In 2005 I completed an intensive ten-year apprenticeship with the Toltec Nagual, Miguel Ruiz, author of "The Four Agreements." The great gift of the Toltec Wisdom shows us that we are each distorting reality into a unique and personal "dream." These musings about how we are each dreaming, how we mistake our dream for reality, and the consequences in our lives, are my contribution toward personal and planetary happiness. I invite and welcome your feedback and comments, here or through my website.
Santa Rosa/Chacala, California/Nayarit/Mexico, United States
I live and teach the Toltec Path of Personal Transformation through the articles, audios, and online apprentice program on my website at www.joydancer.com, phone consultations, workshops, Journeys of the Spirit to Teotihuacán in Mexico, and teleclasses. I am the author of The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book, and co-author of two books with Deepak Chopra, Dr. Andrew Weil, Dean Ornish, Bernie Siegel, Prince Charles, and others.
I own a home in the sweet little beach village of Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico, and spend the winters there. I invite students to do intensive study with me there, and host a Valentine's Week workshop on Love, Romance, and Relationship each year.
No one knows why the power of Teotihuacán was silenced around A.D. 700. People simply stopped living in the city. Perhaps the residents reached a spiritual state that allowed them to transcend their physical bodies and go home to their beloved sun. There is evidence of a great fire that burned most of the main buildings; however, there is no way to know who burned them, or why. Maybe the residents torched their city when they left, or it was conquered and plundered by a marauding tribe.
Archeologists have not solved these mysteries, and probably never will. Whatever the cause, the great city of Teotihuacán, along with its mystique and magnificence, came to an end. Small village groups continued to live in the area, but the city itself was left alone and silent. The origins and destiny of Teotihuacán remain a secret today. Were these people the first Toltecs, who moved to Tula and began again? Or were they a forgotten group of Toltec masters who came together to manifest a magnificent vision of stone and spirit, and then disappeared into the annals of history?
Although the origins and purpose of Teotihuacán have been lost in history, the site remains alive as a tourist destination, and as a place of great spiritual power. Toltec and other teachers and groups from around the world visit to access the energy there for powerful personal and planetary healing.
~ An excerpt from The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book, by Allan Hardman
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This hat story is taken from an e-mail conversation between members of Allan Hardman's online community "TACO" who participated in his October journey to the pyramids at Teotihuacán, Mexico, and the extension to Tepoztlán. The group jokes that nobody is allowed to have a cooler hat than Allan.]
"Can someone tell us the complete story of the coolest hat?"
Allan: "Hello all....
I guess if no one else will tell the story, it must be up to me. We were hiking down from the pyramid of Tepozteco in Tepoztlán, and at one of the rest stops I left my hat behind. I didn't miss it until we stopped at a little stall near the bottom of the trail where they were making the quesadillas we had fallen in love with at the market place the day before. Four of us sat down and ordered and enjoyed our treats immensely (corn fungus, grasshoppers, farmer's cheese, and squash blossoms, cactus leaf, and more -- yummmm.) Perhaps someone has photos to share of the adventure. Ah yes, here they are!
Allan wearing "The Coolest Hat"
The bottom of the trail to the Pyramid of Tepozteco
I surrendered my hat to the Angel of Death (scroll down to watch a video about the Angel of Death if you are unfamiliar with the Angel in Toltec mythology) shortly after I realized it was missing, because I've heard that part of the lecture many times (from myself, of course), and have come to believe it. The Angel had taken back the hat she loaned me many years ago -- the Coolest Hat in Teotihuacán and Peru. It was okay.
However, while we were sitting eating, I was casually watching to see if anyone coming down the trail past us was wearing it, just in case the Angel was just testing or kidding me, or wanted to return it for some reason. I was more concerned with the eagle feather on the hat that a shaman in Peru had given me. There was a minor attachment there, partly, as I write this I realize, because I believed it was a sacred duty to use and protect that feather.
