The Issue of Continuity

 THE ISSUE OF CONTINUITY - The Warrior's Discipline Part 4

The Warrior's Discipline Part 1

The Warrior's Discipline Part 2

The Warrior's Discipline Part 3

The Warrior's Discipline Part 4

The Warrior's Discipline Part 5

The social order is an energetic phenomenon. It is something-in-itself. As such, it has its own set of rules and its own dynamics. To understand the social order, we must first scrutinize its gears, the tools that it uses to reproduce itself. 

We possess, as members of the social order, a continuity based upon three-time units and two space units. Past, Present and Future are the time units. Here and There are the spatial units. Around these five basic elements we build our world. 

They form an apparently dynamic unit that keeps all things in place for the purposes of what is known to man, also referred to as the "tonal". The only problem with this unit is that it leaves the issue of awareness out of the picture. Awareness, being a purely energetic phenomenon, deals with energetic issues, which are intimately related to a very different type of continuity in the case of human beings. 

The issues of death and life fit into this category. Our relationship with the universe at large and its deepest mysteries can only be upheld from the perspective of this other type of continuity. Death occurs always in a here/now environment. Death is never related to our ideas of the future, present and past. Nor is it to our idea of here and there. Death, as an energetic phenomenon, compresses all of our five measuring units into one. The energetic shock brought about by this is of such magnitude that our life force is dissolved, unable to keep our energetic fields together anymore. Such is death, as we know it, proven by the fact that, in spite of all our wishful thinking, the dead never return. We are composed of such a huge number of energetic fields that the probabilities for them to reunite again to form the exact same combination, the exact same being, amidst an infinite number of other possibilities, are simply and plainly inexistent. Therefore, it could be said that the phenomenon of Death is, in itself, a proposition to find a new continuity, related to its mystery and that of life. 

This continuity begins with acquiescing to the notion of a force that binds everything in the universe. A third, impersonal force that allows us as individuals to develop awareness. This binding force, the force of life, is Intent. After acquiescing to the existence of this impersonal force, or rather while doing it, we physically incorporate our role as aware beings. This is given in the form of a corporeal conviction that has to do with our perception. We are, first and last, perceivers. And what we perceive is the infinite, independent and eternal motion of Intent. Thus, the awareness of the ultimate phenomena, such as Death, brings about this new type of continuity to our lives. Continuity based in one single, dynamic space/time unit: The Here/Now. 

It must be noted that, although the first kind of continuity discussed, that of the social order, appears to be dynamic, it really is not. The circular motion that it adopts creates the illusion of movement, when in fact it is a very static whirl of events that repeat themselves under the surface. It's like the case of the Maelstrom, which possesses a rotator motion, but not translation. On the other hand, as long as we are able to recognize the independent existence of this abstract and impersonal force, the Here/Now continuity is, although apparently static, completely dynamic. It is this external force the one that plays, ever changing, like a river, its own abstract games and combinations. We are, then, just perceivers of this infinite, eternal and unfathomably mysterious motion. We are, in essence, unprejudiced witnesses. 

We are here, as Don Juan said to Carlos, to See and feel awe. A human being cannot survive without continuity. But we have to understand at all costs, if we are interested in these essential issues, that there is, in fact, another possibility for us in this regard. Anyone that fully adopts this type of essential continuity is, by definition, a man or woman of knowledge, a being who is going to die, a warrior, someone who walks the path with heart. Ultimately, and beyond all labels, this is the only legitimate human being. 

THE STRATEGIST 

The warrior's strategy is to become a strategist. This may sound truly idiotic, but in its simplicity lies the key that opens all doors. The social order's continuity, based upon five measuring units, creates a concrete world. In fact, concreteness could be defined as all those phenomena that deal with this type of continuity. On the other hand, the Here/Now continuity that defines a warrior, or a sorcerer, or whatever we want to call a complete human being, has to do with the abstract. Again, the abstract could be defined as all those phenomena that deal with a Here/Now continuity. So, in short, a warrior is an abstractionist. He/she reduces every single little event of his/her life to the last possible reduction. And, at this point, we always find one thing: energy. 

We live in a universe of energy, a universe that, first and last, is based upon an abstract continuity. Sobriety is, to a warrior, the exercise of abstracting. And when a warrior is confronted with the results of his abstractions, an infinite feeling of awe immediately replaces the remaining of the old continuity. The way we deal with our world in the social order could be defined as a circular, inefficient attempt of strategy. The highest peak of this attempt to deal with a concrete world is always the same: defeat. 

We appear to follow three basic steps in our interactions with the world as social beings. First, we plan; second, we fight for victory; third, whether we win or lose, we lose. The problem with this pattern of behavior is that none of its three elements bear a shred of efficiency for a being who's going to die. All they succeed in creating is an insurmountable feeling of boredom. This boredom reaches such levels, in time, that it has to come out in the form of absurd violence, which we exert upon our whole environment and ourselves. And the failure, as it was explained, has to do with leaving out essential elements of our existence, such as death. To a being who is going to die, concrete victories have no value whatsoever. Not in themselves, at least, for he knows that death will take all that is concrete away, dissolving it into utter nothingness. This is why, being our goal as concretely biased beings and the concrete victory, we are ultimately losers. The social order is defeat. 

The Here/Now continuity that defines a warrior is a quite different affair. First of all, a warrior includes abstract issues every time. One of these abstract elements is the awareness of death. As a being who's going to die, a warrior simply cannot seek concrete gaining. From the start, he aims at something else. The only issue of interest to a sorcerer, like Miles Reid said during the last seminar, is awareness. From awareness stems everything else. Therefore, since our awareness is intimately related to the feeling of abstract awe, a warrior aims at awe, and at the feeling of impeccability and elegance that also comes with it. This derives into a very peculiar inversion of things in the warrior's strategy. 

It turns out that, to a warrior, victory comes first. In other words, a being who is going to die has nothing to lose. Thus, whatever he does, victory is ensured even before the fight begins. Impeccability, within an everyday context, means exactly what Don Juan said: doing everything the best you can, no matter what. Here/Now. Stalking is the other side of the coin to being impeccable. An impeccable behavior, for some mysterious reason, liberates streams of awareness that fixate our perception of the world, providing clarity and efficiency. And this is precisely what is called "Stalking", to fixate our perception of the world in order to emulate the universe's perception of itself, which is clear and efficient beyond imagination. 

Then, after victory, comes the strategy. A warrior, through his impeccable behavior, stalks his whole world, starting with himself. He does this in order to recognize himself on the abstract mirror of Intent, which is the first stalker. In doing this, he finds the essential nature of his being. And finally, after victory and strategy, a warrior finds knowledge and awe. 

It could be said, therefore, that the only active part of a warrior's life is his impeccability. The strategy is to become a strategist, to be impeccable. Victory cannot be taken away from a warrior, since he simply cannot lose as a being who is going to die. And the reverent awe that knowledge brings to a warrior has to do with the interaction of the universe at large with his/her individual awareness. 

The warrior's discipline is, then, impeccability.

Here are the others posts in this thread:

The Warrior's Discipline Part 1

The Warrior's Discipline Part 2

The Warrior's Discipline Part 3

The Warrior's Discipline Part 4

The Warrior's Discipline Part 5

TMMK