Luis Pingarron
Laughing Buddha
chickenskull@gmail.com
I would like to start by saying that trying to articulate the depth of my experiences at the ONE Project is like trying to explain my first suspension to somebody that has never considered the significance of such a ritual. In other words: You had to be there. That much said, I can spend plenty of time elaborating on my experiences, or better yet, I can take this time to talk a little a about the importance and the necessity of ritual in our lives. Understanding the importance of participating in ritual is compounded when you consider our line of work. There is nothing we have been doing as human beings, longer than adorning our bodies. We have been decorating ourselves with scars, tattoos and piercings long before we broke ourselves off into organized religions, societies, governments, and various other modern day affiliations. Before these modern times it was very common for cultures throughout the world to celebrate a child's entry into adulthood with a rite of passage, typically with one of the aforementioned human-cultural body modifications. As we evolved and "matured" we basically traded in the songs of our ancestors as well as our sacred rites of passage for war mongering government, filthy concrete slabs, and powdered wigs. Most of us had no choice in the matter. It is no global secret that the spread of Christianity was basically forced on plenty of indigenous cultures, the fallout of course, a near complete eradication of our rituals...our human culture. And what was cultivated in us as a result of this?
FEAR
Fear of pain, fear of needles, fear of the unknown. Cowardice. How much in our lives do we deny ourselves the pleasure of fully enjoying due to our fears? How many decisions are made or not made because we are fearful of the experience or the end result? I see countless people on a daily basis that make personal choices regarding a body modification based on how afraid and apprehensive they are, not based on their desire to be strong and brave.
We must remember first and foremost that we are all warriors. We all know of at least one or two aspects of our lives in which we have shown the magnitude of our strength. Even stubbornly arguing that you are a pathetic weakling can be construed as a strong argument. One of the luxuries of being a sentient being is that we all get to choose our battles. We are all warriors nonetheless.
I help scared people for a living. I take the time and energy to guide my clients through a process in which they summon the strength and calm necessary to make it through the procedure. The end result is the realization, often for the first time, that the client has the capacity to be strong and brave. I than take the time to remind them that that is no longer a piercing, but a talisman, a symbol of their ritual. I encourage them to wear their jewelry with pride and to call upon the strength of their experience the next time they find themselves plagued by fear. I remind my clients that If I have to share this planet with them, that I would feel much better knowing that I was surrounded by warriors than cowards.
In these modern times we are witnessing a renewed interest in body modification for deeply personal, spiritual, and ritualistic purposes. The terms spirituality and ritual I use not under my definitions, but more accurately under yours gentle reader. There is nobody more suited to define those terms to you, than you under your own terms. Suddenly we are more and more rebelling against what our societies and our governments predicate our physical appearances to be and define ourselves, physically, mentally and spiritually with our adornments. This is a decolonization. We are not falling victims to a new trend. We are collectively turning away from an evolution that has distanced us from our true human nature, our culture. We are no longer accepting the uniform of the "Normal". That much said, it is preposterous to think that we may be accepting their way of thinking or conducting ourselves in a matter which "they" may deem appropriate or not. I am not a conspiracy theorist. I fear not the black helicopters or politicians with their oppressive sneers. I work in an industry where I see nearly everyday an 18 year old come in on their birthday, to get themselves pierced or tattooed. This my friends, is a rite of passage. Marking the entry into adulthood with a body modification is after all our oldest of human traditions. Most beautifully of all, this is being done before they register for the draft or college or auto insurance or any other paltry regulation set for us by our societies and governments.
When conducted appropriately, our line of work as modification professionals not only alters our clients physical appearances, but it has enormous potential to affect their way of thinking, and how they treat their fellow humans. That much said dear friends, how can we prepare ourselves to guide our fellow human beings through their modification rituals? How do we prepare our mental capacity, our spirits, and our bodies to help strengthen our numbers and reclaim our human culture? Bear in mind the more eyes we open the more society will have to accept that the work force can still perform their assigned tasks with their piercing and tattoos.
