CARLOS CASTANEDA'S BOOKS-5 : "MAGICAL PASSES"

КНИГИ КАРЛОСА КАСТАНЭДА - 5 : "МАГИЧЕСКИЕ ПАСCЫ"

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CONTENTS
Introduction•1
Magical Passes•9
Tensegrity•21
Six Series of Tensegrity•29
The First Series: The Series for Preparing Intent •37
The First Group: Mashing Energy for Intent•40
The Second Group: Stirring Up Energy for Intent • 49
The Third Group: Gathering Energy for Intent•58
The Fourth Group: Breathing In the Energy of Intent•66
The Second Series: The Series for the Womb•71
The First Group: Magical Passes Belonging to Taisha Abelar•75
The Second Group: A Magical Pass Directly Related to Florinda Donner-Grau•79
The Third Group: Magical Passes That Have to Do Exclusively with Carol Tiggs•81
The Fourth Group: Magical Passes That Belong to the Blue Scout•84
The Third Series: The Series of the Five Concerns: The Westwood Series•89
The First Group: The Center for Decisions•90
The Second Group: The Recapitulation •102
The Third Group: Dreaming •115
The Fourth Group: Inner Silence•127
The Fourth Series: The Separation of the Left Body and the Right Body: The Heat Series •139
The First Group: Stirring Energy on the Left Body and the Right Body•143

The Second Group: Mixing Energy from the Left Body and the Right Body •154
The Third Group: Moving the Energy of the Left Body and the Right Body with the Breath•165
The Fourth Group: The Predilection (preference) of the Left Body and the Right Body•172
The Five Magical Passes for the Left Body•173
The Three Magical Passes for the Right Body•187
The Fifth Series: The Masculinity Series •194

The First Group: Magical Passes in Which the Hands Are Moved in Unison but Held Separately•197
The Second Group: The Magical Passes for Focusing Tendon Energy•204
The Third Group: The Magical Passes for Building Endurance •210
The Sixth Series: Devices Used in Conjunction with Specific Magical Passes •217
The First Category •219
The Second Category •224

1
Don Juan Matus, a master sorcerer, a nagual, as master sorcerers are called when they lead a group of other sorcerers, introduced me to the cognitive world of shamans who lived in Mexico in ancient times. Don Juan Matus was an Indian who was born in Yuma, Arizona. His father was a Yaqui Indian from Sonora, Mexico, and his mother was presumably a Yuma Indian from Arizona. Don Juan lived in Arizona until he was ten years old. He was then taken by his father to Sonora, Mexico, where they were caught in the endemic Yaqui wars against the Mexicans. His father was killed, and as a ten-yearold child don Juan ended up in Southern Mexico, where he grew up with relatives. At the age of twenty, he came in contact with a master sorcerer. His name was Julian Osorio. He introduced don Juan into a lineage of sorcerers that was purported to be twenty-five generations long. He was not an Indian at all, but the son of European immigrants to Mexico. Don Juan related to me, that the nagual Julian had been an actor, and, that he was a dashing person - a raconteur, a mime, adored by everybody, influential, commanding. In one of his theatrical tours to the provinces, the actor Julian Osorio fell under the influence of another nagual, Elias Ulloa, who transmitted to him the knowledge of his lineage of sorcerers. Don Juan Matus, following the tradition of his lineage of shamans, taught some bodily movements which he called magical passes to his tour disciples: Taisha Abelar, Florinda Donner-Grau, Carol Figgs, and myself. He taught them to us in the same spirit, in which they had been for generations, with one notable departure:
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he eliminated the excessive ritual, which had surrounded the teaching and performance of those magical passes for generations. Don Juan's comments in this respect were, that ritual had lost its impetus (stimulus), as new generations of practitioners became more interested in efficiency and functionalism. He recommen-
ded to me, however, that under no circumstances should I talk about the magical passes with any of his disciples or with people in general. His reasons were, that the magical passes pertained exclusively to each person, and, that their effect was so shattering, it was better just to practice them without discussing them. Don Juan Matus taught me everything, he knew about the sorcerers of his lineage. He stated, asserted, affirmed, explained to me every nuance of his knowledge. Therefore, everything I say about the magical passes is a direct result of his instruction. The magical passes were not invented. They were discovered by the shamans of don Juan's lineage, who lived in Mexico in ancient times, while they were in shamanistic states of heightened awareness. The discovery of the magical passes was quite accidental. It began as very simple queries about the nature of an incredible sensation of well-being, that those shamans experienced in those states of heightened awareness when they held certain bodily positions, or when they moved their limbs in some specific manner. Their sensation of well-being had been so intense that their drive to repeat those movements in their normal awareness became the focus of all their endeavors. By all appearances, they succeeded in their task, and found themselves the possessors of a very complex series of movements that, when practiced, yielded them tremendous results in terms of mental and physical prowess. In fact, the results of performing these movements were so dramatic that they called them magical passes. They taught them for generations only to shaman initiates, on a personal basis, following elaborate rituals and secret ceremonies. Don Juan Matus, in teaching the magical passes, departed radically from tradition. Such a departure forced don Juan to reformulate the pragmatic goal of the magical passes. He presented this goal to me not so much as the enhancement of mental and physical balance, as it had been in the past, but as the practical possibility of redeploying energy. He explained, that such a departure was due to the influence of the two naguals, who had preceded him. It was the belief of the sorcerers of don Juan's lineage, that there is an inherent amount of energy, existing in each one of us, an amount which is not subject to the onslaughts of outside forces for augmenting it or for decreasing it.
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They believed, that this quantity of energy was sufficient to accomplish something, which those sorcerers deemed to be the  obsession of every man on Earth: breaking the parameters of normal perception. Don Juan Matus was convinced, that our incapacity to break those parameters was induced by our culture and social milieu. He maintained, that our culture and social milieu deployed every bit of our inherent energy in fulfilling established behavioral patterns, which didn't allow us to' break those parameters of normal perception.
"Why in the world would I, or anyone else, want to break those parameters?" I asked don Juan on one occasion.
"Breaking those parameters is the unavoidable issue of mankind," he replied. "Breaking them means the entrance into unthinkable worlds of a pragmatic value in no way different from the value of our world of everyday life. Regardless of whether or not we accept this premise, we .ire obsessed with breaking those parameters, and we fail miserably at it, hence the profusion of drugs and stimulants and religious rituals and ceremonies among modern man."
"Why do you think we have failed so miserably, don Juan?" I asked.
"Our failure to fulfill our subliminal wish," he said, "is due to the fact that we tackle it in a helter-skelter way. Our tools are too crude. They .ire equivalent to trying to bring down a wall by ramming it with the head. Man never considers this breakage in terms of energy. For sorcerers, success is determined only by the accessibility or the inaccessibility energy. Since it is impossible," he continued, "to augment our inherent energy, the only avenue open for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico was the redeployment of that energy. For them, this process of redeployment began with the magical passes, and the way they affected the physical body."
Don Juan stressed in every way possible, while imparting his instruction, the fact, that the enormous emphasis the shamans of his lineage had put on physical prowess (отвага, удаль) and  mental well-being had lasted to the present day. I was able to corroborate the truth of his statements by observing him and his fifteen sorcerer-companions. Their superb physical and mental balance was the most obvious feature about them. Don Juan's reply when I once asked him directly why sorcerers put so much stock in the physical side of man was a total surprise to me.
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I had always thought, that he himself was a spiritual man.
"Shamans are not spiritual at all," he said. "They are very practical beings. It is a well known fact, however, that shamans are generally regarded as eccentric, or even insane. Perhaps, that is what makes you think that they are spiritual. They seem insane, because they are always trying to explain things, that cannot be explained. In the course of such futile attempts to give complete explanations that cannot be completed under any circumstances, they lose all coherence and say inanities. You need a pliable body, if you want physical prowess and level headedness," he went on. "These are the two most important issues in the lives of shamans, because they bring forth sobriety and pragmatism: the only indispensable requisites for entering into other realms of perception. To navigate, in a genuine way, in the unknown necessitates an attitude of daring, but not one of recklessness. In order to establish a balance between audacity and recklessness, a sorcerer has to be extremely sober, cautious, skillful, and in superb physical condition."
"But why in superb physical condition, don Juan?" I asked. "Isn't the desire or the will to journey into the Unknown enough?"
"Not in your pissy life!" he replied rather brusquely. "Just to conceive facing the Unknown - much less enter into it - requires guts of steel, and a body, that would be capable of holding those guts. What would be the point of being gutsy if you didn't have mental alertness, physical prowess, and adequate muscles?"
The superb physical condition, that don Juan had steadily advocated from the first day of our association, the product of the rigorous execution of the magical passes, was, by all indications, the first step toward the redeployment of our inherent energy. This redeployment of energy was, in don Juan's view, the most crucial issue in the lives of shamans, as well as in the life of any individual. Redeployment of energy is a process, which consists of transporting, from one place to another, energy which already exists within us. This energy has been displaced from centers of vitality in the body, which require that displaced energy in order to bring forth a balance between mental alertness and physical prowess. The shamans of don Juan's lineage were deeply engaged with the redeployment of their inherent energy. This involvement wasn't an intellectual endeavor, nor was it the product of induction or deduction, or logical conclusions.
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It was the result of their ability to perceive energy as it flowed in the Universe.
"Those sorcerers called this ability to perceive energy as it flowed in the Universe - Seeing," don Juan explained to me. "They described Seeing, as a state of heightened Awareness in which the human body is capable of perceiving energy as a flow, a current, a wind like vibration. To See energy as it flows in the universe is the product of a momentary halt of the system of interpretation proper to human beings."
"What is this system of interpretation, don Juan?" I asked.
"The shamans of ancient Mexico found out," he replied, "that every part of the human body is engaged, in one way or another, in turning this vibratory flow, this current of vibration, into some form of sensory input. The sum total of this bombardment of sensory input is then, through usage, turned into the system of interpretation that makes human beings capable of perceiving the world the way they do. To make this system of interpretation come to a halt," he went on, "was the result of tremendous discipline on the part of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico. They called this halt Seeing, and made it the cornerstone one of their knowledge. To see energy as it flowed in the Universe was, for them, an essential tool that they employed in making their classificatory schemes. Because of this capacity, for instance, they conceived the total Universe available to the perception of human beings as an onion like affair, consisting of thousands of layers. The daily world of human beings, they believed, is but one such layer. Consequently, they also believed, that other layers are not only accessible to human perception, but are part of man's natural heritage."
Another issue of tremendous value in the knowledge of those sorcerers, an issue, which was also a consequence of their capacity to see energy as it flowed in the Universe, was the discovery of the human energetic configuration. This human energetic configuration was, for them, a conglomerate of energy fields agglutinated together by a vibratory force, that bound those energy fields into a luminous ball of energy. For the sorcerers of don Juan's lineage, a human being has an oblong shape like an egg, or a round shape like a ball. Thus, they called them luminous eggs or luminous balls. This sphere of luminosity was considered by them to be our true self - true in the sense, that it is irreducible in terms of energy. It is irreducible, because the totality of human resources are engaged in the net of perceiving it directly as energy.
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Those shamans discovered, that on the back face of this luminous ball there is a point of greater brilliance. They figured out, through processes of observing energy directly, that this point is key in the act of turning energy into sensory data and then interpreting it. For this reason, they called it the assemblage point (better to call it - Perception Point, LM), and deemed, that perception is indeed assembled there. They described the assemblage point as being located behind the shoulder blades, an arm's length away from them. They also found out that the assemblage point for the entire human race is located on the same spot, thus giving every human being an entirely similar view of the world. A finding of tremendous value for them, and for shamans of succeeding generations, was that the location of the assemblage point on that spot is the result of usage and socialization. For this reason, they considered it to be an arbitrary position, which gives merely the illusion of being final and irreducible. A product of this illusion is the seemingly unshakable conviction of human beings, that the world they deal with daily is the only world, that exists, and that its finality is undeniable.
"Believe me," don Juan said to me once, "this sense of finality about the world is a mere illusion. Due to the fact, that it has never been challenged, it stands as the only possible view. To see energy as it flows in the universe is the tool for challenging it. Through the use of this tool, the sorcerers of my lineage arrived at the conclusion, that there are indeed a staggering number of worlds available to man's perception. They described those worlds as being all-inclusive realms, realms, where one can act and struggle. In other words, they are worlds where one can live and die, as in this world of everyday life."
During the thirteen years of my association with him, don Juan taught me the basic steps toward accomplishing this feat of seeing. I have discussed those steps in all of my previous writings, but never have I touched on the key point in this process: the magical passes. He taught me a great number of them, but along with that wealth of knowledge, don Juan also left me with the certainty that I was the last link of his lineage. Accepting, that I was the last link of his lineage implied automatically for me the task of finding new ways to disseminate the knowledge of his lineage, since its continuity was no longer an issue. I need to clarify a very important point in this regard: Don Juan Matus was not ever interested in teaching his knowledge; he was interested in perpetuating his lineage.
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His three other disciples and I were the means - chosen, he said, by the spirit itself, for he had no active part in it - that were going to ensure that perpetuation. Therefore, he engaged himself in a titanic effort to teach me all he knew about sorcery, or shamanism, and about the development of his lineage. In the course of training me, he realized that my energetic configuration was, according to him, so vastly different from his own that it couldn't mean anything else but the end of his line. I told him that I resented enormously his interpretation of whatever invisible difference existed between us. I didn't like the burden of being the last of his line, nor did I understand his reasoning.
"The shamans of ancient Mexico," he said to me once, "believed that choice, as human beings understand it, is the precondition of the cognitive world of man, but, that it is only a benevolent interpretation of something, which is found when awareness ventures beyond the cushion of our world, a benevolent interpretation of acquiescence. Human beings are in the throes of forces, that pull them every which way. The art of sorcerers is not really to choose, but to be subtle enough to acquiesce. Sorcerers, although they seem to make nothing else but decisions, make no decisions at all," he went on. "I didn't decide to choose you, and I didn't decide that you would be the way you are. Since I couldn't choose to whom I would impart my knowledge, I had to accept whomever the spirit was offering me. And that person was you, and you are energetically capable only of ending, not of continuing."
He maintained, that the ending of his line had nothing to do with him or his efforts, or with his success or failure as a sorcerer seeking total freedom. He understood it as something, that had to do with a choice exercised beyond the human level, not by beings or entities, but by the impersonal forces of the Universe. Finally, I came to accept what don Juan called my fate. Accepting it put me face to face with another issue, that he referred to as locking the door when you leave. That is to say, I assumed the responsibility of deciding exactly what to do with everything he had taught me and carrying out my decision impeccably. First of all, I asked myself the crucial question of what to do with the magical passes: the facet of don Juan's knowledge most imbued with pragmatism and function. I decided to use the magical passes and teach them to whoever wanted to learn them.
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My decision to end the secrecy, that had surrounded them for an undetermined length of time was, naturally, the corollary of my total conviction, that I am indeed the end of don Juan's lineage. It became inconceivable (unbelievable)to me that I should carry secrets which were not even mine. To shroud the magical passes in secrecy was not my decision. It was my decision, however, to end such a condition. I endeavored from then on to come up with a more generic form of each magical pass, a form suitable to everyone. This resulted in a configuration of slightly modified forms of each one of the magical passes. I have called this new configuration of movements Tensegrity, a term which belongs to architecture, where it means "the property of skeleton structures, that employ continuous tension members and discontinuous compression members in such a way that each member operates with the maximum efficiency and economy."
In order to explain, what the magical passes of the sorcerers, who lived in Mexico in ancient times are, I would like to make a clarification: "ancient times" meant, for don Juan, a time ten thousand years ago and beyond, a figure, that seems incongruous (inharmonious, incompatible with surroundings), if examined from the point of view of the classificatory schemes of modern scholars. When I confronted don Juan with the discrepancy between his estimate and what I considered to be a more realistic one, he remained adamant in his conviction.  He believed it to be a fact, that people who lived in the New World ten thousand years ago were deeply concerned with matters of the Universe and Perception, that modern human has not even begun to fathom. Regardless of our differing chronological interpretations, the effectiveness of the magical passes is undeniable to me, and I feel obligated to elucidate the subject strictly following the manner, in which it was presented to me. The directness of their effect on me has had a deep influence on the way, in which I deal with them. What I am presenting in this work is an intimate reflection of that influence.

