Foreword
1. The Manifestations Of The Spirit: The First Abstract Core
2. The Impeccability Of The Nagual Elias
3. The Knock Of The Spirit: The Abstract
4. The Last Seduction Of Nagual Julian
5. The Trickery Of The Spirit: Dusting The Link With The Spirit
6. The Four Moods Of Stalking
7. The Descent Of The Spirit: Seeing The Spirit
8. The Somersault Of Thought
9. Moving The Assemblage Point
10. The Place Of No Pity
11. The Requirements Of Intent: Breaking The Mirror Of Self-Reflection
12. The Ticket To Impeccability
13. Handling Intent: The Third Point
14. The Two One-Way Bridges
15. Intending Appearances


My books are a true account of a teaching method that don Juan Matus, a Mexican Indian sorcerer, used in order to help me understand the sorcerers' world. In this sense, my books are the account of an on-going process, which becomes more clear to me as time goes by. It takes years of training to teach us to deal intelligently with the world of everyday life. Our schooling - whether in plain reasoning or formal topics - is rigorous, because the knowledge we are trying to impart is very complex. The same criteria apply to the sorcerers' world: their schooling, which relies on oral instruction and the manipulation of awareness, although different from ours, is just as rigorous, because their knowledge is as, or perhaps more, complex.




At various times don Juan attempted to name his knowledge for my benefit. He felt that the most appropriate name was nagualism, but that the term was too obscure. Calling it simply "knowledge" made it too vague, and to call it "witchcraft" was debasing. "The mastery of intent" was too abstract, and "the search for total freedom" too long and metaphorical. Finally, because he was unable to find a more appropriate name, he called it "sorcery," although he admitted it was not really accurate. Over the years, he had given me different definitions of sorcery, but he had always maintained that definitions change as knowledge increases. Toward the end of my apprenticeship, I felt I was in a position to appreciate a clearer definition, so I asked him once more.
"From where the average man stands," don Juan said, "sorcery is nonsense or an ominous mystery beyond his reach. And he is right - not because this is an absolute fact, but because the average man lacks the energy to deal with sorcery." He stopped for a moment before he continued. "Human beings are born with a finite amount of energy," don Juan said, "an energy that is systematically deployed, beginning at the moment of birth, in order that it may be used most  advantageously by the modality of the time."
"What do you mean by the modality of the time?" I asked.
"The modality of the time is the precise bundle of energy fields being perceived," he answered. "I believe man's perception has changed through the ages. The actual time decides the mode; the time decides which precise bundle of energy fields, out of an incalculable number, are to be used. And handling the modality of the time - those few, selected energy fields - takes all our available energy, leaving us nothing, that would help us use any of the other energy fields."
He urged me with a subtle movement of his eyebrows to consider all this. "This is what I mean when I say, that the average man lacks the energy, needed to deal with sorcery," he went on. "If he uses only the energy he has, he can't perceive the worlds sorcerers do. To perceive them, sorcerers need to use a cluster of energy fields not ordinarily used. Naturally, if the average man is to perceive those worlds and understand sorcerers' perception, he must use the same cluster they have used. And this is just not possible, because all his energy is already deployed." He paused as if searching for the appropriate words to make his point:
"Think of it this way," he proceeded. "It isn't that as time goes by you're learning sorcery; rather, what you're learning is to save energy. And this energy will enable you to handle some of the energy fields, which are inaccessible to you now. And that is sorcery: the ability to use energy fields, that are not employed in perceiving the ordinary world we know. Sorcery is a State of Awareness. Sorcery is the ability to perceive something, which ordinary perception cannot. Everything I've put you through," don Juan went on, "each of the things, I've shown you, was only a device to convince you, that there's more to us, than meets the eye. We don't need anyone to teach us sorcery, because there is really nothing to learn. What we need is a teacher to convince us, that there is incalculable power at our fingertips. What a strange paradox! Every warrior on the path of knowledge thinks, at one time or another, that he's learning sorcery, but all he's doing is allowing himself to be convinced of the Power hidden in his being, and that he can reach it."
"Is that what you're doing, don Juan - convincing me?"
"Exactly. I'm trying to convince you, that you can reach that power. I went through the same thing. And I was as hard to convince, as you are."
"Once we have reached it, what exactly do we do with it, don Juan?"
"Nothing. Once we have reached it, it will, by itself, make use of Energy Fields, which are available to us, but inaccessible. And that, as I have said, is sorcery.
We begin then to see - that is, to perceive - something else; not as imagination, but as real and concrete. And then we begin to know without having to use words. And what any of us does with that increased perception, with that silent knowledge, depends on our own temperament."
On another occasion, he gave me another kind of explanation. We were discussing an unrelated topic when he abruptly changed the subject and began to tell me a joke. He laughed and, very gently, patted my back between the shoulder blades, as if he were shy and it was too forward of him to touch me. He chuckled at my nervous reaction.
"You're skittish (shy, nervous)," he said teasingly, and slapped my back with greater force. My ears buzzed. For an instant I lost my breath. It felt as though he had hurt my lungs. Every breath brought me great discomfort. Yet, after I had coughed and choked a few times, my nasal passages opened and I found myself taking deep, soothing breaths. I had such a feeling of wellbeing, that I was not even annoyed at him for his blow, which had been hard as well, as unexpected. Then don Juan began a most remarkable explanation. Clearly and concisely, he gave me a different and more precise definition of sorcery. I had entered into a wondrous state of awareness! I had such clarity of mind, that I was able to comprehend and assimilate everything don Juan was saying. He said, that in the Universe there is an unmeasurable, indescribable Force, which sorcerers call Intent (Law of Intent), and that absolutely everything, that exists in the entire Cosmos is attached to Intent by a connecting link. Sorcerers, or warriors, as he called them, were concerned with discussing, understanding, and employing that connecting link. They were especially concerned with cleaning it of the numbing effects brought about by the ordinary concerns of their everyday lives. Sorcery at this level could be defined as the procedure of cleaning one's connecting link to Intent. Don Juan stressed, that this "cleaning procedure" was extremely difficult to understand, or to learn to perform. Sorcerers, therefore, divided their instruction into two categories. One was instruction for the everyday-life state of awareness, in which the cleaning process was presented in a disguised fashion. The other was instruction for the states of heightened awareness, such as the one I was presently experiencing, in which sorcerers obtained knowledge directly from intent, without the distracting intervention of spoken language. Don Juan explained, that by using heightened awareness over thousands of years of painful struggle, sorcerers had gained specific insights into Intent; and that they had passed these nuggets of direct Knowledge on from generation to generation to the present. He said, that the task of Sorcery is to take this seemingly incomprehensible Knowledge and make it understandable by the standards of Awareness of everyday life.
(НАГУАЛ ИМЕЕТ 4 ОТДЕЛЕНИЯ В СВОЁМ СВЕТЯЩЕМСЯ ШАРЕ, ЧТО ОЗНАЧАЕТ 4 СВЕТЯЩИХСЯ СФЕР, СОЕДИНЁННЫХ ВМЕСТЕ В ОДНОМ ЧЕЛОВЕКЕ ! ЛМ) .
Then he explained the role of the guide in the lives of sorcerers. He said, that a guide is called "the Nagual," and that the Nagual is a Man or a Woman with  extraordinary energy, a Teacher, who has sobriety, endurance, stability; someone Seers see as a Luminous Sphere, having four compartments, as if four Luminous Balls have been compressed together. Because of their extraordinary energy, Naguals are intermediaries. Their energy allows them to channel Peace, Harmony, Laughter, and Knowledge directly from the Source, from Intent, and transmit them to their companions. Naguals are responsible for supplying, what sorcerers call
"the minimal chance": the Awareness of one's connection with Intent.

I told him, that my mind was grasping everything he was telling me, that the only part of his explanation still unclear to me was: why two sets of teachings were needed. I could understand everything he was saying about his world easily, and yet he had described the process of understanding as very difficult.
"You will need a lifetime to remember the insights you've had today," he said, "because most of them were silent knowledge. A few moments from now you will  have forgotten them. That's one of the unfathomable mysteries of awareness." Don Juan then made me shift levels of consciousness by striking me on my left side, at the edge of my ribcage. Instantly I lost my extraordinary clarity of mind and could not remember having ever had it. Don Juan himself set me the task of writing  about the premises of sorcery. Once, very casually in the early stages of my apprenticeship, he suggested, that I write a book in order to make use of the notes I had always taken. I had accumulated reams of notes and never considered what to do with them. I argued, that the suggestion was absurd, because I was not a writer.
"Of course, you're not a writer," he said, "so you will have to use sorcery. First, you must visualize your experiences, as if you were reliving them, and then you must see the text in your dreaming. For you, writing should not be a literary exercise, but rather an exercise in sorcery."
I have written in that manner about the premises of sorcery just as don Juan explained them to me, within the context of his teaching. In his teaching scheme, which was developed by sorcerers of ancient times, there were two categories of instruction. One was called "Teachings for the Right Side," carried out in the ordinary  state of awareness. The other was called "Teachings for the Left Side," put into practice solely in states of Heightened Awareness. These two categories allowed Teachers to school their apprentices toward three areas of expertise: the Mastery of Awareness, the Art of Stalking, and the Mastery of Intent.
These three areas of expertise are the three riddles (enigma) sorcerers encounter in their search for Knowledge. The Mastery of Awareness is the riddle of the Mind; the perplexity (bewilderment) sorcerers experience, when they recognize the astounding mystery and scope of Awareness and Perception. The Art of Stalking is the riddle of the heart; the puzzlement Sorcerers feel upon becoming aware of two things: first, that the world appears to us to be unalterably objective and factual, because of peculiarities of our awareness and perception; second, that if different peculiarities of perception come into play, the very things about the world, that seem so unalterably objective and factual, change. The Mastery of Intent is the Riddle (enigma, puzzle) of the Spirit, or the Paradox of the Abstract Sorcerers'  Thoughts and Actions, projected beyond our human condition. Don Juan's instruction on the Art of Stalking and the Mastery of Intent depended upon his instruction on the Mastery of Awareness, which was the cornerstone of his teachings, and which consist of the following basic premises:

1. The Universe is an infinite agglomeration (collection, forming a round mass) of Energy Fields, resembling Threads of Light.

2. These Energy Fields radiate from a Source of inconceivable proportions - (Threads of Sun Energy of Balance, coming from the Source of All Suns through Emitter and forming Mind-Field in the Universe. When Universe completes its Life, these Threads would no longer be transmited from the Source! LM).

3. Human Beings are also composed of an Incalculable Number of the same Threadlike Energy Fields. These Threads form an encased agglomeration, that manifests itself as a Ball of Light the size of the person's body with the arms extended laterally, like a Giant Luminous Egg.

4. Only a very Small Group of these Energy Fields inside this Luminous Ball are lit up by a Point of Intense Brilliance (POINT OF OUR PERCEPTION, LM), located on the Ball's surface.

5. Perception occurs when the Energy Fields in that small sphere, immediately surrounding the Point of Brilliance, extend their Light to illuminate identical Energy Fields outside this smaller sphere. Since the only Energy Fields perceivable are those, lit by the Point of Brilliance, that Point is named "the point, where perception is assembled" or simply "the assemblage point."

6. The assemblage point can be moved from its usual position on the surface of the Luminous Ball to another position on the surface, or into the interior. Since the brilliance of Spirit can light up whatever Energy Field it comes in contact with, when it moves to a new position it immediately brightens up new Energy Fields,  making them perceivable. This perception is known as Seeing.

7. When Spirit (the assemblage point) shifts, it makes possible the perception of an entirely different World - as objective and factual, as the one we normally perceive. Sorcerers go into that other World to get Energy, Power, Solutions to general and particular problems, or to face the unimaginable.

8. Intent is the pervasive (permeate) Force, that causes us to perceive. We do not become aware, because we perceive; rather, we perceive as a result of the Pressure and Intrusion of Intent.

9. The Aim of Sorcerers is to reach a State of Total Awareness, in order to experience all the possibilities of perception, available to human. This State of Awareness even implies an alternative way of dying.

A level of practical Knowledge was included as part of teaching the Mastery of Awareness. On that practical level don Juan taught the procedures necessary to move the Spirit (assemblage point). The two great systems devised by the sorcerer seers of ancient times to accomplish this were: Dreaming, the Control and Utilization of Dreams; and Stalking, the Control of Behavior.  Moving one's Spirit (assemblage point) was an essential maneuver, that every Sorcerer had to learn. Some of them, the Naguals, also learned to perform it for others. They were able to dislodge the Spirit from its customary position by delivering a hard slap directly to the Spirit.
This blow, which was experienced as a smack on the right shoulder blade - although the body was never touched - resulted in a State of Heightened Awareness.
In compliance with his tradition, it was exclusively in these States of Heightened Awareness, that don Juan carried out the most important and dramatic part of his teachings: the instructions for the Left Side. Because of the Extraordinary quality of these States, don Juan demanded, that I do not discuss them with others, until we had concluded everything in the Sorcerers' Teaching Scheme. That demand was not difficult for me to accept. In those unique states of awareness my capabilities for understanding the instruction were unbelievably enhanced, but at the same time my capabilities for describing or even remembering it were impaired. I could function in those States with proficiency and assuredness, but I could not recollect anything about them once I returned to my normal consciousness. It took me years to be able to make the crucial conversion of my enhanced Awareness into plain memory. My reason and common sense delayed this moment, because they were colliding head-on with the preposterous, unthinkable reality of Heightened Awareness and direct Knowledge. For years the resulting cognitive disarrangement forced me to avoid the issue by not thinking about it. Whatever I have written about my Sorcery Apprenticeship, up to now, has been a recounting of how don Juan taught me the Mastery of Awareness. I have not yet described the Art of Stalking or the Mastery of Intent. Don Juan taught me their principles and applications with the help of two of his companions: a Sorcerer named Vicente Medrano and another named Silvio Manuel, but whatever I learned from them still remains clouded in what Don Juan called the intricacies of Heightened Awareness. Until now it has been impossible for me to write or even to think coherently about the Art of Stalking and the Mastery of Intent. My mistake has been to regard them as subjects for normal memory and recollection. They are, but at the mime time they are not.(?) In order to resolve this contradiction, I have not pursued the subjects directly - a virtual impossibility - but have dealt with them  indirectly through the concluding topic of don Juan's instruction: the stories of the Sorcerers of the Past. He recounted these stories to make evident, what he called the abstract cores of his lessons. But I was incapable of grasping the nature of the abstract cores despite his comprehensive explanations, which, I know now, were intended more to open my Mind, than to explain anything in a rational manner. His way of talking made me believe for many years, that his explanations of the abstract cores were like academic dissertations; and all I was able to do, under these circumstances, was to take his explanations as given. They became part of my tacit acceptance of his teachings, but without the thorough assessment on my part, that was essential to understanding them. Don Juan presented three sets of six Abstract Cores, each arranged in an increasing level of complexity. I have dealt here with the first set, which is composed of the following :
the Manifestations of the Spirit, the Knock of the Spirit, the Trickery of the Spirit, the Descent of the Spirit, the Requirements of Intent, and Handling Intent.

1
The First Abstract Core
Don Juan, whenever it was pertinent, used to tell me brief stories about the sorcerers of his lineage, especially his teacher, the nagual Julian. They were not really stories, but rather descriptions of the way those sorcerers behaved and of aspects of their personalities. These accounts were each designed to shed light on a specific topic in my apprenticeship. I had heard the same stories from the other fifteen members of don Juan's group of sorcerers, but none of these accounts had been able to give me a clear picture of the people they described. Since I had no way of persuading don Juan to give me more details about those Sorcerers, I had resigned myself to the idea of never knowing about them in any depth. One afternoon, in the mountains of southern Mexico, don Juan, after having explained to me more about the intricacies of the Mastery of Awareness, made a statement, that completely baffled me.


2
"I think it's time for us to talk about the Sorcerers of our Past," he said. Don Juan explained, that it was necessary, that I begin drawing conclusions based on a  systematic view of the Past, conclusions about both the World of daily affairs and the Sorcerers' World. "Sorcerers are vitally concerned with their Past," he said.  "But I don't mean their personal Past. For Sorcerers their past is what other Sorcerers in bygone days have done. And what we are now going to do is examine that Past. The Average Man also examines the Past. But it's mostly his personal Past he examines, and he does so for personal reasons. Sorcerers do quite the opposite; they consult their Past in order to obtain a Point of Reference."
"But isn't that what everyone does? Look at the Past to get a Point of Reference?"
"No!" he answered emphatically. "The Average Man measures himself against the Past, whether his personal Past or the Past Knowledge of his time, in order to find justifications for his present or future behavior, or to establish a model for himself. Only Sorcerers genuinely seek a Point of Reference in their Past."
"Perhaps, don Juan, things would be clear to me if you tell me what a Point of Reference for a Sorcerer is."
"For Sorcerers, establishing a Point of Reference means getting a chance to examine Intent" he replied. "Which is exactly the aim of this final topic of instruction.  And nothing can give Sorcerers a better view of Intent, than examining stories of other Sorcerers, battling to understand the same Force." He explained, that as they examined their Past, the Sorcerers of his Lineage took careful notice of the basic Abstract Order of their Knowledge. In Sorcery there are twenty-one Abstract Cores (roots, essence)," don Juan went on.
3
"And then, based on those Abstract Cores, there are scores of Sorcery Stories about the Naguals of our Lineage, battling to understand the Spirit. It's time to tell you the Abstract Cores and the Sorcery Stories."
I waited for don Juan to begin telling me the stories, but he changed the subject and went back to explaining Awareness. "Wait a minute," I protested. "What about the Sorcery Stories? Aren't you going to tell them to me?"
"Of course I am," he said. "But they are not stories, that one can tell as if they were tales. You've got to think your way through them and then rethink them - relive them, so to speak."
There was a long silence. I became very cautious and was afraid, that if I persisted in asking him again to tell me the stories, I could be committing myself to something I might later regret. But my Curiosity was greater, than my good sense: "Well, let's get on with them," I croaked (grumble, utter hoarse sound).
Don Juan, obviously catching the gist (central idea, essence) of my thoughts, smiled maliciously. He stood and signaled me to follow. We had been sitting on some dry rocks at the bottom of a gully. It was mid-afternoon. The sky was dark and cloudy. Low, almost black rain clouds hovered above the peaks to the east. In compa-
rison, the high clouds made the sky seem clear to the south. Earlier it had rained heavily, but then the rain seemed to have retreated to a hiding place, leaving behind only a threat. I should have been chilled to the bone, for it was very cold. But I was warm. As I clutched a rock don Juan had given me to hold, I realized, that this sensation of being warm in nearly freezing weather was familiar to me, yet it amazed me each time. Whenever I seemed about to freeze, don Juan would give me a branch to hold, or a stone, or he would put a bunch of leaves under my shirt, on the tip of my sternum, and that would be sufficient to raise my body temperature.
4
I had tried unsuccessfully to recreate, by myself, the effect of his ministrations (act of serving or aiding to warm me up). He told me it was not the ministrations, but his Inner Silence, that kept me warm, and the branches or stones or leaves were merely devices to trap my attention and maintain it in focus. Moving quickly, we climbed the steep west side of a mountain, until we reached a rock ledge at the very top. We were in the foothills of a higher range of mountains. From the rock ledge I could see, that fog had begun to move onto the south end of the valley floor below us. Low, wispy clouds seemed to be closing in on us, too, sliding down from the black-
green, high mountain peaks to the west. After the rain, under the dark cloudy sky the valley and the mountains to the east and south appeared covered in a mantle of black-green silence.
"This is the ideal place to have a talk," don Juan said, sitting on the rock floor of a concealed shallow cave. The cave was perfect for the two of us to sit side by side. Our heads were nearly touching the roof and our backs fitted snugly against the curved surface of the rock wall. It was as if the cave had been carved deliberately to accommodate two persons of our size. I noticed another strange feature of the cave: when I stood on the ledge, I could see the entire valley and the mountain ranges to the east and south, but when I sat down, I was boxed in by the rocks. Yet the ledge was at the level of the cave floor, and flat. I was about to point this strange effect out to don Juan, but he anticipated (sense, foresee) me.
"This cave is man-made," he said. "The ledge is slanted (oblique, sloping direction), but the eye doesn't register the incline."
"Who made this cave, don Juan?"
5
"The Ancient Sorcerers. Perhaps thousands of years ago. And one of the peculiarities of this cave is that animals and insects and even people stay away from it.
The Ancient Sorcerers seem to have infused it with an ominous (menacing, threatening) charge, that makes every living thing feel ill at ease (quickly, naturally)."
But strangely I felt irrationally secure and happy there. A sensation of physical contentment made my entire body tingle. I actually felt the most agreeable, the most delectable, sensation in my stomach. It was as if my nerves were being tickled.
"I don't feel ill at ease," I commented.
"Neither do I," he said. "Which only means, that you and I aren't that far temperamentally from those Old Sorcerers of the Past; something, which worries me to no end."
I was afraid to pursue that subject any further, so I waited for him to talk.
"The first Sorcery Story I am going to tell you is called "The Manifestations of the Spirit"," don Juan began, "but don't let the title mystify you. "The Manifestations of the Spirit" is only the first Abstract Core , around which the first Sorcery Story is built. That first Abstract Core is a story in itself," he went on. "The story says, that once upon a time there was a man, an Average Man without any special attributes. He was, like everyone else, a Conduit (Channel) for the Spirit. And by virtue (quality of moral excellence, goodness) of that, like everyone else, he was part of the Spirit, part of the Abstract (not concrete, practical, not based on 3D World).
But he didn't know it. The World kept him so busy, that he had neither the time, nor the inclination really to examine the matter. The Spirit tried, uselessly, to reveal their connection. Using an inner voice, the Spirit disclosed (uncover, divulge) its secrets, but the man was incapable of understanding the revelations. Naturally, he heard the Inner Voice, but he believed it to be his own feelings, he was feeling and his own thoughts he was thinking.
6
The Spirit, in order to shake him out of his slumber, gave him three Signs, three successive Manifestations. The Spirit physically crossed the man's path in the most obvious manner. But the man was oblivious to anything, but his Self-Concern." Don Juan stopped and looked at me, as he did whenever he was waiting for my comments and questions. I had nothing to say. I did not understand the point, he was trying to make. "I've just told you the first Abstract Core," he continued.
"The only other thing I could add is that, because of the man's absolute unwillingness to understand, the Spirit was forced to use Trickery. And Trickery became the Essence of the Sorcerers' Path. But that is another story."
Don Juan explained, that Sorcerers understood this Abstract Core to be a Blueprint (carefully designed plan) for events, or for a recurrent pattern, that appeared  every time Intent was giving an indication of something meaningful.  Abstract Cores, then, were Blueprints of Complete Chains of events. He assured me, that by  means beyond comprehension, every detail of every  Abstract Core, reoccurred to every Apprentice-Nagual. He further assured me, that he had helped Intent to involve me in all the Abstract Cores of Sorcery in the same manner, that his benefactor, the Nagual Julian and all the Naguals before him, had involved their apprentices in. The process, by which each Apprentice-Nagual encountered the Abstract Cores, created a series of accounts (written/oral narrations or descriptions), woven around those  Abstract Cores , incorporating the particular details of each apprentice's personality and circumstances. He said, for example, that I had my own story about "The Manifestations of the Spirit", he had his, his Benefactor had his own, so had the Nagual, that preceded him, and so on, and so forth.
7-8
"What is my story about the Manifestations of the Spirit?" I asked, somewhat mystified.
"If any Warrior is aware of his stories it's you," he replied. "After all, you've been writing about them for years. But you didn't notice Abstract Cores , because you are a practical man. You do everything only for the purpose of enhancing your practicality. Although you handled your stories to exhaustion, you had no idea, that there was Abstract Core in them. Everything I've done appears to you, therefore, as an often-whimsical (playful, capricious) practical activity: Teaching Sorcery to a reluctant and, most of the time, stupid, apprentice. As long, as you see it in those terms, the Abstract Cores  will elude (escape from, avoid) you."
"You must forgive me, don Juan," I said, "but your statements are very confusing. What are you saying?"
"I'm trying to introduce the Sorcery Stories as a subject," he replied. "I've never talked to you specifically about this topic, because traditionally it's left hidden.
It is the Spirit's last artifice (Trickery). It is said, that when the apprentice understands the Abstract Cores , it's like the placing of the stone, that caps and seals a Pyramid." It was getting dark and it looked as though it was about to rain again. I worried, that if the wind blew from east to west, while it was raining, we were going to get  soaked in that cave. I was sure don Juan was aware of that, but he seemed to ignore it. "It won't rain again until tomorrow morning," he said. Hearing my inner thoughts being answered, made me jump involuntarily and hit the top of my head on the cave roof. It was a thud (dull sound of fall or blow), that sounded worse, than
it felt. Don Juan held his sides laughing. After a while my head really began to hurt and I had to massage it. "Your company is as enjoyable to me, as mine must have been to my Benefactor," he said and began to laugh again. We were quiet for a few minutes. The silence around me was ominous (menacing). I fancied, that I could hear the rustling of the low clouds, as they descended on us from the higher mountains. Then I realized, that what I was hearing was the soft wind. From my position in the shallow cave, it sounded like the whispering of human voices. "I had the incredible good luck to be taught by two Naguals," don Juan said and broke the mesmeric grip the wind had on me at that moment. "One was, of course, my Benefactor, the Nagual Julian, and the other was his Benefactor, the Nagual Elias.
My case was unique."
"Why was your case unique?" I asked.
"Because for generations Naguals have gathered their apprentices years after their own Teachers have left the World," he explained. "Except my Benefactor.
I became the Nagual Julian's Apprentice eight years before his Benefactor left the World. I had eight years' Grace. It was the luckiest thing, that could have happened to me, for I had the opportunity to be taught by two opposite temperaments. It was like being reared by a powerful father and an even more powerful grandfather,
who don't see eye to eye. In such a contest, the grandfather always wins. So I'm properly the product of the Nagual Elias's Teachings. I was closer to him not only in temperament, but also in looks. I'd say, that I owe him my Fine Tuning. However, the bulk of the work, that went into Tuning me from a miserable Being into an impeccable Warrior, I owe to my Benefactor, the Nagual Julian."
9
"What was the Nagual Julian like physically?" I asked.
"Do you know, that to this day it's hard for me to visualize him?" I know, that sounds absurd, but depending on his needs or the circumstances, he could be either  young or old, handsome or homely, effete (exhausted of force and vitality) and weak or strong and virile (male strength and vigour), fat or slender, of medium height  or extremely short," don Juan said.
"Do you mean he was an actor acting out different roles with the aid of props?"
"No, there were no props involved and he was not merely an actor. He was, of course, a great actor in his own right, but that is different. The point is, that he was capable of transforming himself and becoming all those, diametrically opposed, persons. Being a great actor, enabled him to portray all the minute peculiarities of behavior, that made each specific Human Being - real. Let us say, that he was at ease (quick) in every change of being. As you are at ease in every change of  clothes." Eagerly, I asked don Juan to tell me more about his Benefactor's Transformations. He said, that someone taught him how to elicit (draw out, evoke) those Transformations, but that, to explain any further, would force him to overlap into different stories.
"What did the Nagual Julian look like, when he wasn't transforming himself?" I asked.
"Let's say, that before he (Julian) became a Nagual, he was very slim and muscular," don Juan said. "His hair was black, thick, and wavy. He had a long, fine nose,  strong big white teeth, an oval face, strong jaw, and shiny dark-brown eyes. He was about five feet eight inches tall. He was not Indian or even a Brown Mexican, but he was not Anglo White either. In fact, his complexion seemed to be like no one else's, especially in his later years, when his ever-changing complexion shifted  constantly from dark to very light and back again to dark. When I first met him he was a light-brown old man, then as time went by, he became a light-skinned young man, perhaps only a few years older than me. I was twenty at that time.


10
But if the changes of his Outer Appearance were astonishing," don Juan went on, "the changes of mood and behavior, that accompanied each Transformation, were even more astonishing. For example, when he was a fat young man, he was jolly and sensual. When he was a skinny old man, he was petty and vindictive (bitter, spiteful, revengeful). When he was a fat old man, he was the greatest imbecile there was."
"Was he ever himself?" I asked.
"Not the way I am myself," he replied. "Since I'm not interested in Transformation, I am always the same. But he was not like me at all."
Don Juan looked at me, as if he were assessing my inner strength. He smiled, shook his head from side to side and broke into a belly laugh.
"What's so funny, don Juan?" I asked.
"The fact is, that you're still too prudish (excessive in morality) and stiff to appreciate fully the nature of my Benefactor's Transformations and their Total Scope,"
he said. "I only hope, that when I tell you about them you don't become morbidly (infectiously) obsessed." For some reason I suddenly became quite uncomfortable and had to change the subject. "Why are the Naguals called 'Benefactors' and not simply Teachers?" I asked nervously.
"Calling a Nagual a Benefactor is a gesture his apprentices make," don Juan said. "A Nagual creates an Overwhelming Feeling of Gratitude in his disciples. After all, a Nagual molds them and guides them through unimaginable areas." I remarked, that to teach was in my opinion the greatest, most altruistic act anyone could perform for another. "For you, teaching is talking about patterns," he said. "For a Sorcerer, to teach is what a Nagual does for his apprentices. For them he taps the Prevailing (dominant) Force in the Universe : Intent - the Force , that changes and reorders things or keeps them as they are.
11
The Nagual formulates, then guides the consequences, that that  Force can have on his disciples. Without  the Nagual's Molding Intent  there would be no Awe (Great Admiration of Power), no Wonder for them. And his apprentices, instead of embarking (set out on a venture), on a Magical Journey of Discovery, would only be  learning a trade: healer, sorcerer, diviner, charlatan, or whatever."
"Can you explain  Intent  to me?" I asked.
"The only way to know Intent" he replied, "is to know it directly through a living connection, that exists between  Intent  and All Sentient Beings (Conscious Beings). Sorcerers call  Intent  -  the Indescribable, the Spirit , the Abstract , the Nagual , I would prefer to call it Nagual, but it overlaps with the name for the Leader, the  Benefactor, who is also called Nagual, so I have opted (to make a choice) for calling IT :  the Spirit   Intent   Abstract ."
Don Juan stopped abruptly and recommended, that I keep quiet and think about what he had told me. By then it was very dark. The silence was so profound, that instead of lulling (soothing) me into a restful state, it agitated me. I could not maintain order in my thoughts. I tried to focus my attention on the story he had told me, but instead I thought of everything else, until finally I fell asleep. I had no way of telling how long I slept in that cave. Don Juan's voice startled me and I awoke. 


12-13
He was saying, that the first Sorcery Story, concerning  the Manifestations of the Spirit  was an account of the Relationship between Intent  and  the Nagual . It was the Story of how  the Spirit  sets up a lure (a bite) for the Nagual , a Prospective Disciple, and of how  the Nagual  had to evaluate the lure, before making his decision either to accept or reject it.
It was very dark in the cave, and the small space was confining. Ordinarily an area of that size would have made me claustrophobic, but the cave kept soothing me, dispelling my feelings of annoyance. Also, something in the configuration of the cave absorbed the echoes of don Juan's words. Don Juan explained, that every act,  performed by Sorcerers, especially by the Naguals, was either performed as a way to strengthen their Link with  Intent  or as a response, triggered by the Link itself. Sorcerers, and specifically the Naguals, therefore had to be actively and permanently on the lookout for  the Manifestations of the Spirit . Such Manifestations were called Gestures of  the Spirit  or, more simply, Indications or Omens. He repeated a story he had already told me; the story of how he had met his benefactor, the Nagual Julian. Don Juan had been cajoled (persuade by flattery, coax) by two crooked men to take a job on an isolated hacienda. One of the men, the foreman of the hacienda, simply took possession of don Juan and in effect made him a slave. Desperate and with no other course of action, don Juan escaped. The violent foreman chased him and caught him on a country road, where he shot don Juan in the chest and left him for dead. Don Juan was lying unconscious in the road, bleeding to death, when the Nagual Julian came along. Using his Healer's Knowledge, he stopped the bleeding, took don Juan, who was still unconscious, home and cured him.
The  Indications of the Spirit  gave the Nagual Julian about don Juan were, first, a small cyclone, that lifted a cone of dust on the road a couple of yards, from where
he lay. The second  Omen  was the Thought, which had crossed the Nagual Julian's mind, an instant before he had heard the sound of the gun a few yards away:
that it was time to have an Apprentice-Nagual. Moments later, the Spirit gave him the third Omen , when he ran to take cover and instead collided with the gunman, putting him to flight, perhaps preventing him from shooting don Juan a second time. A collision with someone was the type of blunder (foolish, stupid remark or act), which no Sorcerer, much less a Nagual, should ever make. The Nagual Julian immediately evaluated the opportunity. When he saw don Juan, he understood the reason for the Manifestations of the Spirit : here was a Double Man, a perfect candidate to be his Apprentice-Nagual. This brought up a nagging rational concern for me. I wanted to know, if Sorcerers could interpret an Omen erroneously. Don Juan replied, that although my question sounded perfectly legitimate, it was inapplicable, like the majority of my questions, because I asked them, based on my experiences in the World of Everyday Life. Thus they were always about tested procedures, steps to be followed, and rules of meticulousness (extremely careful, precise), but had nothing to do with the premises (Logic) of Sorcery. He pointed out, that the flaw in my reasoning was, that I always failed to include my experiences in the Sorcerers' World. I argued, that very few of my experiences in the Sorcerers' World had  continuity, and therefore I could not make use of those experiences in my present day-to-day life. Very few times, and only when I was in states of profound Heightened Awareness, had I remembered everything. At the Level of Heightened Awareness I usually reached, the only experience, that had continuity between Past and Present, was that of knowing him.
14-15
He responded cuttingly, that I was perfectly capable of engaging in Sorcerers' Reasonings, because I had experienced the Sorcery Premises (Logic) in my normal state of Awareness. In a more mellow tone he added, that Heightened Awareness did not reveal everything, until the whole edifice (elaborate structure) of Sorcery Knowledge was completed. Then he answered my question about whether or not Sorcerers could misinterpret Omens. He explained, that when a Sorcerer  interpreted an  Omen , he knew its exact meaning, without having any notion of how he knew it. This was one of the bewildering effects of the Connecting Link with Intent . Sorcerers had a Sense of Knowing things directly. How sure they were depended on the strength and clarity of their  Connecting Link . He said, that the feeling everyone knows as "Intuition" is the Activation of our Link with Intent . And, since Sorcerers deliberately pursue the understanding and strengthening of that Link, it could be said, that they intuit (to know or sense by intuition) everything unerringly (committing no mistakes) and accurately. Reading  Omens  is  commonplace for Sorcerers - mistakes happen only, when personal feelings intervene and cloud the Sorcerer's Connecting Link with Intent . Otherwise their Direct Knowledge is totally accurate and functional.
We remained quiet for a while. All of a sudden he said, "I am going to tell you a story about the Nagual Elias and the Manifestations of the Spirit . The Spirit  manifests itself to a Sorcerer, especially to a Nagual, at every turn. However, this is not the Entire Truth. The Entire Truth is, that the Spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same Intensity and Consistency, but only Sorcerers, and Naguals in particular, are attuned to such revelations."
Don Juan began his story. He said, that the Nagual Elias had been riding his horse to the city one day, taking him through a shortcut by some cornfields, when suddenly his horse shied, frightened by the low, fast sweep of a falcon, that missed the Nagual's straw hat by only a few inches. The Nagual immediately dismounted and began to look around. He saw a strange young man among the tall, dry cornstalks. The man was dressed in an expensive dark suit and appeared alien there.


The Nagual Elias was used to the sight of peasants or landowners in the fields, but he had never seen an elegantly dressed city man, moving through the fields with apparent disregard for his expensive shoes and clothes. The Nagual tethered (tie by rope) his horse and walked toward the young man. He recognized the flight of  the falcon, as well as the man's apparel (attire, clothing), as obvious Manifestations of the Spirit , which he could not disregard. He got very close to the young man  and saw what was going on. The man was chasing a peasant woman, who was running a few yards ahead of him, dodging (quickly shifting, moving) and laughing  with him. The contradiction was quite apparent to the Nagual. The two people cavorting (playful skip, hop, leap) in the cornfield did not belong together. The Nagual thought, that the man must be the landowner's son and the woman a servant in the house. He felt embarrassed to be observing them and was about to turn and  leave, when the falcon again swept over the cornfield and this time brushed the young man's head. The falcon alarmed the couple and they stopped and looked up, trying to anticipate another sweep. The nagual noticed, that the man was thin and handsome, and had haunting, restless eyes. Then the couple became bored  watching for the falcon, and returned to their play. The man caught the woman, embraced her and gently laid her on the ground.
16-17
But instead of trying to make love to her, as the Nagual assumed he would do next, he removed his own clothes and paraded naked in front of the woman. She did not shyly close her eyes or scream with embarrassment or fright. She giggled, mesmerized by the prancing (to walk or move about in a lively manner) naked man,  who moved around her like a satyr, making lewd (lustful, indecent) gestures and laughing. Finally, apparently overpowered by the sight, she uttered a wild cry, rose, and threw herself into the young man's arms. Don Juan said, that the Nagual Elias confessed to him, that the Indications of the Spirit on that occasion, had been most baffling. It was clearly evident, that the man was insane. Otherwise, knowing how protective peasants were of their women, he would not have considered seducing a young peasant woman in broad daylight a few yards from the road and naked to boot. Don Juan broke into a laugh and told me, that in those days to take off one's clothes and engage in a sexual act in broad daylight in such a place meant: one had to be either insane or blessed by the Spirit . He added, that what the man had  done might not seem remarkable nowadays. But then, nearly a hundred years ago, people were infinitely more inhibited. All of this convinced the Nagual Elias from the moment he laid eyes on the man, that he was both insane and blessed by the Spirit . He worried, that peasants might happen by, become enraged and lynch  (hanging) the man on the spot. But no one did. It felt to the Nagual, as if time had been suspended. When the man finished making love, he put on his clothes, took out a handkerchief, meticulously dusted his shoes and, all the while making wild promises to the girl, went on his way. The Nagual Elias followed him. In fact, he followed him for several days and found out, that his name was Julian and that he was an actor. Subsequently, the Nagual saw him on the stage often enough to realize, that the actor had a great deal of charisma. The audience, especially the women, loved him. And he had no scruples (regrets) about making use of his  charismatic gifts to seduce female admirers. As the Nagual followed the actor, he was able to witness his seduction technique more, than once. It entailed showing himself naked to his adoring fans as soon, as he got them alone, then waiting, until the women, stunned by his display, surrendered. The technique seemed  extremely effective for him. The Nagual had to admit,  that the actor was a great success, except on one count. He was mortally ill. The Nagual had seen the black shadow of death, that followed him everywhere. Don Juan explained again something he had told me years before - that our death was a black spot right behind the left shoulder. He said, that Sorcerers knew, when a person was close to dying, because they could see the dark spot, which became a moving shadow the exact size and shape of the person to whom it belonged. As he recognized the imminent presence of death, the Nagual was plunged into a numbing perplexity. He wondered, why the Spirit was singling out such a sick person. He had been taught, that in a natural state replacement, not repair, prevailed (widespread). And the Nagual  doubted, that he had the ability or the strength to heal this young man, or resist the black shadow of his death. He even doubted, if he would be able to discover, why the Spirit had involved him in a display of such obvious waste. The Nagual could do nothing, but stay with the actor, follow him around, and wait for the opportunity to see in greater depth. Don Juan explained, that a Nagual's first reaction, upon being faced with the manifestations of the Spirit , is to see the persons involved. The Nagual Elias had been meticulous about seeing the man the moment he laid eyes on him.
18-19
He had also seen the peasant woman, who was a part of the Spirit's Manifestation , but he had seen nothing that, in his judgment, could have warranted the Spirit's  Display . In the course of witnessing another seduction, however, the Nagual's ability to See took on a new depth. This time the actor's adoring fan was the daughter of a rich landowner. And from the start she was in complete control. The Nagual found out about their rendezvous, because he overheard her daring the actor to meet her the next day. The Nagual was hiding across the street at dawn, when the young woman left her house, and instead of going to early mass, she went to join the actor. The actor was waiting for her and she coaxed (persuade by pleading) him into following her to the open fields. He appeared to hesitate, but she taunted (mock, provoke) him and would not allow him to withdraw. As the Nagual watched them sneaking away, he had an absolute conviction, that something was going to happen on that day, which neither of the players was anticipating. He saw, that the actor's black shadow had grown to almost twice his height. The Nagual deduced from the mysterious hard look in the young woman's eyes, that she too had felt the black shadow of death at an intuitive level. The actor seemed preoccupied. He did not laugh, as he had on other occasions. They walked quite a distance. At one point, they spotted the Nagual following them, but he instantly pretended to be working the land, a peasant, who belonged there. That made the couple relax and allowed the Nagual to come closer. Then the moment came, when the actor tossed off his clothes and showed himself to the girl. But instead of swooning (becoming ecstatic) and falling into his arms, as his other conquests had, this girl began to hit him.  She kicked and punched him mercilessly and stepped on his bare toes, making him cry out with pain. The Nagual knew, the man had not threatened or harmed the young woman. He had not laid a finger on her. She was the only one fighting. He was merely trying to parry (avoid) the blows, and persistently, but without  enthusiasm, trying to entice (attract by arousing) her, showing her his genitals. The Nagual was filled with both revulsion and admiration. He could perceive, that the actor was an irredeemable libertine (incapable of being saved, one, who acts without moral or sexual restrain), but he could also perceive equally easily, that there was something unique, although revolting, about him. It baffled the Nagual to See, that the man's Connecting Link with the Spirit was extraordinarily clear. Finally the attack ended. The woman stopped beating the actor. But then, instead of running away, she surrendered, lay down and told the actor he could now have his way with her. The Nagual observed, that the man was so exhausted, he was practically unconscious. Yet, despite his fatigue he went right ahead and consummated his  seduction. The Nagual was laughing and pondering, that useless man's great stamina and determination, when the woman screamed and the actor began to gasp.  The Nagual saw how the Black Shadow struck the actor. It went like a dagger, with pinpoint accuracy into his gap. Don Juan made a digression (turn aside) at this  point to elaborate on something
he had explained before: he had described the gap, an Opening in our Luminous Shell at the height of the navel, where the Force of Death ceaselessly struck. What don Juan now explained was, that when death hit healthy Beings, it was with a ball-like blow - like the punch of a fist. But when Beings were dying, Death struck them with a dagger-like thrust (stab). Thus the Nagual Elias knew without any question, that the actor was as good, as dead, and his death automatically finished his own interest in the Spirit's designs.
20-21
There were no designs left; death had leveled everything. He rose from his hiding place and started to leave, when something made him hesitate. It was the young  woman's calmness. She was nonchalantly (cool, indifferently) putting on the few pieces of clothing she had taken off and was whistling tunelessly, as if nothing had happened. And then the Nagual saw, that in relaxing to accept the presence of death, the man's body had released a protecting veil and revealed his true nature.
He was a double man of tremendous resources, capable of creating a screen for protection or disguise - a natural Sorcerer and a perfect candidate for a Nagual-
Apprentice, had it not been for the black Shadow of Death. The Nagual was completely taken aback by that sight. He now understood the designs of the Spirit, but failed to comprehend, how such a useless man could fit in the Sorcerers' Scheme of things. The woman in the meantime had stood up and without so much as a glance at the man, whose body was contorting with death spasms, walked away. The Nagual then saw her Luminosity and realized, that her extreme aggressiveness was the result of an Enormous Flow of Superfluous (Excessive) Energy. He became convinced, that if she did not put that energy to sober use, it would get the best of her and there was no telling, what misfortunes it would cause her. As the Nagual watched the unconcern, with which she walked away, he realized, that the Spirit  had given him another Manifestation. He needed to be calm, nonchalant (cool). He needed to act, as if he had nothing to lose, and intervene for the hell of it. In true Nagual fashion he decided to tackle the impossible, with noone, except the Spirit as witness. Don Juan commented, that it took incidents like this to test whether a Nagual is the real thing or a fake. Naguals make decisions. With no regard for the consequences, they take action or choose not to. Imposters ponder and become paralyzed.
The Nagual Elias, having made his decision, walked calmly to the side of the dying man and did the first thing his body, not his mind, compelled him to do: he struck the man's Assemblage Point (Point of Perception) to cause him to enter into Heightened Awareness. He struck him frantically again and again, until his Assemblage Point moved. Aided by the Force of Death itself, the Nagual's blows sent the man's Assemblage Point to a place, where Death no longer mattered, and there he stoped dying. By the time the actor was breathing again, the Nagual had become aware of the magnitude of his responsibility. If the man was to fend off (resist) the Force of his Death, it would be necessary for him to remain in deep Heightened Awareness, until death had been repelled. The man's advanced physical deterioration meant: he could not be moved from the spot or he would instantly die. The Nagual did the only thing possible under the circumstances: he built a shack around the body. There, for three months he nursed the totally immobilized man.
My rational thoughts took over, and instead of just listening, I wanted to know, how the Nagual Elias could build a shack on someone else's land. I was aware of the rural peoples' passion about land ownership and its accompanying feelings of territoriality. Don Juan admitted, that he had asked the same question himself. And the Nagual Elias had said, that the Spirit itself had made it possible. This was the case with everything a Nagual undertook, providing he followed the Spirit's  Manifestations. The first thing the Nagual Elias did, when the actor was breathing again, was to run after the young woman. She was an important part of the Spirit's Manifestations. He caught up with her not too far from the spot, where the actor lay barely alive.
22-23-24
Rather, than talking to her about the man's plight (difficult situation) and trying to convince her to help him, he again assumed total responsibility for his actions and jumped on her like a lion, striking her Assemblage Point a Mighty Blow. Both she and the actor were capable of sustaining Life or Death Blows. Her Assemblage Point moved, but began to shift erratically once it was loose. The Nagual carried the young woman to where the actor lay. Then he spent the entire day trying to keep her from losing her mind and the man from losing his life. When he was fairly certain, he had a degree of control, he went to the woman's father and told him, that lightning must have struck his daughter and made her temporarily mad. He took the father to where she lay and said, that the young man, whoever he was, had taken the whole charge of the lightning with his body, thus saving the girl from certain death, but injuring himself to the point, that he could not be moved. The grateful father helped the Nagual build the shack for the man, who had saved his daughter. And in three months the Nagual accomplished the impossible. He healed the young man. When the time came for the Nagual to leave, his sense of responsibility and his duty required him both: to warn the young woman about her excess energy and the injurious consequences it would have on her life and well being, and to ask her to join the Sorcerers' World, as that would be the only defense against her Self-destructive Strength. The woman did not respond. And the Nagual Elias was obliged to tell her, what every Nagual has said to a prospective apprentice throughout the ages:
that Sorcerers speak of Sorcery as magical, mysterious Bird, which has paused in its flight for a moment, in order to give man hope and purpose; that Sorcerers live under the wing of that Bird, which they call the Bird of Wisdom, the Bird of Freedom; that they nourish it with their dedication and impeccability. He told her, that Sorcerers knew: the flight of the Bird of Freedom was always a straight line, since it had no way of making a loop, no way of circling back and returning; and that the Bird of Freedom could do only two things, take Sorcerers along, or leave them behind. The Nagual Elias could not talk to the young actor, who was still mortally ill, in the same way. The young man did not have much of a choice. Still, the Nagual told him, that if he wanted to be cured, he would have to follow the Nagual unconditional
ly. The actor accepted the terms instantly. The day the Nagual Elias and the actor started back home, the young woman was waiting silently at the edge of town.
She carried no suitcases, not even a basket. She seemed to have come merely to see them off. The Nagual kept walking without looking at her, but the actor, being carried on a stretcher, strained to say goodbye to her. She laughed and wordlessly merged into the Nagual's party. She had no doubts and no problem about leaving everything behind. She had understood perfectly, that there was no second chance for her, that the Bird of Freedom either took Sorcerers along or left them behind. Don Juan commented, that that was not surprising. The force of the Nagual's personality was always so overwhelming, that he was practically irresistible, and the Nagual Elias had affected those two people deeply. He had had three months of daily interaction to accustom them to his consistency, his detachment, his objectivity. They had become enchanted by his sobriety and, above all, by his total dedication to them. Through his example and his actions, the Nagual Elias had given them a sustained view of the Sorcerers' World: supportive and nurturing, yet utterly demanding. It was a world, that admitted very few mistakes. Don Juan reminded me then of something, he had repeated to me often, but which I had always managed not to think about. He said, that I should not forget, even for an instant, that the Bird of Freedom had very little patience with indecision, and when it flew away, it never returned. The chilling resonance of his voice made the surroundings, which only a second before had been peacefully dark, burst with immediacy. Don Juan summoned the peaceful darkness back as fast, as he had summoned urgency. He punched me lightly on the arm.
"That woman was so powerful, that she could dance circles around anyone," he said. "Her name was Talia."


