15th of March,
Steve Law:
This thing we are trying to do is the most terrifying thing one can imagine, to journey into realms beyond knowledge and reason, a billion light-years from home.
You need every single cell of your body to be committed and ready to risk everything. I'm not sure I will ever be ready for that, but I'm at least willing and able to contemplate it.

14th of March,
rjp:
Qu: Has Carlos Castaneda failed?
A: A warrior is unconcerned with success or failure.

12th of March,
Miguenzinho:
To a "normal" mail list, i.e., one not composed of warriors, I would say, "Yes, it's a drag having to answer the same old questions over and over again when new people come on the list, isn't it?",
To a gathering of warriors who said such a thing, I would say, "Why let slip through your grasp the opportunity to tell again the tales of power? Why choose to be 'tired' of them?"

11th of March,
Vincent:
I vote NOT to repost material that you yourself did not write. If you wrote it, great, if not, then you'd better ask permission from the original author first. Personally, who wants to go digging up the past anyway. My vote is for you to paraphrase and say what was said again but say it for the present moment. In the spirit of the the here and the now. Restate it in the spirit of the warriorhood as you would address infinity. Leave the past to the past and so much personal history, let your heart say what needs to be said in the here and the now of eternity. Allow your energy body to speak to that of others. Read it from the Wall.

10th of March,
pb:
Since one of the aims of not-doing is to break the chains of habit, a very easy not-doing consists of using your non-dominant side for everyday tasks such as brushing your hair, shaving (electric razors are a lot safer), or, best of all, eating.

10th of March,
Pam Jennings:
In the act of trying or in not-trying you are still "trying" . Don't try to make comparisons but also don't Not-try to make comparisons. If there is a comparison there its just there enjoy it, but don't search one out. Just let it wag.

10th of March,
Ryan Lee:
...mental masturbation...much more debilitating and perverse than actually fucking.

7th of March,
NoJoken:
Impeccability is a frictionless environment.

5th of March,
Harry:
You're on the right track. But entropy has an equal and opposite force: Chaos. One can't exist without the other. Anything which reaches a complete state of entropy cannot move anylonger, without outside intervention.
---
Maybe it'd be better to think of the universe as a manic depressive. As soon as you get too depressed something will turn you manic.

4th of March,
Harry:
There are emotions and there are sensations. It is very very important to distinguish between the two. Sensations are hot, cold, pain, etc. Unfortunately many times we have associated sensation and emotion. In fact most people cooridinate "happy" with a filled stomach and sexual satisfaction.
---
To put it in more academic terms, you need a cosmology and a metaphysics. Don Juan certainly has both.

3rd of March,
jmartinez:
Most of the talk i have seen people believe that they must somehow eliminate emotions, as of yet i have not seen any reference to this in any of cc's books. One can experience emotions but not let them take over control. It seems that a lot of people on this list believe that the answer is somehow in suppresion, suppresion of emotions, of sexual drive, of thoughts. These people are all indulging, suppresion is an indulgence.

28th of Feb,
jmr:
That's the inherent paradox with arguments: Before you get involved in one, you need to have some point you passionately adhere to. But in order for it to be a good argument, there has to be the possibility of seeing the opponent's viewpoint... which sort of sets a theoretical limit to the extent of your passion.

28th of Feb,
rjp:
All things may be possible. My response was in an effort to point out that defending our beliefs and convictions simply continues our self-reflection.
---
My point was that the heart is clear and direct and doesn't require analysis or explanations. If one wants to remain in the bondage of self-reflection, then let the mind be your rudder. Otherwise, disengage the mind. Let it fall by the wayside with your words and your convictions until it is utterly silent. Then, listen to what your heart is saying.

27th of Feb,
rjp quotes:
"I was a sculptor at the time and I studied art." DJ said, "Why don't you make a paper-mache" life-size sculpture of a man, attach a tape recorder to it that regularly says "ME" [CC intones this wordvery low in his throat], and stick it in the back yard, so you have a reminder of what you are. "He drove me insane with this nonsense of the flyers." But it's a fact of energy, that can be proven to us even at our toe level of awareness. "Don't you find it maddening that all human beings are at that level? Despite the age, culture, orientation -- it's all about ME. Why all this conniving consistency? You can't explain this in sociological or psychological terms. We have all been eaten down to this level." DJ "found it disgusting." DJ said "Flyers and we have a symbiotic relationship: we give them food and they give us our beliefs.

