01 EN - THE MINIMUM OPPORTUNITY by CARLOS CASTANEDA

THE MINIMUM OPPORTUNITY:

CARLOS CASTANEDA AT CASA TIBET, MEXICO

Selections from lectures by the Nagual in 1993, 1994, 1995. Casa Tibet, Mexico.

Amalia Inés

Twice in 1993, once in 1994, and again in 1995, Carlos Castaneda, 'the Nagual,' made public appearances at Casa Tibet Mexico. The rare opportunity to meet him has not been sufficiently appreciated; few can claim to have encountered him knowing who he is, despite the thousands who diligently seek him for various purposes. Systematically distanced from public life and opinion on the recommendation of his teacher, don Juan Matus, he allows impersonal forces to decide who can access him.

But who is Carlos Castaneda and why is he so sought after? Over 30 years ago, in 1962, he met an old Yaqui man who referred to himself as a "sorcerer, nagual." After receiving certain indications or "auguries" regarding the egomaniacal anthropology student, that sorcerer named Juan Matus decided to begin instructing him (despite the protests of the student) as a disciple of his tradition, which he called "sorcery" or "nagualism." After years of learning and many more years of personal searching, the new Nagual has written various books, as well as other texts written by two witches from his group, revolving around the knowledge of ancient Mexican sorcerers obtained from that mysterious and enigmatic elder.

Over the years, numerous articles, commentaries, interviews, and books have been published by various writers, achieving varying degrees of success in attempting to shed some light on the so-called "Castaneda Mystery." Because of this, there is no attempt to 'interfere' or 'rewrite' what the Nagual said at Casa Tibet during his three visits; only some phrases are transcribed in his own words...

The Human Condition

- We are tailless monkeys; that's why we fall so often.

- We are a bunch of crazy monkeys. But a little crazy; we can be cured.

- What scares the primate the most is having to say goodbye.

- For me, the pinnacle of the human condition is frugality and efficiency. Frugality is avoiding exaggeration; efficiency is doing things decisively and directly.

- It's easy to shout or throw bombs, but it's difficult to have an internal revolution.

- The world out there will not mend, it will only worsen. All that's left for us is to leave as soon as possible.

- This is a prison planet, and we have to escape like fugitives: without taking anything.

The Sorcerer

- The sorcerer seeks to reduce all actions to a common denominator: we are going to die, and nothing matters. In the face of my death, everything is rubbish.

- The mystery is the fact that you are going to die, that is the magic, and you will never, ever know everything.

- A warrior is one who thinks, measures, deduces, and in the end, leaps without caring about anything.

- The only enterprise possible for a warrior is freedom. The main axis, so fine that it goes unnoticed.

- The warrior sorcerer has no agitation, he is 'cool,' he is 'sharp,' he is not daunted.

- When sorcerers give love, they never take it back. It takes steel balls to do that.

The Method

- Don Juan wanted nothing from me except to shatter me.

- You don't need a teacher, just the minimal option and interest.

- The minimal opportunity is intellect; knowledge is not so aberrant. Interest is created with sobriety and sanity.

- We must start recapitulating, which is reliving all experiences. We must determine how we were born.

- We must renounce harmful premises: the presentation of the self in everyday life and courting.

- Stop pretending to be crazy. Practice is what counts.

- They, the intellectuals, are not navigators in the Sea of the Unknown, they just talk, they risk nothing.

The Impeccability

- Impeccability is making the maximum effort and a little extra to change.

- Impeccability is doing the most without investing.

The Internal Dialogue

- The internal dialogue is chopped into pieces and never stops. We each have a definite line; if we reach that individual goal, the internal dialogue stops and becomes a bodily fact.

The Perception

- Perception is not arbitrary but a product of a synthesis of elements; yet it is not final.

- Evolution is seeing energy without interpreting it.

The Intent

- It is a perennial force, like gravity.

- We access it through unwavering will.

- We must approach Intent with energy, and Intent opens the door.

- Everything is a matter of energy. Life is worthless without energy.

- The intent for freedom does not wane; there is no turning back.

- I am the one who decides because I am the one who is going to die. And if something wants to return, I crush it, and my decision is final.

- Sorcerers have a millisecond to light up their consciousness before dying.

The Spirit

- There is something there, it's not god, it's not your dad... It's the spirit, something much more exciting.

- The spirit is not help, it's a matrix, something indescribable that loves gestures.

The Nagual

- The Nagual is a ghost, an apparition, and it manifests through me.

- There are two: the Nagual and don Juan Matus. He was afraid of losing his alliance with this entity.

- You don't know what I am: a hare that jumps here, there, or doesn't jump.

- The last Nagual of don Juan's lineage has only one weapon: decision.