Version 2007.11.06

## "Encounters With The Nagual" - ©2004 by Armando Torres
Part II. Warriors' Dialogue

### To Know Oneself

The conversation turned to the tendency that human beings have of behaving in imitative ways; something that he categorized as 'the behavior of primates."

"Our great opportunity and at the same time our great anxiety, is an abyss of silent knowledge which is still inside each one of us. Below the noise of the mind, we all have the sensation that there is something indefinite; something that makes us grab anything which will alleviate this pressure of the unknown. Frequently, that feeling takes us to fanaticism, and there are always those willing to profit from other people's faith."

"Are all teachers frauds, then?"

"What I have seen is that most of them are as asleep as their followers, but they have learned how to hide it. Imagine a planet where all the residents are blind; among them circulates the myth that it is possible to see, but no one has verified it. One day someone arrives and says: 'I can see!' What can they do? Either believe or not believe, and there will always be some who hope. It doesn't matter if the teacher is also blind; it's very easy for him to take advantage of the situation.

"The Eagle doesn't demand that you revere it, only that you fill yourself with awareness. To fall on your knees before the unknown is totally useless, but to do it before another human being is the pinnacle of idiocy.

"The ape that we have inside yearns to have someone to guide him: He needs to believe that there are superior entities who can magically solve his problems. As children, we are always hoping that somebody will show up and take care of the situation. From this, cults are born that, in essence, are ways of leaving the responsibility for one's own growth in other people's hands.

"We have been deceived. We have been told that we are special because we are rational, but that is not true. The human being wants desperately to obey, and dies from fear when his valuable beliefs are removed. We are like the fish that clean fish tanks, always with the mouth open, devouring any debris that is thrown to us. Meanwhile, we ignore the source of life and knowledge that we have inside.

"I am going to tell you a very old and well-known, but always new story. The gods were wondering where to hide wisdom, to get it out of man's reach. In the mountains? He would climb them. In the ocean? He would find it. Space, the moon and stars were equally discarded; some day they would be explored. Finally, the gods came to the conclusion that the best place to hide it was inside man, because that's one place he will never look for it.

"And what did man do? Instead of examining himself with total honesty, he looked for a teacher.

"To become responsible for one's own existence is an anomaly; a violation of laws; a state of passion out of the ordinary; a fight that demands your entire life. It is the only procedure that will renew our energy. I don't know if you will be able to understand this detail: To know yourself is an intent of warriors. Nobody can intend it for you!"