Have a question about Toltec Wisdom?
Ask Sheri!

Sheri: I would like some information on dealing with my anxiety around the issue of betrayal.

Dear Friend,

Certainly I cannot answer that question in one email nor would I try! But I suggest that you read my book as it gives you great tools for identifying the beliefs that you are being challenged by. In other words you are not being affected by a persons actions - but by your concepts about betrayal. No one can be betrayed - only your ideas about how that person should behave can be betrayed. If you live the truth - in other words you deeply understand that people do what they are going to do and it isn't always what you hope, want or wish for - you will always have joy. The reason is you will always expect people to act from their beliefs, fears, and programming. It never surprises me when people behave in all different kinds of ways - and in the end it shouldn't surprise you unless you expect that people will always behave the way you would like them to.
Does this help?
Blessings, Sheri

Dear Sheri,
I have been in a three month relationship. It has been the first one in two years and I really care for this person. I think I liked him so much, I had the fear of losing him most of the time and seemed to walk right into exactly that. The green eyed monster of jealousy reared it ugly head so to say two weeks ago on my part. Not that bad, but bad enough that words were said between us, too many, and since then things have not been the same to the point of breaking up. I could not get it to turn back to the loving feeling prior to the words that we exchanged.
I have been following your teachings and Buddhism teachings and know better than to feel how I am feeling. It really hurts knowing I may never see this person again and I am having trouble sleeping, eating, working. I know this is silly and what the teachings would say. But how do you stop that awful hurt feeling and live without forming attachment. It is so hard. It seems easy to say it until it presents itself and there it just comes right back, like all that I have learned went right out the window.
Thank you for all you do! Sleepless in Florida

Dear Sleepless,

Nothing is wrong with what you are feeling ever - it is your alarm system for what you are thinking. So you would be best served reviewing your fear-based beliefs about relationship and your self-worth. If you do not think you are worthy of love you will be fearful and want to control what little morsels of love come your way. That will compel you to behave in ways that create the very outcome you fear most. Since you created that very thing now you are beating yourself up for taking that action which is more lack of self-worth. Let it go angel. Love, Sheri

Dear Sheri -

I am not sure how to get from "here" to "there". My mind is absolutely a control freak. I have been using meditation to work on "stopping the chatter". It is helping, and I can see some increase in my ability to silence my mind. It is slow going, though, and I can feel strong resistance from my mind. At present, I see through the illusion of the story I've created a much smaller percentage of the time than the amount of time I believe the illusions. I have, however, begun to question my stories most of the time. I just seem to lack the absolute faith that the "no-thing" I am is not bound by these beliefs... in addition to the fact that I can feel my mind is terrified of loosing its power and is doing everything it can to keep me believing the stories. I will keep up the battle. I am about a third of the way through "The Complete Idiots Guide to Toltec Wisdom", so am looking forward to what lies ahead. I will certainly try some of the exercises in your book, and will save your email to read again when I need inspiration.

Thanks!

Dear Friend,

The entity that is saying this: "I am just not sure how to get from "here" to 'there" is never going to know. Confront your stories and fear-based beliefs and the rest will fall into place. The "I" that is writing me is never going to have faith in the real you - and why should it? What is involved is seeing the world through the point of view of the real you not your mind. Your mind does not need to have faith in what is already eternal within you. Just stop believing that you are your mind and that the entity that is communicating with me is "you." I can assure you it is not.

Blessings, Sheri

Hi, Sheri -

Let me tell you what I get from reading your response, and please let me know if I have gotten the message correctly.

I feel like I am behind this huge stone wall (my "mind", my "stories") and past the wall is the infinite. I am seeing cracks in the wall, and when I look through the cracks, I can sense that the infinite is there. In my last email, I was asking you how to get through the wall. What you are telling me is that the wall only exists because I believe it does. If I truly realize that the wall is not really there, I will have made the first step.

Thanks so much for your guidance !!

