Saturday, August 01, 2009

going to the mt., looking for . . .

random thoughts about a quasi-vision quest

My dog Manchas and I are going to spend a few days alone, w/o a tent or campfire, sitting on a mt., away from as many people as possible.

In Huxley's Island, old people would annually drop a hit of something, maybe it was mescaline. Given my 61 years, consider this something similar.

Due to aging and ravaged liver, stomach, kidneys, heart, etc., we will need to take minimal water and two packages of unsalted crackers. Manchas will also be on reduced intake. I can't do the real vision question (sweat lodge, total abstinence) because I'm not a real indio, nor a true believer in the Great Spirit. Just a partial believer.

Call it an attempt to reconnect with the little bit of indigenous in me. Call it a cleansing of the civilized, urban garbage I carry.

Just finished reading Nightfall by Clarke & Silverberg, about a planet where a planet's population goes mad when they see the stars only every 2,000 years. Manchas and I have seen the stars before (last night), but never for whole nights.

I didn't win the "What Was I Thinking" contest on Mario Acevedo's website, The Biting Edge, with my last entry for the dumbassest thing I ever did, but maybe I'll win his next one for my episode on the mt.

I don't doubt I'll lose some weight, which I can afford to. But will I shed some mind-heart clutter that I need to lose? Things that will help clarify, that will awaken my brain, that will loosen the soul.


We don't have a guide like in Teachings of Don Juan, ala Carlos Castaneda, to lead us, so we're going to have to play it by ear. Hope the mt. spirits accept the unguided.

The subtitle to the book was A Yaqui way of knowledge. Our family supposedly has Yaqui in it. Maybe I'll reconnect with some of that, though whether knowledge or something less or something stranger results, well, we'll just see.

I've got cold feet, and I'm not talking due to Denver's unseasonably cool temps. (It was 50 last night.) Being by oneself is not a normal comfort zone. Not for this long. With no manmade lights, colas or cervezas, human comforts, no TV, phone, computer. I'm taking six cigs. And maybe one fat one. But I won't dare light it in the dark.

Also taking my stick and a knife, hopefully only necessary for the cougars. Bears don't like dogs, so I don't worry there. Cougars do like dogs, very rare and unsalted. Manchas will need to be somewhat tethered to avoid becoming lunch.

I'm taking along a small spiral, for no more than an hour's worth of notes every morning. Hard to say whether I'll share that here or whether there'll be much worth sharing.

We'll come down from the mt., hopefully much better for having gone up.
Vamos a ver,
RudyG

Click here for next installment.

6 comments:

msedano said...

cuidate rudy. take more water than that.

Unknown said...

Be sure your location is known. Share when you return.

Anonymous said...

According to your uncle we Saucedas, our generation, is one eighth Yaqui...that qualifies us to be native American and for the benefits. Supposedily he registered himself...but I don't know where...one time, before computers, I tried to contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs but never got to where I needed.
I did not know Manchas had all those health conditions .......
Remember the old Indians would stray away (to die) from the tribe, especially when they migrated, so as to not be a burden on the others...so somewhere there your inner self is telling you you need to appreciate your heritage, to realize your purpose...
hell, I had some mushrooms the other day and everyone I offered them to kept saying they were "old school" stuff.
You'll be back with more questions than answers.
Maybe you need two ledgers or spirals....and a walking staff...later
Rafa

Annette Leal Mattern said...

Hey, Primo. Remember, this is your vision quest, not Manchas.' Take him plenty of water so he doesn't go looking for his own. Same on food.

As for your spiritual and physical cleanse, maybe you could package this as a New Economy Spa Experience.

Can't wait to hear your next installment.

(Good luck, Manchas!)

Annette

Bobbiejean said...

If Manchas comes back enlightened, tell him to teach me the dog way, so I can spread the word.

Anonymous said...

So what's up for next year? Perhaps an ice flow in the Bering Straits? Con cuidao!
Pocho Joe