About the time we were finishing up our quesadillas I glanced over at a family that had been stopped by a vendor on the other side of the trail and were looking at her wares. As I looked again, I saw my eagle feather dangling below the arm of one of the women.
I went over and bowed in gratitude to her, and told her it was "my" hat and thanked her for finding it (Creative Assumption). She said her son had actually found it -- so I offered it to him. He smiled and declined, and so once again the Coolest Hat was mine, along with the eagle feather and Peruvian hat band.
We finished our meal and returned to the hotel.
And that's my story of The Coolest Hat and The Angel of Death."
Three times a week, I meet in a chat room with members of my Toltec Apprentice Community Online ("TACO") to teach, share, play, grow, and ponder. Recently a member asked a question that led to a discussion of "The Angel of Death," a powerful guide on the Toltec path to personal freedom.
Here is a brief excerpt edited from that chat (names changed, etc.):
TACOMember1: Allan I have a question. I am not sure, but I would like to live like my death is near. I would like to keep that view, or vision in me. What to do?
TACOAllan: It's a powerful idea. Surrender your attachments to being alive. Surrender your attachments to all of your material possessions--they belong to the Angel of Death, not you. She will take them when she wants them back, including your body and life.
TACOAllan: When you surrender your attachments you release your fear. When you release your fear, your mind isn't zooming off into the past or future, and can be in the present. The only place Life really exists is in the present. When you surrender to the Angel of Death and enter each present moment with gratitude, she becomes the Angel of Life, the best guide to a life well-lived on the Toltec Path and beyond.
TACOMember2: How do you release the fear?
TACOAllan: The fear comes from attachments, which come from the illusion you can control the outcome. The need to control gives rise to the fear you will fail. So you have to try harder, and get more attached to the outcome -- which creates more fear you will fail.
TACOMember3: In other words we are releasing control that we never had in the first place...
TACOAllan: You've got it, TACOMember3.
TACOMember4: How do you let go of attachments?
TACOAllan: You let go of attachments by realizing that you cannot control much of anything in your life. Look back at your life, study it, and you will find that when you got into relationships and then they ended, when you bought a car and it broke down and you replaced it, when your lovely young skin gets wrinkled -- you weren't really orchestrating any of it. The Angel of Death owns all those things. She is in charge, she takes them back when she wants to.
TACOAllan: So surrender to reality, let go of the illusion of control, embrace the Angel of Death with deep gratitude for everything she loans you. When you do, you will wake up in the present moment -- in the arms of the Angel of Life! She is your guide to the joy, celebration, and wonder of each evolving moment of Life. And you are Free.
If you would like to be part of this online Toltec Community and participate in these chats ($1 for the first month) go here to learn more.
Each year at Teotihuacán, participants face the Angel of Death, and are invited to surrender the illusion of control in their lives. I invite you to join us this year, September 29-October 4, and make this powerful guide your guide to LIFE. Watch the ceremony in this video:
Allan Hardman teaches about "The Angel of Death" in Teotihuacán, Mexico
Life is happening right now.
Make the Angel of Death/ Angel of Life your guide to this present moment!
In the old dream, feelings and emotions are problems to be solved, or embarrassing intrusions into daily life. In children, feelings are repressed, punished, or shamed, and in adults the habit of denial continues. How many men have experienced emotions in a movie theater, and when questioned by a surprised or pleased woman, blamed their tears on the bad air or their (occasional) allergy to popcorn?
The spiritual warrior, alive in the new dream, recognizes and honors feelings as the truth of the moment. The warrior is no longer ashamed of what he feels. He honors his feelings the same way he loves a small child who comes running to him hurt, angry, afraid, or overflowing with joy. He honors and respects the feelings of everyone he relates to, whether a child, a mate, a friend, or a stranger.
