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reflecting on thoughts

When I used to think of people, myself included, as being asleep or unconscious, I had seen this model for reality, that it was so difficult to wake up because we were in a dream within a dream within a dream…

I recently verified this from my latest perspective, observing thoughts arising –
When we perceive thoughts arising and falling away, we are pretty close to being ‘awake’ or seeing actual reality. But when we think about thoughts the dreaming/sleeping begins. While observing thoughts arising, there is nothing to be done about them, they belong to no one, they mean nothing, etc. But as soon as we think about the thoughts arising, we give them some power, some reality in that they are worth acting upon, believing in, doing something about, meaningful to me, because they are ‘my’ thoughts…

The amazing thing is, it isn’t even ‘us’ who are thinking about the thoughts. Thought is thinking about itself! Thought is self-reflecting in order to create ‘reality’. As I’ve stated elsewhere, there is no ‘me’, just a bundle of thoughts, collected, given adhesion, gravity, by awareness localizing itself to the body-mind. Just look at the internal dialogue (I intentionally didn’t say ‘your’ internal dialogue). When you try to stop it, it keeps going, in spite of you. It has a mind of its own. It isn’t ‘you’ or ‘yours’. Thought is reflecting upon itself to create the universe. It is doing this IN awareness, which IS what we are, and we can make awareness be still and thought will stop self-reflecting and the world will stop. We don’t actually make awareness be still – we remember the silence, the stillness that awareness is behind everything.

Anyway, this sheds light on breaking the mirror of self-reflection. The self, which is a collected bundle of thoughts, self-reflects as a collective, just as thoughts self reflect, and this creates the illusion of the ‘me’ or ego or self-important human form.

So I just thought it was cool, the dream within a dream thing – thoughts arising; thoughts self-reflecting; thoughts thinking in collective bundles giving rise to the idea of self; self interacting and reflecting other selves’ thoughts (talking to others, thinking about others, caring what others think of us, etc.; self interacting with its reflection as if it were an actual world ‘out there’…

stalking (others) pointers

First, it’s going to be a big help if you’re stalking amongst people you don’t know or haven’t ever met before. Always use such opportunities to practice not being yourself exactly.

Second, try to set up a situation where you have to succeed. If you’re just doing it to experiment or have some fun, you might not have the proper inspiration to really go for it with both feet, if you know what I mean.

Third, it’s true stalking when you fool yourself. You can’t be knowing who you “really” are while you’re stalking someone else, some other self. If you loosen your personal history and beliefs and such sufficiently, stalking becomes quite easy. There is no ‘self’ who you really are anyway.

via negativa

The problem I have with Castaneda’s teachings, and most teachings, is that they give you something to do; something to add to your already overfull zen cup.

What we are ‘trying’ to get at with the mind is already here beneath the mind, in back of it, sourcing it, prior to it.

You don’t need to recondition the mind. You need to lose the mind; drop it; stop it; quiet stillness and silence…

But this isn’t something you have to do!
Just LOOK!!! It’s already there/here, behind the content of your mind.
It has always been. It’s what you truly are.

Just SEE this, directly… and everything else will take care of itself.

If you need this Castaneda-ized to make it worth your while – the island of the tonal is floating in the vast sea of awareness that is the nagual. You are the awareness, not the content. Yet you are all of it, content too. The content isn’t different than the awareness. It seems different when you’ve identified with it.

not-knowing IS the unknown

Hi!

If anyone wants to bare with me, I’d like to emphasize the practice of not-knowing. It is essential to deconstructing one’s view of the world/certainty.

It’s funny how an idea can be with one for a long time and yet one may never truly acquaint oneself with it. For me, I was associated with a nagual that I’d meet with now and then for a period of over a dozen years. One of his concepts was that human beings, as awareness, had the task of making known the unknown – evolution. Part of my efforts were to perceive this unknown as a void, the void: one vast nothing materially, yet all things potentially. But it was many years before I understood what the unknown was/is.

Anyway, as you can see for yourself, the mind can’t think about the unknown. All of its material, its inventory, is composed of knowns – knowledge.

People don’t normally realise that they can drop knowing anything, and THAT THAT STATE IS THE UNKNOWN.

This is what all the not-doings are for, why it was significant that CC should see a dying animal in a piece of cloth.

Not knowing anything for certain has a magical effect. It bridges the first and second attentions. Think about it – if you don’t know anything for certain, how do you know which attention you are in? How do you know you’re not dreaming now?
Don’t answer! The point is not to answer, but to pause, and lengthen the pause. How do you know this is ordinary? How do you know that you’re not already dead and this is the afterlife (check out the movie “The Others” with Nicole Kidman).

