ItalianoMovie transcript - 3. What is the Opponent?
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Part 1: The Enslavement
Part 2: The Reconquest
What do we mean, then, by the word Opponent? What is the Opponent in our lives,
in our lives every day?
By the word Opponent we intend to indicate a set of forces acting within the Field of human Consciousness which have the aim of disempowering and keeping it in an unconscious state, identified with imaginary mental constructions. This set of forces act upon us as a conservative element, as an opposite and contrary force to our drive for evolution and expansion of Consciousness; the action of contrasting by the Opponent is, among other things, to prevent us from achieving its existence, and then transcend and transform it into allied force.
Really recognizing the work of the Opponent in our lives, exposing his work and transcending it, is a task that can be difficult, hard, leading to doubts and suffering, which ultimately is his attempt to stay alive. It's a task that can be painful, because we all begin from the same point: we believe to be it. However, to recognize and bring to light our Opponent is one of the most important tasks that a human is called upon to undertake, because the Opponent is the Guardian of the Threshold, the fog to cross to enter the boundless lands that rightfully belong to us as magical human beings in a wonderful Universe.
One of the main purposes of the Opponent, as the word indicates, is just to challenge us, to test our ability, our will to continue on the path that leads to the expansion of Consciousness without ever give up. It challenges us, in order to test and thus liberate our intention to journey towards those majestic realizations that we can achieve, that are part of our heritage of magical and wonderful human beings.
For example, in one of the sacred books of the Jewish esoteric tradition, the Torah, and in the wisdom teachings of the Kabbalah, there are complex descriptions of the purpose and weapons at disposal of an energetic entity, whose name has become synonymous with the forces of evil in the Catholic Church: Satan. Satan, whose meaning is no more than the Opponent, is the energetic entity that, just as an adversary, challenges us to reach the Light. Its main purpose, according to Jewish tradition, is precisely to create the opposite force to that which drives us to the Light, to allow the release of the Force of change, because without resistance there wouldn't be space for even the striving for Consciousness and the search of the Light.
This concept may be deep, but it goes far beyond the scope of this document. What is important to highlight here, is the role that the Opponent for excellence in Jewish tradition, Satan, hold in the expansion of Consciousness.
Don Miguel Ruiz is a shaman of the Mesoamerican Toltec tradition. Born and raised in a family of healers in rural Mexico by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather, conducts and disseminates worldwide the esoteric Toltec knowledge of his lineage.
Don Miguel indicates the Opponent with the name of Parasite. This is how, through his words, he describes his making and his purpose in the field of human Consciousness.
Carlos Castaneda is an anthropologist who has been immersed in another Toltec
lineage of esoteric knowledge: that of Don Juan Matus. Don Juan Matus was the shaman
leader, that is the Nagual, of a Toltec lineage similar to that of Don Miguel Ruiz, probably
originated from the same source, but now divided from it by many characteristics, such as the
emphasis on the Way of the Warrior as a path towards personal fulfillment.
Carlos Castaneda has in fact transcribed and published in his books many of the teachings he received from Don Juan; near to the end of his existence, he decided to write something that also concerns the Opponent very, very closely. That's what he said, in a summary of his own words.
Eckhart Tolle is a man of our time, born and raised in Europe, who has gone through
an experience of sudden and total Awakening. Indeed, in one moment, he made the
manoeuvre that for many of us requires years of practice and discipline before it can be dealt with:
he has completely dis-identified himself from illusory projection of reality created by
his Surface Mind and has achieved the state of Consciousness in him that is an expression
of what he truly is.
This process, which could be called an Enlightenment, but could not be described through words, has allowed him, among other things, to return to observe the Life without the numerous and unnecessary mental filters created by the Surface Mind. In this state of observation, he saw something very interesting, something that has much to do with the Opponent; something of which we give a summary in his own words.
Let's summarize, then, what the inner research traditions in the World, which we reported a small but
significant sample, seem to suggest about the existence of the Opponent.
Stop feeding it, it will become less and less powerful, until it is completely absorbed and transformed by our Consciousness.
When this transformation occurs, human beings cease to listen to a mind which obstruct, limit them and bound them in every way possible, instead of supporting and encouraging them, because they understand that that mind is not who they really are.
When this transformation occurs, human beings become free.
Whether it is therefore a Parasite, a Volador, a Pain Body or the Opponent, is an entirely irrelevant question, because it is not useful at all to know this on an intellectual level. What is really useful is to understand and see how it acts, what are the weapons it uses, what are the effects of its actions in our lives. To understand that we are in all likelihood its unconscious prey of energy. And, above all, to understand that we, as Beings of Consciousness, are powerful and magical beings that have all the available tools to unmask it and transform it into our ally.
