I have been musing over these past months about what the presentation of our works means to me and how it has morphed within me through my years in the Santo Daime.

At first it was fairly simple – I presented myself in the way that I had seen it done in Brasil. This involved going to the head of my line and offering my works with alteration because to offer my works without alteration meant that I had always made the correct choice in every situations. The head of the line went to the head of the section and the heads of the sections offered all of the works to the female, or male, leader of the entire work.

Our church shifted the process to the form that we use to this day; we sit at the altar and offer our works to the beings of the Daime on the Day of the Three Kings and receive our work for the next year. But still, with or without alteration.

This King’s Day, as I sat in concentration to present my works, I did something very different. I looked at all that I had gone through, all of the choices I was presented with and what I did with those choices, and I looked at it through the lens of whether my choices were true to my pledge to look more deeply within myself and to bring goodness and light to the world in as many ways as was possible for me on a daily basis. I left the question of alteration or no alteration out of my study and instead focused on the processes I went through and what I learned from the processes. Did I show progress in bringing light and goodness? Did I embody the Daime tenets more deeply throughout the year? Do I, did I, practice kindness with more ease and sincerity? Am I learning compassion and acting from that heart space? Am I listening more, talking less? Am I looking for the light in others ?

As for as I can see, from this year’s study, alteration or no alteration is not a useful construct for me. I am continuing on my path of studying the choices I make and where they take me.

Much love to all as you choose your own path within the Santo Daime.

May we all be guided by peace, truth, light, and love.