The Wisdom of the Shamans

82 Pages·2018·0.456 MB·English

by  Don Jose Ruiz

THE WISDOM OF THE SHAMANS
WHATTHEANCIENTMASTERS
CANTEACHUSABOUTLOVEANDLIFE
DONJOSERUIZ
THEWISDOMOF LOVEANDLIFE
….………………………………………………..
FORGENERATIONS, ToltecShamans
havepasseddowntheir wisdom through
teachingstories. Thepurposeofthisisto
implantaseed ofknowledgeinthemindof
thelistener,whereitcanultimatelysproutand
blossomintoanew andbetter wayoflife.
InTheWisdomoftheShamans,Toltec
shamanandmaster storytellerdon JoseRuiz
sharessomeofthemostpopularstoriesfrom
hisfamily‘soraltradition,andofferscorre-
spondinglessonsthat illustratethelargerideas
withineachone.
Ruizbeginsbyexplaining thatcontraryto
thestereotypicalimageof“witchdoctor,”the
ancientshamansweremen andwomenwho
Fulfilledseveral roleswithintheircommunities
philosopher, spiritualguide, medicaldoctor,
psychologist,and friend.
AccordingtoRuiz,their teachingsarenot
primitiveor reservedForachosen fewinitiates.
butareinsteadapowerfulseriesoflessonson
loveandlifethatareavailabletousall.Tothat
aim, hehasincludedexercises, meditations,
andshamanicritualsin anefforttohelpyou
experiencethepersonaltransformationthese
storiesoffer.
Theshamanstaughtthatthetruthyou
seekisinsideofyou.Letthesestories, lessons,
andtoolsbeyourguidetofinding theinnate
wisdom thatliveswithin.
Copyright©2018byDonjoseRuiz
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formwhatsoever,withoutpermission in writingfromthepublisher,
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Preface
ExplanationofKey Terms
Introduction
1.TheEagleandtheSnake
FindingYourOwnTruth
2.TheRiverman
FlowingwiththeCyclesofLife
3.TheBirthofQuetzalcoatl
IgniteYourImaginationandCreativity
4.TheJungle
ALesson in Awareness
5.TheRattlesnakeInitiation
ThePowerofRitual
6.TheDevil’sCave
Embracing theShadowSelf
7.Divinityand Discernment
TheLessonsofMadreSarita
8.TheDayoftheDead
DeathandHonoring OurAncest0rs
Afterward
Preface
Muchhasbeen saidandwrittenabouttheNorth
andCentralAmerican shamanssinceEuropeansfirst
began arrivingin theAmericasen masseover500
yearsago.Theyhavebeen calledeverythingfrom
witchdoctorstomedicinemen andeven sorcerers.
Theirideasaboutlifewereoften consideredprimi-
tive,uneducated, superstitious,and otherwisenotas
“enlightened”astheirEuropean counterparts.
Shamanswerealmostalwaysassumed tobemen,
apresumptionproven tobebasedmoreonthebiasof
thosewhowroteaboutthemthan onhistoricalfact.
Personally,thisideanever occurredtome, because
whenIwasgrowingup,mygrandmother wasthe
mostpowerfulshaman in ourfamily.
Linguistically,thewordshamanwouldhavemeant
nothingtothevastmajorityofnativeculturesoutside
thosegroupsinnortheast Asiawheretheterm likely
originated.Inmyowntradition,thatoftheToltec
peopleofwhatisnowMexico,theshamanswere
callednaguals, meaning“theawakenedones,"inour
nativeNahuatllanguage.lt’sinteresting topointout
thatthewordnagualhasanadditional meaning;itis
alsothewordforthelifeforceenergy, thedivinity
thatweallhaveinsideofus.Taken together,wecan
seethattheToltecsbelievethateveryoneisanagual,
buttheshamansaretheoneswhoseeyesareopento
thisrealization.
Foruniformity,andbecauseanywordinitselfhas
nomeaningwithoutouragreement,Iwillusesha-
man throughoutthisbooktodescribeaperson who
isawakened totherealization thatweareallthisfun-
damentallifeforceenergy, asthisisthemostfamiliar
terminthemodern world.