27th of Feb,
rjp:
Will, as written about in the books of Castaneda, is not a by-product of reason nor of one's "mental muscles". Arguing can sharpen one's center of reason but sorcerers strive to move *beyond* this center. To indulge in one's power of reason is to further one's self-reflection.

27th of Feb,
rjp:
I wrote about speaking from the heart in one message in response to someone fearing being removed from the list. Imo, when one speaks from the heart, one's words are free of the judgements that one often finds in the talk that comes from the mind or from the state of self-reflection and ideology. Speaking from the heart is free of ill-will and of the "me me me" syndrome. Imo, of course.

But this forum is not about about finding true opponents to argue one's own ideology with (which is just a form of mental masturbation). Men love to taxonomize and argue things to the death with one another, but it doesn't change anything.
........I think more people would be forthcoming if they knew that someone else was going to actually discuss the issues with them, rather than argue about whether they are right or wrong.

1st of Feb
Jeff
For a whole weekend I blindfolded myself and got around without vision. I found out that I could visualize my apartment from memory and move around with no problem.
I've done this one a couple of times: For one whole week avoid using the word "I".

4th of Feb,
Harry:
Of course. And guess what you're still growing. If you look real carefully at those around you they stopped growing at some point. Some stopped growing at your daughter's age.... ...Many are still stuck in High School. ...  ... Others are still drinking beer at the frat. And some never got born. Thank whoever that you were born and have died at least once, already.
Some jerk once said "I'd rather my life be my art". And I liked that. Now I'd change it: "I want my death to be my masterpiece." And if someone other than Jim reads that and thinks I'm talking about suicide; then you're subscribed to the wrong list.  

6th of Feb.
NoJoken wrote:
"Don Juan concieved that since the totality of human behaviour was ruled by language, human beings have learned to repsond to what he called syntactic commands, praising or deprecatory formulas built into language-for example, the responses taht each individual makes, or elicits in others, with slogans such as No problem, Piece of cake, It's time to worry, You could to better, I cant do it, My butt is too big, I'm the best, I'm the worst in the world, I could live with that, I'm coping, Everything's going to be okay, etc., etc. Don Juan maintained that what sorcerers whave always wanted, as a basic rule of thumb, is to run away from activities derived from syntactic commands."
--Magical Passes pg 26 second paragraph
...
This is true because if I say _FUCK YOU, YOU GODDAMN HYPOCRITTER!!! You are horrified, or you laugh, or you disregard it...in any fashion your response will be within the totality of human language. If I were to make a list of possible reponses one of your responses would be on that list.

9th of Feb.
NoJoken
When you first began to learn how to drive you had to make the consciouss choice to accelerate and to adjust the steering wheel for the car. Now, today, years later, you no longer seem to "think" about having to do this, it is as we say, second nature. This is the automatic pilot.
Sorcerers make every act deliberate. They bust up thier routines so they can uncover when they are on "autopilot". If you were to make the conscious chioce to change your routine of driving you would become aware of the "habit" it has become.

9th of Feb.
Harry wrote:
So try whatever feels right. That being IMPECCABLE. And if you want to do something DO IT ALL THE WAY. That's Controlled Folly!. And get rid of all those old connections that muck up your brain. Recapitulation.
And quit worrying about your self importance. It's self important to worry about self importance. When you're too self important the world will shit on you.

9th of Feb.
Johannes Martinez wrote:
Self-importance isn't just about wanting to be admired, perhaps that is just the type of self-importance that you engage in most of the time. It can be something as stupid as wanting to be trod on by other people, i.e., you serve some sort of function whether you are admired or not.

9th of Feb.
NoJoken wrote:
Sorcerers make every act deliberate. They bust up thier routines so they can uncover when they are on "autopilot". If you were to make the conscious chioce to change your routine of driving you would become aware of the "habit" it has become.

