcasts
„Marincolos Denken und seine Arbeit sind exzellent – ich empfehle sein Werk mit Begeisterung weiter.“
Michael Backes, Autor von Cannabis Pharmacy. The Practical Guide to Medical Marijuana
Disclaimer:
Psychoactive substances such as cannabis have great medicinal and inspirational potential, but also entail dangers, partly because they temporarily alter the perception with which we ensure our survival in the world. This book focuses primarily on helping users of cannabis to tap into its positive mind-altering potential.
Some risks are mentioned and advice is given on how to minimize them. However, this book is not intended to be a substitute for a complete risk-benefit assessment for the use of cannabis, especially not in the medical field. The author would like to explicitly point out that he is not advising illegal actions and that even those who wish to use cannabis legally are responsible for the possible consequences.
The book for the workshop
