Castaneda - The Second Ring of Power

“Don Juan said that the core of our being was the act of perceiving, and that the magic of our being was the act of awareness.  For him perception and awareness were a single, functional, inextricable unit, a unit which had two domains.”

“Our ‘first ring of power’ is engaged very early in our lives and we live under the impression that that is all there is to us.  Our ‘second ring of power’ remains hidden for the immense majority of us, and only at the moment of our death is it revealed to us.”

Upon departure, one’s life flashes before their eyes.  In this moment of release from the physical, everything is perceived, all at once.  Our perception can be greatly enhanced during life, we need not wait until death to truly ‘see’.   –The Ram  

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“She laughed with true delight and said that the Nagual was right in saying that I was too lazy to remember what I had “seen”; therefore, I only bothered with what I looked at.”

“Is it possible, I thought to myself, that I am unconsciously selecting what I recall?”

“The Nagual said that everyone can see, and yet we choose not to remember what we see.  Now I understand how right he was.  All of us can see; some, more than others.” 

The Fish taught me this fact with one of his imagination experiments.  It was a short task, only took a few moments to imagine it with the eyes open.  After finishing, he said to me; “Okay, so where were you?”

To my shock and amazement, the whole scene took place while I was sitting in a workshop on a tall stool, in front of a butcher-block workbench.  There were all kinds of tools hanging around on the walls, even had an image of what the outside of the workshop looked like.

The strangest part of all were the markers involved.  The markers on the workbench were like none I’d ever seen before! 

So why on Earth would my mind have created markers and a workshop I’d never seen before in such detail, just to imagine drawing some circles on paper?  Would’ve had absolutely no idea about any of those details, if the Fish hadn’t asked where I was.

-The Ram

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(Excerpts from The Second Ring of Power by Carlos Castaneda in quotations)

 

 

 

 

Treasures Within

The year was 2009, had just successfully printed a birth-chart showing the planetary positions and alignments at the moment of being born. It was so beautiful!  Even though at the time, nothing could really be made of it, there was some part of me that knew this little diagram held great secrets!

Boy, was it true!  There is an unlimited amount of treasure to be found within it.  In all actuality it’s pretty easy too.  The energy of each planet represents a part of us, the Moon as emotions, Mars how we take action, Venus how we love, Mercury how we think and communicate.

Where the planets are positioned in the sky reflect how they might behave and which areas of life they will likely be felt the strongest.  It’s like our very own energetic blueprint!  It can really change something inside you too, when seeing the big picture of who you are, and that it's all represented in the heavens, wow! 

Perhaps life isn’t so random after all!  The awareness gained by becoming familiar with one’s energetic makeup can bring much peace, healing and understanding.  Along with guidance that points toward one’s calling and personal life purpose; what we came here to do and learn.

Working with an Astrologer can be very beneficial for anyone interested in #self-awareness.  The Fish and I both personally work with +Leah Whitehorse of Lua Astrology.  A highly intuitive and knowledgeable Astrologer, she reads and explains the energies in a most beautiful and profound way.  Bringing to light many aspects of the self that we may not recognize within ourselves or that we keep unconsciously hidden.

Each and every one of us is so much more than we realize!

-The Ram

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Who’s Driving Your Car?

In this area of the world a car is a vital part of daily life.  Getting to work, running errands and the occasional road trip are things a car allows us to do on our own schedule.

They have become a symbol of personal freedom in our society. If asked to borrow our car, most of us are extremely cautious giving our keys to just anybody. 

We feel we must know and trust this person.  Someone of high moral character and integrity.  Somebody that will treat our vehicle with dignity and respect.

Mainly, because it’s not theirs and we are sharing something important.

Meanwhile…

At times, we toss the keys for our emotional vehicle to anybody, anywhere, at any time.  Throwing them here and there without so much as a glance.  Much like a peanut vendor working the stands of a ball game. 

The point I’m trying to make, is that so many times we will allow the words or actions of others to influence our emotional well-being.  Giving them the “keys to our emotional vehicle”.  On an energetic level this is referred to as “the Emotional Body”. 

Perceiving that another’s actions has power over us makes it so.  German Philologist Friedrich Nietzsche was quoted as saying “He who cannot obey himself will be commanded.”

