25 May
Book excerpts, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

The Requirements of Intent – The Ticket to Impeccability

In “The Ticket to Impeccability,” don Juan continues to explain to Castaneda that a warrior’s journey involves moving the assemblage point and invalidating their old continuity to achieve impeccability, which he likens to a sorcerer’s symbolic death. Don Juan recounts his own “death” experience, wherein, as a young man, he was tricked by the nagual Julian and his cohort of women into believing in a terrifying monster, living in fear and working as their valet for three years. This intense period, marked by a loss of self-importance and a developing detachment, ultimately led to don Juan’s confrontation with the “monster,” which he discovered was merely an energetic surge, a manifestation of his own fear. After this realization and a period of trying to live a “normal” life, characterized by a loss of detachment and deep poverty, don Juan underwent a profound recapitulation of his life, which culminated in a literal “death” in a field. This symbolic death, which the Eagle then “spat out” due to his impeccable recapitulation, served as his “ticket to impeccability,” a state of heightened awareness that allowed him to return to Julian’s household as a true sorcerer, “dead” to the world, and prepared to face the world as a warrior.

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25 May
Book excerpts, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

The Trickery of the Spirit – The Four Moods of Stalking

This chapter, “The Four Moods of Stalking,” details don Juan’s instruction on the fundamental principles of stalking, emphasizing its four core moods: ruthlessness, cunning, patience, and sweetness. Through a vivid recollection triggered by a specific technique, the narrator recalls a pivotal early lesson in heightened awareness with don Juan and his companions, Silvio Manuel and Vicente Medrano. This lesson, which involved a surprising “test” of being tied up like a dog, revealed the narrator’s “indulgence” rather than the desired stalking traits. Don Juan explains that stalking is the art of breaking routine behavior to move the assemblage point, a feat that requires impeccability and goes beyond personal gain, ultimately leading to direct, “silent knowledge” of intent, which can only be truly commanded and utilized, not fully articulated or explained in words.

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25 May
Book excerpts, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence

The Manifestations of the Spirit – The Impeccability of Nagual Elias

This chapter, “The Manifestations of the Spirit,” explains the “first sorcery story” as the spirit’s direct interaction with a prospective nagual, presenting specific “omens” that serve as an irresistible lure. Don Juan recounts how his benefactor, the nagual Julian, was led to him through such precise signs, enabling him to save don Juan’s life. The narrative emphasizes that sorcerers, particularly naguals, possess a unique ability to “read omens” and understand their exact meaning through their “connecting link with intent,” a faculty akin to highly refined intuition. This is further illustrated by the story of the nagual Elías’s encounter with the actor Julian, whose “black shadow of death” indicated his destiny. Despite initial perplexity, Elías intervened, striking Julian’s and later Talia’s “assemblage points” to induce “heightened awareness,” ultimately leading them to join the “bird of freedom,” a metaphor for the sorcerers’ demanding path.

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