Febuary 27, 2003
Zacatecas, Mexico

Heading out Torreon I made a wrong turn and had to cross over the median, which was nothing, just a bunch of small traffic bumps, but it was enough to get the attention of a police officer waiting not far away. He waved us over, but I wasn't about to go into his court and play the game. He came over to us and said that is not what we are supposed to do. I knew what he wanted, so I played dump tourist, saying I'm from Canada and I was mixed up... trying to get to Durango. He continued saying that we had a problem and I kept saying we had no problem and we'd be on our way, and he didn't give up til I gave the puppy dog eyes and said "por favor."

A few minutes later we had blue and red in my rear-view mirror. The officer didn't had a reason for pulling us over, he was just looking for something, which he found: I didn't have a Mexican vehicle registration sticker. After crossing the border I followed the signs leading to the office, but they took us to the highway going out of town. An hour later we went though an immigration gate, and the guard said I could get a sticker after taking the first left. There was no left... and once again I was on the highway. I gave the officer 100 pesos($10us: likely more than a day's pay) and we were on our way.

A couple hours later while stopped on the side of the highway looking at the map, red and blue again. The officer asked what we were doing. I said that we are teachers on way to do a humanitarian project. That was all and he bid us farewell.

While driving we drank blended Peyote picked in Saltillo and camped in a farm field. Peyote is not done for fun. It tastes terrible and makes the stomach very ill. It is humbling, grounding; it connects you to the earth. It is an ancient ritual, not taken lightly. We'd fasted all day and didn't sleep all night. I tried to throw it up but couldn't. It's about paying dues, and seeking profound lessons in awareness, both internally and externally. Those who'd condemn the use of such plants are likely fearful of learning such lessons and understanding those who do.

Today was a roller-coaster ride through the sierra home of the Huichol people which took much longer than expected when the road turned to dirt and we could go no further cuz the rattling would drive us nuts and if we broke down we'd be screwed since the next town was another 8 hours. From there we drove 3 hours south with a much needed nap-stop parked on a mountain top, finally camping 30 minutes from Guadalajara. A truck full of police found us collecting fire wood and lead us to a near-by park where they even helped us gather wood and light the fire. In appreciation of their generously, I gave them a sweet goodbye with Hershys dark chocolate.

---

Hikuri(the Huichol name for peyote...) by Seed

the stars
my sweet
patient cosmic busom
waiting
for us to be
still always
there
whether we see them
or not
open field
tilled inside
the landscape
a solid reflection
of the intangible

space between our atoms
space between our stars
space between our selves

the road leads
to other worlds
dancing lights
electric peyote songs
distant tribes reunite
indigenous cousins

our Road Man
is virtual
our Road Man
is us
we are lost babies
we set up makeshift altars
we want to be left alone
we bother no one
we light candles
we weave ourselves
into the fabric
of the past
we redeem
our ancestors
by redeeming
ourselves

redemption
a gift
The Unnameable
Universal
peeling off layers
until we find the core
(or until it finds us)
revealing
petty human static:
"better deal with it
before it deals with you!"
gently chiding:
poor little human
pay your dues
stretch your comfort zone
this is not supposed to be
fun
but this is supposed to be:
this is important work.

why do we do this?
why do so few?
where are we going?
how can we slow
the spin of our monkey
selves?
why are we here now?
what can we do?

anything,
everything,
nothing
is
something.

---

Seed's themes encountered during the experience:

set method vs. perceived notions
individual/collective decision-making; cooperation and compromise
inner/outer inspiration
safety, danger and uncertainty
rigidity vs. suppleness
comfort vs. discomfort (physical/non-physical)
finding one’s place (in one’s self, in society, in the universe)
justice, freedom, and privacy