When I saw President Zelenskyy was going to White House today, I knew it would go insanely bad. Personally, if I was Europe, I would kick the US out of NATO as punishment. This is utterly revolting, and VD Chance was just as despicable. And America is going to pay the price.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRcUumrC8bs

How can Gurdijeff's concept of intentional suffering be related to don juan's self-pity?

ChatGPT said:
This is a sharp comparison — Gurdjieff’s "intentional suffering" and Don Juan’s rejection of self-pity have a deep, underlying connection, both rooted in the struggle for conscious awakening. Let’s break it down:

🌑 Gurdjieff’s Intentional Suffering:

What it is: Gurdjieff taught that intentional suffering is the conscious acceptance of inner struggle — deliberately facing discomfort, resisting automatic reactions, and transforming negative emotions into fuel for awakening.

It’s not about masochism — it’s about waking up by refusing to give in to mechanical responses (like anger, fear, or desire) and using the resulting tension to build inner strength.
The goal is to burn away false personality — those fragmented "I’s" — and form a unified, conscious self.
An example: Feeling irritation rise but choosing not to express it mechanically — observing the discomfort without indulging it — transforms that energy into higher awareness.
Suffering consciously builds a permanent center of gravity — the "Master I" — and cracks the shell of conditioned behavior.

🌵 Don Juan and the Rejection of Self-Pity:

What it is: Don Juan viewed self-pity as the most insidious enemy of a warrior.

Self-pity keeps a person trapped in their victimhood — reinforcing the foreign installation's grip by making them identify with their suffering rather than detach from it.
Don Juan taught that a warrior erases personal history and silences the internal dialogue to stop feeding the parasite of self-pity.
Feeling sorry for oneself leaks energy — awareness that could be gathered to stalk the foreign installation and access Intent is instead wasted.
To reject self-pity is to stand in silent strength — no longer bargaining with life for comfort.
In Don Juan’s view, a warrior doesn't deny pain — but they refuse to indulge it.

🌌 The Bridge Between the Two Concepts:

The link between intentional suffering and rejecting self-pity is this:

Both transform passive suffering into conscious struggle:

Gurdjieff's intentional suffering turns unconscious emotional pain into fuel for inner growth.
Don Juan's warrior path uses stoic acceptance of fate to gather energy instead of wasting it through self-pity.

Both break mechanical behavior:

Gurdjieff aimed to free people from being machines — repeating the same reactions and emotions like clockwork.
Don Juan fought to dismantle the foreign installation — the mind's automatic thoughts, often rooted in victimhood and self-importance.
Suffering with awareness = freedom:

Gurdjieff saw intentional suffering as a way to burn away false "I's" and create a true, permanent self.
Don Juan taught that rejecting self-pity keeps a warrior's energy intact — allowing them to cultivate their double (dreaming body) and access Intent.

The difference:

Gurdjieff's method is more about inner tension — staying awake in the face of habitual reactions.
Don Juan’s method focuses on energetic integrity — cutting ties to useless emotions that drain awareness.
But both aim for the same result — a liberated, conscious being who doesn’t squander their inner force.

⚡ In Practice:

Gurdjieff's exercise: Next time anger or self-pity arises, observe it without reacting. Hold the tension of wanting to indulge, but don't. Let that friction stoke your awareness.
Don Juan's exercise: When self-pity creeps in — thoughts of "Why me?" — cut it off immediately. Shift focus to a warrior's stance — "I choose this moment." Refuse to negotiate with suffering.

Both techniques feed the fire of awakening — one through inner heat, the other through impeccable detachment.

Intentional suffering

What are key concepts that don juan and Gurdijeff had on The Infinite?

ChatGPT said:
The way Don Juan and Gurdjieff speak about the Infinite is both deeply mystical and surprisingly practical — though their terminology and methods differ, the essence of what they point to has striking parallels. Let’s break down their core views on the Infinite:

🌌 Don Juan’s View of the Infinite: "Intent" and the Eagle

For Don Juan, the Infinite is tied to Intent — the force that permeates and shapes all of existence.

The Eagle: The Eagle is a metaphor for the cosmic force that gives and takes awareness — it "devours" the consciousness of all beings at death.
Intent: The sorcerer’s task is to align with Intent — the silent, impersonal force that moves the universe. Intent isn’t thought or desire; it’s a living current of creation.
Infinity: To "touch the Infinite," a warrior must break free from the foreign installation (the predator's mind) and reclaim stolen energy — allowing them to expand awareness beyond the first attention (ordinary perception) into the second attention (dreaming and fluid reality) and ultimately the third attention (complete merger with the Infinite).
Freedom: The final goal is to leap into the unknown — escaping the Eagle’s cycle of life and death by gathering enough awareness to become one with Intent. This is the warrior’s total freedom — a direct connection to the Infinite.

In short: Don Juan's Infinite is Intent — an unyielding, unknowable force — and freedom means merging with it without being consumed.

