The Sorcerer's World

I have noticed that many warriors talk about change in some area of their life, but what I'm wondering is how many of us really implement change when given an opportunity. At D's recommendation, I just saw the movie Revolutionary Road and it brought to light lots of questions about the path and my own life.

In the context of the movie, which takes place in the late 50s, a young couple finds themselves caught up in the consensus reality. Right house, right job, good kids, right neighbors, the whole kittendaboodle but the wife is bold enough to point out the elephant in the room and admit she isn't happy with the play as it's playing through for her. They've become trapped by their circumstances and freedom eludes them as they grow older day by day. She devises a plan whereby they can change their lives in a semi-reasonable manner, and the rest of the film explores how they go about doing that, whether they have the strength to stand against the dictates of the consensus which tries to pull them back into their old roles at every turn, and finally asks the question of the viewer... if you COULD change your life, WOULD you? Which is more important, freedom or comfort zones? Good movie, I'm not going to give away the ending, just thinking it has a lot of relevance to some of the things that have been kicked around on this forum from time to time.

We speak of change but is it all just talk? Do we really want to change or do we only want to fantasize about how the change might affect our lives? Some of this stems from a discussion I was having with Della about the whole idea of transmogrification, and what would be required to really shift the AP permanently into a separate reality. Do we want to be 'free' or do we just want to talk about it, dream about it? Are we perpetual seekers, always looking for freedom, but turning it down when we find the door clearly labeled 'This Way To Freedom?'

What I'm getting at is the question of what is really required to inhabit that separate reality? Can it be done or is it just talk?

Any input appreciated.

Regards,
DW

Glad you caught the movie. Wendy and I are still discussing it over a week after seeing it, which is always a good recommendation.



Interesting dilemmas, no? There have been a couple of times in my life when I've stood face to face with one of those life-altering moments, and it's as if the whole self wakes up and realizes how deeply we are ingrained into our reality and vice versa. Do we want the high adventure offered by this great "change", or do we crave our comfort zones BECAUSE they are comfort zones? Do we stow away on Titanic and surrender our fate to the unknown, or do we stay safe in our homes because it's easier than facing the possibility that we MIGHT die?

When you ask that question - "what is really required to inhabit that separate reality?" - I think it's a matter of surrendering to the nagual, to the unknown. Surrender. There's that word. Falls easily off the tongue, but is it ever really understood? But more than even surrender, it's a willingness to allow the impossible. On a private list I belong to, one of the analogies that has been used is that of a human making the decision to become a vampire (something Terrence McKenna talks about in his book, SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT: THE DAMNEDEST THING). Anyway - I decided to play around with that a bit - really ask myself what that might look like. Remove all the Hollywood bullshit and just deal with the idea of stepping from our MORTALITY into the energy body of an IMmortal. When I really play it out in my head, when I say to myself, "Okay, the moment has come, you have the knowledge of how to do this and the means to do it, to actually BECOME immortal and inorganic and eternal, blah blah blah," what happens is that the assemblage point actually "shivers" (for lack of a better word). Because, quite suddenly, if you're able to visualize it as a reality and not just a fantasy, if you are able to look at it AS IF it is real, it brings you face to face with the realization that the unknown is one scary proposition. And when I say the AP shivers, I don't mean that as metaphor. I mean it literally - like it shifts into the mode of actually inhabiting that separate reality, and the resssult is that it rattles your humanform awareness to its core.

So - CAN we inhabit that separate reality? I believe we can. I've done it for brief periods, but obviously the natural resting place of the assemblage point seems to be in first attention, so even when I don't want to, I find myself back "here". I was recently talking to a nagual whom I respect deeply, and his comments on that notion resonated deeply with me.

"We end up back 'here' because this is the common ground we all share that makes us human. But as we lose the human form we shake off a lot of those bindings and start to live in a separate reality more than we realize, just like you already do, just like I already do. What we think of as death is the severance of our awareness from first attention so we can inhabit our totality. Of course, the brujo's trick is to make that cut without actually dying. He defeats death by entering his totality while still alive. That's what is meant by burning with the fire from within."

I've reread his words several time and they still give me a chill.

D

two things most drew me to this path: the possibility of answering the life stumping questions pondered throughout childhood, and a "community of feeling" (the tao) with all things. human contact somehow plays a special role here in this community statement, because having advanced on the way for a while now, human contact seems to be less and less comfortable. it is a huge challenge to try to teach people the way of freedom in a non-interfering fashion. the bigger challenge is to teach that way to myself.
im hopeful that we can find that comfort zone even in the unknown: be in the game but not of the game? does this make sense?
knowing the possibilities, and facing your death at this moment is the only way to assess the question of what one wants truly

Death is a part of life...change is a part of life. For myself I am finding that in order to step into the new I must integrate the old - bring the past into the now so that there is no past. Making all a part of the whole. In doing so death has a meaning of eternity for me...as I continue to discover and open change is simply a given. I feel often that I am experiencing a death...which I feel is really the movement from one reality to another. I will also say that I am becoming more and more aware that my choices and intentions are so powerful in placing me within a reality. I truly am the one responsible in my journey.

