The Warrior's Discipline - Conclusion Part 5
I wrote the three parts of this thread with a considerable time span in between them. The purpose of these brief notes is the rendering of some philosophical/pragmatical results that have arisen after thirty years of work on the field of exploring awareness. During this period, some other persons were involved in my own learning. Some of those persons took separate roads at one time or another. A few of us still remain in the same line of work.
Here are the previous articles on this topic:
The Warrior's Discipline Part 1
The Warrior's Discipline Part 2
The Warrior's Discipline Part 3
The Warrior's Discipline Part 4
The Warrior's Discipline Part 5
Exploring awareness, or the Art of Freedom, is, as far as I can tell, an ever-changing field. Mutation, or perhaps evolution, seems to be its main component.
The idea of forums, message boards and Facebook groups have always appealed to me as a very interesting and fruitful option for the observation and discussion of topics in which we all share an interest. Furthermore, I find it very useful to find references in other people that could be sharing the same path.
During most of the 30-year period that I mentioned, my partners and I were not only alone, but isolated in some way.
We had very serious disadvantages in relation to our learning processes, disadvantages that proved to be, in time, too heavy a burden for some of us.
The most poignant dissonance between the object of our interest and our real possibilities was the absence of continuity. I am fully convinced now that a Nagual, or a man of knowledge, brings about this continuity to those that he/she leads into the unknown. The only problem is that a Nagual only works as such within the context of shamanistic lineages. The term "Nagual" itself is referred exclusively to this context.
We knew that we couldn't volunteer into that world from the beginning. The only abstract and logical possibility was, as far-fetched and absurd as it may seem, to create a sorceric unit among ourselves.
Thus, we opted for that very uncertain and dangerous way. One of us even acted as sort of an advocated "Nagual". The others, willingly or not, were forced to follow his steps.
This created a scenario in which the most dramatic and funny circumstances arose. Some of the members of this brave and sorry-looking "party" actually went into the unknown in one way or another several times, using any tool available that served this purpose.
The outcome was twofold. On one hand, we managed to create a living inferno that crushed our old continuity. On the other hand, we were forced to acquire at all costs and in quite a hurry, an unending sobriety. The practical results, in terms of enhancing our awareness, were however too insignificant in relation to the effort exerted in this regard.
At the end, some of us decided to continue on the same path for the sake of impeccability. Our bet was placed upon our intimate conviction that things would be solved by themselves, whatever the outcome.
Others took quite a separate road.
I can only account for those of us who decided to walk to the end of that path.
Our efforts in this sense were rewarded with a complete victory. Abstract forces beyond our understanding arranged events so that we could finally enter a true shamanistic realm. Only, this time, we did it from a lateral gateway. The timing in which the first seminar that I attended in Mexico City was held in relation to our energetic environment was, simply and plainly, magical.
The previous period and exercise was dissolved into a distant mist. We now behold it as an amateur shamanistic play, in which we handled very real and professional forces, so to speak. We emerged, by the skin of our teeth, alive and with a bonus. We did gather knowledge and sobriety. We learned many things. We are also certain, on the other hand, that the decision of our survival was taken in another realm, by abstract and impersonal forces.
The bonus is our absolute conviction of what we're doing now. We are absolutely convinced, even beyond death, that we will not return to the social order under any of its manifestations, whether they are disguised under a cloak of social or "shamanistic" syntax. To us, these out-of-context manifestations are but masks under which self-importance hides its face.
So, in this sense, the concept of shamanism has suffered a profound change in our view. We don't recognize the linear activity of Carlos Castaneda's reports anymore as a feasible option for us. We firmly believe that, if one were somehow subscribed to that stream of old shamanism, one would not have to ask the question of being there or not. In other words, we take very seriously the statement of Carlos Castaneda and his party regarding their position as the end of Don Juan's lineage. We also take very seriously his statement regarding himself as being the last Nagual of such lineage.
We don't know of any other lineages of sorcerers but from hearsay. We have read and discussed the written works of other self-appointed sorcerers.
And we haven't found anything that rings a bell in us.
When I say, "ring a bell" I am referring to pragmatical issues. We have, to the best of our possibilities, put to the practice some techniques or practical suggestions provided by these persons. The results have been very poor, to say the least.
Therefore, we don't recognize, at least for the moment, any other group of active Shamanism in the traditional sense. And, of course, we don't recognize the existence of "Naguals", other than Carlos Castaneda and Carol Tiggs, for any practical purpose. Nor do we view ourselves as a traditional part of their lineage in any sense whatsoever.
I already told you that we were involved in an attempt to enhance our awareness via traditional shamanism. I can assure you that we gave our very best effort. The results, I repeat, were not satisfactory in terms of the enhancement of our awareness.
Therefore, I find it very hard to believe that we all stand on significantly different battlefields. In the best of cases, we are a mass of very serious people with a dead-serious interest in freedom, whatever freedom means.
But we are NOT shamans.
Why should we be?
"Shaman" is a term that denotes a being of exception; it denotes alienation. I don't know, but it seems to me that, in a world of shamans, there are no more shamans. And the world is based upon the mass. The world is a consensus, a description. The power of that description is provided by its relative mass.
What I'm saying, in other words, is that the end of shamanism isn't necessarily a loss, but it could also mean an evolutionary step. And, if someone offers me a very healthy and delicious cake, I would be a complete fool if I insisted in eating it uncooked.
Again, we believe that shamanism has suffered a very powerful and definite mutation. To us, shamanism has evolved into something else, far richer and even more intriguing. To us, the gates of freedom are open now to anyone who wants to walk through them.
We have changed.
It IS possible.
Draw your own conclusions.
With a Warrior’s affection,
TMMK
P.S. - Here are the others posts in this thread:
The Warrior's Discipline Part 1
The Warrior's Discipline Part 2
The Warrior's Discipline Part 3
The Warrior's Discipline Part 4
The Warrior's Discipline Part 5
TMMK
