The Art of Toltec Warriorship
By Mark Edwards

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You’ve got to roll with the punches to get to what’s real.
— Van Halen

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Many readers will associate the word “Toltec” with Don Miguel Ruiz and The Four Agreements, or as a Mexican culture buried in history. Without exploring the entire gamut of Mexican history, I’ll briefly explain what “Toltec” means to modern practitioners.
     The indigenous people who comprised the Toltec empire lived from about 100 BC to 700 AD. After their decline, several splinter groups spread out, even as far as Arizona. These underground groups kept their spiritual systems and ceremonies intact. Aspects of sorcery, warriorship, magical movements, and dreaming practices were kept well hidden from the dominant white cultures, and passed on to subsequent sorcerers or shamans.
     In 1968 or so, author Carlos Casteneda brought these practices to life by presenting the teachings of Don Juan Matus, a Toltec-Navaho elder. It is from Don Juan’s lineage, Victor Sanchez, and my relationship with Carlos Casteneda’s inner group of sorcerers, that I bring these teachings on Warriorship and Toltec practices.
     A thorough and comprehensive practice and assimilation of the tenets of Toltec Warriorship are necessary as a foundation before one enters into the abstract, advanced work of sorcery, prolonged inner silence, power plants, power spots, dreaming, and shifting one’s assemblage point into other reality landscapes as real as this one. There are physical, non-physical, mental and sexual disciplines of Toltec Warriorship. Let’s begin with the mental and emotional:.

Beggar’s Cup

     As domesticated humans, we run around like insane apes, with a beggar’s cup, pleading for attention and approval from the social order, breathlessly pandering to other humans for attention, understanding and approval. This wastes bushels of energy, and puts us at the mercy of many people who are themselves selfish, manipulative and out of balance. Lesson one: put away the beggar’s cup, believe in your own power, and seek a higher source for inspiration other than other humans and social systems. Cut off your need for approval; it’s killing you. Stop being a doormat for others.

Self Importance

     Warriors do not bow down to anyone, nor do they allow others to bow down to them. We are not nearly as smart, sexy or charismatic as we think we are. We are not the gods we fantasize we are in our minds, nor the pieces of excrement we also think we are. Our social order is oozing with arrogant self importance, so much so that we felt justified killing millions of Indians and African people, and we are still killing for our own greed.
     One must respect all forms of living things before nature opens her secrets to us. We have no right to rape, violate or manipulate what the Great Spirit has made!

Complaining and Self Pity

     This is one of the greatest energy wasters we have; we create our own environmental, health or psychological and relationship problems, then we complain about our state of affairs. We create cancer, mental diseases, religious sexual manipulation, government corruption, obesity, etc., yet we blame someone else for it, or life itself.
     Personal responsibility means we own the messes we make, realize our mistakes and weaknesses, and ruthlessly work to eradicate our problems, with no excuses. This brings enormous energy and personal power. There is no try, we either do or do not!

Hero

     Warriors don’t interfere with others’ lives and don’t play hero. This is just another face of self importance, pandering to a sick social order. We are not here to “save” anyone, were lucky if we can bring our own lives into balance. That would be an enormous feat. Let’s stop playing “savior” or John Wayne hero, and focus on our own lives.

Strategy

     A warrior is always building a strategy in one form or another towards personal impeccability, a life without chaos or drama, towards maximum energetic vitality and union with the spirit.
     If something isn’t working or there’s a problem, forget guilt and self pity and instead build a strategy to work it out. Take all the energy away from victimhood, self importance, and self pity and put it directly into strategy. This is where warriors get energy!

Cut the Fat

     Warriors cut the fat from their lives piece by piece, whether its obesity, clutter, too much thinking, too much work, or bad relationships. Cut the fat, cut loose what weighs you down and robs your energy. Lighten up, straighten up, and fly high.

Physical: Sexual Energy

     Your sexual energy is pivotal for inner psychic and spiritual growth. It is not a matter of guilt or repression as ridiculous religions propose, nor is it a game of recreational excess as other cultures imply. Preserving sexual energy and using it wisely is of utmost importance to directing energy and using it for dreaming and “seeing.” Be careful where and with whom you share this energy. Conserve, circulate and wisely direct this potent energy; it is the very life force itself.

Physical: The Body

     Our bodies are the vehicle for energetic alchemy, sorcery, dreaming, and as intuitive antennas. It is imperative as a Toltec Warrior to stay healthy, strong and in shape. Sorcery and seeing are not in the mind, they are in the body. One must have endurance and stamina. Obesity, excessive drug use, laziness, stress, and indulgence do not jibe with the life of a warrior.

Luminous Body: Aura

     The aura is our true self, not our personal histories. It is important to meditate daily, spend time in nature, do Tai Chi (martial arts), and absorb the sun’s energy as well as the moon’s. This restores, enhances and balances our personal field of energy and wards off astral parasites, illness, and negative psychic attacks from others. A healthy aura is absolutely necessary in Toltec work; our Luminous Body is our true self.

Predatorial Universe

Many religions preach a fluffy, fantasy driven cosmology of a beautiful universe controlled by “God,” and in a battle between “good” and “bad,” right and wrong. This delusional pathology has created a rose colored view of life, with beautified mythologies and false messiahs, yet it also drives the shadow world of serial killers, rapists, Satanists, child molestation, and genocide.
     To Toltecs, the universe is a mysterious collective field of energetic systems and layers. Within this mysterious system of inner collectiveness is a predatorial element of checks and balances. Everything eats and hunts, and everything is eaten and hunted, including humans!
     This means that nature is the face of “God” or the great spirit. As warriors, we need to study our relations in nature to know how to live in balance: Hunt what you need, never take in excess. Never kill for “sport,” protect your family, protect yourself, and respect nature’s power.
     Access what the spirit wants through the signs and omens disclosed to us by nature. Power is always giving us directives, only our self importance thinks it is in control. Our egos are stupid, spirit knows the true way.
     The universe is a beautiful and benevolent place, but it will crush us if we are weak, out of balance or violating nature’s laws. As warriors, we stand up with the courage to face the many tests, challenges and lessons of life. To pass these tests, we get smarter, stronger ... and one step closer to our encounter with power.

Some exercises for warriorship, Toltec style
     1. Exercise daily, keep your body strong.
     2. Pick two days, and don’t complain once. Only focus on solutions and strategy.
     3. Pick two days, and don’t defend your position or beliefs at all.
     4. Stop viewing yourself as a victim worthy of pity.
     5. Be solution focused, not problem focused.
     6. Try to refocus some of your sexual energy on being productive, and enhancing your own strengths productive, and enhancing your own strengths, physical stamina and luminous field of energy. Fuel your own talents with this energy!
     7. Remove all matter of clutter in your life. Cut the fat.
     8. Try not to look at the universe as good and bad, yet as a living challenge to be met and grow strong from. Were her to learn from and witness this massive intelligent, mysterious universe.

Remember, never give up, don’t lay down to your weaknesses. The universe (that’s us) wants us to flourish, be strong and grow. So let us be warriors and go with that flow. There is no time for complaining, self pity and arrogance. When in doubt, look up at the billons of stars in the night sky. This teaches us about humility and the massive power of spirit we belong to. This power wants us to thrive.

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