~ An excerpt from The Everything Toltec Wisdom Book, by Allan Hardman
It is my passion in life to help you accept every part of yourself so that you can live a truly happy life. We will do this work of accepting and falling into love with ourselves in Teotihuacán, Mexico - September 29 - October 4, 2001. Details here: http://joydancer.com/events/teotihuacanAndtep.html#teo
If you like what you read, you can:
1. Sign up for my newsletter, the Joydancer Weekly Word and News:
3. Join my Toltec Community Online and be supported by a loving community of people learning how to become free of childhood domestication and claim their power as happy and free adults.
4. Get in touch with me! I offer counseling via phone, Skype, or in person. Call or write for a free 30-minute phone consultation. (707) 528-1271. allanh@sonic.net
If you are on a path of personal transformation or spiritual growth, I encourage you to use spiritual journeys to sacred sites to enhance and empower your journey. Consider these benefits of spiritual travel.
• Spiritual journeys will take you to places that you might have never considered exploring alone, or will offer you insight into sacred sites that you would never experience on your own. I followed my teacher to the pyramids and temples of Egypt, the Mayan jungle cities of the Yucatan, Guatemala, and Honduras, to Machu Picchu and the magical Inca sites of Peru, Oaxaca, and many times to my favorite, the Toltec pyramid complex of Teotihuacán, Mexico.
• Being in a sacred site away from home releases you from the confines and expectations of people and work, and frees your mind and soul to embrace exciting new possibilities about Life and Love. I guarantee that gazing out from the top of a pyramid after a powerful ceremony, or taking in the sweep of an ancient city like Peru’s Machu Picchu from a high terrace, will offer you a new and perhaps challenging view of your life at home.
• Many sacred sites in the world were built in the ancient mystery school traditions to be “Universities” of silent knowledge and transformation, and that power endures in the dream of each place. When you enter a site like Teotihuacán or Machu Picchu, you are overcome with the spiritual power of the site, and the living intent of those who built it many centuries ago. You are invited to allow their dream to become your reality-- the dream of the absolute Divine Perfection of all of the Universe, including YOU.
• Trips guided by an experienced spiritual teacher offer you opportunities to learn new tools to strengthen the freedom and transformation you have mastered, and to take them home with you to integrate into your daily life.
• In addition, there is the pleasure of bonding and playing with a group of like-minded new friends, and to engage in exotic Power Shopping for yourself and your loved ones that are stuck back home.
The pyramid complex at Teotihuacan in central Mexico is a good example of a powerful spiritual journey site, and my favorite. Perhaps you have read about “Teo” in Beyond Fear, by Miguel Ruiz.
Teo was built two millennia ago, by a little known people often called the Toltecs. The pyramids are easy to get to near Mexico City, blessed with wonderful hotel accommodations, and yet exist in a different world. Teotihuacán means “The Place Where Humans Awake and Remember They are Divine.” What place could be more perfect for a journey of exploration into the spiritual truth of who you are?
The ancient Toltecs gave us three masteries: The Masteries of Awareness, Transformation, and Intent. Teotihuacan is designed as the ideal place to explore each of these masteries. As you move through the complex, you first become aware of the “Mitote” in your mind-- that sound of 1000 people talking at the market place and nobody listening. That confusing and sometimes abusive noise has been programmed into your mind during childhood, and for most people it is the operating system of adult life. It generally does not serve you.
The Mastery of Transformation offers you many tools for re-programming your mind as you choose. When you truly do have choice, my assumption is you will choose to be free from suffering, blame, jealousy, or any of the other reactions that go against your happiness.
After you have transformed how you dream your life, and you are always in a love communion with Creation, you enter the Mastery of Intent, or the Mastery of Love-- Divine Love and acceptance for all of Life. This is the key to true spiritual and human happiness.
Teotihuacán has been built for this journey, and the magic of the place and the energy of the many who have found spiritual awakening there supports the healing and transformation of all who open themselves to receive it.
No matter where your path of personal empowerment takes you, I encourage you to experience spiritual journeys. Leave your books, family, home and clocks behind-- go to sacred places of magic and power, with a teacher or guide that will support your opening to the awe of pure awareness and love. Go away, to come home to yourself.