Onaglobalscale, shamanismreferstothespiri-
tualtraditionorreligion ofnativeculturesaroundthe
world.These spiritualtraditionsaresaid tohavecer-
tainthingsincommon:arespect fornature,arespect
foralllife,andarespectfortheirancestors.Whilethis
isalltrue,thisisonlythebarestofbeginningsofwhat
itmeanstopracticeshamanism.
Thegoodnewsisthatweareseeing theseold
ideasaboutshamanism open upmoreinrecenttimes,
thanksinparttotheworkofmyfather, donMiguel
Ruiz,aswellasCarlosCastanedaandmanyothers.
Themodern worldisbeginning tocatchuptowhat
myfamilyhas knownandpasseddownviaoraltradi-
tionformorethan athousandyears, namelythatthe
shamanswerebothmenand womenandthat their
ideaswereanything butprimitive. Infact,theroles
theyplayed intheircommunitieswereasophisticated
combinationofphilosopher, spiritualleader, medical
doctor,psychologist,andfriend.
Seen inthiscontext, certain questionsbegin to
arise:Whatdidtheseancientmastersknow?How did
theyacquireandpassdown thisknowledge? Andcan
thisknowledgehelpusin thewayweliveourlivesin
themodern world?Answering questionssuchasthese
isthepurposeofthisbook.
Asyouwillseein thepagesthatfollow,itismy
personalbelief thatthewisdom oftheancientmas-
terswasnotsomething primitiveorreserved onlyfor
men,butacomplexandpowerfulseriesofteachings
availabletoallofhumankind. Itisthewisdomofwak—
ingup,offindingyourownpersonal freedom,ofliv-
ingin peaceandharmony, andofbeing ofserviceto
othersandtheplanet.
Quitesimply, itisthewisdomofloveandlife.
Attachment:Theaction oftakingsomething thatis
notapartofyouand makingitapart ofyouthrough
anemotional orenergetic investment.Youcanattach
toexternalobjects, beliefs,ideas, andeven rolesyou
playin theworld.
Awareness:Thepracticeofpayingattentionin the
presentmoment towhatishappeninginsideyour
bodyand yourmindaswellasin yourimmediatesur—
roundings.
Domestication:Theprimary systemofcontrolin
theDream ofthePlanet.Startingwhen wearevery
young,wearepresentedwitheither arewardora
punishmentforadopting thebeliefsandbehaviors
ofwhatothersfindacceptable.When weadopt these
beliefsandbehaviorsasaresultofeither therewardor
punishment,wecansaywehavebeendomesticated.
Dream ofthePlanet:Thecombinationofevery
singlebeing in theworld’spersonaldream,or the
worldwelivein.
Mitote:A Nahuatlwordthatmeanschaosand ref—
erencestheideathatit’sasifathousandpeopleare
talkinginyourmindsimultaneouslyandnooneislis—
tening.
Nagual:ANahuatlwordwithtwomeanings. First,
thiswasthewordfortheshamansoftheToltecpeo—
ple,andsecond, thiswordwasusedtodescribe thelife
forceenergyanddivinitywithinallbeings.
Nahuatl:Languageoftheancient Toltecpeoples.
Narrators:Thevoicesinyourmindthatspeakto
youthroughouttheday,whichcanbeeitherpositive
(ally)ornegative(parasite).
Ally:Thevoiceofthenarrator when itinspiresyouto
live,create, andloveunconditionally.Theallycanalso
offerconstructiveself—talk.
Parasite:Thevoiceofthenarratorwhen itusesyour
beliefs,formedthroughdomesticationandattach—
ment,toholdpoweroveryoubyplacing conditionson
yourself—loveandself—acceptance.Thisnegativevoice
causessadness, anxiety,andfear.
Personal Dream:Theuniquerealitycreatedby
everyindividual;yourpersonalperspective. Itisthe
manifestation oftherelationshipbetween yourmind
andbody.
Shaman:Onewhoisawakenedtotherealization
thatallbeingsarelifeforceenergy, andthathumans
aredreamingallthetime.
SilentKnowledge:Aknowingthatisbeyondthe
thinking/discerning mind. Silentknowledgeisthe
deepinnatewisdom thatisin allthings.
