02-09-2018, 12:00 AM
So, we've covered sh.it-holes and h.ell-holes lol. I got a first hand view of the potential h.ell waiting, I'm presuming, if indulgence/obstinacy are given into wholesale. Not the most sophisticated source of motivation, but effective nonetheless 
Anyways, with respect to "fixing the spirit" and the decisions to do so...looking at my own situation, it seems that some decisions are to be made deliberately and then followed through on over extended periods of time....like the decision to become perennially silent and aware.....or the decision to progressively let go of a particularly bad habits....or the decision to follow the warrior's way. Other decisions must be made on the fly, in the instant as unique problems arise in the course of day to day activity.
With respect to the first variety, I remember a dream with Carlos Castaneda years ago in which I was with him at some social event at someone's house in So Cal. I was a silent observer, at this point, simply following and watching him interact with others at the party....in amazement at his grace and fluidity....the magical manifestation of his inner intent as he wove in and out of transient conversations at the party. Later, after the party was over, we had been invited to stay the night and slept in a guest room upstairs in the host's house. Both of us had our respective single beds, each with a set of dual overhead lamps which had a dial switch to turn on/off the lights in various combinations for both beds. CC was going to sleep next to me in his bed, with his back turned to me. I was trying to figure out how to turn out the lights, turning the dial switch over and over which would switch the electrical current form one light to the next in varying combinations, but never turning them all off together. Classic dream issue in which electrical things don't work quite right After mucking around with the lights for a period of time, CC threw his covers off, sat up and looked at me saying "What the hell are you doing!!?" I apologized and told him about the problem with the lights. He looked annoyed and give me a look which said, "Well, figure it out and be done with it" Before he lay back down, I wanted to ask him a question...."Nagual....one quick question before you go to sleep". He turned and said, still somewhat annoyed, "Yes, what is it". I asked him, "How do you deal with bad habits.....you know, the REALLY bad habits that seem almost impossible to break?" He looked down to the floor for a second....I though he was almost falling asleep. Then his head snapped up and he looked at me with preternaturally large eyes....almost as big as saucers....and said in a loud, commanding voice "GEIST!!" And then he promptly rolled over and went to sleep, at which point
the dream faded.
Upon awakening, I had no idea what the term "geist" meant. I knew it was a German term, but that was about it. This was back in '02-'03....before the internet was such an ubiquitous resource of information. I went down to the local book store a few blocks away from our apartment and looked it up in a german-american dictionary, I found out that the meaning is complex. It means "spirit" or "ghost"....but also means "spirit/mind....ingenuity....intelligence/motivation/inspiration". With respect to my question to CC, the meaning became clear. Those problems/habits which block progression along the "warrior's way" require persistence, creativity, inspiration, perennial alignment with the spirit of intelligent solutions/inspirational approaches. For those of us on the warrior's way who are "hard cases"....who have recalcitrant issues which create seemingly lifelong problems.....this is the way to freedom. In the Bible, it talks about being "wise and serpents and innocent as doves". This is GEIST.....the active combination of the "white dove" and the "black crow"....of the combination of the resources of "skillful means" and "innate wisdom" from the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhism. Its a lifetime process, I'm finding out the hard way. But, seeing that GEIST active and in motion, slowly unraveling the seemingly impossible snarls of my many faults/weaknesses....is a pure pleasure
Anyways, with respect to "fixing the spirit" and the decisions to do so...looking at my own situation, it seems that some decisions are to be made deliberately and then followed through on over extended periods of time....like the decision to become perennially silent and aware.....or the decision to progressively let go of a particularly bad habits....or the decision to follow the warrior's way. Other decisions must be made on the fly, in the instant as unique problems arise in the course of day to day activity.
With respect to the first variety, I remember a dream with Carlos Castaneda years ago in which I was with him at some social event at someone's house in So Cal. I was a silent observer, at this point, simply following and watching him interact with others at the party....in amazement at his grace and fluidity....the magical manifestation of his inner intent as he wove in and out of transient conversations at the party. Later, after the party was over, we had been invited to stay the night and slept in a guest room upstairs in the host's house. Both of us had our respective single beds, each with a set of dual overhead lamps which had a dial switch to turn on/off the lights in various combinations for both beds. CC was going to sleep next to me in his bed, with his back turned to me. I was trying to figure out how to turn out the lights, turning the dial switch over and over which would switch the electrical current form one light to the next in varying combinations, but never turning them all off together. Classic dream issue in which electrical things don't work quite right
After mucking around with the lights for a period of time, CC threw his covers off, sat up and looked at me saying "What the hell are you doing!!?" I apologized and told him about the problem with the lights. He looked annoyed and give me a look which said, "Well, figure it out and be done with it" Before he lay back down, I wanted to ask him a question...."Nagual....one quick question before you go to sleep". He turned and said, still somewhat annoyed, "Yes, what is it". I asked him, "How do you deal with bad habits.....you know, the REALLY bad habits that seem almost impossible to break?" He looked down to the floor for a second....I though he was almost falling asleep. Then his head snapped up and he looked at me with preternaturally large eyes....almost as big as saucers....and said in a loud, commanding voice "GEIST!!" And then he promptly rolled over and went to sleep, at which pointthe dream faded.
Upon awakening, I had no idea what the term "geist" meant. I knew it was a German term, but that was about it. This was back in '02-'03....before the internet was such an ubiquitous resource of information. I went down to the local book store a few blocks away from our apartment and looked it up in a german-american dictionary, I found out that the meaning is complex. It means "spirit" or "ghost"....but also means "spirit/mind....ingenuity....intelligence/motivation/inspiration". With respect to my question to CC, the meaning became clear. Those problems/habits which block progression along the "warrior's way" require persistence, creativity, inspiration, perennial alignment with the spirit of intelligent solutions/inspirational approaches. For those of us on the warrior's way who are "hard cases"....who have recalcitrant issues which create seemingly lifelong problems.....this is the way to freedom. In the Bible, it talks about being "wise and serpents and innocent as doves". This is GEIST.....the active combination of the "white dove" and the "black crow"....of the combination of the resources of "skillful means" and "innate wisdom" from the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhism. Its a lifetime process, I'm finding out the hard way. But, seeing that GEIST active and in motion, slowly unraveling the seemingly impossible snarls of my many faults/weaknesses....is a pure pleasure