BEING CAREFUL WITH THE WORLD AND WITH PEOPLE MEANS BEING UNATTAINABLE

—Being unattainable means being careful with the world around you. Eating one quail instead of five. Not maiming plants just to make a brazier. Not exposing yourself to the force of the wind unnecessarily. Not taking advantage of people, not squeezing every last drop out of them, especially those you love.

—But I have never taken advantage of anyone, — I interjected. But don Juan said that he had, and so now I can only stupidly repeat that I am tired of them and that they bore me.

—Being unattainable means consciously avoiding exhaustion, being careful with yourself and with others, — he continued. — It means that you do not give in to hunger and despair, like a miserable degenerate who is afraid that he will never be able to eat again in his life, and therefore devours everything that comes his way, all five quails!

C. Castaneda

In the Sufi tradition there is such an expression: "Be among people, but be alone." Sufis do not call for loneliness and isolation from the people around you. Not at all! In the Sufi understanding, a person cannot be alone, since God is always present in his Heart. That is why Sufis address each other as "Beloved" — the one who hears the Divine in himself and has accepted Him as his Guide.

To be alone in the understanding of Sufis means to be with the One, wherever a person is. Not to leave your Divine even in the center of a noisy crowd.

Nagualism teaches that a caring attitude towards the world and the people around you, especially towards those you love, is to be unreachable for the World, to be unavailable to people. But this is a paradox - by caring for people, we interact with them, therefore we are available to them. Isn't it?

A caring and reverent attitude towards the world and the people around you is the behavior of a Guest in an invited home. The Guest is a Man of Power and Knowledge, because he Knows his True Home and Source. This Source is not in the World. The Guest is "not of this World". He does not get involved in the noise of the World so much that he begins to believe in It irrevocably and forget about his True Home. The Guest does not "squeeze people to the last drop". He does not have a sense of self-importance that would bind him tightly to the World, forcing him to "squeeze It without a trace", which in essence would mean exhausting himself.

The Guest sees and knows that the World is the Most Magnificent Riddle and Miracle, where he was lucky enough to visit. Therefore, the Guest treats the World accordingly - with a Heart full of Love, reverence and gratitude to see and hear the Miracle that presented its Magnificence before him, and which people are accustomed to call "the World".

Can the Guest harm the World? Can the Guest use people and not feel respect and reverence for them, realizing that they are the same Guests as he is?

No. The Guest is with people, but alone, because in One. He does not feel pity for his own person, understanding that the World has sheltered him only for a moment. Therefore, the troubles that sometimes happen in the World cannot extinguish his inner Fire or the Fire from within. The Guest came here to listen to Tales of Power, to surrender to the Power of Silence, drowning out the noise of the crowd, and to warm people with the Fire from Within. Especially those of them whom the Guest loves.

"A man serves God best when he serves people," say the Mystics. "Take a step away from yourself, and you will find yourself next to God," answer the Sufis.

The Guest serves the World and people. That is why he is not accessible to either the World or people.