Translation:To read Carlos Castaneda/8
V. THE SECOND RING OF POWER
First English edition, 1977
After jumping into the abyss, Castaneda has lived alone for the first time, the encounter with the nagual and tells that his "cluster" regrouped 17 times. After a while he returned to Mexico seeking the other apprentices to exchange experiences. He knows he will no longer see his teacher Don Juan, nor his benefactor Don Genaro; will need to fulfill the task assigned to him by the power, but first must "remember" the teachings of the "increased consciousness": will have to work with his group and become a nagual.
When Don Juan left, left him a dangerous and laborious task in which death is present at every moment. Apprentices are just as confused as Castaneda, or even more so and everyone must comply with the tasks assigned by Don Juan prior to his departure. These tasks have as objective finishing a part of learning process for each and, the "functional organization" of the new group and their nagual.
In this book, sensibly lacking literary quality, depict the physical absence of Don Juan, though many of the apprentices memories carry his presence and teachings. This book and the Don Juan teachings are perhaps the most confusing, although the knowledge wealth of the "second ring of power" is greater. The stories, almost fantastic and wild, in which the sisters, the Gorda and Doña Soledad, fight annihilation battles with Castaneda, at times they seem "outside the work context". The elegance and rhythm provided by Don Juan to the Castaneda teachings is lost.
As of "The witches explanation", Castaneda has greater clarity, and the book is titled "The second ring of power", because he understands that he must now recuperate from "remembering", all the lessons that, in parallel, Don Juan taught him in the induced states of "enhanced consciousness", when he taught him to "reorder his tonal island". If, on the one hand, in normal state consciousness Castaneda learned techniques to "sweep the tonal island" with a "continuous" chronological sequence, such was not the case in the enhanced consciousness state lessons, which are intended to make the apprentice develop "his will" to be able to enter the nagual world. There is no memory of these teachings and there is no timeline in the normal or everyday consciousness.
Castaneda sensed that he knows, but has to make a huge effort to remember and "assemble" all the teachings. It is interesting to emphasize that in this book the teachings begin to more clearly manifest the presence of the Anahuac Toltec civilization. The Toltequity or Toltecáyotl, in this book and the following become more visible and not a vague insinuation, as in others. Also Castaneda will find his group; that previously he barely knew. Don Juan had been very careful to prevent deep friendship relations between Castaneda and the other apprentices; to achieve this, he always kept them wrapped in a mystery breath. Castaneda supposed that some were apprentices and other relatives.
In this book he demonstrates how he faced them as part of the Don Juan instruction and how he managed to become the group nagual, when he "remembers", how to recover Don Juan Group warrior experiences and lessons, in the teachings of the enhanced consciousness world, Don Juan used the support of his “litter” peers, who also were his teachers (although he does not remember), with whom he experienced the enhanced consciousness teachings.
The first Castaneda challenge is received from Doña Soledad, an old and fat woman who fed Don Juan and his group, and whom he now finds as a splendid warrior that he will have to confront to die or continue. Castaneda recognizes, in disbelief, not only the physical transformation of Doña Soledad but also the strength and power that she has acquired as a witch. Given that warriors conceive the world and living beings as energy charges, and they save energy, they can now make incredible transformations of their body or tonal. However, despite these great changes they can never think of total success, as the battle against "the old self" is for a lifetime.
Castaneda also faces "the Sisters", who fiercely force Castaneda to be impeccable with them. The sisters are able reverie practitioners, specially Josefina who, from being very beautiful, learned to confuse people in order to pass unnoticed (unlimited freedom of unknown being). The sisters teach that, only when there is nothing to lose, enough courage is acquired to be impeccable; if we have something to lose, we hold to it.
Another encounter was with 'the fat lady”, Don Juan apprentice that somehow, provided the most support to Castaneda; one of her advances was that she had lost the human form and therefore did not have "human" feelings towards people. In other words, she was no longer hooked to the everyday world.
Don Juan said that warriors should lose the human form. The warriors know that they may not change one iota, that in principle it is not permitted, and that is the advantage they have over common men, who think they can do everything. The warrior, since he knows he cannot change, is never disappointed when failing in an attempt to change.