We returned to don Juan's house in the early hours of the morning. It took us a long time to climb down the mountain, mainly because I was afraid of stumbling into a precipice in the dark, and don Juan had to keep stopping to catch the breath he lost laughing at me. I was dead tired, but I could not fall asleep. Before noon, it began to rain. The sound of the heavy downpour on the tile roof, instead of making me feel drowsy, removed every trace of sleepiness. I got up and went to look for don Juan. I found him dozing in a chair. The moment I approached him he was wide-awake. I said good morning. "You seem to be having no trouble falling asleep,"
I commented.
"When you have been afraid or upset, don't lie down to sleep," he said without looking at me. "Sleep sitting up on a soft chair as I'm doing."
He had suggested once, that if I wanted to give my body healing rest, I should take long naps, lying on my stomach with my face turned to the left and my feet over the foot of the bed. In order to avoid being cold, he recommended I put a soft pillow over my shoulders, away from my neck, and wear heavy socks, or just leave my shoes on. When I first heard his suggestion, I thought he was being funny, but later changed my mind. Sleeping in that position helped me rest extraordinarily well.  When I commented on the surprising results, he advised, that I follow his suggestions to the letter without bothering to believe or disbelieve him. I suggested to don Juan, that he might have told me the night before about the sleeping in a sitting position. I explained to him, that the cause of my sleeplessness, besides my extreme fatigue, was a strange concern about what he had told me in the sorcerer's cave.
"Cut it out!" he exclaimed. "You've seen and heard infinitely more distressing things without losing a moment's sleep. Something else is bothering you." For a moment I thought he meant I was not being truthful with him about my real preoccupation. I began to explain, but he kept talking as if I had not spoken. "You stated categorically last night, that the cave didn't make you feel ill at ease," he said. "Well, it obviously did. Last night I didn't pursue the subject of the cave any further,  because I was waiting to observe your reaction." Don Juan explained, that the cave had been designed by sorcerers in ancient times to serve as a catalyst. Its shape had been carefully constructed to accommodate two people, as two fields of energy. The theory of the sorcerers was, that the nature of the rock and the manner, in which it had been carved, allowed the two bodies, the two Luminous Balls, to intertwine their energy.
27
"I took you to that cave on purpose," he continued, "not because I like the place - I don't - but because it was created as an instrument to push the apprentice deep into heightened awareness. But unfortunately, as it helps, it also obscures issues. The ancient sorcerers were not given to thought. They leaned toward action."
"You always say, that your benefactor was like that," I said.
"That's my own exaggeration," he answered, "very much like when I say you're a fool. My benefactor was a modern Nagual, involved in the pursuit of freedom, but
he leaned toward action, instead of thoughts. You're a modern Nagual, involved in the same quest, but you lean heavily toward the aberrations of reason."
He must have thought his comparison was very funny; his laughter echoed in the empty room. When I brought the conversation back to the subject of the cave,
he pretended not to hear me. I knew he was pretending, because of the glint in his eyes and the way he smiled. "Last night, I deliberately told you the first Abstract Core (plan for events)," he said, "in the hope, that by reflecting on the way I have acted with you over the years, you'll get an idea about the other cores. You've been with me for a long time, so you know me very well. During every minute of our association I have tried to adjust my actions and thoughts to the patterns of the  Abstract Cores. The Nagual Elias's story is another matter. Although it seems to be a story about people, it is really a story about Intent. Intent creates edifices before us and invites us to enter them. This is the way sorcerers understand what is happening around them."
28-29
Don Juan reminded me, that I had always insisted on trying to discover the underlying order in everything he said to me. I thought he was criticizing me for my attempt to turn whatever he was teaching me into a social science problem. I began to tell him, that my outlook had changed under his influence. He stopped me and smiled. "You really don't think too well," he said and sighed. "I want you to understand the underlying order of what I teach you. My objection is to what you think is the underlying order. To you, it means secret procedures or a hidden consistency. To me, it means two things: both the edifice, that Intent manufactures in the blink of an eye and places in front of us to enter, and the signs it gives us, so we won't get lost once we are inside. As you can see, the story of the Nagual Elias was more, than merely an account of the sequential details, that made up the event," he went on. "Underneath all that was the edifice of Intent. And the story was meant to give you an idea of what the Naguals of the past were like, so that you would recognize how they acted, in order to adjust their thoughts and actions to the edifices of Intent." There was a prolonged silence. I did not have anything to say. Rather than let the conversation die, I said the first thing, that came into my mind. I said, that from the stories
I had heard about the Nagual Elias, I had formed a very positive opinion of him. I liked the Nagual Elias, but for unknown reasons, everything don Juan had told me about the Nagual Julian bothered me. The mere mention of my discomfort delighted don Juan beyond measure. He had to stand up from his chair lest he choke on his laughter. He put his arm on my shoulder and said, that we either loved or hated those, who were reflections of ourselves. Again, a silly self-consciousness prevented me from asking him what he meant. Don Juan kept on laughing, obviously aware of my mood. He finally commented, that the Nagual Julian was like a child, whose sobriety and moderation came always from without. He had no inner discipline beyond his training as an apprentice in Sorcery. I had an irrational urge to defend myself. I told don Juan, that my discipline came from within me. "Of course," he said patronizingly. "You just can't expect to be exactly like him." And began to laugh again. Sometimes don Juan exasperated (extremely annoyed) me, so that I was ready to yell. But my mood did not last. It dissipated so rapidly, that another concern began to loom. I asked don Juan if it was possible, that I had entered into Heightened Awareness without being conscious of it?
Or maybe I had remained in it for days? "At this stage you enter into Heightened Awareness all by yourself," he said. "Heightened Awareness is a mystery only for our reason. In practice, it's very simple.  As with everything else, we complicate matters by trying to make the immensity, that surrounds us reasonable."
He remarked, that I should be thinking about the Abstract Core he had given me, instead of arguing uselessly about my person. I told him, that I had been thinking about it all morning and had come to realize, that the metaphorical theme of the story was the Manifestations of the Spirit. What I could not discern, however, was
the Abstract Core he was talking about. It had to be something unstated. "I repeat," he said, as if he were a schoolteacher drilling his students, "the Manifestations of the Spirit is the name for the first Abstract Core in the Sorcery Stories. Obviously, what Sorcerers recognize as an Abstract Core is something, that bypasses you at this moment.
30-31
That part, which escapes you, Sorcerers know as the Edifice (здание, сооружение) of Intent, or the Silent Voice of the Spirit, or the Ulterior (hidden intentionally or  Knowledge Without Words) Arrangement of the Abstract."
I said, I understood ulterior to mean something not overtly revealed, as in "ulterior motive." And he replied, that in this case ulterior meant more; it meant  Knowledge Without Words, outside our immediate comprehension - especially mine. He allowed, that the comprehension, he was referring to, was merely beyond my aptitudes (natural talent) of the moment, not beyond my ultimate possibilities for understanding.
"If the Abstract Cores are beyond my comprehension what's the point of talking about them?" I asked.
"The rule says, that the Abstract Cores and the Sorcery Stories must be told at this point," he replied. "And some day the Ulterior Arrangement of the Abstract, which is Knowledge Without Words or the Edifice of Intent inherent in the stories, will be revealed to you by the stories themselves." I still did not understand. "The Ulterior Arrangement of the Abstract is not merely the order, in which the Abstract Cores were presented to you," he explained, "or what they have in common either, nor even the web, that joins them. Rather it's to know the Abstract (Spirit) directly, without the intervention of language." He scrutinized me in silence from head to toe with the obvious purpose of Seeing me. "It's not evident to you yet," he declared. He made a gesture of impatience, even short temper, as though he was annoyed at my slowness. And that worried me. Don Juan was not given to expressions of psychological displeasure. "It has nothing to do with you or your actions," he said,  when I asked if he was angry or disappointed with me. "It was a thought, that crossed my mind the moment I saw you. There is a feature in your Luminous Being,  that the Old Sorcerers would have given anything to have."
"Tell me what it is," I demanded.
"I'll remind you of this some other time," he said. "Meanwhile, let's continue with the element, that propels us: the Abstract (the Spirit). The element, without which there could be no warrior's path, nor any warriors in search of Knowledge." He said, that the difficulties I was experiencing were nothing new to him. He himself had gone through agonies in order to understand the Ulterior Order of the Abstract (Knowledge without words). And had it not been for the helping hand of the Nagual Elias, he would have wound up just like his benefactor (Nagual Julian), all action and very little understanding.
"What was the Nagual Elias like?" I asked, to change the subject.
"He was not like his disciple at all," don Juan said. "He was an Indian. Very dark and massive. He had rough features, big mouth, strong nose, small black eyes, thick black hair with no gray in it. He was shorter, than the Nagual Julian and had big hands and feet. He was very humble and very wise, but he had no flare. Compared  with my benefactor, he was dull. Always all by himself, pondering questions. The Nagual Julian used to joke, that his Teacher imparted wisdom by the ton. Behind his back he used to call him the Nagual Tonnage. "I never saw the reason for his jokes," don Juan went on. "To me the Nagual Elias was like a breath of fresh air.
He would patiently explain everything to me. Very much as I explain things to you, but perhaps with a bit more of something. I wouldn't call it compassion, but rather, empathy. Warriors are incapable of feeling compassion, because they no longer feel sorry for themselves. Without the driving force of self-pity, compassion is meaningless."
32-33
"Are you saying, don Juan, that a Warrior is all for himself?"
"In a way, yes. For a Warrior everything begins and ends with himself. However, his contact with the Abstract causes him to overcome his feeling of self-importance. Then the self becomes abstract and impersonal. The Nagual Elias felt, that our Lives and our Personalities were quite similar," don Juan continued. "For this reason, he felt obliged to help me. I don't feel that similarity with you, so I suppose I regard you very much the way the Nagual Julian used to regard me."
Don Juan said, that the Nagual Elias took him under his wing from the very first day he arrived at his benefactor's house to start his apprenticeship and began to explain what was taking place in his training, regardless of whether don Juan was capable of understanding. His urge to help don Juan was so intense, that he practically held him prisoner. He protected him in this manner from the Nagual Julian's harsh onslaughts. "At the beginning, I used to stay at the Nagual Elias's house all the time," don Juan continued. "And I loved it. In my benefactor's (Nagual Julian) house I was always on the lookout, on guard, afraid of what he was going to do to me next. But in the Nagual Elias's home I felt confident, at ease. "My benefactor (Nagual Julian) used to press me mercilessly. And I couldn't figure out why he was pressuring me so hard. I thought, that the man was plain crazy." Don Juan said, that the Nagual Elias was an Indian from the state of Oaxaca, who had been taught by another Nagual named Rosendo, who came from the same area. Don Juan described the Nagual Elias as being a very conservative man, who cherished his privacy.  And yet he was a famous Healer and Sorcerer, not only in Oaxaca, but in all of Southern Mexico. Nonetheless, in spite of his occupation and notoriety (infamous),
he lived in complete isolation at the opposite end of the country, in northern Mexico. Don Juan stopped talking. Raising his eyebrows, he fixed me with a questioning look. But all I wanted was for him to continue his story. "Every single time I think you should ask questions, you don't," he said. "I'm sure you heard me say, that the Nagual Elias was a famous Sorcerer, who dealt with people daily in Southern Mexico, and at the same time he was a hermit in Northern Mexico. Doesn't that arouse your curiosity?" I felt abysmally (unfathomably, enormosly) stupid. I told him, that the thought had crossed my mind, as he was telling me those facts, that the man must have had terrible difficulty commuting. Don Juan laughed, and, since he had made me aware of the question, I asked how it had been possible for the Nagual Elias to be in two places at once. "Dreaming is a Sorcerer's Jet Plane," he said. "The Nagual Elias was a Dreamer, as my benefactor (Nagual Julian) was a Stalker.
He was able to create and project, what Sorcerers know as the Dreaming Body, or the Other, and to be in two distant places at the same time (bilocation). With his Dreaming Body, he could carry on his business as a Sorcerer, and with his natural self be a recluse."
I remarked, that it amazed me, that I could accept so easily the premise, that the Nagual Elias had the ability to project a solid three-dimensional image of himself,  and yet could not for the life of me understand the explanations about the abstract cores. Don Juan said, that I could accept the idea of the Nagual Elias's dual life,  because the Spirit was making final adjustments in my capacity for Awareness. And I exploded into a barrage of protests at the obscurity of his statement.
"It isn't obscure," he said. "It's a statement of fact. You could say, that it's an incomprehensible fact for the moment, but the moment will change."
34-35
Before I could reply, he began to talk again about the Nagual Elias. He said, that the Nagual Elias had a very inquisitive mind and could work well with his hands.
In his journeys as a Dreamer, he saw many objects, which he copied in wood and forged iron. Don Juan assured me that some of those models were of a haunting, exquisite beauty.
"What kind of objects were the originals?" I asked.
"There's no way of knowing," don Juan said. "You've got to consider, that because he was an Indian, the Nagual Elias went into his Dreaming Journeys the way a wild animal prowls for food. An animal never shows up at a site, when there are signs of activity. He comes only when no one is around. The Nagual Elias, as a solitary Dreamer, visited, let's say, the junkyard of Infinity, when noone was around - and copied whatever he saw, but never knew what those things were used for, or their source." Again, I had no trouble accepting what he was saying. The idea did not appear to me farfetched in any way. I was about to comment, when he interrupted me with a gesture of his eyebrows. He then continued his account about the Nagual Elias. "Visiting him (Nagual Elias) was for me the ultimate treat,"
he said, "and simultaneously, a source of strange guilt. I used to get bored to death there. Not because the Nagual Elias was boring, but because the Nagual Julian had no peers and he spoiled anyone for life."
"But I thought you were confident and at ease in the Nagual Elias's house," I said.
"I was, and that was the source of my guilt and my imagined problem. Like you, I loved to torment myself. I think at the very beginning I found peace in the Nagual Elias's company, but later on, when I understood the Nagual Julian better, I went his way." He told me, that the Nagual Elias's house had an open, roofed section in the front, where he had a forge and a carpentry bench and tools. The tiled-roof adobe house consisted of a huge room with a dirt floor where he lived with five  Women Seers, who were actually his wives. There were also four Men, Sorcerer-Seers of his party, who lived in small houses around the Nagual's house. They were all Indians from different parts of the country, who had migrated to northern Mexico. "The Nagual Elias had great respect for Sexual Energy," don Juan said.
"He believed it has been given to us, so we can use it in Dreaming. He believed Dreaming had fallen into disuse, because it can upset the precarious (lacking in stability) Mental Balance of susceptible people. "I've taught you Dreaming the same way he (Nagual Elias) taught me," he continued. "He taught me, that while
we dream, the Assemblage Point moves very gently and naturally. Mental Balance is nothing, but the Fixing of the Assemblage Point (or Spirit) on one spot we're accustomed to. If dreams make that point move, and Dreaming is used to control that natural movement, and Sexual Energy is needed for Dreaming, the result is sometimes disastrous, when Sexual Energy is dissipated in Sex, instead of Dreaming. Then Dreamers Move their Assemblage Point erratically and lose their minds."
"What are you trying to tell me, don Juan?" I asked, because I felt, that the subject of Dreaming had not been a natural drift in the conversation.
"You are a Dreamer" he said. "If you're not careful with your Sexual Energy, you might as well get used to the idea of Erratic Shifts of Your Assemblage Point.
A moment ago you were bewildered by your reactions. Well, your Assemblage Point moves almost erratically, because your Sexual Energy is not in Balance."
I made a stupid and inappropriate comment about the Sex Life of adult Males.
36-37
''Our Sexual Energy is what governs Dreaming," he explained. "The Nagual Elias taught me - and I taught you - that you either Make Love with your Sexual Energy or you Dream with it. There is no other way. The reason I mention it at all is, because you are having great difficulty Shifting your Assemblage Point to grasp our last topic: the Abstract. "The same thing happened to me," don Juan went on. "It was only when my Sexual Energy was freed from the World, that Everything fit into  Place. That is the Rule for Dreamers. Stalkers are the opposite. My benefactor (Nagual Julian) was, you could say, a Sexual Libertine (No Morals) both as an average man and as a Nagual."
Don Juan seemed to be on the verge of revealing his benefactor's doings, but he obviously changed his mind. He shook his head and said, that I was way too stiff for such revelations. I did not insist. He said, that the Nagual Elias had the Sobriety, that only Dreamers acquired after inconceivable battles with themselves. He used his Sobriety to plunge himself into the task of answering don Juan's questions. "The Nagual Elias explained, that my difficulty in understanding the Spirit was the same as his own," don Juan continued. "He thought there were two different issues. One, the need to understand indirectly what the Spirit is, and the other, to understand the Spirit directly. You're having problems with the first. Once you understand what the Spirit is, the second issue will be resolved automatically, and vice versa. If the Spirit speaks to you, using its silent words, you will certainly know immediately, what the Spirit is." He said, that the Nagual Elias believed, that the difficulty was our reluctance to accept the idea, that Knowledge could exist without words to explain it."
"But I have no difficulty accepting that," I said.
"Accepting this proposition is not as easy, as saying you accept it," don Juan said. "The Nagual Elias used to tell me, that the whole of Humanity has moved away from the Abstract, although at one time we must have been close to it. It must have been our sustaining force. And then something happened and pulled us away from the Abstract. Now we can't get back to it. He used to say, that it takes years for an apprentice to be able to go back to the Abstract, that is, to know, that  Knowledge and language can exist independent of each other." Don Juan repeated, that the crux of our difficulty, in going back to the Abstract, was our refusal to accept, that we could know without words or even without thoughts. I was going to argue, that he was talking nonsense, when I got the strong feeling, I was missing something and that his point was of crucial importance to me. He was really trying to tell me something, something I either could not grasp or which could not be told completely. "Knowledge and language are separate," he repeated softly. And I was just about to say, "I know it," as if indeed I knew it, when I caught myself. "I told you there is no way to talk about the Spirit," he continued, "because the Spirit can only be experienced. Sorcerers try to explain this condition when they say, that the Spirit is nothing you can see or feel. But it's there looming over us always. Sometimes it comes to some of us. Most of the time it seems indifferent."
I kept quiet. And he continued to explain. He said, that the Spirit in many ways was a sort of wild animal. It kept its distance from us, until a moment when something enticed it forward. It was then, that the Spirit Manifested Itself.
38-39
I raised the point, that if the Spirit wasn't an entity, or a presence, and had no essence, how could anyone entice it?
"Your problem," he said, "is that you consider only your own idea of what's Abstract. For instance, the Inner Essence of Human, or the fundamental principle, are abstracts for you. Or perhaps something a bit less vague, such as character, volition, courage, dignity, honor. The Spirit, of course, can be described in terms of all of these. And that's what's so confusing - that it's all these and none of them." He added, that what I considered abstractions, were either the opposites of all the practicalities I could think of or things I had decided did not have concrete existence. "Whereas for a Sorcerer an Abstract is something with no parallel in the human condition," he said.
"But they're the same thing," I shouted. "Don't you see, that we're both talking about the same thing?"
"We are not," he insisted. "For a Sorcerer, the Spirit is an Abstract, simply because he knows it without words or even Thoughts. It's an Abstract, because he can't conceive what the Spirit is. Yet without the slightest chance or desire to understand it, a Sorcerer handles the Spirit. He recognizes it, beckons it, entices it, becomes familiar with it, and expresses it with his acts." I shook my head in despair. I could not see the difference. "The root of your misconception is, that I have used the term "Abstract" to describe the Spirit," he said. "For you, Abstracts are words, which describe States of Intuition. An example is the word "Spirit", which doesn't  describe reason or pragmatic experience, and which, of course, is of no use to you other, than to tickle your fancy." I was furious with don Juan. I called him  obstinate and he laughed at me. He suggested, that if I would think about the proposition, that Knowledge might be independent of Language, without bothering to understand it, perhaps I could see the Light. "Consider this," he said. "It was not the act of meeting me, that mattered to you. The day I met you, you met the Abstract. But since you couldn't talk about it, you didn't notice it. Sorcerers meet the Abstract without thinking about it or seeing it or touching it or feeling its presence." I remained quiet, because I did not enjoy arguing with him. At times I considered him to be quite willfully abstruse (difficult to understand). But don Juan seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

40-41
It was as cool and quiet in the patio of don Juan's house, as in the cloister of a convent. There were a number of large fruit trees planted extremely close together,  which seemed to regulate the temperature and absorb all noises. When I first came to his house, I had made critical remarks about the illogical way the fruit trees had been planted. I would have given them more space. His answer was, that those trees were not his property, they were free and independent warrior trees, that had  joined his party of warriors, and that my comments - which applied to regular trees - were not relevant. His reply sounded metaphorical to me. What I didn't know then was, that don Juan meant everything he said - literally. Don Juan and I were sitting in cane armchairs, facing the fruit trees now. The trees were all bearing fruit.
I commented, that it was not only a beautiful sight, but an extremely intriguing one, for it was not the fruit season.
"There is an interesting story about it," he admitted. "As you know, these trees are Warriors of my Party. They are bearing now, because all the Members of my Party have been talking and expressing feelings about our definitive journey, here in front of them. And the trees know now, that when we embark on our definitive  journey, they will accompany us." I looked at him, astonished. "I can't leave them behind," he explained. "They are Warriors too. They have thrown their lot in with the Nagual's Party. And they know how I feel about them. The Assemblage Point of Trees is located very low in their Enormous Luminous Shell, and that permits  them to know our feelings, for instance, the feelings we are having now as we discuss my definitive journey." I remained quiet, for I did not want to dwell on the subject. Don Juan spoke and dispelled my mood. "The second Abstract Core of the Sorcery Stories is called the Knock of the Spirit," he said. "The first Core, the Manifestations of the Spirit, is the Edifice (building), that Intent builds and places before a Sorcerer, then invites him to enter. It is the Edifice of Intent seen by a Sorcerer. The Knock of the Spirit is the same Edifice seen by the beginner, who is invited - or rather forced - to enter. "The second Abstract Core could be a story in itself. The story says, that after the Spirit had manifested itself to that human, we have talked about and had gotten no response, the Spirit laid a trap for the human. It was a final subterfuge (deceitful tactic to avoid unwanted situation), not because the human was special, but because the incomprehensible chain of events of the Spirit made that human available at the very moment, that the Spirit knocked on the door. It goes without saying, that whatever the Spirit revealed to that human, made no sense to him. In fact, it went against everything the human knew, everything he was. The man, of course,  refused on the spot, and in no uncertain terms, to have anything to do with the Spirit. He wasn't going to fall for such preposterous (absurd) nonsense. He knew  better. The result was a total stalemate (deadlock, dead end). I can say, that this is an idiotic story," he continued. "I can say, that what I've given you is the pacifier  for those, who are uncomfortable with the Silence of the Abstract." He peered at me for a moment and then smiled. "You like words," he said accusingly. "The mere idea of Silent Knowledge scares you. But stories, no matter how stupid, delight you and make you feel secure." His smile was so mischievous, that I couldn't help laughing. Then he reminded me, that I had already heard his detailed account of the first time the Spirit had knocked on his door. For a moment I could not figure out what he was talking about. "It was not just my benefactor (Nagual Julian), who stumbled upon me, as I was dying from the gunshot," he explained. "The Spirit also found me and knocked on my door that day. My benefactor understood, that he was there to be a Conduit (channel) for the Spirit. Without the Spirit's intervention, meeting my benefactor would have meant nothing." He said, that a Nagual can be a Conduit only after the Spirit has manifested its willingness to be used - either almost imperceptibly (without noticing) or with outright commands.
42-43
It was therefore not possible for a Nagual to choose his apprentices according to his own volition, or his own calculations. But once the willingness of the Spirit was revealed through Omens, the Nagual spared no effort to satisfy it. After a lifetime of practice," he continued, "Sorcerers, Naguals in particular, know if the Spirit is  inviting them to enter the Edifice being flaunted (shows off, parades) before them. They have learned to discipline their Connecting Links to Intent. So they are  always forewarned, always know, what the Spirit has in store for them." Don Juan said, that progress along the Sorcerers' Path was, in general, a drastic process, the purpose of which, was to bring this Connecting Link to order. The average man's Connecting Link with Intent is practically dead, and Sorcerers begin with a link, that is useless, because it does not respond voluntarily. He stressed, that in order to revive that Link, Sorcerers needed a rigorous, fierce Purpose - a Special State of Mind, called Unbending Intent. Accepting, that the Nagual was the only Being, capable of supplying Unbending Intent was the most difficult part of the Sorcerer's  apprenticeship. I argued, that I could not see the difficulty. "An apprentice is someone, who is striving to clear and revive his Connecting Link with the Spirit,"
he explained. "Once the Link is revived, he is no longer an apprentice, but until that time, in order to keep going, he needs a fierce Purpose, which, of course,
he doesn't have. So he allows the Nagual to provide the Purpose and to do that, he has to relinquish (abandon) his individuality. That's the difficult part."
He reminded me of something he had told me often: that volunteers were not welcome in the Sorcerers' World, because they already had a purpose of their own,  which made it particularly hard for them to relinquish (abandon) their individuality. If the Sorcerers' World demanded ideas and actions, contrary to the volunteers' purpose, the volunteers simply refused to change. "Reviving an apprentice's link is a Nagual's most challenging and intriguing work," don Juan continued, "and one of his biggest headaches too. Depending, of course, on the apprentice's personality, the designs of the Spirit are either sublimely simple or the most complex labyrinths." Don Juan assured me that, although I might have had notions to the contrary, my apprenticeship had not been as onerous (troublesome) to him, as his must have been to his benefactor (Nagual Julian). He admitted, that I had a modicum (a small amount) of self-discipline, that came in very handy, while he had had  none whatever. And his benefactor, in turn, had had even less. "The difference is discernible (perceptible) in the Manifestations of the Spirit," he continued. "In some cases, they are barely noticeable; in my case, they were commands. I had been shot. Blood was pouring out of a hole in my chest. My benefactor had to act with  speed and sureness, just as his own benefactor had for him. Sorcerers know, that the more difficult the command is, the more difficult the disciple turns out to be."
Don Juan explained, that one of the most advantageous aspects of his association with two Naguals was, that he could hear the same stories from two opposite  points of view. For instance, the story about the Nagual Elias and the Manifestations of the Spirit, from the apprentice's perspective, was the story of the Spirit's  difficult Knock on his benefactor's Door. "Everything connected with my benefactor was very difficult," he said and began to laugh. "When he was twenty-four years old, the Spirit didn't just Knock on his Door, it nearly banged it down." He said, that the story had really begun years earlier, when his benefactor had been a handsome adolescent from a good family in Mexico City.

44
He was wealthy, educated, charming, and had a charismatic personality. Women fell in love with him at first sight. But he was already self-indulgent and  undisciplined, lazy about anything, that did not give him immediate gratification. Don Juan said, that with that personality and his type of upbringing - he was the only son of a wealthy widow who, together with his four adoring sisters, doted (lavish excessive love) on him - he could only behave one way.


He indulged in every impropriety (improper act) he could think of. Even among his equally self-indulgent (absence of restrains) friends, he was seen as a moral delinquent (tendency to indulge in anti-social behaviour), who lived to do anything, that the World considered morally wrong. In the long run, his excesses weakened him physically and he fell mortally ill with tuberculosis - the dreaded disease of the time. But his illness, instead of restraining him, created a physical condition, in which he felt more sensual, than ever. Since he did not have one iota of self-control, he gave himself over fully to debauchery, and his health deteriorated, until there was no hope. The saying, that it never rains, but it pours, was certainly true for don Juan's benefactor then. As his health declined, his mother, who was his only source of support and the only restraint on him, died. She left him a sizable inheritance, which should have supported him adequately for life, but undisciplined as he was, in a few months he had spent every cent. With no profession or trade to fall back on, he was left to scrounge (sponge, search) for a living. Without money he no longer had friends; and even the Women, who once loved him, turned their backs.


For the first time in his life, he found himself confronting a harsh reality. Considering the state of his health, it should have been the end. But he was resilient.
He decided to work for a living.
45-46
His sensual habits, however, could not be changed, and they forced him to seek work in the only place he felt comfortable: the theater. His qualifications were that he was a born ham and had spent most of his adult life in the company of actresses. He joined a theatrical troupe in the provinces, away from his familiar circle of  friends and acquaintances, and became a very intense actor, the consumptive hero in religious and morality plays.
Don Juan commented on the strange irony, that had always marked his benefactor's life. There he was, a perfect reprobate (a scoundrel), dying as a result of his dissolute (debauched) ways and playing the roles of saints and mystics. He even played Jesus in the Passion Play during Holy Week.


His health lasted through one theatrical tour of the Northern States. Then two things happened in the city of Durango: his life came to an end and the Spirit knocked on his Door. Both his Death and the Spirit's Knock came at the same time - in broad daylight in the bushes. His Death caught him in the act of seducing a young Woman. He was already extremely weak, and that day he overexerted (strained) himself. The young Woman, who was vivacious (lively, spirited) and strong and madly infatuated (possessed by  powerful passion), had, by promising to make love, induced (persuaded) him to walk to a secluded spot, miles from nowhere. And there she had fought him off for hours. When she finally submitted, he was completely worn out, and coughing so badly, that he could hardly breathe. During his last passionate outburst he felt a  searing (burning) pain in his shoulder. His chest felt as if it were being ripped apart and a coughing spell made him retch (vomit) uncontrollably. But his compulsion (irresistable impulse to act) to seek pleasure kept him going, until his Death came in the form of a hemorrhage (bleeding). It was then, that the Spirit made its entry,  borne by an Indian, who came to his aid. Earlier he had noticed the Indian, following them around, but had not given him a second thought, absorbed as he was, in the seduction. He saw, as in a dream, the Girl. She was not scared, nor did she lose her composure. Quietly and efficiently she put her clothes back on and took off  as fast, as a rabbit chased by hounds. He also saw the Indian rushing to him trying to make him sit up. He heard him saying idiotic things. He heard him pledging (promising to do something) himself to the spirit and mumbling incomprehensible words in a foreign  language. Then the Indian acted very quickly. Standing behind him, he gave him a smacking blow on the back. Very rationally, the dying man deduced, that the  Indian was trying either to dislodge the blood clot or to kill him. As the Indian struck him repeatedly on the back, the dying man became convinced, that the Indian was the Woman's lover or husband and was murdering him. But seeing the intensely brilliant eyes of that Indian, he changed his mind. He knew, that the Indian was simply crazy and was not connected with the Woman. With his last bit of consciousness, he focused his attention on the man's mumblings. What he was saying was, that the Power of Man was incalculable (hard to estimate), that Death existed only, because we had intended it since the moment of our birth, that the Intent of Death could be suspended by making the Assemblage Point change positions. He then knew, that the Indian was totally insane. His situation was so theatrical - dying at the hands of a crazy Indian mumbling gibberish - that he vowed, he would be a ham actor to the bitter end, and he promised himself not to die of either the hemorrhaging or the blows, but to die of laughter. And he laughed, until he was dead. Don Juan remarked, that naturally his benefactor could not possibly have taken the Indian seriously.
47-48
Noone could take such a person seriously, especially not a prospective apprentice, who was not supposed to be volunteering for the Sorcery task. Don Juan then said, that he had given me different versions of what that Sorcery Task consisted. He said, it would not be presumptuous (arrogant) of him to disclose (expose to view) that, from the Spirit's point of view, the task consisted of Clearing our Connecting Link with it. The Edifice, that Intent flaunts (parade) before us is, then, a  clearinghouse, within which we find not so much the procedures to clear our connecting link, as the Silent Knowledge, that allows the Clearing Process to take place. Without that Silent Knowledge no process could work, and all we would have, would be an indefinite sense of needing something. He explained, that the events,  unleashed by Sorcerers as a result of Silent Knowledge, were so simple and yet so abstract, that Sorcerers had decided long ago to speak of those events only in  symbolic terms. The Manifestations and the Knock of the Spirit were examples. Don Juan said that, for instance, a description of what took place during the initial  meeting between a Nagual and a prospective apprentice from the Sorcerers' point of view, would be absolutely incomprehensible. It would be nonsense to explain, that the Nagual, by virtue of his lifelong experience, was focusing something we couldn't imagine, his Second Attention - the increased Awareness, gained through Sorcery training - on his invisible connection with some indefinable Abstract. He was doing this to emphasize and clarify someone else's invisible connection with  that indefinable Abstract. He remarked, that each of us was barred from Silent Knowledge by natural barriers, specific to each individual; and that the most  impregnable of my barriers was the drive to disguise my complacency (self-satisfaction) as independence. I challenged him to give me a concrete example.
I reminded him, that he had once warned me, that a favorite debating ploy (tactic of game) was to raise general criticisms, that could not be supported by concrete examples. Don Juan looked at me and beamed.
"In the past, I used to give you power plants," he said. "At first, you went to extremes to convince yourself, that what you were experiencing were hallucinations.  Then you wanted them to be special hallucinations. I remember I made fun of your insistence on calling them didactic (moralising, pedantic) hallucinatory experiences." He said, that my need to prove my illusory independence forced me into a position, where I could not accept what he had told me was happening,  although it was what I silently knew for myself. I knew he was employing power plants, as the very limited tools they were, to make me enter partial or temporary states of Heightened Awareness by moving my Assemblage Point away from its habitual location. "You used your barrier of independence to get you over that  obstruction," he went on. "The same barrier has continued to work to this day, so you still retain that sense of indefinite anguish, perhaps not so pronounced. Now the question is, how are you arranging your conclusions, so that your current experiences fit into your scheme of complacency (self-satisfaction)?"
I confessed, that the only way I could maintain my independence was not to think about my experiences at all. Don Juan's hearty laugh nearly made him fall out of his cane chair. He stood and walked around to catch his breath. He sat down again and composed himself. He pushed his chair back and crossed his legs.
49-50-51
He said, that we, as average men, did not know, nor would we ever know, that it was something utterly real and functional - our Connecting Link with Intent - which gave us our hereditary preoccupation with fate. He asserted, that during our active lives we never have the chance to go beyond the level of mere preoccupation,  because since time immemorial the lull (causing to sleep) of daily affairs has made us drowsy. It is only when our lives are nearly over, that our hereditary  preoccupation with fate begins to take on a different character. It begins to make us see through the fog of daily affairs. Unfortunately, this Awakening always comes  hand in hand with loss of energy caused by aging, when we have no more strength, left to turn our preoccupation into a pragmatic (practical) and positive discovery.  At this point, all there is left is an amorphous, piercing anguish, a longing for something indescribable (to join the Source of All Suns, LM), and simple anger at having missed out.
"I like poems for many reasons," he said. "One reason is, that they catch the mood of Warriors and explain, what can hardly be explained." He conceded, that poets were keenly aware of our Connecting Link with the Spirit, but, that they were aware of it intuitively, not in the deliberate, pragmatic way of Sorcerers. "Poets have no firsthand Knowledge of the Spirit," he went on. "That is why their poems cannot really hit the center of true gestures for the Spirit. They hit pretty close to it, though." He picked up one of my poetry books from a chair next to him, a collection by Juan Ramon Jimenez. He opened it to where he had placed a marker, handed it to me  and signaled me to read. I reread the poem to myself and I caught the poet's mood of impotence and bewilderment. I asked don Juan if he felt the same.
"I think the poet senses the pressure of aging and the anxiety, that that realization produces," don Juan said. "But that is only one part of it.
The other part, which interests me, is that the poet, although he never moves his Assemblage Point, intuits, that something extraordinary is at stake. He intuits with great certainty, that there is some unnamed factor, awesome, because of its simplicity, that is determining our fate."


The Sun had not yet risen from behind the eastern peaks, but the day was already hot. As we reached the first steep slope, a couple of miles along the road from the outskirts of town, don Juan stopped walking and moved to the side of the paved highway. He sat down by some huge boulders, that had been dynamited from the face of the mountain when they cut the road, and signaled me to join him. We usually stopped there to talk or rest on our way to the nearby mountains. Don Juan announced, that this trip was going to be long and that we might be in the mountains for days. "We are going to talk now about the third Abstract Core," don Juan said. "It is called the Trickery of the Spirit, or the Trickery of the Abstract, or Stalking Oneself, or Dusting the Link." I was surprised at the variety of names, but said nothing. I waited for him to continue his explanation. "And again, as with the first and second Core," he went on, "it could be a story in itself. The story says, that after Knocking on the Door of that man, we've been talking about, and having no success with him, the Spirit used the only means available: Trickery. After all, the Spirit  had resolved previous impasses (cul-de-sac, deadlock) with Trickery. It was obvious, that if it wanted to make an impact on this man, it had to cajole (attract) him.
So the Spirit began to instruct the man on the mysteries of Sorcery. And the Sorcery apprenticeship became what it is: a route of Artifice (trickery) and Subterfuge
(deceitful tactic to avoid unwanted situations). "The story says, that the Spirit cajoled the man by making him shift back and forth between levels of Awareness to  show him how to save energy, needed to strengthen his Connecting Link."
Don Juan told me, that if we apply his story to a modern netting, we had the case of the Nagual, the Living Conduit of the Spirit, repeating the structure of this  Abstract Core and resorting to Artifice and Subterfuge in order to teach. Suddenly he stood and started to walk toward the mountain range. I followed him and
we started our climb, side by side. In the very late afternoon we reached the top of the high mountains. Even at that altitude it was still very warm. All day we had followed a nearly invisible trail. Finally we reached a small clearing, an ancient lookout post commanding the north and west. We sat there and don Juan returned our conversation to the Sorcery Stories. He said, that now I knew the Story of Intent, manifesting itself to the Nagual Elias and the Story of the Spirit, Knocking on the Nagual Julian's Door. And I knew how he had met the Spirit, and I certainly could not forget how I had met it. All these stories, he declared, had the same structure; only the characters differed. Each story was an Abstract tragi-comedy with one Abstract Player, Intent, and two human actors: the Nagual and his apprentice.
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The script was the Abstract Core. I thought, I had finally understood what he meant, but I could not quite explain even to myself, what it was I understood, nor could
I explain it to don Juan. When I tried to put my thoughts into words, I found myself babbling. Don Juan seemed to recognize my state of mind. He suggested, that
I relax and listen. He told me his next story was about the process of bringing an apprentice into the Realm of the Spirit, a process Sorcerers called the Trickery of the Spirit, or Dusting the Connecting Link to Intent. "I've already told you the story of how the Nagual Julian took me to his house after I was shot, and tended my wound, until I recovered," don Juan continued. "But I didn't tell you how he dusted my link, how he taught me to stalk myself. The first thing a Nagual does with his prospective apprentice is to trick him. That is, he gives him a jolt on his Connecting Link to the Spirit. There are two ways of doing this. One is through seminormal channels, which I used with you, and the other is by means of outright Sorcery, which my benefactor used on me."
Don Juan again told me the story of how his benefactor (Nagual Julian) had convinced the people, who had gathered at the road, that the wounded man was his son.  Then he had paid some men to carry don Juan, unconscious from shock and loss of blood, to his own house. Don Juan woke there, days later, and found a kind old  man and his fat wife tending his wound. The old man said his name was Belisario and that his wife was a famous healer and that both of them were healing his  wound. Don Juan told them he had no money, and Belisario suggested, that when he recovered, payment of some sort could be arranged. Don Juan said, that he was thoroughly confused, which was nothing new to him. He was just a muscular, reckless twenty-year-old Indian, with no brains, no formal education, and a terrible  temper. He had no conception of gratitude. He thought it was very kind of the old man and his wife to have helped him, but his intention was to wait for his wound to heal and then simply vanish in the middle of the night. When he had recovered enough and was ready to flee, old Belisario took him into a room and in trembling  whispers disclosed, that the house, where they were staying, belonged to a monstrous man, who was holding him and his wife prisoner. He asked don Juan to help  them to regain their freedom, to escape from their captor and tormentor. Before don Juan could reply, a monstrous fish-faced man, right out of a horror tale, burst  into the room, as if he had been listening behind the door. He was greenish-gray, had only one unblinking eye in the middle of his forehead, and was as big, as a door. He lurched (roll, pitch suddenly) at don Juan, hissing like a serpent, ready to tear him apart, and frightened him so greatly, that he fainted.
"His way of giving me a jolt on my Connecting Link with the Spirit was masterful." Don Juan laughed. "My benefactor, of course, had shifted me into Heightened  Awareness, prior to the monster's entrance, so that what I actually saw as a monstrous man, was what Sorcerers call an Inorganic Being, a formless energy field."
Don Juan said, that he knew countless cases, in which his benefactor's devilishness created hilariously embarrassing situations for all his apprentices, especially for don Juan himself, whose seriousness and stiffness made him the perfect subject for his benefactor's didactic (moralising) jokes. He added as an afterthought, that it went without saying, that these jokes entertained his benefactor immensely.
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"If you think I laugh at you - which I do - it's nothing, compared with how he laughed at me," don Juan continued. "My devilish benefactor had learned to weep to hide his laughter.
You just can't imagine how he used to cry, when I first began my apprenticeship."


Continuing with his story, don Juan stated, that his life was never the same after the shock of seeing that monstrous man. His benefactor made sure of it. Don Juan explained, that once a Nagual has introduced his prospective disciple, especially his Nagual Disciple, to trickery, he must struggle to assure his compliance  (flexibility). This compliance could be of two different kinds. Either the prospective disciple is so disciplined and tuned, that only his decision to join the Nagual is needed, as had been the case with young Talia. Or the prospective disciple is someone with little or no discipline, in which case a Nagual has to expend time and a great deal of labor to convince his disciple. In don Juan's case, because he was a wild young peasant without a thought in his head, the process of reeling him in took bizarre turns. Soon after the first jolt, his benefactor gave him a second one, by showing don Juan his ability to transform himself. One day his benefactor became a young man. Don Juan was incapable of conceiving of this transformation as anything, but an example of a consummate (skillful) actor's art.
"How did he accomplish those changes?" I asked.
"He was both a magician and an artist," don Juan replied. "His magic was, that he transformed himself by moving his Assemblage Point into the position, that would  bring on whatever particular change he desired. And his art was the perfection of his transformations."
"I don't quite understand what you're telling me," I said.
Don Juan said, that Perception is the hinge for everything man is or does, and that Perception is ruled by the location of the Assemblage Point. Therefore, if that point changes positions, man's Perception of the World changes accordingly. The Sorcerer, who knew exactly, where to place his Assemblage Point, could become anything he wanted.
"The Nagual Julian's proficiency in moving his Assemblage Point was so magnificent, that he could elicit (evoke, draw out) the subtlest transformations," don Juan continued.
"When a Sorcerer becomes a crow, for instance, it is definitely a great accomplishment. But it entails a vast and therefore a gross shift of the Assemblage Point. However, moving it to the position of a fat man, or an old man, requires the minutest shift and the keenest knowledge of human nature."
"I'd rather avoid thinking or talking about those things as facts," I said. Don Juan laughed, as if I had said the funniest thing imaginable. "Was there a reason for your benefactor's transformations?" I asked. "Or was he just amusing himself?"
"Don't be stupid. Warriors don't do anything just to amuse themselves," he replied. "His transformations were strategical. They were dictated by need, like his transformation from old to young. Now and then there were funny consequences, but that's another matter."
I reminded him, that I had asked before, how his benefactor learned those transformations. He had told me then, that his benefactor had a teacher, but would not tell me who.
"That very mysterious Sorcerer, who is our ward, taught him (the Tenant)," don Juan replied curtly (abruptly).
"What mysterious Sorcerer is that?" I asked.
"The Death Defier," he said and looked at me questioningly.
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For all the Sorcerers of don Juan's party the Death Defier was a most vivid character. According to them, the Death Defier was a Sorcerer of Ancient Times. He had  succeeded in surviving to the present day by manipulating his Assemblage Point, making it move in specific ways to specific locations within his total energy field.  Such maneuvers had permitted his awareness and life force to persist. Don Juan had told me about the agreement, that the Seers of his Lineage had entered into with the Death Defier centuries before. He made gifts to them in exchange for vital energy. Because of this agreement, they considered him their ward (guard,  defence) and called him "the Tenant." Don Juan had explained, that Sorcerers of Ancient Times were expert at making the Assemblage Point move. In doing so they had discovered extraordinary things about Perception, but they had also discovered how easy it was to get lost in aberration (deviation from a proper course).
The Death Defier's situation was for don Juan a classic example of an aberration (distortion or deviation from the course). Don Juan used to repeat every chance he could, that if the Assemblage Point was pushed by someone, who not only saw it, but also had enough energy to move it, it slid, within the Luminous Ball, to whatever location the pusher directed.
Its brilliance was enough to light up the Threadlike Energy Fields it touched. The resulting Perception of the World was as complete as, but not the same as, our normal perception of everyday life, therefore, Sobriety was crucial to dealing with the moving of the Assemblage Point (Perception Point). Continuing his story, don Juan said, that he quickly became accustomed to thinking of the old man, who had saved his life, as really a young man masquerading as old. But one day the young man was again the old Belisario don Juan had first met. He and the woman, don Juan thought was his wife, packed their bags, and two smiling men with a team of  mules appeared out of nowhere.


Don Juan laughed, savoring his story. He said, that while the muleteers packed the mules, Belisario pulled him aside and pointed out, that he and his wife were again disguised.
He was again an old man, and his beautiful wife was a fat irascible (easily angered) Indian. "I was so young and stupid, that only the obvious had value for me," don Juan continued. "Just a couple of days before, I had seen his incredible transformation from a feeble (weak, frail) man in his seventies to a vigorous young man in his mid-twenties, and I took his word, that old age was just a disguise. His wife had also changed from a sour, fat Indian to a beautiful slender young woman.  The woman, of course, hadn't transformed herself the way my benefactor had. He had simply changed the woman. Of course, I could have seen everything at that  time, but wisdom always comes to us painfully and in driblets." Don Juan said, that the old man assured him, that his wound was healed although he did not feel  quite well yet. He then embraced don Juan and in a truly sad voice whispered, "the monster has liked you so much, that he has released me and my wife from  bondage and taken you as his sole servant. I would have laughed at him," don Juan went on, "had it not been for a deep animal growling and a frightening rattle, that came from the monster's rooms." Don Juan's eyes were shining with inner delight. I wanted to remain serious, but could not help laughing. Belisario, aware of don Juan's fright, apologized profusely for the twist of fate, that had liberated him and imprisoned don Juan. He clicked his tongue in disgust and cursed the monster. He had tears in his eyes, when he listed all the chores the monster wanted done daily.
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And when don Juan protested, he confided, in low tones, that there was no way to escape, because the Monster's Knowledge of Witchcraft was unequaled. Don Juan asked Belisario to recommend some line of action. And Belisario went into a long explanation about plans of action being appropriate only if one were dealing with average human beings. In the human context, we can plan and plot and, depending on luck, plus our cunning and dedication, can succeed. But in the face of the  unknown, specifically don Juan's situation, the only hope of survival was to acquiesce (accept) and understand. Belisario confessed to don Juan in a barely audible murmur, that to make sure the Monster never came after him, he was going to the state of Durango to learn Sorcery. He asked don Juan if he, too, would consider  learning Sorcery. And don Juan, horrified at the thought, said, that he would have nothing to do with witches. Don Juan held his sides laughing and admitted, that he enjoyed thinking about how his benefactor must have relished their interplay. Especially when he himself, in a frenzy of fear and passion, rejected the bona fide  (genuine) invitation to learn Sorcery, saying, "I am an Indian. I was born to hate and fear witches." Belisario exchanged looks with his wife and his body began to convulse (hiding laughter). Don Juan realized, he was weeping silently (hiding laughter), obviously hurt by the rejection. His wife had to prop (helped) him up, until he regained his composure. As Belisario and his wife were walking away, he turned and gave don Juan one more piece of advice. He said, that the Monster abhorred (abominate, regard with horror) women, and don Juan should be on the lookout for a male replacement on the off chance, that the Monster would like him enough to switch slaves. But he should not raise his hopes, because it was going to be years before he could even leave the house. The Monster liked to make sure his slaves were loyal or at least obedient. Don Juan could stand it no longer. He broke down, began to weep and told Belisario, that noone was going to enslave him. He could always kill himself. The old man was very moved by don Juan's outburst and confessed, that he had had the same idea, but, alas, the Monster was able to read his  thoughts and had prevented him from taking his own life every time he had tried. Belisario made another offer to take don Juan with him to Durango to learn Sorcery. He said it was the only possible solution. And don Juan told him his solution was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Belisario began to weep loudly and  embraced don Juan. He cursed the moment, he had saved the other man's life and swore, that he had no idea they would trade places. He blew his nose, and looking at don Juan with burning eyes, said, "Disguise is the only way to survive. If you don't behave properly, the Monster can steal your Soul and turn you into an idiot,  who does his chores, and nothing more. Too bad I don't have time to teach you acting." Then he wept even more. Don Juan, choking with tears asked him to  describe how he could disguise himself. Belisario confided, that the monster had terrible eyesight, and recommended, that don Juan experiment with various  clothes, that suited his fancy. He had, after all, years ahead of him to try different disguises. He embraced don Juan at the door, weeping openly. His wife touched  don Juan's hand shyly. And then they were gone. "Never in my life, before or after, have I felt such terror and despair," don Juan said. "The Monster rattled things  inside the house, as if he were waiting impatiently for me. I sat down by the door and whined like a dog in pain. Then I vomited from sheer fear."
62-63
Don Juan sat for hours incapable of moving. He dared not leave, nor did he dare go inside. It was no exaggeration to say, that he was actually about to die, when
he saw Belisario waving his arms, frantically trying to catch his attention from the other side of the street. Just seeing him again gave don Juan instantaneous relief.  Belisario was squatting by the sidewalk watching the house. He signaled don Juan to stay put. After an excruciatingly long time, Belisario crawled a few feet on his  hands and knees toward don Juan, then squatted again, totally immobile. Crawling in that fashion, he advanced, until he was at don Juan's side. It took him hours.
A lot of people had passed by, but no one seemed to have noticed don Juan's despair or the old man's actions. When the two of them were side by side, Belisario  whispered, that he had not felt right leaving don Juan like a dog tied to a post. His wife had objected, but he had returned to attempt to rescue him. After all, it was  thanks to don Juan, that he had gained his freedom. He asked don Juan in a commanding whisper whether he was ready and willing to do anything to escape this.  And don Juan assured him, that he would do anything. In the most surreptitious manner, Belisario handed don Juan a bundle of clothes. Then he outlined his plan.  Don Juan was to go to the area of the house farthest from the Monster's rooms and slowly change his clothes, taking off one item of clothing at a time, starting with  his hat, leaving the shoes for last. Then he was to put all his clothes on a wooden frame, a mannequin-like structure he was to build, efficiently and quickly, as soon  as he was inside the house. The next step of the plan was for don Juan to put on the only disguise, that could fool the Monster: the clothes in the bundle. Don Juan ran into the house and got  everything ready. He built a scarecrow-like frame with poles he found in the back of the house, took off his clothes and put them on it.
But, when he opened the  bundle, he got the surprise of his life. The bundle consisted of women's clothes!
"I felt stupid and lost," don Juan said, "and was just about to put my own clothes back on, when I heard the inhuman growls of that monstrous man. I had been reared to despise Women, to believe their only function was to take care of Men. Putting on Women's clothes to me was tantamount (the same as) to becoming a woman.  But my fear of the Monster was so intense, that I closed my eyes and put on the damned clothes."
I looked at don Juan, imagining him in women's clothes. It was an image so utterly ridiculous, that against my will I broke into a belly laugh. Don Juan said, that when old Belisario, waiting for him across the street, saw don Juan in disguise, he began to weep uncontrollably (laugh). Weeping, he guided don Juan to the outskirts of  town, where his wife was waiting with the two muleteers. One of them very daringly asked Belisario, if he was stealing the Weird Girl (means don Juan) to sell her to a Whorehouse. The old man wept so hard, he seemed on the verge of fainting. The young muleteers did not know what to do, but Belisario's wife, instead of  commiserating (feeling pity for Belisario), began to scream with laughter. And don Juan could not understand why. The party began to move in the dark. They took  little-traveled trails and moved steadily north. Belisario did not speak much. He seemed to be frightened and expecting trouble. His wife fought with him all the time  and complained, that they had thrown away their chance for freedom by taking don Juan along.


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Belisario gave her strict orders not to mention it again for fear the muleteers would discover, that don Juan was in disguise. He cautioned don Juan, that because
he did not know how to behave convincingly like a woman, he should act as if he were a girl, who was a little touched in the head. Within a few days don Juan's fear  subsided a great deal. In fact, he became so confident, that he could not even remember having been afraid. If it had not been for the clothes he was wearing, he could have imagined the whole experience had been a bad dream. Wearing women's clothes under those conditions, entailed, of course, a series of drastic changes. Belisario's wife coached don Juan, with true seriousness, in every aspect of being a Woman. Don Juan helped her cook, wash clothes, gather firewood. Belisario  shaved don Juan's head and put a strong-smelling medicine on it, and told the muleteers, that the Girl had had an infestation of lice. Don Juan said, that since he was still a beardless youth it was not really difficult to pass as a woman. But he felt disgusted with himself, and with all those people, and, above all, with his fate. To end up wearing women's clothes and doing women's chores was more, than he could bear. One day he had enough. The muleteers were the final straw. They expected and demanded, that this strange Girl wait on them hand and foot. Don Juan said, that he also had to be on permanent guard, because they would make passes.
I felt compelled to ask a question: "Were the muleteers in cahoots with your benefactor?


"No," he replied and began to laugh uproariously. "They were just two nice people, who had fallen temporarily under his spell. He had hired their mules to carry medicinal plants and told them, that he would pay handsomely, if they would help him kidnap a young woman."
The scope of the Nagual Julian's actions staggered my imagination. I pictured don Juan fending off (turn aside) sexual advances and hollered (yell) with laughter. Don Juan continued his account. He said, that he told the old man sternly, that the masquerade had lasted long enough, the men were making sexual advances. Belisario nonchalantly (casually) advised him to be more understanding, because men will be men, and began to weep again, completely baffling don Juan, who found himself furiously defending Women. He was so passionate about the plight (situation of difficulty) of Women, that he scared himself. He told Belisario, that he was going to  end up in worse shape, than he would have, had he stayed as the Monster's slave. Don Juan's turmoil increased when the old man wept uncontrollably and mumbled inanities (absurd silly remarks): life was sweet, the little price one had to pay for it was a joke, the monster would devour don Juan's soul and not even allow him to kill himself.


"Flirt with the muleteers," he advised don Juan in a conciliatory (peaceful) tone and manner." They are primitive peasants. All they want is to play, so push them  back, when they shove you. Let them touch your leg. What do you care?" And again, he wept unrestrainedly. Don Juan asked him why he wept like that.
"Because you are perfect for all this," he said and his body twisted with the force of his sobbing. Don Juan thanked him for his good feelings and for all the trouble
he was taking on his account. He told Belisario: he now felt safe and wanted to leave.


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"The Art of Stalking is learning all the quirks (oddities) of your disguise," Belisario said, paying no attention to what don Juan was telling him. "And it is to learn them so well, noone will know you are disguised. For that you need to be ruthless, cunning, patient and sweet."
Don Juan had no idea what Belisario was talking about. Rather than finding out, he asked him for some men's clothes. Belisario was very understanding. He gave don Juan some old clothes and a few pesos. He promised don Juan, that his disguise would always be there in case he needed it, and pressed him vehemently (intensity of emotion) to come to Durango with him to learn Sorcery and free himself from the Monster for good. Don Juan said no and thanked him. So Belisario bid him good-
bye and patted him on the back repeatedly and with considerable force. Don Juan changed his clothes and asked Belisario for directions. He answered, that if don Juan followed the trail north, sooner or later he would reach the next town. He said, that the two of them might even cross paths again, since they were all going in  the same general direction - away from the Monster. Don Juan took off as fast, as he could, free at last. He must have walked four or five miles, before he found signs of people. He knew, that a town was nearby and thought, that perhaps he could get work there, until he decided where he was going. He sat down to rest for a  moment, anticipating the normal difficulties a stranger would find in a small out-of-the-way town, when from the corner of his eye he saw a movement in the bushes by the mule trail. He felt someone was watching him. He became so thoroughly terrified, that he jumped up and started to run in the direction of the town; the  Monster jumped at him lurching out to grab his neck. He missed by an inch. Don Juan screamed, as he had never screamed before, but still had enough self-control  to turn and run back in the direction, from which he had come. While don Juan ran for his life, the Monster pursued him, crashing through the bushes only a few feet away. Don Juan said, that it was the most frightening sound he had ever heard. Finally he saw the mules moving slowly in the distance, and he yelled for help.


Belisario recognized don Juan and ran toward him displaying overt (open) terror. He threw the bundle of women's clothes at don Juan shouting: "Run like a Woman, you fool."
Don Juan admitted, that he did not know how to run like a Woman, but he did it. The Monster stopped chasing him. And Belisario told him to change quickly, while
he held the Monster at bay. Don Juan joined Belisario's wife and the smiling muleteers without looking at anybody. They doubled back and took other trails. Nobody spoke for days; then Belisario gave him daily lessons. He told don Juan, that Indian Women were practical and went directly to the heart of things, but that they were also very shy, and that, when challenged, they showed the physical signs of fright in shifty eyes, tight mouths, and enlarged nostrils. All these signs were  accompanied by a fearful stubbornness, followed by shy laughter. He made don Juan practice his womanly behavior skills in every town they passed through.
And don Juan honestly believed he was teaching him to be an actor. But Belisario insisted, that he was teaching him the Art of Stalking. He told don Juan, that  Stalking was an Art applicable to everything, and that there were four steps to learning it: ruthlessness, cunning, patience and sweetness.
I felt compelled to interrupt his account once more. "But isn't Stalking taught in deep, Heightened Awareness?" I asked.
68
"Of course," he replied with a grin. "But you have to understand, that for some men, wearing women's clothes, is the door into Heightened Awareness. In fact, such means are more effective, than pushing the Assemblage Point, but are very difficult to arrange."
Don Juan said, that his benefactor drilled him daily in the four moods of Stalking and insisted, that don Juan understand, that ruthlessness should not be harshness, cunning should not be cruelty, patience should not be negligence and sweetness should not be foolishness. He taught him, that these four steps had to be practiced and perfected, until they were so smooth, they were unnoticeable. He believed Women to be Natural Stalkers. And his conviction was so strong, he maintained, that only in a Woman's disguise could any man really learn the Art of Stalking."


