In the beginning, one of my worries had to do with Carlos' historical sources. To what extent were Don Juan's teachings the product of a tradition of men of knowledge which stretched back thousands of years, and to what extent had they been influenced by Western ideas?
On various occasions, I tried to validate what Carlos told us through comparisons with what has been left to us from prehispanic antiquity, but I must admit that I always ended up frustrated. I wanted to question it in terms of the most orthodox anthropology. However, it seemed inappropriate to approach this delicate matter in front of people, so I postponed my questions.
One afternoon, I mentioned what was on my mind. He was perfectly affable, and told me that this was a doubt that assaulted almost all his listeners, because we have all been presented with the image of the communities of ancient Mexico as primitive towns.
He added that my mistrust regarding his statements was normal, and that the problem I was presenting in such a straightforward way, was actually about finding definitions for experiences which don't fit within the syntax of modern languages.
"I made a similar error with my teacher. For Don Juan, anything that didn't serve the objective of the teachings was-a waste of time. Every time I tried to find some relationship between his words and those I read in history books, he simply stopped speaking and turned away.
"Once I asked him about his reticence and he answered: 'Behind your professional concern hides a professional doubt. If you don't discard it, you won't understand the core of what I am telling you. I know the sources of the information which I am passing on to you, so I don't need to prove them '.
"Later, he spoke about a time in which sorcerers traveled enormous distances across the world, in order to share the results of their spiritual search with colleagues on other latitudes. Unlike today, sorcerers moved in dreaming with complete freedom, and nothing was more respected than being a seer.
"The credit for the knowledge those men accumulated cannot be awarded to any one country in particular, the knowledge is universal. But the organization of their principles into the arrangement which today is called 'nagualism' or 'the path of the warrior' definitely took place in ancient Mexico.
"Starting from their primary observations, the ancient seers arrived at the most profound understanding of universal truths that man has ever achieved. The power of their attention had so much force that it is still active today, generating potentialities which are affecting certain areas of Mexico and the Southern United States, creating favorable conditions for an energy concentration that you'd be hard put to find anywhere else in the world.
"Partly, those sorcerers were helped by a peculiar configuration of the luminous field of the Earth, whose epicenter rotates around the Valley of Mexico. They see that peculiarity as a gigantic funnel or pleat of light, where emanations coming in from the universe fit with those of the planet, producing a heightened level of awareness.
"Don Juan thought that the formation is natural and was used to maximum advantage by the seers to increase their power. But in my analysis of the matter, I have come to the conclusion that it is the other way around: The seers of antiquity fixed their attention on this area of the world, and the planet in its entirety responded to that intent, creating a gigantic catalyst of cosmic emanations. However we choose to interpret it, the fact remains: This is the center; anything can happen here!"