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The first time don Juan talked to me at length about  magical passes was when he made a derogatory comment about my weight.
"You are way too chubby," he said, looking at me from head to toe shaking his head in disapproval. "You are one step from being fat. Wear and tear is beginning to show in you. Like any other member of our race, you are developing a lump of fat on your neck, like a bull. It's time that you take seriously one of the sorcerers' greatest findings: the magical passes."
"What magical passes are you talking about, don Juan?" I asked. "You never mentioned this topic to me before. Or, if you have, it must have been so lightly, that
I can't recall anything about it."
"Not only have I told you a great deal about magical passes," he said, "you know a great number of them already. I have been teaching them to you all along." 
As far, as I was concerned, it wasn't true, that he had taught me any magical passes all along. I protested vehemently.
"Don't be so passionate about defending your wonderful Self," he joked, making a ridiculous gesture of apology with his eyebrows. "What I meant to say is, that you imitate everything I do, so I have been cashing: in on your imitation capacity. 
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I have shown you various magical passes, all along, and you have always taken them to be my delight in cracking my joints. I like the way you interpret them: cracking my joints! We are going to keep on referring to them in that manner. I have shown you ten different ways of cracking my joints," he continued. "Each one of them is a magical pass that fits to perfection my body and yours. You could say, that those ten magical passes are in your line and mine. They belong to us personally and individually, as they belonged to other sorcerers, who were just like the two of us in the twenty-five generations, that preceded us."
The magical passes don Juan was referring to, as he himself had said, were ways, in which I thought he cracked his joints. He used to move his arms, legs, torso, and hips in specific ways, I thought, in order to create a maximum stretch of his muscles, bones, and ligaments. The result of these stretching movements, from my point of view, was a succession of cracking sounds, which I always thought, that he was producing for my amazement and amusement. He, indeed, had asked me time and time again to imitate him. In a challenging manner, he had even dared me to memorize the movements and repeat them at home until I could get my joints to make cracking noises, just like his. I had never succeeded in reproducing the sounds, yet I had definitely, but unwittingly, learned all the movements. I know now, that not achieving that cracking sound, was a blessing in disguise, because the muscles and tendons of the arms and back should never be stressed to that point. Don Juan was born with a facility to crack the joints of his arms and back, just as some people have the facility to crack their knuckles.
"How did the old sorcerers invent those magical passes, don Juan?" I asked. "Nobody invented them," he said sternly. "To think that they were invented implies instantly the intervention of the mind, and this is not the case when it comes to those magical passes. They were, rather, discovered by the old shamans. I was told, that it all began with the extraordinary sensation of well-being, that those shamans experienced when they were in shamanistic states of heightened awareness. They felt such tremendous, enthralling vigor, that they struggled to repeat it in their hours of vigil (watch during sleeping hours).
"At first," don Juan explained to me once, "those shamans believed, that it was a mood of well-being, that heightened awareness created in general. 
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Soon, they found out, that not all the states of shamanistic heightened awareness, which they entered, produced in them the same sensation of well-being. A more careful scrutiny revealed to them, that whenever that sensation of well-being occurred, they had always been engaged in some specific kind of bodily movement. They realized, that while they were in states of heightened awareness, their bodies moved involuntarily in certain ways, and, that those certain ways were indeed the cause of that unusual sensation of physical and mental plenitude."
Don Juan speculated, that it had always appeared to him, that the movements, that the bodies of those shamans executed automatically in heightened awareness, were a sort of hidden heritage of Humankind, something, that had been put in deep storage, to be revealed only to those, who were looking for it. He portrayed those sorcerers as deep sea divers, who without knowing it, reclaimed it. Don Juan said, that those sorcerers arduously began to piece together some of the movements they remembered. Their efforts paid off. They were capable of re-creating movements, that had seemed to them to be automatic reactions of the body in a state of heightened awareness. Encouraged by their success, they were capable of re-creating hundreds of movements, which they performed without ever attempting to classify them into an understandable scheme. Their idea was, that in heightened awareness, the movements happened spontaneously, and, that there was a force, that guided their effect, without the intervention of their volition. Don Juan commented, that the nature of their findings always led him to believe, that the sorcerers of ancient times were extraordinary people, Because the movements, that they discovered, were never revealed in the same fashion to modern shamans, who also entered into heightened awareness. Perhaps this was because modern shamans had learned the movements beforehand, in some fashion or another, from their predecessors, or perhaps, because the sorcerers of ancient times had more energetic mass.
"What do you mean, don Juan, that they had more energetic mass?" I asked. "Were they bigger men?"
"I don't think they were physically any bigger," he said, "but energetically, they appeared to the eye of a Seer as an Oblong Shape. They called themselves Luminous Eggs. I have never seen a Luminous Egg in my life. All I have seen are Luminous Balls. It is presumable, then, that Human has lost some energetic mass over the generations."
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Don Juan explained to me, that to a Seer, the Universe is composed of an infinite number of energy fields. They appear to the eye of the Seer as luminous filaments, that shoot out every which way. Don Juan said that those filaments crisscross through the Luminous Balls, that Human Beings are, and, that it was reasonable to assume, that if Human Beings were once Oblong Shapes, like Eggs, they were much higher, than a Ball. Therefore, energy fields, that touched Human Beings at the Crown of the Luminous Egg, are no longer touching them now, that they are Luminous Balls. Don Juan felt, that this meant to him a loss of Energy Mass, which seemed to have been crucial for the purpose of reclaiming that hidden treasure: the magical passes.
"Why are the passes of the old shamans called magical passes, don Juan?" I asked him on one occasion.
"They are not just called magical passes," he said, "they are magical! They produce an effect, that cannot be accounted for by means of ordinary explanations. These movements are not physical exercises or mere postures of the body; they are real attempts at reaching an optimal state of being. The magic of the movements," he went on, "is a subtle change, that the practitioners experience on executing them. It is an ephemeral quality, that the movement brings to their physical and mental states, a kind of Shine, a Light in the Eyes. This subtle change is a Touch of the Spirit. It is as if the practitioners, through the movements, re-establish an unused link with the Life Force, that sustains them."
He further explained, that another reason, that the movements are called magical passes, is that by means of practicing them, shamans are transported, in terms of perception, to other states of being, in which they can sense the World in an indescribable manner.
"Because of this quality, because of this Magic," don Juan said to me, "the passes must be practiced not as exercises, but as a way of beckoning Power."
"But can they be taken as physical movements, although they have never been taken as such?" I asked.
"You can practice them any way you wish," don Juan replied. "The magical passes enhance awareness, regardless of how you take them. The intelligent thing would be to take them as what they are: magical passes, that on being practiced, lead the practitioner to drop the mask of socialization."
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"What is the mask of socialization?" I asked.
"The veneer, that all of us defend and die for," he said. "The veneer we acquire in the world. The one, that prevents us from reaching all our potential. The one, that makes us believe we are immortal. The Intent of thousands of Sorcerers permeates (spread or flow throughout) these movements. Executing them, even in a casual way, makes the Mind come to a halt."
"What do you mean, that they make the Mind come to a halt?" I asked.
"Everything, that we do in the world," he said, "we recognize and identify by converting it into lines of similarity, lines of things, that are strung together by purpose. For example, if I say to you fork, this immediately brings to your mind the idea of spoon, knife, tablecloth, napkin, plate, cup and saucer, glass of wine, chili con carne, banquet, birthday, fiesta. You could certainly go on naming things, strung together by purpose, nearly forever. Everything we do is strung like this. The strange part for Sorcerers is, that  they see, that all these lines of affinity, all these hues of things strung together by purpose, are associated with human's idea, that things are unchangeable and forever, like the word of God."
"I don't see, don Juan, why you bring the word of God into this elucidation. What does the word of God have to do with what you are trying to explain?"
"Everything!" he replied. "It seems to be, that in our minds, the entire Universe is like the word of God: absolute and unchanging. This is the way we conduct ourselves. In the depths of our minds, there is a checking device, that doesn't permit us to stop to examine, that the word of God, as we accept it and believe it to be, pertains to a dead World. A live World, on the other hand, is in constant flux. It moves. It changes. It reverses itself. The most abstract reason why the magical passes of the Sorcerers of my lineage are magical," he went on, "is, that in practicing them, the body of the practitioner realizes, that everything, instead of being an unbroken chain of objects, that have affinity for each other, is a current, a flux. And if everything in the Universe is a Flux, a Current, that Current can be stopped. A dam can be put on it, and in this manner, its flux can be halted or deviated."
Don Juan explained to me on one occasion the overall effect, that the practice of the magical passes had on the Sorcerers of his lineage, and correlated this effect with what would happen to modern practitioners.
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"The Sorcerers of my lineage," he said, "were shocked half to death upon realizing, that practicing their magical passes brought about the halt of the otherwise uninterrupted flux of things. They constructed a series of metaphors to describe this halt, and in their effort to explain it, or reconsider it, they flubbed it. They lapsed into ritual and ceremony. They began to enact the act of halting the flux of things. They believed, that if certain ceremonies and rituals were focused on a definite aspect of their magical passes, the magical passes themselves would beckon a specific result. Very soon, the number and complexity of their rituals and ceremonies became more encumbering, than the number of their magical passes. It is very important," he went on, "to focus the attention of the practitioner on some definite aspect of the magical passes. However, that fixation should be light, funny, void of morbidity and grimness. It should be done for the hell of it, without really expecting returns."
He gave the example of one of his cohorts, a Sorcerer by the name of Silvio Manuel, whose delight and predilection (preference) was to adapt the magical passes of the Sorcerers of ancient times to the steps of his modern dancing. Don Juan described Silvio Manuel as a superb acrobat and dancer, who actually danced the magical passes.
"The Nagual Elias Ulloa," don Juan continued, "was the most prominent innovator of my Lineage. He was the one, who threw all the ritual out the window, so to speak, and practiced the magical passes exclusively for the purpose, for which they were originally used at one time in the remote past: for the purpose of Redeploying Energy. The Nagual Julian Osorio, who came after him," don Juan continued, "was the one, who gave ritual the final death blow. Since he was a bona fide professional actor, who at one time had made his living acting in the theater, he put enormous stock into, what Sorcerers called the shamanistic theater. He called it the theater of Infinity, and into it, he poured all the magical passes, that were available to him. Every movement of his characters was imbued to the gills with magical passes. Not only that, but he turned the theater into a new avenue for teaching them. Between the Nagual Julian, the actor of Infinity, and Silvio Manuel, the dancer of Infinity, they had the whole thing pegged down. A new era was on the horizon! The era of pure Redeployment!"
Don Juan's explanation of Redeployment was, that human beings, perceived as conglomerates of energy fields, are Sealed Energetic Units, that have definite boundaries, which don't permit the entrance or the exit of energy. 
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Therefore, the energy existing within that conglomerate of energy fields, is all, that each human individual can count on.
"The natural tendency of human beings," he said, "is to push their energy away from the centers of vitality, which are located on the right side of the body, right at the edge of the rib cage on the area of the liver and gallbladder; on the left side of the body, again, at the edge of the rib cage, on the area of the pancreas and spleen; on the back, right behind the other two centers, around the kidneys, and right above them, on the area of the adrenal glands; at the base of the neck on the V spot, made by the sternum (breastbone) and clavicle (collarbone); and around the uterus and ovaries in Women."
"How do human beings push this energy away, don Juan?" I asked.
"By worrying," he replied. "By succumbing to the stress of everyday life. The duress of daily actions takes its toll on the body."
"And what happens to this energy, don Juan?" I asked.
"It gathers on the periphery of the Luminous Ball," he said, "sometimes to the point of making a thick bark like deposit. The magical passes relate to the total Human Being as a physical body, and as a Conglomerate of Energy Fields. They agitate the energy, that has been accumulated in the Luminous Ball and return it to the physical body itself. The magical passes engage both the body itself, as a physical entity, that suffers the dispersion of energy, and the body as an Energetic Entity, which is capable of redeploying that dispersed energy. Having energy on the periphery of the Luminous Ball," he continued, "energy, that is not being redeployed, is as useless, as not having any energy at all. It is truly a terrifying situation to have a surplus of energy stashed away, inaccessible for all practical purposes. It is like being in the desert, dying of dehydration, while you carry a tank of water, that you cannot open, because you don't have any tools. In that desert, you can't even find a rock to bang it with."
The true magic of the magical passes is the fact, that they cause, crusted-down energy, to enter again into the centers of vitality, hence the feeling of well-being and prowess, which is the practitioner's experience. The Sorcerers of don Juan's lineage, before they entered into their excessive ritualism and ceremony, had formulated the basis for this redeployment. They called it saturation, meaning, that they inundated their bodies with a profusion of magical passes, in order to allow the force, that binds us together, to guide those magical passes to cause the maximum Redeployment of Energy.
16
"But don Juan, are you telling me, that every time you crack your joints, or every time I try to imitate you, we are really redeploying energy!" I asked him once, without really meaning to be sarcastic.
"Every time we execute a magical pass," he replied, "we are indeed altering the basic structures of our Beings. Energy, which is ordinarily crusted down, is released and begins to enter into the vortexes of vitality of the body. Only by means of that reclaimed energy can we put up a dike, a barrier to contain an otherwise uncontainable and always deleterious flow."
I asked don Juan to give me an example of putting a dam on what he was calling a deleterious flow. I told him, that I wanted to visualize it in my mind.
"I'll give you an example," he said. "For instance, at my age, I should be prey to high blood pressure. If I went to see a doctor, the doctor, upon seeing me, would assume, that I must be an old Indian, plagued with uncertainties, frustrations, and bad diet; all of this, naturally, resulting in a most expected and predictable condition of high blood pressure: an acceptable corollary of my age. I don't have any problems with high blood pressure," he went on, "not because I am stronger, than the average man or because of my genetic frame, but because my magical passes have made my body break through any patterns of behavior, that result in high blood pressure. I can truthfully say, that every time I crack my joints, following the execution of a magical pass, I am blocking off the flow of expectations and behavior, that ordinarily result in high blood pressure at my age. Another example I can give you is the agility of my knees," he continued. "Haven't you noticed how much more agile I am, than you? 
When it comes to moving my knees, I'm a kid! With my magical passes, I put a dam on the current of behavior and physicality, that makes the knees of people, both men and women, stiff with age."
One of the most annoying feelings I had ever experienced was caused by the fact, that don Juan Matus, although he could have been my grandfather, was infinitely younger than I. In comparison, I was stiff, opinionated, repetitious. I was senile. He, on the other hand, was fresh, inventive, agile, resourceful. In short, he possessed something, which, although I was young, I did not: youth. He delighted in telling me repeatedly, that young age was not youth, and that young age was in no way a deterrent to senility. 
17
He pointed out, that if I watched my fellow men carefully and dispassionately, I would be able to corroborate, that by the time they reached twenty years of age, they were already senile, repeating themselves inanely.
"How is it possible, don Juan," I said, "that you could be younger, than I?"
"I have vanquished (defeated) my mind," he said, opening his eyes wide to denote bewilderment. "I don't have a mind to tell me, that it is time to be old. I don't honor agreements, in which I didn't participate. Remember this: It is not just a slogan for Sorcerers to say, that they do not honor agreements, in winch they did not participate. To be plagued by old age is one such agreement."
We were silent for a long time. Don Juan seemed to be waiting, I thought, for the effect, that his words might cause in me. What I thought to be my psychological unity was further ripped apart by a clearly dual response on my part. On one level, I repudiated (отвергал) with all my might the nonsense, that don Juan was verbalizing; on another level, however, I couldn't fail to notice how accurate his remarks were. Don Juan was old, and yet he wasn't old at all. He was ages younger than I. He was free from encumbering thoughts and habit patterns. He was roaming around in incredible worlds. He was free, while I was imprisoned by heavy thought patterns and habits, by petty and futile considerations about myself, which I felt, on that occasion, for the first time, weren't even mine. I asked don Juan on another occasion something, that had been bothering me for a long time. He had stated, that the Sorcerers of ancient Mexico discovered the magical passes, which were some sort of hidden treasure, placed in storage for a Human to find. I wanted to know, who would put something like that in storage for a Human. The only idea, that I could come up with, was derived from Catholicism. I thought of God doing it, or a guardian angel, or the Holy Spirit.
"It is not the Holy Spirit," he said, "which is only holy to you, because you're secretly a Catholic. And certainly it is not God, a benevolent father, as you understand God. Nor is it a Goddess, a nurturing Mother, watching over the affairs of men, as many people believe to be the case. It is rather an Impersonal Force, that has endless things in storage for those, who dare to seek them. It is a Force in the Universe, like Light or Gravity. It is an agglutinating factor, a Vibratory Force, that joins conglomerate of energy fields, that human beings are into one concise, cohesive unit. 
18
This Vibratory Force is the factor, that doesn't allow the entrance or the exit of energy from the Luminous Ball. The Sorcerers of ancient Mexico," he went on, "believed, that the performance of their magical passes was the only factor, that prepared and led the body to the transcendental corroboration of the existence of that Agglutinating Force."
From don Juan's explanations, I derived the conclusion, that the Vibratory Force he spoke about, which agglutinates our fields of energy, is apparently similar to what modern-day astronomers believe must happen at the Core of all the Galaxies, that exist in the Cosmos. They believe, that there, at their Cores, a Force of Incalculable Strength holds the Stars of Galaxies in place. This Force, called a "Black Hole," is a theoretical construct, which seems to be the most reasonable explanation as to why Stars do not fly away, driven by their own rotational speeds. Don Juan said, that the old Sorcerers knew, that Human Beings, taken as conglomerates of energy fields, are held together not by energetic wrappings or energetic ligaments, but by some sort of Vibration, that renders everything at once alive and in place. Don Juan explained, that those Sorcerers, by means of their practices and their discipline, became capable of handling that Vibratory Force once they were fully conscious of it. Their expertise in dealing with it became so extraordinary, that their actions were transformed into legends, mythological events, that existed only as fables. For instance, one of the stories, that don Juan told about the ancient Sorcerers was, that they were capable of dissolving their physical mass by merely placing their full consciousness and Intent on that Force. Don Juan stated that, although they were capable of actually going through a pinhole, if they deemed it necessary, they were never quite satisfied with the result of this maneuver of dissolving their mass. The reason for their discontent was, that once their mass was dissolved, their capacity to act vanished. They were left with the alternative of only witnessing events, in which they were incapable of participating. Their ensuing frustration, the result of being incapacitated to act, turned, according to don Juan, into their damning flaw: their obsession with uncovering the nature of that Vibratory Force, an obsession driven by their concreteness, which made them want to hold and control that Force. Their fervent desire was to strike from the ghostlike condition of masslessness, something which Jon Juan said could not ever be accomplished.
19
Modern-day practitioners, cultural heirs of those Sorcerers of antiquity, having found out, that it is not possible to be concrete and utilitarian about that Vibratory Force, have opted for the only rational alternative: to become conscious of that Force with no other purpose in sight except the elegance and well-being, brought about by knowledge.
"The only permissible time," don Juan said to me once, "when modern-day Sorcerers use the Power of this Vibratory Agglutinating Force, is when they burn from within, when the time comes for them to leave this World. It is simplicity itself for Sorcerers to place their absolute and total consciousness on the binding Force with the Intent to burn, and off they go, like a puff of air."

