Warrior Aphorisms -

Toltec Teachings

Extracts from:

Return of the Warriors -
Theun Mares
The Toltec Teachings - Volume 1

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Series 5 - Knowledge

 

No man can trade upon the knowledge of another person, simply because the only knowledge which we can use with certainty is that knowledge which we have acquired through personal experience. Any person can read the theory entailed in walking a tightrope, but such theory will not keep him from falling off should he try to walk a rope. Only through repeated practice, and through trial and error, does he finally manage to walk on the rope without falling off.
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"In the same way that a total recall of a person’s entire life takes a long time to complete, so too is social conditioning not undone overnight. The apprentice will not immediately succeed in undoing anything of real significance, but by systematically working at it he gradually begins to wear away at that conditioning bit by bit. It also often happens that the apprentice finds himself coming up against what seems to be an insurmountable barrier in either his recapitulation or his not-doing. He becomes stuck, as it were, and feels that no matter how hard he tries, he just does not seem capable of recalling anything of real value, nor does he seem to be able to execute not-doing.

If the apprentice comes up against such an obstacle he has no other recourse but to continue struggling and trying to make a break-through. It may appear to him as if he is failing but this is not really true, because it is always only a temporary failure, if I may use such an odd phrase."

"The struggle to move the assemblage point is the only thing of value in all of the instruction given to an apprentice. It does not matter which technique is used or what the task may entail; the only purpose of any instruction is to guide the apprentice into struggling to make his assemblage point fluid.
Also, the greater the struggle, the greater will be the apprentice’s fluidity in the end. This is analogous to a weight-lifter in training; the more weights he has to push up, the greater will be his strength. Yet the effects of social conditioning are such that if at first a person tries and does not succeed, that person immediately assumes he has failed. Concluding from this that he does not have the necessary ability, such a person invariably gives up trying.
The important point here is to define what exactly constitutes so-called failure or success. This concept can only be understood in the context of what is meant by walking a particular path, irrespective of whether this path is a spiritual path or a career.

As we have already seen, at the end of the day it does not matter how many battles we have won or how many we have lost, as the only thing of importance is whether or not we fought and, if we did, how well we fought. Did we run from a battle because of fear, or did we fight bravely, giving it our all?"

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Series 4 - Beyond Logic & Reason

"Provided that his explanations more or less fit his view of the world, man is happy and feels secure. However, so strong is his belief in his own explanations that when something happens to challenge them the man becomes confused and uncertain. Suddenly he finds his view of the world rocked, and he is forced either to re-evaluate his explanations or, unfortunately and more often than not, to start defending those explanations in an attempt to justify and secure them.

EXPLANATIONS ARE NOT REALITY – ONLY A MAKESHIFT ARRANGEMENT OF THE WORLD.

"CONFUSION IS A WILFULLY INDUCED STATE OF MIND. WE CAN ENTER OR EXIT IT AT WILL.
MAN DELIBERATELY CONFUSES HIMSELF IN ORDER TO PLEAD IGNORANCE.

Confusion is a most convenient escapism used by man whenever he has to face something that frightens him, or that he does not like. However, we are always fully aware of what we are doing, even though we may choose not to acknowledge our true motives.
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"MAN’S REASON PURPOSEFULLY PARADES AS THE INFALLIBLE JUDGE IT FANCIES ITSELF TO BE. UNFORTUNATELY THOUGH, LIFE IS INFINITELY BIGGER THAN MAN’S REASON.

Our reason is mostly far too big for its boots and imagines itself capable of a job for which it was never intended. Reason’s only purpose is to enable us to discriminate wisely, and to do computations. Instead reason tries to assume the role of understanding, but it never occurs to our reason that within a fluid universe there is very little to understand."

"IN AN UNKNOWN UNIVERSE PERVADED BY THE UNPREDICTABLE QUIRKS OF POWER, UNDERSTANDING IS OF VERY LITTLE SIGNIFICANCE.

