Fall 1972Meeting Plant Medicine
Author: Ken Homer Issue: 2024-05-15
Fall 1972–Meeting Plant Medicine
by Ken Homer
I was 15 and hanging out with my friends They all smoked pot but I wasn't ready yet I'd been raised to be very afraid of drugs the information I'd been fed told me that l'd either become a hopeless addict or lose my mind if I ever smoked pot But l had been around my older sister when she got high and I noticed that when she got stoned she was nice to me (An exceedingly rare occurrence that) which made smoking it of interest to me
I lived in Brunswick Maine a stone's throw from the Androscoggin River which back In the '70s was terribly fouled by the S. D. Warren paper company upstream from us SDW discharged so much pollution that the river water was brownish-black and a sickly yellow foam floated on its surface It coated anything it touched and was not easily cleaned off when you got home You wouldn't want to eat anything from the Androscoggin in those days and it made me sad to know that in earlier times it was home to an abundance of aquatic life that sustained the Indigenous tribes and the native animals that lived near its banks for countless centuries
Some days the water smelled so fetid you didn't want to go near the river Other days it wasn't too terrible I was just glad we didn't live upstream
Brunswick lay on one side of the river Topsham rose up on a hill on the other A bridge downtown handled most traffic Another nearer to me carried freight trains the lower level could accommodate cars but it was in disrepair with a 90° turn at one end and I could hear cars driving over the creaky boards at all hours of the day The car level has since been removed
A pedestrian bridge also spanned the river That bridge was designed and built by none other than the John A. Roebling Co. The same guy who built the Brooklyn Bridge Everyone calls it: The Swinging Bridge because it swings when the wind blows which is disconcerting for many people I knew people who refused to walk on it My favorite time to use it was in the Spring when winter's thaw would raise the level of the Androscoggin to within inches of the floor of the swinging bridge The winter runoff meant the water was much cleaner It was a rush to stand on that bridge with a raging torrent just inches below your feet
I was walking that bridge in a thunderstorm when one tower was struck by lightning There was a blinding flash and a huge crashing of thunder all around me Blue-white shards of electricity danced on the supporting cables on either side of me The smell of ozone stung my nostrils Every hair on my body stood on end I seriously thought my life was about to end But the tower had grounded the strike The cables carried a non-lethal discharge I touched no metal on the wooden floor Shaken and stirred I lived to tell the tale
The banks on the Topsham side of the river are gentler than on the Brunswick side There's a small island just off shore near the bridge we accessed it via a fallen tree and some strategically located boulders being Always careful not to step in the foul water My friends and I used to haunt this island We'd hang out by the water's edge where we'd throw rocks smoke cigarettes and practice being juvenile delinquents (I'm sorry to say we were too good at it)
One of my friends was a minor dealer He was good for nickel and dime bags My friends would offer me pot but I refused After numerous outings to the island one day they finally convinced me to try it I did and absolutely nothing happened But they kept pressuring me and I kept at it Much to my surprise one day it worked
I wasn't aware that I was high at first I took a few hits and felt nothing Then I wandered away from the group and suddenly the world seemed to grow both softer and sharper at the same time Light and shadows took on greater depth My breathing slowed as my mind shifted My sense of being in a body expanded My proprioception opened to a larger field Inner and outer space seemed to blend yet simultaneously became more distinct Time felt as fluid as the water flowing by Both sounds and colors were more vibrant All my senses felt sharper and keener
I looked up at the trees around me (An image I carry to this day) Maine is famous for its tall pine trees I was in a cluster of them and the sun was shining down through their needles It was as if warm fingers caressed my face The sky appeared to be a deeper blue than it had been just a few minutes before
The sound of the river rushing by washed over me and washed through me The way music does in a concert hall The trees spoke to me of their rootedness The sky offered me its vast spaciousness With closed eyes I could feel with certainty that the rocks under my feet were carrying on a fascinating dialogue with my bones
All at once I laughed a big loud long laugh A laugh that seemed to come up out of the ground-direct from Gaia Herself It rose up through me exploding into gales of pure mirth as if l'd finally understood the punchline to a rollicking good joke I rejoined my friends who were all quite delighted that I had finally managed to catch a buzz Now do you see why we smoke? I had to admit it was a lovely thing and contrary to the myths I didn't become an addict nor did llose my mind and suddenly turn into a drooling idiot That was my introduction to the magic of plant medicine l've used that medicine in both skillful and irresponsible ways over the last 50+ years and l'm a better person for it
There've been some incredibly intense periods of daily use and times where I didn't touch it for years on end I've had experiences both mundane and mind- blowing and from speaking with others l've learned that this plant medicine affects people in a wide variety of ways
I do plant medicine less frequently these days and the delivery vehicle tends to be edibles When I commune with plant medicine I bring an attitude of reverence to it I take time to thank it and ask it for help I treat it as medicine not as an escape (Which it was for many years)
I find I am nearly always rewarded with an expanded sense of being alive Of wonder and joy and awe at life It fills me with good humor and contentment A sense of harmony unites my body-mind I feel and sense a different way of being a different way of thinking and feeling It helps me get my mind around problems Insights stay with me and inform me long after its effects fade away I get a sense of deepened connection to Gaia to my ancestors and a reminder that my job is to be a good ancestor to those who will walk the Earth after me
Ken Homer • March 2024
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