Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. ~ Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha

Just because I say it, please, don’t believe it. Have your own experience, form your own perceptions, encounter your own knowledge and explore your own awareness!!!

The Buddha was one smart dude. There are so many quotes from the Buddha that are so amazing, insightful and aware to me. The Buddha was an impeccable warrior! The Buddha was very detached and aware, one could say almost ephemeral. He seemed to hover in an ethereal awareness and taught through mystical stories, each with the opportunity for the listener to create their own perceptions and form their own truths based on how their experiences integrated the words of the Buddha. To me, this is true humility and utter freedom.

There are so many things in the Castaneda books that resonate with Buddhist teachings. Things like overcoming self-importance, ending human suffering, fluidity, mindfulness, impermanence, esoteric knowledge, explorations of consciousness, liberation, transcendence, emptiness, abstract flight, energy, taking responsibility for your actions (karma), tensegrity/yoga, even entheogens, the list goes on and on.

The chakras and associated energies play a significant role in Nagualism. Some comparisons are listed below:

The crown chakra is associated with heightened awareness and cosmic consciousness. It is this realm that becomes the naguals playground. Heightened Awareness, The Nagual.

The third eye chakra is also known as the avenue to intuition and wisdom and the ability to perceive with clarity. Seeing, Second Attention.

The throat chakra is our voice center and it is through spoken word that we express ourselves to others. A clean throat chakra is represented by honesty. Don Miguel Ruiz, an author who provides the Teachings of don Juan in simple laymen’s terms says, “Be impeccable with your word.” The Power of Silence, Impeccability.

The heart chakra’s primary purpose is emotional empowerment. In nagualism it is through the heart chakra that we are able to return to our authentic self and to move from a place of love. Don Juan said, “A warrior’s love is the world. He embraces this enormous earth. The earth knows that he loves it and it bestows on him its care. That’s why his life is filled to the brim and his state, wherever he’ll be, will be plentiful. He roams on the paths of his love and, wherever he is, he is complete.” Integrity, Authenticity.

The assemblage point represents the area where perceptions are fixated. To change these fixations, one must shift the assemblage point in order to perceive differently, or through different filters. The third chakra represents the will, determination, an energy vortex through which one can create goals and likewise change them. It pertains to creativity and transformation. Shifting the assemblage point is indeed a creative and transformative act. Assemblage Point, Intent, Will and Stopping the World.

The second chakra or sacral chakra allows for balance and creativity. It is, for women, the womb, for men, fertility. This is where, in Castanedian terms, the energy flows the most in terms of creation and through which women can easily enter into exotic realms of awareness. Strongly associated with tantric sex and transcendence between men and women. Abstract Flight, Dreaming.

The root chakra is the grounding force that empowers us to be grounded with the earth. It is through the root chakra that we deal with the energies of the material or physical world. It is where we integrate and ground the energies of consciousness that is experienced or accessed during heightened states of awareness. First Attention, The Tonal.

The energetic construct of humans and the energies that course through our bodies, through our chakras are ultimately the lines that seers see when they witness the Luminous Egg. “The universe is an infinite agglomeration of energy fields, resembling threads of light,” ~ Don Juan