Favorite CC quotes of DJ

[jacka1z]

Nagualism is, at once, taking off one mask and wearing another. Naguals take off the mask that makes us see ourselves and the world we live in as ordinary, lusterless, predictable, and repetitious and put on the second mask, the one that helps us see ourselves--and our surroundings--for what we really are--breathtaking events that bloom into transitory existence once and are never to be repeated.

[DoktorGreen]

I'm going to demonstrate a special way of walking in the darkness; the gait of power. My trunk is slightly bent forward, but my spine is straight. My knees
are also slightly bent. Raise your knees almost to your chest every time you take a step.


The gait of power is for running at night, and it is completely safe. This is the night! And it is power!


At night the world is different. My ability to run in the darkness had nothing to do with my knowledge of these hills. The key to it is to let one's
personal power flow out freely, so it could merge with the power of the night. Once that power takes over there is no chance for a slip-up.


You have to abandon yourself to the power of the night and trust the little bit of personal power that you have or you will never be able to move with freedom.
The darkness is encumbering only because you rely on your sight for everything you do, not knowing that another way to move is to let power be the guide.


Keep on moving on the same spot and try to feel as if you are actually using the gait of power. First curl your fingers against your palms, stretching out the
thumb and index of each hand.


You can always see fairly well, no matter how dark the night is, if you don't focus on anything but keep scanning the ground right in front of you. The
gait of power is similar to finding a place to rest. Both entail a sense of abandon, and a sense of trust. The gait of power requires that one keep the eyes on
the ground directly in front, because even a glance to either side will produce an alteration in the flow of movement. Bending the trunk forward is necessary
in order to lower the eyes. The reason for lifting the knees up to the chest is because the steps have to be very short and safe. You are going to stumble a
great deal at first but with practice you will be able to run as swiftly and as safely as you can in the daytime.

[jacka1z]

DG,
Interesting that you picked that quote. The gait of power is one of the few techniques of DJ that I actually have used successfully. It was at a Rainbow Gathering near Mount Shasta, probably 20 years ago. I gave a massage to some guy at the trading circle, for something that I cant remember. Anyway he thought the massage was worth more than I was trading for so he gave me two peyote buttons. I had the plan to save them for some time when I was alone, but power omens decided that I was to take them soon after that. At the time I had tennis shoes on and a shirt and jeans. I ate the buttons and was traveling down a path near dusk. I was led by Spirit to take off my shoes, socks and shirt, so I did and continued down the path, but it got dark real fast and I kept stepping on rocks and my feet were starting to hurt. It got so dark that I couldnt see the path and where this path was nobody set up camp so I was alone, probably nobody within a half mile. I continued walking, but the progress was too slow and without a shirt and shoes I was getting cold. Then I remember the gait of power and debated with myself if I should use it. Of course part of me was logical and said I was just going to slam my feet against a rock and really hurt myself. The other part of me said I was going to freeze to death if I didnt find a way out of my predicament. So death as the advisor took over and said lets do it. So I took off doing the gait of power and continued it for some time, lets say a quarter mile, when I came upon a site that I felt was a portal and grave for a grandmother spirit. That was especially weird because at that time, I had never heard of or considered a grandmother spirit. I knew mother earth, father sky, but that was about it. So I stayed there for a while. There was a big tree and I was let to believe that was the portal part of the site and if I walked through it I would be transported some place where grandmother could be more available to me. I did try to walk through it, but walked into a tree. : ) I was told after I tried it that I was only given one try and I cringed before walking through. If I had walked with belief, I would have made it through. Oh well. Then I bade farewell with some ceremonial gesture. But I didnt know where to go, eventually realized some people had to be somewhere. So I got very silent and listened for activity. I had very faint voices of people talking and figured out which way to go. I probably went another quarter mile in the gait, then I was real close to a camp and I met and sat with a lone woman who let me use a blanket and we talked until sunrise. I dont know that I would do the gait again unless there was no other choice, but it sure worked that night. It was interesting because all that was said about the gait, including the finger positions and leaning forward and the knee-lifting and turning off the mind all was very clear in my body as I did it.

