To All My Critics

Recently while reading a book on a seemingly unrelated subject, I found a quote that I feel expresses well my feelings towards certain of my critics. The book was Ayahuasca: The Visionary & Healing Powers of the Vine of the Soul by Joan Parisi Wilcox. At first it would appear that the subject matter of this book has little to do with a practitioner of traditional Mesoamerican religion. And yet, I have found that many of the issues the author has had to deal with mirror the issues some take with my beliefs. To clarify a bit as to why exactly I feel this quote is relevant, Ayahuasca is a sacred plant native to the Amazon and used for religious purposes. There are many books on the market about it, but as has happened to many sacred plants, modern interest in Ayahuasca has resulted in many analyzing it out of context of its original traditional usage, whether the new contexts it is placed in are those or scientific research, people believing it may be used as a recreational drug, or "psychonauts" who, though the initial purpose of exploring consciousness is commendable, often discard or disregard the traditions surrounding the Ayahuasca brew. Mrs. Wilcox differs from many authors on the subject in that the major mission of her book is in hopes to engender greater respect for the traditional practices of Ayahuasca, and show that they are still relevant and important to modern Westerners who find themselves interested in using Ayahuasca. What this has to do with me is that, in my defense of the original traditions of Mesoamerica, I seem to acquire many critics who decide, without really knowing why I feel as I do or what my spiritual experiences have been, that my beliefs are outdated anachronisms, or unhealthily "static" because of my belief in the value of tradition. I would ask any such critics kindly to read this quote, because though the subject is the Ayahuasca tradition, I feel that it speaks of the dilemma that many people who defend tradition before perceived "evolution" face, and it expresses well my point of view. It is a long quote, nearly all of a paragraph, but I do hope you will bear with me and see the relevance:

I feel this quote expresses a universal problem in the approach of many Westerners to indigenous cultures, regardless of whether the subject matter is a sacred plant, the worship of a deity or deities, or any other aspect of an indigenous culture. In my experiences, I have found many Americans who are interested in Mesoamerican religions. Yet in their interest, they believe that as modern Westerners it is their right, even their duty, to develope new approaches to these religions, alter beliefs, even criticize the methods in which the ancients worshipped their gods. "Mesoamerican religions changed over time," they say. This is true. And yet, these people believe that through their "lens of material-realist belief structure" they can better see how things should be done than the indigenous cultures these beliefs belonged to. This is "evolution," they say, "growth." And yet, they take these religions in a direction they never would of naturally taken.

In ancient Mesoamerica, the gods were true beings, alive and real in the world. Much as the indigenous peoples of the Amazon believe that they recieved their instructions on the traditions surrounding ayahuasca from the spirit of the plant itself, the cultures of Mesoamerica believed that they recieved their instructions on the traditions of worship, calendrics and legends from the gods themselves. Most Mesoamerican cultures also placed respect for the ancestors of high importance. Perhaps many of you do not have Mesoamerican ancestors, but if you would draw from religions that value the wisdom of the ancestors highly, how can you rightfully disrespect the ancestors who originated these traditions?

Yes, Mesoamerican religions changed over time, as all things do. But the direction that many of my critics wish to take this "evolution" is nothing that Mesoamerican religions would have naturally become. If you look at Mesoamerican spirituality from the Olmecs up to the Aztecs, you see a continuity. Yes, the beliefs "evolve," but one must remember that evolution is a process that builds upon previous things. Evolution happens when the claws of an animal become better at doing their job, not when the claws are suddenly pulled and replaced with bird feathers. The very thought of that is so ridiculous that the instant reaction may be to scoff at such a comparison, and yet that is in essence what many of my critics do to Mesoamerican religion: they pull the "claws" of the beliefs and replace them with aspects that are foriegn to it, thus ruining the understanding of what Mesoamerican religion was, is, and might become.

The root of this problem is the belief, deep down, that the modern Westerner may know better than the original indigenous people who first established a relationship with these gods. Much as there is a purpose to every aspect of a traditional ayahuasca session, there is a purpose to every aspect of Mesoamerican religion. To pick and choose which claws to pull, to replace them with aspects that would never have arisen in the natural progression of Mesoamerican religion, is to discard the purpose and meaning of these beliefs. In the end, what you render is not Mesoamerican at all, but a poor mutation that serves little purpose but to be another death blow to traditions that already have a tenuous enough hold on survival. And even if you care nothing for that, in the end, you are missing the core spirituality of the Mesoamerican people that supposedly originally attracts you. It's like taking a quote out of context; the true meaning becomes lost, and the result may be perverted to inappropriate ends, or simply be rendered impotent.

And finally, I would like to say one more thing to those who believe my religious preferences are "static." I do not seek flocks to lead, but I do know one thing. What brought me to my beliefs was a series of incredibly intense religious experiences. Since then, I have honored these traditions to the best of my abilities, and in doing so have found more peace, more fulfillment, and more strength than I ever imagined I would find in my life. I do not mean to speak arrogantly here, but I have known many people amazed not only with my level of devotion, but with the clarity with which the presence of the gods manifests in my life. These are their words, not mine. Regardless of your judgments of me, it is clear to me that the gods of my people are pleased with what I do. My religion is alive within me, within my life, and within my view of the world. If the fulfillment I have reached is the product of a "static" view of religion, then so be it; I wouldn't trade it for all the alleged "growth" in the world.