21
Tensegrity is the modern version of the magical passes of the shamans of ancient Mexico. The word Tensegrity is a most appropriate definition, because it is a mixture of two terms, tension and integrity: terms, which connote the two driving forces of the magical passes. The activity created by contracting and relaxing the tendons and muscles of the body is tension. Integrity is the act of regarding the body as a sound, complete, perfect unit. Tensegrity is taught as a system of movements, because that is the only manner, in which the mysterious and vast subject of the magical passes could be faced in a modern setting. The people, who now practice Tensegrity, are not shaman practitioners in search of shamanistic alternatives, involve rigorous discipline, exertion (exercise, put into vigorous action), and hardships. Therefore, the emphasis of the magical passes has to be on their value as movements, and all the consequences, that such movements bring forth. Don Juan Matus had explained, that the first drive of the Sorcerers of his lineage, who lived in Mexico in ancient times, in relation to the magical passes, was to saturate themselves with movement. They arranged every posture, every movement of the body, that they could remember, into groups. They believed, that the longer the group, the greater its effect of Saturation, and the greater the need for the practitioners to use their memory to recall it.
22
The shamans of don Juan's lineage, after arranging the magical passes into long groups and practicing them as sequences, deemed (consider, считали), that this criterion (мерило) of Saturation had fulfilled its purposes, and they dropped it. From then on, what was sought was the opposite: the fragmentation of the long groups into single segments, which were practiced as individual, independent units. The mannerб in which don Juan Matus taught the magical passes to his four disciples - Taisha Abelar, Florinda Donner-Grau, Carol Tiggs, and myself - was the product of this drive for fragmentation. Don Juan's personal opinion was, that the benefit of practicing the long groups was patently obvious; such practice forced the shaman initiates to use their kinesthetic memory. He considered the use of kinesthetic memory to be a real bonus, which those shamans had stumbled upon accidentally, and which had the marvelous effect of shutting off the noise of the Mind: the Internal Dialogue. Don Juan had explained to me, that the way, in which we reinforce our Perception of the World and keep it fixed at a certain level of efficiency and function, is by TALKING TO OURSELVES. 
"The entire Human Race," he said to me on one occasion, "keeps a determined level of function and efficiency by means of the Internal Dialogue. The Internal Dialogue is the Key to maintaining the Assemblage Point (Perception Point, LM) stationary at the position shared by the entire Human Race: at the height of the shoulder blades, an arm's length away from them. By accomplishing the opposite of the Internal Dialogue," he went on, "that is to say Inner Silence, practitioners can break the fixation of their Assemblage Points, thus acquiring an extraordinary fluidity of Perception."
The practice of Tensegrity has been arranged around the performance of the long groups, which in Tensegrity have been renamed series to avoid the generic implication of calling them just groups, as don Juan called them. In order to accomplish this arrangement, it was necessary to reestablish the criteria of Saturation, which had prompted the creation of the long groups. It took the practitioners of Tensegrity years of meticulous and concentrated work to reassemble a great number of the dismembered groups. Reestablishing the criteria of Saturation by performing the long series gave, as a result, something, which don Juan had already defined as the modern goal of the magical passes: the Redeployment of Energy. 
23
Don Juan was convinced, that this had always been the unspoken goal of the magical passes, even at the time of the old Sorcerers. The old Sorcerers didn't seem to have known this, but even if they did, they never conceptualized it in those terms. By all indications, what the old Sorcerers sought avidly and experienced as a sensation of well-being and plenitude when they performed the magical passes was, in essence, the effect of unused energy, being reclaimed by the centers of vitality in the body. In Tensegrity, the long groups have been reassembled, and a great number of the fragments have been kept as single, functioning units. These units have been strung together by purpose - for instance, the purpose of Intending, or the purpose of Recapitulation, or the purpose of Inner Silence, and so on - creating in this fashion the Tensegrity series. In this manner, a system has been achieved, in which the best results are obtained by performing long sequences of movements, that definitely tax the kinesthetic memory of the practitioners. In every other respect, the way Tensegrity is taught is a faithful reproduction of the way, in which don Juan taught the magical passes to his disciples. 
He inundated them with a profusion of detail and let their minds be bewildered by the number and variety of magical passes taught to them, and by the implication, that each of them individually was a pathway to Infinity. His disciples spent years overwhelmed, confused, and above all despondent, because they felt, that being inundated in such a manner was an unfair onslaught on them.
"When I teach you the magical passes," he explained to me once, when I questioned him about the subject, "I am following the traditional Sorcerers' device of clouding your linear view. By saturating your kinesthetic memory, I am creating a pathway for you to Inner Silence. Since all of us," he continued, "are filled to the brim with the doings and undoings of the World of everyday life, we have very little room for kinesthetic memory. You may have noticed, that you have none. When, you want to imitate my movements, you cannot remain facing me. You have to stand side by side with me in order to establish in your own body what's right and what's left. Now, if a long sequence of movements were presented to you, it would take you weeks of repetition to remember all the movements. While you're trying to memorize the movements, you have to make room for them in your memory by pushing other things out of the way. That was the effect, that the old Sorcerers sought."
24
Don Juan's contention was, that if his disciples kept on doggedly practicing the magical passes, in spite of their confusion, they would arrive at a threshold, when their Redeployed Energy would tip the scales, and they would be able to handle the magical passes with absolute clarity. When don Juan made those statements, I could hardly believe them. Nevertheless, at one moment, just as he had said, I ceased to be confused and despondent. In a most mysterious way, the magical passes, since they are magical, arranged themselves into extraordinary sequences, that cleared up everything. Don Juan explained, that the clarity I was experiencing, was the result of the Redeployment of My Energy. The concern of people, practicing Tensegrity nowadays, matches exactly my concern and the concern of don Juan's other disciples, when we first began to perform the magical passes. They feel bewildered by the number of movements. I reiterate to them what don Juan reiterated to me over and over: that what is of supreme importance is to practice, whatever Tensegrity sequence is remembered. The Saturation, that has been carried on, will give, in the end, the results sought by the shamans of ancient Mexico: the Redeployment of Energy, and its three concomitants - the Shutting off of the Internal Dialogue, the possibility for Inner Silence, and the Fluidity of the Assemblage Point. As a personal assessment, I can say, that by Saturating me with the magical passes, don Juan accomplished two formidable feats: 
One, he brought to the surface a flock of hidden resources, that I had, but didn't know existed, such as the ability to concentrate and the ability to remember detail; 
and two, he gently broke my obsession with my linear mode of interpretation.
"What is happening to you," don Juan explained to me, when I questioned him about what I was experiencing in this respect, "is, that you are feeling the advent (arrival) of Inner Silence, once your Internal Dialogue has been minimally offset. A new flux of things has begun to enter into your Field of Perception. These things were always there, on the periphery of your general Awareness, but you never had enough energy to be deliberately conscious of them. As you chase away your Internal Dialogue, other items of Awareness begin to fill in the empty space, so to speak.
"The new Flux of Energy," he went on, "which the magical passes have brought to your centers of vitality, is making your Assemblage Point more fluid. It's no longer rigidly palisaded. You're no longer driven by our ancestral fears, which make us incapable of taking a step in any direction. 
25
Sorcerers say, that energy makes us free, and that is the absolute truth."
The ideal state of Tensegrity practitioners, in relation to the Tensegrity movements, is the same, as the ideal state of a practitioner of shamanism in relation to the execution of the magical passes. Both are being led by the movements themselves into an unprecedented culmination. From there, the practitioners of Tensegrity will be able to execute, by themselves, for whatever effect they see fit, without any coaching from outside sources, any movement from the bulk of movements, with which they have been saturated; they will be able to execute them with precision and speed, as they walk, or eat, or rest, or do anything, because they will have the energy to do so. The execution of the magical passes, as shown in Tensegrity, doesn't necessarily requirea particular space or prearranged time. However, the movements should be done away from sharp currents of air. Don Juan dreaded currents of air on a perspiring body. He firmly believed, that not every current of air was caused by the rising or lowering oftemperature in the atmosphere, and, that some currents of air were actually caused by conglomerates of consolidated energy fields, moving purposefully through space. Don Juan was convinced, that such conglomerates of energy fields possessed a specific type of Awareness, particularly deleterious, because Human Beings cannot ordinarily detect them, and become exposed to them indiscriminately. The deleterious effect ofsuch conglomerates of energy fields is especially prevalent in a large metropolis, where they could be easily disguised as, if nothing else, the momentum, created by the speed of passing automobiles. Something else to bear in mind when practicing Tensegrity is, that since the goal of the magical passes is something foreign to Western Human, an effort should be made to keep the practice of Tensegrity, detached from the concerns of our daily world. The practice of Tensegrity should not be mixed with elements, with which we are already thoroughly familiar, such as conversation, music, or the sound of a radio or TV newsman reporting the news, no matter how muffled the sound might be. The setting of modern urban life facilitates the formation of groups, and under these circumstances, the only manner, in which Tensegrity can he taught and practiced in the seminars and workshops, is in groups of practitioners. 
26
Practicing in groups is beneficial in many aspects and deleterious in others. It is beneficial, because it allows the creation of a consensus of movement and the opportunity to learn by examination and comparison. It is deleterious, because it fosters the reliance on others, and the emergence of syntactic commands and solicitations, dealing with hierarchy. Don Juan conceived, that since the totality of human behavior was ruled by language, human beings have learned to respond to what he called syntactic commands, praising or deprecatory formulas, built into language - for example, the responses, that each individual makes, or elicits in others, with slogans such as 'No problem, Piece of cake, It's time to worry, You could do better, I can't do it, My butt is too big, I'm the best, I'm the worst in the world, I could live with that, I'm coping, Everything's going to be okay', etc., etc. Don Juan maintained, that what Sorcerers have always wanted, as a basic rule of thumb, is to run away from activities derived from syntactic commands. Originally, as don Juan described it, the magical passes were performed by the shamans of ancient Mexico individually and in solitariness, on the spur of the moment or as the necessity arose. He taught them to his disciples in the same fashion. Don Juan stated, that for the shaman practitioners, the challenge of performing the magical passes has always been to execute them perfectly, holding in mind only the abstract view of their perfect execution. Ideally, Tensegrity should be taught and practiced in the same fashion. However, the conditions of modern life and the fact, that the goal of the magical passes has been formulated to apply to a great number of people, make it imperative, that a new approach be taken. Tensegrity should be practiced in whatever form is easiest: either in groups, or alone, or both. In my particular case, the practice of Tensegrity in very large groups has been more, than ideal, because it has given me the unique opportunity of witnessing something, which don Juan Matus and all the Sorcerers of his lineage never did: the effects of Human Mass. Don Juan and all the shamans of his lineage, which he considered to be twenty-seven generations long, never were capable of witnessing the effects of Human Mass. They practiced the magical passes alone, or in groups of up to five practitioners. For them, the magical passes were highly individualistic. If the number of Tensegrity practitioners is in the hundreds, an Energetic Current isnearly instantaneously formed among them. 
27
This Energetic Current, which a shaman could easily See, creates in the practitioners a sense of urgency. It is like a Vibratory Wind, that sweeps through them, and gives them the primary elements of purpose. I have been privileged to see something I considered to be a portentous sight: the Awakening of Purpose, the energetic basis of Human. Don Juan Matus used to call this Unbending Intent. He taught me, that Unbending Intent is the essential tool of those, who journeyed into the Unknown. A very important issue to consider when practicing Tensegrity is, that the movements must be executed with the idea, that the benefit of the magical passes comes by itself. This idea must be stressed at any cost.
At the beginning, it is very difficult to discern the fact, that Tensegrity is not a standard system of movements for developing the body. It indeed develops the body, but only as a by-product of a more transcendental effect. By redeploying unused energy, the magical passes can conduce the practitioner to a level of Awareness, in which the parameters of normal, traditional perception are canceled out by the fact, that they are expanded. The practitioner can thus be allowed even to enter into unimaginable Worlds.
"But why would I want to enter into those Worlds?" I asked don Juan, when he described this post-effect of the magical passes.
"Because you are a creature of Awareness, a perceiver, like the rest of us," he said.
"Human Beings are on a journey of Awareness, which has been momentarily interrupted by extraneous forces. Believe me, we are Magical Creatures of Awareness. If we don't have this conviction, we have nothing."
He further explained, that Human Beings, from the moment their Journey of Awareness was interrupted, have been caught in an eddy, so to speak, and are spinning around, having the impression of moving with the current, and yet remaining stationary.
"Take my word," don Juan went on, "because mine are not arbitrary statements. My word is the result of corroborating, for myself, what the shamans of ancient Mexico found out: that we Human Beings are Magical Beings."
It has taken me thirty years of hard discipline to come to a cognitive plateau, in which don Juan's statements are recognizable and their validity is established beyond the shadow of a doubt. I know now, that Human Beings are Creatures of Awareness, involved in an evolutionary Journey of Awareness, Beings indeed unknown to themselves, filled to the brim with incredible resources, that are never used.



