The Descent of the Spirit – Seeing the Spirit
This chapter, “The Descent of the Spirit,” explains the “fourth abstract core” as the spirit’s direct revelation, which frees individuals from self-reflection and mundane concerns. Don Juan illustrates this through the story of the nagual Julian and Talia, whose traumatic experience, guided by the nagual Elías, shifts their assemblage points and allows them to “see the spirit.” The narrator undergoes a similar shift in a sorcerers’ cave, perceiving Eagle’s emanations and a “lull of perception.” Don Juan further clarifies how sorcerers’ understanding evolved from “awareness” to “will” and finally to intent—the conscious force permeating the universe. Ultimately, sorcery is presented as the disciplined path, known as the “warrior’s way” or “impeccable action,” to re-establish this connection with intent and gain silent knowledge without being overwhelmed by its power.
The Requirements of Intent – The Ticket to Impeccability
In “The Ticket to Impeccability,” don Juan continues to explain to Castaneda that a warrior’s journey involves moving the assemblage point and invalidating their old continuity to achieve impeccability, which he likens to a sorcerer’s symbolic death. Don Juan recounts his own “death” experience, wherein, as a young man, he was tricked by the nagual Julian and his cohort of women into believing in a terrifying monster, living in fear and working as their valet for three years. This intense period, marked by a loss of self-importance and a developing detachment, ultimately led to don Juan’s confrontation with the “monster,” which he discovered was merely an energetic surge, a manifestation of his own fear. After this realization and a period of trying to live a “normal” life, characterized by a loss of detachment and deep poverty, don Juan underwent a profound recapitulation of his life, which culminated in a literal “death” in a field. This symbolic death, which the Eagle then “spat out” due to his impeccable recapitulation, served as his “ticket to impeccability,” a state of heightened awareness that allowed him to return to Julian’s household as a true sorcerer, “dead” to the world, and prepared to face the world as a warrior.
The Requirements of Intent – The Ticket to Impeccability
In “The Ticket to Impeccability,” don Juan continues to explain to Castaneda that a warrior’s journey involves moving the assemblage point and invalidating their old continuity to achieve impeccability, which he likens to a sorcerer’s symbolic death. Don Juan recounts his own “death” experience, wherein, as a young man, he was tricked by the nagual Julian and his cohort of women into believing in a terrifying monster, living in fear and working as their valet for three years. This intense period, marked by a loss of self-importance and a developing detachment, ultimately led to don Juan’s confrontation with the “monster,” which he discovered was merely an energetic surge, a manifestation of his own fear. After this realization and a period of trying to live a “normal” life, characterized by a loss of detachment and deep poverty, don Juan underwent a profound recapitulation of his life, which culminated in a literal “death” in a field. This symbolic death, which the Eagle then “spat out” due to his impeccable recapitulation, served as his “ticket to impeccability,” a state of heightened awareness that allowed him to return to Julian’s household as a true sorcerer, “dead” to the world, and prepared to face the world as a warrior.
The Requirements of Intent – Breaking the Mirror of Self-Reflection
In this continuation, Don Juan further explains the process of breaking the mirror of self-reflection, emphasizing that the assemblage point can be moved by the nagual’s presence, but ultimately, it’s the spirit that makes the actual movement. He clarifies that instruction isn’t what moves the assemblage point; instead, it’s the curtailment of self-importance, which then releases energy, launching the assemblage point into a new perception. Don Juan illustrates this by recounting his manipulative tactics in Guaymas, which shattered Castaneda’s continuity and forced his assemblage point to the “place of no pity.” He reveals that his feigned senility was a deliberate act of masked ruthlessness, designed to bypass Castaneda’s rationality and lead him to a state of detached hardness, thereby beginning his journey into a “dreaming state” and the world of sorcery.
The Descent of the Spirit – The Place of No Pity
In this chapter, Don Juan orchestrates a dramatic scenario to teach Castaneda about ruthlessness and the “place of no pity.” By feigning a debilitating stroke, Don Juan forces the narrator into extreme discomfort and self-pity, pushing his assemblage point—a key concept in Castaneda’s work representing the focal point of perception—away from its usual position of self-reflection. This intense experience reveals to the narrator a dualism within himself: an old, indifferent part and a new, anxious part. Don Juan explains that this shift allows access to silent knowledge and frees one from self-importance, which is revealed as disguised self-pity. The lesson culminates in Don Juan’s swift recovery, exposing the entire event as a deliberate act to initiate the narrator into a deeper understanding of sorcery and a state of being characterized by detachment and sobriety.
