I usually like to spend time in Central Park around the summer time and autumn. That's when all the leaves are changing to beautiful colors.
One day I placed my MP3 player next to me and started listening to some music. As I closed my eyes, the sun was tingling on my skin and I took a trip into the waves of music. A few minutes later, I heard someone saying, "that's a nice piece..." I opened my eyes and said, "Sorry?" To my surprise it was a homeless person eating a sandwich. He said: "Moonlight Sonata, that's one of my favorite pieces"
"I had no idea my headphones were that loud," I replied.
He said, "No, no, no! I saw it when it came up on your playlist. These days I don't see many young people listening to classical music."
He went on talking about the topic. He had all my attention, at that point. He told me about the time he played for a very well known theater in NY, as he pulled an old photo album from a plastic bag. "May I show you something?" he asked. "Why of course," I said. As soon as he opened the first page, I recognized him.
"That's you!" I said.
He smiled as he showed me many pictures of himself
playing in different places around the country and Europe. It was as if he had jumped into a time capsule and was reliving his memories with so much joy, that I felt privileged just to witness this very moment. I lost track of time in his stories and those fascinating places. Then suddenly, he stops at the very last page of the album and sighed. It was an article in the paper with a picture of him. At that very moment, I noticed there was a finger missing from his hand.
He never said... I never asked... Politely, he got up and thanked me for the chat and vanished among a group of tourists into Central Park.
~Juan Errante
There is a spiritual awakening taking place. People from all walks of life are scratching their heads wondering if there is something wrong with them, because they do not understand what is happening in their lives. One of the reasons is because society and the media have influenced us on what spirituality is supposed to be or how a spiritual person should behave or look like.
Our paths are unique because there are different levels of consciousness.
Although we are called for the same purpose "to receive, to learn, and to share," many will get stuck in the early stages of their path for lack of discipline or understanding. In this article, I will discuss the use and abuse of hallucinogenic plants or synthetic drugs as a method of "gaining" spirituality. The media and false teachers have influenced society to believe that you can simply use drugs to become spiritual.
When I was a kid my grandfather warned me about work with the "plant people" (the plants themselves) for my own recreation or experiments. In some cases, the plant people help us break through to our minds because our minds have been so corrupted to the point that we have forgotten about our own intuitive feelings. We are a generation of rational thinkers. In order for us to believe something, we want tangible, measured proof just like a scientist would. My grandfather once said, "You don't need to have faith in order for you to take hallucinogenic plants because it was made for skeptical minds." Peyote, mushrooms, Ayahuasca, Marijuana are not for amusement or entertainment purposes. Those plants are strictly for astral traveling and holistic ceremonies, they are not meant to be party drugs. The experience gained from a ceremony with these kinds of plants, is the wisdom learned though plants and is not for everyone, because you can create a psychological shock, leave a trauma, or even worse, become addicted.
Many people build up expectations because they feed on other people's experiences. Some get too curious and go deeper to see what comes up, not realizing that if you don't have a spiritual guide or a Shaman leading the ceremony it can become fatal. The wisdom of learning through plants is a cultural tradition that goes back to the days of our grandfathers.
One does not wake up one day and say, "I want to explore the spirit world, let me get high." Our bodies and minds are constantly crying out for help, and this is one of the ways Spirit has taught us how to heal our psychological problems. Hallucinogenic plants are for self discovery and connection to the spiritual world.
In our tribes you were allowed to take it under the strict supervision of the elders and only if it was necessary or there was a need to explore ones path or find a deeper meaning of life and the unknown to refine your life.
Each plant has a personality, as each human does. Plants are very sensitive and intuitive. So be humble and remember that you don't know much when you are going to use their medicine. I also would like to remind all the indigenous people and spiritual leaders of today that our job is to be the guardians of the medicine plants and to teach people to respect them and honor the old ways. Remember just because you have the knowledge about the medicine plants it does not mean you have the wisdom to use them.
We are all in search of answers because deep inside we are all spiritual beings. The medicine plants give us a different perspective on our existence in this world and remind you of who you truly are, where we came from, and where we are going after we depart from this realm.
~Juan Errante
www.giannicrow.com
So there I was, staring at the mirror. The world outside my room was breathing. The clouds were dissipating into thin air in the Sky as the sun began to shine through the shades of my window.
My spirit was left for dead. Someone deliberately lied and deceived me and stomped on my trust. I couldn't trust my own shadow at that point, the only shelter I had was my altar and an old flute I played to comfort my broken heart in silence.
I wanted to give up my path, my dreams and everything I once believed in. All my fears and my demons were staring at me in the mirror, the warrior was drifting away into the underworld without warning, I fell in love with my pain and didn't want to let it go because it fed my anger and gave me a reason to cry.
I was in Xibalba (a place of fear). I grabbed my medicine bundle and I clinged on to it with my eyes closed as I visited all the sacred places I walked in my vision-quest. I felt how each one of the grandfathers began to show up as I called their names. I heard a voice loud and clear "You are loved, don't give up grandson..."
Xibalba had blinded me, and all my enemies had come for the kill. I could not hear my own heart and all I wanted was someone to listen and to understand me, but no one could help me unless I cleansed my own body, mind and spirit. I had to be compassionate and forgive myself, forgive my deceiver and accept the lesson. Because there is always a greater purpose from Great Spirit awaiting to bless us in the most unimaginable way.
Are you in a dark pit right now where you don't want to be reached or you are hiding from the ones that truly love you? It is my turn to pull you out from that state of depression and remind you not to give up! The world can be a cold and dark place for spiritual people, but you are not alone. My grandfather used to tell me: "This world becomes cold, and a strange place to live to remind us we can not stay here forever- we are on our way home."
One of the hardest things I had to go through is to close my
eyes in prayer and let the light guide me. People will always try to break you and separate you from your true nature. Some people are meant to stay in your life, some are just substitute teachers.
-Juan Errante
www.giannicrow.com