3. During the execution of all the magical passes of Tensegrity, the knees are kept slightly bent, so that when one is looking down, the kneecaps block the view of the tips of the feet (figs. 4, 5), except in the case of specific magical passes, in which the knees have to be locked. Such cases are indicated in the description of those passes. To have the knees locked doesn't mean, that the hamstrings (either of 2 tendons of the rear hollow of the human knee) are injuriously tense, but rather, that they are locked in a gentle way, without unnecessary force. This position of bending the knees is a modern addition to the execution of the magical passes, one, that stems from influences of recent times. One of the leaders of don Juan Matus's lineage was the Тagual Lujan, a sailor from China, whose original name was something like Lo Ban.

3. Во время исполнения всех Магических Пассов Тенсегрити, колени - слегка согнуты, так что, если смотреть сверху вниз, колени загораживают вид мысков (рис.4,5), кроме случаев особых Магических Пассов, в которых колени должны быть связаны. Такие случаи описаны в тех пассах. Иметь колени связанными, не значит что подколенное сухожилие (одно из 2х сухожилий задней впадины-полости человеческого колена) ранимо напряжено, а скорее что они мягко связаны, без лишней силы. Это положение сгиба коленей - современное дополнение к исполнения Магических Пассов, исходит из современного влияния. Один из лидеров Линии Дон Хуана Матус был Тagual Lujan, моряк из Китая, чьё настоящее имя было Lo Ban.


He came to Mexico around the turn of the nineteenth century, and stayed there for the rest of his life. One of the Women Sorcerers in don Juan Matus's own party went to the Orient and studied martial arts. Don Juan Matus himself recommended, that his disciples learn to move in a disciplined fashion by taking up some form of martial arts training. Another issue to consider in reference to the slightly bent knees is, that when the legs are moved forward in a kicking motion, the knees are never whipped. Rather, the whole leg should be moved by the tension of the muscles of the thighs. Moving in this fashion, the tendons of the knees are never injured.

Он прибыл в Мексику в конце 19 века и остался в Мексике до конца своих дней. Одна из Женщин-Ясновидящих из группы Дон Хуана Матус поехала на Азиатский Восток изучать Военные Искусства. Дон Хуана Матус сам рекоммендовал, чтобы его студенты учились двигаться в дисциплинированной манере, тренируясь какой-
нибудь формой Военного Искусства. Другую вещь нужно рассматривать в отношении немного согнутых коленей - это: когда ноги двигаются вперёд в виде пинка, колени никогда не объединены. Скорее вся нога должна быть сдвинута напряжением мускулов бёдер. Двигаясь в этой манере, сухожилия ног никогда не повреждено.


4. The back muscles of the legs must be tensed (fig. 6). This is a very difficult accomplishment. Most people can learn quite easily to tense the front muscles of the legs, but the back muscles of the legs still remain flaccid (weak). Don Juan said, that the back muscles of the thighs are where personal history is always stored in the body. According to him, feelings find their home there and get stagnant. He maintained, that difficulty in changing behavior patterns, could be easily attributed to the flaccidity of the back muscles of the thighs.
4. Задние мускулы ног должны быть напряжены (6). Это очень трудно достигнуть. Многие могут легко научиться напрягать передние мышцы ног, но задние мышцы ног всё же остаются слабыми. Дон Хуан сказал, что задние мышцы бёдер в теле всегда хранят личную историю человека. Согласно ему, чувства находят своё пристанище и застаиваются там. Он утверждал, что трудности в изменении форм поведения, можно легко отнести к слабости задних мускулов бёдер.


5. While performing all these magical passes, the arms are always kept slightly bent at the elbows - never fully extended - when they are moved to strike, preventing, in this manner, the tendons of the elbows from becoming irritated (fig. 7).


6. The thumb must always be kept in a locked position, meaning that it is folded over the edge of the hand. It should never stick out (fig. 8). The sorcerers of don Juan's lineage considered the thumb to be a crucial element in terms of energy and function. They believed that at the base of the thumb exist points where energy can become stagnant, and points that can regulate the flow of energy in the body. In order to avoid unnecessary stress on the thumb or injury resulting from jolting the hand forcefully, they adopted the measure of pressing the thumbs against the inside edges of the hands.

7. When the hand is made into a fist, the little finger is raised to avoid an angular fist (fig. 9) in which the middle, fourth, and fifth fingers droop. The idea is that in making a square fist (fig. 10), the fourth and fifth fingers have to be raised, thus creating a peculiar tension in the axilla, a tension which is most desirable for general well-being.

8. The hands, when they have to be opened, are fully extended. The tendons of the back of the hand are at work, presenting the palm as an even, flat surface (fig. 11). Don Juan preferred a flat palm to counteract the tendency (established, he felt, through socialization) to present the hand as a hollow palm (fig. 12). He said, that a hollow palm was the palm of a beggar, and that whoever practices the magical passes is a warrior, not a beggar in the least. 

9. When the fingers have to be contracted at the second knuckle and bent fightly over the palm, the tendons on the back of the hand are tensed to the maximum, especially the tendons of the thumb (fig. 13). This tension of the tendons creates a pressure on the wrists and forearms, areas which sorcerers of ancient Mexico believed were key in promoting health and well-being.

10. In many Tensegrity movements, the wrists have to be bent forward or backward to an approximately ninety-degree angle by contracting the tendons of the forearm (fig. 14). This bending must be accomplished slowly, because most of the time the wrist is quite inflexible, and it is important that the wrist acquire the flexibility to turn the back of the hand to make a maximum angle with the forearm.


11. Another important issue in the practice of Tensegrity is an act which has been termed turning the body on. This is a unique act in which all the muscles of the body, and specifically the diaphragm, are contracted in one instant. The muscles of the stomach and abdomen are jolted, as are the muscles around the shoulders and shoulder blades. The arms and legs are tensed in unison with equal force, but only for an instant (figs. 15, 16). As practitioners of Tensegrity progress in their practice, they can learn to sustain this tension for a while longer.