It is about our happiness. It is about our well-being. It is about our peace. All states of being that are closer to us than the air we breathe, and that are completely accessible to us. This is the reason why the Opponent must be faced and transcended. Not for who or what it is, but for how it reduces our existence.
This is the only real challenge in our life, before entering and living in the real world and being who we really are. However, the Opponent will use every weapon at its disposal to oppose, because this is its nature, and because this is the Will of Infinity.
This is the reason why we need Consciousness, Clarity and an Unbending Intent to face this challenge.
This is the reason why in all the inner research traditions all over the world, those who accept this challenge are called Warriors.
By the word Opponent we intend to indicate a set of forces acting within the Field of human Consciousness which have the aim of disempowering and keeping it in an unconscious state, identified with imaginary mental constructions. This set of forces act upon us as a conservative element, as an opposite and contrary force to our drive for evolution and expansion of Consciousness; the action of contrasting by the Opponent is, among other things, to prevent us from achieving its existence, and then transcend and transform it into allied force.
Really recognizing the work of the Opponent in our lives, exposing his work and transcending it, is a task that can be difficult, hard, leading to doubts and suffering, which ultimately is his attempt to stay alive. It's a task that can be painful, because we all begin from the same point: we believe to be it. However, to recognize and bring to light our Opponent is one of the most important tasks that a human is called upon to undertake, because the Opponent is the Guardian of the Threshold, the fog to cross to enter the boundless lands that rightfully belong to us as magical human beings in a wonderful Universe.
One of the main purposes of the Opponent, as the word indicates, is just to challenge us, to test our ability, our will to continue on the path that leads to the expansion of Consciousness without ever give up. It challenges us, in order to test and thus liberate our intention to journey towards those majestic realizations that we can achieve, that are part of our heritage of magical and wonderful human beings.
When the voices in you are talking about the end
when the mind says that you have lost
when you think it is impossible
yet continue
lift you on your Sword
and take one more step
Here is where the man ends
Here is where God begins
This concept of an opposing force that challenges our drive to Consciousness may seem apparently
bizarre, if not on the limits of credibility. Yet, this concept is well argued, described and studied
in great detail in many traditions of inner research around the world.when the mind says that you have lost
when you think it is impossible
yet continue
lift you on your Sword
and take one more step
Here is where the man ends
Here is where God begins
For example, in one of the sacred books of the Jewish esoteric tradition, the Torah, and in the wisdom teachings of the Kabbalah, there are complex descriptions of the purpose and weapons at disposal of an energetic entity, whose name has become synonymous with the forces of evil in the Catholic Church: Satan. Satan, whose meaning is no more than the Opponent, is the energetic entity that, just as an adversary, challenges us to reach the Light. Its main purpose, according to Jewish tradition, is precisely to create the opposite force to that which drives us to the Light, to allow the release of the Force of change, because without resistance there wouldn't be space for even the striving for Consciousness and the search of the Light.
This concept may be deep, but it goes far beyond the scope of this document. What is important to highlight here, is the role that the Opponent for excellence in Jewish tradition, Satan, hold in the expansion of Consciousness.
Satan:
an energetic entity
trying in every way to hinder us
in our journey towards the Light of Consciousness.
As we all know, Satan is also known as the Devil, il Diavolo, in italian language. But few
know that the word Diavolo comes from the Latin Diabolus, and from the ancient
Greek Diabolos, meaning "the one who divides." Divides what? What makes no sense
in dividing. What can be controlled only if divided.an energetic entity
trying in every way to hinder us
in our journey towards the Light of Consciousness.
Divide et Impera
Divide and Conquer
Strategy aimed at maintaining
a a privileged position,
dividing and fragmenting
the strength of opposition
so that it can't join
against a common goal.
However, the traditions of inner research of around the world seem to recognize others goals in the
Opponent, more pragmatic, in addition to the purely abstract goal that we have just indicated. One
of our responsibilities as human beings, is to understand and carry out with our eyes and our
Consciousness what all of these teachings is real, and what is only an allegory of a larger meaning.
But it's good to know how the apprentices on the path of Consciousness of various traditions are
warned from the first, real, true confrontation that everyone of them must support: the one with
the illusory projection of themselves. The one with the Opponent.Divide and Conquer
Strategy aimed at maintaining
a a privileged position,
dividing and fragmenting
the strength of opposition
so that it can't join
against a common goal.
Don Miguel Ruiz is a shaman of the Mesoamerican Toltec tradition. Born and raised in a family of healers in rural Mexico by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather, conducts and disseminates worldwide the esoteric Toltec knowledge of his lineage.
Don Miguel indicates the Opponent with the name of Parasite. This is how, through his words, he describes his making and his purpose in the field of human Consciousness.
