{"id":55404,"date":"2021-11-26T21:26:36","date_gmt":"2021-11-27T01:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=55404"},"modified":"2026-04-06T22:41:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:41:37","slug":"toltec-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/toltec-philosophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Toltec Philosophy and the Road to Personal Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What does Toltec philosophy say about reality? What is its view of enlightenment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Toltec philosophy asserts that we tend to carry false beliefs. When we challenge those beliefs and overcome them, we become more and more free. Authors don Miguel Ruiz and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/don-jose-ruiz\/\">don Jose Ruiz<\/a> (the naguals) discuss three stages that we go through on the road to total personal freedom (enlightenment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to learn the Toltec philosophy of enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-enlightenment-in-toltec-philosophy\">Enlightenment in Toltec Philosophy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The naguals describe three subjective \u201crealities\u201d we can inhabit. <strong>Each subjective reality is a stage in the Toltec road to total personal freedom,<\/strong> culminating in the ability to choose what we believe and thereby determine our own satisfaction and happiness. Essentially, that final stage is a form of enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, Toltec philosophy contends that our perception of reality\u2014and therefore the way we think, feel, and behave\u2014changes based on what we believe. As we begin to challenge and overcome the false \u201ctruths\u201d we accepted as children, we grow progressively freer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The following are the three stages we\u2019ll explore:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stage 1: The Mirage of \u201cThe Real World,\u201d<\/strong> in which we take what we see at face value<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stage 2: The Seed of Doubt,<\/strong> during which we challenge our perceptions and beliefs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stage 3: The Freedom of Control,<\/strong> in which we grow beyond what our society teaches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-the-mirage-of-the-real-world\">1. The Mirage of \u201cThe Real World\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us, the naguals say, aren\u2019t critical of what we perceive and learn. <strong>We trust what our culture, society, and teachers tell us, innocently and without reservation.<\/strong> We believe that what we\u2019re seeing is all there is\u2014we think we live in \u201cthe real world\u201d and never realize that it\u2019s only a mirage. This is the most common way to live, the naguals say. We\u2019re handed a flawed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-belief-system\/\">belief system<\/a>, and we accept it as-is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: The authors suggest that this blind acceptance is almost universal. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/291884\/a-new-earth-by-eckhart-tolle\/9780452289963\"><em>A New Earth<\/em><\/a>, spiritualist Eckhart Tolle agrees that, historically, only exceptional religious figures (such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/buddha-journey\/\">Buddha<\/a>, Lao <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/tzu-tao-heart\/\">Tzu<\/a>, and Jesus Christ) have learned to see past the mirage. However, Tolle also suggests that it\u2019s becoming more and more common for people to see the flaws in our societal belief systems\u2014potentially leading to what Tolle calls a \u201ctransformation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/human-consciousness\/\">human consciousness<\/a>.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in the mirage is torture, Toltec philosophy says, because our belief in its reality leaves us no escape\u2014we take the picture we\u2019re handed of what the \u201ccorrect\u201d way to live is and hold ourselves to it. We copy the behaviors, beliefs, and emotions we believe to be \u201cright,\u201d burying our true selves under so many layers of conformity that we forget who we are or what we want. Furthermore, we live in fear that others will see us living \u201cincorrectly\u201d and punish us for it\u2014and we validate that fear by attacking those around us who misbehave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Eckhart Tolle argues that the mirage doesn\u2019t just harm us as individuals: It\u2019s also actively destroying our social and physical environments. The values we\u2019re taught to hold, he argues, are insane to the point of self-destruction: Society\u2019s obsession with productivity and profit leads us to abuse and slaughter our own people and jeopardize the livability of our planet. If we want to survive, he says, we must collectively evolve beyond the materialistic values that are driving us apart. Instead, we must put <em>people<\/em> first.