The Warrior -- Carlos Casteneda

[Julie Smith]

Dear Paul,

Would it give you pleasure to know you remain a mystery to me?  I very much
appreciated your comment a day or two ago about Love being what sets some
kinds of groups apart from others, and about anything without love not
having meaning.  I hope you don't mind that I agree with you.  (And I hope
THAT doesn't make you change your mind! :) ).

I also wanted to say one more thing about this conversation about the
peaceful warrior.  In my earlier post on this topic, I listed the
characteristics of the warrior as courage, loyalty to a higher ideal, and
persistence.  One that I didn't think to mention was willingness to die for
that higher ideal.  That is perhaps the defining characteristic of a
warrior, don't you think?

I want to clarify with you that kindness, compassion and nonviolence are my
higher ideal.  I'm willing to die for that ideal.

If I am kind to a terrorist and the terrorist punches me in the face, that
will not change my ideal.  If I show compassion to a terrorist and the
terrorist kills me, that will not change my ideal.  These words simply
reflect my loyalty to my ideal.  As I've thought about this during the past
few days, I've come to see the similarity between this way of being and the
way of being of other warriors who are willing to die for their ideals.

I can only stand in my own space in the world.  I will hold this space that
I occupy open for kindness.  If that makes me naive, then I will hold my
naive space open for kindness.  It is my space.  I can hold it open for
whatever I like.

As for death, it is the only thing I am certain of in this world.  It is
merely the timing I do not know.  With those as givens, it seems most
pragmatic to me to live my life on my terms as long as I am here.

Julie








----- Original Message -----
From: J. Paul Everett <JPESeeker at aol.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2001 12:23 PM
Subject: Re: The Warrior -- Carlos Casteneda


> In a message dated 10/14/01 9:35:52 AM, jsmith at mosquitonet.com writes:
>
> << If the higher ideal of a particular kind of warrior is to Be in the
world
> without
>
> coercion, force, or violence, then the "war" is being fought on a
different
>
> playing field, the field of the inner self.   Who is to say the battle we
wage
>
> within ourselves is not the most important battle of all? >>
>
> Dear Julie Smith, et. al,
>
> The above assumes that you are left in peace and alive to wage the inner
> battle, which, for many people, isn't true (ask the Cambodians, Tutsis,
> Serbs, Gypsies, Guatamalans, Colombians, Kuwaitis, South Sudanese, etc.).
> Jung also said the first 40 years of life are used to ground ourselves in
> this world so that we can use the presumed next 40 years to wage the inner
> struggle with the Shadow, the anima/animus, etc., without being knocked
off
> our pins, so to speak.  On the other hand, the below is also sometimes
true,
> imho.  It's a bit of in-your-face humor with some significant reality in
it.
>
> I think we need an in-depth understanding that there are a large number of
> people in this world who are not interested in inner development and peace
> but rather they are deeply interested in power and especially power over
> people and events.  I'm not a psychologist but I suspect the power
sickness
> is more prevalent than we would like to imagine.  Plato worked rather hard
on
> this issue in his 5th Republic.  We haven't made much progress
understanding
> this "need" to control others through power.
>
> Most religions also need to confront this issue when they say their belief
> system is the only way to God and you'd better believe that or I'll kill
you
> (or you're going straight to Hell, etc.).  Which has happened in the past
and
> is happening right now in many parts of the world.  This is a form of
> religious power that clerics wield.  And, imho, there are a significant
> number of people on this list who are very, very uncomfortable with power
and
> want themselves and others not to have it.  That's not the way of this
world,
> again imho.
>
> The in-your-face "humor":
>
> What to do if you happen upon a peace rally:
>
> 1) Approach a person talking about "peace" and saying there should be, "no
> retaliation."
>
> 2) Engage in brief conversation; ask if military force is appropriate.
>
> 3) When he says "No," ask:  "Why not?"
>
> 4) Wait until he says something to the effect of:  "Because that would
just
> cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and we should not
contribute
> to continuing the cycle of violence."
>
> 5) When he's in mid-sentence, punch him in the face as hard as you can.
>
> 6) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake
> and contrary to his values to strike you, because that would, "be awful
and
> he should not contribute to continuing the cycle of violence."
>
> 7) Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional
violence.
>
> 8) Punch him in the face again, harder this time.
>
> Repeat steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes it is
necessary
> to punch back.
>
> And, yes, I know a good bit about the life of Gandhi and how he used
> non-violence.  He was doing so in the face of a culture (British) that was
> strongly against the taking innocent lives (Marquis of Queensbury rules,
> etc.), so they didn't kill him and his movement at the outset.  Contrast
that
> non-lethal-violence of the British against his movement with the results
in
> Cambodia or Nazi Germany.  When the aggressor is willing to kill you and
wipe
> out your way of life, it's time to punch back.  I doubt that any future
> terrorist or nut who tries to take over a plane will succeed because
nobody
> in the future will try to talk them down to the ground.  Already happened
on
> a flight to LA.  It's time to punch back.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Paul Everett
>
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