I am going to look for that movie >^..^<

Good post.

Just FYI... REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is still in theaters - probably art-house theaters for the most part, since it is too intense for most mainstream audiences.

Hope you are able to see it. A very thought-provoking film.

When i recapitulate my life, i come to the conclusion that the reason i choose "to walk path x" for example, follow castaneda's book and apply them to my life, the reason for that was reaching a level which maslow called 'self-actualization'. if you're not aware of maslow's hierarchy, i'll give you a quick overview:

self-actualization
esteem
love/belonging
safety
basic needs

everyone has to fulfill their basic needs eg food, shelter, before they can progress up the triangle to different 'states of awareness', as i like to see them. when you reach the top, you find fulfillment, in the sense that you're doing exactly what you want and you've found a place on this earth you can be happy with. reaching this level doesn't cut you off from those needs entirely, however, you are operating from a higher level. for example, a tramp's energy and focus is on fulfilling his/her basic needs, therefore has no energy for fulfilling their dreams.

i think that all the positive decisions i have made, all the advice i've followed from people like castaneda, all of it was designed purely to allow me the opportunity to 'realise my potential'.

once i'm at the top of the triangle, then i'll be inclined to push the boundaries even more - and see what lies beyond the scope of the 'human form', namely how is my life benefiting the entire universe?

this is important, because chunking up on desires: what you find is that if the desire is pure and positive, then it goes beyond the benefit for the self. your action could positively benefit those around you, and like a domino effect this action could change the world just a little.

i'll just quickly throw in some quotes from maslow's book "The farther reaches of human nature", excellent book - by the way. This was part of my research into teaching and learning - as I'm studying to be a teacher. Just thought it might interest you guys.



He goes on to discuss how to teach authenticity, including examples from his T-Group, which you can check out [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-group_(social_psychology)"]here[/url]

i'll end this post with a little sentence which was particularly hilarious at first, but then rang true on a much deeper level. isn't it funny how the truth is always funny? and if it's funny, why not laugh? i guess sometimes the truth is scary funny like real frightening - pants shitting stuff - but once your over the initial 'expansion of awareness' phase, looking back on the transitions you've made in life, you gotta admit some of the truth you learnt is downright hilarious.

Hey, you. Just a couple of things I want to comment on here, for what it's worth.



It's easy to make that assumption, but I've spent a fair amount of time around the homeless, and in the course of working on a screenplay about homeless teens at the moment, I've found that to MANY of these people, they are homeless BECAUSE it is their dream. Sounds odd to most folks who live within the programmed paradigm of the consensus reality; but to many of these folks (I'm referring to those who are NOT mentally ill) they can no more conceive of living a "normal" life than an ordinary man could conceive of being homeless.

No big deal, just wanted to point out that the set of OUR assemblage point does not necessarily jibe with someone else's - what's rational or sane to us may be completely nuts to someone else. Being in the majority doesn't make us right.



Just a hypothetical question... When do you think you will be "at the top of the triangle"? What does that look like? Second point... I think we've mentioned this before, and it may simply be a point where we will have to agree to disagree; but I've seen no evidence that the universe benefits from our existence - except PERHAPS in the sense that every living organism represents one possibility within the realm of all possibility. Meaning - if the universe is struggling to evolve, each organism MAY either support that intent (evolution) or detract from it (maintain status quo). In the other thread (re helping others) I believe it was pointed out that we have an innate desire to help others, but the only way we can really do this is by helping ourselves first. Sounds selfish to anyone conditioned within the CR, but as I've moved further along the Toltec path, I see how true it really is. It's a rather complex (and touchy) subject, but definitely one that crops up often.

Obviously each of us has to follow our own heart, which also connects with some of the things you were quoting re "identity". Knowing who we are defines what we do, and what we DO reflects who we are.

D

once youre at the top, q.e.d. keep on living

my grandad always said his ideal career would've been 'tramp'. He was a card






I think that this pyramid represents the learning process of an average human, if we're talking hypothetically. I believe that this logical progression is linking to the manifestation of intent. For example, when you've got a clear link to your intent, as CC spoke about, you are capable of manifesting your intent and therefore capable of being a self-actualizing person. This idealistic term 'self-actualizing' i think is a deeper concept than what's presented at face value. a self-actualizing person is by definition "someone who is realizing or fulfilling one's talents or potentialities". This complements what CC said about how when you're following the path of heart your intent becomes the eagle's intent. I might be entirely wrong here...

so...when? hypothetically - when I have become a self-actualizing person.. At the moment, i know that i still have to strive to be impeccable in all situations. I have taken the words of CC and I am currently applying them to my life, I can feel myself making progress as one of the things you always say is that you have to make it your own path. I'm discovering what it is like when you fully realise this. I know that a change that big cannot happen over night, it is an ongoing struggle for the rest of my life, but i know that there will be a turning point along the way, or many turning points leading to one big turning point - and that will be when the concepts that have been transmitted fully mature and help me to understand for myself. I can see how my mind is unravelling and gradually getting more 'fine tuned'. I don't know if this will make sense lol.