In the mind we create the Judge, a part of us that always judges everything we do
or not do, all the emotions we feel or not feel. Normally, the Judge finds us guilty and we think
of having to punish: the part of the mind that receives the judgement and feels the need of
punishment is the Victim. The Victim is that part of us that says,
"Poor me, I’m not too good, strong, not intelligent enough. What shall I do? How can I even try?”.
The Judge and the Victim bear their existence on our system of beliefs, what we believe and what we do not believe, a system that has been instilled in our minds since childhood, when we believed in everything that the adults said.
The Toltecs call this mechanism Judge-Victim-System of Beliefs with the name of Parasite. The human mind is unhealthy because of a Parasite that steals it the joy and the life energy. The Parasite is transmitted like a virus from grandparents to parents to get to us, that we in turn pass it to our children, and his food are the negative emotions that come from fear. The Parasite is a being made up of emotional energy, and it is a living being. It survives negative emotions and feeds on suffering.
The Judge and the Victim bear their existence on our system of beliefs, what we believe and what we do not believe, a system that has been instilled in our minds since childhood, when we believed in everything that the adults said.
The Toltecs call this mechanism Judge-Victim-System of Beliefs with the name of Parasite. The human mind is unhealthy because of a Parasite that steals it the joy and the life energy. The Parasite is transmitted like a virus from grandparents to parents to get to us, that we in turn pass it to our children, and his food are the negative emotions that come from fear. The Parasite is a being made up of emotional energy, and it is a living being. It survives negative emotions and feeds on suffering.
Don Miguel Ruiz
from books The Four Agreements and
The Mastery of Love
from books The Four Agreements and
The Mastery of Love
The Parasite:
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
Carlos Castaneda has in fact transcribed and published in his books many of the teachings he received from Don Juan; near to the end of his existence, he decided to write something that also concerns the Opponent very, very closely. That's what he said, in a summary of his own words.
The shamans of ancient Mexico discovered something transcendental.
They discovered that we have a companion who remains with us throughout life. A predator that emerges from the depths of the Universe and takes the domain of our lives, and we are its prisoners. If we complain, it stifles our protests. If we try to act independently, it does not allow it.
The predator has taken the upper hands over us because we are his food, his source of livelihood. It was he, the predator, to instill our belief systems, the concept of good and evil, the social customs. It was he who set our hopes and expectations, as well as the dreams of success and the parameters of failure. He gave us greed, excessive desire and cowardice. He made us creatures of habit, ego-centric and prone to complacency.
Using our egocentricity, the only conscious aspect left in us, the predator creates bursts of Consciousness that then proceeds ruthlessly to consume. The predator gives us futile problems to force these flare-ups to emerge, and in this way makes us survive to continue eating the fiery energy of our pseudo-concern.
The ancient shamans saw the predator. They called him the Volador, the Flyer, because it moves at leaps into the air. Not a pretty sight. It's a black shadow of impenetrable darkness, jumping in the air. And then lands.
They discovered that we have a companion who remains with us throughout life. A predator that emerges from the depths of the Universe and takes the domain of our lives, and we are its prisoners. If we complain, it stifles our protests. If we try to act independently, it does not allow it.
The predator has taken the upper hands over us because we are his food, his source of livelihood. It was he, the predator, to instill our belief systems, the concept of good and evil, the social customs. It was he who set our hopes and expectations, as well as the dreams of success and the parameters of failure. He gave us greed, excessive desire and cowardice. He made us creatures of habit, ego-centric and prone to complacency.
Using our egocentricity, the only conscious aspect left in us, the predator creates bursts of Consciousness that then proceeds ruthlessly to consume. The predator gives us futile problems to force these flare-ups to emerge, and in this way makes us survive to continue eating the fiery energy of our pseudo-concern.
The ancient shamans saw the predator. They called him the Volador, the Flyer, because it moves at leaps into the air. Not a pretty sight. It's a black shadow of impenetrable darkness, jumping in the air. And then lands.
Carlos Castaneda
from book The Active Side Of Infinity
from book The Active Side Of Infinity
The Volador:
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
This process, which could be called an Enlightenment, but could not be described through words, has allowed him, among other things, to return to observe the Life without the numerous and unnecessary mental filters created by the Surface Mind. In this state of observation, he saw something very interesting, something that has much to do with the Opponent; something of which we give a summary in his own words.
The pain accumulated in your body is a negative energy field that occupies your
body and mind. If you look at it as an invisible entity on its own right, you are
getting quite close to the truth. It's the emotional pain body.
Watch out for any sign of unhappiness in yourself, in whatever form, it may be the awakening pain body. This can take the form of irritation, impatience, a somber mood, a desire to hurt, anger, rage, depression, a need to have some drama in your relationship, and so on.