The Descent of the Spirit – Moving the Assemblage Point
In “Moving the Assemblage Point,” don Juan details the profound practice of shifting the assemblage point, emphasizing ruthlessness as the first principle of sorcery and its connection to the “place of no pity.” He clarifies that the spirit and intent are the true forces behind these shifts, not physical maneuvers, as illustrated by a psychic healer’s ability to move the assemblage points of an entire audience by banishing their doubts. The chapter explains that a “somersault of thought into the inconceivable” is the breaking of perceptual barriers caused by such shifts, and that sorcerers cultivate recollection—distinct from mere remembering—using the shine of their eyes to intentionally guide their assemblage point. Ultimately, don Juan reveals that naguals inherently mask their ruthlessness with seemingly benevolent traits, as this core lack of pity is crucial for their ability to interact directly with intent and achieve these extraordinary states of heightened awareness.
The Descent of the Spirit – The Somersault of Thought
This chapter, “The Somersault of Thought,” explains how sorcerers maintain their clarity and deepen their understanding of intent by stalking themselves, which involves delivering a “jolt” to break fixations and complacency. Don Juan emphasizes the crucial role of the idea of death not as an enemy, but as a “worthy opponent” that inspires courage and sobriety. He reveals that a “somersault of thought into the inconceivable” is synonymous with the descent of the spirit and the breaking of perceptual barriers, a state that can be induced through practices like using poems as “advance runners.” The chapter culminates with the concept of sorcerer storytellers who, by manipulating their connection to intent “under the auspices of the spirit,” can alter “factual” outcomes in their narratives, demonstrating that profound understanding allows the direct manifestation of an intended reality beyond conventional perception.
The Descent of the Spirit – Seeing the Spirit
This chapter, “The Descent of the Spirit,” explains the “fourth abstract core” as the spirit’s direct revelation, which frees individuals from self-reflection and mundane concerns. Don Juan illustrates this through the story of the nagual Julian and Talia, whose traumatic experience, guided by the nagual Elías, shifts their assemblage points and allows them to “see the spirit.” The narrator undergoes a similar shift in a sorcerers’ cave, perceiving Eagle’s emanations and a “lull of perception.” Don Juan further clarifies how sorcerers’ understanding evolved from “awareness” to “will” and finally to intent—the conscious force permeating the universe. Ultimately, sorcery is presented as the disciplined path, known as the “warrior’s way” or “impeccable action,” to re-establish this connection with intent and gain silent knowledge without being overwhelmed by its power.
Eventos
Mentoria no Caminho Tolteca
Programa de aprendizagem das artes toltecas de forma gradual e acompanhada. Por J Christopher.
The Trickery of the Spirit – Dusting the Link with the Spirit
This chapter introduces the “third abstract core” of sorcery, known as the trickery of the spirit, which involves “stalking oneself” or “dusting the link” to the spirit through artifice and subterfuge. Don Juan illustrates this through the story of his own apprenticeship under the nagual Julian, who used jarring experiences—like presenting an “inorganic being” and transforming his physical form by shifting his assemblage point—to jolt don Juan’s awareness and teach him the art of stalking. This art, characterized by ruthlessness, cunning, patience, and sweetness, aims to bring the apprentice into heightened awareness and is exemplified by don Juan being forced into disguise, even in women’s clothes, as a means to achieve this profound shift in perception and self.
The Knock of the Spirit – The Last Seduction of the Nagual Julian
This extensive excerpt further illustrates the Knock of the Spirit as the second abstract core, revealing how the spirit’s manifestations—ranging from the sentient “warrior trees” to traumatic life-or-death situations—serve to move the assemblage point and activate the “connecting link to intent.” Don Juan recounts the challenging apprenticeship of his benefactor, the nagual Julian, whose initial encounter with the spirit was a near-fatal hemorrhage during a seduction. The narrative stresses that the spirit’s direct commands and the intensity of experiences like those involving sexual energy are meant to induce heightened awareness and foster the acquisition of silent knowledge, often requiring apprentices to overcome their “natural barriers,” such as the narrator’s tendency to disguise complacency as independence.
The Knock of the Spirit – The Abstract
This chapter delves into the “second abstract core” of sorcery, termed the Knock of the Spirit, which is the spirit’s direct and often forceful invitation to a sorcerer or beginner to enter the “edifice of intent.” This phenomenon represents a form of knowledge without words, a profound understanding that transcends conventional thought, as exemplified by the experiences of the nagual Elías and don Juan himself. The spirit’s intervention, sometimes tied to intense experiences like those involving sexual energy or dreaming, aims to shift one’s assemblage point and revive the dormant connecting link to intent, demanding a fierce, unbending intent to overcome the ego’s resistance and accept this unfamiliar realm.