I went with him to every market, in every town we passed, and haggled (bargain) with everyone," don Juan went on. "My benefactor used to stay to one side  watching me. 'Be ruthless, but charming,' he used to say. 'Be cunning, but nice. Be patient, but active. Be sweet, but lethal. Only Women can do it. If a Man acts this way he's being prissy (fussy, finicky).' " And, as if to make sure don Juan stayed in line, the Monstrous Man appeared from time to time. Don Juan caught sight of him, roaming the countryside. He would see him most often after Belisario gave him a vigorous back massage, supposedly to alleviate a sharp nervous pain in his neck. Don Juan laughed and said, that he had no idea, he was being manipulated into Heightened Awareness.


"It took us one month to reach the city of Durango," don Juan said. "In that month, I had a brief sample of the Four Moods of Stalking. It really didn't change me much, but it gave me a chance to have an inkling (a hint, a vague idea or notion) of what being a Woman was like."
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Don Juan said, that I should sit there at that ancient lookout post and use the pull of the Earth to move my Assemblage Point and recall other states of Heightened Awareness, in which he had taught me Stalking. "In the past few days, I have mentioned many times the Four Moods of Stalking," he went on. "I have mentioned Ruthlessness, Cunning, Patience, and Sweetness, with the hope, that you might remember, what I taught you about them. It would be wonderful, if you could use these four moods as the ushers (doorkeepers) to  bring you into a total recollection (control)." He kept quiet for what seemed an inordinately long moment. Then he made a statement, which should not have surprised me, but did. He said he had taught me the Four Moods of Stalking in northern Mexico with the help of Vicente Medrano and Silvio Manuel. He did not  elaborate, but let his statement sink in. I tried to remember, but finally gave up and wanted to shout, that I could not remember something, that never happened. As I was struggling to voice my protest, anxious thoughts began to cross my mind. I knew don Juan had not said, what he had just to annoy me. As I always did when asked to remember Heightened Awareness, I became obsessively conscious, that there was really no continuity to the events I had experienced under his guidance. Those events were not strung together, as the events in my daily life were, in a linear sequence. It was perfectly possible he was right. In don Juan's World, I had no business being certain of anything. I tried to voice my doubts, but he refused to listen and urged me to recollect. By then it was quite dark. It had gotten windy, but I did not feel the cold. Don Juan had given me a flat rock to place on my sternum (central front bone of rib cage).
My awareness was keenly tuned to everything  around. I felt an abrupt pull, which was neither external, nor internal, but rather the sensation of a sustained tugging at an unidentifiable part of myself. Suddenly I began to remember with shattering clarity a meeting I had had years before. I remembered events and people so vividly, that it frightened me. I felt a chill. I told all this to don Juan, who did not seem impressed or concerned. He urged me not to give in to mental or physical fear.
My recollection was so phenomenal, that it was, as if I were reliving the experience. Don Juan kept quiet. He did not even look at me. I felt numbed. The sensation of numbness passed slowly. I repeated the same things, I always said to don Juan, when I remembered an event with no linear existence.
"How can this be, don Juan? How could I have forgotten all this?" And he reaffirmed the same things, he always did.
"This type of remembering or forgetting has nothing to do with normal memory," he assured me. "It has to do with the movement of the Assemblage Point."
He affirmed, that although I possessed Total Knowledge of what Intent is, I did not command that Knowledge yet. Knowing what Intent is, means, that one can, at any time, explain that Knowledge or use it. A Nagual by the force of his position is obliged to command his Knowledge in this manner. "What did you recollect?"
he asked me.
"The first time you told me about the Four Moods of Stalking," I said. Some process, inexplicable in terms of my usual awareness of the world, had released a memory, which a minute before had not existed.

71-72
And I recollected an entire sequence of events, that had happened many years before. Just as I was leaving don Juan's house in Sonora, he had asked me to meet  him the following week around noon, across the U.S. border, in Nogales, Arizona, in the Greyhound bus depot. I arrived about an hour early. He was standing by the door. I greeted him. He did not answer, but hurriedly pulled me aside and whispered, that I should take my hands out of my pockets. I was dumbfounded. He did not give me time to respond, but said, that my fly was open, and it was shamefully evident, that I was sexually aroused. The speed, with which I rushed to cover myself, was phenomenal. By the time I realized it was a crude joke, we were on the street. Don Juan was laughing, slapping me on the back repeatedly and forcefully, as if
he were just celebrating the joke. Suddenly I found myself in a state of Heightened Awareness. We walked into a coffee shop and sat down. My mind was so clear
I wanted to look at everything, see the Essence of Things. "Don't waste energy!" don Juan commanded in a stern voice. "I brought you here to discover if you can eat when your Assemblage Point has moved. Don't try to do more, than that." But then a man sat down at the table in front of me, and all my attention became trapped by him. "Move your eyes in circles," don Juan commanded. "Don't look at that man." I found it impossible to stop watching the man. I felt irritated by don Juan's demands. "What do you see?" I heard don Juan ask. I was seeing a Luminous Cocoon, made of Transparent Wings, which were folded over the Cocoon itself. The Wings unfolded, fluttered for an instant, peeled off, fell, and were replaced by new Wings, which repeated the same process. Don Juan boldly turned my chair, until I was facing the wall. "What a waste," he said in a loud sigh, after I described what I had seen. "You have exhausted nearly all your energy. Restrain yourself.
A warrior needs Focus. Who gives a damn about wings on a Luminous Cocoon?" He said, that Heightened Awareness was like a Springboard. From it one could jump into Infinity. He stressed, over and over, that when the Assemblage Point was dislodged, it either became lodged again at a position very near its customary one or continued moving on into Infinity. "People have no idea of the strange Power we carry within ourselves," he went on. "At this moment, for instance, you have the means to reach Infinity. If you continue with your needless behavior, you may succeed in pushing your Assemblage Point beyond a certain threshold, from which there is no return." I understood the peril he was talking about, or rather I had the bodily sensation, that I was standing on the brink of an abyss, and that, if I leaned forward, I would fall into it. "Your Assemblage Point moved to Heightened Awareness," he continued, "because I have lent you my Energy." We ate in silence, very simple food. Don Juan did not allow me to drink coffee or tea. "While you are using my Energy," he said, "you're not in your own time. You are in mine. I drink water." As we were walking back to my car I felt a bit nauseous. I staggered (waver) and almost lost my balance. It was a sensation similar to that of walking, while wearing glasses for the first time. "Get hold of yourself," don Juan said, smiling. "Where we're going, you'll need to be extremely precise."
73-74
He told me to drive across the international border into the twin city of Nogales, Mexico. While I was driving, he gave me directions: which street to take, when to make right or left hand turns, how fast to go.
"I know this area," I said quite peeved (annoyed). "Tell me where you want to go and I'll take you there. Like a taxi driver."
"O.K.," he said. "Take me to 1573 Heavenward Avenue."
I did not know Heavenward Avenue, or if such a street really existed. In fact, I had the suspicion he had just concocted a name to embarrass me. I kept silent. There was a mocking glint in his shiny eyes. "Egomania is a real tyrant," he said. "We must work ceaselessly to dethrone it." He continued to tell me how to drive. Finally he asked me to stop in front of a one-story, light beige house on a corner lot, in a well-to-do neighborhood. There was something about the house, that immediately caught my eye: a thick layer of ocher (yellow) gravel all around it.


The solid street door, the window sashes (ribbons), and the house trim were all painted ocher, like the gravel. All the visible windows had closed Venetian blinds. To all appearances it was a typical suburban middle-class dwelling. We got out of the car. Don Juan led the way. He did not knock or open the door with a key, but when we got to it, the door opened silently on oiled hinges - all by itself, as far, as I could detect. Don Juan quickly entered. He did not invite me in. I just followed him. I was curious to see, who had opened the door from the inside, but there was no one there. The interior of the house was very soothing. There were no pictures on the smooth, scrupulously (meticulously) clean walls. There were no lamps or book shelves either. A golden yellow tile floor contrasted most pleasingly with the off-white color of the walls. We were in a small and narrow hall, that opened into a spacious living room with a high ceiling and a brick fireplace. Half the room was completely empty, but next to the fireplace was a semicircle of expensive furniture: two large beige couches in the middle, flanked by two armchairs, covered in fabric of the same color. There was a round, solid oak coffee table in the center.


Judging from what I was seeing around the house, the people, who lived there appeared to be well off, but frugal (sparing, not wasteful). And they obviously liked to sit around the fire. Two men, perhaps in their mid-fifties, sat in the armchairs. They stood when we entered. One of them was Indian, the other Latin American. Don Juan introduced me first to the Indian, who was nearer to me.
"This is Silvio Manuel," don Juan said to me. "He's the most powerful and dangerous Sorcerer of my party, and the most mysterious too." Silvio Manuel's features were out of a Mayan fresco. His complexion was pale, almost yellow. I thought he looked Chinese. His eyes were slanted, but without the epicanthic fold (of skin of upper eyelid). They were big, black, and brilliant. He was beardless. His hair was jet-black with specks of gray in it. He had high cheekbones and full lips. He was perhaps five feet seven, thin, wiry (slender, but tough), and he wore a yellow sport shirt, brown slacks, and a thin beige jacket. Judging from his clothes and general mannerisms, he seemed to be Mexican-American. I smiled and extended my hand to Silvio Manuel, but he did not take it. He nodded perfunctorily (with little interest or care).
"And this is Vicente Medrano," don Juan said, turning to the other man. "He's the most knowledgeable and the oldest of my companions. He is oldest not in terms of age, but because he was my benefactor's first disciple."
75-76
Vicente nodded just as perfunctorily, as Silvio Manuel had, and also did not say a word. He was a bit taller, than Silvio Manuel, but just as lean. He had a pinkish  complexion and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. His features were almost delicate: a thin, beautifully chiseled nose, a small mouth, thin lips. Bushy, dark eyebrows contrasted with his graying beard and hair. His eyes were brown and also brilliant and laughed in spite of his frowning expression. He was conservatively dressed in a greenish seersucker (cotton with a crinkled surface) suit and open-collared sport shirt. He too seemed to be Mexican-American. I guessed him to be the owner of the house. In contrast, don Juan looked like an Indian peon (unskilled laborer or a farm worker). His straw hat, his worn-out shoes, his old khaki pants and plaid shirt were those of a gardener or a handyman. The impression I had, upon seeing all three of them together, was, that don Juan was in disguise. The military image came to me, that don Juan was the commanding officer of a clandestine (secret) operation, an officer who, no matter how hard he tried, could not hide his years of command. I also had the feeling, that they must all have been around the same age, although don Juan looked much older, than the other two, yet seemed infinitely stronger.
"I think you already know, that Carlos is by far the biggest indulger, I have ever met," don Juan told them with a most serious expression. "Bigger even, than our benefactor (Nagual Julian). I assure you, that if there is someone, who takes indulging seriously, this is the man." I laughed, but noone else did. The two men observed me with a strange glint in their eyes. "For sure you'll make a memorable trio," don Juan continued. "The oldest and most knowledgeable, the most dangerous and powerful and the most self-indulgent." They still did not laugh. They scrutinized me, until I became self-conscious. Then Vicente broke the silence.
"I don't know why you brought him inside the house," he said in a dry, cutting tone. "He's of little use to us. Put him out in the backyard."
"And tie him," Silvio Manuel added.
Don Juan turned to me. "Come on," he said in a soft voice and pointed with a quick sideways movement of his head to the back of the house. It was more, than  obvious, that the two men did not like me. I did not know what to say. I was definitely angry and hurt, but those feelings were somehow deflected (moved) by My State of Heightened Awareness. We walked into the backyard. Don Juan casually picked up a leather rope and twirled it around my neck with tremendous speed.
His movements were so fast and so nimble (quick, agile), that an instant later, before I could realize, what was happening, I was tied at the neck, like a dog, to one of the two cinder-block columns, supporting the heavy roof over the back porch. Don Juan shook his head from side to side in a gesture of resignation or disbelief and went back into the house, as I began to yell at him to untie me. The rope was so tight around my neck, it prevented me from screaming as loud, as I would have liked. I could not believe, what was taking place. Containing my anger, I tried to undo the knot at my neck. It was so compact, that the leather strands seemed glued  together. I hurt my nails trying to pull them apart. I had an attack of uncontrollable wrath and growled like an impotent animal. Then I grabbed the rope, twisted it around my forearms, and bracing my feet against the cinder-block (partly burnt) column, pulled. But the leather was too tough for the strength of my muscles.
77-78
I felt humiliated and scared. Fear brought me a moment of Sobriety. I knew, I had let don Juan's false aura of reasonableness deceive me. I assessed my situation as objectively, as I could and saw no way to escape except by cutting the leather rope. I frantically began to rub it against the sharp corner of the cinder-block column.
I thought, that if I could rip the rope, before any of the men came to the back, I had a chance to run to my car and take off, never to return. I puffed and sweated and  rubbed the rope, until I had nearly worn it through. Then I braced one foot against the column, wrapped the rope around my forearms again, and pulled it desperately, until it snapped, throwing me back into the house. As I crashed backward through the open door, don Juan, Vicente, and Silvio Manuel were standing in the middle of the room, applauding.
"What a dramatic reentry," Vicente said, helping me up. "You fooled me. I didn't think you were capable of such explosions."
Don Juan came to me and snapped the knot open, freeing my neck from the piece of rope around it. I was shaking with fear, exertion (strenious effort) and anger.
In a faltering (stammer) voice, I asked don Juan, why he was tormenting me like this. The three of them laughed and at that moment seemed the farthest thing from threatening. "We wanted to test you and find out what sort of a man you really are," don Juan said. He led me to one of the couches and politely offered me a seat.  Vicente and Silvio Manuel sat in the armchairs, don Juan sat facing me on the other couch. I laughed nervously, but was no longer apprehensive about my situation, nor about don Juan and his friends. All three regarded me with frank curiosity. Vicente could not stop smiling, although he seemed to be trying desperately to appear serious. Silvio Manuel shook his head rhythmically as he stared at me. His eyes were unfocused, but fixed on me. "We tied you down," don Juan went on, "because we wanted to know whether you are sweet or patient or ruthless or cunning. We found out you are none of those things. Rather you're a king-sized indulger, just as
I had said. If you hadn't indulged in being violent, you would certainly have noticed, that the formidable knot in the rope around your neck was a fake. It snaps.  Vicente designed that knot to fool his friends."
"You tore the rope violently. You're certainly not sweet," Silvio Manuel said. They were all quiet for a moment, then began to laugh.
"You're neither ruthless, nor cunning," don Juan went on. "If you were, you would easily have snapped open both knots and run away with a valuable leather rope.  You're not patient either. If you were, you would have whined and cried, until you realized, that there was a pair of clippers by the wall, with which you could have cut the rope in two seconds and saved yourself all the agony and exertion (strenuous effort). You can't be taught, then, to be violent or obtuse (slow to perceive, lack in discernment). You already are that. But you can learn to be ruthless, cunning, patient, and sweet." Don Juan explained to me that Ruthlessness, Cunning, Patience, and Sweetness were the Essence of Stalking. They were the basics, that with all their ramifications (branching out) had to be taught in careful, meticulous steps.
He was definitely addressing me, but he talked looking at Vicente and Silvio Manuel, who listened with utmost attention and shook their heads in agreement from time to time. He stressed repeatedly, that teaching Stalking was one of the most difficult things Sorcerers did.
79-80
And he insisted, that no matter what they themselves did to teach me Stalking, and no matter what I believed to the contrary, it was Impeccability (not capable of wrong-doings or have no flaws), which dictated their acts.
"Rest assured, we know what we're doing. Our benefactor, the Nagual Julian, saw to it," don Juan said, and all three of them broke into such uproarious laughter, that I felt quite uncomfortable. I did not know what to think. Don Juan reiterated (repeated), that a very important point to consider, was that, to an onlooker, the behavior  of Sorcerers might appear malicious, when in reality, their behavior was always impeccable.
"How can you tell the difference, if you're at the receiving end?" I asked.
"Malicious acts are performed by people for Personal Gain," he said. "Sorcerers, though, have an ulterior (lying deliberately) purpose for their acts, which has  nothing to do with personal gain. The fact, that they enjoy their acts, does not count as gain. Rather, it is a condition of their character. The average man acts only,
if there is the chance for profit. Warriors say: they act not for profit, but for the Spirit." I thought about it. Acting without considering Gain was truly an Alien Concept.
I had been reared to invest and to hope for some kind of reward for everything I did.  Don Juan must have taken my silence and thoughtfulness as skepticism. He laughed and looked at his two companions. "Take the four of us, as an example," he went on. "You, yourself, believe that you're investing in this situation and  eventually you are going to profit from it. If you get angry with us, or if we disappoint you, you may resort to malicious acts to get even with us. We, on the contrary, have no thought of personal gain. Our acts are dictated by impeccability - we can't be angry or disillusioned with you." Don Juan smiled and told me, that from the moment we had met at the bus depot that day, everything he had done to me, although it might not have seemed so, was dictated by impeccability. He explained, that he needed to get me into an unguarded position to help me enter Heightened Awareness. It was to that end, that he had told me my fly was open. "It was a way of jolting (shake) you," he said with a grin. "We are crude (natural, unrefined) Indians, so all our jolts are somehow primitive. The more sophisticated the warrior, the greater his finesse and elaboration of his jolts. But I have to admit, we got a big kick out of our crudeness, especially when we tied you at the neck like a dog."
The three of them grinned and then laughed quietly, as if there was someone else inside the house, whom they did not want to disturb. In a very low voice don Juan said, that, because I was in a state of Heightened Awareness, I could understand more readily, what he was going to tell me about the two Masteries: Stalking and  Intent. He called them the Crowning Glory of Sorcerers old and new, the very thing Sorcerers were concerned with today, just as Sorcerers had been thousands of  years before. He asserted, that Stalking was the beginning, and that before anything could be attempted on the Warrior's Path, Warriors must learn to stalk; next they must learn to intend, and only then could they move their Assemblage Point at will. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I knew, without knowing how, what  moving the Assemblage Point (Point of Perception) could accomplish. But I did not have the words to explain, what I knew. I tried repeatedly to voice my knowledge to them. They laughed at my failures and coaxed me (persuade) to try again. "How would you like it, if I articulate it for you?" don Juan asked. "I might be able to find the very words you want to use, but can't."
81-82
From his look, I decided he was seriously asking my permission. I found the situation so incongruous (out-of-place, not harmonious), that I began to laugh. Don Juan, displaying great patience, asked me again, and I got another attack of laughter. Their look of surprise and concern told me my reaction was incomprehensible to them. Don Juan got up and announced, that I was too tired and it was time for me to return to the world of ordinary affairs.
"Wait, wait," I pleaded. "I am all right. I just find it funny, that you should be asking me to give you permission."
"I have to ask your permission," don Juan said, "because you're the only one, who can allow the words, pent up (repressed) inside you, to be tapped. I think, I made the mistake of assuming you understand more, than you do. Words are tremendously powerful and important and are the magical property of whoever has them.  Sorcerers have a rule of thumb: they say, that the deeper the Assemblage Point moves, the greater the feeling, that one has Knowledge and no words to explain it. Sometimes the Assemblage Point of average persons can move without a known cause and without their being aware of it, except that they become tongue-tied,  confused, and evasive (indefinite)." Vicente interrupted and suggested I stay with them a while longer. Don Juan agreed and turned to face me: "The very first principle of Stalking is that a Warrior stalks himself," he said. "He stalks himself ruthlessly, cunningly, patiently, and sweetly."
I wanted to laugh, but he did not give me time. Very succinctly (clearly expressed in few words) he defined Stalking, as the Art of using behavior in novel ways for  specific purposes. He said,  that normal human behavior in the world of everyday life was routine. Any Behavior, that broke from routine, caused an unusual effect on our Total Being. That Unusual Effect was what Sorcerers sought, because it was cumulative. He explained, that the Sorcerers-Seers of Ancient Times, through their  Seeing, had first noticed, that unusual behavior produced a tremor (vibration) in the Assemblage Point. They soon discovered, that if Unusual Behavior was practiced systematically and directed wisely, it eventually forced the Assemblage Point to move. The real challenge for those Sorcerers-Seers," don Juan went on, "was  finding a system of behavior, that was neither petty (insignificant), nor capricious, but that combined the morality and the sense of beauty, which differentiates  Sorcerers-Seers from plain witches." He stopped talking, and they all looked at me, as if searching for signs of fatigue in my eyes or face. "Anyone, who succeeds in moving his Assemblage Point to a new position, is a Sorcerer," don Juan continued. "And from that new position, he can do all kinds of good and bad things to his  fellow men. Being a Sorcerer, therefore, can be like being a cobbler or a baker. The quest of Sorcerers-Seers is to go beyond that stand. And to do that, they need  Morality and Beauty." He said, that for Sorcerers Stalking was the foundation, on which everything else, they did, was built. "Some Sorcerers object to the term  Stalking," he went on, "but the name came about, because it entails surreptitious behavior (by secret/clandestine means). "It's also called the Art of Stealth (acting in a covert way), but that term is equally unfortunate. We ourselves, because of our nonmilitant temperament, call it the Art of Controlled Folly (Stalking - being foolish). You can call it anything you wish. We, however, will continue with the term Stalking, since it's so easy to say Stalker and, as my benefactor used to say, so awkward to say controlled folly maker."
83-84
At the mention of their benefactor, they laughed like children. I understood him perfectly. I had no questions or doubts. If anything, I had the feeling, that I needed to hold onto every word don Juan was saying to anchor myself. Otherwise my thoughts would have run ahead of him. I noticed, that my eyes were fixed on the  movement of his lips, as my ears were fixed on the sound of his words. But once I realized this, I could no longer follow him. My concentration was broken.
Don Juan continued talking, but I was not listening. I was wondering about the inconceivable possibility of living permanently in Heightened Awareness. I asked myself what would the survival value be? Would one be able to assess situations better? Be quicker, than the average man, or perhaps more intelligent? Don Juan suddenly stopped talking and asked me what I was thinking about. "Ah, you're so very practical," he commented after I had told him my reveries. "I thought, that in Heightened Awareness your temperament was going to be more artistic, more mystical."
Don Juan turned to Vicente and asked him to answer my question. Vicente cleared his throat and dried his hands by rubbing them against his thighs. He gave the clear impression of suffering from stage fright. I felt sorry for him. My thoughts began to spin. And when I heard him stammering, an image burst into my mind - the image I had always had of my father's timidity, his fear of people. But before I had time to surrender myself to that image, Vicente's eyes flared with some strange inner luminosity. He made a comically serious face at me and then spoke with authority and in professorial manner.
"To answer your question," he said, "there is no survival value in Heightened Awareness; otherwise the whole human race would be there. They are safe from that, though, because it's so hard to get into it. There is always, however, the remote possibility, that an average man might enter into such a state. If he does,
he ordinarily succeeds in confusing himself, sometimes irreparably." The three of them exploded with laughter.
"Sorcerers say, that Heightened Awareness is the Portal of Intent" don Juan said. "And they use it as such. Think about it." I was staring at each of them in turn. My mouth was open, and I felt, that if I kept it open, I would be able to understand the riddle eventually. I closed my eyes and the answer came to me. I felt it. I did not think it. But I could not put it into words, no matter how hard I tried. "There, there," don Juan said, "you've gotten another Sorcerer's answer all by yourself, but you still don't have enough Energy to flatten (knock down) it and turn it into words." The sensation I was experiencing was more, than just that of being, unable to voice my thoughts; it was like reliving something, I had forgotten ages ago: not to know what I felt, because I had not yet learned to speak, and therefore lacked the resources to translate my feelings into thoughts. "Thinking and saying, exactly what you want to say, requires untold amounts of energy," don Juan said and broke  into my feelings. The force of my reverie (daydreaming) had been so intense, it had made me forget what had started it. I stared dumbfounded at don Juan and  confessed, I had no idea what they or I had said or done just a moment before. I remembered the incident of the leather rope and what don Juan had told me  immediately afterward, but I could not recall the feeling, that had flooded me just moments ago.
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"You're going the wrong way," don Juan said. "You're trying to remember thoughts the way you normally do, but this is a different situation. A second ago you had an overwhelming feeling, that you knew something very specific. Such feelings cannot be recollected by using memory. You have to recall them by intending them back." He turned to Silvio Manuel, who had stretched out in the armchair, his legs under the coffee table. Silvio Manuel looked fixedly at me. His eyes were black, like two pieces of shiny obsidian. Without moving a muscle, he let out a piercing birdlike scream. "Intent!!" he yelled. "Intent!! Intent!!" With each scream his voice became more and more inhuman and piercing. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt goose bumps on my skin. My mind, however, instead of focusing on the fright I was experiencing, went directly to recollecting the feeling I had had. But before I could savor it completely, the feeling expanded and burst into  something else. And then I understood not only why Heightened Awareness was the Portal of Intent, but I also understood what Intent was. And, above all,
I understood, that that Knowledge could not be turned into words. That Knowledge was there for everyone. It was there to be felt, to be used, but not to be explained. One could come into it by changing Levels of Awareness, therefore, Heightened Awareness was an Entrance. But even the Entrance could not be explained.
One could only make use of it. There was still another piece of Knowledge, that came to me that day without any coaching: that the Natural Knowledge of Intent was available to anyone, but the command of it belonged to those, who probed it.
I was terribly tired by this time, and doubtlessly, as a result of that, my Catholic upbringing came to bear heavily on my reactions. For a moment I believed, that Intent was God. I said as much to don Juan, Vicente and Silvio Manuel. They laughed. Vicente, still in his professorial tone, said, that it could not possibly be God, because Intent was a Force, that could not be described, much less represented.
"Don't be presumptuous (excessively bold, arrogant)," don Juan said to me sternly. "Don't try to speculate on the basis of your first and only trial. Wait until you command your knowledge, then decide what is what."
Remembering the four moods of Stalking exhausted me (sweet, cunning, patient, ruthless). The most dramatic result was a more, than ordinary, indifference. I would not have cared, if I had dropped dead, nor if don Juan had. I did not care whether we stayed at that ancient lookout post overnight or started back in the pitchdark.  Don Juan was very understanding. He guided me by the hand, as if I were blind, to a massive rock, and helped me sit with my back to it. He recommended, that I let natural sleep return me to a normal state of Awareness.


87-88
Right after a late lunch, while we were still at the table, don Juan announced, that the two of us were going to spend the night in the Sorcerers' cave and that we had to be on our way. He said, that it was imperative, that I sit there again, in total darkness, to allow the rock formation and the Sorcerers' Intent to move my Assemblage Point (Point of Perception). I started to get up from my chair, but he stopped me. He said, that there was something he wanted to explain to me first. He stretched out, putting his feet on the seat of a chair, then leaned back into a relaxed, comfortable position: "As I see you in greater detail, I notice more and more how similar you  and my benefactor are." I felt so threatened, that I did not let him continue. I told him, that I could not imagine what those similarities were, but if there were any - a possibility I did not consider reassuring - I would appreciate it, if he told me about them, to give me a chance to correct or avoid them. Don Juan laughed, until tears were rolling down his cheeks. (Tears of Laughter, Happiness, Despair, Loneliness are the purest Sun Energy of Balance, which comes from our eyes! LM).
"One of the similarities is, that when you act, you act very well," he said, "but when you think, you always trip yourself up. My benefactor was like that. He didn't  think too well." I was just about to defend myself, to say there was nothing wrong with my thinking, when I caught a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I stopped cold. Don Juan noticed my shift and laughed with a note of surprise. He must have been anticipating the opposite. "What I mean, for instance, is that you only have problems Understanding the Spirit when you think about it," he went on with a chiding smile. "But when you act, the Spirit easily reveals itself to you. My benefactor was that way. Before we leave for the cave, I am going to tell you a story about my benefactor and the fourth Abstract Core. Sorcerers believe, that until the very  moment of the Spirit's descent, any of us could walk away from the Spirit; but not afterwards." Don Juan deliberately stopped to urge me, with a movement of his eyebrows, to consider what he was telling me. "The fourth Abstract Core is the full brunt (main blow of attack) of the Spirit's descent," he went on. "The fourth Abstract Core is an Act of Revelation. The Spirit reveals itself to us. Sorcerers describe it as the Spirit lying in ambush (surprise attack) and then descending on us,  its prey. Sorcerers say, that the Spirit's descent is always shrouded (screened). It happens and yet it seems not to have happened at all." I became very nervous.
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Don Juan's tone of voice was giving me the feeling, that he was preparing to spring something on me at any moment. He asked me, if I remembered the moment the Spirit descended on me, sealing my permanent allegiance (loyalty) to the Abstract. I had no idea, what he was talking about. "There is a threshold, that once crossed permits no retreat," he said. "Ordinarily, from the moment the Spirit knocks, it is years before an apprentice reaches that threshold. Sometimes, though, the  threshold is reached almost immediately. My benefactor's case is an example." Don Juan said, every Sorcerer should have a clear memory of Crossing, that Threshold, so
he could remind himself of the new state of his Perceptual Potential. He explained, that one did not have to be an apprentice of Sorcery to reach this Threshold, and that the only difference between an average man and a Sorcerer, in such cases, is what each emphasizes. A Sorcerer emphasizes Crossing this Threshold and uses the memory of it as a point of reference. An average man does not Cross the Threshold and does his best to forget all about it. I told him, that I did not agree with his point, because I could not accept, that there was only one Threshold to Cross. Don Juan looked heavenward (towards heaven) in dismay (dishearted) and shook his head in a joking gesture of despair. I proceeded with my argument, not to disagree with him, but to clarify things in my mind. Yet I quickly lost my impetus (stimulus). Suddenly I had the feeling, I was sliding through a Tunnel.


"Sorcerers say, that the fourth Abstract Core happens when the Spirit cuts our chains of self-reflection," he said. "Cutting our chains is marvelous, but also very undesirable, for nobody wants to be free." The sensation of sliding through a Tunnel persisted for a moment longer, and then everything became clear to me. And
I began to laugh. Strange Insights, pent up (repressed) inside me, were exploding into laughter. Don Juan seemed to be reading my mind, as if it were a book.
"What a strange feeling: to realize, that everything we think, everything we say, depends on the position of the Assemblage Point," he remarked. And that was  exactly, what I had been thinking and laughing about. I know, that at this moment your Assemblage Point has shifted," he went on, "and you have understood the Secret of our Chains. They imprison us, but by keeping us pinned down on our comfortable spot of self-reflection, they defend us from the onslaughts of the Unknown." I was having one of those extraordinary moments, in which everything about the Sorcerers' World was crystal clear. I understood everything.
"Once our chains are cut," don Juan continued, "we are no longer bound by the concerns of the Daily World. We are still in the Daily World, but we don't belong there anymore. In order to belong, we must share the concerns of people, and without chains we can't. Sorcerers are no longer in the World of Daily Affairs," don Juan went on, "because they are no longer prey to their self-reflection." Don Juan said, that the Nagual Elias had explained to him, that what distinguishes normal people  is, that we share a metaphorical dagger: the concerns of our self-reflection. With this dagger, we cut ourselves and bleed; and the job of our chains of self-reflection  is to give us the feeling, that we are bleeding together, that we are sharing something wonderful: our Humanity. But if we were to examine it, we would discover, that we are bleeding alone; that we are not sharing anything; that all we are doing is: toying with our manageable, unreal, man-made reflection.
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Don Juan then began his Story about his benefactor and the descent of the Spirit. He said, that the Story started right after the Spirit had knocked on the young actor's door. I interrupted don Juan and asked him why he consistently used the terms "young man" or "young actor" to refer to the Nagual Julian. "At the time of this Story, he wasn't the Nagual," don Juan replied. "He was a young actor. In my story, I can't just call him Julian, because to me he was always the Nagual Julian.  As a sign of deference for his lifetime of Impeccabitity, we always prefix 'Nagual' to a Nagual's name." Don Juan proceeded with his story. He said, that the Nagual Elias had stopped the young actor's death by making him shift into Heightened Awareness, and following hours of struggle, the young actor regained consciousness. The Nagual Elias did not mention his name, but he introduced himself as a professional healer, who had stumbled onto the scene of a tragedy, where two persons  had nearly died. He pointed to the young woman, Talia, stretched out on the ground. The young man was astonished to see her lying unconscious next to him.
He remembered seeing her as she ran away. It startled him to hear the old healer explain, that doubtlessly God had punished Talia for her sins by striking her with lightning and making her lose her mind.
"But how could there be lightning, if it's not even raining?" the young actor asked in a barely audible voice. He was visibly affected, when the old Indian replied, that God's ways couldn't be questioned. Again I interrupted don Juan. I was curious to know if the young woman really had lost her mind. He reminded me, that the  Nagual Elias delivered a shattering blow to her Assemblage Point. He said, that she had not lost her mind, but that, as a result of the blow, she slipped in and out of  Heightened Awareness, creating a serious threat to her health. After a gigantic struggle, however, the Nagual Elias helped her to stabilize her Assemblage Point and she entered permanently into Heightened Awareness. Don Juan commented, that Women are capable of such a Master Stroke: they can permanently maintain a new position of the Assemblage Point. And Talia was peerless (unequal). As soon, as her chains were broken, she immediately understood everything and complied
(act in accordance with) with the Nagual's Designs. Don Juan, recounting his story, said, that the Nagual Elias - who was not only a superb Dreamer, but also a superb Stalker - had seen, that the young actor was spoiled and conceited (self-important), but only seemed to be hard and calloused (unfeeling). The Nagual knew, that if
he brought forth the idea of God, sin, and retribution (pay back), the actor's religious beliefs would make his cynical attitude collapse. Upon hearing about God's  punishment, the actor's facade began to crumble. He started to express remorse, but the Nagual cut him short and forcefully stressed, that when Death was so near, feelings of guilt no longer mattered. The young actor listened attentively, but, although he felt very ill, he did not believe, that he was in danger of dying. He thought, that his weakness and fainting had been brought on by his loss of blood. As if he had read the young actor's mind, the Nagual explained to him, that those optimistic thoughts were out of place, that his hemorrhaging would have been fatal, had it not been for the plug that he, as a healer, had created.
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"When I struck your back, I put in a plug to stop the draining of your Life Force," the Nagual said to the skeptical young actor. "Without that restraint, the unavoidable process of your Death would continue. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you by removing the plug with another blow." As he spoke, the Nagual Elias tapped the young actor on his right side by his ribcage. In a moment the young man was retching (vomiting) and choking. Blood poured out of his mouth, as he coughed uncontrollably. Another tap on his back stopped the agonizing pain and retching. But it did not stop his fear, and he passed out. "I can control your Death for the time being," the Nagual said, when the young actor regained consciousness. "How long I can control it depends on you, on how faithfully you acquiesce (accept) to everything I tell you to do." The Nagual said, that the first requirements of the young man were total immobility and silence. If he did not want his plug to come out,  the Nagual added, he had to behave as if he had lost his powers of motion and speech. A single twitch or a single utterance would be enough to restart his dying. The young actor was not accustomed to complying with suggestions or demands. He felt a surge of anger. As he started to voice his protest, the burning pain and convulsions started up again. "Stay with it, and I will cure you," the Nagual said. "Act like the weak, rotten imbecile you are, and you will die." The actor, a proud young man, was numbed by the insult. Nobody had ever called him a weak, rotten imbecile. He wanted to express his fury, but his pain was so severe, that he could not react to the indignity. "If you want me to ease your pain, you must obey me blindly," the Nagual said with frightening coldness. "Signal me with a nod. But know now, that the moment you change your mind and act like the shameful moron you are, I'll immediately pull the plug and leave you to die." With his last bit of strength the actor nodded his assent (agree, concur). The Nagual tapped him on his back and his pain vanished. But along with the searing pain, something else vanished:
the fog in his mind. And then the young actor knew everything without understanding anything. The Nagual introduced himself again. He told him, that his name was Elias, and that he was the Nagual. And the actor knew what it all meant. The Nagual Elias then shifted his attention to the semiconscious Talia. He put his mouth to  her left ear and whispered commands to her, in order to make her Assemblage Point stop its erratic shifting. He soothed her fear by telling her, in whispers, Stories of Sorcerers, who had gone through the same thing, she was experiencing. When she was fairly calm, he introduced himself as the Nagual Elias, a Sorcerer; and  then he attempted with her the most difficult thing in Sorcery: moving the Assemblage Point beyond the Sphere of the World we know. Don Juan remarked, that seasoned Sorcerers are capable of moving beyond the World we know, but that inexperienced persons are not. The Nagual Elias always maintained, that ordinarily he would not have dreamed of attempting such a feat, but on that day something other, than his Knowledge or his Volition was making him act. Yet the maneuver  worked. Talia moved beyond the World we know and came safely back. Then the Nagual Elias had another Insight. He sat between the two people stretched out on  the ground - the actor was naked, covered only by the Nagual Elias's riding coat - and reviewed their situation. He told them, they had both, by the force of  circumstances, fallen into a trap, set by the Spirit itself.
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He, the Nagual, was the active part of that trap, because by encountering them under the conditions he had, he had been forced to become their temporary protector and to engage his Knowledge of Sorcery in order to help them. As their temporary protector, it was his duty to warn them, that they were about to reach a unique Threshold; and that it was up to them, both individually and together, to attain (reach) that Threshold by entering a mood of abandon, but not recklessness; a mood of caring, but not indulgence. He did not want to say more for fear of confusing them or influencing their decision. He felt, that if they were to cross that Threshold,
it had to be with minimal help from him. The Nagual then left them alone in that isolated spot and went to the city to arrange for medicinal herbs, mats, and blankets to be brought to them. His idea was, that in solitude they would attain and cross that Threshold. For a long time the two young people lay next to each other,  immersed in their own thoughts. The fact, that their Assemblage Points had shifted meant, that they could think in greater depth, than ordinarily, but it also meant, that they worried, pondered, and were afraid in equally greater depth. Since Talia could talk and was a bit stronger, she broke their silence; she asked the young actor if he was afraid. He nodded affirmatively. She felt a great compassion for him and took off a shawl she was wearing to put over his shoulders, and she held his hand. The young man did not dare voice what he felt. His fear, that his pain would recur, if he spoke, was too great and too vivid. He wanted to apologize to her; to tell her, that his only regret was having hurt her, and that it did not matter, that he was going to die - for he knew with certainty, that he was not going to survive the day.
Talia's thoughts were on the same subject. She said, that she too had only one regret: that she had fought him hard enough to bring on his death. She was very  peaceful now, a feeling, which agitated as she always was, and driven by her great strength, was unfamiliar to her. She told him, that her death was very near, too,  and that she was glad it all would end that day. The young actor, hearing his own thoughts being spoken by Talia, felt a chill. A surge of energy came to him then and made him sit up. He was not in pain, nor was he coughing. He took in great gulps of air, something he had no memory of having done before. He took the girl's hand and they began to talk without vocalizing. Don Juan said, it was at that instant, that the Spirit came to them. And they Saw. They were deeply Catholic, and what they Saw was a vision of heaven, where everything was alive, bathed in Light. They Saw a World of Miraculous Sights.
When the Nagual returned, they were exhausted, although not injured. Talia was unconscious, but the young man had managed to remain aware by a supreme effort of self-control. He insisted on whispering something in the Nagual's ear.
"We saw heaven," he whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"You saw more, than that," the Nagual Elias retorted. "You saw the Spirit."
Don Juan said, that since the Spirit's descent is always shrouded, naturally, Talia and the young actor could not hold onto their Vision. They soon forgot it, as anyone would. The Uniqueness of their experience was that, without any training and without being aware of it, they had dreamed together and had seen the Spirit. For them to have achieved this with such ease was quite out of the ordinary. "Those two were really the most remarkable Beings I have ever met," don Juan added.
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I, naturally, wanted to know more about them. But don Juan would not indulge me. He said, that this was all there was about his benefactor and the fourth Abstract Core. He seemed to remember something he was not telling me and laughed uproariously. Then he patted me on the back and told me it was time to set out for the cave. When we got to the rock ledge it was almost dark. Don Juan sat down hurriedly, in the same position as the first time. He was to my right, touching me with his shoulder. He immediately seemed to enter into a deep state of relaxation, which pulled me into total immobility and silence. I could not even hear his breathing.
I closed my eyes, and he nudged (pushed gently) me to warn me to keep them open. By the time it became completely dark, an immense fatigue had begun to make my eyes sore and itchy. Finally I gave up my resistance and was pulled into the deepest, blackest sleep, I have ever had. Yet I was not totally asleep. I could feel the thick blackness around me. I had an entirely physical sensation of wading through blackness. Then it suddenly became reddish, then orange, then glaring white, like a terribly strong neon light. Gradually I focused my vision, until I saw I was still sitting in the same position with don Juan - but no longer in the cave. We were on a mountain-top, looking down over exquisite flatlands with mountains in the distance.

This beautiful prairie was bathed in a Glow that, like Rays of Light, emanated from the land itself. Wherever I looked, I saw familiar features: rocks, hills, rivers,  forests, canyons, enhanced and transformed by their inner vibration, their Inner Glow. This Glow, that was so pleasing to my eyes also tingled out of my very Being. "Your Assemblage Point has moved," don Juan seemed to say to me. The words had no sound; nevertheless I knew, what he had just said to me. My rational  reaction was to try to explain to myself, that I had no doubt heard him as I would have, if he had been talking in a vacuum, probably because my ears had been temporarily affected by what was transpiring. "Your ears are fine. We are in a different Realm of Awareness," don Juan again seemed to say to me. I could not speak. I felt the lethargy of deep sleep preventing me from saying a word, yet I was as alert, as I could be. "What's happening?" I thought. "The cave made your Assemblage Point move," don Juan thought, and I heard his thoughts, as if they were my own words, voiced to myself. I sensed a command, that was not expressed in thoughts. Something ordered me to look again at the prairie. As I stared at the wondrous sight, Filaments of Light began to radiate from everything on that prairie. At first it was like the explosion of an infinite number of short fibers, then the fibers became long Threadlike Strands of Luminosity, bundled together into Beams of Vibrating Light, that reached Infinity. There was really no way for me to make sense of what I was seeing, or to describe it, except as Filaments of Vibrating Light. The Filaments were not intermingled or entwined. Although they sprang, and continued to spring, in every direction, each one was separate, and yet all of them were inextricably (incapable of being freed) bundled together. "You are seeing the Eagle's Emanations and the Force, that keeps them apart and bundles them together," don Juan thought. The instant I caught his thought, the Filaments of Light seemed to consume all my energy. Fatigue overwhelmed me. It erased my vision and plunged me into darkness.
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When I became aware of myself again, there was something so familiar around me, although I could not tell what it was, that I believed myself to be back in a normal State of Awareness. Don Juan was asleep beside me, his shoulder against mine. Then I realized, that the darkness around us was so intense, that I could not even  see my hands. I speculated, that fog must have covered the ledge and filled the cave. Or perhaps it was the wispy low clouds, that descended every rainy night from the higher mountains like a silent avalanche. Yet, in spite of the total blackness, somehow, I saw, that don Juan had opened his eyes immediately after I became aware, although he did not look at me. Instantly I realized, that seeing him was not a consequence of light on my retina. It was, rather, a bodily sense. I became so engrossed in observing don Juan without my eyes, that I was not paying attention to what he was telling me. Finally he stopped talking and turned his face to me, as if to look me in the eye. He coughed a couple of times to clear his throat and started to talk in a very low voice. He said, that his benefactor used to come to the cave quite often, both with him and with his other disciples, but more often by himself. In that cave his benefactor saw the same prairie we had just seen, a Vision, that gave him the idea of describing the Spirit, as the Flow of Things. Had he been, he would have realized in an instant, that what he had seen and described as the Flow of Things was Intent (White Sun Energy of Balance. LM), the Force, that permeates everything. Don Juan added, that if his benefactor ever became aware of the  Nature of his Seeing, he didn't reveal it. And he, himself, had the idea, that his benefactor never knew it. Instead, his benefactor believed, that he had seen the Flow of Things, which was the absolute Truth, but not the way he meant it. Don Juan was so emphatic (definite) about this, that I wanted to ask him, what the difference was, but I could not speak. My throat seemed frozen. We sat there in complete silence and immobility for hours. Yet I did not experience any discomfort. My muscles did not get tired, my legs did not fall asleep, my back did not ache. When he began to talk again, I did not even notice the transition, and I readily abandoned myself to listening to his voice. It was a melodic, rhythmical sound, that emerged from the total blackness, that surrounded me. He said, that at that very moment I was not in my normal state of Awareness, nor was I in Heightened Awareness. I was suspended in a lull, in the blackness of nonperception. My Assemblage Point had moved away from perceiving the Daily World, but it had not moved enough to reach and light a totally New Bundle of Energy Fields. Properly speaking, I was caught  between two perceptual possibilities. This in-between state, this lull of perception had been reached through the influence of the cave, which was itself guided by the Intent of the Sorcerers, who carved it. Don Juan asked me to pay close attention to what he was going to say next. He said, that thousands of years ago, by means of Seeing, Sorcerers became aware, that the Earth was sentient (conscious) and that its (Earth's) Awareness could affect the Awareness of Humans. They tried to find a way to use the Earth's Influence on Human Awareness and they discovered, that certain caves were most effective. Don Juan said, that the search for caves became nearly full-time work for those Sorcerers, and that through their endeavors they were able to discover a variety of uses for a variety of cave  configurations.
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He added, that out of all that work, the only result, pertinent (relevant) to us, was this particular cave and its capacity to move the Assemblage Point, until it reached a lull (calmness) of perception. As don Juan spoke, I had the unsettling sensation, that something was clearing in my mind. Something was funneling my awareness into a long narrow channel. All the superfluous (excessive) half-thoughts and feelings of my normal Awareness were being squeezed out. Don Juan was thoroughly aware of what was happening to me. I heard his soft chuckle of satisfaction. He said, that now we could talk more easily and our conversation would have more depth. I remembered at that moment scores of things he had explained to me before. For instance, I knew, that I was Dreaming. I was actually sound asleep, yet
I was totally aware of myself through my Second Attention - the counterpart of my normal attentiveness. I was certain I was asleep,  because of a bodily sensation plus a rational deduction, based on statements, that don Juan had made in the past. Don Juan repeated, that his benefactor was not a good thinker.
I had just seen the Eagle's Emanations, and don Juan had said, that it was impossible for Sorcerers to have a sustained view of the Eagle's Emanations in any way except in Dreaming, therefore I had to be Dreaming. Don Juan had explained, that the Universe is made up of Energy Fields, which defy description or scrutiny (surveillance). He had said, that they resembled Filaments of ordinary Light, except, that ordinary electric Light is Lifeless, compared to the Eagle's Emanations, which exude (come gradually through an opening) Awareness. I had never, until this night, been able to see them in a sustained manner, and indeed they were made out of a Light, that was alive.
Don Juan had maintained in the past, that my Knowledge and Control of Intent were not adequate to withstand the impact of that sight. He had explained, that normal Perception occurs when Intent, which is pure energy, lights up a portion of the Luminous Filaments inside our cocoon, and at the same time brightens a long  extension of the same Luminous Filaments, extending into Infinity, outside our cocoon. Extraordinary Perception, Seeing, occurs when by the Force of Intent, a different Cluster of Energy Fields energizes and lights up. He had said, that when a crucial number of Energy Fields are lit up inside the Luminous Cocoon, a Sorcerer is able to See the Energy Fields themselves. On another occasion don Juan had recounted the rational thinking of the early Sorcerers. He told me that, through their Seeing, they realized, that Awareness took place, when the Energy Fields inside our Luminous Cocoon were aligned with the same Energy Fields outside. And they believed they had discovered alignment as the Source of Awareness. Upon close examination, however, it became evident, that what they had called alignment of
the Eagle's emanations, did not entirely explain what they were Seeing. They had noticed, that only a very small portion of the total number of Luminous Filaments inside the cocoon was energized, while the rest remained unaltered. Seeing these few Filaments energized, had created a false discovery. The Filaments did not need to be aligned to be lit up, because the ones inside our cocoon were the same as those outside. Whatever energized them was definitely an independent Force. They felt, they could not continue to call it Awareness, as they had, because Awareness was the Glow of the Energy Fields being lit up. So the Force, that lit up the Fields was named Will. Don Juan had said, that when their Seeing became still more sophisticated and effective, they realized, that Will  was the Force, that kept the Eagle's Emanations separated and was not only responsible for our Awareness, but also for everything in the Universe. They saw, that this Force had total Consciousness and that it sprang from the very Fields of Energy, that made the Universe. They decided then, that Intent was a more appropriate name for it, than Will. In the long run, however, the name proved disadvantageous, because it does not describe its overwhelming Importance, nor the living connection it has with everything in the Universe.
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Don Juan had asserted, that our great collective flaw is, that we live our lives completely disregarding that connection. The busyness of our lives, our relentless  interests, concerns, hopes, frustrations and fears take precedence, and on a day-to-day basis we are unaware of being linked to everything else. Don Juan had stated his belief, that the Christian idea of being cast out from the Garden of Eden sounded to him like an allegory for losing our Silent Knowledge, our Knowledge of Intent.  Sorcery, then, was a going back to the beginning, a return to paradise.
We stayed seated in the cave in total silence, perhaps for hours, or perhaps it was only a few instants. Suddenly don Juan began to talk, and the unexpected sound of his voice jarred (had unpleasant effect) me. I did not catch what he said. I cleared my throat to ask him to repeat what he had said, and that act brought me completely out of my reflectiveness. I quickly realized, that the darkness around me was no longer impenetrable. I could speak now. I felt I was back in my normal state of Awareness. In a calm voice don Juan told me, that for the very first time in my life I had seen the Spirit, the Force, that sustains the Universe. He emphasized, that Intent is not something one might use or command or move in any way - nevertheless, one could use it, command it, or move it as one desires.  This contradiction, he said, is the Essence of Sorcery. To fail to understand it had brought generations of Sorcerers unimaginable pain and sorrow. Modern-day  Naguals, in an effort to avoid paying this exorbitant price in pain, had developed a code of behavior called the Warrior's Way, or the Impeccable Action, which  prepared Sorcerers by enhancing their Sobriety and Thoughtfulness. Don Juan explained, that at one time in the remote Past, Sorcerers were deeply interested in the general Connecting Link, that Intent has with everything. And by focusing their Second Attention on that Link, they acquired not only direct Knowledge, but also the ability to manipulate that Knowledge and perform astounding deeds. They did not acquire, however, the Soundness of Mind, needed to manage all that Power.
So in a judicious (having sound judgement) mood, Sorcerers decided to focus their Second Attention solely on the Connecting Link of Creatures, who have Awareness. This included the entire range of existing Organic Beings, as well as the entire range of what Sorcerers call Inorganic Beings, or Allies, which they described as Entities with Awareness, but no life (no physical bodies), as we understand life. This solution was not successful either, because it, too, failed to bring them Wisdom. In their next reduction, Sorcerers focused their Attention exclusively on the Link, that connects Human Beings with Intent. The end result was very much as before. Then, Sorcerers sought a final reduction. Each Sorcerer would be concerned solely with his individual connection. But this proved to be equally ineffective. Don Juan said, that although there were remarkable differences among those four areas of interest, one was as corrupting, as another. So in the end, Sorcerers concerned themselves exclusively with the capacity, that their individual Connecting Link with Intent had to set them free to light the fire from within.
He asserted, that all modern-day Sorcerers have to struggle fiercely to gain Soundness of Mind. A Nagual has to struggle especially hard, because he has more  strength, a greater command over the Energy Fields, that determine Perception, and more training in and familiarity with the intricacies of Silent Knowledge, which is nothing, but direct contact with Intent.
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Examined in this way, Sorcery becomes an attempt to reestablish our Knowledge of Intent and regain use of it without succumbing to it. And the Abstract Cores of the Sorcery Stories are shades of realization, degrees of our being aware of Intent.
I understood don Juan's explanation with perfect clarity. But the more I understood and the clearer his statements became, the greater my sense of loss and despondency (despair). At one moment I sincerely considered ending my life right there. I felt, I was damned. Nearly in tears, I told don Juan, that there was no point in his continuing his explanation, for I knew, that I was about to lose my clarity of mind, and that, when I reverted (to return to the same condition) to my normal state of Awareness, I would have no memory of having seen or heard anything. My mundane Consciousness would impose its lifelong habit of repetition and the  reasonable predictability of its logic. That was why I felt damned. I told him, that I resented my fate. Don Juan responded, that even in Heightened Awareness
I thrived on repetition, and that, periodically, I would insist on boring him by describing my attacks of feeling worthless. He said, that if I had to go under, it  should be fighting, not apologizing or feeling sorry for myself, and that, it did not matter what our specific fate was as long, as we faced it with ultimate abandon. His words made me feel blissfully happy. I repeated over and over, tears streaming down my cheeks, that I agreed with him. There was such profound happiness in me,
I suspected my nerves were getting out of hand. I called upon all my forces to stop this and I felt the sobering effect of my mental brakes. But, as this happened, my clarity of mind began to diffuse. I silently fought - trying to be both less sober and less nervous. Don Juan did not make a sound and left me alone. By the time I had reestablished my balance, it was almost dawn. Don Juan stood, stretched his arms above his head and tensed his muscles, making his joints crack. He helped me up and commented, that I had spent a most enlightening night: I had experienced, what the Spirit was and had been able to summon (call) hidden strength to  accomplish something, which on the surface amounted to calming my nervousness, but at a deeper level it had actually been a very successful, volitional (choosing) movement of my Assemblage Point. He signaled then, that it was time to start on our way back.


