Angel of Machu Picchu

Cavalcading by horse is one thing, but by llama it is something else altogether - and I thought there would be little or no difference between the two. I already knew that our journey up to the ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru, was going to take a long time, perhaps overnight, because our guide had informed us of this at the start. I was unaware, however, that the llamas make their way so very slowly, and that each and every second spent in the saddle is more painful than the last. Many times I simply jumped down from my beast of burden to walk alongside it on the stony trail. A tiring relief..!

We, that is, my sister, her husband and I, were planning to spend that night and the next two days camping amid the many plateau's surrounding the Lost City of the Incas. Our guide was to leave us here, and to return for us in two days time. He was a small Peruvian man, with a colourful mantel wrapped around him. He had a smiling face - with no teeth, and his skin was sunburnt from the Peruvian weather (at this altitude, even though it is cold, the rays from the sun are harsh and unsparing compared with the sun of the plains below). The temperature was a little chilly, and the more we climbed the colder it became...



There was something about our guide; some quality that gave me the impression that he was a very wise man - despite the probability that he had never been taught how to read or to write. As time passed, this quality became all the more curious to me, and I was interested to find out all I could about him, and also about this magical place. I started by asking him questions about his ancestors, about the legend of the Incas, and about Machu Picchu itself. He described how visitors could find information without recourse to other people and the knowledge they possessed. He then told us to keep looking at the ground, and to search for a species of mushroom that was characteristically pointed at the tip. He told us to collect every mushroom that we might see along our way, but to leave the smaller ones growing. We were to store the harvest into a leather bag that was attached to the back of his llama. At this, the three of us jumped down from our llamas to walk beside him - hungry for more information that could make our trip all the more interesting and rewarding. We succeeded in filling the leather bag before we eventually arrived at our most scenic camping ground.

The diversity of the vegetation growing all around us was very impressive. Although many niches were quite barren and inhabited only by fragmented rocks, others were alive with ferns, with mushrooms of varying exotic species, with the most exquisite orquideas (orchids), and with flowers that I never knew existed. Some of the unknown species had a coloration that was extremely capturing in appearance - with shades of blue that were simply magical to the eye. No wonder the Incas had chosen this place to build a temple in honour of their Gods!.

The stony paths leading to the lost city were constructed many centuries ago, and a river, with the clearest of clear water, accompanies them along much of the trail. To be able to look up and see the ruins of the lost city, with it's architecturally majestic temple lying straight ahead, compelling and alluring, was a vision I had longed to witness. I could not, however, have imagined that the sheer beauty of this place could be so intense, so penetrating, and so arresting. I had seen pictures already, and I had also read much about the history of Machu Picchu, but being there for real was simply beyond words and pictures.



The skies were already darkening by the time we finally arrived at a suitable plateau chosen for us by our knowledgeable guide, and so he kindly helped us with our tents... I was to be alone in the smaller of the two while my sister and her husband were to share the larger tent. The guide was to leave us here and to return to his village, called Altiplano, that same night. We could not let him go without thanking him for his advice and for his company, and so we offered him some of our food. He accepted our offer, and the four of us ate while sitting on the ground encircling a fire; listening intently to what the guide again had to say to us...

He told us that for many years the lost city of Machu Picchu was a very sacred place to the Inca people, and how his own ancestors had always known of it's existence. To them it was not a lost city because the history of the old times was, by necessity, handed down to descendants by word of mouth -- generation after generation -- until the present day. Our guide, now in his mid-fifties, told us how his Grandfather was one of the very first guides to forge a living by accompanying tourists and larger expeditions to the top of the mountain, and how his Grandfather had known of this place ever since he was but a little boy - and, of course, the same for his Grandfather alike.



He reminded us how they (the native Peruvians) adored their mother - the Moon, and also their father - the Sun, and how they dislike talking about their customs and traditions while in the company of strangers because there is 'little or no real understanding' of the power of the Gods present in the hearts of these strangers. Contact with the Gods, he continued, is possible if one teaches oneself how to use God's tools - left behind for Mankind, and that is why he had asked us to gather mushrooms; the first of many approaches to an understanding of the Gods. At this point, with all that he had said, and with the breathtaking scenery stretching all around for miles, we became very excited. Our respiration was now so quiet in order to pay more attention to the compelling words of our native Peruvian guest, and, although he spoke using a dialect of the Spanish language unfamiliar to us, by concentrating hard we were able to garner a few crumbs from the table. Luckily we all understood Spanish pretty well...

