paulkershaw wrote: I do take the Toltec wisdom quite literally ... when I see something repeated regularly, (let's say a batch of cars all of the same colour for example) then this is saying something to me. Even when there is one event or experience which makes itself known to me then I will pay attention to the meaning of this and attempt to make some internal transformation according to the way I see it and to the best of my ability.
Paul, No worries.
I feel we are using different language for the same thing. The word 'archetype" is the idea of a "pattern". You use your knowledge to look for patterns and see connections that others may miss. Id' say the differnce between literal and metaphoric (or synchronous may be a better word) is that "literal" means that one thing actually, physically caused the other. "Synchronous" or "metaphoric" means that, although incidents are separate, their "co-incidence" carries a connection that might be understood.
I hope this example works - you see your kitchen full of ants, you then get days and days of rain. Literally, you might say the ants brought the rain - a primitive folk tale may say something like that. Otherwise you'd say, when ants come inside - their behaviour coincides or is synchronous with a change in weather. A "believer" of a certain faith may interpret that the ants have prophetic powers.
A biologist would see they are sensitive to barometric changes, and have developed the instinct to seek shelter when that sensation is experienced. (False gurus and teachers will preach literal causality when it suits and dismiss it when it doesn't e.g. the protection of Baba's canopy).
The Toltecs do this in order to avoid death getting to them
Not sure exactly about the Toltec, but Central American peoples practiced child sacrifice - a lot of evidence for it. This is a literalised or externalised psychic dynamic that sees life as spirit driven (animistic) and that the spirit of the sacrificed will nourish/please the "god" or greater spirit. Without knowing other's ideas on it, I'd guess a child's spirit energy would be offered to affect "rejuvenation" (you'd see the words reflecting each other here).
The Christian communion is a sublimation of the same impulse - not rejuvenation principal - more of the sacrificial animal/ scape goat sacrifice.
in order to live in one's truth the illusion must be removed and the only way to do that is to bring truth to the surface, therefore displacing the illusion.
Toltec dreaming, haven't read much on it, but is not it like the idea I stated earlier, that the borders of dream and wakefulness are not defined, they are one reality? This is common experience among primitive peoples, where "objective" and "subjective" have not really been defined (and we have gone to the other extreme!)
There is truth on the level of ego, and truth from a deeper place, the unconscious. One is the truth of Order/Apollo the other is the truth of Chaos/ Dionysus. Both need to be in harmony. Today's truth is tomorrow's illusion.
all I wanted was to see a wild black puma/jaguar in the rainforests ... I was inundated with media articles, emails and pictures of this animal which peaked my interest
I'd suggest that the fascination was because, like for me, maybe the dark "anima" was unmanifest, needed to be made conscious, so this form resonated.