Dear Friend,

YOU ARE THE INFINITE. The fact that you are saying you (the "I") senses cracks in the wall shows exactly what I am talking about. You believe you are your mind and you are taking the point of view of your mind. Your mind perhaps senses the infinite through the cracks in your fog or story. But the way to get from here to there is to use your attention to change your point of view. It is the fact that you believe your stories that has you focusing your attention behind the wall of fog. But by detaching from your stories the fog will dissipate and your mind will be able to expand to meet the infinite that you are.
Love, Sheri

Hi Sheri,
I'm sure you've probably addressed this in the past, but I'm wondering what your advice is for dealing with emotional issues as they come up to be released. Is there an easier way to let old beliefs go as opposed to a "harder" way?

Thanks!

Dear Friend,

THAT is a loaded question! First of all I do not know how you are approaching your issues. The emotions are never the problem as the emotions are simply the correct way for your body to respond to your fear-based stories and beliefs. So it comes down to addressing what is not truth in your mind. There is only one way to address lies and that is to make sure you really know what is truth and to take action in life based in that. In the end it is not hard to let go of a lie unless you insist in allowing yourself to be further abused by it or enjoy suffering.
Does that make sense?
Love, Sheri

www.sherirosenthal.com

Hello, Sheri -

I have been on a spiritual journey for about 6 months now, but just discovered the Toltec way, and in particular your writings and website. It is completely in line with the path I have been meandering (through Buddhism and various New Age writings), and I am hoping will take me to the next plane. My question is as follows:

Many of the jobs I have had over the years focus on developing and implementing business processes. I have been exposed a number of times to personality tests, ALWAYS testing as introvert. The point here is that I am a flaming introvert. My job was recently changed to focus on training and International travel. I have 30 yrs invested and 3 years left to go to reach full retirement at 55 yrs of age. I want to "stick it out". However, being as introverted as I am, the new intense work situations leaves me feeling exhausted. If I am on a week long travel jaunt, I am often awake after only 3 hrs sleep each night, with the physical discomfort of feeling like adrenalin is pumping through my body. By day 3 I am severely sleep deprived, and then am sometimes sick by day 5 (e.g. cold, bronchitis, pneumonia).

Do you think I am bringing this physical reaction on myself ? I am at wits end to figure how to manage it. Since I have started on my spiritual journey., I have had on 2 occasions a paradigm shift for a brief 5-10 minutes each, during which I could "see" the smoke and mirror illusion my ego has created. During both of these instances, I was in an extremely stressful situation and suddenly felt very calm, and the difference between the "Tonal" and the "Nagual" became crystal clear. During both instances, I was about as uncomfortable physically and/or mentally as I could possibly be, and had "turned over" the pending situation to my inner Self. From your writings, I am theorizing that, in fact, it was that discomfort and the resulting total faith in my Self (because it was the "last resort" of the day) that led to the "crack" in the illusion of the Tonal.

What a wonderful feeling those 5-10 minute revelations brought! What I would really like is to find a way to advance the Awareness without taking myself to the brink of mental and/or physical collapse. Or is this the nature of the journey? Any insight you could give me on how to get through these periods of stress, or on how the Toltec journey can relate to this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your writings and website !!

Dear Not Really an Introvert,

You are not a flaming introvert unless you choose to believe that nonsense. You are no-thing that lives in a body and possesses a mind that sees itself as an introvert. That's a big problem. So yes, you are making yourself sick because your job is going "against" your idea of yourself. If you change your idea of yourself then you will see that you are simply in a job and you will do your job. All the judgment you have about what you are required to do is causing the emotional reaction within your body and causing you to feel sick. It is that simple.

First step - focus on the "what is" - in other words stop making stories about everything - like your personality and even your spiritual path. Get serious with your programming and address what you believe about yourself and challenge that. There is no job that you cannot do if you open your heart and mind and just have fun. Your mind has you prisoner with all it's internal dialogue and thinking. Stop analyzing and when you lay down at night let the day go and rest and focus on the gratitude you have for your life - rather than what you did not finish today and what is wrong with you and the world.