He continued by saying: "if one abuses the power of the Gods," this was how he referred to the gift contained in the flesh of the mushrooms, "one could died." It was not a question of the quantity that places one in contact with the Gods, but "how you approach and why you approach."

We put some more wood onto the fire and prepared ourselves for more dialogue...

"If one is to seek wisdom, for answers to the many puzzling phenomena of this world, for insights into the nature of nature, one simply increases one's capacity for comprehension... If, however, one is looking just to be high, for amusement or for trance-like sensations, these psycho-antics and known expectations become the ball and chain foreclosing the true ascent of the soul... These sacred plants were not left behind for the purpose of fun, but rather they were left for our benefit (installed into the fractal matrix of life in order that Mankind might find his rightful place in the grand scheme of things). Deepest respect and sincerity are the only prerequisites."

He then advised us: "always to cut the root from the stem because this causes nausea and vomiting, and can prejudice your experience (the true body, the mycelium, is the collective name given to the filamentous root system - the hyphae - lying beneath the ground, and is often dispersed over a large area. It is only the fruit-baring carrier of spores which can be seen above the ground)." He assured us that we could then simply eat them raw, prepare them as a tea, or else we could squeeze their juice into our mouths. He told us that the spiritual state, or set, of a willing participant should be: a healthy appetite - to aid ingestion, sexual abstinence for at least three weeks beforehand, positive emotions, and purity from all other chemicals. At this, he glanced at my brother-in-law, who was smoking a cigarette, and told him not to smoke for at least two hours before the ensuing experience because it could dampen physiological incorporation of the active substances within the mushroom; lessening the chances of contact with the Gods (or higher consciousness).

My sister and I were very surprised at the depth of knowledge of this small-framed man, with no formal education, and, sensing that he knew something important, we met every single word he spoke with eager attention and respect. My brother-in-law, on the contrary, was not fully convinced or even impressed (not a bad thing in itself), and occasionally I could see an element of laughter on his face as he listened...

The night was fast approaching, and the view was now almost obscured by the descent of clouds upon our camp; the weather was becoming colder still... On this night, the last words our guide spoke to us were, "if we truly sought answers to our questions, we should all wait until the advent of sunrise to experience the true power of the Gods." He had not told many tourists of these facts, and had only told us because he had sensed something about my sister and I - saying that we had a blue coloration (aura) around us, and that this coloration is usually taken as a sign of the power to understand. At this point, my brother-in-law started to laugh! The guide simply nodded his head as though in knowing compassion toward the ignorance of a mere haploid child. I was able to capture all the subtleties of this exchange; I could sense it as being so even though I was merely sixteen years of age at that time.

Our guide then took five mushroom from the bag, removed their stems, and ate the remaining portion; mounted his llama, and disappeared along the trail and into the night. I knew that most of what he had told us would remain in my mind for a long time to come.

We retired to our tents. I was not yet sleepy, and so I picked up one of the tourist guide leaflets to read, and to help me decide where I would explore the next day. I was eager to see the sun rise, and to discover what it was all about. I slipped into sleep with the little book still in my hands.

The next day came - bright and sunny, but it was quite cold. I wrapped myself in the mantel I had bought in the main City of Cuzco. I braided my hair into two long braids (my hair was long and down to my waist at that time), and then we set off toward the ruins for a closer examination of ancient Inca civilization. We took all the mushrooms with us, and we planned to eat them when we arrived. I cannot explain the beauty of this place. The manner in which the rocks have been skilfully arranged together and on top of each other, is, even nowadays, beyond a good explanation. How could these giant rocks, weighing several tons apiece, have been moved here, to the top of this mountain, all the way along the trail which had taken us much effort to climb carrying nothing but ourselves? How mighty a civilization was this, and what secret power did it possess? These were just some of the questions that came to mind as I slowly strolled through the maze of rooms and passageways...



