The teachings of Don Juan Matus

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This is so breath taking ...One of those precious moments where the assemblage point moves from ordinary to extraordinary .

Fractal rainforest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDbQBSORY1g


"We live on a water planet. Under EPA funding, I once did a three-month environmental assessment of the Winooski river basin in Vermont. Week after week, in my wading boots, I walked through water-saturated rain forests in the backcountry. The interplay between the water and the forest is spiritually transformational. As far as I could see, in any direction, the dense forest rose in the mist, out of the shallow water. No ground was visible anywhere. The crystal clear water was never more than two feet deep and easily accommodated walking. Countless life forms darted around my feet beneath the surface, weaving a vast tapestry of life.

We often speculate on the reality of magic. I no longer do. The place I speak of was starkly, vibrantly magical. I do not mean figuratively or poetically magical. I mean literally, radiantly, in your face magical. I learned there where legends come from. In this video I attempt to convey, as well as my humble abilities allow, some of that magic. Every image in this video was generated using Ultra Fractal software. I believe it to be the most realistic ecosystem simulation I have ever done. I would appreciate hearing whether or not I have succeeded."

Love Always
mudra

Sorcery is the Art of Silence

June 8th, 2011

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/sorcery-is-the-art-of-silence/#more-1547

In spite of its indefinable nature, we can measure silence through its results. It’s final effect, the one that sorcerers look for with avidity, is that it brings us in tune with a magnificent dimension of our being, where we have access to an instantaneous and total knowledge that is not composed of reasons, but of certainties. Sorcerers call it silent knowledge. ~ Carlos Castaneda


Love Always
mudra

Dancing Past the Predator
June 24th, 2011

New Seers in a new Era : http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/dancing-past-the-predator/#more-1568

The Predator consumes our awareness through our emotions, properly directed by the internal dialogue. They have designed our social environment in such a way that we are constantly shooting off waves of emotions, which are immediately absorbed. Best of all, they like attacks of ego; for them, that is an exquisite mouthful. Such emotions are the same anywhere in the universe where they occur, and they have learned how to metabolize them. ~ Encounters with the Nagual

Love Always
mudra

Recapitulation

excerpt from the book :"Encounters with the Nagual" by Armando Torres .

http://www.aquakeys.com/d7a6_toltec/encounters-with-the-nagual-by-armando-torres-chapter_08-recapitulation

Love Always
mudra

Seeing

By Female Warrior

If we were able to transcend interpretation and face pure perception without prejudice, the impression of a world of objects would vanish. In its place, we would witness energy as it flows in the universe. Under such conditions, the chain of other people’s thoughts would no longer have the smallest effect on us and we would not feel obliged to be or do anything. Then our senses would have no limits. That’s seeing. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

I have more questions than answers when it comes to this. And I am discovering that there really are no answers when dealing with silent knowledge, at least none that come close to what it means to be in a state of seeing from a point of pure perception. What I do know is that when the assemblage point radically shifts from its fixated location and we are forced to perceive in a new manner it takes a lot of energy to stabilize again. And for warrior travelers it is even more difficult because where the average man attempts to rebuild and reconstruct their reality exactly as it was, the warrior recognizes the radical shift as the very gift they’ve been striving for. To reconstruct their “reality” as it was would be a repetition of a pattern instead of an act of creation.

Circumstances of late have provided me with the intense opportunity to perceive from a completely new location of the assemblage point and from a place that is pure seeing. Though I’ve seen and cut through the lines of the matrix of the world for many years, what I see now in a state of renewed clarity is that there are no new lines to grab onto, every line that exists is a line that has been created by someone else. The lines are luminous and the ones that have hooked the attention of the masses are quite bright and even thick while others are lightly glowing like fine gossamer threads. It is an overwhelming sight, to say the least, and has provided me with an understanding on a deeper level of how stories are maintained and energized, even those that most people claim that they do not like nor care to be a part of and yet, maintain a connection to which subsequently makes it brighter and more attractive to those lacking the personal power to see beyond it.

Floating in the beautiful cosmos without a single attachment to any line is downright scary, in fact, it is terrifying! The vast emptiness of silent knowledge provided the awareness that if I grabbed onto any of the lines I was seeing that I would instantly be repeating a pattern. I sat quietly in the abyss considering releasing my house, my job, my things because I was seeing them as anchors. In fact, I saw that I was tethered to this world only by these things. That was the word I used. Tethered. By one tiny and very weak line that I could extinguish in the blink of an eye. The temptation was great, but the timing was impossible. I didn’t come back for my things, it was my loved ones that I came back for. So I stalked my way back down the tether in order to resume in the place that I had left off and it has been with great difficulty that I carry on so to speak.

My beautiful home is my refuge. In order to keep the house I must keep the job which subsequently anchors me to a million other lines that do not belong to me and are certainly not of my choosing. Increasing my personal power now consists of learning how to connect with intent in a different way, to hold onto the beauty of the incredulous freedom I experienced and not feel too overwhelmed by the artificial matrix that the dominant paradigm has labeled as reality and to strive to be in a fluid act of seeing in each and every moment regardless of my surroundings. Busy times!

Sitting in the abyss of silent knowledge allowed me the opportunity to see that every line belongs to someone else. Even the lines of our own creation still vibrate and glow with life if someone, even just one person, has hooked into it despite the fact that we have recapitulated and cleaned the links. Our only choice, as warrior travelers, is to be impeccable with our energy, increase our personal power, keep our assemblage points loose and prevent them from becoming fixated and to be in a constant act of creation without attachment to any single line, even our own.

