01-21-2011, 12:00 AM
Some of my favorite pieces of all of Castaneda’s writings are regarding the truths about awareness, especially chapter 3 of Fire From Within; The Eagles Emanations. I find these truths very revealing. The reason, I believe, that these truths and their meaning is not readily apparent is because they were not understood by Castaneda at the time of writing. And it seems to me that these truths are still not being accessed by Castaneda devotees, at least from what I read on Sorcery forums. So I thought that I would try again to shed some light upon the matter. I will bring to light some of the contradictions these truths pose for warriors and the meaning hidden from such warriors. For anyone who has seen the eagle’s emanations themselves they will understand that this is just what we do.
What better time than now to do this because of the name change to “New Seers”. First we need to outline a few lines of demarcation taken from Fire From Within. As we see DJ never tired of telling CC about the differences between the old sorcerers and the new seers, a tradition that seems to have fell by the way side for the most part. So lets take a closer look.
Most of the truths about awareness were discovered by the old seers, but the order in which they were arranged was worked out by the new seers and without that order the truths were nearly incomprehensible. FFW
So the old sorcerers discovered these truths but according to DJ they did not understand what they had discovered. So today also, if one is not engaged with the order and arrangement of these truths, then it is a pretty sure bet that one is as susceptible to the glamor of this magical universe as were the old seers. This universe appears so vast and its content ever expanding and self replicating, fabrication building upon elaboration, building upon fabrication, is it any wonder that awareness gets trapped in these layers and layers of onion.
Castaneda did much to introduce us to a world of sorcery steeped in the discoveries of the old seers. But Castaneda was very beguiled by the discoveries of the old seers, as it is with many of us today who follow in Castaneda’s footsteps. We think that because we have been able to accept some of the stupendous and outrageous possibilities presented to us by Castaneda and his cohorts that this sets us apart from those who cannot accept such possibilities. Then we further conclude that our seeing is superior to theirs. That those who do not see this range of possibilities are blind and still stuck in a social construct (which they are) and we measure ourselves against them only to confirm our seeing. No pity, heightened awareness, dreaming, stalking, 1st attention, 2nd attention, etc. yes we have seen all that, BUT SO DID THE OLD SEERS and it did not help them!
Those ancient seers had been masters of conjecture. They had, for one thing, assumed that their proficiency in seeing was a safeguard. They thought they were untouchable, that is until the invaders smashed them, and put most of them to horrendous deaths. FFW
So how is a warrior to proceed in light of the manifold dangers outlined by DJ? First we must take a look at what sets the new seers apart from the old seers and why.
The new seers did not waste time in speculating about what went wrong (with the old seers). Instead, they began to map the unknown in order to separate it from the unknowable. FFW
If I was to ask warriors reading this now, who is attempting to do just this, how many would raise their hand? Yet this was the first order of the day for new seers! This is the turning point for the new cycle! Without being engaged in this it is impossible to consciously be a part of the new cycle or to consider oneself a new seer! Without the new cycle the glamor of the the truths discovered by the old seers and the complexities of procedures regarding them will be too distracting resulting in utter (although exciting) confusion.
“What happened after the distinction between the unknown and the unknowable was realized?” I asked.
“The new cycle began,” replied Don Juan. “That distinction is the frontier between the old and the new. Everything the new seers have done stems from understanding that distinction.”
He said that not to seek order (of the truths concerning awareness) was one of the great mistakes that the ancient seers made. A deadly consequence of that mistake was their assumption that the unknown and the unknowable are the same thing! It was up to the new seers to correct that error. FFW
So when we neglect this sequential arrangement of the truths of awareness then the distinction between the unknown and the unknowable remains veiled.
“Seers have to be methodical, rational beings, paragons of sobriety, ” FFW
Oh no who wants that? The image of erudite, grey, haired professors peering over spectacles comes to mind. I am often accused of being intellectual. My sobriety is often confused with being overly intellectual or just too rational. But when faced those drunk on the conclusions based upon the “monumental edifices of abstraction” they have built, I can see how I would be a fly in their ointment.
