Our fellow men are black magicians. And whoever is with them is a black magician on the spot. Think for a moment. Can you deviate from the path that your fellow men have lined up for you? And if you remain with them, your thoughts and your actions are fixed forever in their terms. That is slavery. Human beings love to be told what to do, but they love even more to fight and not do what they are told, and thus they get entangled in hating the one who told them in the first place.The warrior, on the other hand, is free from all that. Freedom is expensive, but the price is not impossible to pay. So – if you must – fear your captors. Don’t waste your time and your power fearing freedom.

Warriors speak of shamanism as a magical, mysterious bird which has paused in its flight for a moment in order to give man hope and purpose; warriors live under the wind of that bird, which they call the “bird of wisdom”, the “bird of freedom”. Shamanism is a journey of return. A warrior returns victorious to the spirit, having descended into hell. And from hell he brings trophies. Understanding is one of his trophies.

The spirit manifests itself to a warrior at every turn. However, this is not the entire truth. The entire truth is that the spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency, but only warriors are consistently attuned to such revelations. Also, it is not so difficult to let the spirit of man flow and take over; to sustain it, however, is something that only a warrior can do.

For a warrior, the spirit is an abstract only because he knows it without words or even thoughts. It’s an abstract because he can’t conceive what the spirit is. Yet, without the slightest chance or desire to understand it, a warrior handles the spirit. He recognizes it, beckons it, entices it, becomes familiar with it, and expresses it with his acts. Warriors have an ulterior purpose for their acts, which has nothing to do with personal gain. The average man acts only if there is the chance for profit. Warriors act not for profit, but for the spirit. The spirit listens only when the speaker speaks in gestures. And gestures do not mean signs or body movements, but acts of true abandon, acts of largesse, of humour. As a gesture for the spirit, warriors bring out the best of themselves and silently offer it to the abstract.

For the rational man to hold steadfastly to his self-image ensures his abysmal ignorance. He ignores the fact that shamanism is not incantations and hocus-pocus, but the freedom to perceive not only the world taken for granted, but everything else that is humanly possible to accomplish. The warrior trembles at the possibility of freedom. And freedom is at his fingertips.

The way of the shaman-warrior is the fight for freedom. Each step is taken freely. We must not judge it as violent simply because we use the words ‘warrior’ and ‘fight’. As a struggle, it may be aggressive, intense, full, but it is rarely violent. A man of knowledge cannot possibly act towards his fellow men in injurious terms. A warrior is fighting for freedom. The fight is right here on this earth. We are human creatures. Who knows what’s waiting for us, or what kind of power we may have? To attain that freedom requires power, and power rests on the kind of knowledge that one holds.

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