In the knowledge system of Juan Matus and Castaneda, “see” and “look” express two distinct ways of perceiving.
“Looking” is for the ordinary way of perceiving the world, while “seeing” suggests a complex process by which a man of knowlege can see the essence of beings and things.
The “darkness of the day” is the best time to see. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 30 As often as possible, stay outside in the wild while the day is breaking. Then, there is nothing but power. A pure delight.
To see, it is when the third eye get through appearances. It is the vision of auras – and not something called “gift of second sight” – that allows Madame IrmaOr other fortune tellers to predict your future. In the best case, Madame Irma sees visions by flash that come without warning. And when the flash is off, Irma improvises according to the unwritten rules of basic psychology. And it works!
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. (Paul Simon et Art Garfunkel)
Madame Irma doesn’t “see”. If so, she would not do what she does. “Seeing” is a sacred act. Nothing should be revealed to the consultant affecting his/her future, this is an unforgivable crime. Madame Irma does it all the time.
Seeing is not a gift, but the result of work on self, which is always long and arduous. The way is demanding long before becoming rewarding. Methods existed once ago to accelerate it electrically but those extreme techniques are not used anymore by “los Nuevos Videntes”, the various clans of sorcerers and naguals in America, according to Carlos Castaneda‘s teacher Juan Matus.
Overcome Complacency
They are trained in the hard school of fear, to overcome the visceral fear of the unknown, to acquire enough inner fluency and speed in order to assemble other worlds. The warrior must first subdue fear. Submit and attach it to one’s feet, like the two shamans of the Devil – Arcana XV, Tarot of Marseilles.
Unfortunately for him, when that moment of truth comes, Castaneda breaks. His fear prevails. “You were scared and you ran away because you believed that your person was damn important. Believe such a thing makes heavy, clumsy and vain. To become a man of knowledge, one must be absolutely light and fluid.” (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 15
And to become light and fluid, you must track your sufficiency.
Kill the Feeling of Your Own Importance
Seeing is therefore an enviable knowledge? Not really. Like a coin, seeing has two sides. “Once man learns to see, he finds himself alone in the world with nothing but madness. “ (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 83
“Madness of the wise, wisdom of the fools”. To not be alone, man can choose to be defeated. Quietly then he joins the party with all the Fools, it is more fun. Being defeated is inevitable. Each of us is either victorious or defeated; you are sometimes executioner and sometimes victim.
“To see” chase the illusion of victory, defeat, suffering.” (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 137 To see chase Maya, Tibetan name for illusion.
One day, Castaneda asked his benefactor: “Do you think that the Tibetans can “see”? – I doubt it. When a man learns to see, not one thing predominates among those he knows. Not one. If the Tibetans could see, they will notice immediately.” (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 189
Don Juan Matus often evokes the danger of seeing without being a warrior. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 208 “Seeing” requires an iron discipline. This amount of discipline may be hard to swallow. But remember nothing can be done without.
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. (Helen Keller)
The Warrior and the Sorcerer
Being hungry or suffer means that the man had let him go and is no longer a warrior. The forces of his hunger and suffering will destroy him. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 141
A warrior does not let go to anything, not even his death. A warrior is never a volunteer partner. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 176 A warrior is not vacant.
A sorcerer does not need to see to be a sorcerer. He only needs to know how to use his control. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 193 Compared to those who see, the sorcerer is a poor guy. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 193
A sorcerer’s life is not much better than the average man’s. Sorcery embarrasses him, makes him vulnerable. The inexplicable and unbending forces that surround all of us (…) are for the sorcerer a risk even greater. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 208
A sorcerer, by opening up to knowledge, falls prey to these forces and has only one thing to oppose them: his will. So he must collect energy and act like a warrior. On the path of knowledge, we can only survive by being a warrior. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 208
In the life of the man of knowledge, there is no vacuum. Everything is filled to the brim. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 89
To become a man of knowledge, be a warrior, not a crying baby.
Try harder, without giving up, without wavering, until you are able to see, and to realize that nothing matters. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, pp. 89-90
All our actions are useless, and yet we must act as if we do not know. That is the controlled folly of sorcerers. (source)Carlos Castaneda, The Teachings of Don Juan, p. 79
What can a man have apart of his life and his death? (Carlos Castaneda)