The Trickery of the Spirit – The Four Moods of Stalking
This chapter, “The Four Moods of Stalking,” details don Juan’s instruction on the fundamental principles of stalking, emphasizing its four core moods: ruthlessness, cunning, patience, and sweetness. Through a vivid recollection triggered by a specific technique, the narrator recalls a pivotal early lesson in heightened awareness with don Juan and his companions, Silvio Manuel and Vicente Medrano. This lesson, which involved a surprising “test” of being tied up like a dog, revealed the narrator’s “indulgence” rather than the desired stalking traits. Don Juan explains that stalking is the art of breaking routine behavior to move the assemblage point, a feat that requires impeccability and goes beyond personal gain, ultimately leading to direct, “silent knowledge” of intent, which can only be truly commanded and utilized, not fully articulated or explained in words.
The two-way bridge that connects reason and silent knowledge: pure understanding and interest
The Descent of the Spirit – Moving the Assemblage Point
In “Moving the Assemblage Point,” don Juan details the profound practice of shifting the assemblage point, emphasizing ruthlessness as the first principle of sorcery and its connection to the “place of no pity.” He clarifies that the spirit and intent are the true forces behind these shifts, not physical maneuvers, as illustrated by a psychic healer’s ability to move the assemblage points of an entire audience by banishing their doubts. The chapter explains that a “somersault of thought into the inconceivable” is the breaking of perceptual barriers caused by such shifts, and that sorcerers cultivate recollection—distinct from mere remembering—using the shine of their eyes to intentionally guide their assemblage point. Ultimately, don Juan reveals that naguals inherently mask their ruthlessness with seemingly benevolent traits, as this core lack of pity is crucial for their ability to interact directly with intent and achieve these extraordinary states of heightened awareness.
The Descent of the Spirit – The Somersault of Thought
This chapter, “The Somersault of Thought,” explains how sorcerers maintain their clarity and deepen their understanding of intent by stalking themselves, which involves delivering a “jolt” to break fixations and complacency. Don Juan emphasizes the crucial role of the idea of death not as an enemy, but as a “worthy opponent” that inspires courage and sobriety. He reveals that a “somersault of thought into the inconceivable” is synonymous with the descent of the spirit and the breaking of perceptual barriers, a state that can be induced through practices like using poems as “advance runners.” The chapter culminates with the concept of sorcerer storytellers who, by manipulating their connection to intent “under the auspices of the spirit,” can alter “factual” outcomes in their narratives, demonstrating that profound understanding allows the direct manifestation of an intended reality beyond conventional perception.
SHOQUI GOSHTI: The Revealing of the Door
Foreword and Introduction
In the Foreword and Introduction, Carlos Castaneda clarifies that his books document don Juan Matus’s unique teaching method for understanding the “sorcerers’ world,” a rigorous form of “oral instruction and manipulation of awareness” that is as complex as formal academic training. Don Juan, unable to find a perfect term, settled on “sorcery” to describe this knowledge, emphasizing that it’s not about learning new concepts but about “saving energy.” This conserved energy allows sorcerers to perceive a “modality of the time” beyond ordinary perception, tapping into “energy fields” inaccessible to average individuals whose energy is fully deployed in their everyday world. This “state of awareness,” or “silent knowledge,” is cultivated by a teacher (the “nagual”) who convinces the apprentice of their inherent power, facilitating a “direct knowing” without words, and is broadly categorized into the “mastery of awareness,” the “art of stalking,” and the “mastery of intent.”
Events
Mentoring on the Toltec Path
A gradual and accompanied learning journey of the Toltec arts. By J Christopher.
Glossary
Eagle / Dark Sea of Consciousness: the name given by the first seers to the source of everything that exists in the first attention and in the second attention, not because it has any relation to eagles, but only because of a vague similarity that this vision caused them. The Eagle is a cluster of infinite proportions of units of consciousness that exist timelessly in what is called the third attention.
Energetic Body or Double: The counterpart of the physical body. Because it is pure energy, and does not share the limits of the physical body, it has the fluidity and speed of perception necessary to align experiences that defy the limits of what rationality considers possible.
Emanations / Emanations of the Eagle: emanations are how the forms of perception appear before being interpreted sensorially. They are luminous fields that originate from the Eagle or Dark Sea and appear to the observer as an endless multitude of luminous lines that radiate energy and consciousness in all sides and directions.
Dreaming: An art practiced since the times of ancient sorcerers, which consists of taking advantage of the natural impulse of dreams to stabilize the point of attachment in new worldviews/new realities, allowing sorcerers to have enough lucidity within these experiences to be able to consciously explore new possibilities.