Most modern sorcerers are the heirs of the old seers. By ignoring the warrior’s principles, they have devaluated the knowledge. They have become storytellers, herbalists, healers, or dancers; they have lost control of the assemblage point. In many cases, they do not even remember that the point exists. The new seers tried to stop all this; they took what they could use from the vision of the ancients, but they were wiser and more moderate. They cultivated an unbending intent and turned all their attention towards the way of the warrior. In that way they changed the entire intent of the practices. Upon completing their energy, some of them glimpsed a higher goal than the adventure of the second attention and pondered the possibility of being free. ~ Carlos Castaneda

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/seeing/

Love Always
mudra

Sitting Under the Ceiba Tree

September 26th, 2011

All we need to do is open ourselves to knowledge, and it will come rushing to us like an avalanche. ~ Carlos Castaneda

Carlos said that one should surrender to knowledge, no matter what form it was presented. The form I chose on one particular recent day was to sit in the massive roots of a towering Cieba tree at Ek Balam, the ruins named Black Jaguar in the Yucatan. I had been told by a Mayan shaman, years earlier, how sacred this tree is to them. They believe it to be the Axis Mundi, the force of the great cosmic center that creates the point which connects earth, sky, four directions and four elements. They say that this tree represents the point of the earth’s beginnings and that by sitting in its presence is like riding the plumed serpent, travelling through the milky way, touching all of creation.

And there I sat, very still and very silent. Not doing anything. Not trying to connect with intent or ask for anything by using my will, womb energies, mind or heart. Just sitting, completely empty, allowing myself to merge with my surroundings. And then it happened…knowledge, total awareness, seeing, recollecting; everything all at once. Words cannot describe it, they can’t even come close.

My life will never be the same. Just joyously empty and knowing that we don’t have to connect with or create intent. When we get out of our own way we come to know that we are intent and the only thing that prevents us from harmoniously flowing in the totality of freedom, awareness and knowledge is ourselves. As abstract centers of perception within a matrix of intent, we are intent.

author: New Seers in a New Erahttp://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/sitting-under-the-ceiba-tree/

Love Always
mudra

Aligning with Intent


He told me that, from the moment when the explosion which gave us origin occurred, until the moment of our death, we live within a flow. Those two episodes are unique, because they prepare us for the encounter of what lies further ahead. And what aligns us with that flow? An incessant battle, which only a warrior will attempt. Because of that, he lives in profound harmony with everything. For a warrior, to be harmonious is to flow, not to stop in the middle of the current and try to make a space of artificial and impossible peace. He knows that he can only give the very best of himself under conditions of maximum tension. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

Aligning with intent has been the primary focus of my work for the past couple of months. It has been difficult trying to find the words to describe it. Aligning with intent differs vastly from connecting with intent or creating intent. While we can will ourselves to connect with intent (to see) and create with intent (to know), in order to align with intent one must arduously recapitulate (in the moment), erase even more personal history (the stuff we thought was “knowledge”) and zealously unplug from the foreign installation. In order to align with intent, we must have tons of energy and personal power. The foreign installation is so generationally ingrained that it seems as though we are stripping away the very cornerstone of our reality. And we are. Herein lies the incessant battle of the warrior.

When warriors align with intent, there we stand looking into and feeling into the unknown, the abyss, the void. Floating in complete surrender. And then something magical beings to occur. The veil has lifted so to speak and the conditioning that prevents one from seeing, feeling, sensing, knowing, intuiting things as they really are is gone and gratitude begins to replace thoughts like doubt, thought, control and confusion.

We begin to have things “happen” synchronistically; not just one cool thing here or there but many things start to manifest. You think of someone you haven’t spoken to in a year and they call; you think about a particular thing you need and it appears in a most unconventional manner. You share an idea with someone and they simultaneously had the same idea or you remember an old song you like and it plays on the radio! It’s as if you are just in a constant act of creation and co-creation. Just walking your thoughts awake and alive. Remember the movie “What Dreams May Come”?

This is creative abundance and it ushers in such a deep sense of gratitude. It’s gratitude that is grounded in humility. It’s not simply a “thank you” for this or that, it’s more like a deep, heartfelt thank you to the very fabric of existence; to intent and the incredible joyfulness and harmony that is felt when one has aligned with it. It’s awe at the awesomeness of what is possible when we get out of our own way and stop trying to make things happen. More than being “in the flow” (whose flow is that anyway?), we instead, by aligning with intent, become the flow, an extension of it, because of it. We become the creator, creation, created. And our humble knowing gratitude makes all things possible. ~ Keep Dancing!

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/aligning-with-intent/#more-1676

Love Always
mudra

Losing the Mind

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/losing-the-mind/#more-1705

What is required of a modern warrior is a condition of sustained energy gain, until his attention can flow between reason and silent knowledge. When moving in that way, he is more sane than ever, and yet he is not a rational being. From whichever position he assumes, he will always be sighting the other side, and his vision acquires perspective and depth. Sorcerers describe this condition as ‘being double” or ‘losing the mind’. ~ CC, Encounters with the Nagual

As warriors of awareness, Don Juan says that every day is a battle and that a warrior will fight that battle to the last day. What are warriors battling? Themselves. They fight to break the description of the world which has been injected into their mind, freeing themselves from the mold of man. This allows the assemblage point to shift so new things can be perceived.

Recapitulate. And when you’re done, recapitulate some more. Yeah, you’re all probably sick of hearing me say this but for everything you recapitulate you restore the energy that you’ve lost to people, situations and events and this reclaimed energy assists you in shifting your assemblage point so you may see things in a way you’ve never seen them before. The myth of man becomes clearer and it becomes easier to remove oneself from the lie of collective consent and conformity.

The evolutionary freedom of humans depends on our ability to break free of the repetitive pattern of the conditioning that dictates what it means to be human. We are conditioned to behave in the same manner dogs that are trained. Carlos said, “We can arrive at silent knowledge in exactly the same way as our teachers taught us to arrive at reason: By induction. It is like controlling both sides of a bridge. From one side, you can see reason like a net of agreements, which transforms collective interpretations into common sense through the customs of concern. From the other side, you can sense silent knowledge as an unfathomable, creative darkness which extends beyond the threshold of non-pity. Upon crossing this threshold, the ancient sorcerers arrived at the source of pure understanding.”

