Over the last month there have been a couple of quotes that I keep coming back to when I am reflecting on the nature of belief and how I want to reflect this in my performance of Not a Séance.
The first is from Carlos Castaneda and is particularly interesting considering the unresolved debate about his work. In 1968, he published “The Teachings of Don Juan” a work that claimed to detail his apprenticeship to a Yaqui Shaman called Don Juan Matus. Much of the work takes place in another dimension described by Castaneda as “non-ordinary” reality. Critics state that there are many factual errors and inconsistencies in this work and that it can only be read as fiction. Defenders say that these so-called errors are present because we can never truly understand the nature of “non-ordinary” reality. Others say that if it is not literally true then it is philosophically and metaphorically true and provides deep and enduring lessons on how to live. The quote is:
“The secret of a warrior is that he believes without believing”
For me this is so simply stated and yet so complex, I will be exploring whether I can be a warrior or not in my performance.