Statements like “they make me feel” and “you make me mad” are a complete surrender of control over self.  Pointless wondering and worrying about what someone thinks of us, or what might have been the intent behind the actions of another is a waste of energy. 

It is mind boggling to imagine the amount of energy we humans waste with things out of our control.  Energy that could be directed in a much more productive way toward self and others. 

While it is wise to hear the thoughts and opinion of others it would be foolish to set limitations or have preconceived expectations due to such.  No one is allowed to set the value of self-worth for another. 

Part of this life’s lesson is to pursue the limitless possibilities of our miraculous self.  In doing so, it teaches us to see the beautiful value possessed by all.  

May Peace Be Yours All Ways,

~The Fish

Castaneda - The Power of Silence

“An apprentice is someone who is striving to clear and revive his connecting link with the spirit.”

“The entire truth is that spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency.”

‘Manifestations of Spirit’

“The story says that once upon a time there was a man, an average man without any special attributes.  He was, like everyone else, a conduit for the spirit.  And by virtue of that, like everyone else, he was part of the spirit, part of the abstract.  But he didn’t know it.  The world kept him so busy that he had neither the time nor the inclination to really examine the matter.

“The spirit tried, uselessly, to reveal their connection.  Using an inner voice, the spirit disclosed its secrets, but the man was incapable of understanding the revelations.  Naturally, he heard the inner voice, but he believed it to be his own feeling he was feeling and his own thoughts he was thinking.”

“The spirit, in order to shake him out of his slumber, gave him three signs, three successive manifestations.  The spirit physically crossed the man’s path in the most obvious manner.  But the man was oblivious to anything but his self-concern.” 

The basic energetic theory here is that we all have an inner-self/soul and a higher-self/spirit.  With the mind/mental field that exists in between them.  The mental field is where the inner-critic resides, the part who wants to prevent - any kind of change.

When the mind is quiet and in a receptive, attentive alpha state, it allows for communication between the inner and the higher, aspects of self.  Allowing for a connection and flow energies that are unavailable to us when we're engaged with the inner-critic, in any manner.

-The Ram

(Excerpts from The Power of Silence by Carlos Castaneda in quotations)

 

 

 

 

Soul Experience

Opening the door to the real self.

The soul is real and anything is possible!  It was early 2011, the Fish and I had just begun classes at the School of Metaphysics.  Along with our daily lessons there were also various exercises assigned, referred to as spiritual practices.

The first practice involved looking into a mirror for 10 minutes.  The instructions were to record our experiences with it - to be discussed later in class.

It seemed to be an attention exercise more than anything.  As new students we were shown very early on, our complete lack of attention.  Meaning the ability to hold our focus and attention on something, for a specified amount of time without the mind wandering off.  It was super difficult at first!

One day after a workout, was stretching in the floor.  It was so comfortable, then an idea!  Got a full length mirror from the other room and laid it over the furniture.  Thought I’d try it lying under the mirror, while the body was so relaxed.

With my gaze and attention on the specific point, I soon began to see black scary looking splotches all over and around the face.  When my focus was moved from the specific point to look at my face, the distortions would disappear.

With all attention back on the point once again, began to wonder if the distortions were somehow relating, that this body really isn’t me.  Started saying the words ‘look within’ over and over in my mind, with all attention on the specific spot.

Out of my peripheral, it looked as if the pupil/iris part of the eyes were getting really black.  But resisted the urge to focus in on them to check for sure.  Just kept my attention where it was focused while repeating the ‘look within’ mantra - that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Before long, am viewing my seemingly empty body from the corner of the room!  My body was laying in the floor, eyes open, pupils all the way dilated.  It looked so empty as if all the light had left it.

The next thought was, “I wonder if it’s healthy for the soul to be out of the body like this.”  As soon as that thought happened, found myself immediately back in the body, looking up at the mirror with completely dilated pupils.

Jumped up and ran over to a mirror on the wall, to see if this is how my eyes really looked.  The dilation had minimized slightly, but the pupils were still huge - I was as high as a kite!  A real and tangible experience of the soul!  Something I’d never dreamed was possible.