It’s great that there are warriors working towards total freedom, to potentially dart past the eagle to be free but it would be magnificent if the entire species were able to evolve out of this destructive pattern of “humanity”, forever eliminating the reign of terror, violence, oppression and confusion we have voluntarily reduced ourselves to. I say voluntarily because if you are reading this blog then you are already aware that you have a choice. Take advantage of your free will. Take responsibility for your life! The ripple effects of your choice to keep dancing and your commitment to freedom will be felt for many generations to come.

Do not attempt to seek a teacher for this work, you must align with intent, with spirit! Most so-called teachers simply address the concerns of the ego and all the student ultimately does is follow and imitate their teacher thereby repeating the patterns in a new way. Freedom is creative and creation is freedom. Create your world. You must make death an advisor. Unbending intent may place other impeccable warriors on your path who can make you aware of new possibilities but if freedom is your intention then it is your responsibility to connect with silent knowledge. This silent knowledge is not somewhere out there, it is inside of you. Think of it as an eternal flame of awareness. You must fan it to keep it alive. Breathe. Connect with silence. Ignite the spirit and just keep dancing.

Sorcery is about returning man to marvel, to power, to what he has dreamt about; to reconnect him with astonishment and the capacity to create. ~ CC

Love Always
mudra

Recapitulate the Future
January 16th, 2012
http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/recapitulate-the-future/#more-1711

The idea that time moves in a straight line from past to future is completely primitive, something that goes against the experience of sorcerers and even of modern science. Due to that limited interpretation, most of humanity is kept prisoner in a tunnel of time, where their destiny becomes an infinite repetition of the same. ~ CC, Encounters with the Nagual

Recapitulate the future! I wonder why Carlos and Don Juan never talked about this? I guess with all the goals laid out to dart past the eagle to be free, make death an advisor and merge with total awareness, it would have somehow lost its punch if it was inferred to recapitulate the future and yet I believe the point is to recapitulate everything, every thought, every action.

To recapitulate is to stalk our routines, subjecting them to a systematic and merciless scrutiny. It is an activity that allows us to visualize our life as a totality, and not just as a succession of moments.*

Think about it. Every spiritual belief system has you preparing for the afterlife in some way, shape or form, the Toltec path is no exception. These preparations are routines. It doesn’t matter if you are darting past eagles or flying with angles or becoming free of the karmic loop or ascending into heaven, these are all goals that ultimately fixate your assemblage point and trap your energy into preparing for the future. RECAPITULATE IT ALL! When you have recapitulated your past and have gained the personal power necessary for living freely in the moment, then, recapitulate the future! Most of the future is borne of past experience/knowledge anyway.

Warriors recapitulate when they are walking down the road, in the bathroom, when working or when eating; whenever it is possible. The important thing is to do it. What counts is the intent. Breathe in when you try to recover something, and blow back all that doesn’t belong to you. If you do that with the totality of your history, you will stop living entangled in a chain of memories and instead, you will be focused in the present. Seers describe that effect as facing facts as they are, or seeing time objectively.*

If warriors are preparing for any outcome, then we are potentially losing energy to the outcome by envisioning how it might be. So how do we recapitulate the future? By aligning with intent. Right here, right now. When we align with intent with fluidity, we dance along the lines of awareness that are unfolding. And we create the present moment however we want to.

We cannot be warriors of freedom when thoughts of freedom fixate the location of our assemblage point. We amass personal power and energy when we recapitulate the past. We amass personal power and energy when we recapitulate the future. When we do this we are able to live without distractions and in total 360 degree awareness. And in freedom. We return to being the creative force that we were born to be when we sit within silent knowledge, completely aligned with intent.

The immediate effect is that it (recapitulation) stops our internal dialogue. When a warrior is able to stop his dialogue, he tightens the relationship with his energy. It liberates him from the obligation of memory, and from the burden of feelings, and leaves a residual energy that he can invest in enlarging the frontiers of his perception. A warrior begins to appreciate the real thing, not the interpretation of it.*

*Quotes by Carlos Casteneda from Encounters with the Nagual

Love Always
mudra

Dreaming

You are confused by the words. When sorcerers speak of dreaming and awakening, the terms don’t have anything to do with the physical states you know. I don’t have any choice but to use your language, because otherwise you would not understand me at all. But if you don’t do your part, and put aside everyday meanings and try to penetrate the meaning of what I’m telling you, you will never get out of this state of mistrust. ~ Don Juan speaking to Carlos

Dreaming is so misunderstood. It is not a state that is separate from wakefulness. Dreaming is about having the energy that is necessary to function in a state of 360 degree total awareness which ultimately transcends both the states of dreaming and wakefulness, the pinnacle of awakening! I have always believed that the word dreaming was inaccurate but then again, most of Castaneda’s nomenclature is designed to present a constant state of misinterpretation to lead adherents through the arduous maze of complete understanding. Absolute brilliance on his part!

Yeah, there are dreaming practices like trying to find your hands and speaking to others in dream but what are these exercises other than to hone awareness in all states of being? Total 360 degree awareness in each and every moment. Not just waking moments, all moments.

So what words can replace dreaming? Well, to put it most simply let’s just say meditation. No, not the lotus seating style with thumb and forefinger touching while resting the wrists on your knees and chanting Om Mani Padme Om. Yeah, that could work but it’s a huge distraction stemming from someone else’s vision. As warriors we can’t afford to copy others and align ourselves with their intent. That would cause a fixation of our assemblage point onto their fixated location. So what is the goal? Connecting with silent knowledge. Aligning with intent! And when we are aligned with intent we are dreaming all the time.

Some of the dreamers I know have embarked on meditation. And then they tell me that since they began meditating they are no longer able to enter the state of “dreaming” as they were able to in the past. I explain that this is because through meditation they have connected directly with silent knowledge which provides for them the opportunity to be in a state of dream all the time thereby making the “dream state” indistinguishable from meditation because they have integrated their ability to be in the state of dream all the time. 360 degree total awareness.

