At A Glance
Author	Vodin
Contact	vodin_33@hotmail.com
IAM	Vodin
When	Two years ago
Artist	Seth
Studio	Fakir's Intensives
Location	San Fran

Piercing Ritual? What a load of crap! Or is it?

Well since this is a story of piercing and spirituality it must have a background so that's where I will begin.

My mother and myself have been best friends my whole life always being there for one another so our bond was incredible. She was in the end stages of COPD and I had decided that piercing was to be my lifetime profession, at this I began stretching my ears from a 20 gauge and was well on my way to an inch. Low and behold my mother states "I can't wait to see your ears when they are totally done!" She unlike many believed in my decisions and me.

(Fast-forward one long horrible year later.)

My mother has passed away and me being the only one of three children in any state to deal with funeral situations I arranged the viewing for friends and family just in case any want to say goodbye in this way. Well I sat there for an hour all alone staring at my mother whom because of weight gain and losses looked horrible and not even like herself. So this was the mental picture I was left with and had nightmares seeing this image in my dreams for a long time.

Now I proceed to take my course in San Francisco with Fakir Musafar and for any of you who have attended or know about his classes there is always a ritual on the last day to celebrate finishing the course. Well this was to be my last chance to get my septum done and there was one last spot left for the ritual so I approached Seth about piercing my septum and he agreed.

Now the idea of gaining some great spiritual awakening from a piercing just sounded like hooey to me but again it was my last chance to get it done so ahead I went.

Here the class began beating drums and the incense was flowing through the air as Seth positioned me on the bed with my head right off the edge of it so that I was effectively looking at his crotch. Well I have done a lot of meditation in my years so I proceeded to slow my breathing and just center on myself while tuning out the world. It seemed like I had been in this position for hours when Seth whispers to me "If your neck is sore you can reposition yourself, it will be several more minutes."

The only thought that went though my head was that I wasn't uncomfortable I really couldn't feel my body at all and I seemed to be having almost an out of body experience but since I have been here so long why will it be longer? But I laid and waited, in a couple seconds I assume Seth placed the needle against my septum and I knew this because I felt the heat of his hands but I didn't feel the needle at all.

I am now hearing the drum beat increase in strength and my breathing begins to come rapidly with the cadence of the drums, and I can feel my heart inside my head. Then all of a sudden I feel a jolt through my whole head. But also at the same time in my mind I seen my mother standing over me with the most beautiful smile I have ever seen on her face. She just looked at me and smiled in that way only a mother smiles at her child that she is proud of.

Here the tears begin to flow and my eyes begin to cloud and I have to blink, and I fight the blink for what seems like hours so I wont have to look away from my mother who I miss so much, but with that blink she is gone. Now Seth tells me I can sit up whenever I want and I do, and as I do the tears flow even harder and I am crying like a baby. With much hugging and more crying this is the story of my one and only truly spiritual experience with a piercing.

(Insert real time tears here as I relive this very personal experience, and my love for my mother.)

Now thanks to this ritual and all the people involved I no longer see my mom as she was in the coffin viewing and now see her as she used to be with a big beautiful smile across her face. And a personal thank-you to Seth and the rest because you gave me back something that I believed lost for the rest of my life.

So if you have a chance to participate in a ritual take a chance and go for it you will be amazed.

Brent Moffatt