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 millennia 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 the Toltec path 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 the path of the nagual 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