On Friday, Oct. 6, Armando Cruz Sanchez, a practitioner of Toltec knowledge, hosted a Zoom from his home right outside of Oaxaca, Mexico to discuss the history of the indigenous communities there.
His presentation included information about Toltequity, the Toltec pyramid of growth, Toltec Cosmonomy and the modern approach to Totequity Kinam.
“When I asked Armando, he said he would talk to anyone who was willing to hear and listen,” event organizer Angelica Browne said.
Browne, a lecturer in the department of world languages and cultures at Cal Poly, met Sanchez at an event in the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens.
Sanchez had obtained knowledge about native cultures in Mexico and now works to spread that knowledge around the world by leading spiritual workshops and expeditions.
Toltequity, or Toltekayotl, is the sum of all the knowledge many cultures in ancient Mexico shared.
“Toltequity is a human growth approach to achieve excellence,” Armando wrote in an email to Mustang News. “It is based on two fundamental truths: we are energetic beings and we are perceptive beings. Energy is the raw material of this system, and awareness is the wished product.”
The presentation took around two hours and Sanchez traced back to what he has learned about Toltec culture, starting in his college years. He joined an organization called “The Art of Living Purposely” where he was able to engage in workshops and visit the indigenous communities. Sanchez interacted with indigenous communities to learn about their practices and way of life and he now tries to convey that to audiences who want to listen.
“When we met these Toltec survivors, at the beginning we were insecure about how to behave or how to participate in the ceremonies, but they asked us to participate, they said: ‘Don’t you say that you want to learn? So, start to learn, teach yourself…,’” Sanchez wrote.
Sanchez has seen an indigenous ceremony where they have sacrificed a tree or they have sacrificed a cow. They always explain to the being why they are going to take their life and offer something in exchange.
“They always respect and give thanks to Mother Nature,” Sanchez said.
He said he has dedicated himself to living by the principles of Toltequity, and that drives his passion to share it with others.
Browne invited friends and many others from the different departments, including the religious studies, ethnic studies and the philosophy department at Cal Poly to the event.
She also said she thought that people studying Spanish at Cal Poly would be interested. The Latinx club made an appearance at the Zoom event with some of its members.
“If you ask someone from this [indigenous] culture, especially if he is a shaman, for help or for any information they have to give it to you because this is their mission,” Browne said. “We just needed one person to touch somebody’s heart, and the seeds will spread.”