This one single life altering experience changed everything, my identity, beliefs, and what I know to be true.  There’s been a rewiring of sorts going on ever since that remarkable day, after learning firsthand the soul is real and anything is possible!   

-The Ram

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Castaneda - The Fire from Within

“Impeccability is nothing else but the proper use of #energy.”

“Warriors take strategic inventories.  They list everything they do.  Then they decide which of those things can be changed in order to allow themselves a respite, in terms of expending their energy.”

“Self-importance is our greatest enemy.  Think about it – what weakens us is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of our fellow men.  Our self-importance requires that we spend most of our lives offended by someone.”

“Without self-importance we are invulnerable.”

“In the strategic inventories of warriors, self-importance figures as the activity that consumes the greatest amount of energy, hence, their effort to eradicate it.”

“The seer who travels into the unknown to see the unknowable must be in an impeccable state of being.  He winked at me and said that to be in an impeccable state of being is to be free of rational assumptions and rational fears.”

“What is seeing then?”  

“Seeing is alignment.  When seers see, something explains everything as the new alignment takes place.  It’s a voice that tells them in their ear what’s what.  If that voice is not present, what the seer is engaged in is not seeing.”

“Attention is man’s greatest single accomplishment.  Seers perfect it even further until it uncovers the whole scope of human possibilities.  There is no end to the mystery of man and to the mystery of the world.” 

Perception is #alignment, it’s all about the alignment of our energy.  But since we can’t see our energy, most of us completely disregard it - as if it doesn’t even exist!  A great method for building the attention muscle, is through the Art of stalking.  Stalking requires paying attention to what is being seen, heard or felt.

When engaged in this ancient art, you’re in a receptive and attentive mode.  In this alpha brainwave state, the inner dialog is no longer running the show.  It takes practice but the results will blow you away!  We never realize how unaware we are until we start becoming #aware.

-The Ram

(Excerpts from TheFire from Within by Carlos Castaneda in quotations)



 

Quest for Heroes

Ever since the little self-love experiment, there’s been a lot of thought toward those I admire and those who are my heroes.  Perhaps the idea is to define them and their admirable qualities and learn to see those same things within myself.

It’s as if the Universe is directing me to this whole hero theme.  Just a small sampling of items from a vision board made at New Year’s…

-Clint Eastwood in old western attire with caption, Hero’s Journey

-Russell Brand with caption, Forthright with Love & Kindness

By making a list or creating a vision board, it literally brings the ideas or desires into the physical.  As we give attention to these ideas and desires, they magically start to manifest into being.

Here are a few of my personal heroes, in order as they came into awareness as a hero.  They range from real life people to celebrities and characters.

Kathleen Shannon - &Kathleen

Leah Whitehorse - Lua Astrology

The Dude – The Dude and the Zen Master

Russell Brand – British celebrity

Don Juan Matus – Castaneda’s teacher/mentor 

At the very moment this was being typed, it all began to make sense!  One common thread connecting these five – their authenticity!  What I love about all these people is their authentic expression of self!

In my eyes, it’s a highly valued trait.  Being and expressing one’s authentic self is so bold, beautiful and brave.

By learning to see and appreciate my own authentic self, it will be like following the guidance the Universe seems to be so generously providing. 

-The Ram

How about your personal heroes, what qualities do you love and admire?

 

(Photo from MomsWhoThink.com)



 

Castaneda - A Separate Reality

“You think and talk too much.  You’re not unique at that.  Every one of us does that.”

“Whenever we finish talking to ourselves the world is always as it should be.  We renew it, we kindle it with life, we uphold it with our internal talk.  Not only that, but we also choose our paths as we talk to ourselves.  Thus we repeat the same choices over and over until the day we die, because we keep on repeating the same internal talk over and over until the day we die.”

“How can I stop talking to myself?”

“First of all you must use your ears to take some of the burden from your eyes.  We have been using our eyes to judge the world since the time we were born.  We talk to others and ourselves mainly about what we see.  A warrior is aware of that and listens to the world; he listens to the sounds of the world.”

“In order to become a man of knowledge one must be a warrior, not a whimpering child.  One must strive without giving up, without a complaint, without flinching, until one sees.”

