I was going to title this post Synchron Is A Tea. But either one works.

syn·chro·nic·i·ty; noun– The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

This will be the 20th post (not including the welcome page) of the Peyote Lorax so I’ll use it as an excuse to tell a story of peyote’s extraordinary properties. Maybe two.

Synonyms for extraordinary:

• amazing.
• bizarre.
• curious.
• exceptional.
• fantastic.
• incredible.
• marvelous.
• odd.

These words all apply. I’ve already told a couple of synchronicity stories, things that happen together in such a way that gives the appearance as if the medicine is doing something. It seems to be able to move reality around to help us recognize the divine in our lives. Miracles basically. Even though the small miracle might only be getting a tow right when you pray for help, instant alleviation of a child’s pain, or a ridiculously synchronistic meeting with a man who hands you a big sack of medicine.

I’ve always said coincidences don’t mean a thing to those who understand their meaning. It’s not an elusive thing you hunt for. You can only make yourself available, so you are ready to notice should some miracle or another present itself to your attention. I wonder whether only lack of attention makes us believe every moment is not already miraculous… Here’s a story which fits these thoughts to a tea.

One time… My partner Raven and I were traveling across the country, with the thought of visiting the peyote gardens on our way out west. While on Interstate 40 we thought of Ina May and Stephen at The Farm. We decided to head south and drop in unannounced for a quick hello and a night of camping before moving on. Everything at The Farm is named for what it is- The Store, The School, The Swimming Hole, The Soy Dairy, The Book Publishing Company… well you get the idea. Arriving at The Gatehouse, nobody was in, so we proceeded to The Campground, put up a pup tent, and stretched our legs. It was early evening and it was decided to go pay our respects to our elders before it got late so we could hit The Road early.

After I knocked on the front door Ina May opens and seeing us through the screen, turns around and says, Well Stephen, you will never guess who’s at the door! Having just been addressed in the third person left me wondering if now was a good time or not. It’s Raven and Leo!

Well Praise God!, Stephen exclaimed. I thought that was a bit much. It’s not like the Archduke of Whoville was on official visit by ambassadorship of His Excellency The King Of The Sneeches With Bellies With Stars.

Well let’s let them in! They’re exactly on time! And I swear to you… that they explained… that we had arrived exactly as they sat down to make prayer with the first pot of peyote tea they’d had in 15 years.(!?)

Grab two more cups Ina May! I thought there was some reason that medicine I’ve been hanging onto wanted us to make some tea tonight!

These things happen. It means nothing to me. But it shapes everything I understand. Knowing I can trust, especially if I really have a need, is what random small miracles teach me when it’s just an easy ordinary summer day on The Farm.

Ok so, this one time… We were hosting a ceremony for a friend. My compadre David was officiating the meeting later that night and I told him that I would probably not be sitting up. I wanted to stay with our young son Moses, who’d been suffering for three days with an allergic reaction. We didn’t know the cause but he had reddish welts breaking out on his skin and was extremely uncomfortable. We had used anti-allergenic medications and salves but there was little or no relief. He hadn’t been sleeping much so neither had mom or dad.

But compadre suggested that going into ceremony with him and praying would maybe be best. I really wanted to sleep but I also knew my compadre was probably right. When the time came, we sat by the door so it would be easier to go out with Moses if needed. We laid a red blanket of protection over him and prayed.

As our little guy squirmed and moaned, I prayed harder, more. Lifting the blanket occasionally to check on him, I could see his inflamed skin was not getting better and I wondered if it was time for us to drive an hour and a half to a hospital. It became hard to focus on any other prayer than our son’s health. He wasn’t in severe pain or anything but the days and nights of discomfort and little sleep had worn us down.

Oh Creator of our being. You know us. You are the only one who can see and provide and heal exactly as we need. Please let me stay in the way of your purpose and out of the way of my own doubt and ignorance. Thank you for the miracles we see every day! Whether we notice them or not.

At some point I was asked to go to the kitchen and get the second pot of tea. Bringing it back in and cedaring the teapot, I started the passing with me, first, at the door. Filling the cup I tossed it back and as soon as I did, I remembered… David had told me earlier, when we were in the kitchen- Remember, this tea has 300 buttons in it. It’s not a lot of volume so when we use it, remember to tell people to just pour a little. It’s going to be way strong.

These things are so personal it’s hard for me to want to talk about in mixed company. But for the purposes of sharing the heart of the medicine matter from my corazón, I will say this much- I saw the tea go inside me. 300 buttons dropping like coins in a slot machine, with colors, and lights… and consequences. I saw the colors I was supposed to drink and I saw the colors I wasn’t. Now, (I think), I’m experienced with how it is with medicine, what it does inside me, how much to use. I had eaten my usual amount. Not a lot, and this experience was not that. It wasn’t the 300 button tea either. Tea takes a while after you drink it to make itself noticed. What happened next had no relationship to the amount of medicine I had previously eaten, or the amount that had just barely glowed its way down my throat.

I could see that these colors inside of me, were about to sort themselves out on the ground in front of me. Hurrying to pass the teapot to the next person, I immediately let it all go on the earth. Well not all. What I was supposed to swallow stayed in, about the first three colors of the rainbow. That much stayed inside and as I sat back up I saw them lit up inside me and rearranging.

Suddenly a marvelously colored bird flew in through the smoke flaps and lifted me out back through, and up into the midnight sky. It carried me and pointed out everything I needed to see with it’s bright feathers and instant, silent assurances. Understanding. Certain things I had not noticed around the place. And in myself. It showed me. Quickly, I was back in the tipi, amazed, breathing deeply. Inspiring and inspired. I turned around to check on Moses and of course, he was sleeping a little snorey sleep and his skin was no longer inflamed. I could really not believe it! I mean, I wanted to. But it had only been a few moments before when I had checked on him and there had been no changes.

I resolved my amazement and knew to just thank Creator, be grateful, and continue praying. That’s how the medicine worked on me.

I cannot rationally resolve these kind of events with a purely materialistic explanation involving neurochemistry, reductionistic biochemical consciousness models, hallucinatory illusion, wishful thinking, coincidence, or any of that. The things of prayer and blessings which come with and through this medicine remain miraculous. To simply credit synchronicity or coincidence would be an absurdy tea.

Click below for next post

Dreaming With Medicine