The general concept with in the Yaqui way of knowledge, as I understand it is that the perception of reality is a thing remembered - we are experiencing constantly yet due to our energetic nature we have memories locked away within ourselves...
The shaman is by no means the chief of the tribe. He is the one who is somewhat removed, even commonly living separately from the rest of the community. This person has the responsibility for the spiritual well-being of the group. Shamans are intermediaries between the human world and that of the spirits.
Controversy surrounds Nagualism. There are some generalized reasons for criticism of Castaneda's works as I see it. These are my opinions on it and can not be found in the literature nor will these reasons be "spelled out" for you in those critiques.
I'm not sure how other Naguals measure success here on Evolver but I measure it this way. I am not interested in large numbers of responses to my comments. In fact I need none at all. All is folly. I do not seek students, converts to my believes knowing full well each path for each person is unique. Mine is mine, yours is yours, our paths are not, will not be the same.
[This is not a discussion of Stalking also found in the text by Carlos Castaneda. Stalking is different, stalking concerns Warriors, Power and it concerns men though there are some overlapping concepts. Hunting is the precursor to Stalking in some ways.]
In the past four years I have gone from occult nightmares to Eden. Beginning with my initiation into tantra my freshman year of college, I can literally map out every step I took along the way to get to where I am now, a vastly different place, in my senior year. And I'm still so young!
Being a curious creature, I've come to know a good few people in strange circles. As my interest in Castaneda grew, I consulted some respected sources of mine. To my delight, one person in particular had met Castaneda's witches! She had even attended one of their seminars.
AS DON JUAN SAID TO CARLOS:
Warriors are incapable of feeling compassion because they no longer feel sorry for themselves.
Without the driving force of self-pity, compassion is meaningless."
"Are you saying, don Juan, that a warrior is all for himself?"
"In a way, yes. For a warrior everything begins and ends with himself. However, his contact
"Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we have been waiting for." — Hopi elders