In this book Don Juan clearly tells the apprentices that they are "Toltec" because they are receivers and preserve these mysteries. Miguel León Portilla, in the philosophical vocabulary of his book "Nahuatl philosophy", says: "Toltecáyotl: Toltequity, set of traditions and discoveries arising from the Toltec. It should be noted that the nahuas of the period immediately before the conquest attributed the highest of their culture a Toltec origin. Thus, they mention the artist as a toltécatl; the speaker as a ten-toltécatl (Toltec of the lip, or the word). On the one hand, this proves what has been called the Nahua "historical consciousness", as well as their improvement desire and culture that takes them to compare their sages and artists with what for them was the symbol of knowledge. This is why their high priests, supreme Calmécac directors, were given the Quetzalcoatl title, thus evoking the Toltec genius par excellence."
The revealing part of Castaneda work is that it gives a "logic" to the academy studies on the legendary Toltec knowledge. Indeed, the euro-centrism and cultural colonization, denied at the academy, any deep universal value to the Toltec knowledge. Judged from an assumed supremacy pulpit, rarely trying to interpret in their scientific research, the philosophical aspect of the Anahuac civilization, as a transcendental value and much less as "universal" knowledge beacon. For researchers, the Toltecs are only a culture, not a a knowledge degree and wish to place them as another people, such as the Maya or Zapotec.
Surely the knowledge that Don Juan transmits to Castaneda, originated with the Olmecs fifteen centuries before the Christian era and that what today we call archaeological sites of the classic period, were not "palaces, cities or fortresses", but knowledge centers, where wisdom developed to achieve "total freedom", superior vertex of all ancient civilizations with autonomous origin.
Also, the same author, in the introduction to the book "Toltecáyotl" —Nahuatl culture aspects— notes: "Toltecáyotl, literally translated means; Toltequity: essence and set of Toltec creations. But the richness of its connotations should be unraveled. Of abstract and collective sense, this term derives from toltécatl. The ancient Mexican used it to cover what they considered their heritage, their inspiration seed and factor of further achievements..."
Don Juan knew through oral tradition, that he was a Toltec and that his practices and knowledge were called Toltequity. One of the apprentices said that Don Juan probably did not know that Toltec was a culture; Don Juan was simply loyal to tradition and in his teachings said that an apprentice becomes Toltec when he learns the mysteries of "stalking and reverie", and with that the apprentice will retain these mysteries in his body.
Don Juan said that the core of our being was the act of perceiving, and from perception reached being conscious; these states (perception and consciousness) function as a single unit; this unit had two spheres: one was the "tonal attention" or "the first power ring", the world of reason and thoughts. And the other was the " nagual attention" or "the second ring of power", the world of the will and acts. Don Juan pointed out that the only freedom the warrior had in the everyday world was having an impeccable conduct. The most difficult thing a warrior faces in the everyday world is letting others be, and if others "cannot", the warrior must be impeccable and not say a single word. At the end of the book the apprentices and Castaneda make a strange Toltec power exercise: assume a position whose description exactly matches the so-called Tula Atlantes, stone figures representing Toltec warriors located in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico.
This book is the transition of the author work between the teachings of the right side or the tonal island and lessons for the left side or the nagual world. Castaneda will have to "remember", and with this the acquired knowledge will take its due place. If this book has low literary quality and knowledge information is because the author was "confused" or began his "remembering" task. In the remaining books this task is performed with increasing efficiency; Castaneda readers could also "somehow" "understand" or "assemble" the complete works.
1. Doña Soledad transformation
"Wanted to know if I correctly understood don Juan when he said that everything was possible if one had a firm purpose...
For them, of course, the question was change or die. But that is the case for all of us, one thing or the other...
Don Juan had always insisted that our worst enemy was the inability to accept the reality of what happens to us...
Don Juan had said, when one finally understands what is happening, it is often too late to reverse. He claimed that the intellect is always that tricks us; receives the message in the first place, but instead of believing and acting accordingly, wastes time arguing...
2 The little sisters
If they were the true don Juan heirs of, they had to be impeccable with me, revealing their designs, and not behave as ordinary human beings, greedy...
Told me over and over again that my rationality only understood a small portion of what he called self-totality...
