Anzaldúa introduces two different concepts in her pieces “Entering into the Serpent” and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. In the chapter “Entering into the Serpent”, the author defines the concept of La facultad as the capacity to see in surface phenomena the meaning of deeper realities, and also to see deep structure below the surface. I found the first concept very confusing at first, but it is easier to grasp when you see that La facultad has different depths within it. The first depth of La facultad is a survival mode, where you are sensing threats to you instinctually. The second depth is a sort of spiritual awareness that you experience deep within your soul. In the chapter “ How to Tame a Wild Tongue” she mentions a concept relating to language and identity, and how wild tongues can’t be tamed; they can only be cut out.
The concept of La facultad reminds me of the concept of The Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction is defined as the belief that positive thoughts are magnets for positive life experiences, and negative thoughts are magnets for negative life experiences. Basically, it’s a theory that our brain sends out a signal, either positive or negative depending on what you are thinking. When ¬your thoughts are on the same channel as someone else, it opens your mind to a sense of awareness. So in both of these awareness’s, you have the ability to sense danger.
Anzaldúa mentions that outcasts, females, and people who feel psychologically or physically unsafe in the world are sensitive to La facultad. I happen to have all of those qualities.
I believe I have experienced La facultad before, and I think going into the first depth of it, survival mode, has probably saved my life. I have been in situations where I sensed danger through the back of the hairs on my neck standing up, and I got out before I was harmed.
Whether it was walking alone at night, or walking by a sketchy looking person, or even evading a stranger that was following me, having...