Our
Mission
Our
mission is to contribute to developing awareness and self-realization of
individuals in every aspect of their lives and to promote peaceful coexistence
and solidarity among all the peoples of the world.
Our
Pathway
To
help people all over the world recover the lost half of human
awareness—known as the “Awareness of the Other Self”—that is necessary
to nurture and balance our everyday awareness. We do this through publishing
books, imparting workshops, seminars, and lectures through which we deliver
the AVP technology for enhancing awareness and for personal transformation.
This technology has been developed from the roots of the spiritual inheritance
of the ancient indigenous people from Mexico which we translated in a way that
is appropriate for non-indigenous people of the modern societies.
Our Core Values
1.
Encouraging Personal Responsibility
In
AVP we believe that every person already has within him or herself everything
they need to accomplish the challenge of living a worthy life. We do not
believe in masters or gurus. We believe in personal responsibility as the only
indispensable requisite for the task of knowledge and freedom.
In
AVP we want to go beyond the old paradigm of needing an external being to
follow, such as “illuminated masters.” We believe that the time for gurus
is gone and now is the time for people to lead their own path to
self-realization.
That
is why those facilitating our workshops are not considered to be masters but
coordinators whose expertise with AVP programs entitles them to support
participant’s work. We work with each participant in an ambiance of
companionship and total respect for the individual’s freedom. We value
differences and the use of each one’s criteria for any decision.
2.
Delivering Experiential and Practical Knowledge
The
experience of learning in AVP goes way beyond the traditional formats of just
talking about ideas in a room or closing one’s eyes to meditate.
One
of our main discoveries that grounds all AVP methodology is that the real
transcendental knowledge is the one that transforms and empowers people and
their way of life. This does not come from putting concepts in our head, but
through concrete experiences of what we call “The Silent Knowledge.” That
is why we are used to saying that the sum of a human beings’ knowledge is
his or her everyday way of life.
We
believe that experience is much more powerful than talk. For example: instead
of just talking and explaining all the wonders related with entering into the
awareness of the other self, we rather facilitate experiences for the
participants to experience their other self, by themselves.
3.
Bringing Spiritual Growth Down to the Earth
One
of the main mistakes that often diminishes spiritual and personal growth is
the lack of pragmatism and setting high standards in many of today’s
spiritual-oriented options. In AVP we are committed to offering
self-transformation based on experience rather than on beliefs or ideologies.
That is why we do not promote fantasy or outlandish theories. We are convinced
that the best complement for an open mind is a healthy level of skepticism and
common sense, so that the path we take is always congruent with our practical
needs and goals in life.
4.
Honoring Both Sides of Our Duality
The
ancient Toltecs used the word “Omeyocan” to name the universe. This word
from the Nahuatl language (the language of Toltecs and Aztecs) means “the
place of duality.” They noticed that every human being has two-sided
awareness. The side of the reason was known as Tonal and the side of
the Silent Knowledge (the magical or spiritual side) was known as Nagual.
Sharing
the same vision, in AVP we claim that only by developing and balancing both
sides of human awareness can we achieve integral development.
Trying
to lead our life with just the rational side of our awareness would be similar
to trying to walk on only one foot, while we are two-legged beings. The reason
without the balance of the Silent Knowledge is mad, as we can see when
noticing that science and technology without consciousness is not helping
humanity. The same happens at the level of the individual: reason without the
balance of the other self awareness, leads to confusion and recurrent crisis.
5.
Honoring Our Interconnectedness
Indigenous
peoples all over the world have known since ancient times that everything is
connected and that there is no way to damage something or someone without
damaging ourselves. In the same way, there is no way for self-healing without
healing the world. That is why indigenous people from ancient Mexico were able
to develop sciences and build large cities without devastating nature.
The old indigenous way of greeting each other—“In Lack Each!” (you are
my other self)— is just an instance of their awareness of being connected
with everyone and everything.
Our
modern growing global conflicts arise from ignoring this universal truth.
Nations of the North get richer and richer while nations of the South
get poorer and poorer. For decades the rich countries have grown thinking of
their own development only and considering the poverty in the southern
countries none of their business. Now, little by little, conflict and
migrations because of economic reasons are showing that we cannot forget
others. There is no other choice: either we succeed together or we fall
together.
6.
Recovering Balance With Nature
For
the ancient Toltecs of the past and the surviving Toltecs of the present,
nature is just the visible face of the Great Spirit that keeps everything
connected and nurtured. Therefore, nature is a sacred being, not to be
exploited or destroyed, but to be loved and taken care of.
Modern
man feels completely disconnected from nature but this is a disease that needs
to be healed. Despite our persistence with ignoring our eternal connection
with nature, nature is always there, around, below, and above us.
Feeling
disconnected from nature is one of the main sources for the ever-present
anguish of the modern people. Reconnecting with nature is therefore one of the
more healing processes we can undertake. That is why AVP seminars and
workshops often take place in nature. This way, we can recover our feeling of
connection, learn from nature and keep nurturing our everyday life from that
connection, even in our daily life within the big city.
7.
Teaching Yourself
In
AVP we understand learning as a process based primarily in our own actions.
Ancient Toltecs used the Nahuatl word, “Nimomashtic,” to talk about
learning. This word translates like teaching yourself. Everything
learned was by teaching yourself. There could be external teachers, but the
main sense was always one of learning by yourself through doing. That is why
the figure of the master or teacher in the way we know them in our modern
societies was non-existent among the Toltecs.
For
western people the teacher is above the student and the student becomes the
follower of the teacher. So often, teachers abuse this power to manipulate or
get benefits from their followers.
In
AVP we practice Nimomashtic in order to avoid falling into believing that
knowledge, power or even meaning in our lives comes from someone else.
We live the learning process through action that leads to experience that leads to Silent Knowledge that leads to personal transformation and empowerment. This knowledge goes beyond the conversational level and is experienced as transcendent because it reconnects us with the source and transforms what we are and how we live in our everyday life for the better.