The Fire From Within(command of taking an inventory)

[Bo]

Currently I am reading the fire from within by carlos castoneda and there is this part I don't understand at all, here is it:

“What is an inventory, don Juan?” I asked.
“Human beings take notice of the emanations they have inside their
cocoons,” he replied. “No other creatures do that. The moment the pressure from
the emanations at large fixates the emanations inside, the first attention begins to
watch itself. It notes everything about itself, or at least it tries to, in whatever
aberrant ways it can. This is the process seers call taking an inventory.
“I don’t mean to say that human beings choose to take an inventory, or that
they can refuse to take it. To take an inventory is the Eagle’s command.

“But human beings quiet down their emanations and then reflect on them.
The emanations focus on themselves.”
He said that human beings carry the command of taking an inventory to its
logical extreme and disregard everything else. Once they are deeply involved in the
inventory, two things may happen. They may ignore the impulses of the
emanations at large, or they may use them in a very specialized way.
The end result of ignoring those impulses after taking an inventory is a
unique state known as reason. The result of using every impulse in a specialized
way is known as selfabsorption.
Human reason appears to a seer as an unusually homogeneous dull glow that
rarely if ever responds to the constant pressure from the emanations at large? a
glow that makes the egglike shell become tougher, but more brittle.
Don Juan remarked that reason in the human species should be bountiful, but
that in actuality it is very rare. The majority of human beings turn to
selfabsorption.
He asserted that the awareness of all living beings has a degree of
selfreflection in order for them to interact. But none except man’s first attention
has such a degree of selfabsorption. Contrary to men of reason, who ignore the
impulse of the emanations at large, the selfabsorbed individuals use every impulse
and turn them all into a force to stir the trapped emanations inside their cocoons.
Observing all this, seers arrived at a practical conclusion. They saw that men
of reason are bound to live longer, because by disregarding the impulse of the
emanations at large, they quiet down the natural agitation inside their cocoons. The
selfabsorbed individuals, on the other hand, by using the impulse of the emanations
at large to create more agitation, shorten their lives.

-page 74/75

I'm very confused about this ,I have read this part 10/12 times and I still don't really understand it, this what I think he means in short,

with taking an inventory, it is actually the same as self-observation , and men that ignore their emotions tend to live longer, and men that don't tend to shorten their lives or something like that? (i think i'm way off)

this is really bugging me because I can't continue reading until I understand this part completely, anyone that can maybe clear this up an easy way of what it means or an example? I would really appreciate that!





note: - Agitation is an emotion, a strong emotional disturbance, unrest.

 

[OCKHAM]

Hi Adam,

with taking an inventory, it is actually the same as self-observation , and men that ignore their emotions tend to live longer, and men that don't tend to shorten their lives or something like that? (i think i'm way off)

Try replacing the word emotions and emanations with the word I's. We can't ignore the I's until after we have become aware they exist. If we ignore them before, they may remain in charge.

You may also want to read what Laura wrote on this page, scroll down on page to read her long post.
http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=6798&p=11

 

[Bo]

Hi Adam,

with taking an inventory, it is actually the same as self-observation , and men that ignore their emotions tend to live longer, and men that don't tend to shorten their lives or something like that? (i think i'm way off)

Try replacing the word emotions and emanations with the word I's. We can't ignore the I's until after we have become aware they exist. If we ignore them before, they may remain in charge.

You may also want to read what Laura wrote on this page, scroll down on page to read her long post.
http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=6798&p=11

Thanks Ockham!!

I understand it better now, and yeah I have read her post , I have printed it to read it a few more times in the weekends.

sometimes they just make things so complicated in books, using words I never heard before, sometimes it's like they have created these book for scientist only.

but nevertheless one of the great things about that is that my English vocabulary has increased enormously

 

[NormaRegula]

I understand it better now, and yeah I have read her post , I have printed it to read it a few more times in the weekends.

sometimes they just make things so complicated in books, using words I never heard before, sometimes it's like they have created these book for scientist only.

but nevertheless one of the great things about that is that my English vocabulary has increased enormously

My first language is English, and I oft times have a great deal of difficulty understanding the QFG reccommended material written by authors with a vast knowledge of science, math, and esoteric matters. I find myself running to the dictionary, QFG glossary, and other information sources midway through some paragraphs. It's humbling and frustrating to realize how much I missed out by not studying some of the more simple scientific and philosophical concepts in my youth because I felt (and was told by others whom I wanted to please) that I wasn't mentally capable of dealing with such matters.

Having had a similar question like yours regarding self-observation and the "I's" running through my head...it was answered by following Ockham's link to Laura's down to earth postings, with its synopsis/snippet of Robbie Burn's poem, and quotes from Mouravieff, and then Lobaczewski. It also opened up new avenues of thinking and questions about the Work...which I hope to go into more over on that thread.