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-the-seed-of-doubt\">2. The Seed of Doubt<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To reclaim our freedom, Toltec philosophy says, we must replace judgment with acceptance. <\/strong>In other words, we must stop demanding everyone be \u201cbetter\u201d and just love them as they are. To love <em>ourselves<\/em> as we are, and experience the world as it is. In short, the second stage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\">Toltec enlightenment<\/a> involves learning to accept what\u2019s already here instead of focusing on how flawed it all is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the second stage, the naguals explain, we become aware of the ways our beliefs harm us and begin to disconnect from the mirage. We begin to doubt that the mirage is truly \u201cthe real world,\u201d and awaken to the many small ways in which the beliefs we grew up with manifest as harm. We make adjustments to the way we respond to, think about, and see ourselves, others, and the world. We start to see what\u2019s actually here, instead of what\u2019s <em>not<\/em> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shortform-commentary-what-does-acceptance-mean\">Shortform Commentary: What Does Acceptance Mean?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Other philosophies drive at this core principle\u2014accepting things as they are\u2014from different directions, but come to remarkably similar conclusions. For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/tao-te-ching\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Tao Te Ching<\/em><\/a> is very direct. It tells us that the workings of the universe aren\u2019t truly comprehensible or explainable and that <strong>we don\u2019t have to know, label, or understand <em>anything<\/em>in order to experience it<\/strong>\u2014or even to enjoy it. In fact, it\u2019s often best <em>not<\/em> to stress about the whys and hows because what\u2019s happening will happen anyway. What is, <em>is<\/em>, and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like Toltec philosophy, other philosophies also recommend showing yourself this same acceptance. For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-bhagavad-gita\/\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Bhagavad Gita<\/em><\/a> suggests that in order to find ourselves, we must discard every outside influence: Our search for peace and righteousness, our selfish desires, and our indulgence in sloth and despair. It\u2019s the false \u201creality\u201d created by our senses that gives rise to those things, not the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-find-your-true-self\/\">true self<\/a> at our core. <strong>To be yourself, discard everything you think you\u2019re <em>supposed<\/em> to be and just focus on being what you already are.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-the-freedom-of-control\">3. The Freedom of Control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The final stage in the Toltec path is a form of what\u2019s often called \u201cenlightenment.\u201d Let\u2019s take a look at what enlightenment looks like in Toltec philosophy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The naguals say that the best stage of your life begins as soon as you completely stop judging.<\/strong> When you can allow yourself and others to simply exist, you lose the need to find yourself, to try to be someone else, or to \u201cfix\u201d yourself. Your personal story no longer describes a struggle against yourself, others, or the world\u2014instead, it becomes a record of your existence, of the message you carry from the universe, to the universe. In short, because you\u2019re no longer actively making yourself unhappy, <strong>you regain the childish freedom of being what you are without burden, expectation, or demand.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Like the Ruizes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/tao-te-ching\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Tao Te Ching<\/em><\/a> says enlightenment is about living in the here and now, following the natural pull of your moment-to-moment experience. It\u2019s about being at peace with the reality you live in\u2014without expectations, self-consciousness, or attempts to control the actions of others. Similarly, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-bhagavad-gita\" rel=\"nofollow\"><em>Bhagavad Gita<\/em><\/a> explains that an enlightened person is content to exist in every moment, believing that their purpose is simply to be a part of this world. In short, there aren\u2019t any rules; you\u2019re free to simply experience the moments you get to experience.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does Toltec philosophy say about reality? What is its view of enlightenment? Toltec philosophy asserts that we tend to carry false beliefs. When we challenge those beliefs and overcome them, we become more and more free. Authors don Miguel Ruiz and don Jose Ruiz (the naguals) discuss three stages that we go through on the road to total personal freedom (enlightenment). Continue reading to learn the Toltec philosophy of enlightenment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":55408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6],"tags":[539],"class_list":["post-55404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-spiritual","tag-the-fifth-agreement","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Toltec Philosophy and the Road to Personal Freedom - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Toltec philosophy holds that we carry false beliefs. When we challenge and overcome them, we become more and more free. 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