Dreaming isn’t a task, it is a state of being. We have all, for the most part, done the recapitulation, erased personal history, broken free of the mold of man, made death an advisor and as a result have access to tons of usable energy allowing us to shift our assemblage points at will and constantly perceive a multitude of states of being while aligning with intent. We are just being in a constant state of creation as the constant state of creation unfolds all around us in each and every moment. 360 degree total awareness. Happy dreaming!

Dreaming happens when we achieve a certain balance in our daily life, and only after silencing the internal dialogue. The term ‘dreaming’ is not the most appropriate to describe an exercise of awareness which has nothing to do with the content of the mind. I use it out of respect for the tradition of my lineage, but the ancient seers called it something else. ~ Carlos Castaneda

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/dreaming/#more-1721

Love Always
mudra

Thank you for posting these mudra. I'm always learning something new from what you share with us.

Carol wrote:Thank you for posting these mudra. I'm always learning something new from what you share with us.

You are most welcome dear Carol



Love for You
mudra

Puppet Master or Warrior of Freedom?


A poorly conducted preparation for accessing sorcerer’s knowledge, one which encourages self-importance instead of increasing wonder and a desire to learn, becomes a near total obstacle for the apprentice. One who comes to the nagual saturated with beliefs on almost everything won’t get the chance to continue. Intent determines an ordinary man’s access to sorcerer’s knowledge. ~ CC

Intent. Nothing more, nothing less.

The sorcerer’s way is not a dogmatic religion that some would have you believe it is. It is not founded on protocol or structure. As Carlos points out, “Sorcerers make a clear distinction between the concepts of ‘spiritual guide’ and ‘nagual teacher’. The first is an individual who specializes in directing flocks, and the other is an impeccable warrior who knows that his role is limited to serving as a connection with the spirit. The first one will tell you what you want to hear and he will give you the miracles that you want to see, because you interest him as an acolyte; while the second will be guided by commands of an impersonal power.”

Anyone claiming to be a nagual is seeking to put themselves into a false position of authority and power and is not an impeccable warrior. There are people all over the internet referring to themselves as naguals or Toltec masters; terms carefully selected by a warrior of freedom whose main purpose was to denounce the absurdity of the monkey mind. You can find these “naguals” selling retreats, spiritual journeys, promises of heightened awareness, reclamation of personal power and the highly sought after and coveted freedom. Yeah, your cash in their pockets makes them free.

Seriously fellow warriors, isn’t the path of freedom really about freedom from everything? Since many people are deviating from the order of religious structure, the flyers are taking on new forms. One only needs to look and you can see them everywhere. Flyers prey on the vulnerable and work through those who are seeking to hold positions of power because the flyer counts on those who have the potential to gather followers. These people claiming to be what they are not are amassing more book knowledge than ever before due to ease of access to information and knowledge over the internet. But, are they walking a path of freedom daily in their lives? Are they truly taking the time to be authentic by having their own experiences or are they simply trying to emulate another?

Replacing the millenia old tradition of priests and ministers are spiritual guides, life-coaches, yogis, and even “nagual teachers” who are training you how to be like them in the same manner that they were taught to be like someone else. And when you “get it right”, their self-importance escalates, the flyer is satiated and the follower becomes a pawn, lost in a game that has been played over and over again. As we watch, many of these paths of freedom and personal expression turn into protocol driven modalities guided by self-importance perpetuating self-importance. Another repetition of a destructive and controlling pattern under the guise of a new name.

For a warrior, freedom is accessible through linking with intent and connecting with silent knowledge. It is the ability to cut through the monkey mind of conditioning and control by recapitulating everything and choosing a life that allows you to be who you are free from the impositions of society, including that of spiritual conditioning. Freedom is a commitment and yet, it’s so simple, it can be done alone and it is an act of creation, just like everything else in the universe. You can choose to recreate someone else’s experience but is that freedom? Hold on to nothing and don’t believe a word I say!

It’s easy to see how even nagualism is becoming a repetition of a pattern complete with rules, protocols and teachings with self-proclaimed “teachers” telling you how to accomplish the tasks. While nagualism isn’t a religion, it’s fast approaching becoming such by those who claim to hold the key, have the answers, and provide the means for “getting there”, wherever there is!

If Carlos is watching I’m sure he’s having a good laugh as so many people attempt to embrace the very thing he was trying so earnestly to become free of. In fact, Don Juan is probably right there with him saying something like, “there are warriors and then there are ordinary men acting like warriors.”

Knowledge is a most peculiar affair, especially for a warrior. Knowledge for a warrior is something that comes at once, engulfs him, and passes on. ~ Don Juan, Tales of Power

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/puppet-master-or-warrior-of-freedom/#more-1728


Love Always
mudra

Hooked Only to Infinity


The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity. ~ Don Juan, Tales of Power

Hooked only to infinity, warriors of freedom are aligned with their innate nature and allow others to be aligned with theirs. They don’t get uptight if someone isn’t acting the “correct” way, the correct way being the method that they hold within their field of perception of what works best for them or what they believe to be the way based on the deeply ingrained precepts of social conditioning. Warriors of freedom recognize that every person has a personal predilection to which they align in order to be truly authentic.

The path of the warrior of freedom is not, as some believe, a structured belief system with strict protocols of adherence that ultimately define us as warriors. We don’t have a checklist of traits to follow and obey nor do we have a lofty or illusory image to uphold by doing rituals and wearing costumes to define us. This path is an individual journey intended to allow those who walk it to break free of the patterns that attempt to keep us as prisoners to the mold of man. Part of the journey is the ability to walk freely through all of the various components that present themselves as worthy of exploration and sometimes we don’t know how absurd a particular component is until we take the opportunity to experience it directly. And then our choice is to recapitulate it and move on or become fixated until we come to realize that we have indeed compromised our freedom by becoming fixated on that point of reference. Either way, having the experience increases our awareness because we come to know the world through direct experience and not as an interpretation of what we believe that experience may be.

