You're welcome, David, but what I pointed out was not grammatical. The hypocrisy you mentioned would be determined by the intent. You write as if it were all unintentional, and you had exposed a character flaw. Congratulations on your superior wits.

Yeah, it's funny how you make statements and then back peddle. You're a real pro. When you say you have a 4x4 and like to shoot, I tend to make certain assumptions, maybe even like your tendency to assume. Assume.

You don't know who or what I know, my involvement or the extent of any of my experience, or for that matter, anything else regarding me. The more you patronize me the more I condescend to you. Kind of a lose-lose game, depending on how one looks at it,

You make the suggestion that I be straightforward; however, you seem a little slippery yourself. Probably that french-fry bio-diesel, huh? But my message has never waivered. I liked Clancy's comment that spoke of the book, in which the author concluded that what is going on down there is a financial enterprise. You said it was ridiculous to think someone would go to the jungle for money, as if to say there is no money to be made in the jungle, when the truth is there is big money happening in the jungle. You're convinced that the jungle is strictly a place of spiritual renewal and truth seeking. Nah, no Gringo goes there to make money. Keep repeating that mantra.

I have seen the shamans go around town in their new automobiles, showing off their new wealth and social status. I have seen shamans go from treating the sick in the ghettos and treating roomfuls of local non-drinking patients, to focusing on the Gringo scene, and I don't blame them, but they sure don't work in the neighborhoods like they used to. Their work should be first and foremost in the community, but as of lately, those patients are doing without. But I guess it is obvious, the superior Gringoes now should be receiving the benefit of shamanic healing. I know someone is going to say how much the shaman he knows contributes. Go ahead, set me straight. But one word keeps popping up in my mind: Corruption

I don't have a chip on my shoulder, but I am saddened by your attitude. I am more involved than you think and have been around the scene maybe longer than you. I simply make statements regarding the shenanigans going on, and you and others take great offense because you see criticsm of your favorite Gringo business as tantamount to sacrilege. You hunker down in your bunker mentality, while reality chips away at your Baal.

My advice to you -- since you think I'm being a know-it-all anyway-- is don't make a personality cult out of Ayahuasca. You're too dedicated to personality. I reckon you don't even see the extent that you are hero-worshipping. I know lots of shamans down there, and drink with them, but I don't consider any of them a special conduit to the Divine. But it's a free country, so you're at liberty to foster any kind of thinking, but you should not be so knee-jerk reactive when faced with what you must see as an iconoclast.

Thanks for your well wishes.

Signed

Mayor Baba (Free funny joke that works on many levels.) [You're quite welcome.]

"Cyclura, may I humbly recommend you visit the tribe I'm the mod of, Bioregional Animism ( tribes.tribe.net/bioregionalanimism ). Over there we believe you don't really need to go anywhere, that the adoration of shamans and shamanry is a mistake, but that the essence, the power of those traditions is the animistic and bioregional connection to the land right below your feet. Right now. And everything you need is right there. Well, that's the nutshell explanation.....But uuuuh, come check it out. Maybe you'll like and find it resonates with you."

Thanks Jav. I have looked at that tribe. I'll take a look again when I have some more time. I really like the concept. I have alays been anamistic in my views anyway.

doesn't hurt to check.

"Could you explain a bit what you mean by "you are falling into the McKenna trap without even knowing it" . I think that you dont agree with something that McKenna says, but I dont know what you are refering to, or what this trap is... A little more detail would be appreciated. "

Perhaps that is not the best term. I am not totally opposed to being influenced by him, but he held storng beliefs that we were going to evolve to space travel, because we are using up so much here. He had great faith in the ability of science to keep our species gong. I think many users of entheogens believe that we are going to fix all of our environmental problems by advancing technology yet very few of them seem to think that conservation of resources and slowing down is an option. People who say we "can have our cake and eat it" do not understand the "no free lunches" concept.

I am a bit confused as well, I never heard Terence hailing technology as a saviour, and as for the singularity he was always talking about that only being something big, maybe to do with time, but I never heard him saying anything about it being about some sort of technological breakthrough. And from the lectures I have heard he was seeing overpopulation and the destruction of the planet as a very big topic.

Also bear in mind that a lot of the optimism concerning the internet and information doubling came at a time when we all were pretty optimistic about these new mediums, I dont think either leary or McKenna would be as optimistic today as they were in the early nineties, I sure know I am not.

"Your comment seems a bit strange to me, a majority of the people I have met rather go down the gaia/mother ayahuasca trail, the space trail seems to be very much less common. "

I have net a few people who have felt strongly this way after their Peru trip.