life outside the box

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A warrior cannot have the luxury of following people’s ways, nor can he be a reactionary, because his freedom means to exercise other alternatives. ~ Carlos Castaneda, Encounters with the Nagual

This is a great quote. Our freedom is contingent upon our ability to remain awake and fluid, to not become bound by ideas, stories, and patterns. All of the paths in the world have the potential to enslave us, to turn us into followers of specific protocols, doctrines, or dogmata. It is when we decide to belong to a specific membership that we adopt the ideas of another which carries the danger, for a warrior, to act from a point of reason. This ultimately leads one to inadvertently employ or uphold bastions of judgements against those outside of their chosen and often structured beliefs; as though they have something to defend.

I try to be careful and mindful when I write, to ensure that I am not unwittingly fixating the position of someone’s assemblage point. But then I must remind myself that through my writing I am merely offering tools for awareness, stories from my own experience, and that if someone allows their assemblage point to become fixated upon my words then it is they who must work on fluidity and freedom from the patterns.

We must recognize that it is our aim, as warriors of freedom, to go against the grain, to free ourselves from the preconceived ideas and patterns of how to live in the world. To, as Carlos said, exercise other alternatives.

So what are the alternatives? They are many and all come from a point of creation. When we do what others do we are emulating them, but when we do what we do out of our love for doing it then we are creating our own experience moment by moment.

Is it a challenge? Yes – we live in a world that nearly demands that we comply with the arduous task of upholding patterns, living within the confines of authoritative control, and accomplishing things in the so-called “right” way.

Is it possible? Not only is it possible, it is fun and fulfilling. To exist in extraordinary states of awareness is not only part of our birthright but as warriors of freedom it becomes evidence, to a world lost in patterns, that there is another way in which to exist.

Life outside the box is an innovative, imaginative, and inspiring way of living that will encourage others to reconnect to their own visions, dreams, inspiration, and creativeness. As I’ve said before, don’t believe a word I say, test it for yourself. Keep dancing!

Dancing-100

12 thoughts on “life outside the box”

  1. One of the best ways to live free is to pay attention. We live in a world that talks to us. The intuitive urges and the omens are everywhere. Once the inner senses are active, it literally becomes addictive! The way to build these senses is well described by Robert Mos s, the great Dreamer. He said (and I paraphrase) ”We are standing at the back of a caboose, holding onto the railing for dear life, watching the tracks of time receding into the distance. There I was at 5 years old. There I go at 21. Look! There I was at 40. There I go last week. All we have to do is turn around. Let time advance on us. Pierce it! Then, nothing is preconceived. Nothing is presumed. No judgment. Pierce time! Then we are in the moment. And if we latch onto anything flowing by, we lose the moment, so choose your efforts wisely and build power.”

    Jaggg

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    • You say “his ways”. Who is the he that you refer to? I think the whole point is to live our lives in alignment with where our passions lie. There are many paths that I feel in alignment with and it all comes down to living in accord and harmony with the particular knowledge or awareness that bring us joy and balance.

      As far as being a nagual woman, I had to laugh at that one. Here is an excerpt from my forthcoming book:

      “The nagual is not a person, it is a flow of energy, the Spirit, an abstract force that cannot be described, it can only be felt. And sometimes on rare occasions when a warrior is committed to their path with unbending will and discipline and while continuously practicing the recapitulation, the nagual fills them, moves through them and all around them and they become the abstract through their emptiness and resonant vibration.”

      Thanks for writing and keep dancing!

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  3. My dad always used to say, “Think outside the box.” (Of course later on I tried to use it against him when he was thinking in the box. Which was probably just a patterned response from me!) Read this yesterday and thought a lot about patterns and the wisdom of what you’ve shared here. One of the biggest challenges can be letting go of the patterns and yet keeping the heart open when patterns arise, both in ourselves and others. The way Life and the Universe continues to open in love, whether patterns arise or not.

    And then there’s the moment when the little “me” leaves the box altogether, either for a minute or three months or forever. Such joy, as you say, when it drops away and life just flows as a river without identification as a separate self. Thank you to the river-as-you who just shared this.

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  4. Thank you for your efforts. The omen was that the Eagle would put someone in my path to clarify the details of my situation and task. That someone was you. I am also thank full to be exposed to the views of other lineages and persons of knowledge.
    I ran across the apprentices of a Naugual. They used to enjoy howling like coyotes as a group to unnerve me-. Good luck boys. They knew who I was and called me ” a Carlos”. Without the “Castanedian” way this conversation would not occur, and all this would still be secret. The path of knowledge is not a liturgy, nor a ritual, but does not cancel what I have seen either. Here we can express our hopefully informed opinions.
    The messenger- sitting with a black shadow to my left and another sitting on my damned head.

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  5. What does it cost? Pay attention. The price of awareness. When I consider the visionaries, Ramakrishna, or even Tesla, or Black Elk, or Teresa of Avilla, one thing that stands out is that dedication to a path. Devotion not to a dogma, but to a hope of personal realization. A constant application of the technique of surrender to something greater than the self. But I don’t ignore the price. Focus, and concentration are key to fluidity and change where the mind and heart are open to something extraordinary. For a long time this possibility has been limited to a few, but many have come forward to elucidate their own paths, and open the way for others. There are never any certified roads to fulfillment, and all paths lead nowhere, but some paths have heart. Each person must find their own heart, own path, and that is the meaning of unbending intent. When someone shares a description of their own journey, they can help others to find unique directions, but they cannot prescribe the foot steps, which is what I like so much about all of you who come here. Question every thing, but pay attention.

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