I'm slowly getting back into my reading and research of Carlos Castaneda's extensive works of his studies on Sorcery.
And curious if anyone within this sub has first hand experiences with some personal practice of using, "...death as an advisor". For reference or for context, it's a tool that Castaneda discusses with Don Juan at great length in his book: "Jouney to Ixtlan".
Or, in another fashion; maybe you would like to share your spin on what Castaneda was trying to impart to his readers by using this concept. Any discussion on this topic is helpful and welcome!
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Don Juan had asserted time and time again that the essential feature of his sorcery was shutting off the internal dialogue. In terms of the explanation la Gorda had given me about the two realms of attention, stopping the internal dialogue was an operational way of describing the act of disengaging the attention of the tonal.
https://www.reddit.com/r/castaneda/wiki/index/statement/
Focus on inner silence first... Practice instead of just talking...
Thank you. Have you had any actual experiences yourself when this tool has been instantly useful and significant? Would you like to describe the situation or events in which this concept was applied?
In terms of experiences in the normal awareness of reality, undoubtedly. I had a pretty shitty childhood growing up, and when I first attempted university, I failed due to drinking all the time (and all that goes along with that) and problems of my own creation. When I found Castaneda and started practicing inner silence, I discovered that I didn't really want much of anything and was able to save up to 70% of each paycheque towards various goals. I went to school entirely on my own money and ended up getting on the Dean's List in accounting, even though I've been punched in the head a lot during my life.
That's a minor benefit, compared to the beauty of some of the things that happen on the sorcery path, just take a look around at the pictures on the subreddit and know that most of them occur while awake.
Thank you very much. I understand the childhoods of many of us may have been less than acceptable, from what testimonies I have discovered on quite a few subs here.
I too, had discovered Castaneda's work as a youngster; a 17-year old high school senior. I saw a girl in my homeroom class voraciously reading his, "Tales of Power". And I commented to her about how lovely the artwork was on the cover. An enthusiastic reply from her followed; in that it was a, 'ground-breaking and philosophical fantasy'.
Of course, that was her desciption of this book at that time. I still find it a very inaccurate description, though it piqued my curiousity nontheless in reading all tomes by Castaneda available to me at that time (late 70s).
At any rate, at various times in my life I've completely concentrated on using this technique myself, and as an emotionally and physically abused teenager it was essential to my well-being. I truly believed in my youth that my toxic mother was always scheming over a manner with which to cause my ultimate destruction. I could nearly audibly hear "the grim reaper" admonishing to me in certain instances to just walk away from her, or run! It would put me in a zone in which I'd just ignore her screams for enough time to find myself either jumping out of my bedroom window (which was over 7 feet above the ground). Or, walk past her silently and calmly while she protested bombastically, then minutes later find myself gasping and running nearly two blocks away. In those times, it was as if I couldn't hear myself talking (internal dialogue) or her shouting after me. I probably blacked out from panic, but I would invariably find myself somewhere else alive and nearly estatic that I had once again eluded this tyrant.
I've had the advice of many therapists over the years and tears to guide me. But nothing has come closer in aiding my survival or sucesses as when I've actively employed the techniques as advocated by the writings of Castaneda.
Then you have everything you need. The purpose of this subreddit is to put it into practice. Read the statement carefully and start exploring and start practicing!
Thank you, participating in this sub is part of my practising. I was not looking for advice, and so sorry if I did not make that clear.
'Just curious on the definitions/experiences of others. Or other second attention seekers/students. I am truly interested in descriptions of the alternate realities of other sorcerers.
The Warrior's Way is a way to save energy, what you do with that energy is what counts.
The posts here are about one thing, moving our assemblage points. What we do with the redeployed energy besides sorcery is every single person's choice.
"Any discussion on this topic is helpful and welcome!"
Not any discussion is helpful and welcome, people have nearly killed off the practices through theorizing instead of action, all that counts here is action.
The stated purpose of this subreddit is to aid in restoring the reputation of Carlos Castaneda and the knowledge he imparted, by pragmatically applying that knowledge IN PRACTICE. This means that we are sticking to what really works, as proven by direct experience by long-practicing members. We need to make clear our intent to move away, as a community, from the mistakes others have made. Content that is at-odds with this purpose will, upon review, be removed.
This post is being restored because the comment reply thread that developed, is useful.
Thank you, as I was at a loss to understand why it was removed in the first place. You are a wonderful magical being.
As you can see from the response to the post, we've learned over the past decades that some of the dictums from the earlier books do not seem to help to generate actual answers.
They generate attention seekers instead. Individuals who want to be seen as "powerful warriors like don Juan," rather than to shift their assemblage points and actually see.
All we've done here is demonstrate that a shift in emphasis was required in the community.
Inner Silence, first and foremost. Everything else revolve around that. And we can't confirm that state, to ourselves, unless the second attention has peeked out through the crack that actual silence affords.
I appreciate your input.
