Blog 6

One of the things that struck me most about these few chapters wasn't the drug use. It was the amount of silence amongst the men. Whether he was sitting alone with don Juan or with a larger group of people, there were always long moments of silence. Earlier in this class, we talked about our need for noise and how even in a 30 second elevator trip, we have this need to make small talk. Why, then, were all these men able to sit comfortably in silence? Maybe they are at greater piece with themselves. Maybe they are closer to nature and the divine. Maybe it is just the culture they were raised in and not the fast-paced one that Americans know. Castaneda's initial impatience with don Juan shows how our society differs from theirs. Castaneda wants to learn about payote. Now. He doesn't want to deal with finding his special spot on the floor. He asks so many questions--he thinks don Juan gets annoyed at this, especially after Castaneda asks if he was really playing with the dog. He does not seem to understand that he wasn't playing with the dog--he was playing with Mescalito. Even as the first three chapters go on, he seems a bit more patient when it comes to learning. He still asks tons of questions though.

We are learning about Native American mythology in a class I'm taking and I have read countless myths and stories passed down through their culture. All of them make some sort of reference to the divine. These people are greatly spiritual and, even if they are metaphorical, their stories and culture show this. Tobacco and other natural products have been used by Native Americans, and other cultures, throughout the ages. Shamans in these cultures use what we now know as drugs to reach altered states--much like people do today. However, it was done on a much more spiritual level. Don Juan insists that Castaneda must plant and take care of the devils weed in order to gain its power. And this is not a simple task--Castaneda had to wait several months just to plant it, and then there was a very specific process he had to go through. It had to be buried in the proper place (known only to him), bury a mixture that don Juan made two paces from the shoot, and more. This is a bit more involved than simply going around the corner to your local dealer.

There is a natural and divine aspect to smoking anything. Whether it is the devils' weed or some other substance, it is a natural product. It does not get mixed with any chemicals or have any additives. This goes back to Native American respect and oneness with nature. This closeness with nature is something that many of us in western cultures don't have. Relating back to the beginning of my post, we live too much of a fast paced life to pay attention to these things. But we see Castaneda change and gain patience in the first few chapters. Maybe all we have to do is be open to nature and ourselves.