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Newsletter 9
2008, through its first 10 months has demonstrated another year of growth and change. Changes have been very important to our evolution as a center and are something that we continue to welcome. The changes we have been through over the last months all have been designed to strengthen our mesa as a whole and to form an even stronger foundation for our future.
Recently some return guests have come back asking about these changes. They also have expressed that the Blue Morpho community would like to have more information or explanation, especially concerning changes in apprentices and staff.
Blue Morpho has changed drastically every year since its conception. As more people form community around our shamanic work, they have to understand that we will constantly evolve and change and grow. Since our beginning I have run Blue Morpho based on the principles of the medicine. The medicine constantly looks for what needs straightening, and it works there.
In traditional apprenticeship 9 out of 10 apprentices fail to become master shamans. It is a very steep pyramid to climb, a journey fraught with danger and difficulty through its entirety. At Blue Morpho it is even harder. Not only do we expect our apprentices to support Blue Morpho full time in and outside of groups, we do not consent to apprentices taking the “dark” path to becoming a brujo. Due to the difficulty in transcending through apprenticeship it will be normal for the relationship between Blue Morpho and apprentices to begin and to end. No two apprenticeships end for the same reason. In the last five years eight apprenticeships have ended.
When the majority of those apprenticeships ended we were still a small organization and their ending impacted fewer people. Now that we have grown and community has formed around us, I understand that these changes can be difficult. I have decided to share more about their parting to provide greater context.
Daniel Gartland left Blue Morpho on very good terms. He and I still consider each other friends and I have actively supported him in continuing his apprenticeship with Alberto. He was growing in the medicine each week and moving through his apprenticeship. Working 12 hour days full time between groups and 12-16 hour days during groups began to take its toll on him. It became clear that it would be better for all of us if he could continue his apprenticeship without the difficulty of a full time job. I knew that I would have to continue to push him in his apprenticeship and it would only make it worse. I felt that he would do better outside of the structure provided by Blue Morpho. We talked with Alberto about his continued apprenticeship and he was welcomed with open arms. Daniel left without animosity showing great courage. I am proud and thankful for the time he spent with us and wish him the very best on his continued shamanic journey.
It may be hard to understand how an apprentice could be ranked or promoted and then very shortly after no longer be apprenticing, but that is the nature of the medicine. Apprenticeships change direction very quickly and we move with those changes as they happen.
Eloy Navarro (Eluco) apprenticed directly under Don Alberto Torres Davila while at our camp. For a couple of years he was a support to us inside and outside of ceremonies. Everyone knows the importance I place on honesty. I have even stronger requirements of integrity for our apprentices. A few months before Eloy left, I asked him specifically to not participate in a business relationship outside of Blue Morpho. I felt that the relationship would create a problem for us in the future. Eloy agreed with me and promised that he would not pursue it further. A few months later, I came across a website promoting the very business we had discussed, not only mentioning Eloy, but also using photos from the Blue Morpho camp as promotional material. He lied to me and went against a verbal promise made between apprentice and Maestro. When I questioned him about it, he denied it until I mentioned the web page in question. As a Maestro and head administrator, I will not accept deception and lies from my apprentices.
The following is a message that I have translated from Don Alberto Torres Davila concerning Eloy Navarro:
“Eloy Navarro is no longer my apprentice. I am in no way affiliated with him or his current business. I should not be mentioned in any of his promotional materials. He is not a Maestro and I never granted him that rank. Julio Llerena Pinedo never gave him the rank of Maestro either. Despite being family, over the last months, Eloy has begun to spiritually attack my family including my two children who are apprenticing under me and my wife. He does not want to allow them to learn the medicine. I am deeply concerned by this. In my opinion he is using the people who drink ayahuasca with him to gain power to then use it for harm and revenge. This is not the way to treat people, especially people that are coming to you for help.”
In the last months we have also made changes in staff. The changes have resulted from relocations, the exploration of other full-time job opportunities and our needs as a center and business.
I started a process, months ago, to begin the necessary changes to make sure we maintained our working environment with the greatest amount of harmony and fluidity. We have been moving through those changes with grace and ease. I am very thankful because we now find ourselves in our best position ever. We are bonded and continuing to explore the endless beauty of medicine and our work with our guests.