I see this as a part of stalking, which is needed for conditioning your tonal to make it let you go into second attention more easily. It leads you to the "impeccability", which gives you a lot of discipline and will for practice
Yeah, I'll be the first to admit I'm out of the 'practice'. Not completely, but enough to where I've inadvertently allowed others to guilt me into their agendas.
I've gotten back into dreaming... 'had some very productive ones, too. Enough to recall within the dreams the inorganic beings that used to plague me many years ago. I'm still sort of wary of them...but told some off in the last few months. It was exhilarating, although I paid them all the respect they seemed to feel I owed them. They usually vaporize now if they perceive I am aware of their presence.
Sorry, I digress. Your post made me realize how much I've forgotten. Perhaps I did not comprehend some disciplines of a warrior as I should have. Thank you for inspiring me to study further.
You're very confused.
Did you even bother to look around in here before posting?
It also feels like you only read the first 3 books, and don't realize there's around 20 publications you badly need to read.
Anyway, you've been reading about "The Men of Knowledge".
Those were the bad guys...
Not at all what you ought to want to be.
And it's impossible to be them anymore anyway, because you need their rituals, their specific plant mixtures, and their specific Allies.
All lost.
Carlos left us his 2 allies, but that spell is long broken.
Impossible to replicate.
UNLESS you become a "seer" like don Juan.
But the Men of Knowledge never learned to see. You can read that for yourself, even in the first 3 books as I recall.
Using death as an advisor didn't work for even a single person, in the 57 years after Carlos first wrote about it.
Not one...
I remember enough not to take your opinions personally. Thank you, your words are noted.
Anything said to you in this subreddit is with the intention you should actually learn for real, and give up on pretending to be learning.
We almost lost everything Carlos wrote about, due to that pretending.
And also profiteering.
But we survived it seems.
I'm not sure Carlos even thought that was possible.
Certainly before he died, he admitted to me that he'd failed to teach even a single person.
And keep in mind, the real thing, real sorcery, can't even be spoken about.
It just doesn't translate to a simple thing like "Use Death as an Advisor".
That's nearly obscene to me, although others in here still like those warrior's way rules.
I'll try to explain why those are so bad, by explaining an actual experience of sorcery.
I got a lecture that was amazing around 2AM this morning, from a class of supernatural entities Carlos advised us to go find. To make up for losing all of our teachers.
In one of those other of the 20 publications you really ought to read.
I wasn't asleep! I didn't get that lecture with my eyes closed.
I was scooping the fibers of the emanations which were filling the air vividly, to see if I could generate hues with them.
They had thickened. There was no denying that the air was filled with fragments of glowing fibers, and at least as thick as pancake batter wherever I tried to scoop it up.
I'd visited a "mud world" a day or two earlier, and wanted to see if I could find it again.
But instead I noticed that my body was out of sync with space.
I was in some kind of "space pocket" slightly shifted away from our normal idea of where space is located.
Someone in chat describe that the other day, not realizing what had happened to them. They clearly reached their hand to their face, then realized it was still at their side.
I could go back and forth between my body being located in "normal" space, and being located in that space pocket which had its own rules.
I deduced that I was switching back and forth between my double, and my physical body. And that all of us eventually, will be able to do that very easily. Just by "looking in a different direction".
The lecture went like this, but it won't make sense here.
Our main job is to describe.
As far into the world of the new seers as possible, and even past that, with as much variety of honest descriptions as possible.
We don't have to do much else but describe. That's always what sets new people on a given journey.
Tales from that road.
And more people with those honest descriptions might alter something in society.
It's what don Juan was after at one point in the books of Carlos. To change the modality of our time.
Even the new seers could not have described things as well as we have a chance to do it.
Then, while describing where sorcery goes our goal ought to be to define the exceptions to our beliefs in` realness, which can only be experienced.
As you travel along that road, the things that make our realness seem real will mutate.
And you can notice how, describe that, and get more people to notice it.
Things impossible to explain as more than simple words. Such as dislocation of space, dislocation of time, displacement of your physical matter into a different being.
And Tensegrity is excellent for that, as long as you insist that each turn in the long forms leads to something impossible and irrational.
Something with one of those elements of the continuum of our reality broken.
Unfortunately, all that could only be animated.
Shown.
But not explained. Sorcery just doesn't work at that level.
Thank you. This was what I was/am talking about. Your latest post IS helpful to my understanding. That each person's reality is nearly impossible to explain. And situations and events often become untenable. Words often fail, because we have become conditioned with what we are told to see. And explain, and even hear. Since infancy.
Nope.
Better try again. You're off on the wrong foot.
It seems as if you are determined to pretend your results.
Here's a clue:
If you don't see DAZZLING magic "in your face" which brings tears to your eyes, which are wide open while you're absolutely sober, you haven't experienced any of what's described in the books of Carlos.
If you go around telling yourself, "each person's reality is nearly impossible to explain", it seems obvious to me that you aren't actually interested in the books of Carlos.
Read a bunch of posts for a while, until you get it.
No pretending is ignored in here.