[DoktorGreen]

Hey Jack,
Interesting tale! I have tried this, but in my area, I have thick woods and swamps. One can't really travel swiftly. There are many trails and I know them all, so I have no trouble day or night. It seems like it might work well in open areas. I simply thought it was very interesting and another way to stop the internal dialogue!
Dok

[Castor]

''A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's
control. Once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That's abandon. A warrior is not a leaf at the mercy of the wind. No one can push him, no one can make him do things against himself or against his better judgment. A warrior is tuned to survive and he survives in the best of all possible fashions.''

''The worst that could happen to us is that we have to die, and since that is already our unalterable fate, we are free; those who have lost everything no longer have anything to fear.''

''The characteristic of miserable seers is that they are willing to forget the wonder of the world. They become overwhelmed by the fact that they see and believe that it's their genius that counts.''
By Don Juan
The quotes in CCs books are so numerous, and so wonderful, useful
Castor

''Its a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you dont keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'' J.R.R. Tolkien

[Castor]

I have to quote more... ...I'm impressed, and I like this topic. Castaneda deserved some respect after all...
A warrior must learn to make every act count, since he is going to be here in this world for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.
All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easyit does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it.
The world is incomprehensible. We wont ever understand it; we wont ever unravel its secrets. Thus we must treat the world as it is: a sheer mystery.
A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war: wide-awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance. Going to knowledge or going to war in any other manner is a mistake, and whoever makes it might never live to regret it.
A warrior lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting.
A warrior-hunter knows that his death is waiting, and the very act he is performing now may well be his last battle on earth. He calls it a battle because it is a struggle. Most people move from act to act without any struggle or thought. A warrior-hunter, on the contrary, assesses every act; and since he has intimate knowledge of his death, he proceeds judiciously, as if every act were his last battle. Only a fool would fail to notice advantage a warrior-hunter has over his fellow men. A warrior-hunter gives his last battle its due respect. Its only natural that his last act on earth should be the best of himself. Its pleasurable that way. It dulls the edge of his fright.
Death is our eternal companion. It is always to our left, an arms length behind us. Death is the only wise adviser that a warrior has. Whenever he feels that everything is going wrong and hes about to be annihilated, he can turn to his death and ask if that is so. His death will tell him that he is wrong, that nothing really matters outside its touch. His death will tell him, I havent touched you yet.
For a warrior, to be inaccessible means that he touches the world around him sparingly. And above all, he deliberately avoids exhausting himself and others. He doesnt use and squeeze people until they have shriveled to nothing, especially the people he loves.
If his spirit is distorted he should simply fix itpurge it, make it perfectbecause there is no other task in our entire lives which is more worthwhileTo seek the perfection of the warriors spirit is the only task worthy of our temporariness, our manhood.
Nothing in this world is a gift. Whatever must be learned must be learned the hard way.
Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.
The most effective way to live is as a warrior. A warrior may worry and think before making any decision, but once he makes it, he goes his way, free from worries or thoughts; there will be a million other decisions still awaiting him. Thats the warriors way.
The spirit of a warrior is not geared to indulging and complaining, nor is it geared to winning or losing. The spirit of a warrior is geared only to struggle, and every struggle is a warriors last battle on earth. Thus the outcome matters very little to him. In his last battle on earth a warrior lets his spirit flow free and clear. And as he wages his battle, knowing that his intent is impeccable, a warrior laughs and laughs.
The warrior: silent in his struggle, undetainable because he has nothing to lose, functional and efficacious because he has everything to gain.
The world is incomprehensible. We wont ever understand it; we wont ever unravel its secrets. Thus we must treat the world as it is: a sheer mystery.
My deapest respect to Castaneda and Don Juan,
Castor

''Its a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you dont keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'' J.R.R. Tolkien

[Guest]