We walked into his house around seven in the morning, in time for breakfast. I was famished, but not tired. We had left the cave to climb down to the valley at dawn. Don Juan, instead of following the most direct route, made a long detour, that took us along the river. He explained, that we had to collect our wits (good senses),  before we got home. I answered, it was very kind of him to say "our wits", when I was the only one, whose wits were disordered. But he replied, that he was acting  not out of kindness, but out of Warrior's Training. A Warrior, he said, was on permanent guard against the roughness of human behavior. A Warrior was magical and ruthless, a maverick with the most refined taste and manners, whose wordly task was to sharpen, yet disguise, his cutting edges, so that no one would be able to  suspect his ruthlessness.
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After breakfast I thought it would be wise to get some sleep, but don Juan contended I had no time to waste. He said, that all too soon I would lose the little clarity
I still had, and if I went to sleep I would lose it all. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out, that there is hardly any way to talk about Intent" he said quickly, as
he scrutinized me from head to toe. "But making this statement doesn't mean anything. It is the reason why Sorcerers rely instead on the Sorcery Stories. And their hope is, that someday the Abstract Cores of the Stories will make sense to the listener." I understood, what he was saying, but I still could not conceive, what an Abstract Core was or what it was supposed to mean to me. I tried to think about it. Thoughts barraged me. Images passed rapidly through my mind, giving me no  time to think about them. I could not slow them down enough even to recognize them. Finally anger overpowered me and I slammed my fist on the table. Don Juan shook from head to toe, choking with laughter. "Do what you did last night," he urged me, winking. "Slow yourself down." My frustration made me very aggressive.
I immediately put forth some senseless arguments; then I became aware of my error and apologized for my lack of restraint. "Don't apologize," he said. "I should tell you, that the understanding, you're after, is impossible at this time. The Abstract Cores of the Sorcery Stories will say nothing to you now. Later - years later, I mean - they may make perfect sense to you." I begged don Juan not to leave me in the dark, to discuss the Abstract Cores. It was not at all clear to me what he wanted me to do with them. I assured him, that my present state of Heightened Awareness could be very helpful to me in allowing me to understand his discussion. I urged him to hurry, for I could not guarantee how long this state would last. I told him, that soon I would return to my normal state and would become a bigger idiot, than I was at that moment. I said it half in jest  (joke). His laughter told me, that he had taken it as such, but I was deeply affected by my own words. A tremendous sense of  melancholy overtook me. Don Juan gently took my arm, pulled me to a comfortable armchair, then sat down facing me. He gazed fixedly into my eyes, and for a  moment I was incapable of breaking the force of his stare. "Sorcerers constantly Stalk themselves," he said in a reassuring voice, as if trying to calm me with the sound of his voice. I wanted to say, that my nervousness had passed and, that it had probably been caused by my lack of sleep, but he did not allow me to say  anything. He assured me, that he had already taught me everything there was to know about Stalking, but I had not yet retrieved my Knowledge from the depth of Heightened Awareness, where I had it stored. I told him I had the annoying sensation of being bottled up. I felt there was something locked inside me, something,  that made me slam doors and kick tables, something, that frustrated me and made me irascible (easily angered). "That sensation of being bottled up is experienced by every human being," he said. "It is a reminder of our existing connection with Intent (with the Source of All Suns, LM). For Sorcerers this sensation is even more acute, precisely because their goal is to sensitize (make it sensitive) their Connecting Link, until they can make it function at will. When the pressure of their Connecting Link is too great, Sorcerers relieve it by Stalking themselves."
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"I still don't think I understand what you mean by Stalking" I said. "But at a certain level I think I know exactly what you mean."
"I'll try to help you clarify what you know, then," he said. "Stalking is a procedure, a very simple one. Stalking is special behavior, that follows certain principles. It is secretive, furtive (surreptitious, secretive), deceptive behavior designed to deliver a Jolt. And, when you Stalk yourself you Jolt yourself, using your own behavior in a ruthless, cunning way." He explained, that when a Sorcerer's Awareness became bogged down (got stuck) with the weight of his perceptual input, which was what was happening to me, the best, or even perhaps the only, remedy was to use the idea of Death to deliver that Stalking Jolt. The idea of Death therefore is of  Monumental Importance in the Life of a Sorcerer," don Juan continued. "I have shown you innumerable things about Death to convince you, that the Knowledge of our impending and unavoidable end is what gives us Sobriety. Our most costly mistake as average men, is indulging in a sense of Immortality. It is as though we  believe, that if we don't think about Death we can protect ourselves from it."


"You must agree, don Juan, not thinking about Death certainly protects us from worrying about it."
"Yes, it serves that purpose," he conceded (admit). "But that purpose is an unworthy one for average men and a travesty (grotesque parody) for Sorcerers. Without a clear view of Death, there is no Order, no Sobriety, no Beauty.  Sorcerers struggle to gain this crucial Insight, in order to help them realize at the deepest possible level, that they have no assurance whatsoever, that their lives will continue beyond the moment. That realization gives Sorcerers the Courage to be patient and yet take action, Courage to be acquiescent (accept) without being stupid." Don Juan fixed his gaze on me. He smiled and shook his head. "Yes," he went on. "The idea of Death is the only thing, that can give Sorcerers Courage. Strange, isn't it? It gives Sorcerers the Courage to be cunning without being conceited (vain, self-important), and above all, it gives them Courage to be ruthless without being self-important." He smiled again and nudged me (push gently). I told him I was absolutely terrified by the idea of my Death, that I thought about it constantly, but it certainly didn't give me Courage or spur (stimulus) me to take action. It only made me cynical or  caused me to lapse (fall away by degrees) into moods of profound melancholy. "Your problem is very simple," he said. "You become easily obsessed. I have been telling you, that Sorcerers Stalk Themselves in order to break the Power of Their Obsessions. There are many ways of Stalking Oneself. If you don't want to use the idea of your Death, use the poems you read me to Stalk Yourself."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I have told you, that there are many reasons I like poems," he said. "What I do is Stalk Myself with them. I deliver a Jolt to myself with them. I listen, and as you read, I shut off My Internal Dialogue and let my Inner Silence Gain Momentum. Then the combination of the poem and the Silence delivers the Jolt." He explained, that poets unconsciously long for the Sorcerers' World. Because they are not Sorcerers on the Path of Knowledge, longing is all they have. "Let us see if you can feel what I'm talking about," he said, handing me a book of poems by Jose Gorostiza. I opened it at the bookmark and he pointed to the poem he liked.
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". . . this incessant stubborn dying, this living death, that slays you, oh God, in your rigorous handiwork,
in the roses, in the stones, in the indomitable stars and in the flesh, that burns out, like a bonfire lit by a song,
a dream, a hue, that hits the eye. . . and you, yourself, perhaps have died eternities of ages out there,
without us knowing about it, we dregs, crumbs, ashes of you; you that still are present, like a star,
faked by its very light, an empty light without star, that reaches us, biding its infinite catastrophe."
"As I hear the words," don Juan said when I had finished reading, "I feel, that that man is Seeing the Essence of Things and I can See with him. I don't care what the poem is about. I care only about the feeling the Poet's Longing brings me. I borrow his Longing, and with it I borrow the Beauty. And marvel at the fact, that he, like a True Warrior, lavishes it on the recipients, the beholders, retaining for himself only His Longing. This Jolt, this Shock of Beauty, is Stalking."
I was very moved. Don Juan's explanation had touched a strange chord in me: "Would you say, don Juan, that Death is the only real enemy we have?" I asked him a moment later.
"No," he said with conviction. "Death is not an enemy, although it appears to be. Death is not our destroyer, although we think it is."
"What is it, then, if not our destroyer?" I asked.
"(BI-LOCATION)Sorcerers say Death is the only worthy Opponent we have," he replied. "Death is our Challenger. We are born to take that Challenge, average men or Sorcerers.  Sorcerers know about it; average men do not."
"I personally would say, don Juan, Life, not Death, is the Challenge."
"Life is the process, by means of which Death Challenges us," he said. "Death is the Active Force. Life is the Arena. And in that Arena there are only two contenders (contestants, players) at any time: Oneself and Death."
"I would think, don Juan, that we Human Beings are the Challengers," I said.
"Not at all," he retorted. "We are passive. Think about it. If we move, it's only when we feel the Pressure of Death. Death sets the pace for our actions and feelings and pushes us relentlessly, until it breaks us and wins the bout (match), or else we rise above all possibilities and defeat Death. Sorcerers defeat Death and Death acknowledges the Defeat by letting the Sorcerers go free, never to be challenged again."
"Does that mean, that Sorcerers become immortal?"
"No. It doesn't mean that," he replied. "Death stops challenging them, that's all."
"But what does that mean, don Juan?" I asked.
"It means Thought has taken a Somersault into the Inconceivable (unbelievable)," he said.
"What is a Somersault of Thought into the Inconceivable?" I asked, trying not to sound belligerent (aggressive behaviour). "The problem you and I have is, that we do not share the same meanings."
"You're not being truthful," don Juan interrupted. "You understand what I mean. For you to demand a rational explanation of a Somersault of Thought into the  Inconceivable is a travesty (grotesque parody). You know exactly what it is."
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"No, I don't," I said. And then I realized, that I did, or rather, that I intuited what it meant. There was some part of me, that could transcend my rationality and  understand and explain, beyond the level of metaphor, a Somersault of Thought into the Inconceivable. The trouble was, that part of me was not strong enough to surface at will. I said as much to don Juan, who laughed and commented, that my Awareness was like a yo-yo. Sometimes it rose to a high spot and my command was keen, while at others it descended and I became a rational moron (remarkably stupid). But most of the time it hovered at an unworthy median (medial, directed towards middle), where I was neither fish nor fowl.
"A Somersault of Thought into the Inconceivable," he explained with an air of resignation (passive submission)," is the Descent of the Spirit; the Act of Breaking our Perceptual Barriers. It is the moment, in which man's Perception reaches its limits. Sorcerers practice the Art of sending Scouts, Advance Runners, to probe our Perceptual Limits. This is another reason I like poems. I take them as Advance Runners. But, as I've said to you before, poets don't know as exactly, as Sorcerers, what those Advance Runners can accomplish."
In the early evening, don Juan said, that we had many things to discuss and asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I was in a peculiar state of mind. Earlier I had noticed a strange aloofness (reserved, distant) in myself, that came and went. At first I thought it was physical fatigue, clouding my thoughts. But my thoughts were crystal clear. So I became convinced, that my strange detachment was a product of My Shift to Heightened Awareness. We left the house and strolled around the town's plaza. I quickly asked don Juan about my aloofness, before he had a chance to begin on anything else. He explained it as a Shift of Energy. He said, that as the Energy, that was ordinarily used to maintain the fixed position of the Assemblage Point, became liberated, it focused automatically on that Connecting Link.
He assured me, that there were no techniques or maneuvers for a Sorcerer to learn beforehand to move Energy from one place to the other. Rather it was a matter of an instantaneous Shift, taking place once a certain level of proficiency had been attained. I asked him what the level of proficiency was. "Pure Understanding,"
he replied. "In order to attain that instantaneous Shift of Energy, one needed a clear Connection with Intent, and to get a clear Connection, one needed only to Intend it through Pure Understanding." Naturally I wanted him to explain Pure Understanding. He laughed and sat down on a bench. "I'm going to tell you something fundamental about Sorcerers and their Acts of Sorcery," he went on. "Something about the Somersault of Thought into the Inconceivable." He said, that some Sorcerers were storytellers. Storytelling for them was not only the Advance Runner, that probed their Perceptual Limits, but their Path to Perfection, to Power, to the Spirit. He was quiet for a moment, obviously searching for an appropriate example. Then he reminded me, that the Yaqui Indians had a collection of  historical events they called "the Memorable Dates." I knew, that the Memorable Dates were oral accounts of their History as a Nation, when they waged war against the invaders of their Homeland: the Spaniards first, the Mexicans later. Don Juan, a Yaqui himself, stated emphatically, that the Memorable Dates were accounts of their defeats and disintegration.


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"So, what would you say," he asked me, "since you are a learned man, about a Sorcerer storyteller's, taking an account from the Memorable Dates - let's say, for example, the story of Calixto Muni - and changing the ending, so that instead of describing how Calixto Muni was drawn and quartered by the Spanish executioners, which is what happened, he tells a story of Calixto Muni the victorious rebel, who succeeded in liberating his people."
I knew the story of Calixto Muni. He was a Yaqui Indian, who, according to the Memorable Dates, served for many years on a buccaneer (pirate) ship in the Caribbean in order to learn war strategy. Then he returned to his native Sonora, managed to start an Uprising against the Spaniards and declared a War of Independence, only to be betrayed, captured, and executed.


Don Juan coaxed (persuade) me to comment. I told him I would have to assume, that changing the factual account in the manner he was describing, would be a psychological device, a sort of wishful thinking on the Sorcerer storyteller's part. Or perhaps it would be a personal, idiosyncratic (eccentric, peculiar) way of  alleviating frustration. I added, that I would even call such a Sorcerer storyteller a patriot, because he was unable to accept bitter defeat. Don Juan laughed, until
he was choking.
"But it's not a matter of one Sorcerer storyteller," he argued. "They all do that."
"Then it's a socially sanctioned device to express the wishful thinking of a whole society," I retorted. "A socially accepted way of releasing psychological stress collectively."
"Your argument is glib (fluent in speech and writing, but insincere) convincing and reasonable," he commented. "But, because your Spirit is dead, you can't see the flaw in your argument." He eyed me, as if coaxing me to understand what he was saying. I had no comment, and anything I might have said would have made me sound peevish (contrary, discontented). "The Sorcerer storyteller, who changes the ending of the "factual" account," he said, "does it at the direction and under the auspices (patronage, omen) of the Spirit. Because he can manipulate his elusive Connection with Intent, he can actually change things. The Sorcerer storyteller  signals, that he has intended it by taking off his hat, putting it on the ground, and turning it a full three hundred and sixty degrees counterclockwise. Under the  auspices (omen) of the Spirit, that simple act plunges him into the Spirit itself. He has let his Thought Somersault into the Inconceivable." Don Juan lifted his arm  above his head and pointed for an instant to the sky above the horizon. "Because his Pure Understanding is an Advance Runner probing, that Immensity out there," don Juan went on, "the Sorcerer storyteller knows without a shadow of doubt, that somewhere, somehow, in that infinity, at this very moment the Spirit has  descended. Calixto Muni is victorious. He has delivered his people. His goal has transcended (surpassed) his person."

A couple of days later, don Juan and I made a trip to the mountains. Halfway up the foothills we sat down to rest. Earlier that day, don Juan had decided to find an  appropriate setting, in which to explain some intricate aspects of the Mastery of Awareness. Usually he preferred to go to the closer western range of mountains.  This time, however, he chose the eastern peaks. They were much higher and farther away. To me they seemed more ominous, darker, and more massive.
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But I could not tell whether this impression was my own or if I had somehow absorbed don Juan's feelings about these mountains. I opened my backpack. The Women Seers from don Juan's group had prepared it for me and I discovered, that they had packed some cheese. I experienced a moment of annoyance, because while I liked cheese, it did not agree with me. Yet I was incapable of refusing it whenever it was made available. Don Juan had pointed this out as a true weakness  and had made fun of me. I was embarrassed at first, but found, that, when I did not have cheese around, I did not miss it. The problem was, that the practical jokers in don Juan's group always packed a big chunk of cheese for me, which, of course, I always ended up eating.
"Finish it in one sitting," don Juan advised me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "That way you won't have to worry about it anymore." Perhaps influenced by his suggestion, I had the most intense desire to devour the whole chunk. Don Juan laughed so much, I suspected, that once again he had schemed with his group to set me up. In a more serious mood, he suggested, that we spend the night there in the foothills and take a day or two to reach the higher peaks. I agreed. Don Juan  casually asked me, if I had recalled anything about the four Moods of Stalking. I admitted, that I had tried, but that my memory had failed me.
"Don't you remember my teaching you the Nature of Ruthlessness?" he asked. "Ruthlessness, the opposite of Self-Pity?"
I could not remember. Don Juan appeared to be considering, what to say next. Then he stopped. The corners of his mouth dropped in a gesture of sham (empty pretence) impotence. He shrugged his  shoulders, stood up and quickly walked a short distance to a small level spot on top of a hill. "All Sorcerers are ruthless," he said, as we sat down on the flat ground. "But you know this. We have discussed this concept at length." After a long silence, he said, that we were going to continue discussing the Abstract Cores of the Sorcery Stories, but that he intended to talk less and less about them, because the time was approaching, when it would be up  to me to discover them and allow them to reveal their meaning. "As I have already told you," he said, "the fourth Abstract Core of the Sorcery Stories is called the  Descent of the Spirit, or being moved by Intent. The story says, that in order to let the mysteries of Sorcery reveal themselves to the man, we've been talking about,
it was necessary for the Spirit to Descend on that man. The Spirit chose a moment, when the man was distracted, unguarded, and, showing no pity, the Spirit let its presence by itself move the man's Assemblage Point to a specific position. This spot was known to Sorcerers from then on, as the Place of No Pity. Ruthlessness became, in this way, the first Principle of Sorcery. "The First Principle should not be confused with the First Effect of Sorcery Apprenticeship, which is the Shift  between normal and Heightened Awareness."
"I don't understand what you are trying to tell me," I complained.
"What I want to say is that, to all appearances, having the Assemblage Point Shift is the first thing, that actually happens to a Sorcery apprentice," he replied. "So, it is only natural for an apprentice to assume, that this is the First Principle of Sorcery. But it is not. Ruthlessness is the First Principle of Sorcery. But we have discussed this before. Now I am only trying to help you remember."
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I could honestly have said, that I had no idea what he was talking about, but I also had the strange sensation, that I did. "Bring back the recollection of the first time
I taught you Ruthlessness," he urged. "Recollecting has to do with moving the Assemblage Point." He waited a moment to see whether I was following his suggestion. Since it was obvious, that I could not, he continued his explanation. He said that, mysterious as the Shift into Heightened Awareness was, all that one needed to accomplish it was the Presence of the Spirit. I remarked, that his statements that day either were extremely obscure or I was terribly dense, because
I could not follow his line of thought at all. He replied firmly, that my confusion was unimportant and insisted, that the only thing of real importance was, that
I understand, that the mere contact with the Spirit could bring about any Movement of the Assemblage Point. "I've told you the Nagual is the Conduit of the Spirit,"
he went on. "Since he spends a lifetime impeccably redefining his Connecting Link with Intent, and since he has more energy, than the average man, he can let the Spirit express itself through him. So, the first thing the Sorcerer Apprentice experiences is a Shift in his Level of Awareness, a Shift brought about simply by the  presence of the Nagual. And what I want you to know is, that there really is no procedure involved in making the Assemblage Point move. The Spirit touches the apprentice and his Assemblage Point moves. It is as simple as that." I told him, that his assertions were disturbing, because they contradicted what I had painfully learned to accept through personal experience: that Heightened Awareness was feasible as a sophisticated, although inexplicable, maneuver performed, by don Juan, by means of which he manipulated my Perception. Throughout the years of our association, he had time after time made me enter into Heightened Awareness by striking me on my back. I pointed out this contradiction. He replied, that striking my back was more a trick to trap my attention and remove doubts from my mind,  than a bona fide maneuver to manipulate my Perception. He called it a simple trick, in keeping with his moderate personality. He commented, not quite as a joke, that I was lucky he was a plain man, not given to weird behavior. Otherwise, instead of simple tricks, I would have had to endure bizarre rituals, before he could remove all doubts from my mind, to let the Spirit move my Assemblage Point. "What we need to do to allow Magic to get hold of us is to banish (drive away, expel) doubt from our minds," he said. "Once doubts are banished, anything is possible." He reminded me of an event, I had witnessed some months before in Mexico City, which I had found to be incomprehensible, until he had explained it, using the Sorcerers' Paradigm. What I had witnessed was a surgical operation, performed by
a famous psychic healer. A friend of mine was the patient. The healer was a woman, who entered a very dramatic trance to operate on him. I was able to observe  that, using a kitchen knife, she cut his abdominal cavity open in the umbilical (navel) region, detached his diseased liver, washed it in a bucket of alcohol, put it back in and closed the bloodless opening with just the pressure of her hands. There had been a number of people in the semidark room, witnesses to the operation.
Some of them seemed to be interested observers like myself. The others seemed to be the healer's helpers. After the operation, I talked briefly to three of the  observers. They all agreed, that they had witnessed the same events I had. When I talked to my friend, the patient, he reported, that he had felt the operation, as a  dull, constant pain in his stomach and a burning sensation on his right side.
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I had narrated all of this to don Juan and I had even ventured (doubt) a cynical explanation. I had told him, that the semidarkness of the room, in my opinion, lent  (allow the use) itself perfectly to all kinds of sleight (skillful, cunning) of hand, which could have accounted for the sight of the internal organs being pulled out of the abdominal cavity and washed in alcohol. The emotional shock, caused by the healer's dramatic trance - which I also considered trickery - helped to create an  atmosphere of almost religious faith. Don Juan immediately pointed out, that this was a cynical opinion, not a cynical explanation, because it did not explain the fact, that my friend had really gotten well. Don Juan had then proposed an alternative view, based on Sorcerers' Knowledge. He had explained, that the event hinged on  the salient (striking) fact, that the healer was capable of moving the Assemblage Point of the exact number of people in her audience. The only trickery involved -
if one could call it trickery - was, that the number of people present in the room could not exceed the number, she could handle. Her dramatic trance and the accompanying histrionics (dramatics) were, according to him, either well thought - out devices, the healer used to trap the attention of those present, or unconscious maneuvers, dictated by the Spirit itself. Whichever, they were the most appropriate means, whereby the healer could foster (encourage) the Unity of Thought,  needed to remove doubt from the minds of those present and force them into Heightened Awareness. When she cut the body open with a kitchen knife and removed the internal organs, it was not, don Juan had stressed, sleight (trickery) of hand. These were bona fide (true) events, which, by virtue (worthy practice) of taking place in Heightened Awareness, were outside the realm of everyday judgment. I had asked don Juan how the healer could manage to move the Assemblage Points of  those people without touching them. His reply had been, that the healer's Power, a gift or a stupendous accomplishment, was to serve as a Conduit for the Spirit.
It was the Spirit, he had said, and not the healer, which had moved those Assemblage Points. "I explained to you then, although you didn't understand a word of it," don Juan went on, "that the healer's art and power was to remove doubts from the minds of those present. By doing this, she was able to allow the Spirit to move their Assemblage Points. Once those Points had moved, everything was possible. They had entered into the realm, where Miracles are commonplace." He asserted emphatically, that the healer must also have been a Sorceress, and that, if I made an effort to remember the operation, I would remember, that she had been  Ruthless with the people around her, especially the patient. I repeated to him what I could recall of the session. The pitch and tone of the healer's flat, feminine voice changed dramatically, when she entered a trance into a raspy, deep, male voice. That voice announced, that the Spirit of a Warrior of pre-Columbian Antiquity, had possessed the healer's body. Once the announcement was made, the healer's attitude changed dramatically. She was possessed. She was obviously absolutely sure of herself, and she proceeded to operate with total certainty and firmness. "I prefer the word "Ruthlessness" to "certainty" and "firmness"," don Juan commented, then continued. "That healer had to be ruthless to create the proper setting for the Spirit's Intervention."
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He asserted, that events difficult to explain, such as that operation, were really very simple. They were made difficult by our insistence upon thinking. If we did not  think, everything fit into place.
"That is truly absurd, don Juan," I said and really meant it. I reminded him, that he demanded serious thinking of all his apprentices, and even criticized his own  teacher for not being a good thinker.
"Of course I insist, that everyone around me think clearly," he said. "And I explain, to anyone, who wants to listen, that the only way to think clearly is to not think at all. I was convinced you understood this Sorcerers' Contradiction." In a loud voice I protested the obscurity of his statements. He laughed and made fun of my  compulsion (coercing, forcing) to defend myself. Then he explained again, that for a Sorcerer there were two types of thinking. One was average day-today thinking,  which was ruled by the normal position of his Assemblage Point. It was muddled (mix up the mind) thinking, that did not really answer his needs and left great  murkiness in his head. The other was precise thinking. It was functional, economical, and left very few things unexplained. Don Juan remarked, that for this type of  thinking to prevail (to be greater in strength) the Assemblage Point had to move. Or at least the day-to-day type thinking had to stop to allow the Assemblage Point to shift. Thus the apparent contradiction, which was really no contradiction at all. "I want you to recall something you have done in the past," he said. "I want you to  recall a Special Movement of your Assemblage Point. And to do this, you have to stop thinking the way you normally think. Then the other, the type I call clear thinking, will take over and make you recollect."
"But how do I stop thinking?" I asked, although I knew what he was going to reply.
"By intending the Movement of your Assemblage Point," he said. "Intent is beckoned (signal or summon by waving) with the eyes." I told don Juan, that my mind was shifting back and forth between moments of tremendous lucidity, when everything was crystal clear, and lapses into profound mental fatigue, during which
I could not understand what he was saying. He tried to put me at ease, explaining, that my instability was caused by a slight fluctuation of my Assemblage Point,  which had not stabilized in the new position, it had reached some years earlier. The fluctuation was the result of left-over feelings of Self-Pity.
"What new position is that, don Juan?" I asked.
"Years ago - and this is what I want you to recollect - your Assemblage Point reached the Place of No Pity," he replied.
"I beg your pardon?" I said.
"The Place of No Pity is the site of Ruthlessness," he said. "But you know all this. For the time being, though, until you recollect, let's say, that Ruthlessness, being a specific position of the Assemblage Point, is shown in the Eyes of Sorcerers. It's like a shimmering film over the eyes. The Eyes of Sorcerers are Brilliant. The Greater the Shine, the more Ruthless the Sorcerer is. At this moment, your eyes are dull." He explained that, when the Assemblage Point moved to the Place of No Pity, the Eyes began to Shine. The firmer the Grip of the Assemblage Point on its new position, the more the Eyes shone. "Try to recall what you already know about this," he urged me. He kept quiet for a moment, then spoke without looking at me. "Recollecting is not the same as remembering," he continued. "Remembering is dictated by the day-to-day type of thinking, while recollecting is dictated by the Movement of the Assemblage Point.
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A Recapitulation of their Lives, which Sorcerers do, is the Key to Moving their Assemblage Points. Sorcerers start their Recapitulation by thinking, by remembering the most important acts of their lives. From merely Thinking about them, they then move on to actually being at the site of the event. When they can do that - be at the site of the event - they have successfully shifted their Assemblage Point to the precise spot it was, when the event took place. Bringing back the total event by means of Shifting the Assemblage Point is known as Sorcerers' Recollection."
He stared at me for an instant, as if trying to make sure I was listening. "Our Assemblage Points are Constantly Shifting," he explained, "Imperceptible Shifts.  Sorcerers believe, that in order to make their Assemblage Points Shift to precise Spots, we must engage Intent. Since there is no way of knowing, what Intent is,  Sorcerers let their eyes beckon (signal Intent) it."
"All this is truly incomprehensible to me," I said. Don Juan put his hands behind his head and lay down on the ground. I did the same. We remained quiet for a long  time. The wind scudded the clouds. Their movement almost made me feel dizzy. And the dizziness changed abruptly into a familiar sense of anguish. Every time
I was with don Juan, I felt, especially in moments of rest and quiet, an overwhelming sensation of despair - a longing for something I could not describe. When I was alone, or with other people, I was never a victim of this feeling. Don Juan had explained, that what I felt and interpreted as longing, was in fact the sudden movement of my Assemblage Point. When don Juan started to speak, all of a sudden the sound of his voice jolted me and I sat up.
"You must recollect the first time your eyes shone," he said, "because, that was the first time your Assemblage Point reached the place of No Pity. Ruthlessness possessed you then. Ruthlessness makes Sorcerers' Eyes Shine, and that Shine beckons (signals) Intent. Each spot, to which their Assemblage Points move, is indicated by a Specific Shine of Their Eyes. Since their eyes have their own memory, they can call up the recollection of any spot by calling up the Specific Shine, associated with that spot." He explained, that the reason Sorcerers put so much emphasis on the Shine of Their Eyes and on their gaze, is because the Eyes are directly connected to Intent. Contradictory, as it might sound, the Truth is, that the Eyes are only superficially (be near the surface) connected to the World of  Everyday Life. Their deeper connection is to the Abstract.
I could not conceive how my eyes could store that sort of information, and I said as much. Don Juan's reply was, that man's possibilities are so vast and mysterious,  that Sorcerers, rather than thinking about them, had chosen to explore them, with no hope of ever understanding them. I asked him, if an average man's eyes were  also affected by Intent. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "You know all this. But you know it at such a deep level, that it is Silent Knowledge. You haven't sufficient energy to explain it, even to yourself. The average man knows the same thing about his eyes, but he has even less energy, than you. The only advantages Sorcerers may have over average men is, that they have stored their energy, which means a more precise, clearer Connecting Link with Intent. Naturally, it also means they can recollect at will, using the shine of their eyes to move their Assemblage Points." Don Juan stopped talking and fixed me with his gaze. I clearly felt his eyes guiding, pushing and pulling something indefinite in me.
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I could not break away from his stare. His concentration was so intense, it actually caused a physical sensation in me: I felt, as if I were inside a furnace. And, quite abruptly, I was looking inward. It was a sensation very much like being in an absent-minded reverie, but with the strange accompanying sensation of an intense  Awareness of myself and an absence of Thoughts. Supremely aware, I was looking inward, into Nothingness. With a gigantic effort, I pulled myself out of it and stood up:"What did you do to me, don Juan?"
"Sometimes you are absolutely unbearable," he said. "Your wastefulness is infuriating (enrage, annoy). Your Assemblage Point was just in the most advantageous spot to recollect anything you wanted, and what did you do? You let it all go, to ask me what I did to you." He kept silent for a moment, and then smiled, as I sat down again. "But being annoying is really your greatest asset," he added. "So why should I complain?" Both of us broke into a loud laugh. It was a private joke.
Years before, I had been both very moved and very confused by don Juan's tremendous dedication to helping me. I could not imagine, why he should show me such kindness. It was evident, that he did not need me in any way in his life. He was obviously not investing in me. But I had learned, through life's painful experiences, that nothing was free; and being unable to foresee, what don Juan's reward would be, made me tremendously uneasy. One day I asked don Juan point-blank (aimed at the target), in a very cynical tone, what he was getting out of our association. I said, that I had not been able to guess.
"Nothing you would understand," he replied. His answer annoyed me. Belligerently (aggressively) I told him I was not stupid, and he could at least try to explain it to me. "Well, let me just say that, although you could understand it, you are certainly not going to like it," he said with the smile he always had when he was setting me up. "You see, I really want to spare you." I was hooked, and I insisted, that he tell me what he meant. "Are you sure you want to hear the truth?" he asked, knowing
I could never say no, even if my life depended on it.
"Of course I want to hear whatever it is you're dangling (sway to and fro) in front of me," I said cuttingly. He started to laugh, as if at a big joke; the more he laughed, the greater my annoyance. "I don't see what's so funny," I said.
"Sometimes the underlying Truth shouldn't be tampered with (meddle rashly, interfere in a bad way)," he said. "The underlying Truth here is like a block at the bottom of a big pile of things, a cornerstone. If we take a hard look at the bottom block, we might not like the results. I prefer to avoid that." He laughed again. His eyes, shining with mischievousness, seemed to invite me to pursue the subject further. And I insisted again, that I had to know what he was talking about. I tried to sound calm, but persistent. "Well, if that is what you want," he said with the air of one, who had been overwhelmed by the request.  "First of all, I'd like to say, that  everything I do for you is free. You don't have to pay for it. As you know, I've been impeccable with you. And as you also know, my impeccability with you is not an investment. I am not grooming you to take care of me, when I am too feeble to look after myself. But I do get something of incalculable value out of our association, a sort of reward for dealing impeccably with that bottom block, I've mentioned. And what I get is the very thing you are perhaps not going to understand or like."
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He stopped and peered at me, with a devilish glint in his eyes.
"Tell me about it, don Juan!" I exclaimed, irritated with his delaying tactics.
"I want you to bear in mind, that I am telling you at your insistence," he said, still smiling. He paused again. By then I was fuming. "If you judge me by my actions  with you," he said, "you would have to admit, that I have been a paragon (model of perfection) of patience and consistency. But what you don't know is, that to  accomplish this, I have had to fight for impeccability, as I have never fought before. In order to spend time with you, I have had to transform myself daily, restraining myself with the most excruciating effort." Don Juan had been right. I did not like what he said.
I tried not to lose face and made a sarcastic comeback. "I'm not that bad, don Juan," I said. My voice sounded surprisingly unnatural to me.
"Oh, yes, you are that bad," he said with a serious expression. "You are petty, wasteful, opinionated, coercive (controlling), short-tempered, conceited (holding too high opinion of himself). You are morose (gloomy, ill-humoured), ponderous (dull, graceless), and ungrateful. You have an inexhaustible capacity for self-indulgence. And worst of all, you have an exalted (lofty) idea of yourself, with nothing whatever to back it up. I could sincerely say, that your mere presence makes me feel like vomiting." I wanted to get angry. I wanted to protest, to complain, that he had no right to talk to me that way, but I could not utter a single word. I was crushed. I felt numb. My expression, upon hearing the bottom Truth, must have been something, for don Juan broke into such gales of laughter, I thought he was going to choke.
"I told you, you were not going to like it or understand it," he said. "Warriors' reasons are very simple, but their finesse is extreme. It is a rare opportunity for a Warrior to be given a genuine chance to be impeccable in spite of his basic feelings. You gave me such a unique chance. The act of giving freely and impeccably rejuvenates me and renews my wonder. What I get from our association is indeed of incalculable value to me. I am in your debt." His eyes were shining, but without mischievousness, as he peered at me. Don Juan began to explain what he had done. "I am the Nagual, I moved your Assemblage Point with the shine of my eyes," he said matter-of-factly. "The Nagual's Eyes can do that. It's not difficult. After all, the eyes of all living beings can move someone else's Assemblage Point, especially if their eyes are focused on Intent. Under normal conditions, however, people's eyes are focused on the world, looking for food . . . looking for shelter."
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He nudged (pushed gently) my shoulder. "Looking for love," he added and broke into a loud laugh. Don Juan constantly teased me about my "looking for love."
He never forgot a naive answer I once gave him, when he had asked me, what I actively looked for in life. He had been steering me toward admitting, that I did not  have a clear goal, and he roared with laughter, when I said, that I was looking for love.
"A good hunter mesmerizes his prey with his eyes," he went on. "With his gaze he moves the Assemblage Point of his prey, and yet his eyes are on the World,  looking for food." I asked him if Sorcerers could mesmerize people with their gaze. He chuckled and said, that what I really wanted to know was, if I could mesmerize Women with my Gaze, in spite of the fact, that my eyes were focused on the World, looking for love. He added, seriously, that the Sorcerers' safety valve was, that by the time their eyes were really focused on Intent, they were no longer interested in mesmerizing anyone. "But, for Sorcerers to use the Shine of their Eyes to move their own or anyone else's Assemblage Point," he continued, "they have to be Ruthless. That is, they have to be familiar with that specific position of the  Assemblage Point, called the Place of No Pity. This is especially true for the Naguals." He said, that each Nagual developed a brand of Ruthlessness, specific to him  alone. He took my case, as an example, and said that, because of my unstable natural configuration, I appeared to Seers as a Sphere of Luminosity not composed of  four Balls, compressed into one - the usual structure of a Nagual, - but as a Sphere, composed of only three compressed Balls. This configuration made me  automatically hide my Ruthlessness behind a mask of indulgence and laxness (not firm, negligence). "Naguals are very misleading," don Juan went on. "They always give the impression of something they are not, and they do it so completely, that everybody, including those, who know them best, believe their  masquerade."
"I really don't understand how you can say, that I am masquerading, don Juan," I protested.
"You pass yourself off as an indulgent, relaxed man," he said. "You give the impression of being generous, of having great compassion. And everybody is  convinced of your genuineness. They can even swear, that that is the way you are."
"But that is the way I am!"
Don Juan doubled up with laughter. The direction the conversation had taken was not to my liking. I wanted to set the record straight. I argued vehemently (ardent,  full of conviction), that I was truthful in everything I did, and challenged him to give me an example of my being otherwise. He said, I compulsively treated people  with unwarranted generosity, giving them a false sense of my ease and openness. And I argued, that being open was my nature. He laughed and retorted, that if this were the case, why should be, that I always demanded, without voicing it, that the people, I dealt with, be aware I was deceiving them? The proof was, that when  they failed to be aware of my ploy and took my pseudo-laxness (negligence) at face value, I turned on them with exactly the cold Ruthlessness, I was trying to mask. His comments made me feel desperate, because I couldn't argue with them. I remained quiet. I did not want to show, that I was hurt. I was wondering what to do,  when he stood and started to walk away. I stopped him by holding his sleeve. It was an unplanned move on my part, which startled me and made him laugh. He sat  down again with a look of surprise on his face.
"I didn't mean to be rude," I said, "but I've got to know more about this. It upsets me."
"Make your Assemblage Point move," he urged. "We've discussed Ruthlessness before. Recollect it!" He eyed me with genuine expectation, although he must have seen, that I could not recollect anything, for he continued to talk about the Naguals' Patterns of Ruthlessness. He said, that his own method consisted of subjecting people to a flurry (burst of confusion, stir) of coercion (control) and denial, hidden behind sham (empty pretence) of understanding and reasonableness.
"What about all the explanations you give me?" I asked. "Aren't they the result of genuine reasonableness and desire to help me understand?"
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"No," he replied. "They are the result of my Ruthlessness." I argued passionately, that my own desire to understand was genuine. He patted me on the shoulder and explained, that my desire to understand was genuine, but my generosity was not. He said, that Naguals masked their Ruthlessness automatically, even against their will. As I listened to his explanation, I had the peculiar sensation in the back of my mind, that at some point we had covered the concept of Ruthlessness extensively.
"I'm not a rational man," he continued, looking into my eyes. "I only appear to be, because my mask is so effective. What you perceive as reasonableness, is my lack of pity, because that's what Ruthlessness is: a total lack of pity. "In your case, since you mask your lack of pity with generosity, you appear at ease, open. But actually you are as generous, as I am reasonable. We are both fakes. We have perfected the Art of disguising the fact, that we feel no pity." He said, his benefactor's total Lack of Pity was masked behind the facade of an easygoing, practical joker with an irresistible need to poke fun at anyone, with whom he came into contact.
"My benefactor's mask was that of a happy, unruffled man without a care in the World," don Juan continued. "But underneath all that he was, like all the Naguals, as cold as the Arctic Wind."
"But you are not cold, don Juan," I said sincerely.
"Of course I am," he insisted. "The effectiveness of my mask is what gives you the impression of warmth." He went on to explain, that the Nagual Elias's mask  consisted of a maddening meticulousness about all details and accuracy, which created the false impression of attention and thoroughness. He started to describe  the Nagual Elias's behavior. As he talked, he kept watching me. And perhaps because he was observing me so intently, I was unable to concentrate at all on what
he was saying. I made a supreme effort to gather my thoughts. He watched me for an instant, then went back to explaining Ruthlessness, but I no longer needed his explanation. I told him, that I had recollected, what he wanted me to recollect: the first time my eyes had shone. Very early in my apprenticeship I had achieved - by myself - a shift in my level of Awareness. My Assemblage Point reached the position called the Place of no Pity.


Don Juan told me, that there was no need to talk about the details of my recollection, at least not at that moment, because talk was used only to lead one to  recollecting. Once the Assemblage Point moved, the total experience was relived. He also told me the best way to assure a complete recollection was: to walk  around. And so both of us stood up; walked very slowly and in silence, following a trail in those mountains, until I had recollected everything. We were in the outskirts of Guaymas, in northern Mexico, on a drive from Nogales, Arizona, when it became evident to me, that something was wrong with don Juan.


135-136
For the last hour or so he had been unusually quiet and somber. I did not think anything of it, but then, abruptly, his body twitched out of control. His chin hit his chest as if his neck muscles could no longer support the weight of his head.
"Are you getting carsick, don Juan?" I asked, suddenly alarmed. He did not answer. He was breathing through his mouth. During the first part of our drive, which had taken several hours, he had been fine. We had talked a great deal about everything. When we had stopped in the city of Santa Ana to get gas, he was even doing  push-outs against the roof of the car to loosen up the muscles of his shoulders.
"What's wrong with you, don Juan?" I asked. I felt pangs of anxiety in my stomach. With his head down, he mumbled, that he wanted to go to a particular restaurant  and in a slow, faltering (hesitant, stumble, stagger) voice gave me precise directions on how to get there. I parked my car on a side street, a block from the  restaurant. As I opened the car door on my side, he held onto my arm with an iron grip. Painfully, and with my help, he dragged himself out of the car, over the  driver's seat. Once he was on the sidewalk, he held onto my shoulders with both hands to straighten his back. In ominous silence, we shuffled down the street  toward the dilapidated building, where the restaurant was. Don Juan was hanging onto my arm with all his weight. His breathing was so accelerated and the tremor
in his body so alarming, that I panicked. I stumbled and had to brace myself against the wall to keep us both from falling to the sidewalk. My anxiety was so intense,
I could not think. I looked into his eyes. They were dull. They did not have the usual shine. We clumsily entered the restaurant and a solicitous waiter rushed over,
as if on cue, to help don Juan.


"How are you feeling today?" he yelled into don Juan's ear. He practically carried don Juan from the door to a table, seated him, and then disappeared.
"Does he know you, don Juan?" I asked when we were seated. Without looking at me, he mumbled something unintelligible. I stood up and went to the kitchen to look for the busy waiter. "Do you know the old man I am with?" I asked when I was able to corner him.
"Of course I know him," he said with the attitude of someone, who has just enough patience to answer one question. "He's the old man, who suffers from strokes."
That statement settled things for me. I knew then, that don Juan had suffered a mild stroke, while we were driving. There was nothing I could have done to avoid it,  but I felt helpless and apprehensive. The feeling, that the worst had not yet happened, made me feel sick to my stomach. I went back to the table and sat down in  silence. Suddenly the same waiter arrived with two plates of fresh shrimp and two large bowls of sea-turtle soup. The thought occurred to me, that either the  restaurant served only shrimp and sea-turtle soup or don Juan ate the same thing every time he was here. The waiter talked so loudly to don Juan, he could be heard above the clatter (loud rattling sound) of customers.


"Hope you like your food!" he yelled. "If you need me, just lift your arm. I'll come right away."
Don Juan nodded his head affirmatively and the waiter left, after patting don Juan affectionately on the back. Don Juan ate voraciously (ravenous, eager to consume large amount of food), smiling to himself from time to time.
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I was so apprehensive, that just the thought of food made me feel nauseous. But then I reached a familiar threshold of anxiety, and the more I worried, the hungrier
I became. I tried the food and found it incredibly good. I felt somewhat better after having eaten, but the situation had not changed, nor had my anxiety diminished.  When don Juan was through eating, he shot his arm straight above his head. In a moment, the waiter came over and handed me the bill. I paid him and he helped don Juan stand up. He guided him by the arm out of the restaurant. The waiter even helped him out to the street and said goodbye to him effusively (demonstrative).
We walked back to the car in the same laborious way, don Juan leaning heavily on my arm, panting and stopping to catch his breath every few steps. The waiter  stood in the doorway, as if to make sure I was not going to let don Juan fall. Don Juan took two or three full minutes to climb into the car.
"Tell me, what can I do for you, don Juan?" I pleaded.
"Turn the car around," he ordered in a faltering (stumble), barely audible voice. "I want to go to the other side of town, to the store. They know me there, too.
They are my friends." I told him I had no idea what store he was talking about. He mumbled incoherently and had a tantrum (a fit of bad temper). He stamped on the  floor of the car with both feet. He pouted (protrude the lip displeased) and actually drooled (dribble) on his shirt. Then he seemed to have an instant of lucidity. I got  extremely nervous, watching him struggle to arrange his thoughts. He finally succeeded in telling me how to get to the store. My discomfort was at its peak.
I was afraid, that the stroke don Juan had suffered was more serious, than I thought. I wanted to be rid of him, to take him to his family or his friends, but I did not  know, who they were. I did not know what else to do. I made a U-turn and drove to the store, which he said was on the other side of town. I wondered about going  back to the restaurant to ask the waiter, if he knew don Juan's family. I hoped someone in the store might know him. The more I thought about my predicament, the sorrier
I felt for myself. Don Juan was finished. I had a terrible sense of loss, of doom. I was going to miss him, but my sense of loss was offset by my feeling of  annoyance at being saddled with him at his worst. I drove around for almost an hour, looking for the store. I could not find it. Don Juan admitted, that he might have made a mistake, that the store might be in a different town. By then I was completely exhausted and had no idea what to do next. In my normal state of Awareness I always had the strange feeling, that I knew more about him, than my reason told me. Now, under the pressure of his mental deterioration, I was certain, without  knowing why, that his friends were waiting for him somewhere in Mexico, although I did not know where. My exhaustion was more, than physical. It was a  combination of worry and guilt. It worried me, that I was stuck with a feeble old man, who might, for all I knew, be mortally ill. And I felt guilty for being so disloyal to him. I parked my car near the waterfront. It took nearly ten minutes for don Juan to get out of the car. We walked toward the ocean, but as we got closer, don Juan  shied (shy) like a mule and refused to go on. He mumbled, that the water of Guaymas Bay scared him. He turned around and led me to the main square: a dusty plaza without even benches. Don Juan sat down on the curb.
139-140
A street-cleaning truck went by, rotating its steel brushes, but no water was squirting (eject liquid) into them. The cloud of dust made me cough. I was so disturbed by my situation, that the thought of leaving him sitting there, crossed my mind. I felt embarrassed at having had such a thought and patted don Juan's back.
"You must make an effort and tell me where I can take you," I said softly. "Where do you want me to go."
"I want you to go to hell!" he replied in a cracked, raspy voice. Hearing him speak to me like this, I had the suspicion, that don Juan might not have suffered from a  stroke, but some other crippling brain condition, that had made him lose his mind and become violent. Suddenly he stood up and walked away from me.


I noticed  how frail he looked. He had aged in a matter of hours. His natural vigor was gone, and what I saw before me was a terribly old, weak man. I rushed to lend him a hand. A wave of immense pity enveloped me. I saw myself old and weak, barely able to walk. It was intolerable. I was close to weeping, not for don Juan, but for myself. I held his arm and made him a silent promise, that I would look after him, no matter what. I was lost in a reverie (musing, daydreaming) of self-pity, when I felt the  numbing force of a slap across my face. Before I recovered from the surprise, don Juan slapped me again across the back of my neck. He was standing facing me,  shivering with rage. His mouth was half open and shook uncontrollably. "Who are you?" he yelled in a strained voice. He turned to a group of onlookers, who had immediately gathered. "I don't know, who this man is," he said to them. "Help me. I'm a lonely old Indian. He's a foreigner and he wants to kill me. They do that to helpless old people, kill them for pleasure." There was a murmur of disapproval. Various young, husky men looked at me menacingly.
"What are you doing, don Juan?" I asked him in a loud voice. I wanted to reassure the crowd, that I was with him. "I don't know you," don Juan shouted. "Leave me alone." He turned to the crowd and asked them to help him. He wanted them to restrain me, until the police came. "Hold him," he insisted. "And someone, please call the police. They'll know what to do with this man." I had the image of a Mexican jail. No one would know where I was. The idea, that months would go by, before  anyone noticed my disappearance, made me react with vicious speed. I kicked the first young man, who came close to me, then took off at a panicked run. I knew,
I was running for my life. Several young men ran after me. As I raced toward the main street, I realized, that in a small city like Guaymas, there were policemen all over the place patrolling on foot. There were none in sight, and before I ran into one, I entered the first store in my path. I pretended to be looking for curios  (bric-a-brac, curious object of art). The young men running after me went by noisily. I conceived a quick plan: to buy as many things, as I could. I was counting on  being taken for a tourist by the people in the store. Then I was going to ask someone to help me carry the packages to my car. It took me quite a while to select what I wanted. I paid a young man in the store to help me carry my packages, but as I got closer to my car, I saw don Juan standing by it, still surrounded by people.
He was talking to a policeman, who was taking notes. It was useless. My plan had failed.
141-142
There was no way to get to my car. I instructed the young man to leave my packages on the sidewalk. I told him a friend of mine was going to drive by presently to take me to my hotel. He left and I remained hidden behind the packages I was holding in front of my face, out of sight of don Juan and the people around him. I saw the policeman examining my California license plates. And that completely convinced me I was done for. The accusation of the crazy old man was too grave. And the fact, that I had run away would have only reinforced my guilt in the eyes of any policeman. Besides, I would not have put it past the policeman to ignore the truth, just to arrest a foreigner. I stood in a doorway for perhaps an hour. The policeman left, but the crowd remained around don Juan, who was shouting and agitatedly moving his arms. I was too far away to hear what he was saying, but I could imagine the gist (essence) of his fast, nervous shouting. I was in desperate need of another plan.  I considered checking into a hotel and waiting there for a couple of days, before venturing out to get my car. I thought of going back to the store and having them call a taxi. I had never had to hire a cab in Guaymas and I had no idea if there were any. But my plan died instantly with the realization, that if the police were fairly  competent, and had taken don Juan seriously, they would check the hotels. Perhaps the policeman had left don Juan in order to do just that. Another alternative, that crossed my mind was to get to the bus station and catch a bus to any town along the international border. Or to take any bus leaving Guaymas any direction.
I abandoned the idea immediately. I was sure don Juan had given my name to the policeman and the police had probably already alerted the bus companies.
My mind plunged into blind panic. I took short breaths to calm my nerves. I noticed then, that the crowd around don Juan was beginning to disperse. The policeman returned with a colleague, and the two of them moved away, walking slowly toward the end of the street. It was at that point, that I felt sudden uncontrollable urge.
It was as if my body were disconnected from my brain. I walked to my car, carrying the packages. Without even the slightest trace of fear or concern, I opened the trunk, put the packages inside, then opened the driver's door. Don Juan was on the sidewalk, by my car, looking at me absentmindedly. I stared at him with a thoroughly uncharacteristic coldness. Never in my life had I had such a feeling. It was not hatred I felt, or even anger. I was not even annoyed with him. What I felt was not resignation or patience, either. And it was certainly not kindness. Rather it was a cold indifference, a frightening lack of pity. At that instant, I could not have cared less about what happened to don Juan or myself. Don Juan shook his upper body the way a dog shakes itself dry after a swim. And then, as if all of it had only been a bad dream, he was again the man I knew. He quickly turned his jacket inside out. It was a reversible jacket, beige on one side and black on the other. Now
he was wearing a black jacket. He threw his straw hat inside the car and carefully combed his hair. He pulled his shirt collar over the jacket collar, instantly making  himself look younger. Without saying a word, he helped me put the rest of the packages in the car. When the two policemen ran back to us, blowing their whistles,  drawn by the noise of the car doors being opened and closed, don Juan very nimbly (agile, quick) rushed to meet them. He listened to them attentively and assured them they had nothing to worry about. He explained, that they must have encountered his father, a feeble old Indian, who suffered from brain damage.
143-144
As he talked to them, he opened and closed the car doors, as if checking the locks. He moved the packages from the trunk to the back seat. His agility and youthful  strength were the opposite of the old man's movements of a few minutes ago. I knew, that he was acting for the benefit of the policeman, who had seen him before.  If I had been that man, there would have been no doubt in my mind, that I was now seeing the son of the old brain-damaged Indian. Don Juan gave them the name of  the restaurant, where they knew his father and then bribed them shamelessly. I did not bother to say anything to the policemen. There was something, that made me feel hard, cold, efficient, silent. We got in the car without a word. The policemen did not attempt to ask me anything. They seemed too tired even to try. We drove away.
"What kind of act did you pull out there, don Juan?" I asked, and the coldness in my tone surprised me.
"It was the first lesson in Ruthlessness," he said. He remarked, that on our way to Guaymas he had warned me about the impending (imminent) lesson on  Ruthlessness. I confessed, that I had not paid attention, because I had thought, that we were just making conversation to break the monotony of driving. "I never just make conversation," he said sternly. "You should know that by now. What I did this afternoon was to create the proper situation for you to move your Assemblage  Point to the precise spot, where Pity disappears. That spot is known as the Place of No Pity. "The problem, that Sorcerers have to solve," he went on, "is that the  Place of No Pity has to be reached with only minimal help. The Nagual sets the scene, but it is the apprentice, who makes his Assemblage Point move. "Today you  just did that. I helped you, perhaps a bit dramatically, by moving my own Assemblage Point to specific position, that made me into a feeble and unpredictable old  man. I was not just acting old and feeble. I was old." The mischievous glint in his eyes told me, that he was enjoying the moment. "It was not absolutely necessary,  that I do that," he went on. "I could have directed you to move your Assemblage Point without the hard tactics, but I couldn't help myself, this event will never be  repeated, I wanted to know whether or not I could act, in some measure, like my own benefactor. Believe me, I surprised myself as much, as I must have surprised  you." I felt incredibly at ease. I had no problems in accepting, what he was saying to me, and no questions, because I understood everything without needing him to explain. He then said something, which I already knew, but could not verbalize, because I would not have been able to find the appropriate words to describe it.
He said, that everything Sorcerers did was done as a consequence of a Movement of their Assemblage Points, and that such movements were ruled by the amount  of Energy Sorcerers had at their command. I mentioned to don Juan, that I knew all that and much more. And he commented, that inside every human being was a gigantic, dark lake of Silent Knowledge, which each of us could intuit. He told me I could intuit it perhaps with a bit more clarity, than the average man, because of my involvement in the Warrior's Path.
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He then said, that Sorcerers were the only Beings on Earth, who deliberately went beyond the intuitive level by training themselves to do two transcendental things (concerned with intuitive basis of Knowedge, rising above common thoughts): first, to conceive (form in the mind) the existence of the Assemblage Point (Spirit), and second, to make that Assemblage Point move. He emphasized over and over, that the most sophisticated Knowledge Sorcerers possessed, was of our Potential as Perceiving Beings, and the Knowledge, that the Content of Perception depended on the position of the Assemblage Point. At that point I began to experience a unique difficulty in concentrating, on what he was saying, not because I was distracted or fatigued, but because my mind, on its own, had started to Play the Game of anticipating his words. It was as if an unknown part of myself were inside me, trying unsuccessfully to find adequate words to voice a thought. As don Juan spoke,
I felt I could anticipate how he was going to express my own silent thoughts. I was thrilled to realize his choice of words was always better, than mine could have been. But anticipating his words also diminished my concentration. I abruptly pulled over to the side of the road.
And right there I had, for the first time in my life, a clear Knowledge of a Dualism in me. Two obviously separate parts were within my Being. One was extremely old,  at ease, indifferent. It was heavy, dark, and connected to everything else. It was the part of me, that did not care, because it was equal to anything. It enjoyed things  with no expectation. The other part was light, new, fluffy, agitated. It was nervous, fast. It cared about itself, because it was insecure and did not enjoy anything,  simply because it lacked the capacity to connect itself to anything. It was alone, on the surface, vulnerable. That was the part, with which I looked at the World.
I deliberately looked around with that part. Everywhere I looked I saw extensive farmlands. And that insecure, fluffy, and caring part of me got caught between being proud of the industriousness of man and being sad at the sight of the magnificent old Sonoran desert, turned into an orderly scene of furrows and domesticated  plants. The old, dark, heavy part of me did not care. And the two parts entered into a debate. The fluffy part wanted the heavy part to care, and the heavy part wanted the other one to stop fretting, and to enjoy.
"Why did you stop?" don Juan asked. His voice produced a reaction, but it would be inaccurate to say, that it was I, who reacted. The sound of his voice seemed to  solidify the fluffy part, and suddenly I was recognizably myself. I described to don Juan the realization I had just had about My Dualism. As he began to explain it in  terms of the position of the Assemblage Point I lost my solidity. The fluffy part became as fluffy, as it had been when I first noticed My Dualism, and, once again,
I knew what don Juan was explaining. He said, that when the Assemblage Point moves and reaches the Place of No Pity, the position of rationality and common  sense becomes weak. The sensation I was having, if an older, dark, silent side was a view of the antecedents of reason (goes before reason).
"I know exactly what you are saying," I told him. "I know a great number of things, but I can't speak of what I know. I don't know how to begin."
"I have mentioned this to you already," he said. "What you are experiencing and call Dualism is a view from another position of your Assemblage Point. From that position, you can feel the older side of Human. And what the older side of Human knows is called Silent Knowledge. It's a Knowledge, that you cannot yet voice."
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"Why not?" I asked.
"Because in order to voice it, it is necessary for you to have and use an inordinate amount of energy," he replied. "You don't, at this time, have that kind of energy to spare. "Silent Knowledge is something, that all of us have," he went on. "Something, that has Complete Mastery, Complete Knowledge of everything. But it cannot think, therefore, it cannot speak of what it knows. "Sorcerers believe, that when Human became aware, that she knew, and wanted to be conscious of what she knew, she lost sight of what she knew. This Silent Knowledge, which you cannot describe, is, of course, Intent - the Spirit, the Abstract. Man's error was to want to know it directly, the way he knew everyday life. The more he wanted, the more ephemeral (short-lived, transitory) it became."
"But what does that mean in plain words, don Juan?" I asked.
"It means, that man gave up Silent Knowledge for the World of Reason," he replied. "The more he clings to the World of Reason, the more ephemeral (short-lived, transitory) Intent becomes." I started the car and we drove in silence. Don Juan did not attempt to give me directions or tell me how to drive - a thing he often did in order to exacerbate (extreme annoyance) my Self-Importance. I had no clear idea where I was going, yet something in me knew. I let that part take over. Very late in the evening we arrived at the big house don Juan's Group of Sorcerers had in a rural area of the state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. The journey seemed to have taken no time at all.