Understanding is merely a justification for unnecessary rationalizations. Take as an example a duckling which has to swim for the first time. The duckling does not first have to understand the laws of flotation before it can swim – it simply walks into the water, and instinctively swims."

"THE WARRIOR, KNOWING THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGES A BARRIER WHEN HE COMES TO IT, AND THEN JUMPS OVER IT.
When the warrior encounters a problem in his life he puts his mind at rest by acknowledging it for the obstacle it is, but instead of getting caught up in rationalizations in an effort to understand the problem, he simply tackles it immediately. Problems in themselves have no value other than to make us emotionally stronger, mentally more agile and spiritually wiser.
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The warrior is not immune to the problems of the average man. In his struggle to be impeccable there are many times when even the warrior succumbs to doubt and fear, insecurity, feelings of helplessness, and above all, loneliness. However, the warrior knows that all these feelings are but moods which spur him on to even greater heights, and so he plumbs their depths in order to find their deeper meanings. Unfortunately though, average man never makes the effort to question the true validity of his moods, but merely accepts them at face value.

SHOULD A WARRIOR FEEL THE NEED TO BE COMFORTED, HE SIMPLY CHOOSES ANYONE OR ANYTHING, BE IT A FRIEND, DOG, OR MOUNTAIN, TO WHOM HE EXPRESSES HIS INNERMOST FEELINGS. IT DOES NOT MATTER TO THE WARRIOR IF HE IS NOT ANSWERED, OR IF HE IS NOT HEARD, BECAUSE THE WARRIOR IS NOT SEEKING TO BE UNDERSTOOD OR HELPED – BY VERBALISING HIS FEELINGS HE IS MERELY RELEASING THE PRESSURE OF HIS BATTLE.

p166

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THE HUNTER IS INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH HIS WORLD, YET REMAINS DETACHED FROM IT.

It is through this detachment that the hunter does not become affected by the world around him. However, the fact that the hunter is intimately familiar with his world means that he is detached in the sense of choosing how he will interact with his world, but not detached in the sense of not caring about it. This is a most important distinction, and something which requires considerable skill in execution.

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Series 2:

CONSIDER EVERY PATH CAREFULLY, TESTING IT IN WHICHEVER WAY YOU FEEL NECESSARY – THEN ASK YOURSELF, BUT ONLY YOURSELF, ONE QUESTION: ‘DOES THIS PATH HAVE A HEART?’
ANY PATH IS MUCH THE SAME AS ANY OTHER PATH. SOME PATHS WIND THIS WAY AND THAT – SOME PATHS GO STRAIGHT; BUT IN THE END NO PATH GOES ANYWHERE AT ALL. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONE PATH AND ANOTHER IS THAT SOME HAVE A HEART AND SOME DO NOT. THE PATH THAT HAS A HEART WILL UPLIFT YOU, EASE YOUR BURDEN AND BRING YOU JOY. THE PATH WITH NO HEART WILL MAKE YOU STUMBLE, IT WILL BREAK YOUR SPIRIT, AND FINALLY CAUSE YOU TO LOOK UPON YOUR LIFE WITH ANGER AND BITTERNESS.

Average man is hardly ever on a path with a heart, for most of the time he walks the path demarcated for him by his social conditioning. Most people hate so many things in their lives, be it their jobs, their cars, their houses, a certain relative, or a pet fear. Consequently they spend the greater portion of their lives feeling irritable and unhappy, often cursing their life at every turn and wishing it were different. One constantly hears from these people comments such as: ‘If only I had better health. If only I had more money. If only my wife was more understanding and co-operative. If only my children would listen to me. If only the political situation in the country was not so threatening. If only I could change the past. If only I knew the future. If only...’

Such a man or woman never lives in the present moment, for they are always living either in the past or in the future. To such a person the present is irrelevant and of no consequence, because it is always superseded by the unhappy past, or by an uncertain future. This clearly is not a path with a heart, for it offers no peace and no joy, no sense of wonder and mystery; instead it offers only a desolate journey which is bleak and stark, uninteresting and thoroughly depressing.