I think helping ourselves is important. We have to take responsibility, one of the things that was hard for me to do. I've still not quiet got the hang - but i'm getting there. And to clear things up, the things i've said were silly, I write quickly, and i understand it when i'm writing (cos i have the idea in my head as a frame of reference, it makes sense to me, but not to other people) - but i find it hard to express these things in the most obvious way - like you do. I'm agreeing with you, basically *curses his brain*

I think that's more like what I was trying to get at, and let's start afresh here.. as a 'teacher' i see myself as setting the example, all i'm doing is demonstrating techniques and helping students visualise the theory.

so am i helping them? in an in-direct way, sort of. i mean if i was setting a bad example by drinking and smoking crack in the studios or something, then that'd affect the students - in a 'negative' way, so to speak - but any way you interpret it, it affects the student.

i think that it's important for me to set the example of a well-organised professional (in a way ). regardless of whether i'm helping anyone in any way, and it doesn't even matter that i don't think about a lot of this stuff i just do it anyway. it doesn't matter if i'm helping anyone, but it does matter that i be impeccable in the tasks that i put myself through.

i've also been learning about socratic questioning and i reckon that obviously certain parrallels can be found in these works and most philosophy afterwards including our beloved carlitos . the conclusion i draw from it is that you can walk into a class of bio-chemists with no prior knowledge, but still manage to conduct a lecture, using socratic questioning. in practice, all 'socratic questioning' means to me is the place of silent knowledge. perhaps where tonal and nagual meet and the balance is just right..

i have to trust myself quiet a lot because i don't do as much preparation as i should, and in a way i've turned it into a game - i used to get scared and all sorts of shit - but now i see it as fun to throw myself into the lion's den unarmed, plus it creates really unexpected results. When working in the studio, a bit of improvisation can be the catalyst for a great lesson, and if it's suggested by one of the students, even better to take that course. And also, since music production is a practical lesson where students are actually doing everything themselves (IF taught correctly, i mean the last teacher sat them all down and lectured them the whole session, i think he should've been slapped about a bit) they're ALWAYS gaining experience using the stuff.

Anyway, it's just weird how most teachers don't really get how to teach properly. The amount of times i've been bored in lessons or banging my head on the table sitting through other people's teaching. And it's funny cos we're being taught by great teachers. The whole world of academia is completely insane.

i digress...oh well

The whole world is insane. (Period) *heh*

Good post.

Also, i forgot to mention, i try to say very little in lessons. simple fact is that ideas can never be expressed completely through speaking. people construct their own meaning for what you say, which doesn't help.

for example all i do is say tell the students to set up the drum kit, offering advice - WHILST demonstrating, so they're not focused just on the language.

basically what i'm saying is, for me, the best way of conducting a lecture is to get the students to do something, rather than sit there and talk to them.

i'm just spouting my frustration at teachers who sit there and talk to classes, watching their students drift off to sleep or fighting each other with sticks.

I know, so am i, but i wish people could understand me

By the way - watched Religulous about five times, excellent stuff. it's fun to watch over and over to get a sense for each of the people he meets. I mean, they're no crazier than I am, and recently for me it's just been a case of stop pretending i know the answer to everything. and another thing i noticed is that i've definitely boxed myself in a stupid belief and got suitably worked up about it on a number of occassions. it's all down the fact that no-one's right or wrong and it'd probably be better to never bother to lock each other arguments, in trying to defend something.

and that jesus guy was the funniest thing i have ever seen. i love the bit where he's like "do you have my cellphone?"
jesus' cellphone - who would you call if you found it?

but that guy was serious about himself, he had completely blind faith - it was truely crazy.

some of the issues raised in that film were definitely provoking. what did you think about it?

I loved Religulous! I've only seen it once, but am anxiously awaiting it coming out video - definitely one I will purchase.

What it really pointed out, overall, was that belief systems are largely reponsible for 99.9% of the turmoil in this world, including most of its wars. People are so busy fighting over who's god is The One True God that they forget about all of those commandments, like... oh... "Thou shall not kill."

I particularly liked the Jesus theme park. *LOL* I think I had the misfortune to visit that place YEARS ago before it became as big as it is now. It was in Florida, near Disneyworld, and wat I remember most was being greeted at "the gates of heaven" by a Jesus & the virgin Mary. Nothing weird about that, except they were obviously a couple, so... that gave it some strange connotations when I thought about it.