500 years before Columbus set out for India to make himself rich—and bumped into the Americas on the way–the Toltec culture dominated the high plateau of central Mexico. The Aztec culture that came later regarded the Toltecs as the forebears upon whose shoulders their own civilization was built. Although there is much debate among scholars about the history of the Toltecs, their culture, and their relationship to the Aztecs, one thing seems certain: They left behind a rich and vibrant spiritual tradition that can serve today as a source of inspiration and guidance.
In my ongoing exploration of spiritual traditions throughout the world, I have been studying Toltec sacred knowledge over the past few months. I approached Toltec spirituality with the same two questions I perpetually ask of sacred paths:
1) What does this tradition offer that will enhance people’s lives?
2) What does this tradition offer writers that will grow and inspire their writing?
As I’ve studied the Toltec tradition, I’ve found a wealth of answers to both of these questions, thanks to writers such as Susan Gregg, Gary van Warmerdam, and, especially don Miguel Ruiz, the world’s leading authority on Toltec wisdom teachings.
Toltec spirituality has much in common with Zen, yoga, North American native traditions, Sufism, and other wisdom traditions, all of which share a common core. Yet, it has some unique insights that I feel are especially relevant to writers. Here are a few of the premises of Toltec wisdom that writers can benefit from.
Life is part of a great mystery.
I’m suspicious of belief systems that think they have all the answers, whether based on scientific discovery or so-called revealed knowledge. I don’t believe we humans know all there is to know about existence or that we even have the capacity to know it. The Toltecs hold that the Universe and its workings are a mystery. That rings a bell with me.
It’s largely that mystery that makes us writers write—and others paint, dance, or make music. We’re all explorers, journeying through shadowy realms, trying to find a way to get at the unknowable, trying to express the ineffable. The paradoxes and enigmas of life are what drives us. I always come back to the quote attributed to Martha Graham when someone asked her what one of her dances meant: “If I could say it, I wouldn’t have to dance it.”
That’s what all artists are doing, through poetry or fiction, painting or sculpture, dance or film or music. We’re all trying to say that which cannot be said, that which cannot be understood directly. We’re all working within the great mystery.
If we understand the microcosm we will understand the macrocosm.
When you write a poem about a crocus, are you writing a poem about a crocus? Or are you exploring the meaning of beauty? The miracle of evolution? The nature of Nature? The human relationship to the Earth?
When you tell a humorous story about, say, a childhood adventure, are you really just being funny? Or does the humor scrape under the skin of everyone who remembers being a child? Does it say something about the experience of childhood, the perceptions of people who do not have years of life coloring their vision, the joys and difficulties of youth? Does it say something simply about what it is to be human?
According to The Toltecs, we come to an understanding of the Universe through our understanding of ourselves and daily experience.That notion works perfectly for writers. Our stories and poems are microcosmic: they describe tiny slivers of reality encapsulated in a few lines or a few pages. But in those slivers lie great truths about the Universe. We write the microcosm to shed a beam of light on the macrocosm.
The Universe is supportive and nurturing.
According to the Toltecs, the Universe is good. Not cold and unforgiving, but energetic and generous. Not cruel and indifferent, but helpful and compassionate. Not dead, but vibrant with life.
Shifting my perception from seeing the Universe as a spare, dark place to a place of great abundance and generosity was one of the most important steps I’ve ever taken on my own personal journey. It altered my teaching, my personal life, and my writing in profound ways. I found an openheartedness that infused my writing life, making my writing more vibrant, more joyful, and more creative.
When you see the Universe as supportive and nurturing, you relax. Disappointments, failures, and losses become bearable. You see the bigger picture. You trust yourself more (because, after all you are part of this bountiful, giving Universe). You become more generous with yourself and others. This joyfulness is part of the Toltec way.
According to don Miguel Ruiz, Toltec wisdom offers a simple and practical approach to everyday life. I find that approach immensely helpful not only in my daily life, but in my writing. I’ll be writing about some aspects of Toltec wisdom that can nurture and support the writing life in the next few posts.