Not long ago, I was at a wedding. A nice thing about this one was that myself and a few other close friends did the work typically done by professional wedding set-up companies. As such, we were vested, so to speak, in the ceremony / party.
As I was finishing up food service, I popped a tab of 20 year old blotter that found its way from my hometown to a place several hours away where it was given to me. It's really mild stuff, but very nice. So nice and gentle that a friend who trips once per decade absolutely loved it.
Anyway, for a while, I felt only minimal effects. I figured this was due to my having taken it once a week for several weeks.
The groom and several wedding guests are anthropology types, and have close ties to north-eastern native traditions, so once things had settled down, they circled up with the pipe. I'm not too familiar with these traditions, but I sat down as well. I guess that's a little of the LSD...uncertainty...nerves...kicking in? T+3 hours, give or take.
Boy was that a tasty smoke. It was a traditional Iroquois blend if I'm not mistaken. Nothing psychoactive as far as I know, other than the
nicotiana rustica. By the second go-round of the pipe, I was charged with electricity. I am a heavy smoker- hand rolled yummy organic tobacco only. It's basically impossible for me to catch a nicotine buzz without coming close to overdose, and there was not much tobacco in the blend. But WOW. I was so overcome that words, if I would have had any to speak, couldn't have even been formed.
After having another couple pipes, I was a very content person. I felt wonderfully connected to my friend. I saw his influences on his old friends, and their influences within him. One is a Christian pastor (who led a very nice ceremony, as judged by me, a real stick-in-the-mud athiest and general anti-christian. I was really able to sense his actual genuine desire to make positive influences on others, without ulterior motives I believe are so common in that vocation and religion.
After the council pipe was finished, we had a very nice talk, staying in the shallow end of the philosophical pool, but covering territory that most would probably find quite profound.
After that, I fired off a few 3" aerial fireworks shells I whipped up for the event. What a culmination of wonderful things! (those launch and burst explosions were sexy)
Upon getting to my hotel room in the wee hours of the morning and getting rid of a girl that wanted to have a roll in the hay (that I wanted nothing to do with and figured might pollute my magical state of being) I put on what I feel is the most jubilant of all fiddle music, Väsen, sat on the back deck gazing at the moon through the foggy forest, and had a nice puff of changa. What a beautiful circular blue and green shining swirl of awesome I bathed in for several minutes!
The entire event was more life-affirming than I could believe possible- and I only knew 4 people there beforehand. We also made little blue medicine bundles of tobacco. The groom wished that we'd take them with us and use them as offerings sometime when we were out wandering. So, a little spirituality doesn't hurt too bad after all
I am now reminded how good it is to feel humble, grateful, and accepting, and release myself from the weight of negativity and judgement. Though I try, I always re-burden myself with negativity. It is good to feel good, and the human spirit responds so well to things it knows is good.