Change is a constant in life. It is what we can really count on. While it is easy to become complacent in “good” times, everything will continue to change and evolve. At Blue Morpho we continue to change in the face of the “good” to being even better and stronger. It is through this change that Blue Morpho continues to offer new guests and return guests our very best each time we have the opportunity to work together.
The Mesa:
Don Alberto Torres Davila: Maestro Alberto continues to participate in all of our ceremonies. He heads our mesa with the stability and mastery of over 40 years of experience. I am awed each ceremony at the depth of medicine he brings to our mesa. I feel personally honored to work under him in the mesa and to still receive his guidance.
The life-long pact of medicine that Alberto and I made four years ago lives strong in our hearts. We stand shoulder to shoulder in the mesa sharing our medicine with everyone that sits in the ceremonial house with us.
Welcome New Apprentice: In March of 2006 John came to Blue Morpho for the first time and experienced a spiritual awakening. After having participated in more than 9 groups he was accepted as an apprentice in August of 2008. Previous to moving to Iquitos, he was in the mortgage banking industry for 15 years. He brings his organizational and personal skills to help guests integrate their experiences with Ayahuasca and help the camp. In town he greets guests when they arrive, volunteers at an animal shelter, and assists in day-to-day operations in Iquitos.
Apprentice Kelle Morris: Kelle has plans on moving to Iquitos full-time in 2009. We are excited for her to come and be a part of every group. She brings amazing skills in the medicine and as a yoga practitioner.
Apprentice Chris Odle: Chris will be on almost all of our groups in 2009. It is a pleasure to have him back at the camp. He brings strong medicine to the mesa and is a master astrologer with decades of experience.
Mimi Buttacavoli: Mimi is growing daily in the medicine. She has been an amazing asset to us all. She continues to manage our staff and make sure we function smoothly each day at the camp and in Iquitos. I offer her my personal thanks for all she has put into her apprenticeship and Blue Morpho. It is truthful to say that Blue Morpho would not be as amazing as it is today without her constant effort and care.
Apprentice Jeremy Bleech: Jeremy is currently in Florida raising his first child. He continues to manage reservations and online communication with our guests.
Recent Developments:
New Website and Community Site: Blue Morpho has a new website and integrated community site. We have given our online presentation an update and at the same time added our community site. We will launch the community site with a forum and chat for previous guests. The forum is designed to allow you all to share your experiences, ideas, and processes. It will also be a place to be able to ask public questions about our development and changes as we evolve as a center and community. I know many of you have formed discussion groups through Yahoo and other services after your time with us. Our community site will provide a centralized location for these types of groups and communication offering the ability to stay in touch with friends made while at the camp and to explore friendship with others from different groups.
Through the community site you will be able to host chats and provide a community interface similar to Facebook where you will be able to create a personal profile, organize meetings or events in your home town with others that have been to Blue Morpho. We welcome feedback about the community site to better personalize it for your needs.
Journey of One: My first book Journey of One is in print. It was self published earlier this month. It will be available on our groups and hopefully through mail order.
The Documentary: The documentary about our work with ayahuasca filmed by Keith Aronowitz, an independent film maker and previous guest, is finished. It has been submitted to film festivals including Sundance. We are awaiting notice from the festivals whether it has been accepted or not. We will know in late December or January. Keith is finishing a web site for the film. When it is finished, we will send the link to everyone. I am very happy with the final production. It is an amazing demonstration of ayahuasca and tells the story of our work with it truthfully and accurately.
Icaro Cd’s and other creative projects: In November and December we will begin recording Icaros for Cd’s. We hope to have them available by the end of the year. We are also in the development stages of other projects that are aimed to aid you after being at the camp. This will include instructional material about the practice of Amazonian shamanism, Icaros and their uses and guided Meditations whose focus will be the spirits of the Medicine.
I thank all of you personally who have shown interest in our work. Together we make this medicine possible not only for ourselves but for others. This year there have been more return guests than ever. It has been a personal pleasure to get to know all of you better and to move even further into the medicine. The exploration of Ayahausca is something that we can do for many years to come. It never gets boring. It never gets old. It is pure love, an endless beauty that opens every time we sit in ceremony and sing Icaros. It propels us through our daily lives showing us that we are all made of love.
Peace and light to you all,
Hamilton Souther
Blue Morpho