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Before we have come to know who we really are and what our true fate in this life is, we always have a great many wishes and desires which we believe will make us totally happy should they be fulfilled. But when our destiny finally unfolds we are always, without exception, struck by the beauty and wonder of it all. Even in our wildest imaginings we can never dream up anything even remotely as good and as exciting as our own true destiny.

THE WARRIOR IS A MAN WHO HAS LEARNED TO LOVE LIFE AND ALL THE MANY RICHNESSES IT BRINGS HIM — MOST OF ALL THE PATH WHERE HE WALKS. THERE IS FOR THE WARRIOR NO GREATER JOY THAN TO WALK A PATH WITH A HEART. ON THIS PATH HE WALKS, THRILLED BY THE WONDER OF IT ALL, AND IN HIS JOY HE GIVES THANKS IN HIS HEART FOR THIS MARVELLOUS PRIVILEGE BY EMBRACING EVERYTHING HE ENCOUNTERS WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE.

To lead the life of a warrior fighting for his freedom is to lead a life of success – success in the sense of walking a path with a heart, on which one’s destiny unfolds in the most marvellous and joyful of ways. On this path every challenge the warrior encounters is for him yet another exciting battle, an adventure which he knows will lead him to even more undiscovered wonders in his life. Yet every warrior starts off life just like any other man or woman. The apprentice to the Warrior’s Path has exactly the same fears and the same doubts as any other man; the only difference being that he has taken his courage into both hands and, having steeled himself, has taken the gap to freedom.

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Series 1:

The way in which we view the world in general and knowledge in particular depends on the way in which we understand and use words. It must be stressed that words, no matter how carefully chosen, always veil the truth. This fact can never be over-emphasized, for again and again does man stumble over words because he does not as yet see words for the symbols they are, and therefore he hears and reads words in the context of his social conditioning.

THE MISTAKE OF MAN IS THAT HE ALWAYS SEEKS EXPLANATIONS WHICH UPHOLD HIS WAY OF THINKING, HIS VIEW OF THE WORLD.

Page 52

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A point which needs to be emphasized here is that the so-called imagination is the image-forming faculty of the mind, and more, so very much more. It is a profound truth that a simple picture is worth a million words! An architect can convey everything he intends building with a few diagrams and is even more successful if he exhibits a three-dimensional model. Today these models can be done so easily by using computer graphics, but they can also be done just as well, faster, and with greater
fluidity, by the image-forming faculty of the mind.
Now it is true that the model is not the finished structure upon the physical plane, and it is equally true that the mental image of knowledge is not the proven experience upon the physical plane, but in both cases it is the imagination that leads to concretization. Had Bell regarded his mental image of the telephone as being pure fantasy, he would never have been able to make a physical telephone! Likewise, if seers regarded what they see as the movement of the assemblage point as being
fantasy, warriors today would still not be able to move their assemblage points and Toltecs, like everyone else, would be limited to only one frame of reference.

THE PREREQUISITE FOR A WARRIOR IS THAT HE HAS TO BELIEVE, FOR BELIEVING IS AN ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF HIS BEING.

Page 56

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MAN REGARDS HIMSELF AS BEING BETTER THAN AN ANIMAL – BUT MOSTLY HE LIVES AN EXISTENCE WHICH IS WORSE THAN THAT OF ANIMALS.

If we live such lives, is it at all surprising that we end up feeling like victims? Mostly we live the lives we do because we fear that not to do so would be madness.

UNFORTUNATELY ALL OF US ARE ALREADY MAD.

Page 78

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Take a closer look at man and compare your plight with his. Can you deviate from what you have grown up to believe is right – from what you have been taught is right? Can you? The answer is, ‘No’.

