Ruthlessness

The Requirements of Intent – Breaking the Mirror of Self-Reflection

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence / By / 22 minutes of reading

In this continuation, Don Juan further explains the process of breaking the mirror of self-reflection, emphasizing that the assemblage point can be moved by the nagual’s presence, but ultimately, it’s the spirit that makes the actual movement. He clarifies that instruction isn’t what moves the assemblage point; instead, it’s the curtailment of self-importance, which then releases energy, launching the assemblage point into a new perception. Don Juan illustrates this by recounting his manipulative tactics in Guaymas, which shattered Castaneda’s continuity and forced his assemblage point to the “place of no pity.” He reveals that his feigned senility was a deliberate act of masked ruthlessness, designed to bypass Castaneda’s rationality and lead him to a state of detached hardness, thereby beginning his journey into a “dreaming state” and the world of sorcery.

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The Descent of the Spirit – The Place of No Pity

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence / By / 29 minutes of reading

In this chapter, Don Juan orchestrates a dramatic scenario to teach Castaneda about ruthlessness and the “place of no pity.” By feigning a debilitating stroke, Don Juan forces the narrator into extreme discomfort and self-pity, pushing his assemblage point—a key concept in Castaneda’s work representing the focal point of perception—away from its usual position of self-reflection. This intense experience reveals to the narrator a dualism within himself: an old, indifferent part and a new, anxious part. Don Juan explains that this shift allows access to silent knowledge and frees one from self-importance, which is revealed as disguised self-pity. The lesson culminates in Don Juan’s swift recovery, exposing the entire event as a deliberate act to initiate the narrator into a deeper understanding of sorcery and a state of being characterized by detachment and sobriety.

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The Descent of the Spirit – Moving the Assemblage Point

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence / By / 10 minutes of reading

In “Moving the Assemblage Point,” don Juan details the profound practice of shifting the assemblage point, emphasizing ruthlessness as the first principle of sorcery and its connection to the “place of no pity.” He clarifies that the spirit and intent are the true forces behind these shifts, not physical maneuvers, as illustrated by a psychic healer’s ability to move the assemblage points of an entire audience by banishing their doubts. The chapter explains that a “somersault of thought into the inconceivable” is the breaking of perceptual barriers caused by such shifts, and that sorcerers cultivate recollection—distinct from mere remembering—using the shine of their eyes to intentionally guide their assemblage point. Ultimately, don Juan reveals that naguals inherently mask their ruthlessness with seemingly benevolent traits, as this core lack of pity is crucial for their ability to interact directly with intent and achieve these extraordinary states of heightened awareness.

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The Trickery of the Spirit – The Four Moods of Stalking

Ancient Cycle, Carlos Castaneda, Power of Silence / By / 25 minutes of reading

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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