Turning the body on has nothing to do with the state of perennial bodily tension that seems to be the mark of our times. When the body is tense with preoccupation or overwork, and the muscles of the neck are as hard as they can be, the body is not in any way turned on. Relaxing the muscles or arriving at a state of tranquillity is not turning the body off, either. The idea of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico was that with their magical passes, the body was alerted; it was made to be ready for action. Don Juan Matus termed this condition turning the body on. He said that when the muscular tension of turning the body on ceases, the body is turned off naturally.

12. Breath and breathing were, according to don Juan, of supreme importance for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico. They divided breath into breathing with the tops of the lungs, breathing with the midsection of the lungs, and breathing with the abdomen (figs. 17, 18, 19). Breathing by expanding the diaphragm they called the animal breath, and they practiced it assiduously, don Juan said, for longevity and health.


It was don Juan Matus's belief that many of the health problems of modern man could be easily corrected by deep breathing. He maintained that the tendency of human beings nowadays is to take shallow breaths. One of the aims of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico was to train their bodies, by means of the magical passes, to inhale and exhale deeply. It is highly recommended, therefore, in the movements of Tensegrity that call for deep inhalations and exhalations, that these be accomplished by slowing down the inflow or outflow of air, in order to make the inhalations and exhalations longer and more profound. Another important issue concerning the breathing in Tensegrity is that breathing is normal while executing the Tensegrity movements, unless otherwise specified in the description of any given magical pass.

13. Another consideration in performing the Tensegrity movements is the realization that has to come to practitioners that Tensegrity is in essence the interplay between relaxing and tensing the muscles of choice parts of the body in order to arrive at a most coveted physical explosion, which the sorcerers of ancient Mexico knew only as the energy of the tendons. This is a veritable explosion of the nerves and tendons below or at the core of the muscles. Given that Tensegrity is the tension and relaxation of muscles, the intensity of the muscle tension and the length of time that the muscles are kept in that state, in any given magical pass, depends on the strength of the participant. It is recommended that at the beginning of the practice, the tension be minimal and the length of time as brief as possible. As the body gets warmer, the tension should become greater and the length of time extended, but always in a moderate fashion.



The body pivots on the balls of the feet from left to right and right to left in unison for a moment in order to gain balance. Then the weight of the body is shifted to the heels, and the pivoting is done on them from then on, with the toes slightly off the ground while swiveling, and touching the ground when the feet reach the maximum slant. The arms are kept bent at the elbows with the hands pointing out, palms facing each other. The arms move with an impulse from the shoulders and the shoulder blades. This movement of the arms in unison with the legs, as in walking (the right arm moves when the left leg moves, and vice versa), accounts for a total engagement of the limbs and the internal organs (figs. 20, 21). A physical by-product of grinding energy in this fashion is an increase in circulation in the feet, calves, and thighs up to the groin area. Shamans throughout the centuries have also used it to restore flexibility to limbs, that were injured in daily use.


The feet are swiveled on the heels, in the same manner as in the previous magical pass, three times. There is a pause that lasts an instant and then they are swiveled three times again. It is important to notice that in all the first three magical passes of this series, the key issue is the engagement of the arms, which move back and forth briskly. Making the grinding of energy a discontinuous affair increases its effect. A physical by-product of this magical pass is a quick surge of energy for instances of running or fleeing danger, or for anything that requires a quick intervention.


Both feet, pivoting on the heels, move to the left; they pivot on the balls of the feet to the left again. Next, they pivot a third time, still to the left, but on the heels again (figs. 22, 23, 24). The sequence is reversed by pivoting on the heels to the right; next, on the balls of the feet to the right; and then on the heels again, to the right. A physical consequence of these three magical passes is the spurring of the circulation in the total body.



This magical pass resembles walking in place. The knee moves up briskly while the tip of the foot rests on the ground. The weight of the body is carried by the other leg. The body weight shifts back and forth, resting on whichever leg stays put, while the other one performs the movement. The arms are moved in the same fashion as in the previous magical pass (fig. 25). A physical consequence of this magical pass and the following one is very much like that of the three preceding magical passes: a sensation of well-being that permeates the pelvic region after performing the movements.



This magical pass is exactly like the preceding one, with the exception that the movement of the knees and feet is not continuous. It is interrupted after the heels are brought to the ground three times, in an alternating fashion. The sequence is left, right, left - pause - right, left, right, and so on. The first five magical passes of this group allow practitioners a quick surge of energy, in cases when energy is needed in the midsection or the groin, or, for instance, when they need to perform a long-distance run or a quick climbing of rocks or trees.


The soles of the left and the right foot move alternately up the inner part of the opposite leg, almost brushing it. It is important to arch the legs a little bit by standing with the knees bent (fig. 26). In this magical pass, energy for intending is forced up the inner side of the legs, which shamans consider to be the storage place of kinesthetic memory. This magical pass is used as an aid to release the memory of movements, or to facilitate retaining the memory of new ones.


The knee of the left leg is bent and swung to the right as far as it can reach, as if to give a sideways kick with the knee, while the trunk and the arms arc gently twisted as far as possible in the opposite direction (fig. 27). The left leg is then brought back to a standing position. The same movement is performed with the right knee, alternating then back and forth.


This magical pass is the energetic continuation of the preceding one. The left knee, bent to the maximum, is pushed up as far as possible into the trunk. The trunk is bent slightly forward. At the moment the knee is pushed up, the tip of the foot points to the ground (fig. 28). The same movement is performed with the right leg, alternating then between the two legs. Pointing the foot to the ground ensures that the tendons of the ankles are tense, in order to jolt minute centers there where energy accumulates. Shamans consider those centers to be perhaps the most important in the lower limbs, so important that they could awaken the rest of the minute energy centers in the body through the performance of this magical pass. This magical pass and the preceding one are executed together for the purpose of projecting the energy for intending gathered with the knees up into the two centers of vitality around the liver and the pancreas.


A front kick of the left leg is followed by a hook kick to the back with the right leg (figs. 29, 30). Then the order is reversed and a front kick is made with the right leg, followed by a hook kick to the back with the left leg. The arms are kept to the sides, because this magical pass engages only the lower limbs, giving them flexibility. The aim is to lift the leg that kicks to the front as high as possible, and the leg that kicks to the back also as high as possible. When executing the back kick, the trunk should bend slightly forward to facilitate the movement. This slight bending forward of the trunk is used as a natural means of absorbing the energy stirred with the limbs. This magical pass is performed to aid the body when problems of digestion arise, due to a change in diet, or when there is a need to travel over great distances.



The left knee is bent acutely as it is lifted toward the trunk, as far up as possible. The trunk is bent slightly forward, almost touching the knee. The arms jut down, making a vise that grabs the sole of the foot (fig. 31). The ideal would be to grab the sole of the foot in a very light fashion, releasing it immediately. The foot comes down to the ground as the arms and hands, with a powerful jolt that engages the shoulders and pectoral muscles, lift up along the sides of the legs to the level of the pancreas and spleen (fig. 32). The same movements are performed with the right foot and arm, lifting the hands from the feet to the level of the liver and gallbladder. The movements are performed alternating between the two legs.
As in the case of the previous magical pass, bending the trunk forward allows the energy from the soles of the feet to be transferred to the two vital centers of energy around the liver and the pancreas. This magical pass is used to aid the attainment of flexibility, and to relieve problems of digestion.


The left foot is lifted with the tip pointing acutely to the ground. The knee protrudes straight forward, deeply bent. Then the foot descends with a controlled motion, striking toward the ground as if it were cracking a nugget (fig. 36). Once the tip of the foot strikes, the foot is returned to its original standing position and the same movement is repeated with the other leg and foot.


The left foot is lifted a few inches above the ground; the entire leg is brought forward and then pushed backward sharply, with the foot lightly brushing the ground as if it were scraping something off the sole of the foot (fig. 37). The weight of the body is carried by the opposite leg, and the trunk leans a bit forward in order to engage the muscles of the stomach as this magical pass is executed. Once the left foot returns to its normal position, the same movement is repeated with the right foot and leg. Shamans call the last five magical passes of this group Steps in Nature. They are magical passes that practitioners can perform as they walk, or conduct business, or even as they are sitting, talking to people. Their function is gathering energy with the feet and using it with the legs for situations in which concentration and the quick use of memory are required.


The ten magical passes of the second group have to do with stirring up energy for intending from areas just below the knees, above the head, around the kidneys, the liver and pancreas, the solar plexus, and the neck. Each of these magical passes is a tool that stirs up exclusively the energy pertinent to intending, which is accumulated on those areas, Shamans consider these magical passes to be essential for daily living, because for them, life is ruled by Intent. This set of magical passes is perhaps for shamans what a cup of coffee is for modern man. The slogan of 'in day, "I'm not myself until I drink my cappuccino," or the slogan of a past generation, "I'm not awake until I drink my cup of Java," is rendered for them as "I am not ready for anything until I have performed these magical passes." The second group of this series begins by the act, that has been termed turning the body on. (See p.34 figs. 15, 16)



The same movements are performed with the right arm and leg (fig. 44). This magical pass is employed for stirring up the energy of intending around the kidneys and adrenals. It brings the practitioner long-range endurance and a sensation of daring and self-confidence.


A deep inhalation is taken. A very slow exhalation begins as the left forearm is brought in front of the shoulders, with the elbow bent at a ninety-degree angle. The wrist is bent backward as acutely as possible, with the fingers pointing forward, and the palm of the hand facing to the right (fig. 45). While the arm maintains this position, the trunk is bent forward sharply until the protruding left arm reaches the level of the knees. The left elbow must be kept from sagging toward the floor, and must be maintained away from the knees, and as far forward as possible. The slow exhalation continues, as the right arm makes a full circle over the head and the right hand comes to rest an inch or two away from the fingers of the left hand. The palm of the right hand faces the body and the fingers point toward the floor. The head is facing downward, with the neck held straight. The exhalation ends, and a deep breath is taken in that position. All the muscles of the back and the arms and legs are contracted as the air is slowly and deeply inhaled (fig. 46).


The body straightens up as an exhalation is made, and the complete magical pass is started again with the right arm. The maximum stretch of the arms forward permits the creation of an opening in the energetic vortex of the center of the kidneys and adrenals; such an opening allows the optimal utilization of redeployed energy. This magical pass is essential for the redeployment of energy to that center, which accounts, in general terms, for an overall vitality and youth of the body.


The left arm is placed against the body in front of the navel, and the right arm just behind the body at the same level. The wrists are bent sharply, and the fingers point to the floor. The palm of the left hand faces right, and the palm of the right hand faces left (fig. 47). The fingertips of both hands are raised briskly to point in a straight line forward and backward. The whole body is tensed and the knees are bent at the instant that the fingers point forward and backward (fig. 48). The hands are kept in that position for a moment. Then the muscles are relaxed, the legs are straightened, and the arms are swiveled around until the right arm is in front and the left behind. As at the beginning of this magical pass, the fingertips point to the floor, and are raised again briskly to point in a straight line forward and backward, again with a light exhalation; the knees are bent. By means of this magical pass, a dividing line is established in the middle of the body, which separates left energy and right energy.



It's a good idea to begin by placing the hands facing each other, as a device to keep the hands in line. The fingers are kept open and clawed, as if to grab the lid of a jar the size of the hand. Then the right hand is placed over the area of the pancreas and spleen, facing the body. The left hand is placed behind the body, over the area of the left kidney and adrenal, also with the palm facing the body. Both wrists are then bent backward sharply, as the trunk turns as far to the left as possible, keeping the knees in place.

Next, both hands pivot at the wrists in unison, in a side-to-side movement, as if to unscrew the lids of two jars, one on the pancreas and spleen, and the other on the left kidney (fig. 49). The same movement is executed by reversing the order, putting the left hand in the front, at the level of the liver and gallbladder and the right arm in the back at the level of the right kidney. With the aid of this magical pass, energy is stirred on the three main centers of vitality: the liver and gallbladder, the pancreas and spleen, and the kidneys and adrenals. It is an indispensable magical pass for those who have to be on the lookout. It facilitates an all-around awareness and it increases the practitioners' sensibility to their surroundings.


A half-circle is drawn with the left hand, commencing in front of the face. The hand moves slightly to the right until it reaches the level of the right shoulder (fig. 50). There the hand turns and draws the inner edge of a half-circle close to the left side of the body (fig. 51). The hand turns again in the back (fig. 52) and draws the outer edge of the half-circle, then returns to its initial position (fig. 53). The complete half-circle is slanted from the level of the eyes, in front, to a level below the rear end, in the back. It is important to follow the movement of the hand with the eyes. Once the half-circle drawn with the left arm is completed, another one is drawn with the right arm, surrounding the body in this fashion with two half-circles. These two half-circles are drawn to stir energy and to facilitate the sliding of energy from above the head to the region of the adrenals. This magical pass is a vehicle for acquiring intense, sustained sobriety.


The left arm moves in a relaxed fashion, making two and a half circles above and around the head (fig. 57). Those circles are then cracked with the outer edge of the forearm and the hand, which comes down forcefully, but very slowly (fig. 58). The impact is absorbed by the stomach muscles, which are tensed at that moment. The muscles of the arm are kept tight, in order to avoid injuries to the tendons, which could occur, if the muscles of the arm were loose, or if the arm were whipped. Air is exhaled lightly as the arm strikes downward. The same movement is repeated with the right arm. The energy stirred and cracked in this fashion is allowed to seep downward over the entire body. When practitioners are overtired, and can't afford to go to sleep, executing this magical pass dispels sleepiness and brings forth a sensation of temporary alertness.