You thankfully had a moment of clarity to see the what is - that is why you felt calm, you took the point of view of you as no-thing for a second rather than the point of view of your limited mind. You saw the illusion of this reality. Great! So either you will believe what is truth or you will believe and all the nonsense your mind is constantly proposing to you. Your path can be easy if you make a choice to believe in the truth in every moment. That's the challenge. Stop making it so hard. There is nothing to manage - but everything to LET GO of - your mental control. Once you stop judging the entire reality changes and life is easy.

It is not necessary to make yourself sick at all on your path. That is just one more way to hurt yourself, which is what people are doing to themselves all the time. Happiness is a choice and so is misery. Your choice. In my book there is an emotions page that has an exercise on it that will help you get clarity about your fear-based beliefs. I suggest doing that everyday - it changed my life.

Love, Sheri

Dear Sheri,

I just read the January 2008 newsletter - & am astonished to see a recommendation to read the books by Carlos Castaneda.

How can I or any other data-driven & critical thinker have any confidence in someone or some organization that promotes the work of a discredited charlatan, sexist, pathological liar, alleged rapist, & successful fictionalist?

There was a time, in the 1970s--when I was a young adult & read Castaneda's books (anything about him too) with great interest & credulity. In the years since a veritable explosion of information & other evidence has emerged that undermines completely Castaneda's musings on Toltec shamanism & his other assertions.

What are you beliefs, Dr Rosenthal, regarding these well-founded challenges to Castaneda's truthfulness & awful exploitation of people?

Regards, a questioning soul

Dear Questioning Soul,

I am going to answer your question - but use what you wrote to me as a teaching opportunity - if you do not mind. The best way from me to answer your question is in the form of a Toltec lesson - so to speak - so please humor me here.

The Toltec path is about becoming free from our beliefs, judgments points of view and opinions. It is absolute freedom form the ego-mind - not unlike Buddhism which is another warrior's path. I know many people love Toltec and it resonates with them, however they do not apply the teaching to themselves, their thinking or their actions. As a former physician who we could say possesses a very critical mind, this path has been nothing short of the hugest challenge of my life. I thank God for don Miguel's assistance in pointing out to me the subtleties of my ego, dogmatic thinking, and attachment to my domestication. The most powerful words of wisdom I received from him to accomplish this was: Don't believe him, don't believe myself, and don't believe anyone else. (In The Voice of Knowledge)

So having said that - do I know for sure that anything that anyone has written about Castaneda is truth - even the book written by his wife or the book written by Amy Wallace? Yes, I have read them all. And so what? Maybe all of it is truth, maybe part of it is truth - but what I know for sure is truth is that whatever people have written is only their person point of view based on their judgments, beliefs and opinions. I am not saying I am disregarding those opinions - not believing people's minds, including my own, is not about being stupid. I am saying that I recognize that they are those people's points of view which by nature can NEVER be absolute truth.

I have no idea if what Castaneda wrote is truth or not or if "don Juan" ever lived. But I do know that some of the material would have been difficult to make up - having experienced most of what was in that book myself with my teacher. So maybe he borrowed the whole thing from another Shaman's writings - who knows? But those books had a profound effect on my life and were the inspiration for me finding a teacher and changing my life. I personally love the books (at least most of them) and so does don Miguel Ruiz. I can enjoy the books as interesting works of fiction without believing them totally can't I?

Now here is the kicker. If I allow my judgment of him as you have said below - to stop me from reading those books, my life would not be as it is today. If I have learned anything from this path it is this: NEVER allow my mind and it's judgment to edit my actions EVER!! Your judgment may stop you from taking actions that could change your life. Instead allow life to drive you, not your ego-mind with it's judgmental points of view. Do you think the Infinite cares about Castaneda's books? I can assure you that consciousness does not as it does not judge - in fact it does not care as life is not personal. However - this universe is based on action-reaction. So whatever Castaneda did in his life - he will have to deal with. Maybe his liver cancer is the result of his actions, maybe not - but that is his business not mine. But for sure it is not up to me to judge him or anyone else. I agree with Jesus's words on that matter - do not judge lest you be judged. Every spiritual path asks us to transcend judgment because it asks that we transcend the ego-mind.

