Well it’s been eight weeks since my last post and people are starting to ask… Bro, are you even alive? The answer might seem obvious since I seem to be writing this, but I could be an AI bot. Actually, maybe, I probably am AI. Arizona Inspired

It has been eight weeks since we planted many thousand peyote seeds in the Seedling Sanctuary nursery. And life has kept me busy, and inspired, but not so much for writing. More so, for doing… Taking care of seedlings, transplanting mother plants, and arranging for the continuation of their care beyond my hands by working with individuals and organizations who have a common interest in the future of the medicine.

Special thanks to The Goodness Sake Foundation who has arranged purchase of a 20 x 48 ft. greenhouse for the secondary phase of seedling culture, and to The Peyote Way Church who donated 7,000 peyote seeds, harvested from mother plants cared for in the church greenhouses.

Also, I have been reconnecting with my Arizona family, community, and landscape. These are the three principle factors that are blessing me abundantly since I repatriated myself back to my ancestral homeland. I have done much visiting, hiking, and taking in of the local culture(s) and richness and beauty of the Sonoran Desert.

Just after the first peyote seeds sprouted it was time for the annual Pascua Yaqui ceremonies, or deer dance. It was so heart filling to hear the music, witness the sacred ritual, smell the aromas of traditional foods, and be with my relatives as we celebrated the beauty of new life on earth and touched the presence of life beyond.

Following the deer dances, I was inspired by a childhood dream of mine, planting a small medicine garden way out in the untouched Sonoran Desert, in gypsum-rich desert soil under the chaparral bushes, in the shadows of mighty saguaros.

It was 2:00 am when the medicine roused me from sleep, talking to me, about how happy we would both be if I followed up on this intuition, to follow my heart to the place I grew up vision questing at- I call it Prayer Hill. It was a beautiful journey, one I will remember forever. And I will visit that place many times as the years roll on, with my children and grandchildren.

So at 4:00 am, I roused my brother Michael and informed him it was time to wake up because we had a mission. I felt sorry for the dude but he was here to help, and took the vow of Trusting The Medicine, and this was his opportunity to do both. Just as dawn was awakening, he dropped me off at the edge of nowhere, otherwise known as the middle of everywhere. And so, I hiked for many hours and planted my heart out there. It was one of the most beautiful days of my life. And sure enough, it made both me and the medicine very happy.

Somewhere around this time Michael and I attended tipi ceremony at my favorite hot springs and we also stopped by The Peyote Way church to visit my dear friends, tour the greenhouses, and admire lots of peyote art.

After that adventure I landed on the shores of Western British Columbia, Canada, to enjoy the company of Mrs Lorax and our son. I spent the first two days transplanting our medicine seedlings which it turns out, can be quite exhausting by the end of the day. Our oldest seedlings here are now just over 4 years old and we continue to sprout new seeds as they become available. We’re also hoping to see the first flowers on the oldest of these seedlings this year as they approach their 5th birthday.

Before heading back to Arizona I attended a tipi ceremony in Eastern Washington with my wife and son. It was there where I first met our friend Miguelito in person. He had been kind enough to donate several thousand seeds to Morning Star Conservancy and it was a beautiful way for us to start our friendship, all night, praying with medicine, in community with peyote people. Thanks for the love and faith you exercised by showing up there amigo!

Following that, it was back to Arizona to tend to the growing seedlings and to document the oncoming of summer and the now plentiful flowers erupting from our mother plants, each bloom then producing new fruits with new seeds for the future.

As I was busy minding my own (and the medicine’s) business, I received a call from the director of The Science Of Psychedelics conference being held on the upcoming weekend in Phoenix. It was requested that I give an opening prayer for the proceedings, and so I did. It was a nice opportunity to mingle with people who are interested in plant medicines and their potential for healing. Before making the prayer I explained the mission of Morning Star Conservancy and the importance of supporting and contributing to the Seedling Sanctuary and peyote’s future on earth.

Acknowledging the presence of many military veterans, I shared how my son who is in basic training and entering Army Ranger’s training tells me that all the peyote ceremonies he attended through his childhood are the best thing he could have ever done to prepare him for his military experience. And there was much applause given when I mentioned that plant medicine therapy for veterans should not just be a privilege granted by any regulatory agency, it should be a basic human right.

Not long after attending this conference and between gardening responsibilities here, the Peyote Lorax family spent a pleasant weekend celebrating our son’s 11th birthday in Southern California, visiting old friends, playing on the beach, and doing pretty much everything an 11 year old boy could possibly handle in a day at Universal Studios, which is just a little bit more than his parents can handle… but lots of fun!

And so yes, the Peyote Lorax lives, and breathes, and will be dropping a new podcast very soon. Also, thanks to the urging of Mrs Lorax, I’m now on Instagram. I’ll be posting plenty of pics and videos there of Arizona inspiration and the daily ins and outs of watching medicine grow, and the medicine watching me. Thanks for your reading and your patience. More updates here soon.

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