Левая рука расслаблено двигается, делая два с половиной круга над и вокруг головы (57). Те круги потом разбиты внешним краем ладони, которая опускается с силой, но очень медленно (58). Удар берут на себя мышцы желудка, которые напрягаются в этот момент. Мускулы руки напряжены, чтобы избежать повреждения сухожилий, что может произойти, если мускулы руки были расслаблены. Лёгкий Выдох, когда рука ударяет вниз. Такое же движение повторяется с Правой Рукой. Энергия смешивается и разбивается в такой манере, и позволяет просачиваться вниз, через всё тело. Когда практиканты слишком устали и не могут позволить себе заснуть, выполнение этого магического пасса рассеивает сонливость и приносит ощущение временного возбуждения.

The nine magical passes of the third group are employed to bring to the three centers of vitality around the liver, the pancreas, and the kidneys the specialized energy, which has been stirred up by the magical passes of the previous group. The magical passes of this group must be performed slowly and with ultimate deliberation. Shamans recommend that the state of mind on executing these passes be one of total silence and the unwavering intent to gather the energy necessary for intending. All of the magical passes of the third group begin with a fast shake of the hands, which are held at the sides of the body, with the arms hanging at a normal position. The hands shake as if the fingers were vibrating downward, taken by a tremor. A vibration of this nature was thought to be the means to stir energy around the hips and also the means to stimulate minute centers of energy, where energy could get stagnant on the backs of the hands and the wrists. The overall effect of the first three magical passes of this group is one of general vitality and well-being, since energy is carried to the three main vital centers in the lower part of the body.


Девять магических пассов третьей группы делаются, чтобы принести особую энергию трём жизненным центрам: печени, поджелудочной железы и почек, энергия, которая была смешана магическими пассами предыдущей группы. Магические пассы этой группы должны выполняться медленно и со взвешенностью, с обдумыванием и с предельной осторожностью. Ясновидящие рекоммендуют, чтобы состояние ума во время этих пассов было в абсолютном молчании и в несгибаемом Интэнте (несгибаемой ВОЛЕ), чтобы собрать энергию, необходимую для намерения. Все магические пассы третьей группы начинаются с быстрой тряски рук, пальцев, которые опущены вдоль тела. Руки трясти, как-будто пальцы вибрируют вниз. Такая вибрация - это помощь в смешении энергии вокруг бёдер и также помощь в стимулировании крошечных центров энергии там, где энергия может застояться на верхней части рук и на запястьях. Общий эффект первых трёх магических пассов этой группы - общая жизнедеятельность и здоровье, так как энергия вносится в три главные жизненные центры нижней части тела.


A small jump forward is made with the left leg, which is propelled by the right one. The trunk is bent markedly forward, and the left arm is stretched out to grab something that is almost at the floor level (fig. 59). The left leg is then retrieved to a standing position, and the left palm brushes immediately over the vital center of energy on the right: the liver and gallbladder. The same movement is repeated with the right leg and arm, brushing the palm over the vital center on the left: the pancreas and spleen.



Трясём руки. Делаем небольшой прыжок вперёд левой ногой и отталкиваемся от пола правой ногой. Тело согнуто очень низко вперёд и левая рука вытянута схватить то, что почти у пола (59). Левая нога выпрямляется и левая ладонь сразу втирает пойманную энергию в жизненные центры на правой стороне: печень и желчный пузырь. То же самое движение повторяется с правой ногой, и правой рукой втираем пойманную энергию в жизненные центры на левой стороне: поджелудочная железа и селезёнка.


A deep inhalation is taken while the hands shake. Then the left arm shoots straight in front of the body; it the level of the shoulders with the palm of the hand turned toward the left, as all the air is sharply exhaled (fig. 60). Next, a very slow inhalation begins, while the wrist rotates from left to right, making a complete circle, as if scooping a ball of solid matter
(fig. 61). Then the inhalation continues while the wrist rotates back again to its initial position with the palm facing to the left. Next, as if carrying the ball, the left arm makes a semi-circle, keeping the same shoulder level; this movement ends, when the back of the bent left wrist is placed over the left kidney. It is important that the continuous inhalation be made to last for the duration of the swinging of the arm from front to back. As this swinging movement is executed, the right arm makes a circular movement to the front of the body, ending when the back of the bent wrist is brought to touch the area just above the pubis. The head is turned to the left to face the back (fig. 62). Next, the left hand, which is holding the ball, turns to face the body and smashes the ball against the left kidney and adrenal. The palm is then gently rubbed over that area, as an exhalation is made. The same movement is executed by reversing the arms and turning the head to the right.



The arms are moved to the sides of the body and then raised with the hands curled inward toward the body, brushing upward against the torso to reach the armpits, as a deep inhalation is taken (fig. 63). Next, the arms are extended laterally, with the palms down, as the air is exhaled forcefully. A deep inhalation is taken then as the hands are cupped and made to rotate on the wrists until the palms face up, as if scooping something solid (fig. 64). Next, the hands are brought back to the shoulder level by bending the elbows sharply as the inhalation continues (fig. 65). This movement engages the shoulder blades and the muscles of the neck. After holding this position for a moment, the arms are extended laterally again, with a sharp exhalation. The palms face front. The palms of the hands are cupped and made to rotate backward, again as if scooping a solid substance. The slightly cupped hands are brought back to the shoulder level as before. These movements are repeated one more time, for a total of three. The palms then rub gently over the two vital centers around the liver and around the pancreas as the air is exhaled.



Starting at the level of the ear, the left arm circles forward twice (figs. 81, 82) and is then extended over the head, as if to grab something. As this movement is executed, a deep breath is taken, winch ends at the moment that the hand grabs upward as if to fetch something above the head. Don Juan recommended that the eyes select, with a quick glance upward, the target for the hand to grab. Whatever is selected and grabbed is then yanked forcefully downward and placed over the vital center around the pancreas and spleen. The air is exhaled at this point. The same movement is performed with the right arm, and the energy is placed over the center around the liver and gallbladder. According to shamans, the energy of intent tends to gravitate downward, and a more rarefied aspect of the same energy remains in the area above the head. This energy is gathered with this magical pass.



Начиная на уровне уха, Левая рука делает круг вперёд дважды (81, 82), глубокий Вдох и затем, вытягивается над головой, как-будто что-то схватить. Тут Вдох заканчивается. Дон Хуан рекоммендовал, чтобы быстрым взглядом вверх, глаза выбрали то, что рука хочет схватить. Что было выбрано и схвачено, затем с силой вырвано и растёрто по жизненным центрам вокруг поджелудочной железы и селезёнки. В этот момент - Выдох. То же самое движение исполняется правой рукой и энергия растирается в центры вокруг печени и желчного пузыря. Согласно Колдунам энергия Интэнта стремится падать вниз, и более рафинированная, очищенная сторона этой же энергии собирается в районе - над головой. Эту энергию мы и собираем этим магическим пассом.

The left arm is extended upward as far as possible, with the hand open as if to grab something. At the same time, the body is propelled upward with the right leg. When the jump reaches its maximum height, the hand turns inward at the wrist, making a hook with the forearm (fig. 83), which then slowly and forcefully scoops downward. The left hand rubs immediately around the vital center of the pancreas and spleen. This movement is performed with the right arm in exactly the same fashion as it was done with the left. The right hand immediately brushes across the vital center around the liver and gallbladder. Shamans believe, that the energy stored around the periphery of the luminous sphere, that human beings are, can be stirred and gathered by jumping forcefully upward. This magical pass is used as a help to dispel problems brought about by concentrating on a given task for long periods of time.


Левая рука вытянута вверх как можно выше, с открытой ладонью, как бы что-то схватить. В то же время тело прыгает вверх с правой ноги. Когда прыжок достигает максимальной высоты, рука в запястье поворачивается внутрь, образуя крюк (83), который потом медленно, но с силой несёт энергию вниз. Левая рука сразу втирает эту энергию в жизненные центры вокруг поджелудочной железы и селезёнки. То же самое движение исполняется правой рукой в той же манере. Правая рука сразу втирает эту энергию в жизненные центры вокруг печени и желчного пузыря. Колдуны верили, что энергия, хранящаяся вокруг окружности Светящейся Сферы  человека, может быть смешана и собрана, с силой прыгая вверх. Этот магический пасс используется как помощь разгонять, рассеивать проблемы, возникающие от концентрации на каком-то задании долгое время.

The three magical passes of this group are for stirring, gathering, and transporting energy for intent from three centers - around the feet, on the ankles, and right below the kneecaps - and placing it on the centers of vitality around the kidneys, the liver, the pancreas, the womb, and the genitals. The recommendation to practitioners on the execution of these magical passes is that since they are accompanied by breaths, the inhalations and exhalations should be slow and profound; and that there should be a crystal clear intent on the part of the practitioners that the adrenals receive an instantaneous boost while the deep breaths are taken.


Три магических пасса этой группы - для смешивания, скапливания и транспортировки энергии для Интэнта из трёх центров: вокруг ступней, на лодыжке ступни и прямо под коленными чашками - и втирание этой энергии в жизненные центры вокруг почек, печени, поджелудочной железы, матки и половых органов. Совет практикантам при исполнении этих магических пассов: так как они сопровождаются дыханием, Вдохи и Выдохи должны быть медленными и глубокими; и что должен быть кристально-ясный Интэнт со стороны практикантов, что надпочечники получают мгновенное вливание энергии, то есть помощь-поддержку, когда Вдохи-Выдохи глубокие.


A deep inhalation is taken as the arms hang by the sides and the hands waver in a continuous tremor, as if stirring a gaseous matter. An exhalation begins as the hands are lifted to the waist, and the palms of the hands strike down in unison, on each side of the body, with great force (fig. 84). The arms are only slightly bent, so that the palms of the hands are a few inches below the stomach. The hands are three or four inches apart, held at ninety-degree angles with the forearms, the fingers pointing forward. Slowly and without touching, the hands make one circle inward toward the front of the body; the muscles of the arms, stomach, and legs are fully contracted (fig. 85). A second circle is drawn in the same fashion as the air is totally expelled through clenched teeth. Another deep inhalation is taken, and the air is slowly exhaled as three more inward circles are drawn in front of the body. The hands are then retrieved to the front of the hips, and they slide down the front of die thighs with the heels of the palms, fingers slightly turned up, all the way to the kneecaps. The air is fully exhaled then. A third deep inhalation is taken while the tips of the fingers press the bottom of the kneecaps. The head is held facing downward, in line with the spine (fig. 86). Then, as the bent knees are straightened, the hands, with the fingers clawed, are dragged up the thighs to the hips, as the air is slowly exhaled. With the last portion of the exhalation, the hands are then brushed on the respective centers of vitality around the pancreas and the liver.



Глубокий Вдох, когда руки висят вдоль тела, и долго трясём пальцы, как-будто смешиваем газ. Выдох начинается, когда руки поднимаются до талии, и ладони рук плашмя в унисон ударяют с большой силой вниз по обеим сторонам тела (84). Руки только немного согнуты, так что ладони рук несколько см ниже желудка. Руки расставлены только на несколько см, и сгибаем их в запястьем под углом в 90 градусов ладонями вниз, пальцы направлены вперёд. Медленно и не касаясь друг друга, ладони делают круг внутрь, впереди тела; мускулы рук, желудка и ног полностью напряжены (85). Второй круг проделат точно также, пока воздух полностью не выйдет через стиснутые зубы. Берём следующий глубокий Вдох и воздух медленно выдыхается пока рисуются вовнутрь ещё три круга перед телом. Тогда обе ладони, подушечкой ставятся впереди бёдер и затем сползают вниз передних бёдер до коленной чашечки. Затем воздух полностью выдыхается. Третий глубокий Вдох берётся, когда кончики пальцев давят на низ коленных чашечек. Голову держать лицом вниз, в линию с позвоночником (86). Затем, когда согнутые колени выпрямляются, руки с  согнутыми пальцами, тащутся вверх бёдер к бокам, пока воздух медленно выходит. С последней порцией Выдоха, руки втирают энергию в соответствующие жизненные центры вокруг поджелудочной железы и печени.


A deep inhalation is taken as the hands, held by the sides of the body, shake with a continuous tremor. The hands strike down exactly as in the previous magical pass. An exhalation begins there, while the hands draw, in a similar fashion, two small outward circles by the sides of the body. The muscles of the arms, stomach, and legs are tensed to the maximum. The elbows are held fight but slightly bent (fig. 87). After the two circles have been drawn, all the air is expelled, and a deep inhalation is taken. Three more outward circles are drawn as the air is slowly exhaled. The hands are then brought to the sides of the hips. The fingers are slightly raised as the heels of the hands rub all the way down the sides of the legs until the fingers reach the outside knobs of the ankles. The head is facing downward, in line with the body (fig. 88). The exhalation ends there, and a deep inhalation is taken with the index and middle fingers pressing the bottom of the knobs (fig. 89). A slow exhalation begins as the hands, with the fingers clawed, are dragged up the sides of the legs to the hips. The exhalation is completed while the palms are brushed on the two respective centers of vitality. 



Глубокий Вдох пока трясём руками вдоль тела. Выдох начинается, когда руки поднимаются до талии, и ладони рук плашмя в унисон ударяют с большой силой вниз по обеим сторонам тела. Ладони также делают по бокам тела таких же два небольших, но внешних круга (то есть круги - не внутрь, а наружу). Мускулы рук, желудка и ног напряжены до максимума. Локти отставлены и слегка согнуты (87). После того, как два круга сделаны, весь воздух выдыхается и берётся глубокий Вдох. Делается ещё три круга, пока воздух медленно выдыхается. Затем руки переносим на бока бёдер. Пальцы немного подняты, пока подушечки ладоней трут бока ног, спускаясь вниз, пока пальцы не достигнут внешнюю шишку-лодышку. Голова смотрит вниз в линию с телом (88). Тут заканчивается Выдох и берётся глубокий Вдох с указательным и средним пальцами, давящими на нижнюю часть шишки-лодышки (89). Начинается медленный Выдох, когда пальцы рук сгибаются и скребут бока ног, поднимаясь к бёдрам. Выдох заканчивается, пока ладони трут два соответствующих жизненных центра.