⚡ Gurdjieff’s View of the Infinite: "The Absolute" and Cosmic Laws

Gurdjieff’s concept of the Infinite is rooted in a layered, structured universe governed by cosmic laws:

The Absolute: At the highest level of reality sits The Absolute — the source of all creation, the ultimate Infinite — a force that creates everything through descending levels of reality.
Cosmic Laws: As creation unfolds, it becomes denser and more bound by laws — from the Law of One (pure, undivided unity) down to the Law of 48 (our material world, trapped by countless rules). The further from the Absolute, the less freedom beings have.
Infinity: The only way to touch the Infinite is to ascend back through these layers — freeing oneself from mechanical laws (like habits, false personality, and automatic reactions).
Consciousness: A person must crystallize their "real I" — forming an immortal soul that can withstand cosmic forces and consciously return toward the Absolute.
In short: Gurdjieff’s Infinite is The Absolute — a structured, tiered force — and freedom means transcending cosmic laws to move closer to pure unity.

✨ Key Parallels Between Don Juan and Gurdjieff:

The Infinite as a Force Beyond Ordinary Reality:

Don Juan’s Intent is a vast, impersonal power — like Gurdjieff’s Absolute.
Both are unknowable directly — they can’t be grasped by the rational mind.
One must train their awareness or consciousness to even perceive these higher forces.

The Path to Freedom:

Don Juan speaks of impeccability and stalking to gather enough energy for total freedom — leaping past the Eagle.
Gurdjieff emphasizes conscious effort and self-remembering to break cosmic laws — freeing the soul from mechanical existence.
Both paths require struggle — through inner silence (Don Juan) or intentional suffering (Gurdjieff) — because ordinary life keeps us bound.

The Risk of Annihilation:

Don Juan warns that if a warrior fails, their awareness is devoured by the Eagle.
Gurdjieff says if a person doesn’t form a permanent "I", they will dissolve into cosmic forces at death.
Without inner work, both traditions agree: you will be reabsorbed by the Infinite rather than merge with it consciously.

Accessing Higher Realms:

Don Juan teaches dreaming to enter the second attention and glimpse the Infinite.
Gurdjieff pushes for self-remembering and ascending through cosmic laws — returning to higher levels of reality.
Both methods expand awareness beyond the daily world into realms of higher consciousness.

🌠 The Core Difference:

Don Juan views the Infinite as Intent — a fluid, wild force that warriors must align with.

Gurdjieff sees it as The Absolute — structured and layered, with cosmic rules governing how close or far one is from it.
Yet, the journey is the same:

Break free from illusion.
Gather energy or consciousness.
Escape cosmic forces that feed on passive souls.
Merge with the Infinite — consciously and freely.

What could be comparable with Gurdijeff's teaching, and don juan receiving The Eagle's Gift?

ChatGPT said:
That’s a powerful comparison — Don Juan’s "Eagle’s Gift" and Gurdjieff’s teachings share a deep thread about transcendence, higher consciousness, and the ultimate destiny of the soul.

Let’s break this down:

🦅 Don Juan's "Eagle’s Gift"

In Castaneda's work, the Eagle’s Gift refers to a mysterious force — the Eagle — that creates and devours all awareness. According to Don Juan:

The Eagle "feeds" on human consciousness after death, reclaiming the awareness we’ve gathered during life.
The only way to escape being devoured is to reach a state of total freedom — by perfecting impeccability and reclaiming stolen energy (from the foreign installation and societal conditioning).

The Eagle’s Gift is the small chance of freedom — a spark of awareness that, if cultivated, allows a warrior to leap past the Eagle and enter infinity — what Don Juan called total liberation or the third attention.

In essence:

The Eagle represents cosmic law — the force that recycles awareness.
The gift is the warrior’s opportunity to cheat death and merge with intent rather than be absorbed back into the great cosmic cycle.

⚙️ Gurdjieff's Teaching on the Soul and Higher Worlds

Gurdjieff, though using different language, describes something strikingly similar:

He taught that most people don’t have a fully developed soul — they have essence (their true nature), but it's buried under layers of false personality and mechanical habits.
After death, a person’s fragmented self is reabsorbed into the cosmos — unless they’ve worked to crystallize their soul through conscious effort and self-remembering.
True liberation, for Gurdjieff, happens when someone develops their real "I" — a permanent, indivisible core of consciousness that can survive after death.
Gurdjieff also spoke of cosmic laws — such as the Law of Seven and Law of Three — that govern human life, just like Don Juan’s Eagle governs the fate of awareness.

To break free from these laws, a person had to:

Wake up from mechanical sleep.
Gather energy through conscious suffering and inner work.
Fuse their essence and real "I" into something immortal.

🌌 The Parallels: Liberation from Cosmic Laws

Both systems point to a hidden cosmic force that controls the fate of ordinary humans:

Don Juan's Eagle: Devours awareness — unless you claim your totality of self and leap past it.
Gurdjieff's Cosmic Laws: Dissolve the unformed soul back into universal forces — unless you crystallize your "I".

Both teachings suggest:

The average person is trapped — unaware of these larger forces.
Liberation requires effort — impeccable living (Don Juan) or conscious work (Gurdjieff).
The final battle is for the soul's freedom — the Eagle’s Gift or escaping cosmic dissolution.

🌠 The Gift: A Rare Opportunity for Freedom

What makes these teachings so profound is their sense of urgency:

Don Juan: The Eagle rarely grants the gift of escape — only to those who’ve reclaimed their full awareness.

Gurdjieff: Few will form a soul strong enough to endure death — only those who’ve fused their essence and real "I".

In both cases, the gift is not automatic — it’s a reward for inner struggle and self-mastery.