4. What is Personal Power?

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The dictionary defines power as the “ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.” In physics, power is “work divided by a unit of time”, or the amount of work performed over a period of time. Abelar’s teacher explained “kung fu” in a similar manner, stating that:

 

... the term "kung fu" is derived from the juxtaposition of two Chinese characters, one meaning "work done over a period of time," the other signifying "man." When these two characters are combined, the term refers to man's endeavor to perfect himself through constant effort.  

 

These definitions help us to understand that personal power is related to the ability to accomplish something, over some period of time.

 

Castaneda alludes to will and attention as being important factors in personal power.

 

Genaro feels that he must make sure at this point that you have stored sufficient personal power to enable you to turn your will into a functioning unit.

Tales of Power

 

 

I set up a test to see if you had enough personal power to isolate it [the moth as knowledge] from the rest of the things around us.

Tales of Power

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"What will happen here today depends on whether or not you have enough personal power to focus your unwavering attention on the wings of your perception," he said.

Tales of Power

 

In the descriptions above, personal power is associated with will and attention. In particular, attention is necessary since Castaneda must use his attention to isolate a particular item from the environment. Isolating items from the environment is the essential process-ability of attention. Likewise, Castaneda’s personal power is tested when he must know when to leave and act to find Genaro. Don Juan aids Castaneda by engaging him in tasks that keep his internal dialogue to a minimum. In this way, Castaneda’s attention is open to cues from the environment. And when the moment arrives, Castaneda is able to perceive the appropriate cue and spring into action.

 

However, in these examples, memory also plays a role. In one instance, Castaneda was able to isolate a particular item from the environment, because his memory “warehouse” was fluid enough to allow him to  perceive something out of the ordinary, even though his memory still tried to identify and classify it as a known object (e.g. “the silhouette of a man hiding behind a bush”, “a huge bird”).  In the other case, Castaneda is engaged in activities that minimize his internal dialogue, relaxing the force that memory uses to construct the world around us. As Edelman’s “remembered present” makes clear – our present reality is constructed from our memories. And in the words of Abelar, “The world is a huge screen of memories”. Therefore, in order to perceive something outside our normal awareness, our memory must be open and fluid, to prevent it from clouding our view – to prevent it from turning something unknown into something known – to prevent it from causing us to overlook something out of the ordinary.

 

Ultimately, Castaneda tells us that personal power makes previously unknown possibilities become apparent. And in order for one to become aware of, and to capitalize on a previously unknown possibility, one must: 1) be open to new possibilities, 2) pay attention to the appearance of new possibilities, and 3) utilize the new possibility. In this way, we can see that memory, attention and will, are the essential components of personal power.

 

Thus, when they speak of having personal power, they are referring to the intent that comes to them voluntarily. The outcome, he used to say to me, can be described as the facility to find new solutions, or the facility to affect people or events. It is as if other possibilities, previously unknown by the warrior, suddenly become apparent.

The Eagle's Gift

 

In essence, the warrior’s efforts to enhance their perception, effectively increases their personal power. The development of the warrior’s memory, attention and will enables the warrior: 1) to prevent their memory from limiting or clouding their perception of the world around them, 2) to broaden their attention and engage it when a previously unknown possibility presents itself, and 3) to both set their intention to accomplish something over time and carry out the appropriate actions with the necessary timing.

 

And finally, Castaneda tells us that personal power is a feeling similar to being lucky. We could say that, it is as if things had somehow "aligned", and we were able to see previously unseen possibilities in that moment of alignment, and then act to use them.

 

"Personal power is a feeling," he said. "Something like being lucky.”

Journey to Ixtlan

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