We came upon the plateau of sacrifice, and I knew, there and then, that it was the right place to eat my mushrooms. My sister hesitated, and was unsure about giving my share to me. She thought I was still too young. I reminded her that I had smoked marijuana before, and therefore I knew, at least to some extent, the effects that certain plants could have on my mind. Also, I remembered that the guide had told us of a 'blue coloration' around both of our bodies. She could not disagree with me after hearing this, and so she gave to me the same amount that she and her husband had planned to take themselves (about 25 to each of us). We ate the mushrooms here, at the plateau of sacrifice. I told my sister to go ahead with her own expeditions if she liked. I was keen to stay here because I wanted to be by myself in order to better understand what the guide had told us about the power of the Gods. I knew that long ago, on this very spot, the Inca had given away virgins to their Gods, and I told myself that I too was to offer myself to them. I was young, and a virgin, and so I laid down on the plateau and spread-eagled my arms and my legs while looking to the big sky above. I could already feel a separation between my body and my soul, and I could feel myself becoming very light - a sensation of levitation. Simple movement of my eyelids seemed to take an eternity to accomplish.

In a flash, I could see all of my life, from it's beginning to this very day; memories of my childhood - memories I thought had faded with time. I could see myself as a baby; how happy I was during my infant years. I remembered my struggle to walk on two feet, and to learn how to talk and to utter my very firsts words!



As though from the outside, I could visualize my body, laying there, in passive silence; and I longed to be able to touch myself, and to be myself once more. But, at the same time, I know that my soul is calling me...

I was being taught how insignificant I am in comparison to the mighty forces of nature. I let myself loose from my spread-eagled position, and I could feel all of the forces that the mushroom had invested in me; that time has divested from my life. I looked around myself, at the ruins, remembering that, although I had been here almost all of the day - taking in the glorious scenery, somehow, and quite strangely so, I have looked upon it all without truly noticing any of it!? Again, I looked hard at the ruins. I was transported to a time where there was no anger; to a time where only happiness and understanding existed. I could feel that mankind did not then worry about the material things in life, as it now does, but rather that it lived from day to day in praise of the Moon and the Sun; showing due respect to them and to the whole. Mankind does not now believe that nature, the womb of all life, is a force of divinity. Now, they no longer respect her...

"I feel sad now that I realize how impure mankind has became; how destructive, angry and greedy the populations of the world become with time..."

I returned to my normal senses as my sister's hands touched my shoulders. With a big smile on her face, she told me about her experience; adding that it was the most magnificent thing she could ever have had. Her husband, who laughed at the concept, did not like it at all, and vomited twice. He was angry with himself for even trying it...

Next day we did everything again, and the experience was even more majestic. I felt so in peace with all and everything. I imagined myself as a flower, as a bird, and as the she ocean:

"I imagine myself to be a plant, and I am a plant! I can feel how good it is to exude a sweet, delicate scent; giving pleasure to the eye in return for admiration. I imagine myself to be a bird, and now I am flying high -- very high -- high enough to touch the clouds. I feel free and able to transport myself towards the sun, and to the oceans... and now I become an ocean. I am immense and strong, but I am also sad - sad because mankind is polluting and spoiling my purity. I am an ocean that can move and touch the golden sands; giving life to the many marine creatures. As an ocean, I obey the Sun and the Moon, and my life involves my praise to then." Mankind must learn to be more attentive to the needs of itself and of nature - preserving what little is left...

Our last night here, alone in my tent, I told myself to live in accord with what I had learnt.

I am honoured and privileged to have experienced such magnificence in life - made possible by way of our Peruvian guide. While bemushroomed, my physical body may not have responded to life as it is accustomed to respond to all things, but I know that in my normal state of self I could never have understood, with such lucidity and clarity, all of the very simple lessons I have learnt here today: all of the lessons of love, of respect, of understanding, of empathy toward, and of restraint from...

I have learnt why the Incas adored the Moon and the Sun, and, since then, every time I see them in the sky, I remember to thank the Gods for my existence -- to be alive -- to have had experiences that no one could ever have taught me. The experience of 'God's Flesh' remains inside of me forever; a lesson of nature and love that no school in the world could have given to me... The mushrooms had the power to do that for me...

Try União do Vegetal for Hoasca International Conference of Medical Studies

All images of Machu Picchu have been taken from: www.raingod.com/

Hypertext by ijl @ nDimension.org.uk

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