I could not remember the particulars of our drive. All I knew about it was, that we had not talked. The house seemed to be empty. There were no signs of people  living there. I knew, however, that don Juan's friends were in the house. I could feel their presence without actually having to see them. Don Juan lit some kerosene lanterns and we sat down at a sturdy (durable, strong) table. It seemed, that don Juan was getting ready to eat. I was wondering what to say or do when a Woman entered noiselessly and put a large plate of food on the table. I was not prepared for her entrance, and when she stepped out of the darkness into the light, as if she had materialized out of nowhere, I gasped involuntarily.
"Don't be scared, it's me, Carmela," she said and disappeared, swallowed again by the darkness. I was left with my mouth open in mid-scream. Don Juan laughed so hard, that I knew everybody in the house must have heard him. I half expected them to come, but no one appeared. I tried to eat, but I was not hungry. I began to think about the Woman. I did not know her. That is, I could almost identify her, but I could not quite work my memory of her out of the fog, that obscured my thoughts.
I struggled to clear my mind. I felt, that it required too much energy and I gave up. Almost as soon, as I had stopped thinking about her, I began to experience a  strange, numbing anxiety. At first I believed, that the dark, massive house, and the silence in and around it, were depressing. But then my anguish rose to incredible  proportions, right after I heard the faint barking of dogs in the distance. For a moment I thought, that my body was going to explode. Don Juan intervened quickly.
He jumped to where I was sitting and pushed my back, until it cracked. The pressure on my back brought me immediate relief. When I had calmed down, I realized,
I had lost, together with the anxiety, that had nearly consumed me, the clear sense of knowing everything. I could no longer anticipate how don Juan was going to  articulate, what I myself knew. Don Juan then started a most peculiar explanation. First he said, that the origin of the anxiety, that had overtaken me with the speed of wildfire, was the sudden movement of my Assemblage Point, caused by Carmela's sudden appearance, and by my unavoidable effort to move my Assemblage Point to the place, where I would be able to identify her completely.
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He advised me to get used to the idea of recurrent attacks of the same type of anxiety, because my Assemblage Point was going to keep moving.
"Any movement of the Assemblage Point is like dying," he said. "Everything in us gets disconnected, then reconnected again to a Source of Much Greater Power.  That amplification of energy is felt as a killing anxiety."
"What am I to do, when this happens?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Just wait. The outburst of energy will pass. What's dangerous is not knowing what is happening to you. Once you know, there is no real danger."
Then he talked about Ancient Human. He said, that Ancient Human knew, in the most direct fashion, what to do and how best to do it. But, because he performed so well, he started to develop a sense of Selfness, which gave her the feeling, that she could predict and plan the actions she was used to performing. And thus the idea of an individual self appeared; an individual self, which began to dictate the nature and scope of Human's actions. As the feeling of the individual self became  stronger, Human lost her natural Connection to Silent Knowledge. Modern man, being heir to that development, therefore finds himself so hopelessly removed from the Source of Everything, that all he can do is express his despair in violent and cynical acts of self-destruction. Don Juan asserted, that the reason for man's  cynicism and despair is the bit of Silent Knowledge, left in him, which does two things: one, it gives man an inkling (hint) of his Ancient Connection to the Source of Everything; and two, it makes man feel, that without this Connection, he has no hope of peace, of satisfaction, of attainment (gain). I thought, I had caught don Juan in a contradiction. I pointed out to him, that he had once told me, that war was the natural state for a Warrior, that Peace was an anomaly. "That's right," he admitted.  "But war, for a Warrior, doesn't mean acts of individual or collective stupidity or wanton (immoral) violence. War, for a Warrior, is the Total Struggle against that  Individual Self, that has deprived Woman of her Power." Don Juan said then, that it was time for us to talk further about Ruthlessness - the most basic premise of  Sorcery. He explained, that Sorcerers had discovered, that any Movement of the Assemblage Point meant a Movement away from the Excessive Concern with that  Individual Self, which was the mark of modern man. He went on to say, that Sorcerers believed it was the Position of the Assemblage Point, which made modern  man a homicidal egotist (egotist, who tends to kill another human), a being totally involved with his self-image. Having lost hope of ever Returning to the Source of Everything (the Source of All Suns, LM), man sought solace (comfort in sorror, misfortune) in his selfness. And, in doing so, he succeeded in fixing his Assemblage  Point in the exact position to perpetuate (prolong the existence) his Self-Image. It was therefore safe to say, that any Movement of the Assemblage Point away from  its customary position resulted in a Movement away from man's self-reflection and its concomitant (contemporary): Self-Importance. Don Juan described  Self-Importance as the Force, generated by man's self-image. He reiterated (repeated), that it is that Force, which keeps the Assemblage Point fixed where it is at  present. For this reason, the thrust (pointed weapon) of the Warriors' Way is to dethrone Self-Importance. And everything Sorcerers do is toward accomplishing this  Goal. He explained, that Sorcerers had unmasked Self-Importance and found, that it is Self-Pity, masquerading as something else.


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"It doesn't sound possible, but that is what it is," he said. "Self-Pity is the Real Enemy and the source of Man's Misery. Without a degree of Pity for himself, man could not afford to be as Self-Important, as he is. However, once the Force of Self-Importance is engaged, it develops its own momentum. And it is this seemingly  independent nature of Self-Importance, which gives it its fake Sense of Worth." His explanation, which I would have found incomprehensible under normal  conditions, seemed thoroughly cogent (powerful, compelling) to me. But because of the Duality in me, which still pertained, it appeared a bit simplistic. Don Juan  seemed to have aimed his thoughts and words at a specific target. And I, in my normal state of Awareness, was that target. He continued his explanation, saying, that Sorcerers are absolutely convinced, that by moving our Assemblage Points away from their customary position, we achieve a state of being, which could only be  called Ruthlessness. Sorcerers knew, by means of their practical actions, that as soon, as their Assemblage Points move, their Self-Importance crumbles. Without  the customary position of their Assemblage Points, their self-image can no longer be sustained. And without the Heavy Focus on that self-image, they lose their  Self-Compassion, and with it their Self-Importance. Sorcerers are right, therefore, in saying, that Self-Importance is merely Self-Pity in disguise. He then took my  experience of the afternoon and went through it step by step. He stated, that a Nagual in his role Leader or Teacher has to behave in the most efficient, but, at the  same time, most impeccable, way. Since it is not possible for him to plan the course of his actions rationally, the Nagual always lets the Spirit decide his course.
For example, he said he had had no plans to do what he did, until the Spirit gave him an indication, very early that morning, when we were having breakfast in  Nogales. He urged me recall the event and tell him what I could remember. I recalled that during breakfast, I got very embarrassed cause don Juan made fun of me.


"Think about the waitress," don Juan urged me.
"All I can remember about her is that she was rude."
"But what did she do?" he insisted. "What did she do while she waited to take our order?" After a moment's pause, I remembered, that she was a hard-looking young woman, who threw the menu at me and stood there, almost touching me, silently  demanding, that I hurry up and order. While she waited, impatiently tapping her big foot on the floor, she pinned her long black hair up on her head. The change was remarkable. She looked more appealing, more mature. I was frankly taken by the change in her. In fact, I overlooked her bad manners because of it. "That was the Omen," don Juan said. "Hardness and Transformation were the indication of the  Spirit." He said, that his first act of the day, as a Nagual, was to let me know his intentions. To that end, he told me in very plain language, but in a surreptitious  manner, that he was going to give me a lesson in Ruthlessness. "Do you remember now?" he asked. "I talked to the waitress and to an old lady at the next table."
Guided by him in this fashion, I did remember don Juan practically flirting with an old lady and the ill-mannered waitress. He talked to them for a long time while I ate. He told them idiotically funny stories about graft (extortion) and corruption in government, and jokes about farmers in the city. Then he asked the waitress if she was an American. She said no and laughed at the question.
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Don Juan said, that that was good, because I was a Mexican-American in search of love. And I might as well start here, after eating such a good breakfast. The Women laughed. I thought they laughed at my being embarrassed. Don Juan said to them, that, seriously speaking, I had come to Mexico to find a wife. He asked, if they knew of any honest, modest, chaste (virgin) Woman, who wanted to get married and was not too demanding in matters of male beauty. He referred to himself  as my  spokesman. The Women were laughing very hard. I was truly chagrined (humiliated). Don Juan turned to the waitress and asked her if she would marry me. She said, that she was engaged. It looked to me, as though she was taking don Juan seriously.
"Why don't you let him speak for himself?" the old lady asked don Juan.
"Because he has a speech impediment (fault)," he said. "He stutters horribly." The waitress said, that I had been perfectly normal when I ordered my food.
"Oh! You're so observant," don Juan said. "Only when he orders food can he speak like anyone else. I've told him time and time again, that if he wants to learn to speak normally, he has to be ruthless. I brought him here to give him some lessons in ruthlessness."
"Poor man," the old woman said.
"Well, we'd better get going, if we are going to find love for him today," don Juan said, as he stood to leave.
"You're serious about this marriage business," the young waitress said to don Juan.
"You bet," he replied. "I'm going to help him get what he needs, so he can cross the border and go to the Place of No Pity." I thought don Juan was calling either  marriage or the U.S.A. - the Place of No Pity. I laughed at the metaphor and stuttered horribly for a moment, which scared the Women to death and made don Juan  laugh hysterically. "It was imperative, that I state my purpose to you then," Juan said, continuing his explanation. "I did, but it bypassed you completely, as it should  have." He said, that from the moment the Spirit manifested itself, every step was carried to its satisfactory completion with absolute ease. And my Assemblage Point reached the Place of No Pity, when, under the stress of his transformation, it was forced to abandon its customary place of Self-Reflection. The position of Self-
Reflection," don Juan went on, "forces the Assemblage Point to assemble a World of sham (spurious imitation) compassion, but of very real Cruelty and Self-
Centeredness.  In that World the only real feelings are those convenient for one, who feels them. For a Sorcerer, Ruthlessness is not cruelty. Ruthlessness is the opposite of Self-Pity or Self-Importance. Ruthlessness is Sobriety."

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We spent a night at the spot, where I had recollected my experience in Guaymas. During that night, because my Assemblage Point was pliable (flexible), don Juan helped me to reach new positions, which immediately became blurry non-memories. The next day I was incapable of remembering, what had happened or what I had perceived; I had, nonetheless, the acute sensation of having had bizarre experiences. Don Juan agreed, that my Assemblage Point had moved beyond his expectations, yet he refused to give me even a hint of what I had done. His only comment had been, that someday I would recollect everything. Around noon,
we continued on up the mountains. We walked in silence and without stopping, until late in the afternoon. As we slowly climbed a mildly steep mountain ridge, don Juan suddenly spoke. I did not understand any of what he was saying. He repeated it, until I realized, he wanted to stop on a wide ledge, visible from where we were. He was telling me, that we would be protected there from the wind by the boulders and large, bushy shrubs. "Tell me, which spot on the ledge would be the best for us to sit out all night?" he asked. Earlier, as we were climbing, I had spotted the almost unnoticeable ledge. It appeared as a patch of darkness on the face of the mountain. I had identified it with a very quick glance. Now, that don Juan was asking my opinion, I elected a spot of even greater darkness, one almost black, on the south side of the ledge. The dark ledge and the almost black spot in it did not generate any feeling of fear or anxiety. I felt, that I liked that ledge. And I liked its dark spot even more.
"That spot there is very dark, but I like it," I said, when we reached the ledge. He agreed, that that was the best place to sit all night. He said, it was a place with a special level of energy, and that he, too, liked its pleasing darkness. We headed toward some protruding rocks. Don Juan cleared an area by the boulders and we sat with our backs against them. I told him, that on the one hand I thought it had been a lucky guess on my part to choose that very spot, but on the other I could not overlook the fact, that I had perceived it with my eyes.
"I wouldn't say, that you perceived it exclusively with your eyes," he said. "It was a bit more complex, than that."
"What do you mean by that, don Juan?" I asked.
"I mean, that you have possibilities you are not yet aware of," he replied. "Since you're quite careless, you may think, that all, of what you perceive, is simply average sensory perception."
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He said, that if I doubted him, he dared me to go down to the base of the mountain again and corroborate (support) what he was saying. He predicted, that it would be impossible for me to see the dark ledge, merely by looking at it. I stated vehemently (emphatically, with conviction), that I had no reason to doubt him. I was not  going to climb down that mountain. He insisted, that we climb down. I thought he was doing it just to tease me. I got nervous, though, when it occurred to me, that he might be serious. He laughed so hard, he choked. He commented on the fact, that all animals could detect, in their surroundings, areas with Special Levels of Energy. Most animals were frightened of these spots and avoided them. The exceptions were mountain lions and coyotes, which lay and even slept on such spots, whenever they happened upon them. But, only Sorcerers deliberately sought such spots for their effects. I asked him what the effects were. He said, that They Gave out  Imperceptible Jolts of Invigorating Energy, and he remarked, that average men living in natural settings could find such spots, even though they were not conscious about having found them, nor aware of their effects.
"How do they know they have found them?" I asked.
"They never do," he replied. "Sorcerers watching men travel on foot trails notice right away, that men always become tired and rest right on the Spot with a Positive Level of Energy. If, on the other hand, they are going through an area with an Injurious Flow of Energy, they become nervous and rush. If you ask them about it,
they will tell you they rushed through that area, because they felt energized. But it is the opposite - the only place, that energizes them, is the place, where they
feel tired. He said, that Sorcerers are capable of finding such Spots by perceiving with their entire bodies minute Surges of Energy in their surroundings.
The Sorcerers' Increased Energy, derived from the curtailment (cutting short) of their Self-Reflection, allows their senses a Greater Range of Perception.
"I've been trying to make clear to you, that the only worthwhile course of action, whether for Sorcerers or average men, is to restrict our involvement with our  Self-
Image," he continued. "What a Nagual aims at with his apprentices, is the shattering of their Mirror of Self-Reflection." He added, that each apprentice was an individual case, and that the Nagual had to let the Spirit decide about the particulars. "Each of us has a different degree of attachment to his/her Self-Reflection,"
he went on. "And, that attachment is felt as Need. For example, before I started on the Path of Knowledge, my life was Endless Need. And years after the Nagual Julian had taken me under his wing, I was still just as needy, if not more so. But there are examples of people, Sorcerers or average men, who need no one. They get peace, harmony, laughter, Knowledge, directly from the Spirit. They need no Intermediaries. For you and for me, it's different. I'm your Intermediary and the Nagual Julian was mine. Intermediaries, besides, providing a Minimal Chance - the Awareness of Intent - help shatter people's Mirrors of Self-Reflection. "The only concrete help you ever get from me is, that I attack your Self-Reflection. If it weren't for that, you would be wasting your time. This is the only real help you've gotten from me.
"You've taught me, don Juan, more, than anyone in my entire life," I protested.
"I've taught you all kinds of things in order to trap your attention," he said. "You'll swear, though, that that teaching has been the important part. It hasn't. There is very little value in instruction.
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Sorcerers maintain, that Moving the Assemblage Point is all that matters. And that movement, as you well know, depends on Increased Energy and not on instruction." He then made an incongruous (inconsistent, discordant) statement. He said, that any Human Being, who would follow a specific and simple Sequence of Actions, can learn to move his Assemblage Point. I pointed out, that he was contradicting himself. To me, a sequence of actions meant instructions; it meant  procedures. "In the Sorcerers' World there are only contradictions of terms," he replied. "In practice there are no contradictions. The Sequence of Actions, I am  talking about, is one, that stems from being aware. To become aware of this Sequence you need a Nagual. This is why I've said, that the Nagual provides a minimal  chance, but that Minimal Chance is not instruction, like the instruction you need to learn to operate a machine. The Minimal Chance consists of being made aware of  the Spirit." He explained, that the Specific Sequence, he had in mind, called for being aware, that Self-Importance is the Force, which keeps the Assemblage Point  fixed. When Self-Importance is curtailed (cutting short) the Energy, it requires, is no longer expended. That increased Energy then serves as the springboard, that  launches the Assemblage Point, automatically and without premeditation, into an inconceivable journey. Once the Assemblage Point has moved, the movement  itself entails moving from Self-Reflection, and this, in turn, assures a clear Connecting Link with the Spirit. He commented that, after all, it was Self-Reflection, that  had disconnected man from the Spirit in the first place. As I have already said to you," don Juan went on, "Sorcery is a Journey of Return. We return victorious to the Spirit, having descended into Hell. And from hell we bring trophies. Understanding is one of our trophies." I told him, that his Sequence seemed very easy and very simple when he talked about it, but that when I had tried to put it into practice, I had found it the total antithesis (direct contrast) of ease and simplicity.
"Our difficulty with this simple progression," he said, "is, that most of us are unwilling to accept, that we need so little to get on with. We are geared to expect  instruction, teaching, guides, masters. And when we are told, that we need no one, we don't believe it. We become nervous, then distrustful, and finally angry and disappointed. If we need help, it is not in methods, but in emphasis (special significance, stress). If someone makes us aware, that we need to curtail (cut short) our Self-Importance, that help is real. Sorcerers say we should need no one to convince us, that the World is infinitely more complex, than our wildest fantasies. So, why are we dependent? Why do we crave someone to guide us when we can do it ourselves? Big question, eh?" Don Juan did not say anything else. Obviously,
he wanted me to ponder the question. But I had other worries in my mind. My recollection had undermined certain foundations, that I had believed unshakable, and
I desperately needed him to redefine them. I broke the long silence and voiced my concern. I told him, that I had come to accept, that it was possible for me to forget whole incidents, from beginning to end, if they had taken place in Heightened Awareness. Up to that day I had had Total Recall of anything, I had done under his  guidance in my state of normal Awareness. Yet, having had breakfast with him in Nogales had not existed in my mind prior to my recollecting it. And that event  simply must have taken place in the World of everyday affairs. "You are forgetting something essential," he said.
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"The Nagual's presence is enough to move the Assemblage Point. I have humored you all along with the Nagual's blow. The blow between the shoulder blades, that
I have delivered, is only a Pacifier. It serves the purpose of removing your doubts. Sorcerers use physical contact, as a Jolt to the body. It doesn't do anything, but give confidence to the apprentice, who is being manipulated."
"Then who moves the Assemblage Point, don Juan?" I asked.
"The Spirit does it," he replied in the tone of someone about to lose his patience. He seemed to check himself and smiled and shook his head from side to side in a gesture of resignation.
"It's hard for me to accept," I said. "My mind is ruled by the principle of cause and effect."
He had one of his usual attacks of inexplicable laughter - inexplicable (indefinite, vague) from my point of view, of course. I must have looked annoyed. He put his  hand on my shoulder. "I laugh like this periodically, because you are demented (crazy)," he said. "The answer to everything you ask me is staring you right in the  eyes and you don't see it. I think dementia is your curse." His eyes were so shiny, so utterly crazy and mischievous, that I ended up laughing myself. "I have insisted to the point of exhaustion, that there are no procedures in Sorcery," he went on. "There are no methods, no steps. The only thing, that matters, is the Movement of  the Assemblage Point (of the Spirit). And no procedure can cause that. It's an effect, that happens all by itself." He pushed me, as if to straighten my shoulders, and  then he peered at me, looking right into my eyes. My attention became riveted (gripped, fastened) to his words. "Let us see how you figure this out," he said. "I have just said, that the Movement of the Assemblage Point happens by itself. But I have also said, that the Nagual's presence moves his apprentice's Assemblage Point  and that the way the Nagual masks his Ruthlessness either helps or hinders that Movement. How would you resolve this contradiction?" I confessed, that I had been just about to ask him about the contradiction, for I had been aware of it, but that I could not even begin to think of resolving it. I was not a Sorcery practitioner.
"What are you, then?" he asked.
"I am a student of anthropology, trying to figure out what Sorcerers do," I said. My statement was not altogether true, but it was not a lie.
Don Juan laughed  uncontrollably. "It's too late for that," he said. "Your Assemblage Point has moved already. And it is precisely that Movement, that makes one a  Sorcerer." He stated, that what seemed a contradiction, was really the two sides of the same coin. The Nagual entices (lure) the Assemblage Point into moving by  helping to destroy the Mirror of Self-Reflection. But that is all the Nagual can do. The actual mover is the Spirit, the Abstract; something, that cannot be seen or felt;  something, that does not seem to exist, and yet it does. For this reason, Sorcerers report, that the Assemblage Point moves all by itself. Or they say, that the Nagual  moves it. The Nagual, being the Conduit of the Abstract, is allowed to express it through his actions. I looked at don Juan questioningly. "The Nagual moves the  Assemblage Point, and yet it is not he himself, who does the actual moving," don Juan said. "Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say, that the Spirit  expresses Itself in accordance with the Nagual's Impeccability (faultlessness). The Spirit can move the Assemblage Point with the mere presence of an impeccable  Nagual."
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He said, that he had wanted to clarify this point, because, if it was misunderstood, it led a Nagual back to Self-Importance and thus to his destruction. He changed the subject and said that, because the Spirit had no perceivable essence (that you can touch), Sorcerers deal rather with the specific instances and ways, in which they  are able to Shatter the Mirror of Self-Reflection. Don Juan noted, that in this area it was important to realize the practical value of the different ways, in which the  Naguals masked their Ruthlessness. He said my mask of generosity, for example, was adequate for dealing with people on a shallow level, but useless for Shattering their Self-Reflection, because it forced me to demand an almost impossible decision on their part. I expected them to jump into the Sorcerers' World without any  preparation. "A decision, such as that jump, must be prepared for," he went on. "And in order to prepare for it, any kind of mask for a Nagual's Ruthlessness will do,  except the mask of generosity." Perhaps because I desperately wanted to believe, that I was truly generous, his comments on my behavior renewed my terrible  sense of guilt. He assured me, that I had nothing to be ashamed of, and that the only undesirable effect was, that my pseudo-generosity did not result in positive  trickery. In this regard, he said, although I resembled his benefactor in many ways, my mask of generosity was too crude, too obvious to be of value to me as a  teacher. A mask of reasonableness, such as his own, however, was very effective in creating an atmosphere propitious (kindly, gracious) to Moving the Assemblage Point. His disciples totally believed his pseudo-reasonableness. In fact, they were so inspired by it, that he could easily trick them into exerting (exercise)  themselves to any degree. "What happened to you that day in Guaymas was an example of how the Nagual's masked Ruthlessness Shatters Self-Reflection,"
he continued. "My mask was your downfall. You, like everyone around me, believed my reasonableness. And, of course, you expected, above all, the continuity of that reasonableness. "When I faced you with not only the senile behavior of a feeble old man, but with the old man himself, your mind went to extremes in its efforts to repair my continuity and your Self-Reflection. And so you told yourself, that I must have suffered a stroke. Finally, when it became impossible to believe in the  continuity of my reasonableness, your Mirror began to break down. From that point on, the Shift of your Assemblage Point was just a matter of time. The only thing in question was whether it was going to reach the Place of No Pity." I must have appeared skeptical to don Juan, for he explained, that the World of our Self-Reflection  or of our Mind was very flimsy (unconvincing, lacking solidity) and was held together by a few key ideas, that served as its Underlying Order. When those ideas  failed, the Underlying Order ceased to function.
"What are those key ideas, don Juan?" I asked.
"In your case, in that particular instance, as in the case of the audience of that healer, we talked about, continuity was the key idea," he replied.
"What is continuity?" I asked.
"The idea, that we are a solid block," he said. "In our minds, what sustains our World is the certainty, that we are unchangeable. We may accept, that our behavior  can be modified, that our reactions and opinions can be modified, but the idea, that we are malleable (capable of being altered) to the point of changing appearances, to the point of being someone else, is not part of the Underlying Order of our Self-Reflection. Whenever a Sorcerer interrupts that order, the World of Reason stops."
165-166
I wanted to ask him, if breaking an individual's continuity was enough to cause the Assemblage Point to move. He seemed to anticipate my question. He said, that  that breakage was merely a softener. What helped the Assemblage Point move was the Nagual's Ruthlessness. He then compared the acts he performed that  afternoon in Guaymas with the actions of the healer we had previously discussed. He said, that the healer had shattered the Self-Reflection of the people in her  audience with a series of acts, for which they had no equivalents in their daily lives - the dramatic Spirit possession, changing voices, cutting the patient's body  open. As soon, as the continuity of the idea of themselves was broken, their Assemblage Points were ready to be moved. He reminded me, that he had described to me in the past the Concept of Stopping the World. He had said, that Stopping the World was as necessary for Sorcerers, as reading and writing was for me.
It consisted of introducing a dissonant element into the fabric of everyday behavior for purposes of halting the otherwise smooth flow of ordinary events - events,  which were catalogued in our minds by our reason. The dissonant element was called "not-doing," or the opposite of doing. "Doing" was anything, that was part of a  whole, for which we had a cognitive account. Not-doing was an element, that did not belong in that charted whole. "Sorcerers, because they are Stalkers, understand human behavior to perfection," he said. "They understand, for instance, that Human Beings are Creatures of Inventory. Knowing the ins and outs of a particular  Inventory is what makes a man a scholar or an expert in his field. Sorcerers know, that when an average person's Inventory (listed items in possession) fails, the  person either enlarges his Inventory or his World of Self-Reflection collapses. The average person is willing to incorporate new items into his Inventory, if they don't contradict the Inventory's Underlying Order. But if the items contradict that Order, the person's Mind collapses. The Inventory is the Mind. Sorcerers count on this  when they attempt to break the Mirror of Self-Reflection." He explained, that that day he had carefully chosen the props for his act to break my Continuity. He slowly transformed himself, until he was indeed a feeble old man, and then, in order to reinforce the Breaking of My Continuity, he took me to a restaurant, where they knew him as an old man. I interrupted him. I had become aware of a contradiction, I had not noticed before. He had said, at the time, that the reason he transformed himself was, that he wanted to know what it was like to be old. The occasion was propitious (presenting favourable circumstances) and unrepeatable. I had understood, that statement as meaning, that he had not been an old man before. Yet at the restaurant they knew him as the feeble old man, who suffered from strokes. "The Nagual's Ruthlessness has many aspects," he said. "It's like a tool, that adapts itself to many uses. Ruthlessness is a state of being. It is a level of Intent, that the Nagual  attains. The Nagual uses it to entice (lure) the Movement of his own Assemblage Point or those of his apprentices. Or he uses it to Stalk. I began that day as a Stalker, pretending to be old, and ended up as a genuinely old, feeble man. My Ruthlessness, controlled by my eyes, made my own Assemblage Point move. Although I had been at the restaurant many times before as an old, sick man, I had only been Stalking, merely playing at being old. Never, before that day, had my Assemblage  Point moved to the precise spot of age and senility."
167-168
He said, that as soon, as he had intended to be old, his eyes lost their shine, and I immediately noticed it. Alarm was written all over my face. The loss of the shine in his eyes was a consequence of using his eyes to intend the position of an old man. As his Assemblage Point reached that position, he was able to age in appearance, behavior, and feeling. I asked him to clarify the idea of Intending with the eyes. I had the faint notion I understood it, yet I could not formulate even to myself what
I knew. "The only way of talking about it is to say, that Intent is intended with the eyes," he said. "I know that it is so. Yet, just like you, I can't pinpoint what it is I know. Sorcerers resolve this particular difficulty by accepting something extremely obvious: Human Beings are infinitely more complex and mysterious, than our wildest fantasies."
I insisted, that he had not shed any light on the matter. "All I can say is, that the eyes do it," he said cuttingly. "I don't know how, but they do it. They summon (request to appear) Intent with something indefinable, that they have, something in their shine. Sorcerers say, that Intent is experienced with the eyes, not with the reason." He refused to add anything and went back to explaining my recollection. He said, that once his Assemblage Point had reached the specific position, that made him  genuinely old, doubts should have been completely removed from my mind. But due to the fact, that I took pride in being super-rational, I immediately did my best to explain away his transformation.  "I've told you over and over, that being too rational is a handicap," he said. "Human Beings have a very deep sense of magic. We are part of the mysterious. Rationality is only a veneer (cover) with us. If we scratch that surface, we find a Sorcerer underneath. Some of us, however, have great difficulty getting underneath the surface level; others do it with total ease.
You and I are very alike in this respect - we both have to sweat blood, before we let go of our Self-Reflection." I explained to him that, for me, holding onto my  rationality had always been a matter of life or death. Even more so when it came to my experiences in his world. He remarked, that that day in Guaymas my  rationality had been exceptionally trying for him. From the start he had had to make use of every device he knew, to undermine it. To that end, he began by forcibly  putting his hands on my shoulders and nearly dragging me down with his weight. That blunt physical maneuver was the first Jolt to my body. And this, together with my fear, caused by his lack of Continuity, punctured my Rationality.
"But puncturing your Rationality was not enough," don Juan went on. "I knew, that if your  Assemblage Point was going to reach the Place of No Pity, I had to break every vestige (evidence) of my Continuity. That was when I became really senile and made you run around town, and finally got angry at you and slapped you. "You were shocked, but you were on the road to instant recovery, when I gave your Mirror of  Self-Image what should have been its Final Blow. I yelled "bloody murder". I didn't expect you to run away. I had forgotten about your violent outbursts." He said, that in spite of my on-the-spot recovery tactics, my Assemblage Point reached the Place of No Pity, when I became enraged at his senile behavior. Or perhaps it had been the opposite: I became enraged, because my Assemblage Point had reached the Place of No Pity. It did not really matter. What counted was, that my  Assemblage Point did arrive there. Once it was there, my own behavior changed markedly. I became cold and calculating and indifferent to my personal safety. I asked don Juan whether he had seen all this.
169-170
I did not remember telling him about it. He replied, that to know what I was feeling, all he had to do was introspect (examine one's own feelings) and remember his  own experience. He pointed out, that my Assemblage Point became fixed in its new position, when he reverted (return to a former state) to his natural Self. By then, my conviction about his normal Continuity had suffered such a profound upheaval, that Continuity no longer functioned as a cohesive force. And it was at that  moment, from its new position, that my Assemblage Point allowed me to build another type of Continuity, one which I expressed in terms of a strange, detached  hardness - a hardness, that became my normal mode of behavior from then on. "Continuity is so important in our lives, that if it breaks it's always instantly repaired," he went on. "In the case of Sorcerers, however, once their Assemblage Points reach the Place of No Pity, Continuity is never the same. "Since you are naturally  slow, you haven't noticed yet, that since that day in Guaymas, you have become, among other things, capable of accepting any kind of discontinuity at its face value  - after a token struggle of your Reason, of course." His eyes were shining with laughter. "It was also that day, that you acquired your masked Ruthlessness," he went on. "Your mask wasn't as well developed, as it is now, of course, but what you got then was the Rudiments (principles) of what was to become your mask of  generosity." I tried to protest. I did not like the idea of masked Ruthlessness, no matter how he put it. "Don't use your mask on me," he said, laughing. "Save it for a better subject: someone, who doesn't know you." He urged me to recollect accurately the moment the mask came to me. "As soon as you felt, that cold fury coming over you," he went on, "you had to mask it. You didn't joke about it, as my benefactor would have done. You didn't try to sound reasonable about it, like I would.
You didn't pretend to be intrigued by it, like the Nagual Elias would have. Those are the three Nagual's masks I know. What did you do then? You calmly walked to  your car and gave half of your packages away to the guy, who was helping you carry them." Until that moment I had not remembered, that indeed someone helped  me carry the packages. I told don Juan, that I had seen lights dancing before my face, and I had thought I was Seeing them, because, driven by my cold fury, I was on the verge (extreme edge) of fainting. "You were not on the verge of fainting," don Juan answered. "You were on the verge of entering a Dreaming State and Seeing the Spirit all by yourself, like Talia and my benefactor." I said to don Juan, that it was not generosity, that made me give away the packages, but cold fury. I had to do something to calm myself, and that was the first thing, that occurred to me. "But that's exactly what I've been telling you. Your generosity is not genuine,"
he retorted and began to laugh at my dismay (dishearten).

170-171
It had gotten dark while don Juan was talking about Breaking the Mirror of Self-Reflection. I told him, I was thoroughly exhausted, and we should cancel the rest of  the trip and return home, but he maintained, that we had to use every minute of our available time to review the Sorcery Stories or Recollect by making my  Assemblage Point move as many times, as possible. I was in a complaining mood. I said, that a state of deep fatigue, such as mine, could only breed uncertainty and lack of conviction. "Your uncertainty is to be expected," don Juan said matter-of-factly. "After all, you are dealing with a new type of Continuity. It takes time to get used to it. Warriors spend years in limbo (condition of neglect, confinement), where they are neither average men, nor Sorcerers."
"What happens to them in the end?" I asked. "Do they choose sides?"
"No. They have no choice," he replied. "All of them become aware of what they already are: Sorcerers. The difficulty is, that the Mirror of Self-Reflection is extremely powerful and only lets its victims go after a ferocious struggle." He stopped talking and seemed lost in thought. His body entered into the state of rigidity I had seen before, whenever he was engaged in what I characterized as reveries, but which he described as instances, in which his Assemblage Point had moved and he was able to Recollect. "I'm going to tell you the story of a Sorcerer's Ticket to Impeccability (no faults)," he suddenly said after some thirty minutes of total silence.
"I'm going to tell you the story of my death." He began to recount what had happened to him after his arrival in Durango, still disguised in women's clothes, following his month-long journey through central Mexico. He said, that old Belisario took him directly to a hacienda to hide from the Monstrous Man, who was chasing him.
As soon, as he arrived, don Juan - very daringly in view of his taciturn (laconic, untalkative) nature - introduced himself to everyone in the house.

172-173
There were seven beautiful Women and a strange unsociable man, who did not utter a single word. Don Juan delighted the lovely Women with his rendition  (performance) of the monstrous man's efforts to capture him. Above all, they were enchanted with the disguise, which he still wore, and the story, that went with it.  They never tired of hearing the details of his trip, and all of them advised him on how to perfect the Knowledge he had acquired during his journey. What surprised don Juan was their poise (composed, in balance) and assuredness, which were unbelievable to him. The seven Women were exquisite and they made him feel happy.
He liked them and trusted them.


They treated him with respect and consideration. But something in their eyes told him, that under their facades of charm, there existed a terrifying coldness, an aloofness (reserved, withdrawn) he could never penetrate. The thought occurred to him, that in order for these strong and beautiful  Women to be so at ease and to have no regard for formalities, they had to be loose (prostitutes) Women. Yet it was obvious to him, that they were not. Don Juan was  left alone to roam the property. He was dazzled by the huge mansion and its grounds. He had never seen anything like it. It was an old colonial house with a high  surrounding wall. Inside were balconies with flowerpots and patios with enormous fruit trees, that provided shade, privacy, and quiet. There were large rooms, and on the ground floor airy corridors around the patios. On the upper floor there were mysterious bedrooms, where don Juan was not permitted to set foot.

During the following days don Juan was amazed by the profound interest the Women took in his well-being. They did everything for him. They seemed to hang on his every word. Never before had people been so kind to him. But also, never before had he felt so solitary. He was always in the company of the beautiful, strange  Women, and yet he had never been so alone. Don Juan believed, that his feeling of aloneness came from being unable to predict the behavior of the Women or to  know their real feelings. He knew only what they told him about themselves. A few days after his arrival, the Woman, who seemed to be their leader, gave him some  brandnew men's clothes and told him, that his Woman's disguise was no longer necessary, because whoever the Monstrous Man might have been, he was now  nowhere in sight. She told him he was free to go whenever he pleased.

Don Juan begged to see Belisario, whom he had not seen since the day they arrived. The Woman said, that Belisario was gone. He had left word, however, that don Juan could stay in the house as long, as he wanted - but only if he was in danger. Don Juan declared he was in mortal danger. During his few days in the house, he had seen the Monster constantly, always sneaking about the cultivated fields, surrounding the house.


The Woman did not believe him and told him bluntly (direct, abrupt, frank manner), that he was a con artist, pretending to see the Monster, so they would take him in. She told him their house was not a place to loaf (spend time lazily). She stated, they were serious people, who worked very hard and could not afford to keep a  freeloader. Don Juan was insulted. He stomped out (tread heavily) of the house, but when he caught sight of the Monster, hiding behind the ornamental shrubbery  bordering the walk, his fright immediately replaced his anger. He rushed back into the house and begged the Woman to let him stay. He promised to do peon  (peasant-laborer) labor for no wages, if he could only remain at the hacienda. She agreed, with the understanding, that don Juan would accept two conditions: that he not ask any questions, and that he do exactly, as he was told without requiring any explanations. She warned him, that, if he broke these rules, his stay at the house would be in jeopardy.
174-175
"I stayed in the house really under protest," don Juan continued. "I did not like to accept her conditions, but I knew, that the Monster was outside. In the house I was safe. I knew, that the Monstrous Man was always stopped at an invisible boundary, that encircled the house, at a distance of perhaps a hundred yards. Within that circle I was safe. As far, as I could discern, there must have been something about that house, that kept the Monstrous Man away, and that was all I cared about. I also  realized, that when the people of the house were around me the Monster never appeared." After a few weeks with no change in his situation, the young man, who don  Juan believed had been living in the monster's house, disguised as old Belisario, reappeared. He told don Juan, that he had just arrived, that his name was Julian, and  that he owned the hacienda. Don Juan naturally asked him about his disguise. But the young man, looking him in the eye and without the slightest hesitation, denied  knowledge of any disguise.
"How can you stand here in my own house and talk such rubbish?" he shouted at don Juan. "What do you take me for?"
"But - you are Belisario, aren't you?" don Juan insisted.
"No," the young man said. "Belisario is an old man. I am Julian and I'm young. Don't you see?"
Don Juan meekly (patiently) admitted, that he had not been quite convinced, that it was a disguise and immediately realized the absurdity of his statement. If being old was not a disguise, then it was a transformation, and that was even more absurd. Don Juan's confusion increased by the moment. He asked about the Monster and the young man replied, that he had no idea what Monster he was talking about. He conceded, that don Juan must have been scared by something, otherwise old Belisario  would not have given him sanctuary. But whatever reason don Juan had for hiding, it was his personal business. Don Juan was mortified (humiliated) by the coldness  of his host's tone and manner. Risking his anger, don Juan reminded him, that they had met. His host replied, that he had never seen him before that day, but that he was honoring Belisario's wishes, as he felt obliged to do. The young man added, that not only was he the owner of the house, but that he was also in charge of  every person in that household, including don Juan, who, by the act of hiding among them, had become a ward of the house (person under protection of others).
If don Juan did not like the arrangement, he was free to go and take his chances with the Monster no one else was able to see. Before he made up his mind one way or another, don Juan judiciously (had sound judgement)  decided to ask, what being a ward of the house involved. The young man took don Juan to a section of the  mansion, that was under construction and said, that that part of the house was symbolic of his own life and actions. It was unfinished. Construction was indeed  underway, but chances were: it might never be completed. "You are one of the elements of that incomplete construction," he said to don Juan. "Let's say, that you are the beam, that will support the roof. Until we put it in place and put the roof on top of it, we won't know whether it will support he weight. The master carpenter says it  will. I am the master carpenter." This metaphorical explanation meant nothing to don Juan, who wanted to know what was expected of him in matters of manual labor. 
176-177
The young man tried another approach. "I'm a Nagual," he explained. "I bring Freedom. I'm the Leader of the people in this house. You are in this house, and because  of that you are a part of it whether you like or not." Don Juan looked at him dumbfounded, unable to say anything. "I am the Nagual Julian," his host said, smiling.  "Without my intervention, there is no way to Freedom." Don Juan still did not understand. But he began to wonder about his safety in light of the man's obviously erratic mind. He was so concerned with this unexpected development, that he was not even curious about the use of the word Nagual. He knew, that Nagual meant Sorcerer, yet he was unable to take in the total implication (indirect suggestion) of the Nagual Julian's words. Or perhaps, somehow, he understood it perfectly, although his conscious mind did not. The young man stared at him for a moment and then said, that don Juan's actual job would involve being his personal valet (male-servant) and assistant. There would be no pay for this, but  excellent room and board. From time to time there would be other small jobs for don Juan, jobs requiring special attention. He was to be in charge of either doing the jobs himself or seeing, that they got done. For these special services he would be paid small amounts of money, which would be put into an account kept for him by  the other members of the household. Thus, should he ever want to leave, there would be a small amount of cash to tide (support) him over. The young man stressed,  that don Juan should not consider himself a prisoner, but, that if he stayed, he would have to work. And still more important, than the work were the three requirements he had to fulfill. He had to make a serious effort to learn everything the Women taught  him. His conduct with all the members of the household must be exemplary (commendable, being imitated), which meant, that he would have to examine his behavior and attitude toward them every minute of the day. And he was to address the young man, in direct conversation, as Nagual, and when talking of him, to refer to him as  the Nagual Julian. Don Juan accepted the terms grudgingly (reluctantly). But although he instantly plunged into his habitual sulkiness and moroseness (gloom, bad  temper, silent protest), he learned his work quickly. What he did not understand was, what was expected of him in matters of attitude and behavior. And even though  he could not have put his finger on a concrete instance, he honestly believed, that he was being lied to and exploited. As his moroseness got the upper hand,
he entered into a permanent sulk and hardly, said a word to anyone. It was then, that the Nagual Julian assembled all the members of his household and explained to them, that even though he badly needed an assistant, he would abide (tolerate) by their decision. If they did not like the morose and unappealing attitude of his new  orderly (male-attendant), they had the right to say so. If the majority disapproved of don Juan's behavior, the young man would have to leave and take his chances with whatever was waiting for him outside, be it a Monster or his own fabrication. The Nagual Julian then led them to the front of the house and challenged don Juan to  show them the Monstrous Man. Don Juan pointed him out, but no one else saw him. Don Juan ran frantically from one person to another, insisting, that the Monster  was there, imploring (pleading, begging) them to help him. They ignored his pleas and called him crazy. It was then, that the Nagual Julian put don Juan's fate to vote.  The unsociable man did not choose to vote. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away. All the Women spoke out against don Juan's staying. They argued, that he was simply too morose and bad-tempered.
178-179
During the heat of the argument, however, the Nagual Julian completely changed his attitude and became don Juan's defender. He suggested, that the Women might  be misjudging the poor young man, that he was perhaps not crazy at all and maybe actually did see a Monster. He said, that perhaps his moroseness was the result of  his worries. And a great fight ensued (followed). Tempers flared, and in no time the Women were yelling at the Nagual. Don Juan heard the argument, but was past  caring. He knew, they were going to throw him out and that the Monstrous Man would certainly capture him and take him into slavery. In his utter helplessness he began to weep. His despair and his tears swayed some of the enraged Women. The leader of the Women proposed another choice: three-week trial period, during  which don Juan's actions and attitude would be evaluated daily by all the Women. She warned don Juan, that if there was one single complaint about his attitude  during that time, he would be kicked out for good. Don Juan recounted (narrated) how the Nagual Julian in a fatherly manner took him aside and proceeded to drive a  wedge of fear into him. He whispered to don Juan, that he knew for a fact, that the Monster not only existed, but was roaming the property. Nevertheless, because of  certain previous agreements with the Women, agreements he could not divulge (disclose, reveal), he was not permitted to tell the Women, what he knew. He urged  don Juan to stop demonstrating his stubborn, morose personality and pretend to be the opposite.
"Pretend to be happy and satisfied," he said to don Juan. "If you don't, the Women will kick you out. That prospect alone should be enough to scare you. Use that fear  as a real driving force. It's the only thing you have." Any hesitation or second thoughts, that don Juan might have had were instantly dispelled at the sight of the Monstrous Man. As the Monster waited impatiently at the invisible line, he seemed aware of how precarious (unstable) don Juan's position was. It was as if the monster were ravenously (greedy, voracious) hungry, anxiously anticipating a feast. The Nagual Julian drove his wedge of fear a bit deeper.
"If I were you," he told don Juan, "I would behave like an angel. I'd act any way these Women want me to, as long, as it kept me from that hellish beast."
"Then you do see the Monster?" don Juan asked.
"Of course I do," he replied. "And I also see, that if you leave, or if the Women kick you out, the Monster will capture you and put you in chains. That will change your attitude for sure. Slaves don't have any choice, but to behave well with their masters. They say, that the pain, inflicted by a Monster, like that is beyond anything."
Don Juan knew, that his only hope was to make himself as congenial (agreeable, sympathetic), as he possibly could. The fear of falling prey to that Monstrous Man was indeed a powerful psychological force. Don Juan told me, that by some quirk (whim, oddity, peculiarity) in his own nature, he was boorish (rude, ill-mannered) only  with the Women; he never behaved badly in the presence of the Nagual Julian. For some reason, that don Juan could not determine, in his mind the Nagual was not  someone he could attempt to affect either consciously or subconsciously. The other member of the household, the unsociable man, was of no consequence to don  Juan. Don Juan had formed an opinion the moment he met him, and had discounted him. He thought, that the man was weak, indolent (habitually lazy), and  overpowered by those beautiful Women. Later on, when he was more aware of the Nagual's personality, he knew, that the man was definitely overshadowed by the glitter of the others. As time passed, the nature of leadership and authority among them became evident to don Juan.
180-181
He was surprised and somehow delighted to realize, that no one was better or higher, than another. Some of them performed functions, of which the others were  incapable, but that did not make them superior. It simply made them different. However, the ultimate decision in everything was automatically the Nagual Julian's, and he apparently took great pleasure in expressing his decisions in the form of bestial jokes he played on everyone. There was also a Mystery Woman among them.
They referred to her as Talia, the Nagual Woman. Nobody told don Juan who she was, or what being the Nagual Woman meant. It was made clear to him, however, that one of the seven women was Talia. They all talked so much about her, that don Juan's curiosity was aroused to tremendous heights. He asked so many questions, that the Woman, who was the leader of the other Women, told him, that she would teach him to read and write, so that he might make better use of his deductive (pedantic) abilities. She said, that he must learn to write things down, rather than committing them to memory. In this fashion he would accumulate a huge collection of facts  about Talia, facts, that he ought to read and study, until the truth became evident. Perhaps anticipating the cynical retort (pay back) he had in mind, she argued, that  although it might seem an absurd endeavor, finding out, who Talia was, was one of the most difficult and rewarding tasks anyone could undertake. What, she said, was the fun part. She added more seriously, that it was imperative for don Juan to learn basic bookkeeping in order to help the Nagual manage the property. Immediately she started daily lessons and in one year don Juan had progressed so rapidly and extensively, that he was able to read, write, and keep account books. Everything had occurred so smoothly, that he did not notice the changes in himself, the most remarkable of which, was a sense of detachment. As far, as he was concerned, he retained his impression, that nothing was happening in the house, simply because he still was unable to identify with the members of the household. Those people were mirrors, that did not yield Reflection.


"I took refuge in that house for nearly three years," don Juan went on. "Countless things happened to me during that time, but I didn't think they were really important.  Or at least I had chosen to consider them unimportant. I was convinced, that for three years all I had done was hide, shake with fear, and work like a mule." Don Juan laughed and told me, that at one point, at the urging of the Nagual Julian, he agreed to learn Sorcery, so that he might rid  himself of the fear, that consumed him each time he saw the Monster keeping vigil (watch). But although the Nagual Julian talked to him a great deal, he seemed more interested in playing jokes on him. So he believed it was fair and accurate to say, that he did not learn anything even loosely related to Sorcery, simply because it was apparent, that nobody in that house knew or practiced Sorcery. One day, however, he found himself walking purposefully, but without any volition on his part, toward  the invisible line, that held the Monster at bay. The Monstrous Man was, of course, watching the house as usual. But that day, instead of turning back and running to  seek shelter inside the house, don Juan kept walking. An incredible surge of energy made him advance with no concern for his safety. A feeling of total detachment  allowed him to face the Monster, that had terrorized him for so many years.
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Don Juan expected the Monster to lurch out and grab him by the throat, but that thought no longer created any terror in him. From a distance of a few inches he stared at the Monstrous Man for an instant and then stepped over the line. And the Monster did not attack him, as don Juan had always feared he would, but became blurry.  He lost his definition and turned into a misty whiteness, a barely perceptible patch of fog. Don Juan advanced toward the fog and it receded, as if in fear. He chased the patch of fog over the fields, until he knew there was nothing left of the Monster. He knew then, that there had never been one. He could not, however, explain what
he had feared. He had the vague sensation, that although he knew exactly what the Monster was, something was preventing him from thinking about it. Immediately
he thought, that that rascal, the Nagual Julian, knew the truth about what was happening. Don Juan would not have put it past the Nagual Julian to play that kind of trick. Before confronting him, don Juan gave himself the pleasure of walking unescorted all over the property. Never before had he been able to do that. Whenever he had  needed to venture beyond that invisible line, he had been escorted by a member of the household. That had put a serious constraint on his mobility. The two or three  times he had attempted to walk unescorted, he had found, that he risked annihilation (destruction) at the hands of the Monstrous Being. Filled with a strange vigor, don Juan went into the house, but instead of celebrating his new freedom-and power, he assembled the entire household and angrily demanded, that they explain their  lies. He accused them of making him work as their slave by playing on his fear of a nonexistent Monster. The Women laughed, as if he were telling the funniest joke.  Only the Nagual Julian seemed contrite (humbled by guilt), especially when don Juan, his voice cracking with resentment, described his three years of constant fear.
The Nagual Julian broke down and wept openly as don Juan demanded an apology for the shameful way he had been exploited.


