Blessings

And you can ask questions about it to learn more here http://forums.ayahuasca.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=46

There are a lot of videos about Santo Daime on YouTube if you do a search. They are almost always videos of dance works, though. There are actually different kinds of works, some of which are done sitting in silent meditation. The dance works obviously make for better videos, though.

Steve

Santo Daime DOES have a thought-out policy regarding guests — not one created as a show for the government, but actual working policies. Visitors are welcomed, under the right circumstances, and this is not a legal problem.

Why would it be?

“Suppose a quasi-Rastafarian church in a relatively small town manages to persuade a federal district court judge — despite fierce opposition and dire predictions of catastrophe by the government — that is has the right under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to smoke marijuana at weekly gatherings. A significant part of its argument consists of persuasive assurances to the court concerning the screening of its members and the security of its marijuana.

Then suppose people start dropping in from out of state to smoke marijuana for a weekend or two at the church, in order to seek inner healing and illumination…

I predict that it will take the government just about three minutes before it is back in court arguing that the church has broken its commitments, violated the terms of the court’s orders, and is publicly distributing a controlled substance outside the bounds of its permit.”

What does that have to do with Santo Daime? Visitors come to Santo Daime (both members who live in other places, and guests — but they don’t just “drop in to drink Daime for a weekend or two.” Santo Daime rituals, or works, are highly defined and ritualized, with ritual dress, consecration of the space, and a clear beginning and end. There is no casual lounging around drinking the sacrament.

Your hypothetical also talks about “screening of members” — apparently this hypothetical church has agreed that only members can participate. So if it made that agreement, then of course it would be violating its own stated policies and agreements if it allowed guests. But Santo Daime has made no agreement to restrict works to members only, because that is not its own internal policy.

In fact, if the Rastafarians were willing to limit their Ganja to ritual occasions only, and to let church authorities control and monitor the supply and use of Ganja by members, they might have a chance to win a religious exemption. Especially if their rituals were as strict and as ritualized as Santo Daime’s rituals. The main reason that the Rastafarians have not been able to win a religious freedom exemption (in spite of the fact that they fulfill the legal criteria of a religion) is because they don’t restrict their members’ Ganja use to specific, delineated times and places, but rather say that their members have the right to smoke Ganja whenever, wherever.

The subject of allowing guests at Daime works did not even come up in the Santo Daime court case, so there is no reason that allowing guests to attend works could possibly lead to the accusation that the church has “broken its commitments, violated the terms of the court’s orders, and is publicly distributing a controlled substance outside the bounds of its permit.”

Anyway, I just wanted to let Anonymous #3 know that it is not impossible to attend a Santo Daime work as a guest — if you can find the church, that is. They are pretty low-profile outside of Brazil — even where legal.

However, people whose main desire is simply to experience ayahuasca usually don’t like the Santo Daime works very much. It’s a religion, not just a way to drink the brew. And the works are communal and highly ritualized. Before you even start trying to track down a church, you should do enough research to see whether Santo Daime really is your “cup of tea.” ;-)

The preface by Jonathan Goldman to “Forest of Visions” is required reading by prospective Daime guests, and can be found online here: http://www.forums.ayahuasca.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=21093 . You can also find a lot more information and ask whatever questions you have in the Ayahuasca Churches and Religious Groups forum at http://www.forums.ayahuasca.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=46 . And there is tons more information on Santo Daime online, so you can learn about Santo Daime before trying to find a church near you.

Nowadays, I live in Acre Brazil where the Doctrine of Santo Daime continues to expand like this: http://lougold.blogspot.com/2009/04/musical-doctrine-of-santo-daime-hymns.html

Blessings and good works to all.

Lou Gold

I agree with you, by the way, that the Santo Daime lawyers did an excellent job. Their case was helped by an intelligent and skeptical judge and by what appear to me to be inept government lawyers, whose basic argument seemed to be that the judge should simply defer to the superior judgment of the DEA.

If I have learned anything from twenty-five years of standing in front of federal district court judges, it is this: the easiest way to get a judge to rule against you is to tell the judge to defer to someone else. :-)

A lawyer dies and goes to heaven. Every once in a while, while she is lounging on a cloud, she sees a black-robed figure walking around. Finally, curious, she asks an angel who the person in the black robe is. "Oh, that's God," says the angel. "God?" says the lawyer. "Why is God wearing a black robe?" The angel says, "Oh, He thinks he is a federal district court judge."