“Seeing is for impeccable men.  Temper your spirit now, learn to see, and then you’ll know that there is no end to the new worlds for our vision.” 

When one begins to pay attention to their own inner dialog, they may find it’s like two sides of the self, talking to each other.  The impeccable part, the inner or higher-self, and the other, inner-critic part that negates and shoots down most of the ideas arising from the impeccable part. 

Through the Castaneda series, the three main techniques for self-mastery are stalking, dreaming and intent.  If one desires the ability to quiet or stop the inner dialog, it can be accomplished by employing the Art of stalking.  Which means stalking one’s own thinking.  Watching just what is being said and then discovering which ‘part of the self’ is saying it. 

-The Ram

 (Excerpts from A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda in quotations)

We Are All Products of the Choices We Make

We Are All Products of the Choices We Make

 ~ The Buddha

This is one of the first truths revealed to me at a very young age.  It took several different forms and was at times, not so eloquent.  

Most times the understanding was “there are consequences for our actions”, or that “for every action there is a reaction”.

You know the whole force equals mass times velocity thing, or what is commonly referred to as Newton’s Second Law.

As a small tike it was shown to me that my action of eating the better part of a box of chocolate flavored laxatives would produce a favorable environment for Dad’s immediate reaction of giving me a quick paddling.  This was followed by a day in the bathroom surviving the mass evacuation of substance from my young digestive system that obviously, had been consumed in a past life. 

What differentiates us from the purely physical is the metaphysical energy of choices. We generate unseen, emotionally charged energies while using our freewill making new choices in each beautiful moment.

It’s difficult at times to accept this fact, but that doesn’t make it any less true.  We are in complete control of our individual power plant, and the type of energy we wish to produce for distribution to the Universe.

The genius of this scheme is that we are allowed, encouraged even, by the Universe to make different choices in familiar circumstances.  Just because it has been so, does not mean that it must be so. 

With the removal of fear, a peaceful understanding comes. The knowledge that there are not good or bad choices, only productive and unproductive ones.

If an unproductive choice is made the Universe provides us a brand new shiny moment so we can make a different, hopefully more productive choice.

~ The Fish

Self-Love

This idea - that the love for oneself equals one’s capacity to love others - keeps coming up.

So, a little experiment - A Love Letter to Myself, 10 things I Love about Me

It started off pretty well.  My darling Self.. then, like a blank stare, there was nothing.  It was as if, I’m not wired to think that way.  Turned out to be quite a challenge, had to dig really deep.  Even after coming up with something, it seemed far-away.  Like making up some distant ideas, just to finish and not think about this anymore!

But there’s another part, that can’t stop thinking about it.  We all know that kind and loving thoughts create a frequency of harmony and healing.  So wouldn’t we want to create harmony within ourselves, above all places?  Why is it so difficult?

This whole self-love thing, appears to be no joke!  It just may be our life’s work.  It will definitely require a rewiring of sorts; new thoughts, ideas and attitudes about the self.  A new way of seeing things – a new way of being? 

*Perhaps what we love about others, is actually a reflection of what we love about ourselves.  If this view was accepted, realized and experienced, I wonder what the results might be.

-The Ram

Love Signs

You know how it is when you fall in love.  Often times they’re everything you’re not – you are attracted to them like crazy and adore them for these ‘energetic differences’.

After a while, you’re all settled in, the honeymoon’s drawing to a close and these ‘differences’ begin to create some friction.  Before you know it you’re butting heads.

For instance, let’s look at the basic motivation and nature, of both the Fish and Ram.

ARIES the 1^st house, orientated toward ‘SELF’ (most aggressive of the signs)

PISCES the 12^th house, orientated toward the ‘ALL' (most compassionate & receptive)

It would appear that one of us might be rather selfish, while the other may seem to only be interested in the well-being of others.  It’s not hard to see how these opposite traits could become a real challenge.

Especially for a Ram, who is generally geared toward the self and finds it most difficult to view the world from another’s perspective.  Unlike the Fish, who slips into someone else’s shoes with the utmost ease, agility and compassion.

What’s one to do when they find themselves in such a predicament, when the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing, begins to wear thin?

Luckily for this Fish and Ram – a book called Love Signs, by Linda Goodman – came along. Everyday stories of each sign, both male and female and their interactions with each of the 12 signs, it’s quite brilliant.