"But we told you the monster didn't exist," one of the Women said. Don Juan glared at the Nagual Julian, who cowered meekly (cringed, recoiled, shrink, spring back  submissively).
"He knew the Monster existed," don Juan yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the Nagual. But at the same time he was aware, he was talking nonsense, because the  Nagual Julian had originally told him, that the Monster did not exist. "The Monster didn't exist," don Juan corrected himself, shaking with rage. "It was one of his  tricks." The Nagual Julian, weeping uncontrollably, apologized to don Juan, while the Women howled with laughter. Don Juan had never seen them laughing so hard.
"You knew all along, that there was never any Monster. You lied to me," he accused the Nagual Julian, who, with his head down and his eyes filled with tears, admitted his guilt.
"I have certainly lied to you," he mumbled. "There was never any Monster. What you saw as a Monster was simply a surge of energy. Your fear made it into a  monstrosity."
"You told me, that that Monster was going to devour me. How could you have lied to me like that?" don Juan shouted at him.
"Being devoured by that Monster was symbolic," the Nagual Julian replied softly. "Your real enemy is your stupidity. You are in mortal danger of being devoured by that monster now."
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Don Juan yelled, that he did not have to put up with silly statements. And he insisted they reassure him there were no longer any restrictions on his freedom to leave.
"You can go any time you want," the Nagual Julian said curtly (abrupt, gruff).
"You mean I can go right now?" don Juan asked.
"Do you want to?" the Nagual asked.
"Of course, I want to leave this miserable place and the miserable bunch of liars, who live here," don Juan shouted. The Nagual Julian ordered, that don Juan's savings be paid him in full, and with shining eyes wished him happiness, prosperity, and wisdom. The Women did not want to say goodbye to him. They stared at him, until he lowered his head to avoid their burning eyes. Don Juan put his money in his pocket and without a backward glance walked out, glad his ordeal was over.

The outside World was a question mark to him. He yearned for it. Inside that house he had been removed from it. He was young, strong. He had money in his pocket  and a thirst for living. He left them without saying thank you. His anger, bottled up by his fear for so long, was finally able to surface. He had even learned to like them - and now he felt betrayed. He wanted to run as far away from that place, as he could. In the city, he had his first unpleasant encounter. Traveling was very difficult and  very expensive. He learned, that if he wanted to leave the city at once, he would not be able to choose his destination, but would have to wait for whatever muleteers  were willing to take him. A few days later he left with a reputable muleteer for the port of Mazatlan.

"Although I was only twenty-three years old at the time," don Juan said, "I felt I had lived a full life. The only thing I had not experienced was sex. The Nagual Julian  had told me, that it was the fact I had not been with a Woman, that gave me my strength and endurance, and that he had little time left to set things up, before the World would catch up with me."
"What did he mean, don Juan?" I asked.
"He meant, that I had no idea about the kind of hell I was heading for," don Juan replied, "and that he had very little time to set up my barricades, my silent protectors."
"What's a silent protector, don Juan?" I asked.
"It's a lifesaver," he said. "A silent protector is a surge of inexplicable energy, that comes to a Warrior, when nothing else works. My benefactor knew what direction  my life would take, once I was no longer under his influence. So he struggled to give me as many Sorcerers' options, as possible. Those Sorcerers' options were to be my silent protectors."
"What are Sorcerers' Options?" I asked.
"Positions of the Assemblage Point," he replied, "the infinite number of positions, which the Assemblage Point can reach. In each and every one of those shallow or  deep Shifts, a Sorcerer can strengthen his New Continuity." He reiterated (repeat), that everything he had experienced either with his benefactor or while under his  guidance, had been the result of either a minute or a considerable Shift of his Assemblage Point. His benefactor had made him experience countless Sorcerers'  Options, more than the number, that would normally be necessary, because he knew, that don Juan's destiny would be to be called upon to explain, what Sorcerers  were and what they did. "The effect of those Shifts of the Assemblage Point is cumulative," he continued. "It weighs on you whether you understand it or not. 
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That accumulation worked for me, at the end. "Very soon after I came into contact with the Nagual, my Assemblage Point moved so profoundly, that I was capable of Seeing. I saw an Energy Field as a Monster. And the point kept on moving, until I saw the Monster as what it really was: an Energy Field. I had succeeded in Seeing, and I didn't know it. I thought I had done nothing, had learned nothing. I was stupid beyond belief."
"You were too young, don Juan," I said. "You couldn't have done otherwise."


He laughed. He was on the verge of replying, when he seemed to change his mind. He shrugged his shoulders and went on with his account. Don Juan said, that when he arrived in Mazatlan he was practically a seasoned muleteer, and was offered a permanent job running a mule train. He was very satisfied with the arrangements.  The idea, that he would be making the trip between Durango and Mazatlan pleased him no end. There were two things, however, that bothered him: first, that he had  not yet been with a Woman, and second, a strong, but unexplainable urge to go north. He did not know why. He knew only, that somewhere to the north something was waiting for him. The feeling persisted so strongly, that in the end he was forced to refuse the security of a permanent job, so he could travel north. His superior  strength and a new and unaccountable cunning enabled him to find jobs even where there were none to be had, as he steadily worked his way north to the state of Sinaloa. And there his journey ended.


He met a young widow, like himself a Yaqui Indian, who had been the wife of a man, to whom don Juan was indebted. He attempted to repay his indebtedness by helping the widow and her children, and without being aware of it, he fell into the role of husband and father. His new responsibilities put a great burden on him. He lost his freedom of movement and even his urge to journey farther north. He felt compensated for that loss, however, by the profound affection he felt for the Woman and her children. "I experienced moments of sublime happiness as a husband and father," don Juan said. "But it was at those moments when I first noticed, that something was terribly wrong. I realized, that I was losing the feeling of detachment, the aloofness I had acquired during my time in the Nagual Julian's house. Now I found myself identifying with the people, who surrounded me." Don Juan said, that it took about a year of unrelenting abrasion (merciless, wearing down) to make him lose every vestige of the new personality, he had acquired at the Nagual's house. He had begun with a profound, yet aloof  (reserved) affection for the Woman and her children. This detached affection allowed him to play the role of husband and father with abandon and gusto (relish, zest).


As time went by, his detached affection turned into a desperate passion, that made him lose his effectiveness. Gone was his feeling of detachment, which was what  had given him the power to love. Without that detachment, he had only mundane needs, desperation, and hopelessness: the distinctive features of the World of  Everyday Life. Gone as well was his enterprise. During his years at the Nagual's house, he had acquired a dynamism, that had served him well, when he set out on his own. But the most draining pain was knowing, that his physical energy had waned. Without actually being in ill health, one day he became totally paralyzed. He did not feel pain. He did not panic. It was as if his body had understood, that he would get the peace and quiet, he so desperately needed, only if it ceased to move. As he lay helpless in bed, he did nothing, but think. And he came to realize, that he had failed, because he did not have an Abstract Purpose.
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He knew, that the people in the Nagual's house were extraordinary, because they pursued Freedom, as their Abstract Purpose. He did not understand what Freedom  was, but he knew, that it was the opposite of his own concrete needs. His lack of an Abstract Purpose had made him so weak and ineffective, that he was incapable of  rescuing his adopted family from their abysmal (extremely poor) poverty. Instead, they had pulled him back to the very misery, sadness, and despair, which
he himself had known prior to encountering the Nagual. As he reviewed his life, he became aware, that the only time he had not been poor and had not had concrete needs was during his years with the Nagual. Poverty was the state of being, that had reclaimed him when his concrete needs overpowered him. For the first time,  since he had been shot and wounded so many years before, don Juan fully understood, that the Nagual Julian was indeed the Nagual, the Leader, and his benefactor.  He understood what it was, his benefactor had meant, when he said to him, that there was no Freedom without the Nagual's intervention. There was now no doubt in  don Juan's mind, that his benefactor and all the members of his benefactor's household were Sorcerers. But what don Juan understood with the most painful clarity  was, that he had thrown away his chance to be with them. When the pressure of his physical helplessness seemed unendurable, his paralysis ended as mysteriously,  as it had begun. One day he simply got out of bed and went to work. But his luck did not get any better. He could hardly make ends meet. Another year passed. He did  not prosper, but there was one thing, in which he succeeded beyond his expectations: he made a total recapitulation of his life. He understood then why he loved and  could not leave those children, and why he could not stay with them, and he also understood why he could neither act one way, nor the other. Don Juan knew, that
he had reached a complete impasse (dead-end), and that to die like a Warrior was the only action congruous (appropriate, harmonious) with what he had learned at his benefactor's house. So every night, after a frustrating day of hardship and meaningless toil (continuous labor), he patiently waited for his death to come. He was so  utterly convinced of his end, that his wife and her children waited with him - in a gesture of solidarity, they too wanted to die. All four sat in perfect immobility, night  after night, without fail, and recapitulated their lives while they waited for death. Don Juan had admonished (remind mildly) them with the same words his benefactor had used to admonish him.
"Don't wish for it," his benefactor had said. "Just wait, until it comes. Don't try to imagine what death is like. Just be there to be caught in its flow."
The time spent quietly strengthened them mentally, but physically their emaciated (abnormally thin) bodies told of their losing battle. One day, however, don Juan  thought his luck was beginning to change. He found temporary work with a team of farm laborers during the harvest season. But the Spirit had other designs for him.
A couple of days after he started work, someone stole his hat. It was impossible for him to buy a new one, but he had to have one to work under the scorching sun.
He fashioned a protection of sorts by covering his head with rags and handfuls of straw. His coworkers began to laugh and taunt (mock) him. He ignored them.  Compared to the lives of the three people, who depended on his labor, how he looked had little meaning for him. But the men did not stop. They yelled and laughed,  until the foreman, fearing that they would riot, fired don Juan. A wild rage overwhelmed don Juan's sense of sobriety and caution.


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He knew he had been wronged. The moral right was with him. He let out a chilling, piercing scream, and grabbed one of the men, and lifted him over his shoulders,  meaning to crack his back. But he thought of those hungry children. He thought of their disciplined little bodies, as they sat with him night after night awaiting death.
He put the man down and walked away. Don Juan said, that he sat down at the edge of the field, where the men were working, and all the despair, that had  accumulated in him, finally exploded. It was a silent rage, but not against the people around him. He raged against himself. He raged, until all his anger was spent.
"I sat there in view of all those people and began to weep," don Juan continued. "They looked at me as if I were crazy, which I really was, but I didn't care. I was beyond caring. "The foreman felt sorry for me and came over to give a word of advice. He thought I was weeping for myself. He couldn't have possibly known, that
I was weeping for the Spirit." Don Juan said, that a silent protector came to him after his rage was spent. It was in the form of an unaccountable surge of energy, that  left him with the clear feeling, that his death was imminent. He knew, that he was not going to have time to see his adopted family again. He apologized to them in a  loud voice for not having had the fortitude (courage) and wisdom, necessary to deliver them from their hell on Earth. The farm workers continued to laugh and mock  him. He vaguely heard them. Tears swelled in his chest, as he addressed and thanked the Spirit for having placed him in the Nagual's Path, giving him an undeserved  chance to be free. He heard the howls of the uncomprehending men. He heard their insults and yells as if from within himself. They had the right to ridicule him.
He had been at the Portals of Eternity and had been unaware of it. "I understood how right my benefactor had been," don Juan said. "My stupidity was a Monster and
it had already devoured me. The instant I had that thought, I knew, that anything I could say or do was useless. I had lost my chance. Now, I was only clowning for  those men. The Spirit could not possibly have cared about my despair. There were too many of us - men with our own petty private hells, born of our stupidity - for the Spirit to pay attention. "I knelt and faced the southeast. I thanked my benefactor again and told the Spirit I was ashamed. So ashamed. And with my last breath I said  goodbye to a World, which could have been wonderful, if I had had wisdom. An immense wave came for me then. I felt it, first. Then I heard it, and finally I saw it  coming for me from the southeast, over the fields. It overtook me and its blackness covered me. And the light of my life was gone. My hell had ended. I was finally  dead! I was finally free!"


Don Juan's story devastated me. He ignored all my efforts to talk about it. He said, that at another time, in another setting we were going to discuss it. He demanded instead, that we get on with what he had come to do: elucidate (clarify) the Mastery of Awareness.
A couple of days later, as we were coming down from the mountains, he suddenly began to talk about his story. We had sat down to rest. Actually, I was the one, who had stopped to catch my breath. Don Juan was not even breathing hard. "The Sorcerers' struggle for assuredness is the most dramatic struggle there is," don Juan said. "It's painful and costly. Many, many times it has actually cost Sorcerers their lives."
192-193
He explained, that in order for any Sorcerer to have complete certainty about his actions, or about his position in the Sorcerers' World, or to be capable of utilizing  intelligently his New Continuity, he must invalidate (nullify) the Continuity of his old life. Only then can his actions have the necessary assuredness to fortify and  balance the tenuousness (weakness) and instability of his New Continuity.
"The Sorcerer Seers of modern times call this process of invalidation (nullifying) the ticket to Impeccability, or the Sorcerers' symbolic, but final death," don Juan said.  "And in that field in Sinaloa, I got my ticket to Impeccability. I died there. The tenuousness (weakness) of my New Continuity cost me my life."
"But did you die, don Juan, or did you just faint?" I asked, trying not to sound cynical.
"I died in that field," he said. "I felt my Awareness flowing out of me and heading toward the Eagle. But as I had impeccably recapitulated my life, the Eagle did not  swallow my Awareness. The Eagle spat me out. Because my body was dead in the field, the Eagle did not let me go through to freedom. It was as if it told me to go  back and try again. "I ascended the heights of blackness and descended again to the Light of the Earth. And then I found myself in a shallow grave at the edge of the  field, covered with rocks and dirt." Don Juan said, that he knew instantly what to do. After digging himself out, he rearranged the grave to look, as if a body was still  there, and slipped away. He felt strong and determined. He knew, that he had to return to his benefactor's house. But, before he started his return journey, he wanted to see his family and explain to them, that he was a Sorcerer and for that reason he could not stay with them. He wanted to explain, that his downfall had been not  knowing, that Sorcerers can never make a bridge to join the people of the World. But, if people desire to do so, they have to make a bridge to join Sorcerers.


"I went home," don Juan continued, "but the house was empty. The shocked neighbors told me, that farm workers had come earlier with the news, that I had dropped dead at work, and my wife and her children had left."
"How long were you dead, don Juan?" I asked.
"A whole day, apparently," he said. Don Juan's smile played on his lips. His eyes seemed to be made of shiny obsidian. He was watching my reaction, waiting for my comments.
"What became of your family, don Juan?" I asked.
"Ah, the question of a sensible man," he remarked. "For a moment I thought you were going to ask me about my death!" I confessed, that I had been about to, but that
I knew he was seeing my question, as I formulated it in my mind, and just to be contrary I asked something else. I did not mean it as a joke, but it made him laugh.
"My family disappeared that day," he said. "My wife was a survivor. She had to be, with the conditions we lived under. Since I had been waiting for my death,
she believed I had gotten what I wanted. There was nothing for her to do there, so she left. "I missed the children and I consoled (comfort) myself with the thought, that it wasn't my fate to be with them. However, Sorcerers have a peculiar bent. They live exclusively in the twilight of a feeling best described by the words "and yet . . ." When everything is crumbling down around them, Sorcerers accept, that the situation is terrible, and then immediately escape to the twilight of "and yet. . ."
"I did that with my feelings for those children and the woman. With great discipline - especially on the part of the oldest boy - they had recapitulated their lives with me.
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Only the Spirit could decide the outcome of that affection." He reminded me, that he had taught me how Warriors acted in such situations. They did their utmost, and then, without any remorse or regrets, they relaxed and let the Spirit decide the outcome.
"What was the decision of the Spirit, don Juan?" I asked.
He scrutinized me without answering. I knew he was completely aware of my motive for asking. I had experienced a similar affection and a similar loss.
"The decision of the Spirit is another Basic Core," he said. "Sorcery Stories are built around it. We'll talk about that specific decision, when we get to discussing that Basic Core. "Now, wasn't there a question about my death you wanted to ask?"
"If they thought you were dead, why the shallow grave?" I asked. "Why didn't they dig a real grave and bury you?"
"That's more like you," he said laughing. "I asked the same question myself and I realized, that all those farm workers were pious (devoted) people. I was a Christian.  Christians are not buried just like that, nor are they left to rot like dogs. I think they were waiting for my family to come and claim the body and give it a proper burial.  But my family never came."
"Did you go and look for them, don Juan?" I asked.
"No. Sorcerers never look for anyone," he replied. "And I was a Sorcerer. I had paid with my life for the mistake of not knowing I was a Sorcerer, and that Sorcerers  never approach anyone. From that day on, I have only accepted the company or the care of people or Warriors, who are dead, as I am." Don Juan said, that he went back to his benefactor's house, where all of them knew instantly what he had discovered. And they treated him, as if he had not left at all. The Nagual Julian commented, that because of his peculiar nature, don Juan had taken a long time to die. "My benefactor told me then, that a Sorcerer's ticket to Freedom was his Death," don Juan went on. "He said, that he himself had paid with his life for that ticket to Freedom, as had everyone else in his household. And that now we were  equals in our condition of being dead."
"Am I dead too, don Juan?" I asked.
"You are dead," he said. "The Sorcerers' grand trick, however, is to be aware, that they are dead. Their ticket to Impeccability must be wrapped in Awareness. In that wrapping, Sorcerers say, their ticket is kept in mint (abundant amount) condition. For sixty years, I've kept mine in mint condition."

196-197-198
Don Juan often took me and the rest of his apprentices on short trips to the western range nearby. On this occasion we left at dawn, and late in the afternoon, started  back. I chose to walk with don Juan. To be close to him always soothed and relaxed me; but being with his volatile apprentices always produced in me the opposite  effect: they made me feel very tired. As we all came down from the mountains, don Juan and I made one stop, before we reached the flatlands. An attack of profound  melancholy came upon me with such speed and strength, that all I could do was to sit down. Then, following don Juan's suggestion, I lay on my stomach, on top of a  large round boulder. The rest of the apprentices taunted (mocked) me and continued walking. I heard their laughter and yelling become faint in the distance. Don Juan  urged me to relax and let my Assemblage Point, which, he said, had moved with sudden speed, settle into its new position. "Don't fret (distress)," he advised me.
"In a short while, you'll feel a sort of tug (pulling force), or a pat on your back, as if someone has touched you. Then you'll be fine." The act of lying motionless on the  boulder, waiting to feel the pat on my back, triggered a spontaneous recollection so intense and clear, that I never noticed the pat I was expecting. I was sure,  however, that I got it, because my melancholy indeed vanished instantly. I quickly described what I was recollecting to don Juan. He suggested I stay on the boulder  and move my Assemblage Point back to the exact place it was when I experienced the event, that I was recalling. "Get every detail of it," he warned. It had happened many years before. Don Juan and I had been at that time in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico, in the high desert. I used to go there with him, because it was an area rich in the medicinal herbs, he collected. From an anthropological point of view that area also held a tremendous interest for me. Archaeologists had found, not  too long before, the remains of what they concluded was a large, prehistoric trading post. They surmised (make a guess), that the trading post, strategically situated in a natural passway, had been the epicenter of commerce along a trade route, which joined the American Southwest to southern Mexico and Central America. The few  times I had been in that flat, high desert had reinforced my conviction, that archaeologists were right in their conclusions, that it was a natural passkey. I, of course, had lectured don Juan on the influence of that passway in the prehistoric distribution of cultural traits on the North American continent. I was deeply interested at that time in explaining Sorcery among the Indians of the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America, as a system of beliefs, which had been transmitted along trade  routes and which had served to create, at a certain abstract level, a sort of pre-Columbian pan-Indianism. Don Juan, naturally, laughed uproariously every time I expounded (explaining in details) my theories. The event, that I recollected, had begun in the mid-afternoon. After don Juan and I had gathered two small sacks of  some extremely rare medicinal herbs, we took a break and sat down on top of some huge boulders. But before we headed back to where I had left my car, don Juan  insisted on talking about the Art of Stalking. He said, that the setting was the most adequate one for explaining its intricacies (detailes), but that in order to understand  them, I first had to enter into Heightened Awareness. I demanded, that before he do anything, he explain to me again what Heightened Awareness really was. Don Juan
, displaying great patience, discussed Heightened Awareness in terms of the Movement of the Assemblage Point. As he kept talking, I realized the facetiousness  (meticulousness) of my request. I knew everything he was telling me. I remarked, that I did not really need anything explained, and he said, that explanations were  never wasted, because they were imprinted in us for immediate or later use or to help prepare our way to reaching Silent Knowledge. When I asked him to talk about  Silent Knowledge in more detail, he quickly responded, that Silent Knowledge was a general position of the Assemblage Point, that ages ago it had been man's normal position, but that, for reasons, which would be impossible to determine, man's Assemblage Point had moved away from that specific location and adopted a new one called "Reason." Don Juan remarked, that not every Human Being was a representative of this new position. The Assemblage Points of the majority of us were not  placed squarely on the location of Reason itself, but in its immediate vicinity.
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The same thing had been in the case with Silent Knowledge: not every Human Being's Assemblage Point had been squarely on that location either. He also said, that "the Place of No Pity," being another position of the Assemblage Point, was the Forerunner (predecessor) of Silent Knowledge, and that yet another position of the Assemblage Point, called "the Place of Concern," was the Forerunner of Reason. I found nothing obscure about those cryptic remarks. To me they were self-
explanatory. I understood everything he said while I waited for his usual blow to my shoulder blades to make me enter into Heightened Awareness. But the blow never came, and I kept on understanding what he was saying without really being aware, that I understood anything. The feeling of ease, of taking things for granted, proper  to my normal consciousness, remained with me, and I did not question my capacity to understand. Don Juan looked at me fixedly and recommended, that I lie face  down on top of a round boulder with my arms and legs spread like a frog. I lay there for about ten minutes, thoroughly relaxed, almost asleep, until I was jolted out of  my slumber (sleeping) by a soft, sustained hissing growl. I raised my head, looked up, and my hair stood on end.


A gigantic, dark jaguar was squatting on a boulder,  scarcely ten feet from me, right above, where don Juan was sitting. The jaguar, its fangs showing, was glaring straight at me. He seemed ready to jump on me, "Don't  move!" don Juan ordered me softly. "And don't look at his eyes. Stare at his nose and don't blink. Your life depends on your stare." I did what he told me. The jaguar  and I stared at each other for a moment, until don Juan broke the standoff by hurling his hat, like a frisbee (concave disk), at the jaguar's head. The jaguar jumped back to avoid being hit, and don Juan let out a loud, prolonged, and piercing whistle. He then yelled at the top of his voice and clapped his hands two or three times. It sounded like muffled gunshots. Don Juan signaled me to come down from the boulder and join him.


The two of us yelled and clapped our hands, until he decided we had scared the jaguar away. My body was shaking, yet I was not frightened. I told don Juan, that what had caused me the greatest fear had not been the cat's  sudden growl or his stare, but the certainty, that the jaguar had been staring at me long before I had heard him and lifted my head. Don Juan did not say a word about  the experience. He was deep in thought. When I began to ask him if he had seen the jaguar before I had, he made an imperious (urgent, pressing) gesture to quiet me. He gave me the impression he was ill at ease or even confused. After a moment's silence, don Juan signaled me to start walking. He took the lead. We walked away from the rocks, zigzagging at a fast pace through the bush. After about half an hour we reached a clearing in the chaparral, where we stopped to rest for a moment.
We had not said a single word and I was eager to know what don Juan was thinking.
"Why are we walking in this pattern?" I asked. "Wouldn't it be better to make a beeline out of here, and fast?"
"No!" he said emphatically. "It wouldn't be any good. That one is a male jaguar. He's hungry and he's going to come after us."
"All the more reason to get out of here fast," I insisted.
"It's not so easy," he said. "That jaguar is not encumbered (hinder, impede) by reason. He'll know exactly what to do to get us. And, as sure, as I am talking to you, he'll read our thoughts."
201-202
"What do you mean, the jaguar reading our thoughts?" I asked.
"That is no metaphorical statement," he said. "I mean what I say. Big animals like that, have the capacity to read thoughts. And I don't mean guess. I mean, that they  know everything directly."
"What can we do then?" I asked, truly alarmed.
"We ought to become less rational and try to win the battle by making it impossible for the jaguar to read us," he replied.
"How would being less rational help us?" I asked.
"Reason makes us choose what seems sound to the mind," he said. "For instance, your reason already told you to run as fast, as you can in a straight line. What your  reason failed to consider is, that we would have had to run about six miles before reaching the safety of your car. And the jaguar will outrun us. He'll cut in front of us  and be waiting in the most appropriate place to jump us. A better, but less rational choice is to zigzag."
"How do you know, that it's better, don Juan?" I asked.
"I know it, because My Connection to the Spirit is very clear," he replied. "That is to say, my Assemblage Point is at the Place of Silent Knowledge. From there I can  discern, that this is a hungry jaguar, but not one, that has already eaten humans. And he's baffled by our actions. If we zigzag now, the jaguar will have to make an  effort to anticipate (sense beforehand) us."
"Are there any other choices beside zigzagging?" I asked.
"There are only rational choices," he said. "And we don't have all the equipment we need to back up rational choices. For example, we can head for the high ground,  but we would need a gun to hold it. "We must match the jaguar's choices. Those choices are dictated by Silent Knowledge. We must do what Silent Knowledge tells us, regardless of how unreasonable it may seem." He began his zigzagging trot. I followed him very closely, but I had no confidence, that running like that, would save us.  I was having a delayed panic reaction. The thought of the dark, looming shape of the enormous cat obsessed me. The desert chaparral consisted of tall, ragged bushes spaced four or five feet apart. The limited rainfall in the high desert did not allow the growth of plants with thick foliage or of dense underbrush. Yet the visual effect of the chaparral was of thickness and impenetrable growth. Don Juan moved with extraordinary nimbleness and I followed as best, as I could. He suggested, that I watch where I stepped and make less noise. He said, that the sound of branches, cracking under my weight, was a dead giveaway. I deliberately tried to step in don Juan's  tracks to avoid breaking dry branches. We zigzagged about a hundred yards in this manner, before I caught sight of the jaguar's enormous dark mass no more, than  thirty feet behind me. I yelled at the top of my voice. Without stopping, don Juan turned around quickly enough to see the big cat move out of sight. Don Juan let out  another piercing whistle and kept clapping his hands, imitating the sound of muffled gunshots. In a very low voice he said, that cats did not like to go uphill and so we  were going to cross, at top speed, the wide and deep ravine a few yards to my right. He gave a signal to go and we thrashed (beat with whip) through the bushes as  fast, as we could. We slid down one side of the ravine, reached the bottom, and rushed up the other side. From there we had a clear view of the slope, the bottom of  the ravine, and the level ground, where we had been.
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Don Juan whispered, that the jaguar was following our scent, and that, if we were lucky, we would see him running to the bottom of the ravine, close to our tracks.  Gazing fixedly at the ravine below us, I waited anxiously to catch a glimpse of the animal. But I did not see him. I was beginning to think the jaguar might have run  away, when I heard the frightening growling of the big cat in the chaparral just behind us. I had the chilling realization, that don Juan had been right. To get to where
he was, the jaguar must have read our thoughts and crossed the ravine, before we had. Without uttering a single word, don Juan began running at a formidable  (admirable, awe-inspiring) speed. I followed and we zigzagged for quite a while. I was totally out of breath when we stopped to rest. The fear of being chased by the  jaguar had not, however, prevented me from admiring don Juan's superb physical prowess (outstanding strength, courage, daring). He had run, as if he were a young  man. I began to tell him, that he had reminded me of someone in my childhood, who had impressed me deeply with his running ability, but he signaled me to stop  talking. He listened attentively and so did I. I heard a soft rustling in the underbrush, right ahead of us. And then the black silhouette of the jaguar was visible for an  instant at a spot in the chaparral, perhaps fifty yards from us. Don Juan shrugged his shoulders and pointed in the direction of the animal. "It looks like we're not going to shake him off," he said with a tone of resignation. "Let's walk calmly, as if we were taking a nice stroll in the park, and you tell me the story of your childhood. This is the right time and the right setting for it. A jaguar is after us with a ravenous (voracious, famished) appetite, and you are reminiscing (recalling memory) about your  past: the perfect Not-Doing for being chased by a jaguar." He laughed loudly. But when I told him, I had completely lost interest in telling the story, he doubled up with laughter. "You are punishing me now for not wanting to listen to you, aren't you?" he asked. And I, of course, began to defend myself. I told him his accusation was  definitely absurd. I really had lost the thread of the story. "If a Sorcerer doesn't have Self-Importance, he doesn't give a rat's ass about having lost the thread of a  story," he said with a malicious shine in his eyes. "Since you don't have any Self-Importance left, you should tell your story now. Tell it to the Spirit, to the jaguar, and to me, as if you hadn't lost the thread at all." I wanted to tell him, that I did not feel like complying with his wishes, because the story was too stupid and the setting was overwhelming. I wanted to pick the appropriate setting for it, some other time, as he himself did with his stories. Before I voiced my opinions, he answered me.
"Both the jaguar and I can read thoughts," he said, smiling. "If I choose the proper setting and time for my Sorcery Stories, it's because they are for teaching and I want to get the maximum effect from them." He signaled me to start walking. We walked calmly, side by side. I said, I had admired his running and his stamina, and that a bit of Self-Importance was at the core of my admiration, because I considered myself a good runner. Then I told him the story from my childhood I had remembered, when I saw him running so well. I told him I had played soccer as a boy and had run extremely well. In fact, I was so agile (light, move easy, quick) and fast, that I felt, I could  commit any prank (practical joke) with impunity (avoiding punishmnt), because I would be able to outrun anyone chasing me, especially the old policemen, who  patrolled the streets of my hometown on foot.
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If I broke a street light or something of the sort, all I had to do was to take off running and I was safe. But one day, unbeknownst (without the knowledge) to me, the old policemen were replaced by a new police corps with military training. The disastrous moment came when I broke a window in a Store and ran, confident, that my  speed was my safeguard. A young policeman took off after me. I ran as I had never run before, but it was to no avail. The officer, who was a crack center forward on the police soccer team, had more speed and stamina, than my ten-year-old body could manage. He caught me and kicked me all the way back to the store with the broken  window. Very artfully he named off all his kicks, as if he were training on a soccer field. He did not hurt me, he only scared me spitless, yet my intense humiliation was tempered by a ten-year-old's admiration for his prowess (outstanding daring) and his talent as a soccer player. I told don Juan, that I had felt the same with him that  day. He was able to outrun me in spite of our age difference and my old proclivity (predisposition) for speedy getaways. I also told him, that for years I had been having a recurrent dream, in which I ran so well, that the young policeman was no longer able to overtake me.
"Your story is more important, than I thought," don Juan commented. "I thought it was going to be a story about your mama spanking you."
The way he emphasized his words made his statement very funny and very mocking. He added, that at certain times it was the Spirit, and not our Reason, which  decided on our stories. This was one of those times. The Spirit had triggered this particular story in my mind, doubtlessly, because the story was concerned with my indestructible Self-Importance. He said, that the torch of anger and humiliation had burned in me for years, and my feelings of failure and dejection (melancholy, 
depression) were still intact. "A psychologist would have a field day with your story and its present context," he went on. "In your mind, I must be identified with the young policeman, who shattered your notion of invincibility (unbeatable)."
Now, that he mentioned it, I had to admit, that that had been my feeling, although I would not consciously have thought of it, much less voiced it. We walked in silence. I was so touched by his analogy, that I completely forgot the jaguar stalking us, until a wild growl reminded me of our situation. Don Juan directed me to jump up and down on the long, low branches of the shrubs and break off a couple of them to make a sort of long broom. He did the same. As we ran, we used them to raise a cloud of dust, stirring and kicking the dry, sandy dirt.
"That ought to worry the jaguar," he said when we stopped again to catch our breath. "We have only a few hours of daylight left. At night the jaguar is unbeatable, so we had better start running straight toward those rocky hills." He pointed to some hills in the distance, perhaps half a mile south.
"We've got to go east," I said. "Those hills are too far south. If we go that way, we'll never get to my car."
"We won't get to your car today, anyway," he said calmly. "And perhaps not tomorrow either. Who is to say we'll ever get back to it?" I felt a pang of fear, and then a strange peace took possession of me. I told don Juan, that, if Death was going to take me in that desert chaparral, I hoped it would be painless. "Don't worry," he said. "Death is painful only when it happens in one's bed, in sickness. In a fight for your life, you feel no pain. If you feel anything, it's exultation (triumphant)."


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He said, that one of the most dramatic differences between civilized men and Sorcerers was the way, in which Death came to them. Only with Sorcerer-Warriors was  Death kind and sweet. They could be mortally wounded and yet would feel no pain. And what was even more extraordinary was, that Death held itself in abeyance  (temporary suspended) for as long, as the Sorcerers needed it to do so. "The greatest difference between an average man and a Sorcerer is, that a Sorcerer  commands his Death with his speed," don Juan went on. "If it comes to that, the jaguar will not eat me. He'll eat you, because you don't have the speed to hold back  your Death." He then elaborated on the intricacies of the Sorcerers' idea of speed and Death. He said, that in the World of Everyday Life our word or our decisions  could be reversed very easily. The only irrevocable (irreversible) thing in our World was Death. In the Sorcerers' World, on the other hand, normal Death could be  counter-manded (cancelled), but not the Sorcerers' word. In the Sorcerers' World decisions could not be changed or revised (changed, modified). Once they had been  made, they stood forever. I told him his statements, impressive as they were, could not convince me, that death could be revoked (nullified). And he explained once  more what he had explained before.
He said, that for a Seer Human Beings were either Oblong or Spherical Luminous Masses of countless, static, yet Vibrant Fields of Energy, and that only Sorcerers  were capable of Injecting Movement into those Spheres of Static Luminosity. In a millisecond they could move their Assemblage Points to any place in their Luminous Mass. That movement and the speed, with which it was performed, entailed (created) an Instantaneous Shift into the Perception of another Totally Different Universe.  Or they could move their Assemblage Points, without stopping, across Their Entire Fields of Luminous Energy. The Force, created by such Movement, was so  intense, that it instantly consumed their whole Luminous Mass. He said, that if a rockslide were to come crashing down on us at that precise moment, he would be able to cancel the normal effect of an accidental Death. By using the speed, with which his Assemblage Point would move, he could make himself Change Universes or  make himself burn from within in a fraction of a second.
I, on the other hand, would die a normal Death, crushed by the rocks, because my Assemblage Point lacked the speed to pull me out. I said, it seemed to me, that the  Sorcerers had just found an Alternative way of Dying, which was not the same as a cancellation of Death. And he replied, that all he had said was, that Sorcerers  commanded their Deaths. They died only when they had to. But while he was talking, Thoughts and Unanchored Memories about Other Perceivable Universes were  forming in my Mind, as if on a screen. I told don Juan I was thinking strange thoughts. He laughed and recommended I stick to the jaguar, because he was so real, that  he could only be a true Manifestation of the Spirit. The idea of how real the animal was made me shudder.
"Wouldn't it be better if we changed direction instead of heading straight for the hills?" I asked. I thought, that we could create a certain confusion in the jaguar with an unexpected change.
"It's too late to change direction," don Juan said. "The jaguar already knows, that there is no place for us to go, but the hills."
"That can't be true, don Juan!" I exclaimed.
"Why not?" he asked. I told him, that although I could attest (sertify, affirm) to the animal's ability to be one jump ahead of us, I could not quite accept, that the jaguar  had the foresight to figure out where we wanted to go.
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"Your error is to think of the jaguar's power in terms of his capacity to figure things out," he said. "He can't think. He only knows." Don Juan said, that our dust-raising  maneuver was to confuse the jaguar by giving him sensory input on something, for which we had no use. We could not develop a real feeling for raising dust, though  our lives depended on it.
"I truly don't understand what you are saying," I whined. Tension was taking its toll on me. I was having a hard time concentrating. Don Juan explained, that human  feelings were like hot or cold currents of air and could easily be detected by a beast. We were the senders, the jaguar was the receiver. Whatever feelings we had,  would find their way to the jaguar. Or rather, the jaguar could read any feelings, that had a history of use for us. In the case of the dust-raising maneuver, the feeling
we had about it, was so out of the ordinary, that it could only create a vacuum in the receiver.
"Another maneuver, Silent Knowledge might dictate, would be to kick up dirt," don Juan said. He looked at me for an instant, as if he were waiting for my reactions.
"We are going to walk very calmly now," he said. "And you are going to kick up dirt, as if you were a ten-foot giant." I must have had a stupid expression on my face.  Don Juan's body shook with laughter. "Raise a cloud of dust with your feet," he ordered me. "Feel huge and heavy." I tried it and immediately had a sense of  massiveness. In a joking tone, I commented, that his power of suggestion was incredible. I actually felt gigantic and ferocious. He assured me, that my feeling of size  was not in any way the product of his suggestion, but the product of a Shift of My Assemblage Point. He said, that Men of Antiquity became legendary, because they knew by Silent Knowledge about the Power to be Obtained by Moving the Assemblage Point. On a reduced scale Sorcerers had recaptured, that Old Power. With a Movement of their Assemblage Points they could manipulate their feelings and change things. I was changing things by feeling big and ferocious. Feelings, processed in that fashion, were called Intent. "Your Assemblage Point has already moved quite a bit," he went on. "Now you are in the position of either losing your Gain or  making your Assemblage Point move beyond the place, where it is now. Possibly every Human Being under normal living conditions had had at one time or another  the opportunity to break away from the bindings of convention (widely used practice). He stressed, that he did not mean social convention, but the conventions  Binding our Perception. A moment of Elation (Raising the Spirits, sense of triumph) would suffice (be sufficient) to Move Our Assemblage Points and Break Our  Conventions! So, too, a moment of fright, ill health, anger, or grief. But ordinarily, whenever we had the chance to Move Our Assemblage Points, we became  frightened. Our religious, academic, social backgrounds would come into play. They would assure our safe return to the flock; the Return of Our Assemblage Points to the prescribed position of normal living. He told me, that all the mystics and spiritual teachers, I knew of, had done just that: their Assemblage Points moved, either through discipline or accident, to a certain point; and then they returned to normalcy Carrying a Memory, that lasted them a Lifetime.
"You can be a very pious (devout), good boy," he went on, "and forget about the Initial Movement of your Assemblage Point. Or you can push beyond your reasonable limits. You are still within those limits."
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I knew what he was talking about, yet there was a strange hesitation in me making me vacillate (sway from one side to the other). Don Juan pushed his argument  further. He said, that the average man, incapable of finding the energy to perceive beyond his daily limits, called the Realm of Extraordinary Perception Sorcery,  Witchcraft, or the work of the devil, and shied away from it without examining it further. "But you can't do that anymore. You are not religious and you are much too  curious to discard anything so easily. The only thing, that could stop you now, is cowardice. Turn everything into what it really is: the Abstract, the Spirit, the Nagual.  There is no witchcraft, no evil, no devil. There is only perception." I understood him. But I could not tell exactly what he wanted me to do. I looked at don Juan, trying to find the most appropriate words. I seemed to have entered into an extremely functional frame of mind and did not want to waste a single word. "Be gigantic!"
he ordered me, smiling. "Do away with reason." Then I knew exactly what he meant. In fact, I knew, that I could increase the intensity of my feelings of size and  ferociousness, until I actually could be a giant, hovering over the shrubs, seeing all around us. I tried to voice my thoughts, but quickly gave up. I became aware, that  don Juan knew all I was thinking, and obviously much, much more. And then something extraordinary happened to me. My reasoning faculties ceased to function.  Literally, I felt as though a dark blanket had covered me and obscured my thoughts. And I let go of my reason with the abandon of one, who doesn't have a worry in the World. I was convinced, that if I wanted to dispel (scatter) the obscuring blanket, all I had to do was: feel myself breaking through it. In that state, I felt I was being  propelled, set in motion. Something was making me move physically from one place to another. I did not experience any fatigue. The speed and ease, with which
I could move elated (raising the spirits) me. I did not feel I was walking; I was not flying either. Rather I was being transported with extreme facility. My movements  became jerky and ungraceful only when I tried to think about them. When I enjoyed them without thought, I entered into a unique state of physical elation (triumph) for, which I had no precedent (previous experience). If I had had instances of that kind of physical happiness in my life, they must have been so short-lived, that they had  left no memory. Yet when I experienced that ecstasy, I felt a vague recognition, as if I had once known it, but had forgotten. The exhilaration (invigoration) of moving  through the chaparral was so intense, that everything else ceased. The only things, that existed for me, were those periods of exhilaration and then the moments,  when I would stop moving and find myself facing the chaparral. But even more inexplicable was the total bodily sensation of looming (tower above) over the bushes,  which I had had since the instant I started to be moved. At one moment, I clearly saw the figure of the jaguar up ahead of me. He was running away as fast, as he could. I felt, that he was trying to avoid the spines of the cactuses. He was being extremely careful about where he stepped. I had the overwhelming urge to run after the  jaguar and scare him into losing his caution. I knew, that he would get pricked by the spines. A thought then erupted in my Silent Mind - I thought, that the jaguar would be a more dangerous animal, if he was hurt by the spines.
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That thought produced the same effect as someone waking me from a dream. When I became aware, that my thinking processes were functioning again, I found, that
I was at the base of a low range of rocky hills. I looked around. Don Juan was a few feet away. He seemed exhausted. He was pale and breathing very hard.
"What happened, don Juan?" I asked, after clearing my raspy throat.
"You tell me what happened," he gasped between breaths. I told him what I had felt. Then I realized, that I could barely see the top of the mountain directly in my line  of vision. There was very little daylight left, which meant I had been running, or walking, for more, than two hours. I asked don Juan to explain the time discrepancy.
He said, that My Assemblage Point had moved beyond the Place of No Pity into the Place of Silent Knowledge, but that I still lacked the energy to manipulate it myself. To manipulate it myself meant: I would have to have enough Energy to move between Reason and Silent Knowledge at Will. He added, that if a Sorcerer had enough  Energy - or even, if he did not have Sufficient Energy, but needed to Shift, because it was a matter of Life and Death - he could fluctuate between Reason and Silent  Knowledge. His conclusions about me were, that because of the seriousness of our situation, I had let the Spirit Move My Assemblage Point. The result had been my  entering into Silent Knowledge. Naturally, the Scope of My Perception had increased, which gave me the feeling of height, of looming (towering) over the bushes.
At that time, because of my academic training, I was passionately interested in validation by consensus (majority view). I asked him my standard question of those  days: "If someone from UCLA's Anthropology Department had been watching me, would he have seen me as a giant thrashing through the chaparral?"
"I really don't know," don Juan said. "The way to find out would be to move your Assemblage Point, when you are in the Department of Anthropology."
"I have tried," I said. "But nothing ever happens. I must need to have you around for anything to take place."
"It was not a matter of Life and Death for you then," he said. "If it had been, you would have moved your Assemblage Point all by yourself."
"But would people see, what I see when my Assemblage Point moves?" I insisted.
"No, because their Assemblage Points won't be in the same place as yours," he replied.
"Then, don Juan, did I dream the jaguar?" I asked. "Did all of it happen only in my mind?"
"Not quite," he said. "That big cat is real. You have moved miles and you are not even tired. If you are in doubt, look at your shoes. They are full of cactus spines. So you did move, looming over the shrubs. And at the same time you didn't. It depends on whether one's Assemblage Point is on the Place of Reason or on the Place of Silent Knowledge." I understood everything he was saying while he said it, but could not repeat any part of it at will. Nor could I determine, what it was I knew, or why he was making so much sense to me. The growl of the jaguar brought me back to the reality of the immediate danger. I caught sight of the jaguar's dark mass, as
he swiftly moved uphill about thirty yards to our right.
"What are we going to do, don Juan?" I asked, knowing, that he had also seen the animal moving ahead of us.
"Keep climbing to the very top and seek shelter there," he said calmly.
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Then he added, as if he had not a single worry in the world, that I had wasted valuable time indulging in my pleasure at looming over the bushes. Instead of heading for the safety of the hills he had pointed out, I had taken off toward the easterly higher mountains. "We must reach that scarp before the jaguar or we don't have a chance," he said, pointing to the nearly vertical face at the very top of the mountain. I turned right and saw the jaguar leaping from rock to rock. He was definitely working his  way over to cut us off.
"Let's go, don Juan!" I yelled out of nervousness. Don Juan smiled. He seemed to be enjoying my fear and impatience. We moved as fast, as we could and climbed  steadily. I tried not to pay attention to the dark form of the jaguar, as it appeared from time to time a bit ahead of us and always to our right. The three of us reached the base of the escarpment (steep slope) at the same time. The jaguar was about twenty yards to our right. He jumped and tried to climb the face of the cliff, but failed. The rock wall was too steep. Don Juan yelled, that I should not waste time watching the jaguar, because he would charge, as soon as he gave up trying to climb. No sooner had don Juan spoken, than the animal charged. There was no time for further urging. I scrambled up (climb hurriedly) the rock wall followed by don Juan. The shrill  (high-pitched, piecing) scream of the frustrated beast sounded right by the heel of my right foot. The propelling force of fear sent me up the slick scarp (slippery slope), as if I were a fly. I reached the top before don Juan, who had stopped to laugh. Safe at the top of the cliff, I had more time to think about what had happened. Don Juan  did not want to discuss anything. He argued, that at this stage in my development, any Movement of My Assemblage Point would still be a mystery. My challenge at the beginning of my apprenticeship was, he said, maintaining My Gains, rather than reasoning them out - and that at some point, everything would make sense to me.
I told him everything made sense to me at that moment. But he was adamant (unshakably firm), that I had to be able to explain Knowledge to myself, before I could claim, that it made sense to me. He insisted, that for a Movement of My Assemblage Point to make sense, I would need to have Energy to fluctuate from the Place of Reason to the Place of Silent Knowledge. He stayed quiet for a while, sweeping my entire body with his stare. Then he seemed to make up his mind, smiled and began to speak again.
(BI-LOCATION is created by moving (fluctuating) the Assamblage Point between Place of Reason and Place of Silent Knowledge.)
"Today you reached the Place of Silent Knowledge," he said with finality. He explained, that that afternoon, My Assemblage Point had moved by itself, without his  intervention. I had Intended the Movement by manipulating my feeling of being gigantic, and in so doing, My Assemblage Point had reached the Position of Silent  Knowledge. I was very curious to hear how don Juan interpreted my experience. He said, that one way to talk about the Perception, attained in the Place of Silent  Knowledge, was to call it "here and here." He explained, that when I had told him, I had felt myself looming over the desert chaparral, I should have added, that I was  seeing the desert floor and the top of the shrubs at the same time. Or, that I had been at the place, where I stood and at the same time at the place, where the jaguar was. Thus I had been able to notice how carefully he stepped to avoid the cactus spines. In other words, instead of perceiving the normal here and there, I had perceived "here and here." His comments frightened me. He was right. I had not mentioned that to him, nor had I admitted even to myself, that I had been in two places at once (next to jaguar and far from him, LM).
217-218
I would not have dared to think in those terms had it not been for his comments. He repeated, that I needed more time and more energy to make sense of  everything. I was too new; I still required a great deal of supervision. For instance, while I was looming over the shrubs, he had to make his Assemblage Point fluctuate rapidly  between the Places of Reason and Silent Knowledge to take care of me. And that had exhausted him.
"Tell me one thing," I said, testing his reasonableness. "That jaguar was stranger, than you want to admit, wasn't it? Jaguars are not part of the fauna of this area.  Pumas, yes, but not jaguars. How do you explain that?"
Before answering, he puckered (gather into wrinkles) his face. He was suddenly very serious. "I think, that this particular jaguar confirms your anthropological  theories," he said in a solemn tone. "Obviously, the jaguar was following this famous trade route connecting Chihuahua with Central America."
Don Juan laughed so hard, that the sound of his laughter echoed in the mountains. That echo disturbed me as much, as the jaguar had. Yet it was not the echo itself,  which disturbed me, but the fact, that I had never heard an echo at night. Echoes were, in my mind, associated only with the daytime. It had taken me several hours  to recall all the details of  my experience with the jaguar. During that time, don Juan had not talked to me. He had simply propped himself against a rock and gone to sleep in a sitting position. After a while, I no longer noticed, that he was there, and finally I fell asleep. I was awakened by a pain in my jaw. I had been sleeping with the side of my face pressed  against a rock. The moment I opened my eyes, I tried to slide down off the boulder, on which I had been lying, but lost my balance and fell  noisily on my seat. Don Juan appeared from behind some bushes just in time to laugh. It was getting late and I wondered aloud, if we had enough time to get to the  valley before nightfall. Don Juan shrugged his shoulders and did not seem concerned. He sat down beside me. I asked him if he wanted to hear the details of my  recollection. He indicated, that it was fine with him, yet he did not ask me any questions. I thought he was leaving it up to me to start, so I told him, there were three  points I remembered, which were of great importance to me. One was, that he had talked about Silent Knowledge; another was, that I had Moved my Assemblage Point using Intent; and the final point was, that I had entered into Heightened Awareness without requiring a blow between my shoulder blades. "Intending the Movement of  Your Assemblage Point was your greatest accomplishment," don Juan said. "But accomplishment is something personal. It's necessary, but it's not the important part. It is not the residue Sorcerers look forward to." I thought I knew what he wanted. I told him, that I hadn't totally forgotten the event. What had remained with me in my  normal state of Awareness, was, that a mountain lion - since I could not accept the idea of a jaguar - had chased us up a mountain, and that don Juan had asked me, if
I had felt offended by the big cat's onslaught. I had assured him, that it was absurd, that I could feel offended, and he had told me, I should feel the same way about the  onslaughts of my fellow men. I should protect myself, or get out of their way, but without feeling morally wronged. That is not the residue I am talking about," he said,  laughing.
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"The idea of the Abstract, the Spirit, is the only residue, that is important. The idea of the Personal Self has no value whatsoever. You still put yourself and your own  feelings first. Every time I've had the chance, I have made you aware of the need to Abstract. You have always believed, that I meant to think abstractly. No.
To abstract means to make yourself available to the Spirit by being aware of it." He said, that one of the most dramatic things about the human condition was the  macabre (gruesome, ghastly) connection between Stupidity and Self-Reflection. It was Stupidity, that forced us to discard anything, that did not conform with our  Self-Reflective expectations.
For example, as average men, we were blind to the most Crucial Piece of Knowledge available to a Human Being: the Existence of the Assemblage Point and the fact,  that it could move. For a rational man it's unthinkable, that there should be an Invisible Point, where Perception is assembled," he went on. "And yet more unthinkable, that such a Point is not in the brain, as he might vaguely expect, if he were given to entertaining the thought of its existence." He added, that for the rational man to  hold steadfastly (fixed) to his Self-Image, insured his abysmal (very great) ignorance. He ignored, for instance, the fact, that Sorcery was not incantations (chanting of  charms, casting of spells) and hocus-pocus, but the freedom to perceive not only the World, taken for granted, but everything else, that was humanly possible. I asked  him to explain again what Unbending Intent was. He said, that it was a sort of single-mindedness Human Beings exhibit; an extremely well-defined purpose, not  countermanded (cancelled) by any conflicting interests or desires; Unbending Intent was also the Force engendered (brought into existence), when the Assemblage  Point was maintained fixed in a position, which was not the usual one. Don Juan then made a meaningful distinction - which had eluded (escaped) me all these years - between a Movement and a Shift of the Assemblage Point. A Movement, he said, was a profound Change of Position, so extreme, that the Assemblage Point might  even reach other Bands of Energy within our Total Luminous Mass of Energy Fields. Each Band of Energy represented a completely Different Universe to be  perceived. A Shift, however, was a small movement within the Band of Energy Fields we perceived as the World of Everyday Life.  He went on to say, that Sorcerers  saw Unbending Intent as the Catalyst to trigger their unchangeable decisions, or as the converse (contrary, reverse): their unchangeable decisions were the Catalyst,  that propelled their Assemblage Points to New Positions, Positions, which in turn generated Unbending Intent.
I must have looked dumbfounded. Don Juan laughed  and said, that trying to reason out the Sorcerers' metaphorical descriptions, was as useless, as trying to reason  out Silent Knowledge. He added, that the problem with words was, that any attempt to clarify the Sorcerers' description only made them more confusing.
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I urged him to try to clarify this in any way he could. I argued, that anything he could say, for instance, about the Third Point, could only clarify it, for, although I knew  everything about it, it was still very confusing. "The World of Daily Life consists of Two Points of Reference," he said. "We have for example, here and there, in and  out, up and down, good and evil, and so on and so forth. So, properly speaking, our perception of our lives is two-dimensional. None of what we perceive ourselves  doing has depth." I protested, that he was mixing levels. I told him, that I could accept his definition of Perception, as the capacity of living Beings to apprehend with  their senses Fields of Energy, selected by their Assemblage Points - a very farfetched (doubtful) definition by my academic standards, but one that, at the moment,  seemed cogent (powerful). However, I could not imagine what the depth, of what we did, might be. I argued, that it was possible he was talking about interpretations - elaborations of our basic perceptions. "A Sorcerer perceives his actions with depth," he said. "His actions are tri-dimensional for him. They have a Third Point of Reference."
"How could a Third Point of Reference exist?" I asked with a tinge (trace, tint) of annoyance.
"Our Points of Reference are obtained primarily from our Sense Perception," he said. "Our Senses perceive and differentiate what is immediate to us from what is not. Using that basic distinction we derive (obtain from source) the rest. "In order to reach the Third Point of Reference one must perceive two places at once  (BILOCATION)." My Recollecting had put me in a strange mood - it was, as if I had lived the experience just a few minutes earlier. I was suddenly aware of something
I had completely missed before. Under don Juan's supervision, I had twice before experienced that divided perception, but this was the first time I had accomplished it all by myself. Thinking about my Recollection, I also realized, that my sensory experience was more complex, than I had at first thought. During the time I had loomed  over the bushes, I had been aware - without words or even thoughts - that being in two places, or being "here and here" as don Juan had called it, rendered my  perception immediate and complete at both places. But I had also been aware, that my double perception lacked the total clarity of normal Perception. Don Juan  explained, that normal Perception had an Axis. "Here and there" were the perimeters of that Axis, and we were partial to the clarity of "here." He said, that in normal  Perception, only "here" was perceived completely, instantaneously, and directly. Its twin referent, "there," lacked immediacy. It was inferred (suggested, implied),  deduced, expected, even assumed, but it was not apprehended directly with all the senses. When we perceived two places at once, total Clarity was lost, but the  immediate Perception of "there" was gained.
"But then, don Juan, I was right in describing my Perception as the important part of my experience," I said.
"No, you were not," he said. "What you experienced was vital to you, because it opened the road to Silent Knowledge, but the important thing was the jaguar. That  jaguar was indeed a Manifestation of the Spirit. That big cat came unnoticed out of nowhere. And he could have finished us off as surely, as I am talking to you. That  jaguar was an expression of Magic. Without him you would have had no elation (sense of triumph), no lesson, no realizations."
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"But was he a real jaguar?" I asked.
"You bet he was real!" Don Juan observed, that for an average man that big cat would have been a frightening oddity. An average man would have been hard put to  explain in reasonable terms what that jaguar was doing in Chihuahua, so far from a tropical jungle. But a Sorcerer, because he had a Connecting Link with Intent, saw  that jaguar as a vehicle to Perceiving - not an oddity, but a Source of Awe. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask, and yet I knew the answers before I could  articulate the questions. I followed the course of my own questions and answers for a while, until finally I realized: it did not matter, that I silently knew the answers; answers had to be verbalized to be of any value. I voiced the first question, that came to mind. I asked don Juan to explain what seemed to be a contradiction. He had  asserted, that only the Spirit could move the Assemblage Point. But then he had said, that my feelings, processed into Intent, had moved my Assemblage Point.
"Only Sorcerers can turn their Feelings into Intent," he said. "Intent is the Spirit, so it is the Spirit, which moves their Assemblage Points. The misleading part of all  this," he went on, "is, that I am saying only Sorcerers know about the Spirit, that Intent is the exclusive domain of Sorcerers. This is not true at all, but it is the situation  in the Realm of Practicality. The real condition is, that Sorcerers are more aware of their Connection with the Spirit, than the average man and strive (struggle) to  manipulate it. That's all. I've already told you, the Connecting Link with Intent is the Universal feature, shared by Everything There Is." Two or three times, don Juan  seemed about to start to add something. He vacillated (hesitated), apparently trying to choose his words. Finally he said, that being in two places at once was a  milestone, Sorcerers used to mark the Moment the Assemblage Point reached the Place of Silent Knowledge. Split Perception, if accomplished by one's own means, was called the Free Movement of the Assemblage Point. He assured me, that every Nagual consistently did everything within his Power to encourage the Free  Movement of his apprentices' Assemblage Points. This all-out effort was cryptically called "Reaching Out for the Third Point (BILOCATION). The most difficult aspect of the Nagual's Knowledge," don Juan went on, "and certainly the most crucial part of his task is, that of reaching out for the Third Point - the Nagual Intends that Free  Movement, and the Spirit channels to the Nagual the means to accomplish it. I had never Intended anything of that sort, until you came along. Therefore, I had never  fully appreciated my benefactor's gigantic effort to Intend it for me. Difficult, as it is for a Nagual, to Intend that Free Movement for his disciples," don Juan went on,
"it's nothing compared with the difficulty his disciples have in understanding what the Nagual is doing. Look at the way you yourself struggle! The same thing  happened to me. Most of the time, I ended up believing, that the Trickery of the Spirit was simply the Trickery of the Nagual Julian. Later on, I realized I owed him my  Life and  Well-Being," don Juan continued. "Now I know, I owe him infinitely more. Since I can't begin to describe what I really owe him, I prefer to say he cajoled  (persuade by pleading) me into having a Third Point of Reference. The Third Point of Reference is Freedom of Perception; it is Intent; it is the Spirit; the Somersault of Thought into the Miraculous; the Act of Reaching Beyond our Boundaries and Touching the Inconceivable (BI-LOCATION)."




