Being Able to “See”
The need to “see” arrives on the discovery that current reality rings false. Children typically assume that the reality constructed for them by their parents, friends, and/or school officials is “real” only to discover the fallacy of that assumption as adolescents. The Breakfast Club provides an excellent example of this type of discovery when — after their Saturday of detention — the detainees uncover the oppressiveness of the reality constructed for them by the school establishment. To Vice Principal Vernon, Brian states the group’s realization:
Dear Mr. Vernon…We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are, what do you care? You see us as you want to see us…in the simplest terms and themost convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete,a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at seven o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed.
Social roles assumed by individuals often oppress their spiritual growth, limiting the potentiality of their divine spark. As discussed in a previous blog posting, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) in American Beauty discovers the meaninglessness of his occupational role, limiting his growth. In both The Breakfast Club and American Beauty, it took an experience or set of experiences to ignite this discovery. In The Breakfast Club, the interaction between the students in detention fueled the awareness of their “assigned” roles and how these roles governed not only their behavior toward each other but their perceptions of each other as well. The interactions eventuated in their discovery of the meaninglessness of the school environment in terms of designating their individuality and potentiality as human beings. Similarly, in American Beauty, Lester Burnham — once free of his oppressive past role — discovers the meaninglessness of not only his current existance but also of other roles, such as of Carolyn’s — his wife — persistant obsession with being the perfect real estate salesperson maintaining a “perfect” home with “perfect” stuff.
My discovery of the meaninglessness of my life “role” took over four decades, fueled by an unlikely event. The ignition started slowly with the preparation of Christmas CDs for my fellow employees at a nonprofit agency where I acted as the Manager of Information Technology. I suspected that the work done at this agency was meaningless based on the relative lack of impact on individuals and society at large as well as the absurdity associated with status assignments within the organization. The Christmas CDs — starting out as humorous songs related to Christmas — soon evolved into a chronicaling of my spiritual development. In part, because of the CDs I questioned the purpose of my life and the meaningfulness of personal roles assigned to and assumed by me. I discovered that my life — like many others’ I suspect — drifted aimlessly without real purpose. Moreover, I wasted many years eating up seconds, minutes, hours, days and years drifting. Drifting is dangerous because it is comfortable, with little anxiety. There is little anxiety because there are few if any challenges. Do not equate being busy with being challenged. You can be busy and drift.
Currently, I am exploring. There is no set formula for this, even though many people — often waving Bibles — want to give you one. As discussed in other posts, the goal of this exploration is the realization of God and all of God’s manifestations. Can this goal be accomplished? Probably not, yet the pursuit is important. In this journey, process is much more important than outcome. At this stage, how do you pursue God? The journey is much more complex and rigorous than many — especially those espousing “conversion” checklists — would have you believe. In reviewing Carlo’s Castaneda’s Journey to Ixtlan, I uncovered a number of beginning steps — if undertaken — spiritually transform individuals to begin the journey to effectively pursuing God and God’s alternative realities. When possible, I included apt biblical passages to illustrate don Juan’s concepts as presented by Castaneda.
Castaneda reported the difficulty in developing a perception of the world beyond naïve realism. Castaneda reported that throughout his stay, “don Juan concentrated the best of his efforts into leading me to a genuine conviction that what I held in mind as the world at hand was merely a description of the world; a description that had been pounded into me from the moment I was born” (p. viii). People learn the description through interactions with others. Don Juan noted that “everyone who comes into contact with a child is a teacher who incessantly describes the world to him, until the moment when the child is capable of perceiving the world as it is described” (p. ix). Therefore, don Juan’s goal for Castaneda was “to see.” To accomplish seeing required Castaneda to embark on a series of steps eventuating in a key prerequisite, “stopping the world.” According to don Juan, “‘. . . one had to learn the new description in a total sense, for the purpose of pitting it against the old one, and in that way break the dogmatic certainty, which we all share, that the validity of our perceptions or our reality of the world, is not to be questioned” (p. xiv). Jesus proposed a new description of reality – the kingdom of God – by teaching his disciples through parables. Jesus disclosed to his disciples that the “secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding. . .” (Mark 4:11-12).
