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Into the Red Zone: An Ayahuasca Monologue
[The Ayahuasca Monologues] • Comics artist Adam Pollina takes an extraordinary journey into the heart of Colombia's military Red Zone in search of a legendary shaman.
This video was recorded at the Third Annual Ayahuasca Monologues, held at Webster Hall in New York City, on November 5, 2009.
Adam Pollina is a comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' X-Force comic book. In 1996 he drew the four-issue limited series Rise of Apocalypse, again for Marvel. He has also produced a creator-owned limited series Big Daddy Danger, which was published by DC Comics in 2002.
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No wrong turns
No wrong turns
amazing how he went through
good stuff
Nice story, Alex
I kept thinking of this quote...
Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment. This includes every mosquito, every misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath. Every moment is the guru.
~ Joko Beck
Welcome brother
a true modern myth with such archetypal significance
This story is a modern "hero's journey" myth; I would love to see it turned into a comic book or animation or something! It's so archetypal--the entire premise based on a gamble to find healing... entering the forbidden place of danger... the forced separation with the protective female... the attempt to flee is hijacked by angry militants... the hero pleading innocence to his warring captors... the hero deposited into the blank space of lostness, only to find, by divine synchronicity, the warm glow of the helper who the hero was searching to find in the first place... being christened in the the blue butterfly waterfall... escorted over the black cliffs of death lit only by the small light of youthful faith... one last encounter with armed forces holding and releasing... all to come to the space where the hero is able to unload his heavy burden of the wounds of a modern life... the end scene of the death-rebirth adventure is a Swedish girl embracing a tiger, as if symbolizing a reunion with what is normally so terrifying and dangerous... and the lesson the hero brings is the sworn-true message: "There are no wrong turns."
This story was such a well-told descent into death and resurrection, I had a transformative experience myself. I awakened with an assurance that even though situations look dire, transformations, though completely out of sight, can be right around the bend. I was also reminded that sometimes to transform one must be taken to the brink. To go for the gold in your soul, to seek the spiritual salve for your wounds... sometimes the divine makes it an epic battle. In my view, we split, then struggle in stagnating pain through the path to the bliss of reunion, and as it is such an infinitely fun game with an unavoidably successful ending of reunion, the divine seems to delight in making it as intense as the concentration of the sharpness of reality itself.
Anyway, thank you, Mr. Pollina, for that deeply moving story that was told with such genuineness. Your story has fueled my faith to stick through the darkness even if it feels like the path has gone astray. And like any good myth, I feel its message may have lasting power.
"Spinning in circles / Walking a straight line." - Trey Anastasio