Might be a useless bit of (long winded) rambling, but I've noticed some parrallels between Zen/Buddhist/Hindu meditation and cigar smoking.
I used to be quite heavily into Zen and the martial arts...read a bunch of Suzuki and the like, thought "Kung Fu" was a really cool TV show, tried hypnosis and have formally studied and practiced sport psychology and mental imagery as an aid to athletic performance. The focus on one "point", be it an object, thought, or sensation, to the exclusion of everything else, seems to be a common thread amongst a large number of the stereotypical meditative arts. Another common thread is a ongoing sense of calm and serenity as a by-product of these activities.
I usually smoke in my garage in solitude, as a number of other members here do. My point of focus... whatever cigar I'm smoking at that particular moment. All other outside distractions... work, bills, family issues, things I"ve brought out to read, cease to exist. My focus is a burning stick of leaves... how it burns, what the flavor says, what aroma it creates. Nothing else.
Now this in and of itself may be nothing novel, especially to a novice smoker who's trying to formulate what his likes and dislikes are in a cigar. But I've noticed a distinct change in my demeanor, similar to the benefits touted by practitioners of eastern meditation. These changes have also been noted by my wife. I have historically had periodic bouts of anger management failures. Nothing approaching physical violence or any danger to myself or others. Just occasional episodes. I have a fairly high level of stress at work (in an ER), in addition to the everyday life stressors of money and other commitments.
However, since I've started smoking cigars, (along with all it's rituals), I'm not as tense or anxious, I have not lost my composure or bearing, I am calmer and more at ease, in short, all the benefits mentioned as adjuncts of eastern meditation. This effect has not been the typical short term nicotine buzz, as it occurs on days when I don't smoke, and I have not noticed these effects with cigarettes or chewing tobacco. Nor can these "lesser" items claim groups of individuals praising their characteristics or pleasures.
Rudyard Kipling wrote "There's peace in a Larranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay". Other notables have expressed simialr feelings. I cannot think of any activities within our (western) culture whose musings and aspects are more akin to meditation than the ritual of cigar smoking. Thus endeth the philosphical ponderings on my newest mistress for the day.
Your thoughts?
Scott"grasshopper"M
I used to be quite heavily into Zen and the martial arts...read a bunch of Suzuki and the like, thought "Kung Fu" was a really cool TV show, tried hypnosis and have formally studied and practiced sport psychology and mental imagery as an aid to athletic performance. The focus on one "point", be it an object, thought, or sensation, to the exclusion of everything else, seems to be a common thread amongst a large number of the stereotypical meditative arts. Another common thread is a ongoing sense of calm and serenity as a by-product of these activities.
I usually smoke in my garage in solitude, as a number of other members here do. My point of focus... whatever cigar I'm smoking at that particular moment. All other outside distractions... work, bills, family issues, things I"ve brought out to read, cease to exist. My focus is a burning stick of leaves... how it burns, what the flavor says, what aroma it creates. Nothing else.
Now this in and of itself may be nothing novel, especially to a novice smoker who's trying to formulate what his likes and dislikes are in a cigar. But I've noticed a distinct change in my demeanor, similar to the benefits touted by practitioners of eastern meditation. These changes have also been noted by my wife. I have historically had periodic bouts of anger management failures. Nothing approaching physical violence or any danger to myself or others. Just occasional episodes. I have a fairly high level of stress at work (in an ER), in addition to the everyday life stressors of money and other commitments.
However, since I've started smoking cigars, (along with all it's rituals), I'm not as tense or anxious, I have not lost my composure or bearing, I am calmer and more at ease, in short, all the benefits mentioned as adjuncts of eastern meditation. This effect has not been the typical short term nicotine buzz, as it occurs on days when I don't smoke, and I have not noticed these effects with cigarettes or chewing tobacco. Nor can these "lesser" items claim groups of individuals praising their characteristics or pleasures.
Rudyard Kipling wrote "There's peace in a Larranaga, there's calm in a Henry Clay". Other notables have expressed simialr feelings. I cannot think of any activities within our (western) culture whose musings and aspects are more akin to meditation than the ritual of cigar smoking. Thus endeth the philosphical ponderings on my newest mistress for the day.
Your thoughts?
Scott"grasshopper"M
It really puts you into a kind of zone where the rest of the world recedes.