Will Power

[Otis]

I was having a conversation the other day about will power, and I realized it's one of those very squishy terms, about which everyone seems to have a different understanding, based upon their personal experience.

 

What is "will power" to you? What is its relationship to ego? To intent? To change and growth? To your path? To the brain?

 

Where does it come from? How does it work? What are its strengths and limitations?

 

What is its cosmology? How does it fit into the bigger picture of life and awakening? What does Taoism say about will power?

[Tree Stump]

I was having a conversation the other day about will power, and I realized it's one of those very squishy terms, about which everyone seems to have a different understanding, based upon their personal experience.

 

What is "will power" to you? What is its relationship to ego? To intent? To change and growth? To your path? To the brain?

 

Where does it come from? How does it work? What are its strengths and limitations?

 

What is its cosmology? How does it fit into the bigger picture of life and awakening? What does Taoism say about will power?

 

Yes, such an important concept. A few questions and thoughts.

 

Don't we will what we think will satisfy us?

 

Doesn't it then stem from a fundamental lack that we feel? The constant reminder of our brokenness?

 

Yet it seems we forget our original, ontological unity and fill that emptiness with empty ideas. That's how we arrive at such a broken, distorted and ultimately nihilistic will.

 

- Tree Stump

[Everything]

I was having a conversation the other day about will power, and I realized it's one of those very squishy terms, about which everyone seems to have a different understanding, based upon their personal experience.

 

What is "will power" to you? What is its relationship to ego? To intent? To change and growth? To your path? To the brain?

 

Where does it come from? How does it work? What are its strengths and limitations?

 

What is its cosmology? How does it fit into the bigger picture of life and awakening? What does Taoism say about will power?

Will power is the power of your will. Your influence within this world depents on your will power. How to get better will power? Use your soul more often by placing yourself in situations where you have to use your soul alot to make dificult decisions so that you can learn from everything by being present-minded aswell. Wandering about you will loose your connection to your soul and will loose your will power aswell.

 

Thats what the symbol of will power means to me.

[Marblehead]

Hi Otis,

 

Great topic. I have spoken on this a number of time before, especially in the guise of 'free will'.

 

I guess the amount of effort we put toward our free will will be a measure of our will power.

 

Of course, free will is limited by many factors so I would assume that even though our will 'power' may be very strong it too will be limited by those very same factors as well as our own efforts.

 

This is from a movie I watched a long time ago but the statement has remained in my mind all these years and I doubt I will ever forget it.

 

The man is talking to another man and he says:

 

"And you know what? I just pissed my pants and there is nothing no one can do about it."

 

His free will was limited to about only that. How sad.

[fizix]

Jing = will power.

[WHITEROOMENERGYMINE1]

I have been interested in strengthening my will lately and found this post.

 

In my opinion your will power is the ability to manifest your desires.

The stronger your will power then the higher you will soar in our society. The richest and the most "successful" tend to have the strongest of will powers.

One problem with our society is that it eludes that all-important question of what we are, which is what should dictate our actions. But because we are always focused on some task or goal, we will never even address that question! Going about attempting to attain our prize without solving the preliminary step..

This "tree-stump" dude nailed it on the head.

Yes, such an important concept. A few questions and thoughts.

Don't we will what we think will satisfy us?

Doesn't it then stem from a fundamental lack that we feel? The constant reminder of our brokenness?

Yet it seems we forget our original, ontological unity and fill that emptiness with empty ideas. That's how we arrive at such a broken, distorted and ultimately nihilistic will.

- Tree Stump

 

 

I am in college and the only way to get all of my work done (engineering) is to whole-heartedly fixate my mind upon my task. In an effort to evade my fear of not-existing I am concentrating upon whatever it is I am doing.

Atleast I will be getting good grades!!! woooot Will-power!

 

IGNORE THE QUESTION

[9th]

Every bit of knowledge that becomes power has death as its central force. Death lends the ultimate touch and whatever is touched by death indeed becomes power.

A man who follows the paths of sorcery is confronted with imminent annihilation every turn of the way, and unavoidably he becomes keenly aware of his death. Without the awareness of death he would be only an ordinary man involved in ordinary acts. He would lack the necessary potency, the necessary concentration that transforms one's ordinary time on earth into magical power.

Thus to be a warrior a man has to be, first of all, and rightfully so, keenly aware of his own death. But to be concerned with death would force any one of us to focus on the self and that would be debilitating. So the next thing one needs to be a warrior is detachment. The idea of imminent death, instead of becoming an obsession, becomes an indifference.

Now you must detach yourself; detach yourself from everything. Only the idea of death makes a man sufficiently detached so he is incapable of abandoning himself to anything. Only the idea of death makes a man sufficiently detached so he can't deny himself anything. A man of that sort, however, does not crave, for he has acquired a silent lust for life and for all things of life. He knows his death is stalking him and won't give him time to cling to anything, so he tries, without craving, all of everything.

