“Toltec” is a word that comes from the Nahuatl language, which means “Tula inhabitant”. This prehispanic culture developed a very intricate school of thought, which has transcended the frontiers of time, and has lingered due to its timeless nature that describes the deepest of the human essence.

For the wise Toltec, life was a work of art… Each life meant the represantation of a dream, and during their lifetime, they seeked relentlessly to fulfill three masteries:

• Maestry of Awareness: it consists of finding the awareness of being, of who we are, and of everything we can achieve.

• Maestry of Transformation: it tried to establish a mindset of how to get rid of domestication. 

• Maestry of Love: the unconditional feeling towards life, everything that the creation means, and to the spiritual part of the being.

The 4 Agreements of Toltec Wisdom

Without a doubt, a huge lesson of life created throughout the teachings of the wise Toltec, has to do with these Four Agreements, which if followed, can become a guide to achieve happiness and plenitude, though chasing and impeccably applying them to personal life might require significant commitment. This change of prior agreements can only be achieved through a great will.

1. Be impeccable with your word

It is said that this is the most important one, as words are the starting point of the power to create. But, how can we be impeccable with the way we express ourselves? Since childhood, we have listened to a series of judgments about us from others. Being impeccable consists of accepting our own decisions without judging ourselves and avoiding judging others. Through words, we use our personal poison to express negative feelings like hate, jealousy, and envy. When we are impeccable with our words, we avoid transferring those feelings to our interpersonal relations, and at the same time, we protect ourselves from others’ words and judgments.

2. Do not take anything personally

When accepting and believing what others say about us, we hurt ourselves, without knowing that when someone expresses something against us, they are describing themselves. When we take those comments personally, we let their poison affect us, and we get caught in what is called “personal importance”.

3. Do not make assumptions

Giving our own interpretation of others’ words or actions is easy. We assume what it meant, and that leads us to create hypothetical situations, which in the end will hurt us and make us take it personally, imagining a problem where there is none. It is important to avoid those assumptions at all times; it is better to ask in order to clarify our doubts, which will take us one step forward to being impeccable with our word.

4. Always do your best

The fourth agreement is the activator of the last three. Sometimes, doing our best will let us achieve something outstanding, while sometimes it may not; however, it is important to always aim for excellence in everything we do. When we start doing it, we will start living with more intensity.

The Toltecs

The most representative symbol, both for the Toltecs, and to many other prehispanic cultures was Quetzalcoatl, whose registers date back to the time of the Olmecs in the year 1,500 before Christ. Quetzalcoatl was much more than a god, he was the symbol of the duality between the spiritual and earthly realms. On one hand, the quetzal, a bird with a colorful plumage referred to the soul and everything intangible, while the snake (coatl in Nahuatl) due to its distinctive way of moving, crawling on the ground, represented the human condition.

History of The Toltecs

The wise Toltecs, inhabitants of Mexico’s central plateau during the 10th Century, occupied the current territory of several Mexican Republic states: Mexico City, Morelos, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Tlaxcala.

There is proof that their origins included the Chichimecas’ ancestors, back when they were still nomadic people.

Part of their great importance lies in the distinctive richness of their wisdom, which encompassed intricate knowledge structures based on the being, both, at an individual and a collective level.

Toltec Painting 

It is known that Toltec painting included frescos, due to what remains of structures that have been studied; unfortunately, there are a few pictographic vestiges left of this culture, which has made it difficult to establish what kind of iconography or techniques they used.

Mexico is a country filled with archeological vestiges of prehispanic cultures, who left majestic cities and countless mysteries for science. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, there is an assortment of archeological tours in Cancun, which are operated by the Viajes Caribe Maya agency.