Nagualism consists of techniques and practices designed to alter our everyday perception, producing psychic and physical phenomena of extraordinary interest. It is a personal choice as to how far one would like to dance along the lines of awareness along the constant flow of energy. Warriors are committed to the search for new levels of awareness and will strive to experience anything and everything they can, with complete fearlessness. The goal is total freedom; the evolution of awareness to the point of enabling us to travel through the ocean of cosmic energy, perceiving all that is accessible to us. What we choose to experience as a result of engaging in various practices and techniques is to satisfy our own need to know and to evolve. As warriors our commitment to evolve is to ourselves, not to another.

Self-importance has a weak point: It depends on recognition to maintain itself. Knowing this, an apprentice renovates his relationships. He learns how to escape those who confirm his self, and frequents those who don’t care about anything human. He looks for criticism, not flattery. Every so often, he starts a new life, erases his history, changes his name, explores new personalities, and annuls the suffocating persistence of his ego. He puts himself in situations where his authentic self is forced to take control. He understands, once and for all, that all the energy of the universe is connected. What exists is a panorama of luminous emanations, inextricably bundled together, within which we can make interpretations as far as the power of our attention will allow. All our actions count, because they release avalanches in the infinite. For that reason, none is worth more than any other, none is more important than any other. That vision destroys the tendency we have to be indulgent with ourselves. Witnessing this universal bond, the warrior is prey to contradictory feelings. On the one hand, indescribable joy and a supreme and impersonal reverence toward all that exists. On the other, a sense of the inevitable, and a deep sadness that has nothing to do with self-pity; a sadness that comes from the breast of infinity, a blast of solitude which will never leave him again. That purified feeling gives the warrior the sobriety, the subtlety, and the silence that he needs to venture there, where all human reasoning fail. Under such conditions, self-importance can’t sustain itself. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual


http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/hooked-only-to-infinity/#more-1750

Love Always
mudra

Eternal Evolution
February 28th, 2012

On the cosmic scale, the strength of a being is not measured by its physical capability, but by its capacity to manipulate awareness. It follows that if we are to take the next evolutionary step, it must be done by means of discipline, determination, and strategy. Those are our weapons. In order to manipulate and understand the emanations which arrive to our senses, sorcerers develop the power of their attention, sharpening it through discipline to exquisite levels, which allow them to transcend human limitations and to fulfill all the possibilities of perception. Their concentration is so intense that they can penetrate the thick armor of appearances, and expose the essence of things. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

The only thing that prevents us from evolving into states of consistent, heightened awareness and transcendence of human limitations is ourselves. Oh how easy it is to consistently fall back into the stories and patterns that we have been taught to perceive! The force behind collective coercion is so strong, so reasonable and so unified. Well yeah, exactly why we chose the path of the warrior.

Once we recapitulate the stories of our childhood and early adult conditioning we experience a new-found freedom that lets us take a closer look at our foundational make-up. Realizing that we no longer need to uphold certain traits and characteristics, we begin to recreate ourselves by embodying the things we felt deprived of while we were forced to fit the mold of man that was imposed upon us.

At this point we become excited with the possibility of recreating ourselves and we fully immerse ourselves into new roles by learning everything there is to know about “becoming ourselves”. This can liberate us or entangle us in another pattern. If we wind up obsessed with our new role we come to realize that our assemblage points have, once again, become fixated, this time by our own doing. It is at this juncture that one decides whether to find solace in the security of her routines or to continue jumping into the abyss. The warrior jumps.

Carlos explains; the path which transforms an ordinary human being into a warrior is very arduous. Our sensation of being at the center of everything, and the need to always have the last word, is forever getting in the way. We feel important. And when one is important, any intent to change is a slow, complicated and painful process.

Discipline, determination and strategy. What motivates me on this path is the constant beauty, mystery and awe unraveling before me. I know that when I allow my assemblage point to become fixated everything comes to a screeching halt, becomes tedious and I can feel myself solidifying. This alone is the reminder I need to remain disciplined and determined enough to constantly strive for fluidity by recapitulating often and aligning with creation in every moment.

I also recognize when I become full of myself by thinking that my dedication to this path really pays off because I come to hold so much awareness and I pat myself on the back and say, “good work!” When I get to this point I realize how full of XXXX I am and I recapitulate the awareness I think I hold so I can lose that bit of self-importance, holding on to nothing and becoming empty again.

When we can admit that we know nothing is when we are able to perceive the fullness of creation and then we come to realize how very little we actually know and the only thing left to do is to seek to know something new, the never-ending and fulfilling battle for awareness. And this is the ultimate gift, to keep dancing the dance of emptiness, of fluidity, of eternal evolution!

Discipline, as understood by a warrior, is creative, open, and produces freedom. It is the ability to face the unknown, transforming the feeling of knowing into reverent astonishment; of considering things that exceed the scope of our habits, and daring to face the only war that is worthwhile: The battle for awareness. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/eternal-evolution/#more-1761

Love Always
mudra

thank you Mudra for these postes. Don Juan in condensed version is very nice for the quick mind, goes right to the core.
The Teachings of Don Juan were for me also my first books offering to me the possibility of an alternate reality and a way showing to meet my enemies and to overcome them

I have since entered into the the Teachings of the Sweet Medicine Sundance lead by Harley Swiftdeer who trained with Don Gennero which is an alias name for another... Two Bears Wilson.

Don Juan speaks of 4 enemies, fear, clarily, power, old age, but there is a fouth enemy called Death.. and in the Sweet Medicine Sundance Teachings death must be made into an ally. This may also be in the Don Juan teachings, Im not sure. .... but I suspect that it is.

Best,
arrow

Thank you for visiting my thread Arrowind.
I am not familiar with Harley Sweetdeer.
But I understand his point of death being something one needs to overcome or as you say to be made an ally of.
Don Juan discussed this too. I understood his view upon this matter being to live every moment as if it was the last one. No fear but rather full awareness and perfect presence always.

Here are some quotes of his regarding death:

The worst that could happen to us is that we have to die, and
since that is already our unalterable fate, we are free; those who
have lost everything no longer have anything to fear.