Teotihuaican:An ancientcityinsouthcentral Mex-
icothatwasthehomeoftheToltecpeople2,500years
ago,wellknownforitspyramids.
Toltecpeople:An ancientgroupofNativeAmeri-
canswhocametogetherin southandcentral Mexico
tostudyperception. ThewordToltecmeans"artist."
Toltecwarrior:Onewhoiscommittedtousingthe
teachingsoftheToltectraditiontowintheinner bat-
tleagainstdomestication andattachment.
Introduction
Thewisdom youseek isinsideyou.
Takeamoment andfeelthetruthofthosewords.
Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofshamanism
isthatwithineveryoneofusisthelight,thedivinity,
orasmyancestorswouldsay, thenagual.Eachoneof
ushasourowntruthinsideourselves.Thequestofthe
shamanistofind, live,andexpressit.
Unlikesomeothertraditions, shamanism isnot
basedonhierarchy anddeferencetopastteachersor
followingasacredtextwithblindbelief, butonuncov—
eringthetruthswithinyourselfandbringing them
outintotheworldtobecome amessenger oftruth,a
messenger oflove.
Thepathoftheshaman islargelyanindividual jour—
ney.Rituals,books,tools,andeven othershamansonly
serveasguidestohelpyoufindthewisdom thatcomes
fromdeepinsideofyou.Notwoshamanicjourneysare
alike,asweeachultimatelymakeourownuniquepath,
createourownart,andexpressourselvesinourown
beautifulway.That’swhyIoften saythatyouareboth
thestudentandtheteacherontheshamanic journey,
andlifeisexpressingitselfthroughyou.
Inmyowntradition, thatoftheToltecpeopleof
southcentral Mexico,wesaythatweareallartists. In
fact,thewordToltecmeans“artist.”Thisisnotcon-
finedtothetraditional understandingoftheword
aspainters, sculptors,etc.,orjusttomembersofmy
ancestraltribe;thisdesignationextendstoevery
humanbeing onthisbeautifulplanet. Thesimple
truthisthateverypersonisanartist,andtheartthat
wecreateisthestoryofourlife.
IftheToltectradition isthewayoftheartist,then
wecansaythattheshamanicpathisreallyan invita-
tiontoyou,theartist,tocreateyourownmasterpiece,
touseeverything in yourlifeasabrushtopaint your
ownpictureofpersonalfreedom.
Wealsosayin theToltectraditionthateveryoneis
dreamingallthetime. Thisisbecauseyoucan onlyever
seelifethroughyourownfilters—thefilterof“Jose”in
mycase. Therefore,lifeasyouperceiveitisareflec-
tionofyourperceptionsand beliefs.Itisnotreal,but
ratheradream. Tosomethismaysoundnegative, but
infactitispositivebecauseifyourlifeisadream, and
youbecomeawareofthefact thatyouarethedreamer,
thenyoucanconsciouslycreatethedreamyouwantto
seeandlivethelifeyouwant tolive.
Thereareactuallytwodreamsthatmakeupwhat
wecalllife.First,youhavethepersonaldream, which
isyourownperspective.Itishowyousee theworld
aroundyouandhowyoumakesense ofitinyourmind
throughthestoriesyoutellyourselfaboutwhatyou
perceive.Thingssuchas“MynameisJose,"“Mypar-
entsareMiguelandMaria,"“Iwasbornin 1978,"“I
liveinthisplace,that ismycar, myhouse,myspouse,
etc."—thisisyourownpersonaldream.
ThereisalsotheDreamofthePlanetorthecollective
dreamweareallhaving. TheDream ofthePlanetisthe
sumtotalofallourpersonaldreams, andtogether they
makeuptheworldin whichwelive.Togetherwehave
createdtheoceans, themountains,theflowers,the
wars,thetechnology,theconceptsofgoodandbad—
allofit.TheDreamofthePlanetisthecombinationof
allourpersonal dreamsandformsthebasis forhowwe
interactandcommunicatewithoneanother.
