The Path with Heart
It is no secret that I am into Jung and theories about synchronicity (not, not the album by The Police), but it has been about five years since I have really actively read about it. Now I want to again like something fierce.
And in light of last night's post, I was just in the right frame of mind to read Robb's post with an excerpt from The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda... and the subject matter is something I would probably dive into. It's very much worth looking at:Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.
This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.
Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.
I have told you that to choose a path you must be free from fear and ambition. The desire to learn is not ambition. It is our lot as men to want to know.
The path without a heart will turn against men and destroy them. It does not take much to die, and to seek death is to seek nothing.
For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have a heart, on any path that may have a heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I travel--looking, looking, breathlessly.
And he went on to say,
At that point in my life, I never felt I was important enough to have a path, or even have the ability to choose which path I could take. I felt like an insignificant speck of dust. It was definitely a turning point in my life. I realized that I am as important as I choose to be. That there are many paths available for me to take in life, the universe will only show me the entrances, and its up to me to choose which one has heart, and be prepared for it being the toughest road there is. I've always said that the path to something worth fighting for could destroy you, because if it didn't have the ability to destroy you, its not worth fighting for to begin with.
More on Castaneda.
My week is totally kicking ass in a very quiet kind of way so far.
And in light of last night's post, I was just in the right frame of mind to read Robb's post with an excerpt from The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda... and the subject matter is something I would probably dive into. It's very much worth looking at:Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions. To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary.
This question is one that only a very old man asks. Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long long paths, but I am not anywhere. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.
Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.
I have told you that to choose a path you must be free from fear and ambition. The desire to learn is not ambition. It is our lot as men to want to know.
The path without a heart will turn against men and destroy them. It does not take much to die, and to seek death is to seek nothing.
For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have a heart, on any path that may have a heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I travel--looking, looking, breathlessly.
And he went on to say,
At that point in my life, I never felt I was important enough to have a path, or even have the ability to choose which path I could take. I felt like an insignificant speck of dust. It was definitely a turning point in my life. I realized that I am as important as I choose to be. That there are many paths available for me to take in life, the universe will only show me the entrances, and its up to me to choose which one has heart, and be prepared for it being the toughest road there is. I've always said that the path to something worth fighting for could destroy you, because if it didn't have the ability to destroy you, its not worth fighting for to begin with.
More on Castaneda.
My week is totally kicking ass in a very quiet kind of way so far.