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The Middle Way

~ A journey between extremes

The Middle Way

Monthly Archives: January 2021

“Can you pick me up a half of Orange County Lumber Truck while you’re out?“

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Cannabis, Healthcare, Medical Marijuana, Mental Health, Migraines, Pain, Psychedelics, Recovery

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One of the bigger problems cannabis faces as a medicine is that it has a few street names, such as Marijuana. That particular name comes saddled with serious baggage. Baggage that will likely require the slow erosion of time in order to really shake off such an entrenched reputation, even if it’s used only for the phrase ‘medical marijuana’.

Of course, none of that won’t stop millions from visiting dispensaries, chomping down edibles, packing a bowl or three, spinning up a few blunts, and vaping themselves into a Doritos fueled fervor. So, what’s the big deal right? As long as the people finally have some sort of legal access to some kind dank nugs at 4:20, what does it matter? Am I right?

Outside of the fact that I’m likely off by a couple decades on some of my nicknames, my point is that cannabis have had to exist ‘outside the margins’ as a street drug long enough for that whole paragraph to be written. The main problem with that is that we are beginning to learn just how much the demonization of certain substances because of their street profiles has caused us to ignore some very beneficial medicines, because we have been too busy watching Cheech and Chong.

It turns out that this whole thing isn’t so much a drug problem, as it is a challenge for all of us to learn how to open and change our minds about things we think we understand.

Grilled Cheese Me in!

25 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Art, Brain Droppings, Dandelion Break, Fatherhood, Grateful Dead, Kids, Music, Spirituality

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The other day my son told my wife that I make way better grilled cheese than she does.

I had to remind them both that the secret ingredient to the perfect grilled cheese is good old Grateful Dead parking lot love.

The Gateway Drug

23 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Cannabis, Change, Conspiracies, Corruption, First Amendment, Healthcare, Heroin, Medical Marijuana, Mental Health, Migraines, Open mind, Pain, Psychedelics, Recovery

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Cannabis has been proven (not only by modern science, but by thousands of years of human history) to be an effective medicine for many things humanity is plagued with, pain being one of the main ones these days.

Yes, CBD is one of the compounds getting a lot of attention as something that is helping folks. But THC actually plays a very big part in pain relief as well. The problem is, it faces that bane of all middle aged children: A bad reputation!

It’s the compound in Mary Jane that gets you high man. It’s the part of the drug that got saddled with one of the worst parts of adolescence, a nickname. THC is the stuff in Dope that got it the memorable nickname “gateway drug”. And if any 12 year old can tell you, a bad reputation is harder to get rid of than booger on the tip of your finger.

The worst part is, it turns out THC wasn’t the real gateway drug. The real gateway drug it turns out, is and always has been, the pursuit and hoarding of wealth.

invisible

23 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Anxiety, Cannabis, Compassion, Depression, Healthcare, Medical Marijuana, Mental Health, Pain, Prayer

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Chronic pain, headaches, muscular issues, and migraines from cervical damage, just plain suck.

If you’re a drug seeking individual, this kind of pain is like a winning lottery ticket. Willy Wonka meets Powerball.

But, if you’re just trying to stay sober, and do life in a clear and lucid manner, pain is a lifetime sentence in the sandals of Sisyphus.

unstable tower

22 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Brain Droppings, Compassion, Coronavirus, Death, Dingleberries, Ego, Existential Risk, Human, Indivisible, Mental Health, Middle Way, Open mind, Pain, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution, Sameness, Spirituality, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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day by day
drags on by
frozen in place
by violent tides
an unstable tower
of promises
skin color
disease
and hope
to heal
or die
but not suffer
after all
the poison is gone
people need love
the rest is loose
and transient
we end up
together

Bop Bop Bop – Bop Bop

11 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Brain Droppings, Change, Conspiracies, Corruption, Depression, Emotional Intelligence, Fear, First Amendment, Hate, Open mind, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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I’m just going to put these thoughts down for my own purposes. Predictions for posterity, I guess.

When I run this stuff around in my head, I time-trip and visit each scenario as it plays out, including each possibility in the multiverse of choices that branch off from it. It’s exhausting. Anyway, when I run this stuff through in my head here is what I keep coming up with. (Yes, I keep… Meaning I have done this a few times. I’m in quarantine like everyone else, so I might as well time-travel.)

Pundits and talking heads keep saying Donald Trump is going to fade away once he is out of office. I don’t see it, I really don’t.

Here’s the problem -— Some of his followers think he is the great and powerful Q, and then a bunch of other ones that think that he was sent by God as wrecking ball to help clear out the unworthy. And, as we now know, Trump will do anything to stay out of jail.

