This is one of the most misunderstood concepts to come out of CC’s books. People often debate whether it’s appropriate to stalk other people, oneself, or both. Unfortunately that misses the point of this extraordinary practice.
Is it appropriate to stalk others? Unfortunately, yes. But not in the way people seem to think. As is usual with spiritual practices, intent is everything. Typically among those Neo-Toltecs who seek to swagger about on internet forums, stalking is a disguise for fostering the comparative-self. The comparative-self is that part of us which draws its identity from comparisons to others. It seeks confirmation of its validity in demonstrations of superiority to other people. This is not stalking, it is simple the age-old practice of egotism. Yes, one may need to squeeze into some pretence or other to trick others, but the intent is clear - validation of the comparative-self.
The true practice of stalking was not explained in CCs books directly, as with so many other things. You had to travel the Path yourself, then reflect, to see the hidden riddles unfurl.
I am not aware of any spiritual tradition which has grasped the point that those incredible beings grasped, who designed the art of stalking long ago. Typically the spiritual path of all traditions has focused almost completely upon the development of psychic powers. Buddhism perhaps stands alone outside of this, by focusing on a goal that lies beyond the dichotomy of Dreamers and Stalkers, but it’s techniques remain within the Dreamers’ sphere of operation - retirement, silence, meditation.
The concept of Stalking is totally new, and long overdue. Every culture I have studied has it’s shamanic-spiritual theme, and they are all preoccupied with the techniques and experiences of the astral world. Even today in so-called-toltec discussion circles it is obvious that the claims and threats of ‘powers’ predominates. Exactly the same for Western Magic circles, and indigenous cultures the world over when talk turns to deeper things. ‘Powers’ have nothing to do with stalking’s purpose.
What those who set up the practice of stalking were focused on, was: ‘You know something is happening, but you don’t know what it is.”
All other spiritual paths draws the seeker away from the world, away from active life, into the subtle worlds, the ‘other side’. Stalking draws the seeker towards the most overlooked and incredible thing - beyond conceivable imagination: life. Most spiritual traditions seek knowledge, like the Dreamer, in the world closer to death. They prepare the seeker for death, by reducing the mystery surrounding it, and offering experiences in the world-between-the-worlds.
The reason has always been a mistaken dichotomy between the mundane and spiritual worlds. It was assumed that non-spiritual people are entirely focused on material things, so the only other option was to withdraw from the material world and seek the world of the soul - the astral. Thus the shaman became the expert in hidden influences, which manifested first on the astral plane. All good stuff, but alas it missed something of unparalleled value - the truth of life itself.
We watch everyday people completely engrossed in the world, and we can recall a time when we also were fully embedded in the same world. Typically our path was away from this world’s glare, to provide us with sufficient space to focus on the mystery and the meaning of life. To do this we had to in part reject the world - push it back. But for those who took into their souls the real practice of stalking, a strange thing happened.
Stalking focuses on the world. It is not about tricks and pretences, it is about developing ‘grip’. Without grip, the world floats by till one day we shake our heads and wonder where it all went. Stalking is the art of reaching out and gripping a moment in suspension, long enough to look it in the eye. The curious thing about this, is that this strength of grip comes to us only slowly - so slowly that we forget what it was like to have no grip. All the practices of stalking are directed to one thing - strength of grip, and consequently penetration of sight.
This thing we are doing here, that we call life, is the most mysterious thing imaginable. The chances of me being here writing this on a computer, in a car on a clear windy night during the early part of Autumn, in the year 2011, when placed against the background of the immensity of the universe, are odds too great for any mind to contemplate. And yet here I am, and here we all are, not only taking this for granted as if it’s the most common thing that ever existed, but having the stupefying arrogance to feel bored by it.
When we try to grasp the situation, we can’t seem to do it - it slips between our fingers and distracts us with yet more items and sensations. Even when we muster all our strength of awareness and sit for some minutes, trying to contemplate what really is this thing called life, we find we can’t penetrate into it - it just stares back at us blankly and offers no clue.
Stalking understands this situation completely, and knows there is no way to confront life directly like a cowboy. It teaches us to focus fully on doing everything in life to our fullest capacity. Every worldly task, we throw our entire being behind, forsaking the pleasures of resistance, complaint and distaste. Only after many years we one day discover something inside us is being touched by life in a way we have no words to describe.
The other night I was recording a drumming track. Normally when recording I am so intensively involved I have no time for reflection while it is happening. Recording is a highly intense moment - this is it, it’s not practice any more, this is all set up and taking down every movement made. I was recording a foundation rhythm track which necessitated repetition of a single rhythm for about twenty minutes. My hands knew what to do without my interference, and although I had to maintain the right inner state, there was still awareness left over to contemplate, that here I was, doing what I love to do. It was happening right now, and it would not last. It was a truly magical moment for me.
Afterwards, I was resting on the veranda looking into the night outside. It became immediately obvious to me that that moment was no different to the moment while drumming - that ever moment was no different - every moment was being recorded, was happening now, and was not going to last.
Of course I knew this - have known this for many years. And yet this awareness was different. Life was touching me in an intimate way that was qualitatively different from before, a way I can’t explain. I saw that all my efforts over many years at stalking had built a channel, a bridge, an avenue through life’s blank stare. In that moment it revealed a secret to me. The secret is not unknown - the secret was in the intimacy and intensity of that knowing.
We know something is happening here right now, always, but if we are honest, we know we don’t know what it is. We will never know. But stalking is a journey into grasping this thing happening right now - life. This is why we came here, and we will pass through in its glare, out the other side without having learnt its secret. We who are serious about knowledge, can not afford to toss such a precious opportunity. Stalking is strengthening our grip on this moment, so we can sustain our eyes on the eyes of life. Quietly yet with absolute resolve born of years of thousands of tiny tasks, we hold the moment still, till life reaches out and touches us.
The whole point of studying death is to awaken the realisation of life. More than sensitivity, more than capacity, more than knowledge - an indefinable ...
Michael Maher 2011