A warrior must focus his attention on the link between
himself and his death. Without remorse or sadness or worrying, he
must focus his attention on the fact that he does not have time and
let his acts flow accordingly. He must let each of his acts be his
last battle on earth. Only under those conditions will his acts
have their rightful power. Otherwise they will be, for as long as
he lives, the acts of a fool.

“Death is the only wise advisor that we have. Whenever you feel, as you always do, that everything is going wrong and you're about to be annihilated, turn to your death and ask if that is so. Your death will tell you that you're wrong; that nothing really matters outside its touch. Your death will tell you, 'I haven't touched you yet.”


Love for You
mudra

Stillness at the Center
by female warrior

…it’s amazing how quickly people lose interest once you stop reflecting back their dramas…~ a warrior friend

Sometimes there is nothing to say. Sometimes there is nothing to feel. Sometimes there is nothing to express. And when we become pensive and quiet the world around us thinks that something is wrong and demands to know what it is. And if we don’t provide the reason, any reason, even when there is no reason, our apathy is rejected, those around us become insulted and turn on their heel as if we are to blame somehow for not providing them with glossy and exciting dramas with desires to be healed or fixed or needed.

Last weekend a good friend came over who I hadn’t seen for a while. He is much younger than me and was in that place where one questions everything. If you’ve been there you know that everything becomes paradoxical, illogical and life situations and people often appear ridiculous. His friends were all nagging at him to be positive, be happy, see the good in everything, party more but he said he wasn’t feeling it. After a while he asked me why so many people are on meds. “To be happy!”, I exclaimed, “because we live in a society that measures a person’s worth by the amount of happiness they exude, real, fake or otherwise.”

My warrior friend, who provided me with the above quote, and I were talking a few weeks ago about erasing personal history and not really having any overarching need to be surrounded by or in the company of many people, being most content with just being still, quiet, connected with silent knowledge. We talked about how every so often someone comes into our lives and is like a brilliant star with whom we like to shine. And sometimes that shine lasts a little while and sometimes it burns brightly for a long time. And then, she mentioned, it’s amazing how quickly people lose interest once you stop reflecting back their dramas. Nothing to reflect except the stillness at the center.

We shine together the brightest when we are empty and hold no expectations of another, when we can be in each other’s company without trying to fulfill a need, a thought, an idea, a perception or an agenda. We need to honor another’s reality in the reality of many realities. We need, also, to be careful not to become anesthetized by an idea of perpetual and unnatural happiness.

Personal history must be constantly renewed by telling parents, relatives, and friends everything one does. On the other hand, for the warrior who has no personal history, no explanations are needed; nobody is angry or disillusioned with his acts. And above all, no one pins him down with their thoughts and their expectations. ~ Don Juan


http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/stillness-at-the-center/#more-1777

Love Always
mudra

Extraordinary Exploration

You need to have patience. You are learning to do something extraordinary. Sorcerers intelligently redeploy their energy by cutting down anything they consider superfluous in their lives. They call this method the sorcerers’ way. In essence, the sorcerers’ way, is a chain of behavioral choices for dealing with the world, choices much more intelligent than those our progenitors taught us. These sorcerers’ choices are designed to revamp our lives by altering our basic reactions about being alive. ~ Don Juan, The Art of Dreaming

You need to have patience. Spending time with a Nagual for about 10 years helped me learn how to see and connect with infinity by simply witnessing him being who he was, authentically, in each and every moment while he encouraged me to connect with the earth, the mystery and to just be myself. “Patience, my girl, patience,” he would say over and over.

Our society cultivates us to have expectations of instant gratification. How can we evolve into new areas of consciousness when we hold expectations of instant gratification? We didn’t learn out to walk and talk and eat with a fork overnight, it takes time. Evolution takes time. And recapitulation. And unplugging. And patience.

You are learning to do something extraordinary!

Sorcerers must constantly strive to evolve beyond repeating the patterns by becoming fully engaged with the act of being alive. Don Juan talks about molding one’s awareness of being alive and that through shaping this awareness we can obtain the energy necessary to reach and sustain the energy body, the double, thereby influencing the total direction and consequences of our lives (aligning with intent).

The act of being alive, of living and shaping our lives is an extraordinary act of creation. When we shape our awareness we are freeing ourselves from the grasp and mindset of the predator and the foreign installation that has become more powerful and more predominant than ever. It is not enough for a warrior to fight the predator by battling it to the end; one must remove themselves completely and this takes patience, fortitude and extreme courage. In order to touch the double we must have tons of energy, massive quantities, attainable through recapitulation and connection with the earth (the act of being alive) and we must be able to stalk ourselves in dream! A tall order but not impossible and not without reward.

Extraordinary indeed. The sorcerer’s path is a lifetime commitment and there are no shortcuts. The answers come from within and from direct experience. There are no handbooks or manuals or how-to guides. There are not even any naguals who can tell you what to do. The best that a nagual can do is listen to your experiences without imposing an agenda, remind you of the practices, turn your world upside down when necessary and pull the rug out from under you from time to time but other than that, you are the one who has to do the work.

A warrior of freedom must be completely committed to having direct experience by constantly becoming engaged in the act of being alive, of creating and recapitulating, and creating some more and in connecting with the earth and silent knowledge; all of which provides the warrior with the necessary energy to see. And when you see you will know. Yes, there are more questions than answers. Sorry, no instant gratification here! ~Keep dancing!!!