You have your own unique comprehension of the original material. I respect that. I do not respect that you call me a pretender, phony, or liar. It is not respectful of me or any of my so called, "theories" about what I find magical or about learning.
You have no clue how to interact with human beings. But that's your problem. Not mine.
Can't you just go away?
There's plenty of places you can pretend to be learning magic.
This is the only one visible on the internet with real magic, and it's precious to mankind at this point.
It also has the last of Carlos Castanedas practicing private class students.
So you have the benefit of the view of this that Carlos wanted us to have, but you seem to be rejecting that in favor of your own imaginations.
If we had 50 like you in here, we'd have to close it down.
In fact, for the last 4 or 5 years the mods had to toss out an average of 3 "bad players" per week.
To keep them from accumulating to the point that no one can learn anymore.
Those are people who just want to pretend, with a chip on their shoulder.
And absolutely no interest in making it work.
In fact, I suspect they don't even believe it works.
You need to suck my dick and lick my balls nigga
Well, I'm not pretending at all. Just picking up where I left off. I thought others would like to discuss their learnings and experiences as well. That's all. I haven't really even started, and I do think that I've indicated that already.
No one here made any grandiose claims of "knowing" all about any of the lessons Carlos had attempted to teach us. Nor did I claim to be a "sorceress". I do not have to prove myself to anyone, or justify any meaning I've gathered from his significant journals. I simply have found them interesting and useful in the past, and lately.
I'm still learning. All of us are (One might only hope). That is all I was trying to convey. I simply said that in the past, whether by accident or intent... that I remember this particular book to be very satisfying and relatable. I'm not trying to argue or indicate that I have all the answers.
Hence, asking for insights from other students/warriors. What purpose(es) they have for posting or contributing may be unique. I respect these views.
Lose self importance. Force silence, then read this subreddit. You will feel stupid for your frustration, like I did when I was in your exact same position a few days ago when I attempted to interact on this subreddit, calling Dan grumpy.
You have all the material here. Learn and practice.
What Dan is reffering to with "pretending" is the wave of people dazzled by the promise of magic and the way of the warrior, who are not dazzled by the magic since they don't practice it. The way of the warrior can help you in my opinion, but only in the beginning, to collect energy and focus your awareness. Best to start practicing now and not turn it all into some nonsense philosophy. It will lead to no end that way.
I have absolutely no idea where you are getting this intel about me?
No, I never will feel stupid. Perhaps overwhelmed and exhausted. You need to read my post. I have all the humility I need. It is not self-important to refuse to conceed to baseless accusations.
I am new to this subreddit. You should give me a chance to learn more, as this was only my second post in two months. And yes, I've read the by-laws. And I've read 9 books.
"It seems that sometimes I am able to see them at will. Not always, though. At times they surround me like my body is entering a world of fairies! It's funny because as a child I always adored fairies."
One of the inorganic beings who helps teach here is named Fairy, you can get to know her too.
This is the least you can expect on this path (and I'm sure you loved it too). If you read through the statement that I sent you, you would know what is possible, simply by exploring a few of the different links.
While gazing, the air in my room turns different colors, like green or gold and I see objects surrounded by a bluish-white glow around them. The picture that Dan showed you WAS what he saw, and it is what you can see too.
All that is required is silence for absolutely beautiful experiences.
P.S. If you had read the statement, it says:
We cannot stress enough that you shouldn't use “not being prepared enough” as an excuse to delay getting your feet wet. You could in theory read one chapter, learn one pass, and get into the darkroom tonight and have success. All that matters is your sincere effort. Your intent.
It's not personal. It's a filtration system, as far as I figured, so don't take it personally. Practice instead.
And I have been in almost exactly the same situation as you are in right now. I demanded respect. And yes, Dan is a pain in the ass. But if you actually ask about practice, he won't be. This subreddit is not a book club, it's about results, and you can find it all on the wiki. Good luck warrior.
I think many people, in particular some of our younger Redditors, have some difficulty distinguishing confidence from arrogance just from text read online. Thus they interpret some of Dan's writings, inaccurately.
Which is not that surprising, as there's notably less nuance online than in person to person communication.
And it doesn't seem to be getting better. I saw some statistic that said half of teenagers now have below average reading comprehension.
Too many TikToks?
Confidence is scarce, but impeccability is even scarcer. I was about to say that Dan should make sure his words are non-negotiable in terms of understanding, but I think I am wrong.
I noticed that Dan has a pattern here with bad players. I won't speak of this pattern, but he makes their self-importance go in almost exactly the same way, no matter the person. That's his impeccability.
The OP text of this now user-deleted post:
""Death as an Advisor"
I'm slowly getting back into my reading and research of Carlos Castaneda's extensive works of his studies on Sorcery.
And curious if anyone within this sub has first hand experiences with some personal practice of using, "...death as an advisor". For reference or for context, it's a tool that Castaneda discusses with Don Juan at great length in his book: "Jouney to Ixtlan".
Or, in another fashion; maybe you would like to share your spin on what Castaneda was trying to impart to his readers by using this concept. Any discussion on this topic is helpful and welcome!"