When those things get tossed around together, they add up to “He’s not going to just slink off into obscurity”. I just don’t see it. Not him, maybe someone normal, but not him.

One Hand

10 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Buddhism, Compassion, Conspiracies, Corruption, Dingleberries, Ego, Emotional Intelligence, First Amendment, Human, Indivisible, Love, Mental Health, Open mind, Pain, Patriotism, Politics, Prayer, Revolution, Sameness, Terrorism

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Like a lot of people, I have been looking at a lot of heartbreaking videos. I just don’t understand that much hate. I really don’t.

I can understand a verbal explanation of it, sure. But I can’t wrap my heart around what it takes to twist your soul into so many knots that the only explanations you will accept anymore are based on the idea that everything around you is really a deception. A place where secret societies pull all the strings, and where everyone wants to make everything about you and your life irrelevant. A place where the hope you have is that if we can somehow just eliminate all of the physical differences we find objectionable in people, then we can some sort of Super Utopian Alpha society.

But that kind of hate doesn’t just go away once it gets what it wants. Things would just end up playing out like all of the nasty parts of American history, but in reverse and way worse. Once they got rid of the first (and darkest) layer of people, you know they would suddenly discover some other social group to degrade. Bullies just look for new victims. And then who knows… But, left-handed people may want to quietly remain on notice.

Personally, I could not, and do not want to live in a world like that. And like a lot of people, there doesn’t feel like much we can do right now. We voted already. And we can’t fight this with violence. That’s exactly what they want. But there is one thing we can do. And they’ll never see it coming.

The next time we see someone that you really don’t like right now, say something nice to them. Something that reminds them know that we are all still neighbors. Do it for no other reason than that it is in forgiving that we are forgiven.

Words matter right now

09 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Change, Conspiracies, Corruption, Death, Dingleberries, Existential Risk, First Amendment, Hate, Human, Indivisible, Moscow Mitch, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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This isn’t over. This wasn’t a protest. This wasn’t a riot. This was, and still is a bloody coup attempt.

Wednesday’s attack on the nation’s capital was designed to negate the presidential election results, and disabled the current and the incoming government. People were purposely killed. Many law enforcement agents helped to enable the breach. Democratically, and currently sitting members of the House and Senate supported it, and engaged in disinformation tactics to further it. The President who initiated it is still in power for 11 more days. His VP refuses to invoke the 25th Amendment. The leader of the Senate is hinting that he would not be calling the Senate back in session for any sort of second impeachment. The siege of the Capitol Building that was very likely meant to remove specific people in the line of succession. And 99% of the people who stormed the seat of democracy are still free to plan, and to act.

I just drove by a gun store near my house here in NH, and the normally sparsely populated parking lot was packed. There is a longer line to get into the gun shop than there is at the grocery store down the street.

But, news outlets keep telling me that it was just a protest. And politicians tell me that these people are just trying to protect their toilet paper supply. I’m sure it’s fine, right?

Emptiness

07 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Buddhism, Change, Death, Ego, Emotional Intelligence, Environment, Fear, First Amendment, Human, Indivisible, Meditation, Middle Way, Open mind, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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One of the exercises that I found particularly helpful when discussing the concept of ’emptiness’ in Buddhism, was trying to figure out at what point a car is a car.

For example: We have a car in front of us…

If I remove the engine, and the leave the rest of the body, frame, etc., is that still a car?

What if I then take off all of the doors, is it still a car now?

Or how about if I took out all the wiring and stuff, is that still a car then?

You can see how the exercise goes. At some point the realization began to set in that all things are all composite. We ourselves, are not singular. And we really are not separate from other beings. We are all made of of countless other components, and those things themselves are made up of even smaller elements. You can follow this logic as far down as you like, ultimately splashing around in the quantum foam like are in a 50’s surf movie.

But what if applied this logic to other things? Like what happened yesterday at the capital.

At what point does a protest become a riot?

At what point does riot become sedition?

At what point does a sedition become an insurrection?

At what point does insurrection become civil war?

What I have discovered is that rarely are there clear lines showing separation in nature. We tend only to be able to identify things after a new form has become apparent to us. In Buddhism, I have found this very humbling. When it comes to public safety, things get very messy and dangerous very quickly.

oh…

06 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by themiddlewaythrough in Corruption, Dingleberries, First Amendment, Guns, Hate, Human, Indivisible, News, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution, Terrorism, Trump-Hole

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I think I get it now… How else was he going to be able to justify needing to declare marshal law?

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