blog 7

What I appreciated most about Other Worlds was that I was able to place a more cohesive image with the text. The “peyote experience” has often been depicted in film as an almost demonic travel into the bowels of hell with no signs of redemption. It can be argued that our civilization has almost deemed exposure to peyote as more of a test of endurance, rather than a spiritual journey into our deepest consciousness. There was a beautiful quote in the film: “spiritual and healing representations are not to be taken for the sake of a fun weekend.” I feel that this is an extremely important observation. Perhaps, this is where we have conceived a slanted view of the plant’s purpose. If we look at peyote in the form of a spiritual plant, recreational usage may indeed prove only disastrous.

I was curious to find out what the legal status of peyote was in America, and was mildly surprised at what I found: “Congress—backed by the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal law-enforcement officials—rebuked the high court by reaffirming the right to use peyote in religious ways, and by preventing states from cracking down on the transport of peyote.” (The Economist 3 April 1999) I had a preconceived notion that the plant was banned in the U.S., but was surprised to find that within the confines of religious sacrament, the drug was legal. This, of course, has many restrictions as to what groups are able to justly state that the plant is essential to their practice. And yes, groups have sprung claiming to be the church of peyote.

The other part of the film/book/blogs that grabbed my attention was the symbolism of the lizard. The lizard is seen as a guide summoned by the shaman to provide deeper guidance. Jill noted in her blog that lizards represent a “death and resurrection.” I can relate this to the video we watched when we witness the sick girl going her soul’s resurrection. It also seems noteworthy to add that in the spiritual sense, our bodies naturally vomit after taking peyote, and perhaps, this can be viewed as our initial cleansing before the spirits can guide us.

http://peyote.com/peyote/index.html