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eugzol в посте Metapractice (оригинал в ЖЖ)
him about a friend of mine and his dilemma with his nine year old son. The child, who had been
living with the mother for the past four years, was then living with my friend, and the problem was
what to do with him? According to my friend, the child was a misfit in school; he lacked
concentration and was not interested in anything. He was given to tantrums, disruptive behavior,
and to running away from home.
"Your friend certainly does have a problem, " don Juan said, laughing.
I wanted to keep on telling him all the "terrible" things the child had done, but he interrupted me.
"There is no need to say any more about that poor little boy, " he said. "There is no need for you or
for me to regard his actions in our thoughts one way or another."
His manner was abrupt and his tone was firm, but then he smiled.
"What can my friend do?" I asked.
"The worst thing he could do is to force that child to agree with him," don Juan said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that that child shouldn't be spanked or scared by his father when he doesn't behave the way
he wants him to."
"How can he teach him anything if he isn't firm with him?"
"Your friend should let someone else spank the child."
"He can't let anyone else touch his little boy!" I said, surprised at his suggestion.
Don Juan seemed to enjoy my reaction and giggled.
"Your friend is not a warrior, " he said. "If he were, he would know that the worst thing one can do
is to confront human beings bluntly."
"What does a warrior do, don Juan?"
"A warrior proceeds strategically."
"I still don't understand what you mean."
"I mean that if your friend were a warrior he would help his child to stop the world."
"How can my friend do that?"
"He would need personal power. He would need to be a sorcerer."
"But he isn't."
"In that case he must use ordinary means to help his son to change his idea of the world. It is not
stopping the world, but it will work just the same."
I asked him to explain his statements.
"If I were your friend, " don Juan said, "I would start by hiring someone to spank the little guy. I
would go to skid row and hire the worst looking man I could find."
"To scare a little boy?"
"Not just to scare a little boy, you fool. That little fellow must be stopped, and being beaten by his
father won't do it.
"If one wants to stop our fellow men one must always be outside the circle that presses them. That
way one can always direct the pressure."
The idea was preposterous, but somehow it was appealing to me.
Don Juan was resting his chin on his left palm. His left arm was propped against his chest on a
wooden box that served as a low table. His eyes were closed but his eyeballs moved. I felt he was
looking at me through his closed eyelids. The thought scared me.