Inner Silence
Also called “stopping the internal dialogue”, inner silence has been described as the initiation or nexus of elevated human awareness. It is the starting point of seeing, of dreaming, of moving the assemblage point, and of intending any of a range of far-reaching consequences.
Our “internal dialogue” is something that all of us experience. It is a cascading fabric of voices and understandings that plays constantly in the background of our consciousness. It is sometimes referred to as the “monkey mind” or the “ego”. It is a constant barrage of judgments, evaluations, criticisms, fears, memories, anticipations… and on and on. It is a complex overlay of programmings from both internal and external sources that ends up being the driving and guiding force in our lives. It’s also the series of “agreements” that keeps our view of reality locked into the currently approved societal sphere.
What the sorcerers of ancient times discovered was that this internal dialog is what limits the perception of contemporary man to the “cocoon” we live and die in, the agreed-upon manifestation of “reality” referred to as the “first attention” – the normal day-to-day world that the average man unconsciously maintains and ferociously guards with the powers of ego and logic.
As Don Juan pointed out many times in his teachings, when inner silence is attained, it is a stepping-stone to infinity. From that vantage point, anything is possible. Inner silence curtails the incessant barrage of beliefs that keep us anchored within a very limiting and mundane set of boundaries. It opens us up to the magical and wondrous world of intent. It tunes us to the calling of the greater power referred to as “spirit” or “infinity”.
In his last book, “The Active Side of Infinity”, published posthumously, Carlos adds yet another clincher onto the understanding of inner silence. Don Juan reveals to him that the “voices” we hear internally, that have become known as the mind of man, is not truly our own voice, but has been “installed” within us by a predatory and malignant force that basically is grooming us for our own self-destruction. Most humans live life unconsciously, and are not aware of the nature of this “foreign installation” that has taken over human consciousness; but men of knowledge, or sorcerers, have understood this, and devote their lives to freeing themselves from the enemy within.
This is not known in history.
Unique knowledge.
This is true, Azem.
The history of human “doings” is food only for the 1st attention. The deeper Knowledge of Self is food for the heart, the gift of the Nagual, the 2nd Attention…
WoW. Is the road to inner silence:. Meditation? Only ?
Are there other portals you know and can share
Thanks for creating this luminous site.
Daniel, every human has an innate longing to return to his original home; the place of pure consciousness and pure silence. Some of us call the ‘pull’ in that direction, the thirst of the heart. (Therefore, Juan Mateus’ quote: “For me, there is only the travelling on the pathway of heart …”) Those who teach the true art of Self-Knowledge can show you that pathway.
“Installed” is such an inferior construct. To frame the world that way is to limit it to being a poor and beggarly plane.
Define it rather as a great test– a test so great, it is as if a very fine net has caught all that enter herein. The net serves also as a very fine sieve, for nothing will get through that sieve that holds onto this tonal island.
I agree with Juan’s term predatory and malignant force, grooming us for our own self-destruction; because the term points in the correct direction. To his chagrin, he couldn’t see what he was referring to. Also to his chagrin, his definition is incorrect.
What he was referring to is the entity which caused another entity to necessarily engage the very fine net or sieve. To say engage is likely a misnomer, because it is more likely that it was pre-installed, only needing the anticipated trigger of the first entity for it to activate.
So make it understandable: What is this predatory, malignant force, grooming us for our own destruction? I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.
Only joking! Don Juan and Genaro could well split their gut at that one!
Still want to know?
Yah- contact me.
Good points, Walter. “Installed” may be a collusion of terms translated loosely from Spanish. Many of Castaneda’s labels were a stretch in this way, i.e. “sorcerer” for “man of knowledge.”
As far as Juan not being able to see what he was referring to, we’d need to dissect the word “see”. Juan and his cohorts “saw” the energy that held dreams together. Likely, he was very aware of the shape, presence and potential of the somewhat nauseating ‘thumping lizards’ that Carlos portrayed. Perhaps the physicality of them is not as important as the implication of what this foreign energy actually does to us.
At the end of the day, being caught in the fine-tuning of words and terminology was not Juan’s teaching, nor was it the aim of the path of the Nagual. It was more the lived and active understanding that fuelled intent, vision and destiny.