The Path Of Power

The Path of Power A Tract Book Essay By Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif Although I do not recommend that the reader read “A Separate Reality” by Carlos Casteneda, I would like to address one of the central themes of the book. In the book, Carlos Casteneda does a series of interviews with a Yaqui Indian Sorcerer, named Don Juan de Matus. Don Juan tells us that we should seek the Path of Power if we wish to be spiritually successful. I tried the Path of Power for awhile and it didn’t work. I found myself going back to my public school junior high education where I was taught that “Power corrupts, and Absolute Power corrupts absolutely.” Path of Power doesn’t work.

I also proved to myself, logically, that the

First, if I am to have Power, I must have power of myself.

I must be autonomous. I must to my own thing, not what someone else tells me to do. The problem then is that while I choose autonomy and autonomous goals for myself, to have power in the traditional sense, I would have to have a group of obedient followers who do not what I do, but what I say. This is of course both hypocritical and lacks reciprocity. Finally, of course, if my followers try to model themselves after me, as they typically do, they will want to be autonomous too, not just obedient to authority. Now, a Power person might ignore the criticism above, but then that person would turn out to be irrational, not rational. Power players who are irrational get replaced by those who are more rational. Irrational Power player don’t last.

Another Path, is the Path of Love. Some people choose the Path of Love, deciding that Love is all. My problem with Love is that it isn’t enough. Loving people often choose not to defend themselves and end up being tortured, or martyred. The reasonable person chooses self defense, not martyrdom. The Path that I have chosen is the Path of Reason.

Reason is 90% logic, and

10% love. Thus there is an affective component to Reason. The reasonable person believes in Natural Law, and Metaphysics, and Philosophy, and often, God. The reasonable person uses power instrumentally as a means, rather than as an end. The reasonable person chooses to support the well ordered Liberal society which recognizes individual rights and responsibilities. The reasonable person supports The Individual Good. Occasionally, reason does not work, and that is why the reasonable person chooses Wisdom as his or her secondary Path. Wisdom involves alinear logic, intuition, and creativity. Wisdom finds the answers that Reason cannot find.