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Don Juan and I were sitting at the table in his kitchen. It was early morning. We had just returned from the mountains, where we had spent the night after I had recalled my experience with the jaguar. Recollecting my Split Perception had put me in a state of euphoria, which don Juan had employed, as usual, to plunge me into more  sensory experiences, that I was now unable to recall. My euphoria, however, had not waned.


"To discover the possibility of being in two places at once is very exciting to the mind," he said. "Since our minds are our Rationality, and our Rationality is our Self-
Reflection, anything beyond our Self-Reflection either appalls (fill with horror) us or attracts us, depending on what kind of persons we are." He looked at me fixedly  and then smiled, as if he had just found out something new. "Or it appalls and attracts us in the same measure," he said, "which seems to be the case with both of us."
I told him, that with me it was not a matter of being appalled (filled with dismay, horror) or attracted by my experience, but a matter of being frightened by the  Immensity of the Possibility of Split Perception.
"I can't say, that I don't believe I was in two places at once," I said. "I can't deny my experience, and yet I think I am so frightened by it, that my mind refuses to accept it as a fact."
"You and I are the type of people, who become obsessed by things like that, and then forget all about them," he remarked and laughed. "You and I are very much  alike." It was my turn to laugh. I knew he was making fun of me. Yet he projected such sincerity, that I wanted to believe, he was being truthful. I told him, that among  his apprentices, I was the only one, who had learned not to take his statements of equality with us too seriously. I said, that I had seen him in action, hearing him tell  each of his apprentices, in the most sincere tone, "You and I are such fools. We are so alike!" And I had been horrified, time and time again, to realize, that they  believed him.
"You are not like any one of us, don Juan," I said. "You are a mirror, that doesn't reflect our images. You are already beyond our reach."
"What you're witnessing is the result of a lifelong struggle," he said. "What you see is a Sorcerer, who has finally learned to follow the Designs of the Spirit, but that's  all. "I have described to you, in many ways, the different stages a Warrior passes through along the Path of Knowledge," he went on. "In terms of his Connection with  Intent, a Warrior goes through four stages. The first is when he has a rusty, untrustworthy Link with Intent. The second is when he succeeds in cleaning it. The third is  when he learns to manipulate it. And the fourth is when he learns to accept the Designs of the Abstract." Don Juan maintained, that his attainment (accomplishment)  did not make him intrinsically (internally) different. It only made him more resourceful; thus he was not being facetious (clever in shallow way, flippant, vivacious,  pert), when he said to me or to his other apprentices, that he was just like us. "I understand exactly what you are going through," he continued. "When I laugh at you,
I really laugh at the memory of myself in your shoes. I, too, held on to the World of Everyday Life. I held on to it by my fingernails. Everything told me to let go, but
I couldn't. Just like you, I trusted my mind implicitly (understood, but no expressed), and I had no reason to do so. I was no longer an average man. "My problem then is your problem today. The momentum of the Daily World carried me, and I kept acting like an average man. I held on desperately to my flimsy  rational Structures. Don't you do the same."
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"I don't hold onto any structures; they hold onto me," I said, and, that made him laugh. I told him, I understood him to perfection, but that no matter how hard I tried,
I was unable to carry on as a Sorcerer should. He said, my disadvantage in the Sorcerers' World was my lack of familiarity with it. In that World I had to relate myself to  everything in a new way, which was infinitely more difficult, because it had very little to do with my everyday life continuity. He described the specific problem of  Sorcerers, as two-fold. One is the impossibility of restoring a shattered Continuity; the other is the impossibility of using the Continuity, dictated by the New Position of their Assemblage Points. That new Continuity is always too tenuous (weak, flimsy), too unstable, and does not offer Sorcerers the Assuredness, they need to function,  as if they were in the World of Everyday Life.
"How do Sorcerers resolve this problem?" I asked.
"None of us resolves anything," he replied. "The Spirit either resolves it for us or it doesn't. If it does, a Sorcerer finds himself acting in the Sorcerers' World, but  without knowing how. This is the reason, why I have insisted, from the day I found you, that Impeccability (faultlessness) is all that counts. A Sorcerer lives an  impeccable life, and that seems to beckon the solution. Why? No one knows." Don Juan remained quiet for a moment. And then, as if I had voiced it, he commented on a thought I was having. I was thinking, that Impeccability always made me think of religious morality. "Impeccability, as I have told you so many times, is not morality," he said. "It only resembles morality. Impeccability is simply the best use of our Energy Level. Naturally, it calls for frugality (sparing, not plentiful and costing little),  thoughtfulness, simplicity, innocence; and above all, it calls for lack of Self-Reflection. All this makes it sound like a manual for monastic (ascetic life) life, but it isn't.  Sorcerers say, that in order to command the Spirit, and by that, they mean to command the Movement of the Assemblage Point, one needs Energy. The only thing, that stores Energy for us is our impeccability." Don Juan remarked, that we do not have to be students of Sorcery to move our Assemblage Point. Sometimes, due to  natural, although dramatic, circumstances, such as war, deprivation, stress, fatigue, sorrow, helplessness, human's Assemblage Points undergo profound Movements.  If the humans, who found themselves in such circumstances, were able to adopt a Sorcerer's ideology, don Juan said, they would be able to maximize that natural  Movement with no trouble. And they would seek and find extraordinary things, instead of doing what men do in such circumstances: craving the return to normalcy.  When a Movement of the Assemblage Point is maximized," he went on, "both the average man or the apprentice in Sorcery becomes a Sorcerer, because by  maximizing that Movement, Continuity is shattered beyond repair."
"How do you maximize that Movement?" I asked.
"By curtailing (reduce, cutting short) Self-Reflection," he replied. "Moving the Assemblage Point or breaking one's continuity is not the real difficulty. The real difficulty  is having Energy. If one has Energy, once the Assemblage Point moves, inconceivable (unbelievable) things are there for the asking." Don Juan explained, that man's  predicament (embarrassing, ludicrous situation) is, that he intuits his hidden resources, but he does not dare use them. This is why Sorcerers say, that man's plight  (difficult situation) is the counterpoint between his stupidity and his ignorance.
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He said, that man needs now, more so, than ever, to be taught new ideas, that have to do exclusively with his Inner World - Sorcerers' Ideas, not social ideas, ideas  pertaining to Human, facing the Unknown, facing his Personal Death. Now, more than anything else, he needs to be taught the Secrets of the Assemblage Point."
With no preliminaries, and without stopping to think, don Juan then began to tell me a Sorcery Story. (BI-LOCATION)
He said, that for an entire year he had been the only young person in the Nagual Julian's house. He was so completely self-centered, he had not even noticed, when at  the beginning of the second year his benefactor brought three  young men and four young women to live in the house. As far, as don Juan was concerned, those  seven persons, who arrived one at a time over two or three months were simply servants and of no importance. One of the young men was even made his assistant.  Don Juan was convinced the Nagual Julian had lured and cajoled them into coming to work for him without wages. And he would have felt sorry for them, had it not  been for their blind trust in the Nagual Julian and their sickening attachment to everyone and everything in the household. His feeling was, that they were born slaves  and that he had nothing to say to them. Yet he was obliged to make friends with them and give them advice, not because he wanted to, but because the Nagual  demanded it as part of his work. As they sought his counseling, he was horrified by the poignancy (affecting, touching) and drama of their life stories. He secretly  congratulated himself for being better off, than they. He sincerely felt he was smarter, than all of them put together. He boasted (bragging) to them, that he could see  through the Nagual's maneuvers, although he could not claim to understand them. And he laughed at their ridiculous attempts to be helpful. He considered them  servile and told them to their faces, that they were being mercilessly exploited by a professional tyrant. But what enraged him was, that the four young women had  crushes on the Nagual Julian and would do anything to please him. Don Juan sought solace (consolation, comfort in sorrow) in his work and plunged into it to forget his anger, or for hours on end he would read the books, that the Nagual Julian had in the house. Reading became his passion. When he was reading, everyone knew not to bother him, except the Nagual Julian, who took pleasure in never leaving him in peace. He was always after don Juan to be friends with the young men and women.
He told him repeatedly, that all of them, don Juan included, were his Sorcery apprentices. Don Juan was convinced the Nagual Julian knew nothing about Sorcery, but  he humored him, listening to him without ever believing. The Nagual Julian was unfazed (not bothered) by don Juan's lack of trust. He simply proceeded, as if don Juan believed him, and gathered all the apprentices together to give them instruction. Periodically he took all of them on all-night excursions into the local mountains. On  most of these excursions the Nagual would leave them by themselves, stranded in those rugged mountains, with don Juan in charge. The rationale (fundamental  reasons), given for the trips, was that in solitude, in the wilderness, they would discover the Spirit. But they never did. At least, not in any way don Juan could  understand. However, the Nagual Julian insisted so strongly on the importance of knowing the Spirit, that don Juan became obsessed with Knowing, what the Spirit  was. During one of those nighttime excursions, the Nagual Julian urged don Juan to go after the Spirit, even if he didn't understand it.
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"Of course, he meant the only thing a Nagual could mean: the Movement of the Assemblage Point," don Juan said. "But he worded it in a way, he believed would make sense to me: go after the Spirit. I thought he was talking nonsense. At that time I had already formed my own opinions and beliefs and was convinced, that the Spirit  was, what is known as character, volition, guts, strength. And I believed I didn't have to go after them. I had them all. The Nagual Julian insisted, that the Spirit was  indefinable, that one could not even feel it, much less talk about it. One could only beckon (signal or summon by waving) it, he said, by acknowledging its existence.  My retort was very much the same as yours: one cannot beckon something, that does not exist." Don Juan told me he had argued so much with the Nagual, that the  Nagual finally promised him, in front of his entire household, that in one single stroke he was going to show him not only what the Spirit was, but how to define it.
He also promised to throw an enormous party, even inviting the neighbors, to celebrate don Juan's lesson. Don Juan remarked, that in those days, before the Mexican  Revolution, the Nagual Julian and the seven Women of his group passed themselves off as the wealthy owners of a large hacienda. Nobody ever doubted their image,  especially the Nagual Julian's, a rich and handsome landholder, who had set aside his earnest desire to pursue an ecclesiastical (related to church) career in order to  care for his seven unmarried sisters. One day, during the rainy season, the Nagual Julian announced, that, as soon as the rains stopped, he would hold the enormous  party he had promised don Juan. And one Sunday afternoon he took his entire household to the banks of the river, which was in flood, because of the heavy rains.
The Nagual Julian rode his horse, while don Juan trotted respectfully behind, as was their custom, in case they met any of their neighbors;
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as far as the neighbors knew, don Juan was the landlord's personal servant. The Nagual chose for their picnic a site on high ground by the edge of the river. The Women had prepared food and drink. The Nagual had even brought a group of musicians from the town. It was a big party, which included the peons (farm workers) of the hacienda, neighbors, and even passing strangers, that had meandered (walking around) over to join the fun.

He told jokes and, with the help of some of the  Women, staged skits (comic theatrical sketch) to the delight of all. At a given moment, the Nagual Julian asked, if any of those present, especially the apprentices,  wanted to share don Juan's lesson. They all declined. All of them were keenly aware of the Nagual's hard tactics. Then he asked don Juan, if he was sure he wanted to find out what the Spirit was. Don Juan could not say no. He simply could not back out. He announced, that he was as ready, as he could ever be. The Nagual guided  him to the edge of the raging river and made him kneel. The Nagual began a long incantation, in which he invoked (call upon a Higher Power for assistance) the Power  of the Wind and the Mountains, and asked the Power of the River to advise don Juan. His incantation, meaningful, as it might have been, was worded so irreverently  (disrespectful), that everyone had to laugh. When he finished, he asked don Juan to stand up with his eyes closed. Then he took the apprentice in his arms, as he  would a child, and threw him into the rushing waters, shouting, "Don't hate the River, for heaven's sake!" Relating this incident sent don Juan into fits of laughter.  Perhaps under other circumstances I, too, might have found it hilarious (gay, merry). This time, however, the story upset me tremendously. "You should have seen those people's faces," don Juan continued. "I caught a glimpse of their dismay (dread), as I flew through the air on my way to the river. Noone had anticipated, that that devilish Nagual would do a thing like that." Don Juan said, he had thought it was the end of his life. He was not a good swimmer, and,  as he sank to the bottom of the river, he cursed himself for allowing this to happen to him. He was so angry, he did not have time to panic. All he could think about was  his resolve (decide upon), that he was not going to die in that frigging (fucking) river, at the hands of that frigging man. His feet touched bottom and he propelled  himself up. It was not a deep river, but the flood waters had widened it a great deal. The current was swift (with great speed), and it pulled him along, as he dogpaddled, trying not to let the rushing waters tumble him around. The current dragged him a long distance. And while he was being dragged and trying his best not to succumb  (give in), he entered into a strange Fame of Mind. He knew his flaw. He was a very angry man and his pent-up (hidden) anger made him hate and fight with everyone  around. But he could not hate or fight the river, or be impatient with it, or fret (agitate), which were the ways he normally behaved with everything and everybody in his life. All he could do with the river was follow its Flow. Don Juan contended (debated), that that simple realization and the acquiescence (acception without protest) it  engendered (produced), tipped the scales, so to speak, and he experienced a Free Movement of his Assemblage Point. Suddenly, without being in any way aware of  what was happening, instead of being pulled by the rushing water, don Juan felt himself running along the riverbank (BI-LOCATION). He was running so fast, that he  had no time to think. A tremendous force was pulling him, making him race over boulders and fallen trees, as if they were not there.


234-235
After he had run in that desperate fashion for quite a while, don Juan braved a quick look at the reddish, rushing water. And he saw himself being roughly tumbled by the current. Nothing in his experience had prepared him for such a moment. He knew then, without involving his thought processes, that he was in two places at  once (BI-LOCATION). And in one of them, in the rushing river, he was helpless. All his energy went into trying to save himself. Without thinking about it, he began  angling away from the riverbank. It took all his strength and determination to edge an inch at a time. He felt, as if he were dragging a tree. He moved so slowly, that it took him an eternity to gain a few yards. The strain was too much for him. Suddenly he was no longer running; he was falling down a deep well. When he hit the  water, the coldness of it made him scream. And then he was back in the river, being dragged by the current. His fright upon finding himself back in the rushing water  was so intense, that all he could do was to wish with all his might to be safe and sound on the riverbank. And immediately he was there again, running at breakneck  speed parallel to, but a distance from, the river. As he ran, he looked at the rushing water and saw himself struggling to stay afloat. He wanted to yell a command; he wanted to order himself to swim at an angle, but he had no voice. His anguish for the part of him, that was in the water was overwhelming. It served as a bridge  between the two Juan Matuses. He was instantly back in the water, swimming at an angle toward the bank. The incredible sensation of alternating between two  places was enough to eradicate his fear. He no longer cared about his fate. He alternated freely between swimming in the river and racing on the bank. But which ever he was doing, he consistently moved toward his left, racing away from the river or paddling to the left shore. He came out on the left side of the river about five  miles downstream. He had to wait there, sheltering in the shrubs, for over a week. He was waiting for the waters to subside, so he could wade (walking through  water) across, but he was also waiting, until his fright wore off and he was whole again. Don Juan said, that what had happened was, that the strong, sustained  emotion of fighting for his life, had caused his Assemblage Point to move squarely to the place of Silent Knowledge. Because he had never paid any attention to  what the Nagual Julian told him about the Assemblage Point, he had no idea what was happening to him. He was frightened at the thought, that he might never be  normal again. But as he explored his Split Perception, he discovered its practical side and found: he liked it. He was double for days. He could be thoroughly one or  the other. Or he could be both at the same time. When he was both, things became fuzzy and neither Being was effective, so he abandoned that alternative. But  being one or the other opened up inconceivable possibilities for him. While he recuperated in the bushes, he established, that one of his Beings was more flexible,  than the other and could cover distances in the blink of an eye and find food or the best place to hide. It was this Being, that once went to the Nagual's house to see,  if they were worrying about him. He heard the young people crying for him, and that was certainly a surprise. He would have gone on watching them indefinitely,  since he adored the idea of finding out what they thought of him, but the Nagual Julian caught him and put an end to it. That was the only time he had been truly  afraid of the Nagual. Don Juan heard the Nagual telling him to stop his nonsense.
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He appeared suddenly, a jet black, bell-shaped object of immense weight and strength. He grabbed don Juan. Don Juan did not know how the Nagual was grabbing  him, but it hurt in a most unsettling way. It was a sharp nervous pain he felt in his stomach and groin. "I was instantly back on the riverbank," don Juan said, laughing. "I got up, waded the recently subsided river, and started to walk home." He paused, then asked me, what I thought of his story. And I told him, that it had appalled me.
"You could have drowned in that river," I said, almost shouting. "What a brutal thing to do to you. The Nagual Julian must have been crazy!"
"Wait a minute," don Juan protested. "The Nagual Julian was devilish, but not crazy. He did, what he had to do in his role as Nagual and Teacher. It's true, that I could  have died. But that's a risk we all have to take. You yourself could have been easily eaten by the jaguar, or could have died from any of the things, I have made you  do. The Nagual Julian was bold and commanding and tackled everything directly. No beating around the bush with him, no mincing words." I insisted, that valuable  as the lesson might have been, it still appeared to me, that the Nagual Julian's methods were bizarre and excessive. I admitted to don Juan, that everything I had  heard about the Nagual Julian, had bothered me so much. I had formed a most negative picture of him. "I think you're afraid, that one of these days I'm going to throw you into the river or make you wear women's clothes," he said and began to laugh. "That's why you don't approve of the Nagual Julian." I admitted, that he was right, and he assured me, that he had no intentions of imitating his benefactor's methods, because they did not work for him. He was, he said, as ruthless, but not as  practical, as the Nagual Julian. "At that time," don Juan continued, "I didn't appreciate his Art, and I certainly didn't like what he did to me, but now, whenever I think about it, I admire him all the more for his superb and direct way of placing me in the Position of Silent Knowledge." Don Juan said, that because of the Enormity of his experience, he had totally forgotten the Monstrous Man. He walked unescorted almost to the door of the Nagual Julian's house, then changed his mind and went  instead to the Nagual Elias's place, seeking solace (indulge in sorrow). And the Nagual Elias explained to him the deep consistency of the Nagual Julian's actions. The Nagual Elias could hardly contain his excitement, when he heard don Juan's story. In a fervent (ardent, passionate) tone he explained to don Juan, that his benefactor was a supreme Stalker, always after practicalities. His endless quest was for pragmatic views and solutions. His behavior that day at the river had been a master-piece of Stalking. He had manipulated and affected everyone. Even the River seemed to be at his command. The Nagual Elias maintained, that while don Juan was  being carried by the current, fighting for his life, the River helped him understand, what the Spirit was. And thanks to that understanding, don Juan had the  opportunity to enter directly into Silent Knowledge. Don Juan said, that, because he was a callow (immature) youth, he listened to the Nagual Elias without  understanding a word, but was moved with sincere Admiration for the Nagual's Intensity. First, the Nagual Elias explained to don Juan, that Sound and the Meaning of Words were of Supreme Importance to Stalkers. Words were used by them as keys to open anything, that was closed. Stalkers, therefore, had to state their aim  before attempting to achieve it. But they could not reveal their true aim at the outset, so they had to word things carefully to conceal the main thrust (force into specific situation).
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The Nagual Elias called this Act - Waking Up Intent. He explained to don Juan, that the Nagual Julian Woke up Intent by affirming emphatically (boldly) in front of his  entire household, that he was going to show don Juan, in one stroke, what the Spirit was and how to define it. This was completely nonsensical, because the Nagual  Julian knew there was no way to define the Spirit. What he was really trying to do was, of course, to place don Juan in the Position of Silent Knowledge. After making  the statement, which concealed his true aim, the Nagual Julian gathered as many people, as he could, thus making them both his witting (acknowledged) and  unwitting accomplices (partners-witnesses). All of them knew about his stated goal, but not a single one knew, what he really had in mind. The Nagual Elias's belief,  that his explanation would shake don Juan out of his impossible stand of total rebelliousness and indifference, was completely wrong. Yet the Nagual patiently  continued to explain to him, that while he had been fighting the current in the river, he had reached the Third Point. The old Nagual explained, that the Position of  Silent Knowledge was called the Third Point, because in order to get to it, one had to pass the Second Point, the Place of No Pity. He said, that don Juan's  Assemblage Point had acquired sufficient fluidity for him to be double, which had allowed him to be in both: the Place of Reason and in the Place of Silent  Knowledge, either alternately or at the same time. The Nagual told don Juan, that his accomplishment was magnificent. He even hugged don Juan, as if he were a  child. And he could not stop talking about how don Juan, in spite of not knowing anything - or maybe, because of not knowing anything - had transferred his Total  Energy from one place to the other. Which meant to the Nagual, that don Juan's Assemblage Point had a most propitious (favourable), natural Fluidity. He said to don  Juan, that every Human Being had a capacity for that Fluidity. For most of us, however, it was stored away and we never used it, except on rare occasions, which  were brought about by Sorcerers, such as the experience he had just had, or by dramatic natural circumstances, such as a life-or-death struggle. Don Juan listened,  mesmerized by the sound of the old Nagual's voice. When he paid attention, he could follow anything the man said, which was something he had never been able to  do with the Nagual Julian. The old Nagual went on to explain, that Humanity was on the first point, reason, but that not every Human Being's Assemblage Point was  squarely on the Position of Reason. Those, who were on the spot itself, were the true Leaders of Humankind. Most of the time they were Unknown People, whose  genius was the exercising of their Reason. The Nagual said, there had been another time, when Humankind had been on the Third Point, which, of course, had been the first point then. But after that, Humankind moved to the Place of Reason. When Silent Knowledge was the First Point, the same condition prevailed (then we had  our paranormal abilities, LM). Not every Human Being's Assemblage Point was squarely on that position either. This meant, that the True Leaders of Humankind had always been the few Human Beings, whose Assemblage Points happened to be either on the exact Point of Reason or on Silent Knowledge. The rest of Humanity, the old Nagual told don Juan, was merely the audience. In our day, they were the lovers of Reason. In the past, they had been the lovers of Silent Knowledge. They were the ones, who had admired and sung odes to the heroes of either position. The Nagual stated, that Humankind had spent the longer part of its history in the Position  of Silent Knowledge, and that this explained our great longing for it.
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Don Juan asked the old Nagual what exactly the Nagual Julian was doing to him. His question sounded more mature and intelligent, than what he really meant. The Nagual Elias answered it in terms totally unintelligible to don Juan at that time. He said, that the Nagual Julian was coaching don Juan, enticing (attract) his  Assemblage Point to the Position of Reason, so he could be a Thinker, rather than merely part of an unsophisticated, but emotionally charged audience, that loved  the orderly Works of Reason. At the same time, the Nagual was coaching don Juan to be a true Abstract Sorcerer, instead of merely part of a morbid and ignorant  audience of lovers of the Unknown. The Nagual Elias assured don Juan, that only a Human Being, who was a Paragon (model for excellence) of Reason could move  his Assemblage Point easily and be a Paragon of Silent Knowledge. He said, that only those, who were squarely in either position could see the other position  clearly, and that that had been the way the Age of Reason came to being. The Position of Reason was clearly seen from the Position of Silent Knowledge. The old  Nagual told don Juan, that the one-way Bridge from Silent Knowledge to Reason was called "Concern." That is, the Concern, that True Men of Silent Knowledge had  about the Source of what they knew. And the other one-way Bridge, from Reason to Silent Knowledge, was called "Pure Understanding." That is, the recognition, that told the Man of Reason, that Reason was only one island in an endless sea of islands. The Nagual added, that a Human Being, who had both One-way Bridges  working, was a Sorcerer in direct contact with the Spirit, the Vital Force, that made both positions possible. He pointed out to don Juan, that everything the Nagual  Julian had done that day at the river, had been a show, not for a human audience, but for the Spirit, the Force, that was watching him. He pranced (moved about in a lively manner) and frolicked with abandon and entertained everybody, especially the Power, he was addressing. Don Juan said, that the Nagual Elias assured him, that the Spirit only listened, when the speaker speaks in gestures. And gestures do not mean signs or body movements, but acts of true abandon, acts of largesse (generosity), of humor. As a gesture for the Spirit, Sorcerers bring out the best of themselves and silently offer it to the Abstract. 


Don Juan wanted us to make one more trip to the mountains, before I went home, but we never made it. Instead, he asked me to drive him to the city. He needed to  see some people there. On the way he talked about every subject, but Intent. It was a welcome respite (interval). In the afternoon, after he had taken care of his  business, we sat on his favorite bench in the plaza. The place was deserted. I was very tired and sleepy. But then, quite unexpectedly, I perked up. My mind became  crystal clear. Don Juan immediately noticed the change and laughed at my gesture of surprise. He picked a thought right out of my mind; or perhaps it was I, who  picked, that thought out of his.
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"If you think about life in terms of hours instead of years, our lives are immensely long," he said. "Even if you think in terms of days, life is still interminable (continual)." That was exactly what I had been thinking. He told me, that Sorcerers counted their lives in hours, and that in one hour it was possible for a Sorcerer to live the equivalent in Intensity of a normal life. This Intensity is an advantage, when it comes to storing information in the Movement of the Assemblage Point.
I demanded, that he explain this to me in more detail. A long time before, because it was so cumbersome to take notes on conversations, he had recommended, that  I keep all the information, I obtained about the Sorcerers' World, neatly arranged, not on paper, nor in my mind, but in the Movement of My Assemblage Point.
"The Assemblage Point, with even the most minute Shifting, Creates totally isolated islands of Perception," don Juan said. "Information, in the form of experiences in the Complexity of Awareness can be stored there."
"But how can information be stored in something so vague?" I asked.
"The mind is equally vague, and still you trust it, because you are familiar with it," he retorted. "You don't yet have the same familiarity with the Movement of the Assemblage Point, but it is just about the same."
"What I mean is, how is information stored?" I insisted.
"The information is stored in the experience itself," he explained. "Later, when a Sorcerer Moves his Assemblage Point to the Exact Spot, where it was, he relives  the Total Experience. This Sorcerers' Recollection is the way to get back all the information, stored in the Movement of the Assemblage Point. Intensity is an  automatic result of the Movement of the Assemblage Point," he continued. "For instance, you are living these moments more intensely, than you ordinarily would,  so, properly speaking, you are storing Intensity. Someday you'll relive this moment by making your Assemblage Point return to the precise spot, where it is now.  That is the way Sorcerers store information." I told don Juan, that the Intense Recollections I had had in the past few days, had just happened to me, without any  special mental process I was aware of.
"How can one deliberately manage to recollect?" I asked.
"Intensity, being an aspect of Intent, is connected naturally to the shine of the Sorcerers' Eyes," he explained. "In order to recall those isolated Islands of Perception,  Sorcerers need only Intend the Particular Shine of their Eyes, associated with whichever spot they want to return to. But I have already explained that." I must have  looked perplexed. Don Juan regarded me with a serious expression. I opened my mouth two or three times to ask him questions, but could not formulate my  thoughts. "Because his Intensity rate is Greater, than Normal," don Juan said, "in a few hours a Sorcerer can live the equivalent of a Normal Lifetime.
His Assemblage Point, by Shifting to an Unfamiliar Position, takes in more Energy, than usual. That extra Flow of Energy is called Intensity." I understood what
he was saying with perfect clarity, and my rationality staggered (wavered) under the impact (influence) of the tremendous implication (indirect suggestion). Don Juan fixed me with his stare and then warned me to beware of a reaction, which typically afflicted (cause great distress) Sorcerers - a frustrating desire to explain the sorcery experience in cogent, well-reasoned terms. "The Sorcerers' experience is so outlandish (bizarre, absurd)," don Juan went on, "that Sorcerers consider it an intellectual exercise, and use it to Stalk themselves with. Their trump (powerful resource) card as Stalkers, though, is that they remain keenly aware, that we are  Perceivers and, that Perception has More Possibilities, than the Mind can Conceive." As my only comment I voiced my apprehension (fearful anticipation of the  future, estimate, understanding) about the outlandish Possibilities of Human Awareness. "In order to protect themselves from that Immensity," don Juan said,  "Sorcerers learn to maintain a Perfect Blend of Ruthlessness, Cunning, Patience, and Sweetness. These Four Bases are inextricably (incapable of being freed) bound together. Sorcerers cultivate them by Intending them. These bases are, naturally, Positions of the Assemblage Point." He went on to say, that every act, performed  by any Sorcerer, was, by definition, governed by these Four Principles. So, properly speaking, every Sorcerer's Every Action is deliberate in Thought and Realization
and has the specific Blend of the Four Foundations of Stalking. "Sorcerers use the Four Moods of Stalking as Guides," he continued. "These are Four Different  Frames of Mind, Four Different Brands of Intensity, that Sorcerers can use to induce their Assemblage Points to move to Specific Positions." He seemed suddenly  annoyed. I asked, if it was my insistence on speculating, that was bothering him. "I am just considering how our rationality puts us between a rock and a hard place," he said. "Our tendency is to ponder, to question, to find out. And there is no way to do that from within the Discipline of Sorcery. Sorcery is the Act of Reaching the  Place of Silent Knowledge, and Silent Knowledge can't be reasoned out. It can only be experienced." He smiled, his eyes shining like two spots of light. He said, that  Sorcerers, in an Effort to Protect Themselves from the Overwhelming Effect of Silent Knowledge, developed the Art of Stalking. Stalking moves the Assemblage Point minutely, but steadily, thus giving Sorcerers time and therefore the possibility of buttressing (supporting) themselves.
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"Within the Art of Stalking," don Juan continued, "there is a technique, which Sorcerers use a great deal: Controlled Folly (being foolish). Sorcerers claim, that  Controlled Folly is the only way they have of dealing with themselves - in their State of Expanded Awareness and Perception - and with everybody and everything in the World of Daily Affairs." Don Juan had explained Controlled Folly as the Art of Controlled Deception or the Art of Pretending to be thoroughly immersed in the  action at hand - Pretending so well, noone could tell it from the real thing. Controlled Folly is not an outright deception, he had told me, but a sophisticated, artistic  way of being separated from Everything, while remaining an integral part of everything. "Controlled Folly is an Art," don Juan continued. "A very bothersome Art,  and a difficult one to learn. Many Sorcerers don't have the stomach for it, not because there is anything inherently wrong with the Art, but because it takes a lot of  Energy to exercise it." Don Juan admitted, that he practiced it conscientiously, although he was not particularly fond of doing so, perhaps, because his benefactor  had been so adept (proficient, expert) at it. Or, perhaps it was because his personality - which he said was basically devious and petty - simply did not have the  agility (active, nimble), needed to practice Controlled Folly. I looked at him with surprise. He stopped talking and fixed me with his mischievous eyes. "By the time  we come to Sorcery, our personality is already formed," he said, and shrugged his shoulders to signify resignation, "and all we can do is practice Controlled Folly  and laugh at ourselves." I had a surge of empathy and assured him, that to me he was not in any way petty or devious. "But that's my basic personality," he insisted.  And I insisted, that it was not. "Stalkers, who practice Controlled Folly believe that, in matters of personality, the Entire Human Race falls into three categories,"
he said, and smiled the way he always did when he was setting me up. "That's absurd," I protested. "Human behavior is too complex to be categorized so simply."
"Stalkers say, that we are not so complex, as we think we are," he said, "and, that we all belong to one of three categories." I laughed out of nervousness. Ordinarily
I would have taken such a statement as a joke, but this time, because my mind was extremely clear and my thoughts were poignant (relevant to the point), I felt
he was indeed serious.
"Are you serious?" I asked, as politely, as I could.
"Completely serious," he replied, and began to laugh. His laughter relaxed me a little. And he continued explaining the Stalkers' System of Classification. He said,  that People in the First Class are the perfect secretaries, assistants, companions. They have a very fluid personality, but their fluidity is not nourishing. They are,  however, serviceable, concerned, totally domestic, resourceful within limits, humorous, well-mannered, sweet, delicate. In other words, they are the nicest people  one could find, but they have one huge flaw: they can't function alone. They are always in need of someone to direct them. With direction, no matter how strained  (stretchy) or antagonistic (opposing) that direction might be, they are stupendous (awesome). By themselves, they perish. People in the Second Class are not nice at all. They are petty, vindictive (revengeful), envious, jealous, Self-Centered. They talk exclusively about themselves and usually demand, that people conform to their standards.
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They always take the initiative even though they are not comfortable with it. They are thoroughly ill at ease in every situation and never relax. They are insecure and are never pleased; the more insecure they become, the nastier they are. Their fatal flaw is, that they would kill to be leaders. In the Third Category are People, who  are neither nice, nor nasty. They serve noone, nor do they impose themselves on anyone. Rather they are indifferent. They have an exalted (lofty, noble) idea about  themselves, derived solely from daydreams and wishful thinking. If they are extraordinary at anything, it is at waiting for things to happen. They are waiting to be  discovered, and conquered, and have a marvelous facility for creating the illusion, that they have great things in abeyance (being temporary suspended), which they always promise to deliver, but never do, because, in fact, they do not have such resources. Don Juan said that he himself definitely belonged to the second class. He then asked me to classify myself and I became rattled (puzzled). Don Juan was practically on the ground, bent over with laughter. He urged me again to classify  myself, and reluctantly I suggested I might be a combination of the three. "Don't give me that combination nonsense," he said, still laughing. "We are simple Beings,  each of us is one of the three types. And as far, as I am concerned, you belong to the second class. Stalkers call them farts." I began to protest, that his scheme of  classification was demeaning (degrading). But I stopped myself, just as I was about to go into a long tirade. Instead I commented, that if it were true, that there are  only three types of personalities, all of us are trapped in one of those Three Categories for life with no hope of change or redemption (salvation). He agreed, that that  was exactly the case. Except, that one avenue for redemption (salvation) remained. Sorcerers had long ago learned, that only our Personal Self-Reflection fell into  one of the categories. "The trouble with us is, that we take ourselves seriously," he said. "Whichever category our Self-Image falls into only matters, because of our  Self-Importance. If we weren't Self-Important, it wouldn't matter at all, which category we fell into. "I'll always be a fart," he continued, his body shaking with laughter.  "And so will you. But now I am a fart, who doesn't take himself seriously, while you still do." I was indignant (filled with indulgence, outraged). I wanted to argue with  him, but could not muster (collect, gather) the Energy for it. In the empty plaza, the reverberation of his laughter was eerie. He changed the subject then and reeled  off the Basic Cores, he had discussed with me: the Manifestations of the Spirit, the Knock of the Spirit, the Trickery of the Spirit, the Descent of the Spirit, the  Requirement of Intent, and Handling Intent. He repeated them, as if he was giving my memory a chance to retain (hold to them) them fully. And then, he succinctly  (clearly expressed in few words, concised) highlighted everything he had told me about them. It was, as if he were deliberately making me store all that information in the Intensity of that moment. I remarked, that the Basic Cores were still a mystery to me. I felt very apprehensive about my ability to understand them.
He was  giving me the impression, that he was about to dismiss the topic, and I had not grasped its meaning at all. I insisted, that I had to ask him more questions about the
Abstract Cores. He seemed to assess what I was saying, then he quietly nodded his head. "This topic was also very difficult for me," he said.
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"And I, too, asked many questions. I was perhaps a tinge (a bit) more Self-Centered, than you. And very nasty. Nagging was the only way I knew of asking questions.  You yourself are rather a belligerent (hostile) inquisitor. At the end, of course, you and I are equally annoying, but for different reasons." There was only one more  thing don Juan added to our discussion of the Basic Cores before he changed the subject: that they revealed themselves extremely slowly, erratically advancing  and retreating. "I can't repeat often enough, that every man, whose Assemblage Point moves, can move it further," he began. "And the only reason we need a  Teacher is to spur (stimulate) us on mercilessly. Otherwise our natural reaction is to stop to congratulate ourselves for having covered so much ground." He said,  that we were both good examples of our odious (abhorrent, offensive) tendency to go easy on ourselves. His benefactor, fortunately, being the stupendous Stalker  he was, had not spared him. Don Juan said, that in the course of their nighttime journeys in the wilderness, the Nagual Julian had lectured him extensively on the  nature of Self-Importance and the Movement of the Assemblage Point. For the Nagual Julian, Self-Importance was a Monster, that had three thousand heads. And one could face up to it and destroy it in any of three ways. The first way was to sever each head one at a time; the second was to reach that mysterious state of being  called the Place of No Pity, which destroyed Self-Importance by slowly starving it; and the third was to pay for the instantaneous annihilation of the three-thousand-headed Monster with one's Symbolic Death. The Nagual Julian recommended the third alternative. But he told don Juan, that he could consider himself fortunate,
if he got the chance to choose. For it was the Spirit, that usually determined, which way the Sorcerer was to go, and it was the duty of the Sorcerer to follow. Don Juan said that, as he had guided me, his benefactor guided him to cut off the three thousand heads of Self-Importance, one by one, but that the results had been quite  different. While I had responded very well, he had not responded at all. "Mine was a peculiar condition," he went on. "From the moment my benefactor saw me lying on the road with a bullet hole in my chest,
he knew: I was the New Nagual. He acted accordingly and moved my Assemblage Point as soon, as my health permitted it. And I saw with great ease a Field of Energy in the form of that Monstrous Man. But this accomplishment, instead of helping, as it was supposed to, hindered any further Movement of My Assemblage Point. And while the Assemblage Points of the other apprentices moved steadily, mine remained fixed at the level of being able to see the Monster."
"But didn't your benefactor tell you what was going on?" I asked, truly baffled by the unnecessary complication.
"My benefactor (Nagual Julian) didn't believe in handing down Knowledge," don Juan said. "He thought, that Knowledge, imparted (revealed, disclosed) that way, lacked  effectiveness. It was never there, when one needed it. On the other hand, if Knowledge was only insinuated (introduce subtly, insidiously), the person, who was  interested, would devise (plan, invent) ways to claim that Knowledge." Don Juan said, that the difference between his method of teaching and his benefactor's (Nagual Julian) was, that he, himself, believed one should have the freedom to choose. His benefactor (Nagual Julian) did not.
"Didn't your benefactor's Teacher, the Nagual Elias, tell you what was happening?" I insisted.
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"He tried," don Juan said, and sighed, "but I was truly impossible. I knew everything. I just let the two men talk my ear off and never listened to a thing, they were saying."
In order to deal with that impasse (dead end), the Nagual Julian decided to force don Juan to accomplish once again, but in a different way, a Free Movement of his Assemblage Point. I interrupted him to ask whether this had happened before or after his experience at the river. Don Juan's stories did not have the chronological order I would have liked.
"This happened several months afterward," he replied. "And don't you think for an instant, that, because I experienced that Split Perception, I was really changed; that I was wiser or more sober. Nothing of the sort. Consider what happens to you," he went on. "I have not only broken your Continuity time and time again, I have ripped it to shreds, and look at you; you still act, as if you were intact. That is a Supreme Accomplishment of Magic, of Intending. I was the same. For a while, I would reel under the impact of what I was experiencing, and then I would forget and tie up the severed ends, as if nothing had happened. That was why my benefactor believed, that we can only really change, if we die."
Returning to his story, don Juan said, that the Nagual used Tulio, the unsociable member of his household, to deliver a new shattering blow to his psychological Continuity. Don Juan said, that all the apprentices, including himself, had  never been in total agreement about anything, except, that Tulio was a contemptibly (despicable) arrogant little man. They hated Tulio, because he either avoided  them or snubbed (behaved coldly towards) them. He treated them all with such disdain (despise, contempt), that they felt like dirt. They were all convinced, that Tulio never spoke to them, because he had nothing to say; and that his most salient (striking) feature, his arrogant aloofness (indifference), was a cover for his timidity.  Yet in spite of his unpleasant personality, to the chagrin (annoyance) of all the apprentices, Tulio had undue influence on the household - especially on the Nagual  Julian, who seemed to dote (lavished with excessive fondness) on him.
One morning the Nagual Julian sent all the apprentices on a day-long errand to the city. The only person left in the house, besides the older members of the house
hold, was don Juan. Around midday the Nagual Julian headed for his study to do his daily bookkeeping. As he was going in, he casually asked don Juan to help him  with the accounts. Don Juan began to look through the receipts and soon realized, that to continue he needed some information, that Tulio, the overseer of the  property, had, and had forgotten to note down. The Nagual Julian was definitely angry at Tulio's oversight, which pleased don Juan. The Nagual impatiently ordered  don Juan to find Tulio, who was out in the fields, supervising the workers, and ask him to come to the study. Don Juan, gloating (regard with malicious pleasure) at  the idea of annoying Tulio, ran half a mile to the fields, accompanied, of course, by a field hand to protect him from the Monstrous Man. He found Tulio supervising  the workers from a distance, as always. Don Juan had noticed, that Tulio hated to come into direct contact with people and always watched them from afar. In a harsh voice and with an exaggeratedly imperious (authoritative) manner, don Juan demanded, that Tulio accompany him to the house, because the Nagual required his  services. Tulio, his voice barely audible, replied, that he was too busy at the moment, but that in about an hour he would be free to come.
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Don Juan insisted, knowing, that Tulio would not bother to argue with him and would simply dismiss him with a turn of his head. He was shocked when Tulio began  to yell obscenities at him. The scene was so out of character for Tulio, that even the farm workers stopped their labor and looked at one another questioningly. Don  Juan was sure they had never heard Tulio raise his voice, much less yell improprieties. His own surprise was so great, that he laughed nervously, which made Tulio  extremely angry. He even hurled a rock at the frightened don Juan, who fled. Don Juan and his bodyguard immediately ran back to the house. At the front door they  found Tulio. He was quietly talking and laughing with some of the Women. As was his custom, he turned his head away, ignoring don Juan. Don Juan began angrily to chastise him for socializing there, when the Nagual wanted him in his study. Tulio and the Women looked at don Juan, as if he had gone mad. But Tulio was not his  usual self that day. Instantly he yelled at don Juan to shut his damned mouth and mind his own damned business. He blatantly accused don Juan of trying to put him in a bad light with the Nagual Julian. The Women showed their dismay (discouragement) by gasping loudly and looking disapprovingly at don Juan. They tried to  calm Tulio. Don Juan ordered Tulio to go to the Nagual's study and explain the accounts. Tulio told him to go to hell. Don Juan was shaking with anger. The simple  task of asking for the accounts had turned into a nightmare. He controlled his temper. The Women were watching him intently, which angered him all over again.
In a silent rage he ran to the Nagual's study. Tulio and the Women went back to talking and laughing quietly, as though they were celebrating a private joke. Don  Juan's surprise was total, when he entered the study and found Tulio sitting at the Nagual's desk, absorbed in his bookkeeping. Don Juan made a supreme effort and  controlled his anger. He smiled at Tulio. He no longer had the need to confront Tulio. He had suddenly understood, that the Nagual Julian was using Tulio to test him,  to see if he would lose his temper. He would not give him that satisfaction. Without looking up from his accounts, Tulio said, that if don Juan was looking for the  Nagual, he would probably find him at the other end of the house. Don Juan raced to the other end of the house to find the Nagual Julian walking slowly around the  patio with Tulio at his side. The Nagual appeared to be engrossed in his conversation with Tulio. Tulio gently nudged the Nagual's sleeve and said in a low voice, that  his assistant was there. The Nagual matter-of-factly explained to don Juan everything about the account they had been working on. It was a long, detailed, and  thorough explanation. He said then, that all don Juan had to do was to bring the account book from the study, so that they could make the entry and have Tulio sign it. Don Juan could not understand what was happening. The detailed explanation and the Nagual's matter-of-fact tone had brought everything into the Realm of  mundane affairs. Tulio impatiently ordered don Juan to hurry up and fetch the book, because he was busy. He was needed somewhere else. By now don Juan had  resigned himself to being a clown. He knew, that the Nagual was up to something; he had that strange look in his eyes, which don Juan always associated with his  beastly jokes. Besides, Tulio had talked more that day,  than he had in the entire two years don Juan had been in the house. Without uttering a word, don Juan went  back to the study. And as he had expected, Tulio had gotten there first.
255-256
He was sitting on the corner of the desk, waiting for don Juan, impatiently tapping the floor with the hard heel of his boot. He held out the ledger (debit-credit book)  don Juan was after, gave it to him, and told him to be on his way. Despite being prepared, don Juan was astonished. He stared at the man, who became angry and  abusive. Don Juan had to struggle not to explode. He kept saying to himself, that all this was merely a test of his attitude. He had visions of being thrown out of the  house, if he failed the test. In the midst of his turmoil, he was still able to wonder about the speed, with which Tulio managed always to be one jump ahead of him.  Don Juan certainly anticipated, that Tulio would be waiting with the Nagual. Still, when he saw him there, although he was not surprised, he was incredulous. He had  raced through the house, following the shortest route. There was no way, that Tulio could run faster than he. Furthermore, if Tulio had run, he would have had to run  right alongside don Juan. The Nagual Julian took the account book from don Juan with an air of indifference. He made the entry; Tulio signed it. Then they continued  talking about the account, disregarding don Juan, whose eyes were fixed on Tulio. Don Juan wanted to figure out what kind of test they were putting him through.
It had to be a test of his attitude, he thought. After all, in that house, his attitude had always been the issue. The Nagual dismissed don Juan, saying he wanted to be  alone with Tulio to discuss business. Don Juan immediately went looking for the women to find out, what they would say about this strange situation. He had gone  ten feet when he encountered two of the women and Tulio. The three of them were caught up in a most animated conversation. He saw them before they had seen  him, so he ran back to the Nagual. Tulio was there, talking with the Nagual. An incredible suspicion entered don Juan's mind. He ran to the study; Tulio was immersed in his bookkeeping and did not even acknowledge don Juan. Don Juan asked him what was going on. Tulio was his usual self this time: he did not answer or look at  don Juan. Don Juan had at that moment another inconceivable thought. He ran to the stable, saddled two horses and asked his morning bodyguard to accompany  him again. They galloped to the place, where they had seen Tulio earlier. He was exactly, where they had left him. He did not speak to don Juan. He shrugged his  shoulders and turned his head when don Juan questioned him. Don Juan and his companion galloped back to the house. He left the man to care for the horses and  rushed into the house. Tulio was lunching with the Women. And Tulio was also talking to the Nagual. And Tulio was also working on the books. Don Juan sat down  and felt the cold sweat of fear. He knew, that the Nagual Julian was testing him with one of his horrible jokes. He reasoned, that he had three courses of action.
He could behave as if nothing, out of the ordinary, was happening; he could figure out the test himself; or, since the Nagual had engraved in his mind, that he was  there to explain anything don Juan wanted, he could confront the Nagual and ask for clarification. He decided to ask. He went to the Nagual and asked him to explain  what was being done to him. The Nagual was alone then, still working on his accounts. He put the ledger aside and smiled at don Juan. He said, that the twenty-one not-doings he had taught don Juan to perform were the tools, that could sever the three thousand heads of Self-Importance, but that those tools had not been  effective with don Juan at all.
257-258
Thus, he was trying the second method for destroying Self-Importance, which meant putting don Juan into the state of being called the Place of No Pity. Don Juan  was convinced then, that the Nagual Julian was utterly mad. Hearing him talk about not-doings or about monsters with three thousand heads or about Places of No  Pity, don Juan felt almost sorry for him. The Nagual Julian very calmly asked don Juan to go to the storage shed in the back of the house and ask Tulio to come out.  Don Juan sighed and did his best not to burst out laughing. The Nagual's methods were too obvious. Don Juan knew, that the Nagual wanted to continue the test,  using Tulio. Don Juan stopped his narration and asked me what I thought about Tulio's behavior. I said, that guided by what I knew about the Sorcerers' World, I would say, that Tulio was a Sorcerer and somehow he was moving his own Assemblage Point in a very sophisticated manner to give don Juan the impression, that he was in four places at the same time. "So what do you think I found in the shed?" don Juan asked with a big grin.


"I would say either you found Tulio or you didn't find anybody," I replied.
"But if either of these had happened, there would have been no shock to my Continuity," don Juan said. I tried to imagine bizarre things and I proposed, that perhaps he found Tulio's Dreaming Body. I reminded don Juan, that he himself had done something similar to me with one of the members of his party of Sorcerers. "No," don Juan retorted. "What I found was a joke, that has no equivalent in reality. And yet it was not bizarre; it was not out of this world. What do you think it was?" I told  don Juan, I hated riddles. I said, that with all the bizarre things he had made me experience, the only things I could conceive would be more bizarreness, and since  that was ruled out, I gave up guessing. "When I went into that shed I was prepared to find, that Tulio was hiding," don Juan said. "I was sure, that the next part of the  test was going to be an infuriating game of hide-and-seek. Tulio was going to drive me crazy hiding inside that shed. "But nothing, I had prepared myself for, happened. I walked into that shed and found four Tulios."
"What do you mean, four Tulios?" I asked.