Again, a deep inhalation is taken as the hands, held by the sides of the body, are shaken. Both arms make a circle by the sides of the body, beginning toward the back, and going over the head (fig. 90) to strike forcefully in front of the body with the palms down and the fingers pointing forward. A slow exhalation begins there, while the hands, starting with the left, move forward and backward three times in alternating succession, as if sliding over a smooth surface. The exhalation ends when the heels of both hands are touching the rib cage (fig. 91). A deep inhalation is taken then. The left hand moves in a sliding motion to the left followed by the right hand sliding to the right; this sequence is executed a total of three times in alternating succession. They end with the heels of the palms against the rib cage, the thumbs nearly touching each other (fig. 92). Next, both hands are made to slide down the front of the legs until they reach the tendons on the front of the ankles (fig. 93). The exhalation ends there. A deep inhalation is taken as the tendon is tensed by lifting the big toe until the tendon seems to pop/up; the index and middle fingers of each hand vibrate the tendons by pressing on them (fig. 94). With the fingers clawed, the hands are dragged up the front of the legs to the hips as a slow exhalation begins. The palms are gently rubbed on the centers of vitality as the exhalation ends.



The Series for the Womb
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According to don Juan Matus, one of the most specific interests of the shamans, who lived in Mexico in ancient times, was what they called the Liberation of the Womb. He explained, that the Liberation of the Womb entailed the awakening of its secondary functions, and that since the primary function of the Womb, under normal circumstances, was reproduction, those sorcerers were solely concerned with what they considered to be its secondary function: Evolution. 
Evolution, in the case of the Womb, was, for them, the awakening and full exploitation of the Womb's capacity to process Direct Knowledge - that is to say, the possibility of apprehending sensory data and interpreting it directly, without the aid of the processes of interpretation, with which we are familiar. For shamans, the moment in which practitioners are transformed from Beings, that are socialized to reproduce into Beings capable of evolving, is the moment when they become conscious of Seeing Energy as it flows in the Universe. In the opinion of shamans, Females can See Energy directly more readily, than Males, because of the effect of their Wombs. It is also their opinion, that under normal conditions, regardless of the facility, that Women have, it is nearly impossible for Women or for Men to become deliberately conscious, that they can See Energy directly. The reason for this incapacity is something, which shamans consider to travesty: the fact, that there is no one to point out to human beings, that it is natural for them to See Energy directly. Shamans maintain, that Women, because they have a womb, are so versatile, so individualistic in their ability to see energy directly, that this accomplishment, which should be a triumph of the human spirit, is taken for granted. Women are never conscious of their ability. In this respect, males are more proficient. 
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Since it is more difficult for them to See energy directly, when they do accomplish this feat, they don't take it for granted. Therefore male sorcerers were the ones, who set up the parameters of perceiving energy directly and the ones, who tried to describe the phenomenon.
"The basic premise of sorcery," don Juan said to me one day, "discovered by the shamans of my lineage, who lived in Mexico in ancient times is, that we are Perceivers. The totality of the human body is an instrument of Perception. However, the predominance of the visual in us gives to Perception the overall mood of the eyes. This mood, according to the old Sorcerers, is merely the heritage of a purely predatorial state. The effort of the old Sorcerers, which has lasted to our days, was geared toward placing themselves beyond the Realm of the Predator's Eye. They conceived the Predator's Eye to be visual par excellence, and that the Realm beyond the Predator's Eye is the Realm of Pure Perception, which is not visually oriented."
On another occasion, he said, that it was a bone of contention for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico, that Women, who have the organic frame, the Womb, that could facilitate their entrance into the Realm of Pure Perception, have no interest in using it. Those shamans viewed it as a Woman's Paradox to have Endless Power at her disposal and no interest whatsoever in gaining access to it. However, don Juan had no doubt, that this lack of desire to do anything wasn't natural; it was learned (and mind manipulated, LM).
The aim of the Magical Passes for the Womb is to give the Female practitioners of Tensegrity an inkling (hint), which has to be more, than an intellectual titillation, of the possibility of canceling out the effect of this noxious socialization, that renders Women indifferent. Nevertheless, a warning is in order; don Juan Matus advised his Female disciples to proceed with great caution when practicing these Magical Passes. The Magical Passes for the Womb are Passes, that foster (promote) the Awakening of the secondary functions of the uterus and ovaries, and those secondary functions are the apprehension (understanding) of sensory data and the interpretation of them. Don Juan called the Womb the Perceiving Box. He was as convinced, as the other Sorcerers of his lineage, that the uterus and ovaries, if they are pulled out of the reproductive cycle, can become tools of Perception, and become indeed the Epicenter of Evolution. He considered, that the first step of Evolution is the acceptance of the premise, that human beings are Perceivers. It was not redundancy on his part to insist ceaselessly, that this has to be done before anything else.
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"We already know, that we are Perceivers. What else can we be?" I would say in protest every time he insisted.
"Think about it!" he would reply every time I protested. "Perception plays only a minute role in our lives, and yet, the only thing we are for a fact is Perceivers. Human beings apprehend energy at large and turn it into sensory data. Then they interpret these sensory data into the World of everyday life. This interpretation is what we call Perception. The shamans of ancient Mexico, as you already know," don Juan went on, "were convinced, that interpretation took place on a Point of intense brilliance, the assemblage point (better to name it Perception Point or Sun Energy Point, it is both, LM), which they found when they saw the human body as a conglomerate of Energy Fields, that resembled a Sphere of Luminosity.

The advantage of Women is their capacity to transfer the interpretation function of the assemblage point to the Womb. The result of this transfer function is something, that cannot be talked about, not because it is something forbidden, but because it is something indescribable. The Womb," don Juan continued, "is veritably in a chaotic state of turmoil, because of this veiled capacity, that exists in remission from the moment of birth, until death, but which is never utilized. 
This function of interpretation never ceases to act and yet it has never been raised to the level of full consciousness."
Don Juan's assurance was, that the shamans of ancient Mexico, by means of their magical passes, had raised among their Female practitioners the Interpretive Capacity of the Womb to the level of Consciousness, and by doing this, they had instituted an evolutionary change among them; that is to say, they had turned the Womb from an organ of reproduction into the Tool of Evolution. Evolution is defined in the world of modern man as the capacity of different species to modify themselves through the processes of natural selection or the transmission of traits, until they can successfully reproduce in their offspring the changes brought about in themselves. The evolutionary theory, that has lasted to our day, from the time it was formulated over a hundred years ago, says, that the origin and the perpetuation of a new species of animal or plant is brought about by the process of natural selection, which favors the survival of individuals, whose characteristics render them best adapted to their environment, and that the evolution is brought about by the interplay of three principles: 
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First, heredity, the conservative force, that transmits similar organic forms from one generation to another; second, variation, the differences present in all forms of life; 
 third, the struggle for existence, which determines which variations confer advantages in a given environment. This last principle gave rise to the phrase still in current use: "the survival of the fittest." Evolution, as a theory, has enormous loopholes; it leaves tremendous room for doubt. It is at best an open-ended process, for which scientists have created classificatory schemes; they have created taxonomies ( to their hearts' content. But the fact remains, that it is a theory full of holes. What we know about Evolution doesn't tell us what Evolution is. Don Juan Matus believed, that Evolution was the product of Intending at a very profound level. In the case of Sorcerers, that profound level was marked by what he had called Inner Silence.
"For instance," he said, when he was explaining this phenomenon, "Sorcerers are sure, that dinosaurs flew, because they intended flying. But what is very difficult to understand, much less accept, is that wings are only one solution to flying, in this case, the dinosaurs' solution. Nevertheless, this solution is not the only one, that is possible. It's the only one available to us by imitation. Our airplanes are flying with wings imitating the dinosaurs, perhaps, because flying has never been intended again since the dinosaurs' time. Perhaps wings were adopted, because they were the easiest solution."

Don Juan was of the opinion, that if we were to intend it now, there is no way of knowing what other options for flying would be available besides wings. He insisted, that because Intent is Infinite, there was no logical way, in which the mind, following processes of deduction or induction, could calculate or determine what these options for flying might be. The magical passes of the Series for the Womb are extremely potent, and should be practiced sparingly. In ancient times, men were barred from executing them. In more recent times, there has been a tendency among Sorcerers to render (make available) these Magical Passes more generic (general), and thus the possibility arose, that they could also be of service to Men. This possibility, however, is very delicate and requires careful handling, great concentration, and determination. The Male practitioners of Tensegrity, who teach these Magical Passes, have opted, because of their Potent Effect, to practice them by brushing the energy, that they generate only lightly on the area of the genitals themselves. This measure has proven to be enough to provide a beneficial jolt without any profound or deleterious effects.
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Don Juan explained, that the Sorcerers of his lineage, at a given moment, allowed Males to practice these Magical Passes, because of the possibility, that the energy engendered (generated) by them, would awaken the secondary function of the Male sexual organs. He said, that those Sorcerers considered, that the Secondary Function of the Male sexual organs is not at all similar to that of the Womb; no interpretation of sensory data can take place, because the male sexual organs hang outside of the cavity of the body. Because of these particular circumstances, their conclusion was, that the secondary function of the male organs is something, which they termed Evolutionary Support: a sort of springboard, that catapults Men to perform extraordinary feats of what Sorcerers of ancient Mexico called Unbending Intent, or clear-headed purpose and concentration.

The Series for the Womb is divided into four sections, which correspond to the three Female disciples of don Juan Matus: Taisha Abelar, Florinda Donner-Grau, and Carol Figgs; and to the Blue Scout, who was born into don Juan's World. 
The first is composed of three magical passes belonging to Taisha Abelar; 
the second is composed of one magical pass directly related to Florinda Donner-Grau; 
the third, of three magical passes that have to do exclusively with Carol Figgs; 
the forth, of five magical passes, that belong to the Blue Scout. 
The magical passes of each section are pertinent to a specific type of individual, Tensegrity has rendered them capable of being utilized by anybody, although they are still slanted in the direction of the type of person, that each of those four women is.

The three magical passes of this group are geared to gathering energy for the womb from six specific areas: the left and right front of the body, the left and right sides of the body at the height of the hips, and from behind the shoulder blades and above the head. The explanation, that The shamans of ancient Mexico gave was, that energy, especially suited for the Womb, accumulates on those areas, and that the movements of these magical passes are the appropriate antennas, that gather that energy exclusively. p.76


1. Extracting Energy from the Front of the Body with the Index and Middle Fingers

The first sensation, that a Tensegrity practitioner seeks while executing this magical pass, is a pressure on the tendons of the back of the hand, a sensation which is obtained by opening the index and middle fingers as far, as possible while they are fully extended. The last two fingers are curled over the palm of the hand, and the thumb holds them in place (fig. 95). 

The magical pass starts by placing the left foot in front of the body in a T position, perpendicular to the right one. The left arm and the left leg make a series of synchronized forward circling movements. The leg circles by first lifting the ball of the foot, and then the whole foot, and a step is taken, that rolls forward in the air and ends on the heel, with the toes up, as the body leans forward, creating pressure on a muscle on the front of the left calf. 

In synchronization with this movement, the left arm rotates forward over the head, also making a complete circle. The index and middle fingers are fully extended, and the palm faces to the right. The pressure on the tendons of the back of the hand has to be maintained with maximum stress during the entire movement (fig. 96). At the end of the third circling movement of the arm and foot, the entire foot is placed on the ground with a forceful stomp, shifting the weight of the body forward. At the same time, the arm shoots out in a stabbing motion, with the index and middle fingers fully extended and the palm of the hand facing right; the muscles of the entire left side of the body are kept tense and contracted (fig. 97). 


An undulating movement is made, as if drawing, with the two extended fingers pointing forward, a letter S that is lying on its side. The wrist is bent so that the fingers point upward once the S is completed (fig. 98). Next, the wrist bends so the fingers again point forward and the S is cut in half with a horizontal stroke of the two fingers from right to left. Then the wrist is bent so the two fingers point upward once more, and a sweeping movement is made from left to right with the palm turned toward the face. The palm of the hand is turned to face outward, as the arm sweeps from right to left. The left arm is retrieved to the level of the chest, and two forward stabbing motions are executed with the fingers fully extended and the palm of the hand facing downward. The palm of the hand is turned toward the face once more, and the hand sweeps again from left to right and from right to left, exactly as before. 

The body leans back slightly, shifting the weight to the back leg. Then the hand, with the two fingers curved like a claw, reaches out at waist level in front of the body as if to grab something, contracting the muscles and tendons of the forearm and hand as if forcefully extracting some heavy substance (fig. 99). The clawed hand is retrieved to the side of the body. All the fingers of the hand are then fully extended, with the thumb locked and the fingers separated at the middle and fourth fingers, making a letter V, which is brushed over the womb, or over the sexual organs, in the case of men (fig. 100). A quick jump is made to shift legs, so that the right foot is in front of the left one, again making a T. The same movements are repeated with the right arm and leg. 


