03-13-2011, 12:00 AM
Here's one more for good measure.
"The very first principle of stalking is that a warrior stalks himself,"
he said. "He stalks himself ruthlessly, cunningly, patiently, and
sweetly."
I wanted to laugh, but he did not give me time. Very
succinctly he defined stalking as the art of using behavior in novel
ways for specific purposes. He said that normal human behavior in the
world of everyday life was routine. Any behavior that broke from routine
caused an unusual effect on our total being. That unusual effect was
what sorcerers sought, because it was cumulative.
"The real
challenge for those sorcerer seers," don Juan went on, "was finding a
system of behavior that was neither petty nor capricious, but that
combined the morality and the sense of beauty which differentiates
sorcerer seers from plain witches."
He said that for sorcerers stalking was the foundation on which everything else they did was built.
"Some sorcerers object to the term stalking," he went on, "but the name came about because it entails surreptitious behavior.
"It's
also called the art of stealth, but that term is equally unfortunate.
We ourselves, because of our nonmilitant temperament, call it the art of
controlled folly. You can call it anything you wish. We, however, will
continue with the term stalking since it's so easy to say stalker and,
as my benefactor used to say, so awkward to say controlled folly
maker."
"When the pressure of their connecting link is too great, sorcerers relieve it by stalking themselves."
"I
still don't think I understand what you mean by stalking" I said. "But
at a certain level I think I know exactly what you mean."
"I'll
try to help you clarify what you know, then," he said. "Stalking is a
procedure, a very simple one. Stalking is special behavior that follows
certain principles. It is secretive, furtive, deceptive behavior
designed to deliver a jolt. And, when you stalk yourself you jolt
yourself, using your own behavior in a ruthless, cunning way."
He
explained that when a sorcerer's awareness became bogged down with the
weight of his perceptual input, which was what was happening to me, the
best, or even perhaps the only remedy was to use the idea of death to
deliver that stalking jolt.
"Your problem is very simple," he
said. "You become easily obsessed. I have been telling you that
sorcerers stalk themselves in order to break the power of their
obsessions. There are many ways of stalking oneself. If you don't want
to use the idea of your death, use the poems you read me to stalk
yourself."
"The very first principle of stalking is that a warrior stalks himself,"
he said. "He stalks himself ruthlessly, cunningly, patiently, and
sweetly."
I wanted to laugh, but he did not give me time. Very
succinctly he defined stalking as the art of using behavior in novel
ways for specific purposes. He said that normal human behavior in the
world of everyday life was routine. Any behavior that broke from routine
caused an unusual effect on our total being. That unusual effect was
what sorcerers sought, because it was cumulative.
"The real
challenge for those sorcerer seers," don Juan went on, "was finding a
system of behavior that was neither petty nor capricious, but that
combined the morality and the sense of beauty which differentiates
sorcerer seers from plain witches."
He said that for sorcerers stalking was the foundation on which everything else they did was built.
"Some sorcerers object to the term stalking," he went on, "but the name came about because it entails surreptitious behavior.
"It's
also called the art of stealth, but that term is equally unfortunate.
We ourselves, because of our nonmilitant temperament, call it the art of
controlled folly. You can call it anything you wish. We, however, will
continue with the term stalking since it's so easy to say stalker and,
as my benefactor used to say, so awkward to say controlled folly
maker."
"When the pressure of their connecting link is too great, sorcerers relieve it by stalking themselves."
"I
still don't think I understand what you mean by stalking" I said. "But
at a certain level I think I know exactly what you mean."
"I'll
try to help you clarify what you know, then," he said. "Stalking is a
procedure, a very simple one. Stalking is special behavior that follows
certain principles. It is secretive, furtive, deceptive behavior
designed to deliver a jolt. And, when you stalk yourself you jolt
yourself, using your own behavior in a ruthless, cunning way."
He
explained that when a sorcerer's awareness became bogged down with the
weight of his perceptual input, which was what was happening to me, the
best, or even perhaps the only remedy was to use the idea of death to
deliver that stalking jolt.
"Your problem is very simple," he
said. "You become easily obsessed. I have been telling you that
sorcerers stalk themselves in order to break the power of their
obsessions. There are many ways of stalking oneself. If you don't want
to use the idea of your death, use the poems you read me to stalk
yourself."