True to his non-committal purposes, don Juan had aspired to total victory or a complete defeat for me. If his teachings had failed to get me in touch with my hidden resources, the test would make it evident, in which case there would have been very little I could do...
What I yearn for at that time was for don Juan mastery with any situation arising, his intellectual camaraderie, his humor. Instead, I was accompanied by two idiots...
My anger disappeared, giving way to a strange serenity, a coldness, and, at the same time a desire to laugh. I then understood something transcendental. Before the impact of Doña Soledad and the sisters acts, my body detached from rationality; I had, in the words of don Juan, stopped the world...
The Nagual said that power comes only after accepting our destinies without discussion.
When there is nothing to lose, courage is acquired. We are afraid only to the extent we have something to hold to...
3 The Fat Lady
The words of don Juan had always had a dual effect on me: one, when hearing his statements for the first time; the other, when reading alone the written and forgotten...
—You are wrong; a warrior does not look for anything to apeace him...
He said that a warrior should leave nothing to happen randomly, a warrior was actually capable of altering the course of events, using his conscience power and the inflexibility of his purpose...
—Yes, —he continued— we are pieces of the Sun. That is why we are luminous beings. But our eyes fail to capture that luminosity because it is very weak. Only the eyes of a witch can see it, and that after a lifetime effort...
The Nagual taught me to stay in balance and not to search for anything with anxiety...
—A warrior must get rid of the human form if he wants to change, really change. Otherwise, things do not go beyond a conversation about the change, as in your case. The Nagual said that it was useless to believe or hope that it is possible to change the own habits. Not one iota changes in as long as the human form is preserved. The Nagual told me that a warrior knows that he cannot change; what is more: he knows it is not allowed. Is the only advantage a warrior has over a common man. The warrior is never disappointed when failing in an attempt to change...
4 The Genaros
He added that everything that happens to a warrior should be interpreted as an omen...
—Everything we say —he continued—, is a reflection of the people’s world. You will find out before your visit ends that you talk and act the way you do because you are still tied to the human form, just as the Genaros and the sisters are still attached to the human form when they are fighting to death between them...
he replied to me that everything in the world of a warrior, as I should know, depended on impeccability...
Said that warriors always had a chance, no matter how small...
The Nagual warned all of them that warriors, both men and women, must be impeccable in their effort to change, with the purpose to scare the human form away and get rid of it...
—The Nagual made us aware that we were Toltec. We are all Toltec. According to him, a Toltec is a receiver and preserves mysteries. The Nagual and Genaro are Toltec. They gave us their luminosity and mysteries. We received their mysteries and now we preserve them.
His use of the word <<Toltec>> baffled me. I was only familiar with its anthropological meaning. In that context, it always refers to the Nahuatl speaking culture of the center and south of Mexico, already extinct at the time of the conquest.
—Why did he call us Toltec? —asked, not having anything else to say.
—Because that is what we are. Instead of saying we were witches or sorcerers, he said we were Toltec.
—Did the Nagual tell you at any time that the Toltec were ancient people that lived in this part of Mexico? —I asked.
—Do you see where are you going? That is why it did not tell you anything. It is likely the old Raven did not know it was ancient people.
He rocked in the chair while laughing. His laughter was very pleasant and contagious.
—We are Toltec, Teacher —he said—. Be sure of what we are...
Nestor asserted that they were used to walking in the dark and that the art of a witch was being unnoticed even in the midst of a crowd...
They learned to be unnoticed through the midst of all this. They knew the art of stalking...
The Nagual said that being a warrior is an honor and a satisfaction, and the warrior fortune is to do what must be done...
5 The art of dreaming
-Made me know that the Nagual had recommended to be a vehement warrior and to follow any of the paths set by his destiny...
A hunter is limited to hunt —he said—. A stalker stalks everything, even himself...
The Nagual told me that it is possible to stalk our own weaknesses...
—How is it possible to stalk our own weaknesses, fat lady?
—In the same way you stalk a prey. You decipher your customs until you know all your weakness consequences and you leap on them and take them as rabbits in a cage...
Actually, what a warrior needs to be an impeccable stalker is having a purpose...
We all have personal power for something...
Was convinced that death consciousness could give us enough strength to resist life pressure and pain and the fear of the unknown...