TheToltecunderstoodthatin bothcases, person-
allyandcollectively,whatweareperceivingaslifeis
notreal. Ourperceptionoflifeisreallyjustacomplex
setofoverlapping stories, heldtogetherbyourcon-
ceptoftime.Inmyfamily’straditions, theshamans,
whowerecallednagualsin ournativelanguage,were
“theoneswhoareawake,"becausetheyhadwokenup
tothatfactthatwearealldreaming,thatweareall
storytellers,andthatwhilethetruthofwhoandwhat
wereallyareisultimatelyindescribable,thebestway
tosayitisthatwearelifeitself.
Ifinditinteresting thathalfwayaroundthe
worldmorethan2,500yearsago,aman satunder
abodhitreeforfortydaysandnightsuntilhereal-
izedhistruenature,and whenhegotupfromthe
treeandreturnedtohisfriends,theycouldtellthis
experiencehadchanged him.Theyaskedhim, “What
happenedtoyou?"Andtheman repliedinhisnative
Palilanguage,“Iamawake."Thewordforawakein
thePalilanguageis"Buddha."InbothBuddhism and
shamanism, thosewhoaremastersineachtradition
arereferredtoasawakened.
Sowhocanbeashaman’?Anyonewhohasthe
desiretoawaken fromthedream andfindhisorher
ownpersonalfreedom isashaman. Ofcourse,thisis
easier saidthandone. becausethedream hasseveral
mechanismsitusestokeepusasleep,manyofwhich
wewilllookatin greater detailthroughoutthecourse
ofthisbook.
Tobeclear, wakingupinvolvesmorethanjust
knowingintellectuallythateverything aroundyouis
adream.Itiseasytobetoldsomething andbelieveit
withyourmind, butmuchmoredifficulttoputitinto
practice.Thepointoftheshamanicpathistohavethe
experienceofawakening, whichinvolvessomething
beyondthethinkingmindorintellectualknowledge.
Forinstance,whenI tellyouthatyouaredream-
ingallthetime, youmaytrustmeand believeit,but
itisn'tuntilyouintegratethatknowledgeandexperi-
enceitforyourselfthatyourworldbeginstochange.
Priortothatitisonlyabelief.Once thisbeliefbecomes
yourexperience, then itbecomesapartofyourper-
sonalreality.
Soatfirst,theshaman tellsyouthatyouare
asleep,thatyouaredreaming, andoffersyouapathto
awaken towhoyoureallyare. Theshaman wantsyou
tocometoknowyourselfbeyond thelittlestoryyou
havecreated, thelittleyou.Theshaman can dothis
becauseheorshehascometoknowhim-orherselfas
anindividualexpression ofthisdivine lifeforceand
thatthisdivinity, thislifeforce,isinallthings.That's
whyshamanism issoconnectedtothenaturalworld
thatsurroundsus.Theshamanknowsthatalllifeis
connected,alllifeisone.Andthisdoesn’tjustreferto
thebodieswecan see, butthespace betweenevery-
thingaswell.Weareconnectedthroughtheair we
breathe,throughthegroundunderneathourfeet,the
waterwesharethatmakesupsomuchofourbodies,
andeverythingelsethatconstitutesthisplanetand
beyond. Theconnection issoobvioustotheshaman,
buttheillusionofthemindanditsconstantdreaming
preventmanypeoplefromseeingthistruth.
Asasimpleexample, thinkofanoaktree.This
treeistheculminationofsomanythings—earth,sun,
water,air,anacornblownbythewindorcarriedbya
bird—allofwhichhaveworkedtogethertomanifest
thisbeautifulcreationofartthatwecall atree.Ifyou
weretotakeawayanyoneofanyofthesethings, this
treewouldnotexist.Thesame canbesaid foryou,for
allofus,everything.Weareacreation ofallthathas
gonebeforeus.Yetthemindclingstotheillusionof
separateness.Butitisonlythat:an illusion,andthe
shamanistheonewhosees throughtheillusiontothe
interconnectivitybetweenallthingsandbeings.
Manyofusarelostinthedream formanyyears
beforetheseedofawakening beginstomanifestin us,
andwhenitfinallydoes, itismoreakin toaprocessof
unlearningrather thanlearning. Inotherwords,you
havebeen taughtsomuch,startingwhen youwere
veryyoung.Youweretoldyourname,whoyourpar-
entswere, whereyoucamefrom,whatyoulikedand
didn'tlike,andyouagreedwithit.IntheToltectradi-
tion,wecallthisprocess domestication.Althoughsome
formsofdomestication canbenegative, it'simportant
torememberthatdomestication itselfisnotnecessar-
ilynegative.Itisanormal andnecessary process;itis
thewaywecreatetheDream ofthePlanet.
