Intergalactic Summit

The following is an excerpt from the published journals of Roland Cassidy focusing primarily on Wayist practice as a Capsuleer. It should be noted that the author considers himself a student, not a master of the philosophy known as The Way of The Winds. As such the author encourages the discourse of dialogue between fellow Wayists and philosophical views of non-Wayists as a means of seeking. 

We are seeking. This is the answer the Steward gave me as a child when I inquired as to our work detail at the Landfall shrine. At the time I did not understand the importance of his reply nor did I have a concept of mindfulness. A child does not have to be taught the nature of zen, they live in the moment fully. This is something a student seeks devoutly... at first.

The oft reiterated koan of being unable to add more liquid to an already full cup presents the Wayist with the fundamental realization that for balance of self, one must achieve a release of the past and future focus, to become mindless in order to see the moment and finally achieve mindfulness. Consider the energy expenditure of the mind in constant evaluation of its surroundings. No moment of peace. The self is flooded and centered on this stream like a stone in the center of a turbid river rapid, slowly eroding against the assault of the stream.

There is no way to eliminate this flow, but by living in the zen of a moment, it is possible to focus the mind remove the additional flow of past which cannot be changed and future which cannot be avoided, slowing the stream and lightening the strain on our Self. The turbid rapids slow to calm waters that can be seen clearly through. This is the tao of mind and self and Iit requires focus and practice to follow.

While there are many paths to mindlessness (not to be confused with pointlessness or absurdity) I personally choose meditation mantra and prayer each to achieve Still mind. Mantra or the repetition of simple chant conditions the seeker to focus on insubstantial and relaxes the Self in gentle rhythm of breath and sound. Meditation specific to myself though common and a widely utilized rote involves a mental hall where I consider my thoughts as open doors and slowly resolve or close each door to move onward. This takes time at first, but with practice you begin realizing which doors need resolution and which ones may be closed as we approach. With time less thoughts need to be arranged and it becomes a simple walk through a cooridor. Prayer is common ground for the wayist. Its rote is similar to mantra, its release of past and present to ancestors care similar to meditative practice. Each a valuable tool in calming the internal waters.

Once our vessels are empty, then begins the careful task of filling our self with appropriate mindfulness. Focusing our mind on singular tasks and discovering tao in the moment, Order of the mind and another step in the path to inner tranquility.

Sorry, Roland, my meditative practices are 'drink enough to sleep without dreaming'.

It's not me I'm drowning, Roland. It's the dead.

This is strange-- a Goonswarm officer requires the oblivion at the bottom of a bottle to escape her ghosts, but someone like me sleeps peacefully?

Thank you for sharing this, Arrendis; it's important, even if it's only anecdotal. I'd assumed that nullsec leadership would have adjusted fully to the "dark".

I'll have to look more carefully.



On meditation, my older self was a practicing Achur monk, but I don't maintain the formal practices, myself. I don't think they did her many favors. Her training regimen was part of her baseline identity, and stood in some tension with a capsuleer's role.

A monk's martial training is meant to break down illusion, you see-- the barriers between mind and body, between body and weapon. It reveals the artificiality of these distinctions, the illusion of separation. This is a worthwhile practice, but we capsuleers have a more direct way to it approach it, the very reason so many Achur monks seek capsuleer training: the hydrostatic pod, the capsule itself.

The effect of the pod's cybernetic rig is to weaken or even strip away the body, replacing it with something oh so much more vast. This is a trick of perception more profound, and accomplished more easily, than can be achieved with years of martial arts training. It needn't stop there. Between warfare links, mindlinks, training, and coordination, capsuleer units can blur the lines between individuals, moving together as a single entity.

For me as a combat pilot, this is the closest I have come to the definition of "what I am for." It is my path, my role, the part I am called to play. Sometimes, rarely, on the hunt, I have felt as though I had touched the face of the universe.



The other meditative practice I engage in is one I picked up from the Amarr. Each day, I light a candle, and contemplate the small act of bringing a little light into the world. This started out, I think, as an effort to introduce me into an Amarrian moral vision, but these days I approach it as a sort of self-critique or a study in contrasts.

As a capsuleer combat pilot, I'm a snuffer of candles. Even if I'm an ally to civilization, I'm more a creature of chaos.

I'm okay with that, but not everyone is. Some people try very hard to be candle-lighters, even as capsuleers. And there are those who never take to the pod, who spend all their lives building, teaching, growing.

I think what I do is necessary, and I'm not someone who is comfortable asking others to do what I won't do myself. This is work that I'm well suited for, and which needs doing, so I'm happy to do it. But there are others who don't see it that way, and even hate me for it. I could really resent that, if I'm not careful.

So ... I guess the candle is kind of a reminder to me that it's okay, that I shouldn't hate candle-lighters just because from some point of view I'm a denizen of the dark. ... And also, I guess, maybe, that even someone like me can bring a little light into the world.

Lighting candles is a little complicated, I guess.

Lighting candles is very complicated.

... dying in the glow of plasma smartbombs, held fast by a sea of bubbles.

The analogy of a stream is commonplace in many disciplines, but the usage you refer to is a wise one for daily life, and how best to approach difficulty with ones tao. These efforts are not unrelated to the tool of a balanced self and mind, however my initial analogy means to illustrate and help visualize the untrained and overburdened mind-self versus the meditative calm one strives to achieve. Perhaps this could have been contextualized in a less widely used illustration, but the words are merely offerings to the Winds.

It is my genuine pleasure to see my awkward wandering thoughts connect with others.

The analogy of a stream is commonplace in many disciplines, but the usage you refer to is a wise one for daily life, and how best to approach difficulty with ones tao. These efforts are not unrelated to the tool of a balanced self and mind, however my initial analogy means to illustrate and help visualize the untrained and overburdened mind-self versus the meditative calm one strives to achieve. Perhaps this could have been contextualized in a less widely used illustration, but the words are merely offerings to the Winds.

It is my genuine pleasure to see my awkward wandering thoughts connect with others.[/quote]

Agreed it is a common analogy, probably because it is a simple yet accurate representation of the chaotic flow of events that encompass us at every moment. I always take great interest in the teachings and experience of others though as to believe one way is 'right' and another 'wrong' is a folly. I believe you can always learn from others, potentially more so if their view and understanding differs greatly from yours.

As for the similarities between the lessons we have been taught I believe that both are equally valid, but whilst the methods I follow work for me they may well not do for you, and vice versa. Ultimately we both attain the same goal but by means that suit our individual perceptions and capabilities.

Now how exactly am I supposed to keep a clear mind with that image in there....

Yeah, I immediately thought of you when I I read Arrendis's reflections, Utari. It's an obvious parallel.

I'm not sure it's that simple, though. A lot of the combat pilots I know are either of the "righteous cause" or the "drink to forget" schools, with or without logistics duty. Others go cold, like my former self believed we were all becoming. I think a lot of us compartmentalize, and maybe that's sort of what I do, too, only....

I don't, really.

For me it's more like ... I weigh others' lives as I weigh my own: lightly.

Probably there are other coping mechanisms out there. I just can't think of them at the moment.