Asserted that it took him a lot time to understand that the Nagual also had to abandon the human form. It was not cruel. Simply, did not experiment human feelings. Everything was the same for him. He had accepted his fate...
—The Nagual did not establish the rules —said—. The rules were established somewhere, out there; not by a man...
—Does not matter what anyone says or does —stated—. You must be impeccable. The fight takes place in our chest.
—Gave me some light blows on the chest.
—If your father or your grandfather had proposed to be impeccable warriors —don Juan continued—, they would not have wasted time in byzantine discussions. It is necessary to devote all the time and energy to overcome our own stupidity. And that is important. The rest is not worth it...
The Nagual told me that witches used to be called Toltec in the language their benefactor...
—A witch is a Toltec when he has been initiated in the mysteries of stalking and dreaming —said very calmly—. The Nagual and Genaro were initiated by their benefactor and retained these mysteries in their bodies. We do the same, and that is why are Toltec, as the Nagual and Genaro.
The Nagual taught us, you and me, to be dispassionate. I am more dispassionate than you because I lack a form. You still preserved it and are empty. In other words, you have all sorts of problems. One day, however, you will be complete and you will realize that the Nagual was right. He claimed that the world of people goes up and down and people goes up and down with their world; as witches, we do not have to follow them in their ups and downs.
>>The witches art of is being removed from everything and being unnoticed. And, above all, in not wasting power. The Nagual informed me that your problem is that you always get tangled in crap, like now...
—Don Juan asserted that our being core was the act of perceiving and the magic of our being was becoming conscious. For him the perception and consciousness constituted a single, integral, functional unit, a unit with two spheres. The first of these was the “tonal attention", namely the ordinary people ability to perceive and locate their conscience in the ordinary world, of daily life. Don Juan also called this attention form the “first ring of power", and described it as our terrible but undisputed power to bring order to our perception of the world.
-The second sphere covered "nagual attention”, this is the witches ability to place their conscience in the non-ordinary world. He called this area the "second ring of power": the completely stormy faculty, we all had, but only the witches used to order that other world...
What don Juan had struggled to defeat, or rather suppress in me, was not my reason in the sense of rational thought ability, but my "tonal attention" or conscience of the common sense world...
Don Juan had said that our first “ring of power" enters our lives in very early times and we live under the impression that this is our world. The “second ring of power", the "nagual attention" remains hidden for the vast majority of us, and reveals to us just at the instant of our death. However, there is a way to get to it, available to everyone, but it is only taken by witches: the “dream”. “Dreaming”, in essence consists in transforming ordinary dreams into volitional issues. The dreamers, through the process of focusing “the nagual attention” on issues and events of ordinary dreams, they transform it into “reverie”...
We chose to be warriors or ordinary men. There is no second chance. Not on this earth...
6 The second attention
The Nagual got tired of telling you that the only freedom available to warriors consists of their impeccable conduct...
Dreaming is the only way to focus the second attention without damage, without it being threatening or horrifying...
The Nagual told me that humans were fragile creatures composed of many luminosity layers. When you see them, they seem to have fibers, but they are actually onion-like layers. Shocks, of any kind, separate these layers and can cause death...
Men need to be hooked. Women do not. Women can enter all freely. Therein lies their power and disadvantage. Men must be guided and women, contained...
You behaved as a common man. The Nagual had prepared us to be warriors. Said that a warrior was not compassionate for anyone. For him, feeling compassion meant wishing that the other person was like us, was in one’s place and that this is the reason hands are shaken. You did that with Pablito. The hardest thing in the world for a warrior is to let others be...
A warrior impeccability is to stop being and supporting others in what they really are. Of course, implies trusting that others are also impeccable warriors.
—And if they are not impeccable warriors?
—Then your duty is to be impeccable and not say word —replied—. The Nagual stated that only a witch who sees and has lost the form can afford to help another...
Explained to me that the formation we were in was a Toltec power position. In that instant I was the center and the force capable of bringing together the four corners of the world. Lydia was the East, the weapon that the Toltec warriors waved in the right hand; Rosa was the North, the shield held in front of the Warrior; Josefina was the West, the warrior hunter spirit, held in her left hand; and the fat lady was the South, the basket warriors carried in their back where their power objects are kept. He claimed that all warriors natural position was facing North..." C.C.