The fact is, and it is a fact – if you never question, never investigate what you take for granted, you won’t know it’s a fact – you can’t know anything absolutely. The fact is that there is no difference between the first and second attentions. I know that sounds stupid, but it’s true. Awareness isn’t divided up, save by minds that divide it for their convenience. This isn’t just a logical conclusion. I know what I’m describing. The thing that makes them seem different is your belief – your “knowing” that they’re different. If they were actually different, you wouldn’t be able to go from one to the other. You don’t really “go” anywhere. Everything, all attentions, are right here, right now.

Anyway, practice not-knowing and see for yourself. You can do it right now. Everything you know is merely an agreement to know. Stop agreeing that you know anything. Not always. Just to familiarize yourself with your true nature, so you won’t take things so seriously, so definitely.

If you want to access the unknown, it’s right here. Just stop knowing anything. You don’t know anything anyway. So stop believing that you know something.

dreams of oneness

Since I’ve had this experience of oneness, this clear, direct perception of THIS, my dreams have changed. I’ve avoided talking about this experience because then people will use it to weigh and measure and believe or not believe, which I guess happens pretty much anyways whether I tell you this or not.

DJ said becoming a man of knowledge is not a final act or accomplishment. The non-dualists say the same about “enlightenment”. We have these ideas and concepts of what liberation is, but they’re all wrong. I tell you, nothing changes except your belief, your certainty. “Chop wood, carry water”… have you heard that one? Or Buddha said “Nirvana is samsara; samsara is Nirvana.” And DJ says everything is still folly… nothing changes! Things don’t stop becoming folly!

Anyway, I had this experience, which is a word that non-dualists wouldn’t use because it refers to duality and I’m trying to speak of oneness… an experience stands out from everything else that is not that experience, and this wasn’t like that. This had always been and always is and will be. I just hadn’t noticed it before. And this direct encounter with reality, what is, actual life… is what gives me this certainty of oneness or non-duality that I toss around here. I don’t need anyone to believe me. I just try to appeal to your reason. Oneness is the only fact, or at least the root fact. All duality is description. Oneness seems like a description from the perspective of duality, but it’s no different than having to give the nagual a name just so we can talk about it, but it’s not an item on the island of the tonal.

Anyway, since this event, my dreams have changed. I don’t know if it’s for good, but it’s been very consistent. Just about every day, every time I’m waking up from slumber, I’m seeing oneness. Sometimes directly, like it’s not a dream of oneness – just oneness. But sometimes they’re dreams about oneness. And it’s fascinating how many different dreams you can have about this one thing. The dream is different each time, but it’s clearly an encounter with oneness.

Like this afternoon as I woke up (I work nights) there were two dreams of oneness. One was just like the description of the island of the tonal. There were all these objects, from a car to a planet to a bug, anything, but it was on this table that you couldn’t see the edges of, and it was black, like it wasn’t there but it was. Come to think of it, all the items were black to, like shiny shadows. And my awareness, the emphasis, was that the table is what all these items share in common.
In the second vision, it was like I was attending all these events that were unique and different in their nature and beliefs and expression, but as I rested into the present of each event, the distinguishing characteristics fell away into oneness and there was no difference. I had the sense of looking through a clear glass that had water spots and dirt in places, but when the glass was cleaned, you couldn’t even know that the glass was there.

Anyway, I’ve been having dreams like this almost every day for about a month. I wake up feeling incredible and alive and happy.

The Newer Seers

:blink:

Yes, it’s time to sit down and take a look at where our lineage has gone askew!
C’mon, you’re not going to tell me that Carlos didn’t fuck up. There wasn’t much he didn’t fuck, according to some sources. B) And then getting creamated from without (as opposed to the fire from within. 😉 heehee!)

Seriously, and don’t call me arrogant! Someone’s got to do this. So chime in if you have any corrections or amendments to CC’s books and/or current day so-called warriors.

#1 – I think we need to realise that these books contained information given specifically to Carlos Castaneda from a sorcerer-seer-warrior-stalker. I know that you know that, but to realise it means that you’re aware that DJ is going to say whatever he has to to get CC to get it. And that means he’s going to tap into CC’s tonal to find out how to stalk and teach him. Remember at the fire with the apprentices they ran into looking for crystals, and DJ went behind the rock and came out and each one saw something different because he tapped each of their tonals?
Anyway, you have to seriously consider that some things in the book were specifically for CC’s personality and temperament (I checked the spelling, BratscheWarrior. I know! It looks funny. 😉 ) and that they may be useless (or moot! 😆 ) to someone of a different temperament.