Stalking: An art discovered by new seers, which consists of observing with detachment and full attention, cultivating a state of presence, while remaining integrated and participating in superficial interactions and actions. Stalking is one of the arts of the Toltec path, aimed at producing small displacements of the point of attachment, and fixing it in new positions, producing consistent changes.
Intent: This is the name given to the timeless Force that is at the origin of all experiences that exist in Infinity, of all beings, times, spaces, and at all levels of consciousness. When used in lowercase, it generally refers to the ability of living beings to manage their connection with Intent through intention (intent).
Total Freedom: The unconditional freedom to perceive what is intended and also to free awareness from all its perceptual limits.
Nagual: The name given to the aspect of our total being for which there are no words, definitions or limits. Seers divide the Nagual between the Unknown, or Abstract, or second attention – the perceptive multiverse within our reach – and the Unknowable or third attention. Therefore, both the Dark Sea of Awareness and the dreaming double or energetic body are expressions of the Nagual. It is also the name given to beings within a group of practitioners (man, woman, or both) who perform the function of being conduits for the Nagual and leading the group in the search for Total Freedom.
Luminous Egg: name given by Toltec seers to the appearance that a human being has when seen as energy by an observer.
Assemblage Point: name given to the focus of perception, a point of intense luminosity in our energetic body. It selects energy fields to be interpreted according to the position it occupies, determining the way we perceive reality. When it moves from its usual position, total changes are reflected in the way we perceive reality and ourselves.
Rule: laws that govern the impeccable relationship of all living beings with the Eagle, and the way they can reach Total Freedom.
Tonal: name given to the aspect of our total being responsible for bringing order to the realm of perception. The “Personal Tonal” includes our physical body and mind, and the “Tonal Island” includes the entire experience of physical reality.
Portal Nagualismo no Instagram
Nagualism, or Toltec Shamanism, is a knowledge that originated more than 10 thousand years ago, in the region that today corresponds to Central America and part of South America. In general, in the period known as the cycle of the “ancient seers”, practitioners developed their capacity for perception to levels inconceivable for modern humans, mainly through the use of power plants, interaction with non-organic entities, and lucid dreams, creating the foundations of what became known as the Art of Dreaming. Centuries later, when the Toltecs were successively invaded by other peoples, including Europeans, the lineages separated and isolated themselves, and generally improved practices aimed at balance, sobriety, and the efficient and strategic use of energy on the physical plane. Thus, they created the foundations of the Art of Stalking, marking the cycle of the “new seers” and the search for Total Freedom. Knowledge of one of these lineages was brought to the cities mainly, initially, by the anthropologist and seer Carlos Castaneda, through his books and those of his group companions, Florinda Donner and Taisha Abelar.
Many terms have no exact parallel in our culture, and you can look at the glossary to get a rough idea of their meanings. Castaneda’s work recounts his experiences and learnings with a Mexican Indian sorcerer named Don Juan Matus and his group of seers. It consists of thirteen books by Carlos Castaneda: The Teachings of Don Juan, A Separate Reality, Journey to Ixtlan, Tales of Power, The Second Ring of Power, The Eagle’s Gift, The Fire from Within, The Power of Silence, The Art of Dreaming, Magical Passes, and The Active Side of Infinity (plus The Wheel of Time, The Purple Book, and Readers of Infinity – a Journal of applied Hermeneutics). In addition to Castaneda’s accounts, the books by Florinda Donner (Being in Dreaming, mainly) and Taisha Abelar (The Sorcerers Crossing, and Stalking with the Double), his group companions, bring rich nuances from the feminine perspective of the path. Encounters with the Nagual, and The Secret of the Feathered Serpent, by Armando Torres, in turn bring the presence of Castaneda as a nagual, and present the perspective of a lineage of Toltec healers, known as “Ticis”.
If you have not read the work of Carlos Castaneda or his companions, and you want to study Nagualism, we strongly recommend that you start by purchasing and reading the books, so that you can practice and gradually enter this knowledge. If you are a woman and tend to have many dreams, you may want to start by reading Being in Dreaming by Florinda Donner. Otherwise, you may want to start with the book The Sorcerers Crossing, by Taisha Abelar. In Castaneda’s work, it is recommended that you start with the first book, The Teachings of Don Juan. There are readers who advocate that you start reading Journey to Ixtlan, as it is the first book where the practices of the warrior’s path are introduced, at least in a clearer way. However, if you want to learn about Nagualism through an approach that is more appropriate for today’s times, and interactive, we recommend that you visit the Toltec Network section, where you can discover and get in direct contact with groups and practitioners that exist today. Sign up for the website’s email list to receive future notices of events, virtual courses, workshops and in-person meetings on Nagualism.