Don Juan stated that as we tighten the control over our dreams, we tighten the mastery over our dreaming attention. He was right in saying that the dreaming attention comes into play when it is called, when it is given a purpose. It’s coming into play is not really a process, as one would normally understand a process: an ongoing system of operations or a series of actions or functions that bring about an end result. It is rather an awakening. Something dormant becomes suddenly functional. ~ Carlos Castaneda

Female warrior
http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/extraordinary-exploration/#more-1788

Love Always
mudra

Personal Power = Evolution


The tragedy of today’s man is not his social condition, but the lack of will to change himself. It is very easy to design collective revolutions, but to genuinely change, to put an end to self-pity, to erase the ego, to abandon our habits and whims… ah, that’s something else entirely! Sorcerers say that true rebellion, and humanity’s only way out as a species, is to stage a revolution against their own stupidity. As you can understand, this is solitary work. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

Evolution is the result of having personal power. As La Gorda says in The Eagle’s Gift, …there are no steps to anything a warrior does. There is only personal power…

Comments about language in the last post prompted me to look more deeply into the definition of the word language. It was stated by a reader that the word language comes from the Latin word languor which means laziness. I looked into this to find that language also means lack of lack of energy or vitality; sluggishness, lack of spirit or interest, listlessness; stagnation, physical weakness or faintness.

And yet, we talk, and talk and talk. Even when we don’t know what to say we talk…about the weather, the time, the person over there, further strengthening illusions we continue to talk and solidify perception and fixate the assemblage point. Talking is not the same as taking action and that’s why language is defined as lack of energy, spirit and interest. Talk becomes empty, shallow and hollow lacking depth and experience. You’ve all heard the expression, walk your talk? Well, yeah, if you aren’t walking your talk then you are not taking action and if you are not taking action then you are not evolving. So how can we possibly evolve amidst all the chatter and bla-bla? Practice. Doing. Acting. Walking.

An hour of practice can sweep years of explanations off the table, and real results appear, results that stay with you forever. As you turn yourself into a witness of power, the obsessive pressure of your mind to be in charge will be cancelled out, and in its place the childlike spirit of adventure and discovery will be reborn in you. In that state you don’t think anymore, you act. ~ Carlos Castaneda

To evolve, one must have command over the totality of oneself. This means that you encounter power by removing yourself from the concerns of the “group mind” by filling yourself with decisions of power and strategies that bring you to awareness. It involves practicing silence to fighting the domestic condition of having ‘membership’ in a social group and removing yourself as a hostage in another person’s inventory with an obligation to uphold an image before others; you are an autonomous, individual who has come to realize that our next evolutionary step is done by means of discipline, determination and strategy. Our evolution is measured by the ability to realize, to be aware, to come to the understanding that we will not evolve as long as we continue to repeat patterns over and over again.

In order to evolve we have to open our minds to perceive everything that is available to us. Once we remove ourselves from the stories that maintain consensual reality within the social order we acquire personal power. Anytime we actively practice with discipline, determination, strategy and intent we are increasing our personal power by becoming free of the false matrix, the illusions. And as we continue to amass personal power we are able to access new levels of awareness, we are able to perceive beyond what we have previously imagined, we are actively creating, and most of all, we are evolving!

Human evolution is possible when we have personal power. Personal power is attainable when we free ourselves from the story. Isn’t it about time? ~ Keep Dancing!

Once you learn to discern the voice of Mother Culture humming in the background, telling her story over and over again to the people of your culture, you’ll never stop being conscious of it. Wherever you go for the rest of your life, you’ll be tempted to say to the people around you, “how can you listen to this stuff and not recognize it for what it is? ~ Daniel Quinn

source: http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/personal-power-evolution/#more-1810

Love Always
mudra

Impeccability: Further Evolution

The warrior’s final challenge is to balance all the attributes of his path. Once he does that, his purpose becomes inflexible. He is no longer moved by a desperate desire for gain. He is the owner of his will, and can put it to his personal service. When he arrives at that point, the warrior has learned how to be impeccable. And for him to continue being impeccable depends totally on the energy he has accumulated. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

Carlos goes on to say that impeccability is born of a delicate balance between our internal being and the forces of the external world. It is an achievement that requires effort, time, dedication, and being permanently attentive to the objective, so that the final purpose is never lost from sight. Like a lot of the nomenclature used by Castaneda, the word impeccability takes on a different meaning than the standard dictionary definition. In the dictionary impeccability is defined as the absence of sin, faultless; flawless; irreproachable. Don Juan says; impeccability is nothing else but the proper use of energy.

Suffice it to say that it is very difficult to put into words some of the meaning surrounding the sorcerer’s concepts and I’m sure that Carlos was doing the best he could possibly do in attempting to relate his complex, energetic understanding into comprehensible terms. As a warrior friend recently reminded me, don Juan told Carlos to turn his writing from an act of writing into an act of sorcery. It becomes an endeavor in stalking.

The way that I understand impeccability is kind of like utter humility backed by integrity and more. It is aligning oneself with all forces, internal, external and the force of intent so that the forces of pressure are equalized everywhere and the warrior is buoyant, fluid and flexible. I suppose that this can be known as the dictionary definition of the absence of sin, faultless; flawless; irreproachable and yet, it’s so much more on an energetic level.

Impeccability for a sorcerer is composure, equanimity and poise. It is the ability to maintain centeredness and balance in all situations. It is the ability to not lose energy to anyone, anything or any situation and to leave no perceptible impact. It’s taking full responsibility for every act, even the most trivial of acts and to not let anything affect the warrior’s mood. The warrior realizes that everything is ephemeral and as such proceeds impeccably through life. Is this a challenge? Yes. Is it possible? Yes. How then does one become an impeccable warrior? Through practice.

Impeccability begins with a single act that has to be deliberate, precise and sustained. If that act is repeated long enough, one acquires a sense of unbending intent, which can be applied to anything else. If that is accomplished the road is clear. One thing will lead to another until the warrior realizes his full potential. ~ The Fire From Within

The bottom line to impeccability consists of, but is not limited to, humility, gratitude, appreciation, awe, responsibility, integrity, acceptance… An impeccable warrior recognizes that every person in the world is capable of realizing their own potential and this is not something that can be taught, it can only be experienced and cultivated through a commitment of unbending intent. And the impeccable warrior is a witness to others as they come into their own power in the way that best serves them through the choices they make and the personal experience that they, personally, acquire. There is no other way. I leave you with these quotes on impeccability to ponder.

