"... as a superior order consciousness, its effigy cannot be other than the symbol of this truth and the serpent feathers representing it should speak of the spirit which allows men -a man whose body, such as the reptile, crawls in the dust- to know the superhuman creation joy, thus constituting an ode to sovereign inner freedom. This hypothesis is also confirmed, by Nahuatl symbolism, in which the serpent represents matter –its association with terrestrial divinities is constant- and the bird, the sky. Quetzalcoatl is therefore the sign that contains the revelation of humans celestial origin."
We believe that one of the Castaneda’s work biggest failures, was "removing the Toltec wisdom conveyed by Don Juan, from the culture that generated it". In fact, Castaneda avoids mentioning the cultural context where Don Juan and Don Genaro operated, in addition to not making more in-depth references to Toltecáyotl from academic sources. Don Juan on several occasions mentioned to Castaneda the Toltec origin of his knowledge lineage. Once, they both were at the National Museum of anthropology and history, in Mexico City, and Castaneda did not transcribe into the books what Don Juan told him about the information he received through the energy stones.
Without the cultural context in which the Toltequity or Toltecáyotl was born and developed through thousands of years, "the Don Juan teachings" and the Castaneda work itself, are left without the basic foundation to fully understand and measure it, not only in ancient knowledge lineages, but fundamentally, in the complex and syncretic forms of everyday lives of indigenous peoples and peasants of the so-called profound Mexico. Without this wisdom, indigenous peoples would have not been able to survive colonization in the past five centuries. This wisdom somehow survives even in the large Mexican metropolis.
"He added that warriors have no life of their own. From the moment they understand consciousness nature, they cease being people and the human condition is no longer part of their vision. I had a duty as a warrior and it was the only that matter to comply with the gloomy task entrusted to me. Since I had dispensed my life, they no longer had anything to say, except that I should give the best of me. And neither did I had anything to say, except that I had understood and accepted what my destiny...
He said that the warrior challenge is to reach a very subtle balance of positive and negative forces. This challenge does not mean that a warrior should strive to control everything, but that the warrior must strive to deal with any conceivable situation, expected and unexpected, just as efficiently. Be perfect in perfect circumstances is to be a paper warrior...
I saw don Juan taking the lead. And then there only was a row of exquisite lights in the sky. Something like a wind seemed to make the row contract and oscillate. At one end of the lights line, where don Juan was, had an immense brightness. I thought of the Feathered Serpent of the Toltec legend. And then the lights vanished…" C.C.
APPENDIX
Six explaining propositions
"The don Juan teachings were aimed to guide me through the warrior development second phase: our verification and unrestricted acceptance that there is another kind of consciousness. This phase was divided into two categories. The first, for which don Juan required don Genaro help, dealt with activities. It was to show me certain procedures, actions and methods that were designed to exercise my conscience. The second had to do with the presentation of the six explaining propositions...
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