What Inspires Me?
The Marijuana Consciousness is and has been for over forty years, the inspiration for my work. I began seriously researching the effects of marijuana when I was 28 years old (My next birthday will be my 72nd) because it helped to cure my very young son of his intractable Grande Mal Seizures. It may not sound scandalous in these modern times, since marijuana has finally been exposed as an amazingly broad based medicine and an agent for change, but back in 1970, the topic of marijuana was very taboo. My studies convinced me that this very ancient herb was actually a majestic Plant Teacher as well as a supreme Earth Medicine, so that writing The Benefits of Marijuana was a choiceless mission. I was driven by the clarity and creativity it lent to my mind; by the gratitude I felt for its curing my child; and by the malicious injustice of its prohibition
What is My Writing Habit?
I have a very busy life and always did with four kids, dogs, cats and a very isolated homestead where we grow lots of herbs and veggies. The kids are long gone but now sadly my husband has Alzheimer’s disease. I do not have the luxury of choosing my spaces to write. Whenever there is just an hour or even a moment, I grab it. Since I have a specific subject, I also do research whenever possible. I think that my mind integrates all the pieces of importance and then the writing is just a process of emptying the facts onto the page. The hardest part is the constant editing and formatting since I am a perfectionist. I like each topic to end at the end of the page and each word is mulled over for both its content and how it appears. I still do not consider myself a writer. I am an author who feels a deep and steady obligation to finish the story of marijuana. I have just completed the first section of my new book: The Yoga of Marijuana. It took nearly two years to write less than a hundred pages. I cannot stand filler. I delete every unnecessary word. In these times of texting and living such a harried existence, I think that the reader only has patience for the essentials, but that the words should all follow a poetic and relevant rule is never lost. The research and the hours I may have to spend on just one page is never a chore. I love words and I know exactly what I must say. It is just the how to say it that I work on for hours. Throughout the entire process, I am constantly guided by the consciousness that marijuana gives me. My writing feels like a spiritual exercise: one that I am forever grateful for and one that I never doubt is what I am supposed to be doing in this lifetime.
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