Higher Connections is part humor, part educational, and part real-life experiences, all in relation to the use of cannabis and how it can help create deeper connections and meaning in life. Why was this an important book for you to write?

To be up-front, I NEVER thought I would write a book, especially about a topic like this. I am a Certified Public Accountant – I deal with numbers all day, every day! So writing a book was WAY outside of my comfort zone.

However, after I started having some of these interesting experiences and connections while high, I eventually got up the nerve to speak to my wife (Alexandra) about what thoughts I was having and she encouraged me to write them down.

It wasn’t until after I had my out-of-body experience that I detail in Chapter 5 of the book that I really thought people might want to hear and understand what I was going through.

The real importance to this book, however, comes in Chapter 6 where I talk about the benefits to me and my relationships from cannabis that I never had with alcohol. I am more at peace, I am able to understand others better and my “elevator music” stops and I can focus on the important things in my life much better than I can otherwise.

I know some people grew up hearing cannabis was evil or a gateway drug so I thought it was important for me to tell my story and hopefully others will be more comfortable at least trying the plant out, going forward.

What is one thing cannabis that you think is misrepresented in the media?

As I note above, some people have heard that marijuana is a gateway drug or that is addictive, which based on my experiences is very far from the truth. I am not addicated (I just took a mone month tolerance break and was just fine) and it has not led me to do acid, shrooms, LCD or any other pschodelic drugs.

One thing I stress in the book is that if you look at other things that most humans consume on a daily basis (e.g. red meat, sugars, fried foods, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) that are perfectly accepted in society, you will find that marijuana is likely better for you (or at least not as bad) as several of these items yet it is still federally illegal because of xenophobic positions taken all the way back in the early 20th century.

Hopefully as more professionals and others come out in support of marijuana, this will change and marijuana will FINALLY be legal and I can advertise my book on Amazon 🙂

Did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?

Overall, the research was really just attempts by me to somehow support the crazy thoughts that were in my brain.

When I was researching the information about witching hours, multiple personality disorders, paranoia, possessions and reincarnation, it really did amaze me how most of those concepts could be explained by the ability of humans to connect to other humans or other energy in the universe through the concept of a third-eye.

I am not saying that is what is actually happening but it was interesting to research the impacts on the brain when those situations are occurring and to potentially explain what causes each of those circumstances to occur.

It was also interesting to read the limited research on marijuana in humans to strengthen my arguments about what is happening in my brain when I am high (i.e the brain does seem to speed up under the influence of THC).

What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?

As I mentioned, I am not a writer. Explaining some of these thoughts around third-eyes, souls and simulation theory was not easy and I tried my best to do it but I am sure it may be perceived as just ramblings of a guy high on cannabis. That is fair and I would certainly be apprehensive about some of the things I write about in this book.

However, when you step away from that and look at all of the cool connections and experiences that Alexandra and I have had, I hope people become more open and willing to try this for themselves in order to (Hopefully) develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with those around them. You can try to connect with anyone in your life – a friend, family member, work colleague – it doesn’t have to exclusively be to someone you are in a romantic relationship with. Chapter 7 gives a summary of how anyone reading can attempt to connect with someone around them to see if they feel or think something different than they normally would.

On our podcast, Higher Connections, Alexandra and I came up with a great way to do this. If you are trying to connect with someone – watch THEIR favorite movie together while you are high (Alexandras was Boomerang) and see if you react similarly to how they are reacting. This may be a great way to determine if you are able to connect with someone else.

Either way, Alexandra are I really enjoyed the process of writing this out and hope the readers enjoy the content as well!

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