Personal development: The power of accepting our mortality October 1, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Personal Development Potential.Tags: achieving goals, Carlos Castaneda, inspiration, life, personal growth, philosophy, self-actualization, writing
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It may be possible that we could fall short of reaching our full potential because we often act as if we are going to live forever; and because of that tendency we do not make a concerted effort to change.
This is one of the life lessons that Carlos Castaneda tries to convey through the following reported “conversation” with the shaman Don Juan Matus, who admonishes Castaneda:
“You think your life is going to last forever.”
“No, I don’t”
“Then, if you don’t think your life is going to last forever, what are you waiting for? Why the hesitation to change?”
This is a tough message.
For most of us, accepting our mortality and the very real brevity of our lives is something we put beneath the surface of our active thinking as we go about our everyday lives.
But we are going to die, and as Don Juan reminds us, “There is no power which could guarantee that you are going to live one more minute.”
What then, should we do?
“Trust your personal power. That’s all one has in this whole mysterious world,” Don Juan advises.
This verbal exchange* takes place in Carlos Castaneda’s book, Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan. It is one of a series Castaneda wrote on “the teachings of Don Juan.”
They are intriguing and challenging books, featuring a lot of provocative advice on personal behaviour patterns and ways to develop our personal power.
* There is some discussion/debate as to whether this series of books by Castaneda should be considered as anthropology, as literature, or as a combination of both. It is a remarkable series, which some people have found transformative.
— Dennis Mellersh
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