Our mind is an assistant unless it is your master. I encourage you to use your mind yes, but not be ruled by it or to allow it to make choices for you in life. Those actions are best taken from the heart not the mind. If you take the action, for example, to never go to my website again because of my answer to you or because you think I am "wrong," that action could change you life as you would be removing yourself from information that might change your life - or not. Of course I cannot know that for certain - but I know that removing myself from situations based on choices my mind has made has never been successful. Safe perhaps, but not wonderful in the end. It took a lot of self honesty to recapitulate my life and admit that to myself.

Since we create our reality and emotional state from what we think - I encourage you to be careful what words you use when you speak as that is true impeccability of the word. You have used some charged words which are fear-based and you will always have an emotional reaction if you use them as will the people who hear them when you speak them. If you want peace in your life it is imperative that you use your word with caution.

So in the end - I feel quite comfortable in suggesting people read his books because they are filled with a library's worth of important information woven around the fiction. Many times my teacher would be trying to teach me something that I just did not get. Later I would end up re-reading the books (as I also read them back in the '70's) and realize what he was trying to say. I cannot tell you how many ah-ha moments I received from reading those books. Why should I not make that opportunity available to others? That does not mean because I suggest the books that I align or "agree" with his actions or lifestyle!

I can tell you on a personal note that letting go of my judgment has changed my relationships across the board, most significantly with my family. When you let go of your judgment the energy that you put out towards people changes and they respond in kind to you in ways that the mind could not imagine. Now I allow people to be who they are and that leaves room for me to be whoever I am in the moment. In the past for sure I have been sexist, a pathological liar, a fictionalist, and a charlatan as are all people who operate without awareness. Who am I to judge him when I have been guilty of the same?

Nope, that path is no longer for me. Denial is not interesting for me any more, and my personal freedom is worth more to me than the temptation to judge. I prefer to see the "what is" rather than to observe the world through my belief system.

Blessings & love to you on your path, Sheri

Hi Sheri,

Thanks for the audio file of this month. In regards to that, I am in total agreement with what you say about "projecting". The level of our projection is always a by product of our state of consciousness. Now having say that, and as well I agree with you that we have to take responsibility for our feelings caused by a..."judgment", but how do you go in life with out "discernment" which is a more polite way of "judgment"; how to decide what is doing wrong in your life and it needs to be judged and eradicated; how about a politician that is taking advantage of people? How about the things that are not good for us? how do you go ahead with out judging them and then change them or at least recognizing them for a latter fix ? With this I am not saying that every judgment is right to by done, but there are many that are very useful, because once I saved my life because I "judge" somebody and I said to myself to get out of his reach and had not been for that "judgment" me and many others would have been targeted by this person, with very tragic results. How can we be objective in our analysis(...if possible) and take action, with out the help of Judgment or discernment ?? Thank you for your answer !!!

Dear Friend,

Discernment is when you make a choice based on personal preference. You might like a steak rather than fish. But you are not judging steak to be better or worse than fish. Judgment is when you make something right and another thing wrong. My preference is to look at things as uplifting or that they cause suffering. I do my best to stop suffering and to do the best for myself and all involved. But I do not make others wrong or speak badly of politicians that I do not agree with. I do not align with Bush because I do not feel war is necessary. This does not make Bush an idiot. I see him as ignorant of the oneness of all life and so I have compassion for his ignorance. I understand why he is making that choice even if I do not agree with it. But why judge him? That does not change anything. All I can do is vote for someone who I feels aligns with my position as best I can.
When you learn to see what is - you see peoples actions and words for what they are and you take action based on that. You do not have to judge them to take action. If someone was dishonest in business - you see that they conducted themselves in a manner that you would not and that people suffered. So do not do business with them. But why call them a horrible person and disrespect them? Instead we see they are ignorant of the oneness of all life and have compassion for them, and we do not do business with them.

You see? Blessings Sheri