Don Juan argues that personal history is unnecessary; the first step on the journey to stopping the world. Personal history involves an individual’s knowledge of his genealogy. When beginning his notes, Castaneda requests don Juan’s personal history. Don Juan informed Castaneda that he no longer had a personal history, dropping it one day when it was no longer necessary. He instructed Castaneda, “One must first have the desire to drop it … And then one must proceed harmoniously to chop it off, little by little” (p. 11). Dropping one’s personal history runs counter to most individuals; Castaneda believed his “life had no continuity or purpose” (p. 11) without his family roots. Yet, personal histories restrict individuals, drawing boundaries via others’ expectations. When meeting others for the first time, one of the initial questions asked is “what do you do?” What others answer – pastor, secretary, garbage collector – immediately generates expectations regarding their capabilities (e.g., intelligence, morality), restricting interactions and behaviors. Don Juan argued, “You must renew your personal history by telling your parents, your relatives, and your friends everything you do. On the other hand, if you have no personal history, no explanations are needed; nobody is angry or disillusioned with your acts. And above all no one pins you down with their thoughts” (p. 12). Losing one’s personal history begins with small steps like not revealing, “what you do.” Likewise, Jesus queried his disciples regarding his identity (Mark 8:27-29; Matt 16:13-17; Luke 9:18-20), eschewing his personal history by warning his disciples not to reveal his identity (Mark 8:30;Matt 16:18; Luke 9:21).
Losing self-importance also is necessary. Similar to personal history, self-importance limits a true perception of the world. Don Juan told Castaneda, “As long as you feel that you are the most important thing in the world, you cannot really appreciate the world around you. You are like a horse with blinders, all you see is yourself apart from everything else” (p. 23). Don Juan illustrates his view by talking to plants, telling Castaneda, to apologize for gathering them up. “Neither we nor they are more or less important” (p. 23). Castaneda loses his self-importance later on when faced with the possibility with death. He noticed a beetle, and discovered that the “beetle and I were not that different after all. Death, like a shadow, was stalking both of us from behind the boulder. . . . Our death made us equal” (p. 249). Jesus demonstrated the need for losing self-importance before sharing the last supper with his disciples. After washing his disciples’ feet, he tells them, “I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16). Losing self-importance is necessary for escaping a sense of “dualism,” the fallacy of a separation between people and the world. According to don Juan, “The world around us is a mystery . . . And men are no better than anything else” (p. 25).
Acknowledging the wisdom of death is requisite to “seeing.” Typically, people view death as “not real” and “distant.” Consequently, people are careless with their lives. Don Juan accused Castaneda, “You . . . feel that you are immortal, and the decisions of an immortal man can be canceled or regretted or doubted. In a world where death is the hunter . . . there is not time for regrets or doubts. There is only time for decisions. Death, for example, as a clarifier is especially poignant for terminal patients. For patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, for example, the pettiness, neurotic needs and phoniness of life quickly lose their importance. Eventually, the patients make decisions determining the quality of their remaining life and their relationships. According to don Juan, “It doesn’t matter what the decision is. . . Nothing could be more or less serious than anything else. . . In a world where death is the hunter there are no small or big decisions” (p. 43). Similarly, Jesus uses death to illustrate the seeking of the kingdom of God. He instructs a crowd and his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Seeking the kingdom of God is dangerous, requiring a reversal of lifestyle, values, and relationships. As such, there is no time for timidity. Individual acts, possibly, are individuals’ last acts on earth. Don Juan argues that “if you are going to die there is no time for timidity because timidity makes you cling to something that exists only in your thoughts” (p. 85).
And so, the journey begins…
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