Not everyone needs to go hunting.
Not everyone needs power plants.
Not everyone has to talk to plants…

DJ, as a warrior-seer, is so spontaneous and present that he can pick up on anything and immediately improvise a not-doing or whatever is needed to hook CC. And we’re sitting there reading and taking notes for ourselves:
“b-u-y a-n e-l-e-p-h-a-n-t g-u-n…”
“s-m-o-k-e m-o-r-e w-e-e-d…”
“s-t-a-r-t t-a-l-k-i-n-g t-o p-l-a-n-t-s…”
😆

So some things obviously apply to anyone seeking to become a seer or warrior. But some things were specific tasks designed specifically for CC’s tonal and written into the books as if for anyone.

Your tonal may be imbalanced in a totally different way than CC’s.

CC didn’t claim that these books are a “How-to” manual!

So Newer Seers rule #1:
CC’s books are not “The Holy Bible of Nagualism”
nor are they “The Complete Works on Nagualism”

Newer Seers rule #2:
Self-importance isn’t THAT important!

What I mean is that it’s not so important that you get absorbed in recognizing it in everyone and in yourself. Notice it, sure. But don’t be a fanatic.
We have to seek the root. That should be a common theme: “seek the root”.
What is the root… why was the task of eliminating self-importance assigned? Because it was seen that self-importance is the greatest consumer of energy.
So the point, the emphasis, the root, is to save energy!
Don’t get hooked on self-importance! That doesn’t save energy! Self-importance is a means, not the goal! Do you hear what I’m saying? Self-importance has become something ugly, a sin, an evil-doing! Don’t do that. That doesn’t save energy.

Self-importance isn’t important. The important thing is saving energy.
Self-importance just happens to be the greatest expenditure of energy among humans. That was seen, without emotions, without judgement.
They didn’t see that self-importance was bad!
They didn’t see that no one should ever be self-important!
They saw that it consumes enormous amounts of energy. That’s all.

Don’t mistake the woods for the trees.

(I have no idea what that means. It seemed appropriate. :unsure: )

Anyone else got some insights?

kudos

I would like to share my admiration for those of you who have not indulged in pointing out how frequently I post, and how this is yet another sign of how I’m not a warrior. If you’ve truly gotten over these measurements, it is a sign of how well you’re doing. 😆

Sincerely though. It’s no small accomplishment.

All measurements are personal and arbitrary, as they assume oneself to be the the ideal instead of just another description. In other words, the only measure one can make starts from oneself, one’s ideas, concepts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge.
If you don’t possess ALL knowledge, your measure is partial, personal and arbitrary.
Even if you think you’re measuring someone against the warrior’s way, you can’t do this! If you are not the complete warrior, your measure will be partial and incomplete.

As a warrior, one can never know enough of the totality to make a conclusion about anything or anyone. This is not a warrior’s concern. Hopefully, you’ve dropped this as well.

You can make false measurements and think that you know something; or you can revel in the mystery and assume your place in it, as it. (as DJ said)

power

You know, probably everyone gets into Castaneda, or something spiritual with the idea that they will acquire something that they don’t have now.
(Thanks, Mr. Obvious!)

The root of this, IMO, is the search for power. We’ve felt lost, victimized, powerless… and at some point we get angry and want to have some control, and we start controlling people and things around us. Simply acquiring knowledge, as in Castaneda’s system, a knowledge that most people won’t be familiar with, makes us superior and more powerful and in control, in the know… we have the truth, or at least more truth than ‘they’ do.

This should all be observed. Watch your intent. And remember that power is one of the natural enemies of man. It, too, is just as illusory as fear and clarity.
All your ambition, all your goals, are related to power and acquiring something.

I’m not saying give it up and be an average human.
I’ve been saying there’s nothing average about being human.

Anyway, I’m not prescribing behaviour for anyone either. I’m just reminding you what you have to look forward to. Search, find, acquire… go crazy. The result will be the same as when you thought you were powerless. Then what?

Don’t just agree with me. Don’t give up your search. Find out for yourself. I’m just saying this so maybe you’ll find out quicker.

something to consider

When practicing whatever method to enter silence, perhaps consider this:

Let the emphasis be on no thinker, rather than no thoughts. If the thinker is not present, it matters not if there are thoughts or no thoughts.

This may be impossible for the mind to grasp. As soon you as think “How to achieve no thinker?”, you’re thinking!

You can’t think your way into no thinker. Maybe that’s why it’s easier to work on thoughts. But that work is often just chasing our tails.

I just see for myself that it was a revelation to see the true root of this issue – the thinker. Treating the thoughts is like treating the symptoms of a disease. It’s not a cure; it’s a treatment, and you’ll have to keep coming back for your treatment until you deal with the thinker.

There can be only One.

“There is only one being.
When corrupted by self-identification, it is known as an individual.
When merely tinted by the sense of presence, it is the impersonal witnessing.
When it remains pristine and untainted in primal repose, it is the Absolute.”