12-26-2010, 12:01 AM
Maybe we need to evolve beyond the words. Not that I'm in favor of organized anything, which is always and only a consensus, but on the other hand I can see where a learning center for nagualism could be of benefit to a lot of people, but probably only if they were already fairly educated in the Toltec principles prior to joining any such organisation.
How would the idea differ if it were presented as a toltec-based learning center instead of a church of nagualism? Obviously Carlos didn't (couldn't) present everything there is to know even in the scope of all his books. And when all is said and done Carlos's journey was Carlos's journey - no other warrior can achieve freedom simply by following what Carlos did, but only by adapting the principles of nagualism to their own individual lives. Face it, what would YOU have to gain by going out in the desert and sewing shut the eyelids of a couple of lizards? If Carlos did it for his own reasons based on the presumably impeccable instructions of his mentor, that's one thing. If you do it, it's only a ritualistic following of someone else's path, devoid of any real significance.
One of the primary goals of nagualism is to teach the warrior to think and act for himself, based on his own knowledge and not on what he has read in a book. It's about learning to work with the principles and the concepts rather than blindly following ritual (and religion is nothing but ritual, adherence to dogma and belief, having nothing to do with experiential knowledge).
What am I saying about a potential church of nagualism? Just this: if it were constructed as a learning center to advance the principles of nagualism, it could be a profoundly beneficial thing. If it were only a place to talk about the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, then it will inevitably become just another hokey religion attached to some books (like most other religions).
The art of zen isn't following zen, but living zen. The art of nagualism isn't following Castaneda, but taking the knowledge he left behind one step further, in our own lives.
How would the idea differ if it were presented as a toltec-based learning center instead of a church of nagualism? Obviously Carlos didn't (couldn't) present everything there is to know even in the scope of all his books. And when all is said and done Carlos's journey was Carlos's journey - no other warrior can achieve freedom simply by following what Carlos did, but only by adapting the principles of nagualism to their own individual lives. Face it, what would YOU have to gain by going out in the desert and sewing shut the eyelids of a couple of lizards? If Carlos did it for his own reasons based on the presumably impeccable instructions of his mentor, that's one thing. If you do it, it's only a ritualistic following of someone else's path, devoid of any real significance.
One of the primary goals of nagualism is to teach the warrior to think and act for himself, based on his own knowledge and not on what he has read in a book. It's about learning to work with the principles and the concepts rather than blindly following ritual (and religion is nothing but ritual, adherence to dogma and belief, having nothing to do with experiential knowledge).
What am I saying about a potential church of nagualism? Just this: if it were constructed as a learning center to advance the principles of nagualism, it could be a profoundly beneficial thing. If it were only a place to talk about the teachings of Carlos Castaneda, then it will inevitably become just another hokey religion attached to some books (like most other religions).
The art of zen isn't following zen, but living zen. The art of nagualism isn't following Castaneda, but taking the knowledge he left behind one step further, in our own lives.