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Simplicity...There are therefore two parts to cleaning our table. The first is removing the clutter. The second is keeping people from putting it back on. This means achieving a conscious awareness of the core of our personality, and carefully monitoring the influences that traverse its boundaries. In complicated and dynamically evolving situations, this can be extremely difficult. That, again, is why simplicity of purpose is so critical. When a dissonant influence arrives, we recognize it by following it in our imaginationto its conclusion. In most cases, that conclusion is at variance with our goals. In the few remaining cases, we cannot concretely relate the impulse to accomplishment of our goals, and so discard it. But we have a chicken-and-egg problem: we cannot separate our personality unless we clarify our intent, and we cannot satisfactorily negotiate intent unless we clarify our personality. Consequently, unless we are interested in navel-gazing (pursuit of goals not requiring participation by others), progress towards simplicity must be iterative. It can help to start with an arbitrarily selected goal, and to use it to stalk dissonant influence. ("Stalking" is a discipline elaborated by Casteneda in significant detail. As per my established pattern, I have reflected its focus: rather than stalking ourselves, we stalk the connections through which others interfere with our judgments.) One caveat: Don Juan, Casteneda's teacher, had the goal of leaving the game. That required establishing a broad context of harmonious intent. Under normal conditions, however, this can be a liability. A sparsely set table doesn't draw many visitors. Those of us still in the game have a more complicated problem: we need to manage our clutter - putting it on the table when that is advantageous, and removing it when we need to focus all of our energies towards a specific goal. This is a form of joining and separation. Don Juan, at one point, reports that he died to separate himself from his family. In my apprehension, that reflects his failure to awaken a purpose within his intimates that would enable them to live richly without his constant attention. I do resonate strongly with another of Don Juan's observations, however. As we become more powerful and connected, our goals necessarily become less and less concrete. Concrete goals are subject to too much manipulation. They involve the acquisition of resources that can be reallocated or held hostage by others. Ultimately, Don Juan observes that the sorcerer is driven by intent. In my way of thinking of things, this is making things work: moving energy around to create a harmonious future. From the physics that materially manifests that harmony, we draw energy that can be turned towards satisfaction of our concrete needs. |
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