Well, shanlea, it's like a teacher in the way that it reveals the nature of things. For ordinary reality has it's limits and yet another reality exists. One that is denied by politicians and lawyers and judges who manipulate the general population. Whereas smoking the sacred herb will show you where this is at.
The determination of your intellectual curiosity takes on a fiercer intensity, It is a focusing agent and the distractions are removed from in front of you and your senses turn on in new and different ways...
Remember those ol' bumper stickers that said "Drugs are for people who can't handle reality" ?? I remember those stickers. They showed up, you know right around 86 or so, while I was in $tr8. At first I was taken aback, but then I thought what an idiot. That guy was actually in some kind of a denial of reality, cause drugs are real and the chemicals have a real effect on your brain and your life, whether for better or worse depends on the user. Then a little later I started seein the other bumper sticker that said "reality is for people who can't handle drugs" and though I heartily appreciated the sentiment I thought it folly too. Anyway that was more about drugs in general and not specifically Mj, though.
You won't get it from tryin it a few times though, you have to actually be willin to live it for a while and let your rituals evolve as they may. Some people like to smoke at a certain time of day and tune into the natural elements around them, etc.
Namaste.