Infinity..... and Stillness

2009 has begun with an explosive start. Truly a convergence of factors: social-political-geo-cosmic-spiritual. The pieces are coming together now and seek to impact upon one another like a complex, chaotic, non-linear system.

At the end of 2008 I was active in closing down one phase of my life and moving towards another. I was also active (all throughout 2008) in physical movement, which culminated in my return to the UK only 10 days ago. And since those 10 days I have been rooted like a log. Something is jamming the airwaves. And importantly, there is a marked shift towards an inner silence.

I remarked recently to a friend that it appeared that our spiritual-antenna to the energetic-mind had been scrambled, like some radar (HAARP?) interference. It was cutting off our feed, our source. As if part of the 'end-game' had been put in motion. Like severing all communications before an attack.

The result - grounded. Extra efforts are required to maintain that equilibrium of self. And that 'groundedness' seemed to manifest in physical rootedness. To the spot.

My friend called again to say they were reading Perfect Brilliant Stillness, and how relevant it was for present times. I realised how very similar it was to what I am currently reading - Castaneda's The Active Side of Infinity.

Castaneda, quoting don Juan, says that those who try to view 'infinity' cannot describe what they are viewing. It is like going into an inner place of silence: you cannot verbalise it. In fact, 'infinity' chooses; and it is the role of the 'warrior' to acquiesce elegantly to the 'solicitations' of infinity.

"But above all", he added after a calculated pause, "don't be overwhelmed by the event because you cannot describe it. It is an event beyond the syntax of our language."...

..."Infinity chooses" he said. "The art of the warrior-traveler is to have the ability to move with the slightest insinuation, the art of acquiescing to every command of infinity. For this, a warrior-traveler needs prowess, strength, and above everything else, sobriety. All those three put together give, as a result, elegance!"

It is almost as if 'infinity' is turning itself inside out. This elusive ephemera is ripping through our physical realm right now, showing us the non-existence of our monetary systems. It is hammering away at the 'dark river of our awareness', shouting at us to wake-up. It demands that we shift away from our heavy attachments... because, in the end, we will have no choice. As don Juan says: "Infinity chooses"

This begs for working on the inner silence. Our contact is being severed; soon we'll be in the eye of the hurricane. This is the lull. We can all feel something is on its way. We are being asked to cultivate sobriety: our own brand of inner elegance.

That's why we can't fathom what's to come: our syntax is non-functional.

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Syntax

A man staring at his equations
said that the universe had a beginning.
There had been an explosion, he said.
A bang of bangs, and the universe was born.
And it is expanding, he said.
He had even calculated the length of its life:
ten billion revolutions of the earth around the sun.
The entire globe cheered;
They found his calculations to be science.
None thought that by proposing that the universe began,
the man had merely mirrored the syntax of his mother tongue;
a syntax which demands beginnings, like birth,
and developments, like maturation,
and ends, like death, as statements of facts.
The universe began,
and it is getting old, the man assured us,
and it will die, like all things die,
like he himself died after confirming mathematically
the syntax of his mother tongue.

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The Other Syntax

Did the universe really begin?
Is the theory of the big bang true?
These are not questions, though they sound like they are.
Is the syntax that requires beginnings, developments
and ends as statements of fact the only syntax that exists?
That's the real question.
There are other syntaxes.
There is one, for example, which demands that varieties
of intensity be taken as facts.
In that syntax nothing begins and nothing ends;
thus birth is not a clean, clear-cut event,
but a specific type of intensity,
and so is maturation, and so is death.
A man of that syntax, looking over his equations, finds that
he has calculated enough varieties of intensity
to say with authority
that the universe never began
and will never end,
but that it has gone, and is going now, and will go
through endless fluctuations of intensity.
That man could very well conclude that the universe itself
is the chariot of intensity
and that one can board it
to journey through changes without end.
He will conclude all that, and much more,
perhaps without ever realizing
that he is merely confirming
the syntax of his mother tongue.

***************************

From "The Active Side of Infinity" by Carlos Castaneda

Disciplined Detachment

I get the goose-bumps that 2009 will require restraint on our part: importantly it will more than ever require us to retain our energy....

So a few thoughts about retaining energy...

By cultivating a degree of disciplined detachment, energy can be better retained, stored, and ultimately utilised for effective goals and actions.

Without this sobriety of detachment, there is the great possibility of indulgence in everyday affairs; an indulgence that draws out one's energy and places it into what can be trivial and petty affairs.

Detachment is not indifference. It is affective disciplined observation, with sobriety and attention. This positioning can actually create a greater awareness about the situation at hand.

In our times of mass manufactured distraction, such strategies can be very useful, and effective.

In other words - don't get drawn in completely into affairs that are set-up to drain us, indulge us, and scare us. Like their sulphur bombs, it is a poisonous smokescreen...

2009 will be a year for Transformation: despite the inevitable disruptions there will be opportunities for new energetic projects of renewal and re-integration......

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