So here are a few comments about Steven Pressfield's book "The War of Art".
I think it is pretty valuable and useful. Pressfield writes for aspiring artists or entrepreneurs who feel "blocked", but what he presents goes way beyond that. Basically, he comes up with a concept of the human mind similar to Castenadas "Predator's mind" or G.'s "Little I's", though it is much less sophisticated. He calls it "Resistance" - the resistance we feel whenever we are about to do something truly useful, as in fulfilling our soul's potential.
The War of Art said:
THE UNLIVED LIFE
Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.
Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic? Ever quit a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? Have you ever bailed out on a call to embark upon a spiritual practice, dedicate yourself to a humanitarian calling, commit your life to the service of others?
[...]
Are you a writer who doesn't write, a painter who doesn't paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is.
However, there are some things in the book that I think are a bit problematical, so let's get them out of the way.
Pressfield doesn't seem to be aware of the problem of psychopathy, let alone Organic Portals or anything like that. This one should keep in mind. Also, he seems to accept the official 9/11-Story. His comments about the desire to heal oneself being a manifestation of Resistance I found a bit odd, at least without further context. Generally, I find his writing style, though very entertaining and "on point", to be a bit "self-important". His examples are a bit weird sometimes.
However, I really liked the book.
First, I think his concept of Resistance is much, much easier to grasp compared to G's "little I's" or Castenada's "Predator's Mind". I can imagine that people who would never accept that their mind is a "foreign installation" or that they actually have different personalities, can easily recognize "Resistance" in their own behavior - given that they possess even the slightest ability to think critically about themselves. Add to that the short, "in your face" language of the book, I think Pressfield does a great job in waking people up to the fact that if they do not start an all-out war against Resistance, they can't achieve nothing in life.
The War of Art said:
Resistance's goal is not to wound or disable. Resistance aims to kill. Its target is the epicenter of our being: our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift we were put on earth to give and that no one else has but us. Resistance means business. When we fight it, we are in a war to the death.
Resistance obstructs movement only from a lower sphere to a higher. It kicks in when we seek to pursue a calling in the arts, launch an innovative enterprise, or evolve to a higher station morally, ethically, or spiritually
Resistance by definition is self-sabotage. But there's a parallel peril that must also be guarded against: sabotage by others.
When a writer begins to overcome her Resistance — in other words, when she actually starts to write — she may find that those close to her begin acting strange. They may become moody or sullen, they may get sick; they may accuse the awakening writer of "changing," of "not being the person she was." The closer these people are to the awakening writer, the more bizarrely they will act and the more emotion they will put behind their actions.
So, I think even though his concept may in no way be as accurate as G's or the modern concepts of cognitive science, its advantage is that it is highly accessible.
Second, what I like about the concept of Resistance, is that it is easily applicable. What Pressfield writes is quite similar to the ever-good advice "Do what 'it' doesn't like":
The War of Art said:
Rule of thumb: The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.
I think this is quite powerful and easier to grasp in many situations than "Do what 'it' doesn't like", especially at the beginning of the Work. And you can spot Resistance quite easily: Want to do something and feel "it" kick in? Where does it come from? Where do you feel it in your body? What are your thoughts? So I think spotting and feeling Resistance may be a good way to practice Self-observation.
On top of that, Pressfield even brings in Hyperdimensional Realities, and urges us to align with the forces of creation. I like the fact that he does this in a straight-forward, no-nonsense kind of way, so that he may reach people with an atheistic upbringing and no sense for anything "religious", let alone "esoteric".
THE EGO AND THE SELF
Here's what I think. I think angels make their home in the Self, while Resistance has its seat in the Ego.
The fight is between the two.
The Self wishes to create, to evolve. The Ego likes things just the way they are.
What is the Ego, anyway? Since this is my book, I'll define it my way.
The Ego is that part of the psyche that believes in material existence.
The Ego's job is to take care of business in the real world. It's an important job. We couldn't last a day without it. But there are worlds other than the real world, and this is where the Ego runs into trouble.
Here's what the Ego believes:
1) Death is real. The Ego believes that our existence is defined by our physical flesh. When the body dies, we die. There is no life beyond life.
2) Time and space are real. The Ego is analog. It believes that to get from A to Z we have to pass through B, C, and D. To get from breakfast to supper we have to live the whole day.
3) Every individual is different and separate from every other. The Ego believes that I am distinct from you. The twain cannot meet. I can hurt you and it won't hurt me.
4) The predominant impulse of life is self-preservation. Because our existence is physical and thus vulnerable to innumerable evils, we live and act out of fear in all we do. It is wise, the Ego believes, to have children to carry on our line when we die, to achieve great things that will live after us, and to buckle our seat belts.
5) There is no God. No sphere exists except the physical and no rules apply except those of the material world.
These are the principles the Ego lives by. They are sound solid principles.
Here's what the Self believes:
1) Death is an illusion. The soul endures and evolves through infinite manifestations.
2) Time and space are illusions. Time and space operate only in the physical sphere, and even here, don't apply to dreams, visions, transports. In other dimensions we move "swift as thought" and inhabit multiple planes simultaneously.
3) All beings are one. If I hurt you, I hurt myself.
4) The supreme emotion is love. Union and mutual assistance are the imperatives of life. We are all in this together.
5) God is all there is. Everything that is, is God in one form or another. God, the divine ground, is that in which we live and move and have our being. Infinite planes of reality exist, all created by, sustained by and infused by the spirit of God.
So all in all, I would recommend this book to everyone. After reading it, I felt kind of empowered to take the battle against "it" to the next round. And I imagine that the book can open many doors to people not (yet) familiar with the Work.
Leonarda said:
I also read the comments in Amazon and I found quite interesting that a lot of people consider it as a life-changer, like people are prone to believe that there's an enemy in our head (which some years ago would be labelled as "paranoid") as long as we still talk about God and not aliens/entities etc
Exactly.
