What the Medicine Says

Paco P. became my guide in the realm of the Great Medicina.

When Paco was a youth he ate a plant in the desert (not Peyote) that took him to many realms. He never quite returned from these many realms to the realm of the business-as-usual (b-a-u)

All in his extended pueblo say he is "a little lost". But they recognize that in his perpetual journeys in the many realms, he is a shaman. They love him, they respect him, they will listen to him - no matter how lunatic he is.

He is an about 40 year-old, artisano who sells the drums, the jewelry he makes, in the little street on the east side of the main plaza in Real de Catorce. He plays blues' harmonica. He looks at the world with the eyes of a child.

When we first talked to each other, on the street of the artisans, we told each other of our personal legends, the realms we travel in. We played harmonica.
We went to the ruins he lives in.

The ruinous dwellings have restored, mostly intact roofs. They have electricity (more or less). They have no indoor plumbing. People sleep on mattresses or on pads on the dusty floor.

To get to Paco's ruins required a descent to the river gorge that divides Real de Catorce and the ascent of the slope on the other side.

He asked me to help him to water his garden.

There was no discernable garden. There were widely seperated patches of high desert vegetation. There was a functioning water faucet accessible by a steep, treacherous climb zig-zagging through the ruins above Paco's dwelling. We each carried two water filled dry-wall buckets at a time to all the widely seperated patches of vegetation. We did this until I nearly passed out. Then I sat down for five minutes. And then I resumed the portage of the water.

The following day he invited me to the marginally reborn ghost town of Lower Potrero on the other side of the mountain tunnel that gets you into Real de Catorce.

Lower Potrero is a place inhabited by these breakfasting on beer, smoking of huge spleefs of ganj - lunatics.

The first person I encountered was Don Pete, the unofficial mayor/interpretor of dreams/shaman/beer drinker. He looks a lot like Willy Nelson.

We drank beer, smoked huge spleefs of ganj, played music and spoke of the apocalypse, the creation, the kingdom, the brotherhood of Angels. We did this until the full moon rose. And then we continued doing this well into the full-moon illuminated night.

Around 3 a.m. Paco woke me up.

He said he wanted to walk in the full moon, lunatic light, straight up to and through the about two mile tunnel to Real de Catorce (an about 10 mile ascent).

I listened to him. Then I tried to get back to sleep.

Paco then placed three tangerines around my head and then he ravenously ate all the other food in Don Pete's dwelling.

When we awoke he said he had eventually gone back to sleep and had a dream.

He said he now knew how lower Portrero could get all kinds of government money.

He told me to come with him as he knocked on at least a dozen doors of Lower Portrero and spoke of his plan, his project. He spoke of government money that was available for the preservation of the pueblo's culture. He spoke of government money for mothers and there children. He spoke of the kingdom of heaven.

Everyone listened.

When he spoke of the kingdom of heaven, it was noted. They asked where that was coming from?

He said it was coming from Don Samuelito (yo).

After the last door had been knocked on, he broke out five large Peyotes. He peeled them. He offered them to all he encountered. He offered it to a drunk viejo (old man) who looked at the mid-morning with the eyes of a child.

The Viejo said - "Take care with that. That is Peyote. You should take Peyote when your spirit is strong, when Peyote calls for you."

Paco gave me Peyote. But I followed the Viejo's advice.

Peyote told me when it was time to give IT to strangers. IT told me when to come to the desert where IT lives. IT told me when IT was time. And then IT told me that IT is a consciousness that pervades this desert. And then IT told me:

"Be not afraid of this desert, this universe. The kingdom covers this world - if you are able to see.