A detached man, who knows he has no possibility of fencing off his death, has only one thing to back himself with: the power of his decisions. He has to be, so to speak, the master of his choices. He must fully understand that his choice is his responsibility and once he makes it there is no longer time for regrets or recriminations. His decisions are final, simply because his death does not permit him time to cling to anything.

And thus with an awareness of his death, with his detachment, and with the power of his decisions a warrior sets his life in a strategical manner. The knowledge of his death guides him and makes him detached and silently lusty; the power of his final decisions makes him able to choose without regrets and what he chooses is always strategically the best; and so he performs everything he has to with gusto and lusty efficiency.

When a man behaves in such a manner one may rightfully say that he is a warrior and has acquired patience. When a warrior has acquired patience he is on his way to will. He knows how to wait. His death sits with him on his mat, they are friends. His death advises him, in mysterious ways, how to choose, how to live strategically. And the warrior waits! I would say that the warrior learns without any hurry because he knows he is waiting for his will; and one day he succeeds in performing something ordinarily quite impossible to accomplish. He may not even notice his extraordinary deed. But as he keeps on performing impossible acts, or as impossible things keep on happening to him, he becomes aware that a sort of power is emerging. A power that comes out of his body as he progresses on the path of knowledge. He notices that he can actually touch anything he wants with a feeling that comes out of his body from a spot right below or right above his navel. That feeling is the will, and when he is capable of grabbing with it, one can rightfully say that the warrior is a sorcerer, and that he has acquired will.

A man can go still further than that; a man can learn to see. Upon learning to see he no longer needs to live like a warrior, nor be a sorcerer. Upon learning to see a man becomes everything by becoming nothing. He, so to speak, vanishes and yet he's there. I would say that this is the time when a man can be or can get anything he desires. But he desires nothing, and instead of playing with his fellow men like they were toys, he meets them in the midst of their folly. The only difference between them is that a man who sees controls his folly, while his fellow men can't. A man who sees has no longer an active interest in his fellow men. Seeing has already detached him from absolutely everything he knew before.

- Castaneda

[WHITEROOMENERGYMINE1]

 

Every bit of knowledge that becomes power has death as its central force. Death lends the ultimate touch and whatever is touched by death indeed becomes power.

A man who follows the paths of sorcery is confronted with imminent annihilation every turn of the way, and unavoidably he becomes keenly aware of his death. Without the awareness of death he would be only an ordinary man involved in ordinary acts. He would lack the necessary potency, the necessary concentration that transforms one's ordinary time on earth into magical power.

Thus to be a warrior a man has to be, first of all, and rightfully so, keenly aware of his own death. But to be concerned with death would force any one of us to focus on the self and that would be debilitating. So the next thing one needs to be a warrior is detachment. The idea of imminent death, instead of becoming an obsession, becomes an indifference.

Now you must detach yourself; detach yourself from everything. Only the idea of death makes a man sufficiently detached so he is incapable of abandoning himself to anything. Only the idea of death makes a man sufficiently detached so he can't deny himself anything. A man of that sort, however, does not crave, for he has acquired a silent lust for life and for all things of life. He knows his death is stalking him and won't give him time to cling to anything, so he tries, without craving, all of everything.

A detached man, who knows he has no possibility of fencing off his death, has only one thing to back himself with: the power of his decisions. He has to be, so to speak, the master of his choices. He must fully understand that his choice is his responsibility and once he makes it there is no longer time for regrets or recriminations. His decisions are final, simply because his death does not permit him time to cling to anything.

And thus with an awareness of his death, with his detachment, and with the power of his decisions a warrior sets his life in a strategical manner. The knowledge of his death guides him and makes him detached and silently lusty; the power of his final decisions makes him able to choose without regrets and what he chooses is always strategically the best; and so he performs everything he has to with gusto and lusty efficiency.

When a man behaves in such a manner one may rightfully say that he is a warrior and has acquired patience. When a warrior has acquired patience he is on his way to will. He knows how to wait. His death sits with him on his mat, they are friends. His death advises him, in mysterious ways, how to choose, how to live strategically. And the warrior waits! I would say that the warrior learns without any hurry because he knows he is waiting for his will; and one day he succeeds in performing something ordinarily quite impossible to accomplish. He may not even notice his extraordinary deed. But as he keeps on performing impossible acts, or as impossible things keep on happening to him, he becomes aware that a sort of power is emerging. A power that comes out of his body as he progresses on the path of knowledge. He notices that he can actually touch anything he wants with a feeling that comes out of his body from a spot right below or right above his navel. That feeling is the will, and when he is capable of grabbing with it, one can rightfully say that the warrior is a sorcerer, and that he has acquired will.

A man can go still further than that; a man can learn to see. Upon learning to see he no longer needs to live like a warrior, nor be a sorcerer. Upon learning to see a man becomes everything by becoming nothing. He, so to speak, vanishes and yet he's there. I would say that this is the time when a man can be or can get anything he desires. But he desires nothing, and instead of playing with his fellow men like they were toys, he meets them in the midst of their folly. The only difference between them is that a man who sees controls his folly, while his fellow men can't. A man who sees has no longer an active interest in his fellow men. Seeing has already detached him from absolutely everything he knew before.

