“The main thing is that you realize that there is no such thing as ‘the teachings of Castaneda’. I just try to be direct and to act from my silence – a course of action which I recommend for you, because it does away with madness…If you want to verify the tales of power, you have to open up to experience. Don’t shield yourself behind your interpretations, because in spite of all our studies as modern, ordinary men, we know very little about the world.” ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

Even though Carlos and Don Juan talked about specific practices that must be done in order to achieve certain goals, they empowered others to have their own experiences by connecting with silence – with the abstract. They put a lot of effort into ensuring that the path of freedom didn’t turn into a conventional or traditional path. One of my benefactors worked in the same manner. While imparting his wisdom and even traditional knowledge to me, he always encouraged me to work from my own vision. To verify things for myself and to avoid accepting another person’s words at face value.

He would say that to sit upon the earth in silence is a practice that both energizes us and opens up many doorways. Like don Juan, he preferred to shift the assemblage point by taking long walks through the wilderness, observing energy as it moves. Witnessing energy as it flows in a natural environment brings us to a deep understanding of the power of the universe as it moves through and around us. This opens our seeing and we begin to realize that the information we perceive and receive is pure knowing.

We are able to increase our awareness exponentially when our commitment to knowledge is made as a warrior. Those who place all of their energy into the stories that have been handed down by others, without taking the opportunity acquire their own experience and unique understanding may likely become a slave of reason. To do things a certain way because that’s how it’s always been done is a repetition and not an act of creation based on vision. To attempt to understand something that first arose in someone else’s mind is near impossible. We are unable to truly know anything when we are merely coming up with interpretations based on things we hear about or learn about through others.

In the above quote, Carlos says that he acts from silence because it does away with madness. Indeed! When we consistently attempt to understand the world as we are told it exists, we have the potential to get trapped in our minds. However, when we release the stories and connect with silence we are able to perceive energy as it flows through the cosmos, through each being on earth, and then we arrive at true knowing, without needing to rationalize. We just know.

Aligning with silence and watching power as it moves provides us with all of the insight we need. Breathing in deeply fills us with the very power we are witnessing. It clears our minds, our bodies, and our spirit and delivers us once again to the pure and essential life force essence that we are. The only teachings we can truly rely on are the ones that we discover from silence.