Steve Luff wrote
on the 9th. of Feb.
We want to be admired. Isn't it funny that by undoing all that makes one feel important, we become respected and admired by many?

Marilyn,
an extract from "Tomas",
22nd of Feb.
"...There is nothing I can say about my experience with these books, other than it has been "real" to the greastest degree imaginable. So "real" in fact, that it has even led me to redefine the term "reality" for myself."

Harry,
the 10th of Feb.
Why tensegrity? Why exercises instead of just words? Because we aren't just WORDS!

Reuben,
13th of Feb
So what if he lied, so what if none of it is true, so what if he stole it and is just playing us for a buck? What an amazing way to beat him at his own game, us being impeccable to the end.
---
...maybe they change so much to avoid the morbidity of them as they could tend to become ritual instead of not-doings?

NoJoken,
17th of Feb
One level of the Lack of selfreflection means you no longer think of yourself as A WANTY, NEEDY, person, who DONT & CANT & TRIES all the time.
Lack of self-reflection means you dont go over and over scenes in your mind of what You SHOULDA done.....What you COULDA done.

Harry,
18th of Feb
I think you've answered your own question. How do most of us live? In stream of consciousness. Our words are our lives. We walk around in a word made up by our philological perception. We don't experience rain. We experience "it is raining" going on in our heads. We don't experience what we are doing. We experience "I wonder what would happen if. . .or if. . ." "God did I do the right thing? If only I'd. . . " followed by "David letterman was really funny last night" followed by "Damn that car for cutting me off."

B.H.
18th of Feb.
Psychological paradigms give me a break you can not think your way through this. You want to understand,and feel self reflection. Try this one. Mess your hair all up. Put on the most ugly clothes...

Juan Yera,
18th of Feb
Self reflection to me then is simply your mirror image. When you see you reflection in the mirror, what you see, that is what you think you are. It makes you what you are. The subject of your self dialogue. I am Good, I am bad, I am not liked, I am liked, I am not that way, that which you use to define yourself, is you.
I guess the real question is how do I stop my self reflection "give me steps that I can follow" Some things I can suggest is to stop saying "well I'm not going to do that" or "I'v got to trim my nails" don't say it - "Do it" - Instead of saying to yourself "I'v Got to trim my nails" Just don't say it to your self, just go and find the nail clippers and do it. That makes you automatically more silent if you just do it.

Harry,
22nd of Feb
I haven't lost my sexual desire. I've lost the concept that every member of the opposite sex is an object to masturbate inside of.

Allan,
26th of Feb
My experience with a tantric partner gave me a new perspective on sexual energy. Through her guidance was able to have an incredible explosion of energy by directing the energy of the orgasm inward. Cannot explain the rush of energy it was completly different than a typical orgasm. Could not explain how to do it, and it has never happened again.
The topic on recapitualation seems to be still roaming around, if anyone is interested in learning more about it. Turn to your local AA meeting the concept has been incorporated into their meetings long before ole CC put it to paper. My perception is: We all have many thoughts of experiences and experiences with people. Thoughts that we continually hang on to and let them twirl about in our minds. Thinking about how things wouldv'e been different if I had only done _____. These thoughts until we properly review them and let them go consume our attention, and where our attention is. Our energy is.

8th of Feb,
Knable wrote:
I'm wondering, and I hope people will respond, does Silence mean getting away from those pre-word thoughts, too? Does anyone else experience it that phrases and ideas pop out quick at first in the mind, then are translated into longer sentences? I mean, like if you have the impulse "I need to cross the street," but human habit has you say it out into your head. I didn't use to notice the pre-thoughts, but (and I'm repeating because I don't think I'm being clear) now I realize that all these thoughts come very quickly. To be Silent, do the pre-thoughts stop, too?

27th of Feb,
K.K. Tan:
Say somethign about New Age, and you have several members here respond with their usual "standard" [formula]. Despite what DJ and CC says about "being unpredictable", "breaking the routine", and what the posters here say about the same things, they are doing exactly the opposite -- behaving predictably, even to the extend of behaving like a computer program: "Press a key to go to main menu".

Answers to a personal question