He reiterated that my concentration had to be total, that to understand was of crucial importance, that the new seers placed the highest value on deep, unemotional realizations.
Don Juan explained that the new seers had had formidable barriers of tradition to overcome FFW
It is no different for warriors today, especially in Castaneda circles.
Lex
What better time than now to do this because of the name change to “New Seers”. First we need to outline a few lines of demarcation taken from Fire From Within. As we see DJ never tired of telling CC about the differences between the old sorcerers and the new seers, a tradition that seems to have fell by the way side for the most part. So lets take a closer look.
Most of the truths about awareness were discovered by the old seers, but the order in which they were arranged was worked out by the new seers and without that order the truths were nearly incomprehensible. FFW
So the old sorcerers discovered these truths but according to DJ they did not understand what they had discovered. So today also, if one is not engaged with the order and arrangement of these truths, then it is a pretty sure bet that one is as susceptible to the glamor of this magical universe as were the old seers. This universe appears so vast and its content ever expanding and self replicating, fabrication building upon elaboration, building upon fabrication, is it any wonder that awareness gets trapped in these layers and layers of onion.
Castaneda did much to introduce us to a world of sorcery steeped in the discoveries of the old seers. But Castaneda was very beguiled by the discoveries of the old seers, as it is with many of us today who follow in Castaneda’s footsteps. We think that because we have been able to accept some of the stupendous and outrageous possibilities presented to us by Castaneda and his cohorts that this sets us apart from those who cannot accept such possibilities. Then we further conclude that our seeing is superior to theirs. That those who do not see this range of possibilities are blind and still stuck in a social construct (which they are) and we measure ourselves against them only to confirm our seeing. No pity, heightened awareness, dreaming, stalking, 1st attention, 2nd attention, etc. yes we have seen all that, BUT SO DID THE OLD SEERS and it did not help them!
Those ancient seers had been masters of conjecture. They had, for one thing, assumed that their proficiency in seeing was a safeguard. They thought they were untouchable, that is until the invaders smashed them, and put most of them to horrendous deaths. FFW
So how is a warrior to proceed in light of the manifold dangers outlined by DJ? First we must take a look at what sets the new seers apart from the old seers and why.
The new seers did not waste time in speculating about what went wrong (with the old seers). Instead, they began to map the unknown in order to separate it from the unknowable. FFW
If I was to ask warriors reading this now, who is attempting to do just this, how many would raise their hand? Yet this was the first order of the day for new seers! This is the turning point for the new cycle! Without being engaged in this it is impossible to consciously be a part of the new cycle or to consider oneself a new seer! Without the new cycle the glamor of the the truths discovered by the old seers and the complexities of procedures regarding them will be too distracting resulting in utter (although exciting) confusion.
“What happened after the distinction between the unknown and the unknowable was realized?” I asked.
“The new cycle began,” replied Don Juan. “That distinction is the frontier between the old and the new. Everything the new seers have done stems from understanding that distinction.”
He said that not to seek order (of the truths concerning awareness) was one of the great mistakes that the ancient seers made. A deadly consequence of that mistake was their assumption that the unknown and the unknowable are the same thing! It was up to the new seers to correct that error. FFW
So when we neglect this sequential arrangement of the truths of awareness then the distinction between the unknown and the unknowable remains veiled.
“Seers have to be methodical, rational beings, paragons of sobriety, ” FFW
Oh no who wants that? The image of erudite, grey, haired professors peering over spectacles comes to mind. I am often accused of being intellectual. My sobriety is often confused with being overly intellectual or just too rational. But when faced those drunk on the conclusions based upon the “monumental edifices of abstraction” they have built, I can see how I would be a fly in their ointment.
He reiterated that my concentration had to be total, that to understand was of crucial importance, that the new seers placed the highest value on deep, unemotional realizations.
Don Juan explained that the new seers had had formidable barriers of tradition to overcome FFW
It is no different for warriors today, especially in Castaneda circles.
Lex