it has become more obvious to me in this last month of the peculiarity of my personality.

I can already hear those who know me well announcing in amazement;

"How can one so perceptive not realise how utterly peculiar he is!!",

but that aside, the thing that I have learned more of is my unquestioning attitude apropos the understanding that there is work to be done.

Terrence McKenna once said;

"Nothing less than the fate of the human species hang in the balance. We cannot afford the luxury of an unconscious. We cannot afford stupidity, closed mindedness, racism, sexism, consumer materialism, selfishness....These things are not necessary for our moral edification, so that we can feel like well bred ladies and gentlemen. These things are necessary for us so that we don't destroy ourselves."

Christopher on more than one occasion in this month has expressed surprise at my ability to be seemingly always "on duty". As with Terrence, this is not a situation I place myself in because of some perceived moral or developmental superiority, to me it is a matter of common sense. If I purport to love my family, my friends, all my brothers and sisters of my human and non-human family then this work must continue once the dust of the ceremony is washed from our feet. I have a peculiar set of talents and perceptions that I am honour bound to share. If I hide them for fear of upsetting the firmly held beliefs and intellectual structures of others, then I do not honour the gifts graced to me in ceremony by the plant teachers, and by all the other amazing teachers who have presented themselves throughout my life. I do not suggest that I am without stupidity, closed mindedness, racism, sexism, consumer materialism or selfishness for these currents run deep in the unconscious of individuals, nations and indeed the species. I do recognise their destructiveness has reached a fever pitch in our world, such that the fate of the species and many others besides, hangs in the balance. Again I am honour bound to work with those structures within myself so that I contribute as little as possible to the force of those structures in the world, and indeed give language to the possibilities of the grace and fluidity afforded by subsuming them into the heart felt acknowldgement of what it is to be truly human.

The work with the Teacher Plants is by no means easy, nor are they panaceas, but they do offer us the very real opportunity to set aside the language of our own habituations, and observe ourselves much more honestly that our personalities allow. Not only that, they offer the opportunity to have an intimate relationship with an "other" which is not human, thus giving us an opportunity for viewing ourselves as part of a much greater system of conciousness. By default this offers us also the opportunity to see our responsibilities within that network, and in an intellectual and political climate of increased individualism, perceived resource insecurity and the intellectual justification of preemptive aggression to grab whatever one wants at whatever the human and ecological cost, this opportunity is in dire need.

The positive side effect of this opportunity for self observation, is the "miraculous" possibilities for physical, emotional and spiritual healing we have witnessed in these last weeks. The medicines, and the spirits associated with them, do work at a biophysical level with amazing dexterity and efficacy, but the simple opportunity to see oneself with a lens cleared of the accumulated dross of a lifetime of cultural and personal thoughtforms offers the body/mind/soul a tremendous catalyst to healing. This opportunity to see the individual as a fluid part of a greater system, rather than as a machine at the disposal of an autonomous "I" allows the incredibly sophisticated internal self healing mechanisms of the being to come into play.

I am sure there will be further unfolding of personal stories in this regard in the near future.

Simon