"There were four men in that shed," don Juan replied. "And all of them were Tulio. Can you imagine my surprise? All of them were sitting in the same position, their  legs crossed and pressed tightly together. They were waiting for me. I looked at them and ran away screaming. My benefactor held me down on the ground outside  the door. And then, truly horrified,
I saw how the four Tulios came out of the shed and advanced toward me. I screamed and screamed, while the Tulios pecked me  with their hard fingers, like huge birds attacking.
I screamed, until I felt something give in me and I entered a state of Superb Indifference. Never in all my life had I felt something so extraordinary. I brushed off the Tulios and got up. They had just been tickling me. I went directly to the Nagual and asked him to explain the four  men to me." What the Nagual Julian explained to don Juan was, that those four men were the paragons (model of Excellence) of Stalking. Their names had been  invented by their Teacher, the Nagual Elias, who, as an exercise in Controlled Folly, had taken the Spanish numerals uno, dos, tres, cuatro, added them to the name of Tulio, and obtained in that manner the names Tuliuno, Tuliodo, Tulitre, and Tulicuatro. The Nagual Julian introduced each in turn to don Juan. The four men were  standing in a row.
259-260
Don Juan faced each of them and nodded, and each nodded to him. The Nagual said, the four men were Stalkers of Such Extraordinary Talent, as don Juan had just  corroborated (confirmed), that praise was meaningless. The Tulios were the Nagual Elias's Triumph; they were the Essence of Unobtrusiveness (not noticable).
They were such Magnificent Stalkers, that, for all practical purposes, only one of them existed. Although people saw and dealt with them daily, nobody outside the  members of the household knew, that there were four Tulios. Don Juan understood with perfect clarity everything the Nagual Julian was saying about the men.  Because of his Unusual Clarity, he knew, he had reached the Place of No Pity. And he understood, all by himself, that the Place of No Pity was a Position of the  Assemblage Point, a Position, which rendered (pronounced) Self-Pity inoperative. But don Juan also knew, that his Insight and Wisdom were extremely transitory  (occuring briefly). Unavoidably, his Assemblage Point would return to its Point of Departure. When the Nagual asked don Juan, if he had any questions, he realized,  that he would be better off paying close attention to the Nagual's explanation, than speculating about his own foresightedness (foresee, look into the Future).
Don Juan wanted to know how the Tulios created the impression, that there was only one person. He was extremely curious, because observing them together,
he realized: they were not really that alike. They wore the same clothes. They were about the same size, age, and configuration. But that was the extent of their  similarity. And yet, even as he watched them, he could have sworn, that there was only one Tulio. The Nagual Julian explained, that the human eye was trained to  focus only on the most salient (striking) features of anything, and that those salient features were known beforehand. Thus, the Stalkers' Art was to create an  impression by presenting the features they chose, features they knew, the eyes of the onlooker were bound to notice. By artfully reinforcing certain impressions,  Stalkers were able to create on the part of the onlooker an unchallengeable conviction, as to what their eyes had perceived. The Nagual Julian said, that when don  Juan first arrived dressed in his woman's clothes, the Women of his party were delighted and laughed openly. But the man with them, who happened to be Tulitre,  immediately provided don Juan with the first Tulio impression. He half turned away to hide his face, shrugged his shoulders disdainfully, as if all of it was boring to  him, and walked away - to laugh his head off in private - while the Women helped to consolidate (form into a compact mass, make coherent) that first impression by  acting apprehensive, almost annoyed, at the unsociability of the man. From that moment on, any Tulio, who was around don Juan, reinforced that impression and  further perfected it, until don Juan's eye could not catch anything, except what was being fed to him. Tuliuno spoke then and said, that it had taken them about three  months of very careful and consistent actions to have don Juan blind to anything, except what he was guided to expect. After three months, his blindness was so  pronounced, that the Tulios were no longer even careful. They acted normal in the house. They even ceased wearing identical clothes, and don Juan did not notice  the difference. When other apprentices were brought into the house, however, the Tulios had to start all over again. This time the challenge was hard, because there  were many apprentices and they were sharp. Don Juan asked Tuliuno about Tulio's appearance. Tuliuno answered, that the Nagual Elias maintained Appearance was the Essence of Controlled Folly, and Stalkers Created Appearance by Intending them, rather than by producing them with the aid of props.
261-262
Props created artificial appearances, that looked false to the eye. In this respect, Intending appearances was exclusively an Exercise for Stalkers. Tulitre spoke next. He said, appearances were solicited (seek to obtain by persuasion) from the Spirit. Appearances were asked, were forcefully called on; they were never invented  rationally. Tulio's appearance had to be called from the Spirit. And to facilitate that, the Nagual Elias put all four of them together into a very small, out-of-the-way  storage room, and there the Spirit spoke to them. The Spirit told them, that first they had to Intend their homogeneity (congruous, uniform in composition through out). After four weeks of total isolation, homogeneity came to them. The Nagual Elias said, that Intent had fused them together and that they had acquired the  certainty, that their individuality would go undetected. Now they had to call up the appearance, that would be perceived by the onlooker. And they got busy, calling  Intent for the Tulios' appearance don Juan had seen. They had to work very hard to perfect it. They focused, under the direction of their Teacher, on all the details, that would make it perfect. The four Tulios gave don Juan a demonstration of Tulio's most salient (striking) features. These were: very forceful gestures of disdain (despise) and arrogance (haughty, proud, self-important); abrupt turns of the face to the right, as if in anger; twists of their upper bodies, as if to hide part of the face  with the left shoulder; angry sweeps of a hand over the eyes, as if to brush hair off the forehead; and the gait (particular fashion of walking or running) of an agile (active, nimble, alert), but impatient person, who is too nervous to decide, which way to go. Don Juan said, that those details of behavior and dozens of others, had  made Tulio an unforgettable character. In fact, he was so unforgettable, that in order to project Tulio on don Juan and the other apprentices, as if on a screen, any of  the four men needed only to insinuate (introduce subtly) a feature, and don Juan and the apprentices would automatically supply the rest. Don Juan said, that  because of the tremendous consistency of the Input, Tulio was for him and the others the Essence of a disgusting man. But at the same time, if they searched deep  inside themselves, they would have acknowledged, that Tulio was haunting (recurring like a ghost). He was nimble, mysterious, and gave, wittingly (deliberate, ingenious, humorous) or unwittingly, the impression of being a Shadow. Don Juan asked Tuliuno how they had called Intent. Tuliuno explained, that Stalkers called  Intent loudly. Usually Intent was called from within a small, dark, isolated room. A candle was placed on a black table with the flame just a few inches before the eyes; then the word Intent was voiced slowly, enunciated (announce, pronounce, articulate) clearly and deliberately as many times, as one felt was needed. The pitch of the voice rose or fell without any thought. Tuliuno stressed, that the indispensable (essential, required) part of the Act of Calling Intent was a Total Concentration on what was Intended. In their case, the concentration was on their homogeneity and on Tulio's appearance. After they had been fused by Intent, it still took them a  couple of years to build up the certainty, that their homogeneity and Tulio's appearance would be realities to the onlookers. I asked don Juan what he thought of their way of Calling Intent. And he said, that his benefactor, like the Nagual Elias, was a bit more given to Ritual, than he himself was, therefore, they preferred paraphernalia (gear, equipment) such as candles, dark closets, and black tables. I casually remarked, that I was terribly attracted to Ritual Behavior, myself. Ritual  seemed to me essential in focusing one's attention. Don Juan took my remark seriously. He said, he had seen, that my body, as an Energy Field, had a feature, which he knew all the Sorcerers of Ancient Times had had and avidly sought in others: a bright area in the lower right side of the Luminous Cocoon.
263-264
That Brightness was associated with resourcefulness and a bent toward morbidity (gruesome, grisly). The Dark Sorcerers of those times took pleasure in harnessing that coveted (craving) feature and attaching it to man's dark side.
"Then there is an evil side to man," I said jubilantly (triumphantly). "You always deny it. You always say, that evil doesn't exist, that only Power exists."
I surprised myself with this outburst. In one instant, all my Catholic background was brought to bear on me and the Prince of Darkness loomed (towered above),  larger, than life. Don Juan laughed, until he was coughing. "Of course, there is a dark side to us," he said. "We kill wantonly (pointlessly), don't we? We burn people in the name of God. We destroy ourselves; we obliterate (wipe out) life on this Planet; we destroy the Earth. And then we dress in robes and the Lord speaks directly to us. And what does the Lord tell us? He says, that we should be good boys or he is going to punish us. The Lord has been threatening us for centuries and it doesn't make any difference. Not because we are evil, but because we are dumb. Man has a dark side, yes, and it's called Stupidity." I did not say anything else, but silently I applauded and thought with pleasure, that don Juan was a masterful debater. Once again he was turning my words back on me. After a moment's pause, don Juan  explained, that in the same measure, that Ritual forced the average man to construct huge churches, that were monuments to Self-Importance, Ritual also forced  Sorcerers to construct edifices of morbidity (gruesome, grisly) and obsession. As a result, it was the duty of every Nagual to guide Awareness, so it would fly toward  the Abstract, free of liens (bonds, ties) and mortgages.
"What do you mean, don Juan, by liens (bonds, ties) and mortgages?" I asked.
"Ritual can trap our attention better, than anything I can think of," he said, "but it also demands a very high price. That high price is morbidity; and morbidity could  have the heaviest liens (bonds, ties) and mortgages on our Awareness." Don Juan said, that Human Awareness was like an Immense Haunted House. Awareness of  everyday life was like being sealed in one room of that Immense House for life. We entered the room through a Magical Opening (a Portal): Birth. And we exited  through another such Magical Opening (another Portal, LM): Death. Sorcerers, however, were capable of finding still Another Opening and could leave that Sealed  Room, while still alive. A Superb Attainment (Achievement). But their Astounding Accomplishment was, that when they escaped from that Sealed Room, they chose  Freedom. They chose to leave that Immense, Haunted House entirely, instead of getting lost in other parts of it. Morbidity was the antithesis (direct contrast) of the  Surge (Rising Flow) of Energy Awareness, needed to Reach Freedom. Morbidity made Sorcerers lose their way and become trapped in the intricate, dark byways of  the Unknown. I asked don Juan if there was any morbidity in the Tulios. "Strangeness is not Morbidity" he replied. "The Tulios were performers, who were being  coached by the Spirit itself (their Higher Selves, LM)."
"What was the Nagual Elias's reason for training the Tulios, as he did?" I asked. Don Juan peered at me and laughed loudly. At that instant the lights of the plaza were turned on. He got up from his favorite bench and rubbed it with the palm of his hand, as if it were a pet. "Freedom," he said. "He wanted their Freedom from  perceptual Convention (agreement). And he taught them to be artists. Stalking is an Art. For a Sorcerer, since he's not a patron or a seller of Art, the only thing of  importance about a work of Art, is that it can be accomplished."
265
We stood by the bench, watching the evening strollers milling around. The story of the four Tulios had left me with a sense of foreboding (premonition, dark sense of  impending evil). Don Juan suggested, that I return home; the long drive to L.A., he said, would give my Assemblage Point a respite (relief) from all the moving it had  done in the past few days. "The Nagual's company is very tiring," he went on. "It produces a strange fatigue; it could even be injurious." I assured him, that I was not  tired at all, and that his company was anything, but injurious to me. In fact, his company affected me like a narcotic - I couldn't do without it. This sounded, as if I were flattering him, but I really meant what I said. We strolled around the plaza three or four times in complete silence. "Go home and think about the Basic Cores of the Sorcery Stories," don Juan said with a note of finality in his voice. "Or rather, don't think about them, but make your Assemblage Point move toward the Place of  Silent Knowledge. Moving the Assemblage Point is everything, but it means nothing, if it's not a sober, controlled movement. So, close the door of Self-Reflection.  Be impeccable and you'll have the Energy to reach the Place of Silent Knowledge."

File Info. PDF Version 1.0 - public since 21/06/2006. Home Location: http://controlledfolly.googlepages.com


Что заставляет людей расти от младенца до взрослого человека и по пути меняться много раз; что делает людей толстыми, молодыми или старыми и для какой цели? Это делается путём передвижения яркой Точки Восприятия в человеческом Светящемся Шаре (наше Энергетическое Поле)! Таким образом можно из некрасивой старухи сделать молодую красивую девушку и наоборот ! Этот ответ дан древними мексиканскими магами в отрывке ниже. И там же.
Как мексиканские маги отучали своих учеников (Мужчин) от чувства превосходства над Женщинами! Мой перевод с английского этого отрывка из книги Карлоса Кастанэды "Сила Молчания", стр. 56-70:

"Я уже рассказывал тебе историю как Нагуал Джулиан (маг-учитель Дон Хуана) взял меня к себе в дом, после того, как меня застрелили, и он залечивал мою рану до тех пор пока я не поправился," продолжал Дон Хуан. "Но я не рассказывал тебе как он научил меня бороться с самим собой. Первое, что Нагуал делает со своим учеником это надувает его.  Имеется ввиду, что он даёт удар по энергетическому шнуру ученика, связывающего его с Душой. Есть два способа это проделать.
Один - это через полунормальные каналы, и это я использовал на тебе; другой - это с помощью прямого колдовства, что мой учитель проделал надо мной.
Дон Хуан снова рассказал мне историю как его маг-учитель Нагуал Джулиан убедил крестьян, которые собрались вокруг Дон Хуана, лежащего раненным на дороге, что это был его сын. Затем он заплатил мужикам, чтобы они несли Дон Хуана, потерявшего от шока сознание и много крови, к дому Нагуала Джулиан. Через несколько дней Дон Хуан проснулся от шока и увидел как старый добрый человек и его толстая жена лечат его раны. Старик сказал, что его имя Белисарио, что его жена известный знахарь и что они оба лечат его раны. Дон Хуан сказал им, что у него нет денег, тогда Белисарио ответил, что когда он выздоровеет, какая-то плата может быть осуществлена.
55-56
Дон Хуан был в полной растерянности, что было не впервые. Тогда ему был 21 год, он был мускулистый, бесшабашный, безмозглый, необразованный индеец ужасного нрава, незнакомый с чувством благодарности. Он думал, что со стороны старика и его жены это была нужная ему помощь, но цель его была подождать пока раны пройдут и исчезнуть в середине ночи. Когда он встал на ноги и был готов бежать, старый Белисарио взял его в другую комнату и дрожащим шёпотом поведал ему, что дом, в котором они жили, принадлежал человеку-монстру, кто держал его и его жену в заключении. Он попросил Дон Хуана помочь им сбежать от их мучителя и обрести свободу. Ещё до того, когда Дон Хуан смог ответить, страшный мужчина с рыбьей головой как из фильма ужасов, ворвался в комнату, как-будто он подслушивал под дверью. Он был серо-зелёным с одним немигающим глазом в середине лба, и был огромный как дверь. Он подкатился к Дон Хуану, шипя как удав, готовый разорвать его на части, и напугал его так, что тот потерял сознание (это и был удар по энергетическому шнуру Дон Хуана).
"Его способ дать мне удар по энергетическому шнуру, соединяющим меня с Душой, был мастерским." Засмеялся Дон Хуан:"Мой учитель, конечно, поднял мою вибрацию на более высокий Уровень Сознания до появления монстра, поэтому то, что я в сущности увидел как монстра, было что маги называют "неорганическое существо", безформенное  энергетическое поле."
Дон Хуан признался, что он знал бесчисленное множество случаев, когда дьявольское воображение его учителя создавало позорные, но смешные ситуации у всех его учеников и особенно у самого Дон Хуана, чья несгибаемая серьёзность делала его лучшим объектом для поучительных шуток учителя. И добавил, что эти шутки невероятно развлекали его учителя.
"Если ты думаешь, что я смеюсь над тобой - и это так - то это ничто по сравнению с тем как он смеялся надо мной," продолжал Дон Хуан. "Мой дьявольский учитель наловчился прятать свой смех под маской плача. Ты не можешь представить себе как он бывало "плакал", когда я только начал своё обучение."
Продолжая историю Дон Хуан заявил, что его жизнь уже никогда не была той же после шока от вида этого монстра: его учитель в этом преуспел. Дон Хуан объяснил, что когда Нагуал надувает своего будущего ученика, особенно преемника Нагуала (того, кто в будущем должен заменить учителя), Нагуал должен бороться, чтобы незаметно добиться согласия ученика, перетянув его на свою сторону. Влияние, воздействие учителя может быть 2х видов. Если будущий ученик сам по себе дисциплинированный и настроен, то нужно только его решение присоединиться к Нагуалу, как произошло в случае молодой Талии. Но если выбранный ученик тот, у кого нет или мало дисциплины, в таком случае Нагуалу придётся истратить много времени и сил чтобы убедить такого человека присоединиться к нему. В случае с Дон Хуаном, так как он был дикий молодой крестьянин без всяких идей в своей голове, процесс склонения его на свою сторону приобрёл странные повороты. Вскоре после первого шока, Нагуал дал ему второй, показав Дон Хуану свою способность трансформировать себя. В один прекрасный день Нагуал превратил себя в молодого юношу. Дон Хуан не был способен признать трансформацию, объясняя это искусным актом актёра.
"А как он добился такой трансформации?" спросил я.
"Он был отличным актёром и магом," ответил Дон Хуан. "Магия его трансформации была за счёт того, что он двигал свою Точку Восприятия в своём Светящемся Шаре в то положение, которое давало ему желаемый результат. И его искусством было постоянное совершенствование своих трансформаций."
"Я не совсем понимаю о чём ты говоришь," сказал я.
57-58
Дон Хуан объяснил, что Восприятие и есть тот ключ для всего, что человек делает и что из себя представляет. И что Восприятием правит то положение, на котором Точка Восприятия находится. Так что, если местоположение Точки Восприятия меняется, Восприятие Мира у человека соответственно меняется. Маг, который знал точно куда направить свою Точку Восприятия, мог трансформироваться во что угодно. 
"Способность Нагуала Джулиан двигать свою Точку Восприятия была непревзойдённой: он мог изобразить малейшие ньюансы в своих трансформациях," продолжал Дон Хуан. "Когда колдун становится вороной, например, это определённо большое достижение. Но это достигается значительным передвижением Точки Восприятия со своего обычного места. Однако двигать Точку Восприятия в положение толстого или старого человека требует наималейшее передвижение и прекрасное познание человеческой натуры."
"Мне лучше избегать думать или говорить об этих вещах, как о фактах," сказал я. Дон Хуан засмеялся так, как-будто я сказал что-то невероятно смешное.
"Была ли какая-то причина для трансформаций твоего учителя или он просто развлекал себя?"
"Не будь глупцом. Бойцы никогда и ничего не делают чтобы развлекаться," ответил он. "Его трансформации носили стратегический характер и диктовались необходимостью как его трансформация от старого к молодому человеку. Правда иногда со смешными последствиями, но это другая история."
Я напомнил ему, что меня интересовало кто научил его учителя трансформироваться. Тогда он мне поведал, что у его учителя тоже был учитель, но не сказал кто.
"Тот, слишком таинственный маг, кто наша защита, научил его," отрубил Дон Хуан.


"Какой таинственный маг?" спросил я.
"Сопротивляющийся Смерти," произнёс он и посмотрел на меня вопросительно.
Для всех магов группы Дон Хуана "Сопротивляющийся Смерти" был самый живой персонаж и, согласно им, он был магом древнейших времён. Ему удалось выжить до сегодняшнего дня за счёт манипулирования своей Точки Восприятия, заставить её двигаться особым путём в особые положения внутри его тотального энергетического поля. Подобные манёвры позволили его Сознанию и Жизненной Силе сопротивляться смерти. Дон Хуан рассказал мне о договоре, который маги его линии заключили с "Сопротивляющимся Смерти" много столетий назад. Он им делал подарки в обмен на их жизненную энергию. В результате этого договора они считали его своей защитой и называли его "Жилец". Дон Хуан добавил, что маги древних времён были экспертами в передвижении Точки Восприятия. Занимаясь этим они обнаружили экстро-ординарные вещи в отношении Восприятия, но также поняли как легко было сбиться с правильного пути. Для Дон Хуана ситуация с "Жильцом" была классическим примером схождения с правильного пути. Дон Хуан бывало при каждом удобном случае  повторял, что если Точку Восприятия кто-то толкнул, кто не только видел её, но и имел достаточно Энергии толкнуть её, она скатилась в Светящемся Шаре в то место, куда тот кто-то её направлял. Блеск Точки Восприятия был достаточным, чтобы освещать Нитевые Энергетические Поля, к которым она прикасалась. В результате, Восприятие Мира было полным, хотя не тем, обычным восприятием каждодневней жизни. Поэтому трезвый ум, логика были решающими в умении передвигать свою Точку Восприятия. 
Продолжая свою историю Дон Хуан пояснил, что он быстро привык думать о старике, кто спас его жизнь, как о молодом человеке, прикидывающимся старым. Но однажды молодой человек оять превратился в старого Белисарио, которого Дон Хуан встретил первый раз. Он и его женщина, кто Дон Хуан думал была его женой, паковали свои мешки и двое улыбающихся мужчин с группой мулов появились ниоткуда.
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Дон Хуан засмеялся смакуя свою историю и добавил, что пока погонщики снаряжали мулов, Белисарио оттащил его в сторону и признался, что ему и его жене снова пришлось изменить внешность. Он снова превратился в старика, а его красивая жена в толстую и злую индианку.
"Я был такой молодой и таким дураком, что только очевидное, явное для меня имело цену," продолжал он."Только пару дней прошло когда я видел его невероятную трансформацию от слабого немощного 70летнего старика в энергичного молодого 20летнего юношу. Я верил Белисарио, что старый возраст это - только маска. Его жена тоже изменилась и вместо раздражительной и толстой индианки я увидел изящную молодую девушку. Женщина конечно не могла трансформировать себя так как это делал мой покровитель-учитель. Он просто поменял женщину. Конечно я мог увидеть всё в тот момент, но Мудрость всегда приходит к нам с болью и по каплям."
Дон Хуан сказал, старик заверил его, что его рана зажила, но это не значило что он поправился. При этом старик обнял его и печальным голосом прошептал:"Ты Монстру так понравился, что он освободил меня и мою жену от обязательств и взял тебя в качестве своего единственного слуги. Я бы посмеялся над ним, если бы не услышал глубокое животное рычание и устрашающую возню, доносящуюся из комнат Монстра."
Глаза Дон Хуана светились от удовольствия. Я намеревался оставаться серьёзным, но не смог сдержать смех. Белисарио, уверенный в страхе Дон Хуана, долго извинялся за судьбу, которая освободила его, но взяла в плен Дон Хуана. Он щёлкнул языком от отвращения и проклял Монстра, в его глазах стояли слёзы когда он перечислял все ежедневные обязанности, которые Монстр хотел, чтобы он исполнял.


А когда Дон Хуан запротестовал, он тихо, по секрету поделился, что пути бежать - нет, так как Монстр обладал непревзойдёнными способностями колдовства. Дон Хуан спросил Белисарио, что ему делать и Белисарио стал долго объяснять план действий, но который мог подойти, если это случилось бы с обычными людьми.
С нашей точки зрения, мы можем планировать и замышлять и , в зависимости от удачи, вдобавок наша хитрость и упорство, мы можем добиться успеха. Но перед лицом Неизвестности, особенно в ситуации Дон Хуана, единственной надеждой выжить было принять условия. Белисарио откровенно признался Дон Хуану едва слышимым шёпотом, что чтобы быть уверенным Монстр не погонится за ними, он собирался в штат Дюранго изучить колдовство. Он спросил Дон Хуана может он тоже подумает изучить колдовство. Но Дон Хуан ужаснулся от одной только мысли и сказал, что с ведьмами не хочет иметь ничего общего. Дон Хуан засмеялся держась за бока и признался, что ему доставляет удовольствие думать как его учитель забавлялся этой игрой. Особенно когда он сам, в пылу эмоций и страха, отвергнув откровенное приглашение изучить колдовство, возразил:"Я - Индеец. Меня воспитали ненавидеть и бояться ведьм."
Белисарио обменялся взглядами со своей женой и его тело начало дёргаться (пряча смех). Дон Хуан подумал, что он молчаливо плачет, явно расстроенный отказом так, что его жене пришлось поддержать его пока он не успокоился. По мере того, как Белисарио и его жена уходили, он повернулся и дал ему ещё один совет, что Монстра ужасают женщины. Дон Хуан должен это иметь ввиду и подыскивать в замену мужчину, если будет шанс, и что Монстру он нравится настолько, что согласится на замену рабов. Но не следует особо надеяться, так как это может занять несколько лет прежде, чем он покинет дом.


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Монстр любит быть спокоен, что его рабы ему верны или по крайней мере - покорны. Дон Хуан больше не выдержал, сломался, начал плакать и сказал Белисарио, что никто его рабом не сделает и что он убьёт себя. Старик расстрогался этим и признался, что у него была такая же идея, но Монстр мог читать мысли и мешал ему покончить с собой каждый раз когда он это замышлял. Белисарио предложил ему ещё раз взять с собой в Дюранго изучать колдовство, сказав, что это был единственный выход. На это Дон Хуан ответил, что его предложение было как прыгнуть с горящей сковородки в огонь. Белисарио начал громко всхлиповать (пряча смех) и обнял Дон Хуана. Он проклинал тот день когда он спас его жизнь и поклялся, что не представлял что им придётся поменяться местами. Он высморкался и, посмотрев на Дон Хуана горящими глазами, добавил:"Замаскироваться - это единственный путь выжить. Если ты не будешь себя правильно вести, Монстр возьмёт твою Душу и превратит тебя в идиота, выполнящего все его услуги и больше ничего. Жаль, что у меня нет времени учить тебя актёрскому мастерству." И затем стал всхлипывать ещё больше. Несмотря на то, что Дон Хуана душили слёзы, он попросил Белисарио описать как бы он мог замаскировать себя. Белисарио признался, что у Монстра было плохое зрение и посоветовал Дон Хуану проэксперементировать с разной одеждой какая ему нравится, ведь он мог теперь менять внешность годами. Он обнял Дон Хуана в дверях, не скрывая всхлипывания, а его жена застенчиво дотронулась до руки Дон Хуана и они ушли.
"Никогда в своей жизни, ни до, ни после не испытывал я такое отчаяние и ужас," сказал Дон Хуан. "Монстр гремел вещами внутри дома, как-будто нетерпеливо ожидая меня. Я сел возле двери и завыл как собака от боли. Потом меня вытошнило от страха." Дон Хуан сидел часами неспособный двигаться, не смея сбежать или войти вглубь дома. Без преувеличения можно сказать, что он чуть не умер, когда он увидел Белисарио, махающего ему рукой, безуспешно старающегося привлечь его внимание на другой стороне улицы. Увидев его снова дало Дон Хуану мгновенное облегчение. Белисарио сидел на корточках на тротуаре, наблюдая за домом. Он дал ему сигнал оставаться на месте. После мучительно долгого ожидания, Белисарио прополз на четвереньках пару метров к Дон Хуану, затем снова сел неподвижно на корточки. Ползая таким манером он продвигался вперёд пока не достиг Дон Хуана. Это взяло несколько часов. Много людей прошло мимо, но никто казалось не замечал действия старика и отчаяние Дон Хуана. Соединившись вместе, Белисарио зашептал, что чувствовал себя плохо, оставив Дон Хуана как собаку, привязанную к столбу. Хоть жена и протестовала, но он вернулся, чтобы попробовать спасти его, так как благодаря ему им удалось освободиться. Он спросил Дон Хуана тоном командира готов ли он сделать всё возможное чтобы спастись. И Дон Хуан заверил его, что он готов на всё. С ужасно таинственным видом Белисарио протянул Дон Хуану узел с одеждой и объяснил свой план. Дон Хуану нужно было пойти в самый дальний угол дома вдали от комнат Монстра и немедленно поменять свои одежды, снимая каждую вещь отдельно, начиная со шляпы и кончая туфлями. Потом он должен был оставить всю свою одежду на деревянной раме, вроде манекена-пугало, которое он должен был быстро построить сам как только войдёт в дом.
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Следующим шагом плана для Дон Хуана было замаскировать себя так, чтобы обдурить Монстра: одеждой в узле. Дон Хуан побежал в дом и всё приготовил: построил пугало из палок на заднем дворе, снял свою одежду и одел на пугало, но когда он открыл узел он потерял дар речи: в узле были женские одежды!
"Я чувствовал себя отпетым дураком," сказал Дон Хуан, "и уже собрался одеть свои одежды обратно, как услышал нечеловеческий вопль Монстра. Меня воспитывали презирать женщин и верить, что единственной их фунцией было заботиться о мужчинах. Одеть женские одежды означало для меня стать женщиной, но мой страх Монстра был настолько сильным, что я закрыл глаза и надел эту проклятую одежду."
Я посмотрел на Дон Хуана и представил его в женской одежде. Вид был настолько нелепый, что я невольно расхохотался. Дон Хуан сказал, что когда старик Белисарио, поджидавший его на другой стороне улицы, увидел Дон Хуана в этих одеждах, он начал всхлипывать без удержу (смеяться). Так всхлипывая, он довёл Дон Хуана до окраин города, где его ждала жена с двумя проводниками. Один из них довольно смело спросил Белисарио не украл ли он эту странную девушку (Дон Хуан), чтобы продать её в публичный дом. Старик начал всхлиповать так сильно, что казалось потеряет сознание. Молодые проводники не знали что делать, но жена Белисарио начала смеясь кричать, а Дон Хуан не мог понять почему. Группа начала двигаться в темноте, выбирая нехоженные тропы и направляясь упорно на север. Белисарио не говорил много, казалось что он был напуган и ожидал беды. Жена спорила с ним всю дорогу и жаловалась, что, взяв Дон Хуана с собой, у них пропал шанс освободиться.
Белисарио строго ей наказал не упоминать это снова из страха, что проводники обнаружат маскарад Дон Хуана. Он предупредил Дон Хуана, что он должен вести себя как девушка не в своём уме, так как он не знал как ведут себя женщины. В течении нескольких дней страх Дон Хуана значительно приутих. Даже наоборот, он стал настолько уверен в себе, что и не  вспомнил бы прошлый страх и, если бы не одежды, которые были на нём, он бы подумал, что этот случай был только жутким сном. Ношение женских одежд в тех условиях конечно заключало в себе серию поразительных перемен. Жена Белисарио на полном серьёзе муштровала Дон Хуана как быть женщиной. Дон Хуан помогал ей готовить, стирать одежду, собирать дрова. Белисарио сбрил голову Дон Хуана, намазал её вонючим лекарством, а проводникам сказал, что у девушки вши. Дон Хуан пояснил, так как он был ещё безбородый юнец, то ему было нетрудно сойти за женщину, но он был противен самому себе и все те люди были противны ему, а больше всего он ненавидел свою судьбу. Закончить жизнь тем, чтобы носить женские одежды и выполнять женскую работу было больше , чем он мог вынести. Настал день когда с него было достаточно: проводники стали последней каплей. Они ждали и требовали чтобы эта странная девушка согласилась на сэкс. Дон Хуан сказал, что его заранее предупредили быть начеку, так как проводники могли изъявить свои желания.
У меня (Карлос) было сильное желание задать вопрос:"Не были случайно проводники в сговоре с твоим учителем?"
"Нет," ответил он и начал смеяться от Души. "это были просто два хороших парня, кто временно стал жертвой гипноза моего учителя.
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Он нанял их мулов чтобы везти медицинские травы и сказал им, что хорошо заплатит, если они помогут ему похитить молодую девушку."
Масштаб действий Нагуала Джулиан поразил моё воображение. Я представил как Дон Хуан отвергал сексуальные поползновения и давился от смехо. А Дон Хуан продолжал свою историю. Он заявил старику твёрдо, что маскарад продолжался слишком долго и что парни надоели ему со своими атаками. Белисарио, как бы между прочим, посоветовал ему быть более снисходительным к мужчинам: мужчины всё равно останутся мужчинами, и начал опять всхлипывать (смеяться), оставив Дон Хуана в полном недоумении так как вдруг сам стал воодушевлённо защищать женщин. Дон Хуан говорил с такой страстью о трудной доли Женщин, что испугался самого себя. Он сказал Белисарио, что закончит ещё хуже, чем рабом в доме Монстра. Эмоции Дон Хуана только усиливались когда старик начинал всхлиповать безудержно и бормотать глупости: вроде жизнь прекрасна; Монстр сожрёт Душу Дон Хуана и не позволит ему убить себя. "Флиртуй с парнями," посоветовал он Дон Хуану мирным тоном. "Они - примитивные крестьяне. Всё, что они хотят это - поиграть, отталкивай их когда они слишком настойчивы. Дай им потрогать свою ногу, что такого?" И снова начинал всхлипывать без остановки. Дон Хуан спросил его почему он так всхлипывает?
"Потому что ты идеален для всего этого," ответил он и затрясся всем телом. Дон Хуан поблагодарил его за сочувствие и за все беды, которые выпали на его долю. Он сказал Белисарио, что сейчас чувствует себя вне опасности и хочет уйти.
"Искусство Манипулирования это - научиться всем странностям полной маскировки," произнёс Белисарио, не обращая внимания на то, что Дон Хуан говорил ему. "
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И изучить их так хорошо, чтобы никто не догадался что маскируешься. Для этого нужно быть беспощадным, хитрым, терпеливым и приятным."
Дон Хуан понятия не имел о чём говорил Белисарио и вместо того, чтобы попросить объяснить, он попросил Белисарио дать ему мужскую одежду. Белисарио понял его, дал ему кое-какую старую одежду и несколько песо, пообещав, что его маскарадная одежда будет с ними на случай если она ему понадобится. Он опять настойчиво попросил его идти с ним в Дюранго изучать колдовство, чтобы навсегда освободить себя от Монстра. Дон Хуан отказался и поблагодарил его, так что Белисарио не оставалось ничего делать как сказать досвидания и с силой похлопать его по спине несколько раз. Дон Хуан поменял одежду и спросил его направление. Тот сказал, что если Дон Хуан будет следовать тропой на север, то рано или поздно он доберётся до следующего города, добавив что им обоим может быть даже придётся пересечь дороги снова, так как они все в общем шли в одном направлении: подальше от Монстра. Дон Хуан наконец обрёл свободу и пошёл так быстро, как только мог, пройдя наверно 4-5 миль пока не увидел признаки жизни. Он знал, что город где-то недалеко и надеялся найти работу пока он окончательно решит куда ему податься. Он сел отдохнуть на момент, ожидая обычные трудности для странника в маленьком городке, как вдруг углом глаза он заметил движение в кустах рядом с тропинкой. Он чувствовал, что кто-то за ним следит, его обуял ужас, он подпрыгнул и начал бежать по направлению к городу. Монстр прыгал за ним, вытянувшись, чтобы схватить за шею, но не достал пару сантиметров. Дон Хуан закричал так, как никогда в жизни не кричал, и повернул обратно в том напрвлении, откуда пришёл.
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Пока он бежал, Монстр мчался за ним по пятам, ломая всё на своём пути. Дон Хуан сказал, что это был самый страшный звук, какой он когда-либо слышал! Наконец он увидел мулов вдали и закричал о помощи. Белисарио узнал Дон Хуана и побежал навстречу ему с выражением ужаса на лице. Он бросил ему узел с женской одеждой, крича:
"Беги как женщина, глупец!
Дон Хуан признался, что не знал как женщины бегают, но всё равно побежал как женщина. Монстр остановил погоню за ним и Белисарио приказал ему быстро переодеться, пока он сдерживал Монстра. После этого Дон Хуан, не глядя ни на кого, присоединился к жене Белисарио и двум улыбающимся проводникам. Они отошли назад и пошли другими тропами. Никто не говорил днями; тогда Белисарио давал ему ежедневные уроки. Он объяснял Дон Хуану, что Индейские Женщины были практичны и шли прямо к делу, но они также были очень застенчивы и во время натиска в их бегающих глазах виднелся страх, рты сжимались и ноздри раздувались. Все эти знаки сопровождались упрямым страхом и затем застенчивым смехом. Он заставил Дон Хуана практиковать уроки женского поведения в каждом городе, который они проходили. И Дон Хуан абсолютно верил, что он учил его быть актёром. Но Белисарио настаивал, что он учит его Искусству Маскировки. Он сказал Дон Хуану, что маскировка - это искусство, применяемое везде, и что для этого необходимо выучить 4 основы:  беспощадность, хитрость, терпение и приятную мягкость..." У меня опять возникло желание перебить его:"Но разве Маскировку не учат на более высоком Уровне Сознания (вибрации)?"
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"Конечно," ответил он с ухмылкой. "Но ты должен понять, что для некоторых мужчин ношение женской одежды - дверь в более высокий Уровень Сознания. Более того, такой способ более эффективный, чем толкать Точку Восприятия, и этот способ нелегко даётся."
Дон Хуан признался, что его покровитель-учитель ежедневно сверлил в него 4 основы Маскировки и настаивал на том, чтобы Дон Хуан не принимал беспощадность за грубость и раздражительность; хитрость за жестокость; терпение за небрежность или пренебрежение; мягкость за глупость. Он настаивал, чтобы эти 4е шага практиковались и совершенствовались пока не станут незаметными. Он знал по опыту, что Женщины от природы Маскировщицы (Stalkers). Его убеждения были настолько глубокие, например, он знал, что только в женском наряде любой мужчина может по настоящему изучить Мастерство Маскировки.
(Из этого можно понять, что все мужчины, кто любит и одевает женские одежды - Stalkers! Они могут это знать или не знать, но в любом случае Неорганические Существа их использует в разных целях! ЛМ).


"Я посещал с ним каждый рынок в каждом проезжающем городе и с каждым торговался," продолжал Дон Хуан."Мой учитель бывало стоял поодаль,  наблюдая за мной. Будь беспощадным, но очаровательным, будь хитрым, но приветливым, будь терпеливым, но активным, будь приятным, но  смертельным. Только Женщины способны на это. Если Мужчина действует так, то его называют слишком разборчивым, кто огорчается из-за мелочей. И,  чтобы быть уверенным во мне, Монстр появлялся время от времени."
Дон Хуан ловил его, бродящим по полям, чаще всего он его видел после того, как Белисарио делал ему энергичный массаж спины, предположительно для облегчения острой нервной боли в шее." Дон Хуан расхохотался и сказал, что он понятия не имел, что его манипулировали, подготавливали на более высокий Уровень Сознания. 
"Месяц взяло, чтобы достигнуть город Дюранго, и за этот месяц я испробовал небольшие порции всех 4х Настроений Маскировки. Меня это не очень изменило, но это дало мне шанс, намёк на то, что такое быть Женщиной."

"Какое странное чувство: понять, что всё, что мы думаем, всё, что мы говорим зависит от места, на котором находится наша Точка Восприятия," отметил Дон Хуан.
И это было как раз то, о чём я думал и над чем смеялся.
"Я знаю, что в этот момент твоя Точка Восприятия подвинулась," продолжал он, "и ты понял в чём секрет наших цепей. Цепи приковывают нас, но, держа нас пригвоздёнными к нашему любимому и удобному зеркальному отражению, цепи защищают нас от Ударов Неизвестности Вселенной."
У меня как раз был тот редкий, экстра-ординарный подъём когда всё, связанное с магами Мира, было кристально ясным. Я понял всё.
"Как только наши цепи будут разорваны," продолжал Дон Хуан,"нас уже не будут связывать проблемы мира повседневной жизни. Мы всё ещё в этом мире, но мы больше ему не принадлежим. Чтобы ему принадлежать, мы должны разделять людские проблемы, но не имея больше цепей, мы не сможем это сделать. Маги уже не принадлежат повседневному миру," продолжал он,"потому что они перестали быть жертвами собственного величия."
Дон Хуан начал рассказывать историю о своём покровителе (Нагуал Джулиан) и проявление Духа. История началась сразу после того, как Дух постучал в дверь молодого актёра.
"Тогда, когда это случилось, он не был Нагуал, а просто молодой актёр. В этой истории я не могу просто называть его Джулиан, потому что для меня он всегда будет Нагуал Джулиан. Это в знак уважения его безупречной жизни, мы всегда ставим слово Нагуал к имени Нагуала."
Он сказал, что Нагуал Элиас остановил смерть молодого актёра, заставив его подняться на более высокий Уровень Сознания, и после многих часов борьбы к молодому актёру вернулось сознание. Нагуал Элиас не назвал своё имя, а представился ему как профессиональный целитель, кто наткнулся на сцену трагедии, где 2 человека чуть не умерли. Он указал на молодую женщину, Талию, распластанной на земле. Молодой человек был страшно удивлён увидеть её, лежащей без сознания рядом с ним. Он помнил как она убегала. Его поразило объяснение старого целителя, что несомненно "бог" наказал Талию за её грехи ударив её молнией так, что она потеряла разум.
"Но откуда молния, если не было дождя?" спросил молодой актёр едва слышным голосом. Он явно был под впечатлением когда старый Индеец ответил, что "пути господни" не для нашего понимания. И снова я перебил Дон Хуана, мне хотелось знать действительно ли молодая женщина сошла с ума. Он напомнил мне, что Нагуал Элиас дал ей сильнейший удал в её Точку Восприятия. Он объяснил, что она не потеряла разум, а в результате удара она меняла Уровни Сознания, поднимаясь то выше, то ниже, что создало серьёзную проблему её здоровью. После гигантских усилий, однако, Нагуал Элиас помог стабилизировать её Точку Восприятия и она уже напостоянно перешла выше вибрацией. Дон Хуан подчеркнул, что Женщины способны на такой мастерский прыжок: они могут приобрести новое место для своей Точки Восприятия и напостоянно. И Талия оказалась непревзойдённой. Как только её цепи были сломаны, она моментально поняла всё и действовала в соответствии с планом Нагуала. Нагуал Элиас, кто был не только первокласный Dreamer, но и превосходный Stalker, знал и раньше, что молодой актёр был испорчен, избалован и полон мании величия, и только казался бесчуственным и тяжёлым. Нагуал знал, что если он вставит идеи "бога, греха и вымаливание грехов", актёра религиозные верования заставят его цинизм пошатнуться. Услышав о "божьем наказании", фасад актёра начал крошиться. В нём проснулись муки совести, но Нагуал обрезал его и с силой подчеркнул, что когда Смерть так близка, чувство вины уже никому не нужно. Молодой актёр внимательно слушал и, хотя он был очень болен, он всё равно не верил, что был на волосок от смерти. Он думал, что слабость и потеря сознания получились от потери крови. Нагуал как-будто читал его мысли и объяснил ему, что все его оптимистические идеи не имеют под собой почвы и , что его кровоизлеяние было бы фатальным, если бы он, как целитель, не создал бы "пробку"!
"Когда я ударил тебя по спине, вот так - я воткнул в тебя "пробку", чтобы остановить вытекание твоей жизненной силы," сказал Нагуал молодому скептику.
"Без этого барьера неминуемый процесс твоей смерти продолжался бы. Если ты мне не веришь, я докажу тебе тем, что вытащу "пробку" ещё одним ударом," и ударил молодого актёра в правую сторону его рёберной клетки. Через секунду молодоого актёра начало тошнить и он стал задыхаться. Кровь пошла изо рта от постоянного кашля. Ещё один удар по спине остановил нестерпимую боль и тошноту, но не остановил его страх и он потерял сознание.
"Пока я могу оттянуть твою смерть," сказал Нагуал, когда актёр пришёл в себя. "И как долго я могу контролировать это - зависит от тебя, от того как прилежно ты будешь выполнять всё, что я тебе скажу."
Первым требованием Нагуала было: никакого движения и полное молчание. Если он не хочет, чтобы "пробка" вылетела, добавил Нагуал, он должен притвориться, что он потерял дар речи и способность двигаться. Малейшее движение или слово будет достаточно, что начать процесс умирания. Молодой актёр не привык подчиняться требованиям или даже намёкам, в нём пробудилась ярость. Но как только он запротестовал, нестерпимая боль и конвульсии вернулись опять.
"Слушайся совета и я тебя вылечу," произнёс Нагуал,"а если будешь вести себя как слабый, гнилой сумасброд, какой ты и есть, ты умрёшь.
"Актёр - гордый, молодой человек, онемел от такого оскорбления. Никто и никогда не обзывал его слабым, гнилым сумасбродом. Только он собрался выступить, как боль вернулась с большей силой, так что пришлось проглотить это оскорбление. 
"Если ты хочешь, чтобы я облегчил твою боль, тебе придётся слушаться меня беспрекословно," холодно произнёс Нагуал. "Дай сигнал кивком, но запомни, как только ты передумаешь и начнёшь вести себя как неблагодарный дурак, я немедленно вытащу "пробку" и оставлю тебя умирать."
Актёр кивнул из последних сил. Нагуал стукнул его по спине и боль исчезла, но с болью ушло что-то ещё: туман в его голове. И тогда молодой актёр понял всё без объяснения. Нагуал сказал ему, что он - Нагуал и его зовут Элиас. Актёр уже знал, что это всё значит. Затем Нагуал Элиас обратил его внимание на Талию, которая была почти без сознания. Он поднёс губы к её левому уху и прошептал ей команды, для того, чтобы остановить хаотичное движение её Точки Восприятия.
Он развеял её страхи шепча истории магов, кто испытал то же самое, что она испытывает сейчас. Когда она совсем успокоилась, он представился ей как маг - Нагуал Элиас. Следущее, что он попробовал с ней, было самым трудным в Колдовстве: это - двинуть Точку Восприятия наружу Светящегося Шара, за границы повседневного мира. Дон Хуан отметил, что опытные маги способны это проделать, а неопытные маги - нет. Нагуал Элиас признался, что обычно он даже не помышлял о таком достижении, но в тот день что-то ещё помимо его Знаний и его желаний заставляло его так действовать. И на удивление, манёвр удался:
Талия вышла из мира, знакомого нам, и спокойно вернулась назад. Нагуалу Элиас пришла в голову другая мысль: он сел между двумя людьми, лежащими на земле  (актёр был голый, покрытый только пальтом Нагуала) и проследил их ситуацию. Он сказал им обоим, что они, силой обстоятельств, попали в ловушку, которую соорудил сам Дух. И что он, Нагуал, стал дейтвующей частью этой ловушки, потому что, найдя их в таком состоянии, ему ничего не оставалось делать как стать их временным защитником и дать им какие-то магические знания, чтобы помочь им. А так как он - их временный защитник, это было его долгом предупредить их, что они вот-вот достигнут уникальный Уровень; и что это зависит от них - вместе и порознь - достигнуть этого Уровня через настроение беззаботности, но не бесшабашности; через чувство озабоченности, но не самоудовлетворения. Он не хотел больше ничего добавлять из страха запутать их или повлиять на их решение. Он чувствовал, что если если им удастся пересечь эту границу, то это должно быть с наименьшей помощью с его стороны. Тогда Нагуал оставил их наедине в том глухом месте и пошёл в город, чтобы организовать для них доставку медицинских трав, матрасов и одеял. У него была надежда, что в его отсуствие, наедине друг с другом, они скорее достинут и перейдут эту границу. Долгое время они оба лежали рядом, каждый погружённый в свои мысли. Тот факт, что их Точки Восприятия передвинулись на другое место, означал, что они теперь способны думать намного глубже, чем обычно, но это также означало, что они беспокоились, боялись и недоумевали в такой же степени. Так как Талия была сильнее и могла говорить, она первой нарушила молчание; она спросила молодого актёра боится ли он.
Он кивнул. Она почувствовала сильную жалость к нему и, сняв с себя шаль, набросила её на него, взяв его за руку. Молодой человек не посмел сказать ей,, что он чувствовал. Его страх, что боль вернётся если он скажет хоть слово, был огромен и ещё свеж в памяти. Он хотел извиниться перед ней; сказать ей, что единственно о чём он сожалеет, это то, что обидел её и что его смерть не имеет значения и в своей скорой смерти он был уверен. Мысли Талии были о том же самом. Она сказала, что тоже сожалела только об одном: она избила его настолько сильно, что принесла ему смерть. Она казалась очень умиротворённой сейчас, это чувство было незнакомо ей. Обычно, в результате своей громадной силы, она чувствовала себя нервной, перевозбуждённой. Она открыла ему, что её смерть тоже уже близка и что она будет рада, если всё в этот день закончится. Молодой актёр, услышав от Талии свои собственные мысли, оледенел. К нему пришёл прилив энергии и он сел, боли не было и кашля тоже. Он глубоко захватил воздух, он не помнил, чтобы он это делал раньше. Он взял руку девушки и они начали тихо разговаривать. Дон Хуан сказал, что это был тот момент, когда Дух пришёл к ним и они его увидели. Они были убеждённые католики и то, что они увидели, для них было рай, где всё было живым и купалось в солнечном свете. Они видели мир полный Чудес.
Когда Нагуал вернулся, они были измучены, но не ранены. Талия была без сознания, но молодому человеку удалось остаться в сознании благодаря огромному усилию самоконтроля. Он настаивал на том, чтобы прошептать что-то в ухо Нагуала: "Мы видели рай!" прошептал он и слёзы потекли по его щекам.
"Вы видели больше, чем это," ответил Нагуал Элиас."Вы видели Дух!"
Дон Хуан сказал, что так как присуствие Духа всегда завуалировано, Талия и молодой актёр не могли точно описать своё видение, они вскоре забыли об этом, как и любой другой. Уникальность их опыта была в том, что не осознавая и не тренеруясь, они вместе поднялись выше вибрацией и видели Дух. Для них, достигнуть этого с такой лёгкостью, было экстаординарно. "Те двое действительно были самые необычные люди, каких я когда либо встречал," добавил он. Я естественно хотел знать больше о них, но Дон Хуан не удовлетворил моё любопытство. Он сказал, что это было всё о его учителе и о 4ой абстрактной Сущности. Похоже он вспомнил что-то недосказанное и от души рассмеялся. Затем он похлопал меня по спине и уже было время отправляться в пещеру. Когда мы добрались до скалистой платформы было почти темно. Дон Хуан быстро сел в том же положении как в первый раз, он был справа от меня, дотрагиваясь плечом до меня.
Он казалось моментально вошёл в глубокое состояние отдыха, которое втянуло меня в абсолютное бездействие и молчание. Я даже не слышал его дыхание.
Я закрыл глаза и мягким толчком он предупредил меня держать их открытыми. К тому времени стало совсем темно, невероятная усталость создавала в моих глазах боль и чесотку. Наконец я перестал сопротивляться и заснул глубоким чёрным сном, каким когда-либо спал. Я чувствовал густую черноту вокруг себя, чувствовал физическое ощущение брожения сквозь эту черноту. Вдруг сразу всё покраснело, потом стало оранжевым, потом ярким белым как ужасно сильный неоновый свет. Постепенно я сфокусировался пока не заметил, что сижу в той же позе рядом с Дон Хуаном, но уже не в пещере. Мы были на вершине горы и смотрели вниз на прекрасную гладкую долину, вдалеке окружённую горами. Вся долина купалась в Свечении, которое, как и Лучи Света, исходило от самой земли. Куда бы я не смотрел, я видел знакомые картины: скалы, холмы, реки, леса, каньоны, выделяющиеся и трансформированные этой внутренней вибрацией, этим внутренним Свечением! То же самое Свечение, такое приятное моему глазу, также вырывалось из всего моего существа! "Твоя Точка Восприятия передвинулась," казалось говорил мне Дон Хуан. Слова не имели звука; тем не менее я знал, что он только что мне сказал. Моей естественной реакцией было объяснить самому себе, что я без сомнения слышал его, как я бы слышал его, говорящим в вакууме, наверно потому, что мои уши были временно под влиянием того, что происходило.
"Твои уши в порядке. Просто мы на Земле более высокого Уровня Сознания," казалось Дон Хуан снова говорил мне. Я не мог говорить, чувствуя как вялость глубокого сна не даёт мне не проронить ни слова и, в то же время, я был бодр. "Что происходит?" подумал я.
"Пещера передвинула твою Точку Восприятия," подумал Дон Хуан и я слышал его мысли, как-будто это были мои собственные слова, сказанные самому себе.
Я почувтвовал команду, которая не была выражена мыслями. Что-то приказало мне опять посмотреть на долину. Как-только я уставился на эту необыкновенную картину, Нити Света начали отходить от всего на этой долине. Сначала это был как взрыв неисчислимого количества коротких нитей, затем нити превратились в длинные потоки светящихся нитей, связанных вместе и образующих Лучи вибрирующего Белого Света, заканчивающегося в бесконечности! Объяснить реально то, что я видел, чтобы это имело какой-то смысл или описать это, кроме как назвать это Нити Вибрирующего Света. Нити не были запутаны, хотя прыгали и продолжали прыгать во всех направлениях, оставаясь отделёнными друг от друга, и всё же все они были связаны вместе.
"Ты видишь перед собой Белые Солнечные Нити Земли и Силу, которая держит их на расстоянии и вместе с тем в одном пучке," подумал Дон Хуан. В тот момент когда я поймал его мысль, Нити Света казалось поглотили всю мою Энергию, я почувствовал страшную усталость, это стёрло видение и бросило меня в темноту.
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Когда я очнулся, что-то такое знакомое чувствовалось вокруг меня, хотя я не мог сказать что, я думал, что вернулся в своё обычное состояние. Дон Хуан спал рядом со мной плечом к плечу. Тогда я увидел, что темнота вокруг нас была настолько чёрной, что я даже не видел рук. Я подумал, что туман закрыл платформу и заполнил пещеру или может быть это были низкие облака, которые спускались с высоких гор каждую дождливую ночь как снежная лавина. И всё-таки, несмотря на абсолютную черноту, я заметил, что Дон Хуан открыл глаза сразу же после того, как я начал изучать окружающее, хотя он не смотрел на меня. Тогда я понял, что видеть его не было влиянием света на моей сечатке глаза, скорее это было ощущение тела. Я настолько был поглощён наблюдением за Дон Хуаном не используя глаз, что не обращал никакого внимания на то, что он говорил мне. Он прекратил говорить и повернул своё лицо ко мне, как-будто посмотреть мне в глаза, покашлял пару раз, чтобы прочистить горло и вдруг заговорил очень низким голосом. Он сказал, что его учитель бывало приходил в эту пещеру довольно часто с ним и с другими учениками, но чаще один. В этой пещере он тоже видел ту же самую долину что и мы, это Видение дало ему идею описать Дух как Течение Вещей. Дон Хуан повторил, что его учитель не был хорошим мыслителем, если бы он был, он бы мгновенно понял что то, что он описал как Течение Вещей, был Интент (Цель), Сила, пропитывающая всё вокруг. Дон Хуан добавил, что если бы его учитель когда-нибудь осознал природу своего Видения, он бы никогда не выдал это."