Quoted By:
Do we use a pipe in the same way somebody would use incense? When I smoke my pipe, I’m almost always alone and use that time to reflect on myself and events that I’ve experienced. It’s extremely soothing and peaceful. It just dawned on me yesterday that I’m almost using my pipe to help aid in meditation and mindfulness much like somebody would use incense. The aromas, the feelings of comfort and bliss those aromas bring, and the ritualistic act of lighting something on fire are things they have in common. Hell, Latakia blends even sometimes taste/smell like incense. Sometimes, if I have crumbs of blends left over, I’ll dump them in an ashtray, light it on fire, and just sit there and enjoy the aromas of burning tobacco. Like if I feel like “smoking” something, I’ll usually have a cigar; it’s robust, high nicotine, and good for social occasions, whereas a pipe is more of a tool used for solitary contemplation and is much more pleasantly fragrant than a cigar. There’s definitely a spiritual side to pipe smoking that I don’t think a lot of outsiders recognize.
In Eastern cultures, the image of a wise, spiritual man is often depicted as an old man with a long beard (or a Buddha), sitting in a meditative pose with candles and incense around him. In western cultures, a wise man is often depicted as an old man with a beard (or wizard) in a rocking chair, or in some other relaxing seating, smoking a pipe. In a world that has increasingly associated spirituality with Eastern traditions as opposed to Western ones, this subtle comparison is often overlooked. However, I think it’s time that pipe smoking be recognized for the exercise in spirituality and mindfulness that it really is.
Sorry for the babbling. Thoughts pop in my head from time to time and I have to write them down.
