12-19-2011, 12:00 AM
Interesting discussion. I've long felt that one of the most misunderstood aspects of toltec nagualism is "recapitulation." The rituals associated with it are amusing at best. Breathe in. Turn head to left. Cough. No, wait... that's a prostate exam... hmmm...
But seriously... in my own work I've put forth an idea called "the teflon warrior". This works best for warriors at a more advanced level, but can be helpful for anyone on the path, no matter their level of achievement. Basically... **** don't stick to teflon. Once the warrior realizes this, s/he may be better able to walk through life without getting bogged down - not so much in the actual "memory", but in the inherent "****" that may be attached TO the memory. For example, I can look back on my life at incidents that were highly unpleasant, and remember them as if they happened yesterday, but without ANY emotional attachment to them whatsoever. The memory is not the thing itself - which is what I think Wolf was saying. The memory is just the experience. What seems to matter about the emotional/spiritual attachment is how that aids us or debilitates us in the Now.
For example... this is where I think certain practitioners of CC's methods can get WAY off the mark. By trying to shed ALL emotional reactions to certain events from our past, we run the high risk of turning ourselves into nothing more than observational tools. OTOH, I think it's a matter of using some common sense (which ain't common these days) to determine which memories benefit our path, and which may be impeding our progress. I have a friend who dwells on her past - is literally obsessed with a skiing accident that happened when she was 15. Around that single memory, she has built her entire life - yet from a seer's perspective, someone on the outside looking in, it is very plain to see that it is her ATTACHMENT to the memory which has created an entire lifetime of pain, suffering, and has resulted in driving away almost everyone in her life. She has used manipulation and attempted guilt-tripping in an attempt to hook others into her drama, when the simple reality is that if she could simply LET GO of the negative implications of the memory itself, she would be able to live a happy and full life (what's left of it anyway - she is now over 50, and still creating unreal realities all revolving around this incident that happened more than 35 years in the past).
So in that case, we see someone (someone who once professed to be a warrior) so utterly attached to a memory that her entire life has been negatively impacted.
On the other hand... I know people who have certain memories in their lives which they have used as inspiration to the infinite. They have been able to use certain memories to propel them forward on their path - without obsession, without undue attachment. They simply use the ENERGY of the memory to motivate them when they may be feeling stuck or isolated, or whatever it is that makes one need some sort of "boost" from the infinite. I maintain that our memories can BE that boost - but as with anything else in life, it's a matter of balance and moderation and (un)common sense.
In CC's version of recapitulation (or at least in the version which most modern-day practitioners attempt to perform), one is theoretically attempting to "recapture energy stuck in the past." Er... not only impossible, but kinda silly when you think about it. Energy, time, past, present, future and self are all the same thing when you really stop to think about it. No amount of breathing & coughing and wheezing is going to recapture "lost energy". The only thing that can do that is simply letting it go. My own mantra in that regard has become, "That was then, this is now." Part of letting go of the past is knowing that it IS the past. The things that hurt you THEN are probably no longer viable threats in the NOW. So what has to happen is that warriors need to apply that teflon coating - which comes in the form of clarity. Once we truly *see* that the past is like a poem written on water, we no longer NEED to feel those attachments - whether anger or fear or guilt or whatever it is that keeps us anchored to the MEMORY rather than living beyond the transient experience.
But seriously... in my own work I've put forth an idea called "the teflon warrior". This works best for warriors at a more advanced level, but can be helpful for anyone on the path, no matter their level of achievement. Basically... **** don't stick to teflon. Once the warrior realizes this, s/he may be better able to walk through life without getting bogged down - not so much in the actual "memory", but in the inherent "****" that may be attached TO the memory. For example, I can look back on my life at incidents that were highly unpleasant, and remember them as if they happened yesterday, but without ANY emotional attachment to them whatsoever. The memory is not the thing itself - which is what I think Wolf was saying. The memory is just the experience. What seems to matter about the emotional/spiritual attachment is how that aids us or debilitates us in the Now.
For example... this is where I think certain practitioners of CC's methods can get WAY off the mark. By trying to shed ALL emotional reactions to certain events from our past, we run the high risk of turning ourselves into nothing more than observational tools. OTOH, I think it's a matter of using some common sense (which ain't common these days) to determine which memories benefit our path, and which may be impeding our progress. I have a friend who dwells on her past - is literally obsessed with a skiing accident that happened when she was 15. Around that single memory, she has built her entire life - yet from a seer's perspective, someone on the outside looking in, it is very plain to see that it is her ATTACHMENT to the memory which has created an entire lifetime of pain, suffering, and has resulted in driving away almost everyone in her life. She has used manipulation and attempted guilt-tripping in an attempt to hook others into her drama, when the simple reality is that if she could simply LET GO of the negative implications of the memory itself, she would be able to live a happy and full life (what's left of it anyway - she is now over 50, and still creating unreal realities all revolving around this incident that happened more than 35 years in the past).
So in that case, we see someone (someone who once professed to be a warrior) so utterly attached to a memory that her entire life has been negatively impacted.
On the other hand... I know people who have certain memories in their lives which they have used as inspiration to the infinite. They have been able to use certain memories to propel them forward on their path - without obsession, without undue attachment. They simply use the ENERGY of the memory to motivate them when they may be feeling stuck or isolated, or whatever it is that makes one need some sort of "boost" from the infinite. I maintain that our memories can BE that boost - but as with anything else in life, it's a matter of balance and moderation and (un)common sense.
In CC's version of recapitulation (or at least in the version which most modern-day practitioners attempt to perform), one is theoretically attempting to "recapture energy stuck in the past." Er... not only impossible, but kinda silly when you think about it. Energy, time, past, present, future and self are all the same thing when you really stop to think about it. No amount of breathing & coughing and wheezing is going to recapture "lost energy". The only thing that can do that is simply letting it go. My own mantra in that regard has become, "That was then, this is now." Part of letting go of the past is knowing that it IS the past. The things that hurt you THEN are probably no longer viable threats in the NOW. So what has to happen is that warriors need to apply that teflon coating - which comes in the form of clarity. Once we truly *see* that the past is like a poem written on water, we no longer NEED to feel those attachments - whether anger or fear or guilt or whatever it is that keeps us anchored to the MEMORY rather than living beyond the transient experience.