It was really my first step toward self-awareness.  It’s one thing to go through your whole life just acting however you act.  But when you start reading about how you act, it becomes a whole different story!  Many of the Aries(Ram) sections were quite a rude awakening, it was like witnessing how I act.

Never once, did I ever think that “I” had any issues.  Wowzers! 

Not only that, there was also a huge, new realization.  My perception was completely wrong about everybody!  Turns out, I had virtually no understanding of the 12 signs.  When one begins to learn about the nature and motivations of the 12 sun sign archetypes, there is no longer the need to speculate as to why this and why not that. 

When one understands - all that’s left is - understanding.

-The Ram



 

Castaneda - Tales of Power

“We are luminous beings, and for a luminous being only personal power matters”

“What matters is that a warrior be impeccable.  What matters to a warrior is arriving at the totality of oneself.” 

“The self-confidence of a warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man.  The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence.  The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness.  The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to himself.” 

“The internal dialog is what grounds us.  The world is such and such or so and so, only because we talk to ourselves about it being such and such or so and so.”
 

“Seeing happens only when the warrior is capable of stopping the internal dialog.” 
 

An impeccable warrior is one who does not waste his energy/personal power by worrying, procrastinating, coming up with preconceived notions, etc.  The warrior conserves and directs his energy toward learning to recognize the light within himself and all other luminous beings.  

The only way to change our ideas of the world, is by learning to stop the continuous inner dialog.  Must we comment on everything?  Are we actually creating this world with our habitual descriptions of it?
 

-The Ram
 

(Excerpts from Tales of Power by Carlos Castaneda in quotations)





 

Castaneda & Don Juan Matus

The whole Universe is made of energy – everything, including us.  The Castaneda writings define sorcery, as a means of interpreting and understanding energy.  This is done through the knowing and aligning of one’s own energy, which opens up the perception and allows one to ‘see’.

Sorcery.  How do you feel about that word, does it give you a bit of a charge?  It does for me, even though I understand the original meaning.  So what is it, some genetic memory of the persecution involved around that subject?  The vibration from times past?

The reasoning mind says, through many spiritual disciplines, God is referred to as light.  So, if God is light, wouldn’t it be well and proper to refer to God as Source of all light.  If God is Source, then wouldn’t it be working with God’s light? 

Castaneda details his lengthy apprenticeship under don Juan Matus, learning the workings of energy.  The tales are quite extraordinary, and will surely stretch the mind far beyond what one believes to be possible.  Highly recommended, especially if you’re interested in energy and consciousness.  The dialog, language and teachings feel as if they originated from an ancient, authentic source.

Don Juan, a major player in these stories, has become to me, a very significant and revered figure.  Anyone who is ready to ‘see’ the world, as it exists as energy, can be transformed into one of don Juan’s apprentices themselves, through the various works of Carlos Castaneda.

-The Ram

Perhaps when something seems a bit scary,

In all actuality - it’s lighting the way - to having no fear.

 

 

Little Charges



photo courtesy of Creativity103.com

Do you ever experience these?  Certain words, songs, smells or interactions that send a little electric charge through the body.
 

A teacher once told us, “Those little charges, whether perceived as positive or negative, carry great value.  If we would simply pay attention and then ask why.”
 

He called them communication from the inner-self.  Most of his discourse was in regard to the negative ones, how they are guidance, pointing us to where change needs to occur.
 

Once aware of this significance, there was a - taking stock - of the more memorable charges through life.  Most had just passed right by, with nothing more than a “that’s weird!” response.
 

Like being 4 years old, hearing the words Bermuda Triangle on television, and it stops you in your tracks. 

As a child, seeing a castle for the first time, and all your senses seem to know how it feels inside one.

Maybe when hearing the word soul, there’s a charge or strong curiosity.  Hoping this time, you just might find out, something about it!
 

Could these unique charges we each experience be clues to who we are, where we came from and why we’re here?  Perhaps this teacher was very wise indeed.
 

How would you describe the experience of your little charges?  What do they feel like, what would you liken their energy to? 

We welcome your feedback.
 www.fishandram.com
 

-The Ram