| There are two major centers of awareness in the human body.
The first center is the rational mind, the every day consciousness. This
is called the First Attention, and is at the same time a description of
the perceived world and of the perception, the mind. This center is trained
into be more or less a specialist of the world as 'we' know it. Some spend
a lifetime developing some special knowledge of this world, which we often
think is absolute. The first attention seldom realizes that if the mind
changes, the world changes. Most people are not able to see any greater
changes of the world as a result of this. This is a result of the the training
they have received since being children. However, so called 'bad luck days',
days when everything go wrong, are nothing but an example of this. Bad
luck days can be controlled and the 'bad' in them reversed to normal when
one realizes that it is just a frame of mind. All of this is just examples
of the workings of the first attention. There are, however, a second center
of perception, called the 'second attention', or the will. To call a thing
either this or that may be misleading, but one may say that that the will
is part of the second attention, or that the second attention is perceived
by the will...
The Rings of Power Castaneda describes this as 'Rings of Power'. The first ring is the sphere of the first attention, the rationality. This ring is developed and trained since childhood. The second ring of power is the domain of the second attention, and encompasses the unknown 'out there'. This second ring is poorly developed in most modern humans, but practitioners try to develop it. Handling of the second attention is what is called 'magic', and is done by the second attention, the will, in the same manner as the first attention, our rationality handles the 'everyday' world. The Will The will is located in the physical body c:a one or two inches below the navel. It reaches out to the world through a 'soft spot' on the luminous cocoon. The will may be called to act on the self in odd ways. The will is outside of the psyche, and is also superior to the psyche in command. The will can be used to control ones mood, a fit of anger or a depression can be easily calmed by will. You can use the will to say to yourself that you shall be happy, and then you will feel genuinely happy. The will is of course not limited to the self. It is possible to apply the will onto the most inconceivable stuff, in ways which are impossible to understand. I will not go into specific use of the will as such, but rather state that the important thing in a practitioners life is her or his will. With it the world is still unfathomable, but somehow less so. With will it is possible to enjoy even the most painful situations, it is possible to really 'take in' life fully. Since will is outside of the psychological 'machinery', it is easier to leave old habits and to disregard rational fears and worries. The will provides an Absolute Point of Reference to the practitioner. The will is also a major component in dreaming. By use of will it is possible to extend awareness into the dreaming realm. The will is also used to move the assemblage point to new locations. The training of the will takes a lifetime, and is much tougher than the training of the first attention was. Energy How powerful ones will is is largely dependent ones Energy. Energy need to be saved and conserved. When energy is available, the will may manifest itself. The warrior conserves her energy, and waits for his will to come. This is perhaps the best way to describe the practitioner, a warrior who rests [Tomas]. |
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