Medicine

Greetings 

Greetings, Friend

Who are you?

I am
nothing

Got a stage name?

Yeah
People call me Luke

I’m known as Harmonious Flow
but you can call me Flow

That’s a cool name

What tribe are you from, Luke?

I hang out with the Rainbow tribe

That’s a nice feather you got in your hair

Rainbow lorikeet
Here
It’s yours now

Why thank you, Luke
That’s mighty nice of you
We’re having a pow wow tonight
And you are welcome to join us

Thanks
I’d love to

You’re welcome, Luke
It’s time to send a smoke signal
to some friends in a nearby valley
Do you feel like smoking?

Sure

Follow me
You can put your bag and guitar
in that teepee over there

Thanks

Then Luke and Flow walked over
to the fire circle
and began to lay a fire

♫ ♫ ♫

That’s a lot of weed
you’re putting on that fire, Flow

It grows wild here, Luke
and in abundance

Cool

And so Luke and Flow fed the fire,
took a few deep breaths
and signaled Flow’s friends

♫ ♫ ♫

What kind of rainbows do you get around here, Flow?

We’ve been rather bereft of rainbows lately, Luke,
but my sister,
Dancing Flower,
saw a triple rainbow last month

Rainbows are cool

They are indeed
If you like,
perhaps tomorrow we could invoke some rain
and then summon a rainbow

That’d be excellent!
Do you have a rainstick?

We all have one

Dude, that’s awesome

Do you know any bird calls, Luke?

I know the calls of the city birds in Hanoi
They have three:

The longest one is used to get someone’s attention,
the shortest means no
and the one in the middle means yes

I can teach you some of the local bird calls
if you like

That’s be great

And so Luke and Flow
practiced bird calls
as the fire
faded

♫ ♫ ♫

Hey, Flow
Did you ever play Cowboys and Indians
when you were little?

We don’t play dualistic games, Luke
We raise our children to understand
their true nature

Good idea
I still get stuck
in a thought jam
now and then,
but for the most part I just observe
the flow

Thoughts have colonized most people,
and therefore they suffer

Yeah

Do you drum, Luke

I love to drum

We’ve got a few djembes in the music teepee
Want to play?

Most definitely
Since when has your tribe been playing djembes?

We’re fusion Indians, Luke
We use all kinds of drums
We don’t limit oursleves
to any one culture
We use the best of the new
and the old
from every culture we’ve had contact with
All traditions have a beginning
and an end
Some of our traditions have been discontinued,
some have simply changed
and others have only recently come into being
There are no mumpsimuses among us

That’s excellent

And so Luke and Flow drummed
until Flow’s friends
arrived

♫ ♫ ♫

Luke, these are some of my friends

Guys, this is Luke

Háu, Luke

Hey, guys
Nice to meet you

And so Luke learned the names
of Flow’s friends,
and then they all drummed together
for awhile

♫ ♫ ♫

And when the sound of a conch shell
was heard,
Flow announced that it was time to eat

Luke, this is my sister,
Dancing Flower

Hi, Luke
You can just call me Flower

Hi, Flower

And so met Luke all Flow’s relatives
and the rest of the tribe
as together they ate
a meal

♫ ♫ ♫

Let the pow wow begin,
said Flow’s Father,
Flowing Stone

And evening then filled with music
and dancing,
singing
and laughing

♫ ♫ ♫

And when it was time to dream
the dream within the dream,
Luke returned to his teepee
and lay down
while the tribe was singing
om

Morning, Luke
How’d you sleep?

Like a rainbow

We’re having a sweat lodge tonight, Luke,
and you are welcome to join us

Thank you, Flow
I’d like that

We won’t be eating today,
and we’ll remain silent
until the ceremony

Sounds good

Just be shanti
Quieten your mind,
pay attention
and observe

Will do

Be natural

Understand

And so Luke spent the day
alone
and with others
in silence

It’s time, Luke
Come

And as they neared
the ceremonial teepee,
Flow said,
We call this space the timeless machine
Step inside
and out of time
Switch off your thoughts,
and shut down your mind

Luke and Flow then joined the others
inside
and sat down,
and the medicine man began
to sing

♫ ♫ ♫

El Abuelo
o el Maestro, Luke?
Peyote or mushrooms?
As you are our guest,
tonight you choose the medicine

Mushrooms and I are good friends
and I have yet to meet el Abuelo

Peyote it is then
First we will smoke
the peace pipe,
from which many blessings flow

The peace pipe was passed
from friend to friend,
and then a basket
of peyote
went around
and around

♫ ♫ ♫

Know any medicine songs, Luke?

There are a few
that flow through me
now and then

Feel free to sing
anytime

And so Luke played his guitar
and sang
in the dark

♫ ♫ ♫

That’s some strong medicine
you got there, Luke
Encore

And so Luke
and the others
took turns singing
their medicine songs
until the morning birds
began to sing
theirs

♫ ♫ ♫

Before you go, Luke,
let’s have one more dance:
a rain dance

And then everyone walked over
to the music teepee,
picked up their rainsticks
and began to dance

♫ ♫ ♫

And after awhile
some dark clouds formed,
and soon it began
to rain

♫ ♫ ♫

And when the rain had stopped
and a rainbow had come,
Luke knew it was time to go

We usually spend the summer in this valley
and winter near the coast
You’ll always be able to find us
Take this bow
and these arrows
Let the bow teach you
And take this pouch of seeds
for when you have a home
And this satchel
of sacred weed
is yours to share
with those you meet along the way

Thank you, Flow

Thank you, Luke

I made these mocassins for you, Luke,
said Dancing Flower,
so that you may tread softly

They’re beautiful
Thank you

And after a round of hugs
Luke put on his mocassins
and continued
on his way

♫ ♫ ♫