- Castaneda

That was impeccably raw. I loved it.

It certainly plucked some deeper chords.

 

preciate it

[Wells]

Jing = will power.

 

Well, they are interrelated. And therefore, willpower comes from your tantien.

[Protector]

yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[GrandmasterP]

In common parlance though...

" I can't stop smoking as I have no will power"

(For example).

That urge to do that which we really don't want to do.

Wasn't here a spooky film in the thirties called 'Triumph of the Will' ?

 

 

Thought so....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_of_the_Will

 

nasty!

Edited February 22, 2013 by GrandmasterP

[9th]

[ralis]

[WHITEROOMENERGYMINE1]

Is it just me or do Hitler's pupils look ridiculously huge? @47:30

 

That is one deep dark f*cked up mind.

Edited February 22, 2013 by theNERD

[Jetsun]

Is it just me or do Hitler's pupils look ridiculously huge? @47:30

 

That is one deep dark f*cked up mind.

 

He was a student of the occult, I don't know what he was tapping into but he looks possessed in his Triumph Of the Will speech. They reported recently that he imported a statue from Tibet made from meteorite http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19735959 so I don't know what the origins of it all is but it is quite worrying.

[9th]

[idiot_stimpy]

Jing = will power.

 

 

interesting development

[Xienkula1]

polygala = will power.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

I was having a conversation the other day about will power, and I realized it's one of those very squishy terms, about which everyone seems to have a different understanding, based upon their personal experience.

 

What is "will power" to you? What is its relationship to ego? To intent? To change and growth? To your path? To the brain?

 

Where does it come from? How does it work? What are its strengths and limitations?

 

What is its cosmology? How does it fit into the bigger picture of life and awakening? What does Taoism say about will power?

 

 

Will power is the intrinsic interactivity between all energy/matter; one of the few truths in reality.

 

Will power is a toy to the ego; through ignorance the ego can manipulate an individual's thoughts and emotions in order to coerce activity of specific egoic intent.

 

Intent is one of the initiating forces of will. It could be said that unrestricted intent takes place the very final moment preceding willful action.

 

Will power can be used to both create and restrict change and growth alike.

 

My path revolved around keeping Free Will Sacred. I share with those who would listen, the (personally detailed) laws of free will which serve to protect and serve the interests of all individuals universally, without exclusion of ANY harmless intent.

 

The brain is a transceiver of thought, emotion, idea, conscious/awareness, and intent. Intent is recieved by the brain for actions. Will Power precedes the brain, but could be considered as identical to the mind as the left and right hemispheres of the brain in relation to each other.

 

Will power is eternal.

 

I cannot say that i know "how" will power "works" in fact, i am still struggling to comprehend the question in and of itself.

 

Will power is unlimited. this is its strength. It is only as limited as the vessel that wields it.

 

cosmology? i dunno...? that's a rediculous redundency to me... eternity is more like a torous which has no beginning or end an all points meet. Will Power, The Mind, Tao, Void, and Light exist perpetually, at all times, without beginning, without end.

 

Will is the bigger picture itself.

 

what does taoism say?

 

Ask a taoist.

i couldnt say...

Im not an ist.

weather tao, bhud, human, or sex; I am not an ist.

[9th]

It was just another photo on the white board. Another form with the numbered exposition of requisite determination. Some sort of blameless bid for gentrification, as it was briefed. A picture of bongos with berets and tar stained lips migrating across spit stained reeds in brass and copper. They would have never planted that Field of Reeds themselves. It was all too much grunt work. Each and every blank crying out for an answer that was only destined for redaction, and yet the assignments would still be listed in numbers and letters first. As always, the passage of force exerted seemed to be the issue at hand. "Right there at your fingertips", they said.

So it was, with the taste of this score on the tongue. They could score a corner office in the high rise with a bubbling spoon and a fast jab to pastry pies in the sky. But on the ground, the chips fell on another line. They were counted after each throw, each inquiry. There wasn't any time for that kind of baby face bullshit. Each report came spilling through the backs of pages in wet ink. It might have been a matter of opinion, but even the telegraph notes bore it out: too many colleagues called into question, too many insects still on the route. "That's why you get this license", they said.

At least they paid the phone bill. They damn well better, when the job stack builds more than a little black book filled with restless dakinis. It was not just an adventure, not just another sleepless night. Those fine specimens were tired of just looking. They had spun so many jingling turns around the altar, it was time for action. They wanted to taste the blood and sweat and let that erupting juice fill every yearning crevice. Claws splitting flesh in a wild lust for expansion. The demand was shared around and passed like a joint, wicked contact highs before the inevitable and directly full-on inebriation. "Left to your own devices", they said.