PEOPLE ARE KEPT IN PSYCHIC BONDAGE THROUGH THEIR SOCIAL CONDITIONING. TO KEEP A MAN IN PHYSICAL BONDAGE IS AN ACT OF SLAVERY; TO KEEP HIM IN PSYCHIC BONDAGE IS A HEINOUS ACT OF BLACK MAGIC. YET SINCE ALL OF MANKIND IS AFFLICTED BY THIS EVIL, ALL MEN PARTICIPATE IN IT. MAN PERPETUATES THIS VILE PRACTICE BY INFLICTING IT UPON HIS OWN CHILDREN. THUS IT IS THAT THE ACTIONS OF EVERY MAN ARE CONSTANTLY BEING DEFINED BY THE DEBILITATING MEDIOCRITY BORN OF SOCIAL CONDITIONING.

We can of course always rationalize our behaviour in order to feel better about it. For example, as parents we can argue that our actions are naturally the best for our children. It is after all our duty as parents to guide our young ones in the right direction. Sadly, and far too often, we consider ourselves good parents when we impose our will, our ideas and beliefs upon our children. Then once we have successfully brainwashed them into behaving, feeling, and even thinking like us, we bask in the self-satisfaction of knowing that we have given the world dutiful citizens who will meekly tow the line.

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"All of us have had to suffer the atrocities of social conditioning, yet it should also be realised that in reality there are no victims.

NO MAN CAN BE TRAPPED WITHOUT HIS CONSENT.

No-one can enslave a person against his will. Bearing out this point are the many people in the world who have fought against and broken away from all conventional behaviour and discipline. It is only regrettable that although such people have had enough personal power to break free, they often do not have sufficient power to define for themselves a new purpose and a new direction in life.
Page 80

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"MAN’S ONLY JUSTIFICATION FOR PHYSICAL EXISTENCE IS TO LEARN; THIS IS HIS DESTINY WHICH HE CANNOT AVOID UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

Learning must be understood as meaning experiential knowledge, because the Warrior’s Path is first and foremost a practical path. Gathering information is not true learning. Information is to all intents and purposes useless, unless it can be put to good practical use in one’s daily life, and the only knowledge which is of value is that which enables a man to better understand his destiny so that he can aid in its unfoldment. Hard as this may be to accept for those who believe that they control their lives, it is nevertheless true.
Man has been debating the question of free choice for ages, but he still stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that he has only two choices; either to aid in the unfoldment of his destiny, or to frustrate that unfoldment. If he follows his destiny he leads a happy and prosperous life; if on the other hand he frustrates his destiny he experiences hardship and misery.

Page 82

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"It should be realised, however, that social conditioning is of course dependent upon a mutually-accepted universal view of the world. Such a commonly-accepted view entails that everyone must have the same frame of reference as everybody else. This automatically excludes all views, ideas and feelings which do not conform to mankind’s common point of view. Yet man was never destined to be confined to only one point of view.

MAN’S DESTINY IS TO LEARN BY EXPERIENCING ALL OF THE COUNTLESS POSSIBLE MANIFESTATIONS OF LIFE CONTAINED WITHIN THE UNIVERSE.

Page 83

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More:

Death:

Instead of feeling helpless the soldier took his chances, slim as they were, and entered a hell-hole. Through his actions the soldier acknowledged death but did not surrender to it. This is what is meant by a warrior acknowledges without acknowledging, and ignores without ignoring.

IN THE FACE OF CERTAIN DEATH NOTHING MATTERS ANY MORE BECAUSE THE WORST IS ALREADY AT HAND. BY ACCEPTING DEATH AS AN INHERENT FACTOR OF LIFE, THE WARRIOR IS ALWAYS CALM AND LUCID.

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NO MAN CAN SURVIVE THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE IF HE IS NOT PREPARED TO EMBRACE DEATH. DEATH IS A WARRIOR’S BEST ADVISOR.

Having made his bid for power, and having been trained in the skill of hunting power, the hunter now only needs to gain the necessary practical experience. It is through this experience that he will graduate to the level of a warrior, for the only difference between a hunter and a warrior is in the degree of experience. Through his lack of experience the hunter knows very little about the practicalities involved in hunting power. The warrior, on the other hand, is a man who is well seasoned in the battle for power.

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Above extracts published with permission from publishers.

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