The pain body wants to survive, just like every other entity in existence, and it can only survive if it gets you to unconsciously identify with it. It can then rise up, take you over, "become you", and live through you. It needs to get its food through you. It will feed on any experience that resonates with its own kind of energy, anything that creates further pain in whatever form: anger, destructiveness, hatred, grief, emotional drama, violence and even illness. Pain can only feed on pain. Once the pain-body has taken you over, you want more pain, you become a victim or a perpetrator.
Its survival depends on your unconscious identification with it, as well as on your unconscious fear of facing the pain that lives in you.
Watch out for any sign of unhappiness in yourself, in whatever form, it may be the awakening pain body. This can take the form of irritation, impatience, a somber mood, a desire to hurt, anger, rage, depression, a need to have some drama in your relationship, and so on.
The pain body wants to survive, just like every other entity in existence, and it can only survive if it gets you to unconsciously identify with it. It can then rise up, take you over, "become you", and live through you. It needs to get its food through you. It will feed on any experience that resonates with its own kind of energy, anything that creates further pain in whatever form: anger, destructiveness, hatred, grief, emotional drama, violence and even illness. Pain can only feed on pain. Once the pain-body has taken you over, you want more pain, you become a victim or a perpetrator.
Its survival depends on your unconscious identification with it, as well as on your unconscious fear of facing the pain that lives in you.
Eckhart Tolle
from book The Power of Now
from book The Power of Now
The Pain Body:
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
an energetic entity
that lives and feeds at the expense of another
without giving anything in return.
Within the Field of human Consciousness
there may arise, exist, prosper and operate
an energetic entity that acts
to deprive us of Energy, and thus keep us
in a state of unconsciousness.
Its goal is to continue to feed
of a certain kind of our Energy, and in the meantime
prevent us to expand our Consciousness
for not enabling us to become aware of its existence.
Of course, to become aware of the existence of this entity and the way it works is
the first and most important step to take; it will become a natural consequence, then, to immediately
stop creating more food and sustenance for it.there may arise, exist, prosper and operate
an energetic entity that acts
to deprive us of Energy, and thus keep us
in a state of unconsciousness.
Its goal is to continue to feed
of a certain kind of our Energy, and in the meantime
prevent us to expand our Consciousness
for not enabling us to become aware of its existence.
Stop feeding it, it will become less and less powerful, until it is completely absorbed and transformed by our Consciousness.
The mastery of your mind,
rebellious, wayward, wandering,
is the Way to Happiness.
The Wise continually observes
his subtle thoughts, elusive and errant.
This is the Way to Happiness.
Dhammapada
When this transformation occurs, human beings cease to allow a voice in their head
that talks to itself of unreal rubbish to be the sovereign of their existence,
because they understand that that voice is not who they really are.rebellious, wayward, wandering,
is the Way to Happiness.
The Wise continually observes
his subtle thoughts, elusive and errant.
This is the Way to Happiness.
Dhammapada
When this transformation occurs, human beings cease to listen to a mind which obstruct, limit them and bound them in every way possible, instead of supporting and encouraging them, because they understand that that mind is not who they really are.
When this transformation occurs, human beings become free.
Whether it is therefore a Parasite, a Volador, a Pain Body or the Opponent, is an entirely irrelevant question, because it is not useful at all to know this on an intellectual level. What is really useful is to understand and see how it acts, what are the weapons it uses, what are the effects of its actions in our lives. To understand that we are in all likelihood its unconscious prey of energy. And, above all, to understand that we, as Beings of Consciousness, are powerful and magical beings that have all the available tools to unmask it and transform it into our ally.
It is about our happiness. It is about our well-being. It is about our peace. All states of being that are closer to us than the air we breathe, and that are completely accessible to us. This is the reason why the Opponent must be faced and transcended. Not for who or what it is, but for how it reduces our existence.
This is the only real challenge in our life, before entering and living in the real world and being who we really are. However, the Opponent will use every weapon at its disposal to oppose, because this is its nature, and because this is the Will of Infinity.
This is the reason why we need Consciousness, Clarity and an Unbending Intent to face this challenge.
This is the reason why in all the inner research traditions all over the world, those who accept this challenge are called Warriors.
We can rise up and say NO!
declaring war on the Parasite,
a war of independence, a war
for the right to use our mind
and our brain.
For this reason in all American shamanic traditions,
adepts call themselves Warriors.
They are at war against the Parasite
nestled in their minds.
This is the true meaning
of Being a Warrior.
Warrior is who rebels against
the invasion of the Parasite.
We can win or lose,
but we won't surrender
without a fight.
Don Miguel Ruiz
declaring war on the Parasite,
a war of independence, a war
for the right to use our mind
and our brain.
For this reason in all American shamanic traditions,
adepts call themselves Warriors.
They are at war against the Parasite
nestled in their minds.
This is the true meaning
of Being a Warrior.
Warrior is who rebels against
the invasion of the Parasite.
We can win or lose,
but we won't surrender
without a fight.
Don Miguel Ruiz
