Victor Sanchez
Encyclopedia
Victor Sanchez is a Mexican
author
. He was initially inspired by the writings of Carlos Castaneda
and by his own studies among the Wirrarika, said to be cultural descendants of the Pre-Columbian
Native American
Toltec
s.
Sanchez's first book, The Teachings of Don Carlos: Practical Applications of the Works of Carlos Castaneda (1995), provides in-depth techniques and commentary on a path of "self-growth" based on the wisdom of the Toltec descendants. His approach in this book is bringing the proposals of Castaneda down to the earth focusing on those parts of Castaneda's book that can be applied in everyday life and used for personal development. Sanchez has published three further books: Toltecs of the New Millennium (1996), providing an overview of and background on the author's experiences with the Wirrarika; The Toltec Path of Recapitulation: Healing Your Past to Free Your Soul (2001); and The Toltec Oracle (2004). Sanchez's recapitulation technique bears some resemblance to Sandra Ingerman
's soul retrieval
technique, but is probably the most comprehensive approach to the subject that has been published so far. Other shamanic teachers using similar techniques include Michael Harner, PhD founder of core shamanism
, and Ken Page, founder of Heart and Soul Healing. Some have associated Sanchez's work with Toltec author Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz
, author of the Four Agreements.
In his works Sanchez coins the term "anti-anthropology", likening his form of research to anti-psychiatry
. His approach to the study of the natives he portrays is, in his own words, "not to transform them, but to transform" himself.
Sanchez was sued by Castaneda for infringement of copyright after including an eagle, desert, and other iconography on the covers of his books similar to that used by Castaneda.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was initially inspired by the writings of Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda
Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-born American anthropologist and author....
and by his own studies among the Wirrarika, said to be cultural descendants of the Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
s.
Sanchez's first book, The Teachings of Don Carlos: Practical Applications of the Works of Carlos Castaneda (1995), provides in-depth techniques and commentary on a path of "self-growth" based on the wisdom of the Toltec descendants. His approach in this book is bringing the proposals of Castaneda down to the earth focusing on those parts of Castaneda's book that can be applied in everyday life and used for personal development. Sanchez has published three further books: Toltecs of the New Millennium (1996), providing an overview of and background on the author's experiences with the Wirrarika; The Toltec Path of Recapitulation: Healing Your Past to Free Your Soul (2001); and The Toltec Oracle (2004). Sanchez's recapitulation technique bears some resemblance to Sandra Ingerman
Sandra Ingerman
Sandra Ingerman is a psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner who teaches workshops on shamanism. She has taught with Michael Harner, and was the Educational Director for the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, where she served on the Board of Trustees. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors...
's soul retrieval
Soul retrieval
Soul Retrieval refers to forms of New Age and shamanic practice that aim to reintegrate various interpretations of the soul that might have become disconnected, trapped or lost through trauma...
technique, but is probably the most comprehensive approach to the subject that has been published so far. Other shamanic teachers using similar techniques include Michael Harner, PhD founder of core shamanism
Core Shamanism
Core Shamanism is a system of shamanic beliefs and practices synthesized by Michael Harner. Core shamanism does not hold a fixed belief system, but instead focuses on the practice of shamanic journeying and may on an individual basis integrate indigenous shamanism, the teachings of Carlos...
, and Ken Page, founder of Heart and Soul Healing. Some have associated Sanchez's work with Toltec author Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz
Miguel Ángel Ruiz
Don Miguel Ángel Ruiz , better known as Don Miguel Ruiz, is a Mexican author of New Age spiritualist and neoshamanistic texts. His teaching is significantly influenced by the work of Carlos Castaneda....
, author of the Four Agreements.
In his works Sanchez coins the term "anti-anthropology", likening his form of research to anti-psychiatry
Anti-psychiatry
Anti-psychiatry is a configuration of groups and theoretical constructs that emerged in the 1960s, and questioned the fundamental assumptions and practices of psychiatry, such as its claim that it achieves universal, scientific objectivity. Its igniting influences were Michel Foucault, R.D. Laing,...
. His approach to the study of the natives he portrays is, in his own words, "not to transform them, but to transform" himself.
Sanchez was sued by Castaneda for infringement of copyright after including an eagle, desert, and other iconography on the covers of his books similar to that used by Castaneda.
Related works
- Earthwalks for Body and Spirit: Exercises to Restore Our Sacred Bond with the Earth (2002) by James Endredy ISBN 1-879181-78-9
- The Gospel of the Toltecs: The Life and Teachings of Quetzalcoatl (2002) by Frank Díaz ISBN 1-879181-86-X
- The Art of Stalking Parallel Perception - The Living Tapestry of Lujan Matus (2005) by Lujan Matus ISBN 1-4120-4984-9
External links
- The Art of Living Purposefully, Victor Sanchez's official website (Spanish and English)
- An interview with Victor Sanchez, by Jordan S. Gruber for GNOSIS Magazine (September 17, 1998)