The aspect of impeccability which particularly concerns our daily lives is knowing how exercising our freedom affects others, and avoiding the resulting friction at any cost. Occasionally, our relationships with others will generate friction and expectations. A fighting sorcerer pays close attention to his contacts, and becomes a hunter of signs. If there are no signs, he doesn’t interact with people; he is content to wait because, although he doesn’t have time, he has all the patience in the world. He knows that too much is at stake, and won’t risk ruining everything by one false move. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

The spirit of a warrior is not geared to indulging and complaining, nor is it geared to winning or losing. The spirit of a warrior is geared only to struggle, and every struggle is a warrior’s last battle on earth. Thus the outcome matters very little to him. In his last battle on earth a warrior lets his spirit flow free and clear. And as he wages his battle, knowing that his intent is impeccable, a warrior laughs and laughs. ~ A Separate Reality

A warrior acknowledges his pain but he doesn’t indulge in it. The mood of the warrior who enters into the unknown is not one of sadness; on the contrary, he’s joyful because he feels humbled by his great fortune, confident that his spirit is impeccable, and above all, fully aware of his efficiency. A warrior’s joyfulness comes from having accepted his fate, and from having truthfully assessed what lies ahead of him.~ Tales of Power

The self-confidence of the warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to infinity. ~ Tales of Power

A warrior is never under siege. To be under siege implies that one has personal possessions that could be blockaded. A warrior has nothing in the world except his impeccability, and impeccability cannot be threatened. ~ The Eagle’s Gift

The only freedom warriors have is to behave impeccably. Not only is impeccability freedom; it is the only way to straighten out the human form. ~ The Second Ring of Power

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/impeccability-further-evolution/#more-1835

Love Always
mudra

The ape that we have inside yearns to have someone to guide him, he needs to believe that there are superior entities who can magically solve his problems. As children, we are always hoping that somebody will show up and take care of the situation. From this, cults are born that, in essence, are ways of leaving the responsibility for one’s own growth in other people’s hands. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

A warrior fights to break the description of the world which has been injected into him, in order to open up a space for new things. His war is against the self. For that purpose, he tries to be permanently aware of his potential. Since the content of perception depends on the position of the assemblage point, a warrior tries with all his might to loosen the fixation of that point. Instead of creating a cult out of his speculations, he pays attention to certain premises of the path of sorcerers. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters With the Nagual


Love Always
mudra

Moon Beams, Allies and Teachers

April 6th, 2012

You forget too easily, don Juan said. The path of knowledge is a forced one. In order to learn we must be spurred. In the path of knowledge we are always fighting something, avoiding something, prepared for something; and that something is always inexplicable, greater, more powerful than us. ~ A Separate Reality

There is no better way to hone awareness than a walk in the desert under the light of the full moon. I did this for years while living in the Sonoran desert but, I’ve also done it in the mountains, the forest, the ocean and just about any area outdoors as far away from light pollution and noise as I could get. Walking outdoors at any time of day, with intent, was my honing ground, my ultimate teacher, and the allies that reside in those places definitely did spur me on. And depending on where you are will determine which allies appear.

Don Juan continues…The world is indeed full of frightening things and we are helpless creatures surrounded by forces that are inexplicable and unbending. Encountering forces that are not part of the rational mind with a cohesive explanation is terrifying! And, exciting as all get out. When you walk through the desert at night it becomes illuminated when there is a moon, even if it is not full. Your eyes adjust to the darkness and you begin to see so well that a flashlight becomes a huge distraction since it only illuminates the path immediately in front of you. Without the light beam your eyes adjust and you can see for many yards.

This provides you with the ability to see with your other senses. It’s a scary place, the desert at night, and one must walk with extreme awareness to ensure that they are not bumping into prickly pear cactus, and worse, chollas! Also, the rattlesnakes like to come out at night and soak up the warmth from the dirt. And you must never discount the fact that a tarantula or scorpion may be right on that rock you want to sit on. Yes, a walk in the desert at night is a fine teacher and will assist you greatly in honing your awareness.

Your ears awaken and you begin to hear the smallest sounds, the snap of a small creosote twig. It’s probably only a rabbit but it sounds so loud when everything is dark and quiet. A coyote in the distance that is getting closer, the hoot of a great-horned owl. Everything amplified so you are seeing with your ears as well as your eyes.

There are allies all over the desert at night and they are so curious as to what the heck you are doing. They are curious beings and like to mess with us. But most of all, they are teachers and incredible ones at that. They come at you as a warm breeze, maybe 110 degrees instead of the night time temperature of 90 during the summer desert nights. You stop when you feel them and you pay attention with your entire being. You strain your ears to hear where they are and begin to walk in a manner that allows you to not only see, hear and feel, you walk in a manner that allows you to perceive. This is the kind of walk that will develop your seeing.

Sometimes the inorganic beings arrive, alone or in groups and they murmur. It’s weird and you know they are talking about you. And then you realize that they are doing what inorganic beings do; they are trying to figure out how get some of your energy. And this is where fear comes in. You want to run, you want to get in your car and drive away as fast as you can. But you really can’t because they’ll chase you. They love the chase! You must exercise your self-control, detachment and courage and hold your ground. When you do, they will go away and your personal power increases. Practice.

Until you have done this for a while it is scary. This is why one must walk with discipline, determination and strategy with a good dose of courage. This is part of the warrior’s practice, walking with intent, honing your awareness, perceiving something new without trying to rationalize it and being completely aware of your surroundings, even if you can’t see them clearly. This practice will increase your personal power, open you to new levels of perception and foster your ability to see.

~ Keep Dancing!

First of all you must use your ears to take some of the burden from your eyes. We have been using our eyes to judge the world since the time we were born. We talk to others and to ourselves mainly about what we see. A warrior is aware of that and listens to the world; he listens to the sounds of the world. ~ Don Juan, A Separate Reality

http://thetoltecpath.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/moon-beams-allies-and-teachers/#more-1858

Love Always
mudra