Forexample,when youwereyoung,yourparents
likelydomesticatedyoutoberespectfulandkindto
others,toshare, andtodevelopfriendships.Inthis
way,theyweregivingyouthetoolsyouneed tointer—
actwiththeDream ofthePlanet.Thepointhereis
thatnotalldomesticationisbad, eventhoughthe
worditselfoften carrieswithitanegativeconnota-
tion.Other formsofdomesticationareobviouslyneg—
ative:racism, sexism, andclassism areeasyexamples,
andthentherearethesubtlerforms,suchaswhenwe
adoptideaslike“Imustsucceedinlifetoreceivelove"
or“Imusthaveaperfect bodyin order toreceivelove."
Theprocess ofawakening isoftenreferredtoas
unlearning,becauseyoubegin tosee howyouwere
domesticatedintheDream ofthePlanetandyoucan
consciouslychoose whichideasandbeliefsyouwant
tokeepandwhichyouwanttoletgo.Whenyoubegin
unravelingyourdomestications, youseethatyou
werefedall oftheseideasaboutyourselfandyouused
theseideastobuildthestoryofwhoyouare. Asany
architectwilltellyou,astructurebuiltonfaultyfoun-
dationswillultimatelycollapse, andthatiswhathap-
penstoeverystory.
Perhapsyouhavealreadyexperiencedthecol-
lapseofyourstory,andthatiswhyyoupickedup
thisbook.Thetruthisthatanystoryofyourlifeis
justthat,astory,anditscollapseisabeautifulthing,
becausewhen itcollapsesyoufindoutwhoyoureally
are;youdiscover thatyouarereallylifeitself.
Thisprocessofunlearning isourpersonal journey
anduniquetoeachindividual.Althoughtheremaybe
similarities,notwopeoplewakeupintheexactsame
way.Thisisamajor tenetin shamanism:everyone's
pathwillbedifferent.Certainlywewillreceivehelpand
guidancefromothers,butbecauseweareall unique,
ourawakening willbeuniqueaswell.Thatisourown
art.Whilesomeoftheritualsandthingswedowillbe
thesameasorinspiredbywhatothershavedone, the
shamanmimicsnoone,noteven othershamans.
Forinstance,manypeopledo notknowthis,but
myfather’smostfamousbook,TheFourAgreements
(Amber»AllenPublishing, 1997),isreallythestoryof
hisownawakening. Heovercame hisinner negativity
andtheself»createdproblemsinhispersonaldream
bypracticing thosefouragreementsin everyareaof
hislife.Hesaw howhewasgivinghispoweraway
throughnotbeingimpeccablewithhisword,taking
thingspersonally,makingassumptions, andnotdoing
hisbest.Asaresult,heformedthesefouragreements
withhimselfsohecouldliveinhistruepower.Prac—
ticingthesefouragreementswasreallyaprocessof
unlearningallthenegativityhehadadoptedin his
ownpersonaldream.
Whenheawoke,hewantedtobeofserviceto
others,andthatbookisamanifestation ofhisart.
Inhiscase,thisartwasrecognizedaroundtheworld
astruthandhelpedmanypeoplewakeup(asofthis
writingTheFourAgreementshassoldoverseven mil-
lioncopiesworldwide).Thatisawonderfulthing,but
myfatherwilltellyouhehad nothingtodo withthat.
Inotherwords,whilehechosetosharehisworkwith
millionsin theformofabook,heknowshisworkisno
moreimportantthan thatoftheshaman whowakes
upandhelpsthoseinhisowncommunity.Theyare
thesame,andin factonecouldnotexistwithoutthe
other.Liketheoak tree,myfatherwouldnothave
awakenedwithoutinspirationandguidancefromthe
myriadofshamanswhohaveawakenedbeforehim.
Asmyfather'sexampleillustrates,oncethesha-
man awakenstowhoshereallyis, shesees thatthe
bestthingtodoforherselfandtheworldistoserve
thegreatmother,orlifeitself.Shesees thedivinityin