Myself and a growing number of friends participate in a yearly gathering at the Madre Grande monastery that allows us the opportunity to not only engage in other forms of human ritual, but to create our own rituals. We are encourage to take what we have learned and share it with our friends and family. If you can begin to grasp the concept of the ONE Project, then there is not even a need for me to share with you our experiences. I am however reminded that this is supposed to be an article about the ONE Project. I have only attended in 2005. This year I was blessed enough to be able to spend time in San Diego and see almost everyone even though I didn't make it as far as Madre Grande. I have a huge amount of gratitude for my good friend Didier Suarez for making the trip to San Diego possible. It really meant a lot to me to be close enough to the tribe. When I attended in 2005, it was during a difficult point in my life. The festival not only cured me, but but also jump started my life and reminded me how lucky I am to be able to walk this path. Since participating in ONE, I am always reminded that I am right where I am supposed to be. Led by two Kahunas, we walked on fire with our bare feet. My feet were barely blistered. I chose not to dignify the presence of burns by admitting that they might be there. As I slept that night, the soles of my feet tingled from my dance with coals. The following day, I was taught by a Lakota elder named Hawk how to empty my glass in order to take on what I ask the spirits for; this message I received through a song that dislodged years of emotional turmoil from deep crevices in my heart and mind. I have participated in a 100 stone Inipi ceremony facilitated by my friend and sister Alicia Cardenas. I learned the true meaning of prayer. My soul has danced with the ancestors. I noticed immediate change after I left the Inipi. My prayers are being answered. Love is in my heart. On the last day I was blessed to find the right words to open up the day with a discussion. The topics: enjoying the path, realizing that the path is 2/3 of the goal, and taking what we have learned and experienced back to our daily lives in our homes and at work. Afterward, I was again able to serve my fellow travelers by playing records during the energy pull. There was magic in our circle. The rest of the day was spent inserting hooks, and guiding people through suspension rituals, some their very first, until the wee hours of the night. I was especially thrilled to insert hooks into Didier and Eddie-Con, who both helped guide me in on the beginning of my endeavors into the suspension rituals.
So what does ONE mean to me? What did I learn?
I learned that I am not only a part of the ONE tribe, not only a descendent of the Taraumara, not only Mexica, but a human being, an earthling struggling for higher consciousness. My belief that I can stand to learn something from everyone I encounter was cemented as gospel truth. But the knowledge ran deeper. I also became aware that I must also assume the role of teacher. While we can all stand to learn a few things, we must also remember to share our wisdom. I left the mountain a changed man, a more aware human being, a member of the ONE tribe.
Sounds like good times? How does this all relate to the way I started this article? Well, on more than one occasion at Madre Grande I found myself nearly paralyzed with fear. I chose not to dignify these feelings by being afraid, I chose the path of the warrior. How could I ever help my clients be brave and strong if I didn't practice what I was preaching? We must all face our fears lest we be consumed by them. What we learn at the ONE project is how to let go of our ego and to face our fears by helping each-other. This is a lesson that many in our community could stand to learn. By continually insisting that we engage in senseless bickering and gossiping, we are not only bringing shame upon ourselves, but we are also displaying our lack of maturity for our unmodified brothers and sisters, our elders, and our ancestors. the only thing I find more appalling than our childish bickering is our lack of unity and solidarity. We are well on our way, may we never stop making progress. May we never stop working toward a common goal.
It is extremely important for us as humans to participate in our ancient rites, our birthright, in order to understand the significance of ritual in our lives. In turn, participating in these rites allows us to be lucid, strong, patient and loving people as we guide our clients through their own rituals.
I fully understand that this article may not only be edited due to space constraints, but also due to some of my remarks. If you would like to read it in the manner which I intended, then you may do so on my BME page: SlowPoke