2. Jumping to Stir Energy for the Womb and Grabbing It with the Hand 

This magical pass begins by placing the right foot perpendicular to the left one in a T position. A tap is made with the right heel; this tap serves as an impulse for a small hop of the right foot which ends with the right toes pointing forward, followed immediately by a one-step lateral hop of the left foot that ends with the left heel on the ground, perpendicular to the right foot. The rest of the left foot touches the ground, shifting the weight to the left leg, as the left arm moves in a grabbing motion to clasp something in front of the body with a clawed hand (fig. 101). The hand then rubs gently on the area of the left ovary. A tap of the left heel serves as an impulse for a sequence of movements that is a mirror image of the preceding ones. Energy stirred up by the motion of the feet in this magical pass bounces upward, is caught with each hand in rum, and is placed over the uterus and the left and the right ovaries. 

3. Slapping Energy on the Ovaries

The third magical pass begins by circling the left arm over the head, to the back, in toward the shoulder blades, and out again to the front until it reaches the level of the chin; the palm faces up. The hand draws another circle that goes up and over toward the right; it continues downward, all the way to the right waist and then sweeps upward over the head, completing the figure of a number eight. The palm flips to face the front (fig. 102). Then the hand descends forcefully, as if slapping the area just in front of the left ovary (fig. 103). The hand then brushes gently on the area of the left ovary. The same pattern is repeated with the right arm.



In this group, there is only one magical pass. The effect of this magical pass is utterly congruous with the personality of Florinda Donner-Grau. Don Juan Matus regarded her as being very straightforward, so to-the-point that sometimes her directness became unbearable. Her activities in the sorcerers' world, as a consequence of her directness, have always been geared toward the goal of evolution, or the transformation of the womb from a receptacle and promoter of fertility to an organ of awareness, through which thoughts which are not part of our normal cognition can be processed. 

4. Sphinx Paws 

This magical pass begins with a quick, deep inhalation. The air is sharply exhaled with a forceful strike of the wrists to the front of the body. This is achieved with the hands turned downward sharply, at right angles to the forearms; the fingers point to the ground, and the striking surface is the backs of the hands at the wrists. 

The hands are pulled upward to the level of the shoulders, the palms facing forward, in a straight line with the forearms. A deep inhalation is taken. The hands are held in this position as the trunk turns to the left. The hands then strike, with the palms down, to the level of the hips (fig. 104). The air is exhaled sharply. The hands are raised above the shoulders again as the trunk turns to the front, and a deep inhalation is taken. With the hands still above the shoulders, the trunk is turned to the right. Next both hands strike, with the palms down, to the level of the hips as the air is exhaled. 

Both hands move then to the right of the body, with the palms slightly cupped and turned to the left, as if to scoop a liquid substance. Both arms move from right to left to right, drawing the figure of a reclining number eight in front of the body. This is achieved by first moving the arms all the way to the left, following a twist of the waist, and then returning back to the right, following a reverse twist of the waist. The slightly cupped palms are turned to face the right, as if to continue scooping a liquid substance in the opposite direction (fig. 105). 

As the figure eight is completed, the left hand stops to rest on the left hip, while the right arm continues moving to the right; the arm goes up over the head and makes a big loop to the back that ends when the hand is brought back to the front, to the level of the chin; the palm of the hand faces up. The hand continues moving, making another loop to the left, going in front of the face, over the left shoulder. Next it moves in a straight line across the body at the level of the hip, cutting through the figure eight (fig. 106). From there, the palm moves back toward the body and is made to slide over the right ovary, as if the hand were a knife that comes to rest in its sheath. The exact same movements are performed, but striking to the right side of the body first, in order to allow the left arm to execute the last movement.


7. Squeezing Out Injurious Energy from the Ovaries 

The left hand is held in front of the body with the palm up. The elbow is bent at a right angle and tucked against the rib cage. The index and middle fingers of the left hand are extended while the thumb holds the other two fingers against the palm. The two extended fingers of the left hand are grabbed from underneath by the right hand, and squeezed as if drawing something from the base of the two extended fingers of the left hand and making it move to the tips (fig. 113). Then the right hand shakes vigorously whatever it drew from those two fingers with a backhanded, downward striking motion on the right side of the body. The left thumb releases the other two fingers, and the hand is held in a letter V shape, with the index and middle fingers together, and the fourth and fifth fingers together. The palm of the hand is lightly brushed over the area of the left ovary. The same movements are repeated with the right hand. 

For the second part of this magical pass, the trunk is bent sharply for, ward. The left arm hangs in between the legs, the elbow cushioned against the umbilical region. Exactly the same movements performed in the first part of the magical pass are executed again, except this time the two extended fingers of the left hand are grabbed by the right hand from above (figs. 114, 115). The same movements are repeated on the right. 



The magical passes of this group are the natural conclusion of the whole series. An impersonal mood is the driving force of this group of passes. The inhalations and exhalations are sharp, but not deep, and the movements are accompanied by an explosive hissing sound of air being expelled. 

The value of the Blue Scout's magical passes resides in the capacity of each of them to give the womb the hardness that it requires in order to arrive at its secondary functions, which can be easily defined, in the case of the Blue Scout, as the ability to be alert without pause. The criticism of sorcerers about our normal state of being is that we seem to be perennially on automatic pilot; we say things that we don't mean to say, we ignore things that we shouldn't ignore. In other words, we are aware of what surrounds us only in very short spurts. Most of the time, we function on sheer momentum, habit, and that habit is, in essence, to be oblivious to everything. The idea of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico was that, in women, the womb is the organ that can resolve this impasse, and for that, it needs to acquire hardness.

8. Drawing Energy from the Front with Insect Antennas

The index and middle fingers are held by the sides of the chest in a letter V position, while the thumbs press the other two fingers against the palms; the palms are up (fig. 116). Next, the palms turn downward, and the two fingers strike out in front of the body, as a sharp exhalation is made, with clenched teeth and a hissing, whistlelike sound (fig. 117). A deep inhalation is taken as the hands are retrieved with the palms up to the sides of the chest. The same movement is repeated one more time, and the palms of the hands are brushed on the area of the ovaries, with the fingers separated between the middle and fourth fingers. 


9. Drawing Energy from the Sides at an Angle

This magical pass begins by pivoting on the right foot and putting the left leg in front, at a forty-five -degree angle. The right foot is the horizontal bar of the letter T, and the left foot, the vertical. The body rocks back and forth. Then the left elbow is bent, and the hand is brought to the level of the chest with the palm up. The index and middle fingers are held in the shape of the letter V The thumb holds the other two fingers against the palm (fig. 118). A strike is made, leaning the body forward sharply. The palm of the hand turns down as the fingers strike. The air is exhaled with a hiss (fig. 119). An inhalation is taken as the hand retrieves to the side of the chest with the palm up. The palm of the hand is then lightly brushed on the left ovary, with the fingers separated between the middle and fourth fingers. A jump is taken to switch feet and face a new direction to the right, still at a forty-five
degree angle. The same movements are repeated with the right arm.


10. Drawing Energy Laterally with an Insect Cut 

The hands are held on the sides of the chest, with the index and middle fingers of each hand in a V shape and the thumbs holding the other two fingers against the palms. The palms face up. Remaining at the level of the chest, the hands are pivoted on the heels of the palms and brought to face each other. Next, a hissing exhalation is made as both arms are fully extended laterally, with the palms facing the front, The index and middle fingers are moved with a cutting motion as if they were indeed scissors, as the exhalation ends in a whistlelike fashion (fig. 120). 

An inhalation is taken as the arms are retrieved; the elbows are down, and the arms come to rest on the sides of the body by the chest, hands pointing sideways (fig. 121). Next the hands are pivoted on the heel of the palm so the index and middle fingers point to the front. The fingers are then separated at the middle and fourth fingers, and a hissing exhalation is made as the palms of the hands brush over the area of the ovaries.


6. Bringing Energy to the Center for Decisions from the Area of the Shoulder Blades

The arms are bent, as in the previous movement, but the shoulders are rounded so that the elbows are heavily drawn toward the front. The left hand is placed on top of the right. The fingers are held loose, pointing toward the V spot without touching it, and the chin juts out and rests on the hollow spot between the thumb and index finger of the left hand (fig. 131). The bent elbows are pushed for, ward, extending the shoulder blades, one at a time, to the maximum.

7. Stirring Energy Around the Center for Decisions with a Bent Wrist 
Both hands are brought to the V spot on the base of the neck, without touching it. The hands are gently curved; the fingers point at the center for decisions. Then the hands begin to move, the left first, for, towed by the right, as if stirring a liquid substance around that area, or as if they were fanning air into the V spot with a series of gentle movements of each hand; these movements are accomplished by extending the whole arm laterally and then bringing it back to the area in front of the V spot (fig. 132). Then the left arm strikes out in front of the V spot, with the hand turned sharply inward, using the wrist and the back of the hand as a striking surface (fig. 133). The right arm executes the same movement. In this manner, a series of forceful blows are delivered to the area right in front of the V spot.


8. Transferring Energy from the Two Centers of Vitality on the Front of the Body to the Center for Decisions
Both hands are brought to the area of the pancreas and spleen, a few inches in front of the body. The left hand, with the palm turned upward, is held four or five inches below the right one, which has the palm turned downward. The left forearm is held at a ninety-degree angle, extended straight out to the front. The right forearm is also at a ninety-degree angle, but held close to the body, so that the fingertips point to the left (fig. 134). The left hand makes two inward circles about a foot in diameter around the area of the pancreas and spleen. Once it has completed the second circle, the right hand shoots out to the front and strikes with the edge of the hand, to the area an arm's length in front of the liver and gallbladder (fig. 135). The exact same movements are performed on the other side of the body by reversing the position of the hands, which are brought to the area of the liver and gallbladder, with the right hand circling and the left hand striking forward to the area an arm's length in front of the pancreas and spleen. 


9.
The left hand and arm draw two circles about a foot in diameter in front of the V spot, a bit toward the left (fig. 136). The palm of the hand is facing downward. Once the second circle has been drawn, the forearm is raised to the level of the shoulder and the hand strikes away from the face, diagonally to the right, at the level of the V spot, with a flick of the wrist, as if holding a whip (fig. 137 ). same movements are performed with the right hand. 

Then a deep inhalation is taken and an exhalation follows as the hands and arms slide downward until they reach the tops of the knees, with the palms facing up. A deep inhalation is taken there and the arms are raised, with the left arm in the lead., the right arm crosses over the left as they go over the head until the fingers rest on the back of the neck. The breath is held as the top of the trunk moves three times in succession in a teeter-totter motion; the left shoulder goes down first, then the right, and so on (fig. 138). Then the air is exhaled as the arms and hands move back downward to the tops of the knees, again with the palms of the hands facing up. 

A deep inhalation is taken, and then the air is exhaled as the hands are raised from the knees to the level of the V spot, with the fingers pointing toward it, without touching it (fig. 139). The hands are brought once more to the knees with an exhalation. A final deep inhalation is taken and the hands are raised to the level of the eyes, and then brought down to the sides as the air is exhaled. 

The next three magical passes, according to don Juan, transfer energy which belongs only to the center for decisions from the frontal edge of the luminous sphere, where it has accumulated over the years, to the back, and then from the back of the luminous sphere to the front. He said that this energy transferred back and forth goes through the V spot, which acts as a filter, utilizing only the energy that is proper to it and discarding the rest. He pointed out that because of this selective process of the V spot, it is essential to perform these three magical passes as many times as possible.


10. Energy Going Through the Center for Decisions from the Front to the Back and the Back to the Front with Two Blows 

A deep inhalation is taken. Then the air is slowly exhaled as the left arm strikes out at the level of the solar plexus, with the palm of the hand turned upward; the palm is held flat and the fingers are together.

Then the hand is clasped into a fist. The arm moves to the back, striking from the height of the hips with a backhand blow (fig. 140). The exhalation ends as the hand opens. 

Another deep inhalation is taken. A slow exhalation follows while the palm of the open hand, still in back of the body, taps ten times as if lightly hitting a solid round object. Then the hand is clasped into a fist before the arm moves to the front in a swinglike punch that strikes an area in front of the V spot, an arm's length away from it (fig. 141). The hand opens as if releasing something held in it. The arm moves down, back, and then over the head and strikes with the palm down in front of the V spot, as if breaking whatever it has released. The exhalation ends then (fig. 142). The same sequence of movements is repeated with the right arm. 


11. Transferring Energy from the Front to the Back and the Back to the Front with the Hook of the Arm 

 A deep inhalation is made. Then the air is slowly exhaled as the left arm moves forward with the palm of the hand turned upward. The hand is quickly clasped into a fist. The fisted hand rotates until the back of the hand is turned upward and strikes over the shoulder to the back, The fisted palm faces upward. The hand opens and turns to face downward, and the exhalation ends. 

Another deep inhalation is taken. Then a slow exhalation begins as the hand, made into a downward hook, scoops three times, as if rolling a solid substance into a ball (fig. 143). The ball is tossed upward to the level of the head with a flick of the hand and forearm (fig. 144), and quickly grabbed with the hand bent again at the wrist like a hook (fig. 145). The arm moves to the front, then to the height of the right shoulder and strikes forward to an area right in front of the V spot an arm's length away from it, using the wrist and the back of the hand as a striking surface (fig. 146). The hand then opens as if to release whatever it had trapped, and the arm moves down to the back and over the head to strike it with great force with the flat palm. The exhalation ends as the whole body shakes with the force of the strike. The same movements are repeated with the other arm. 


12. Transferring Energy from the Front to the Back and the Back to the Front with Three Blows 

A deep inhalation is taken. A slow exhalation follows as the left arm strikes forward with the hand open, the flat palm turned upward. The hand is quickly clasped into a fist, and the arm retrieves as if to deliver an elbow blow to the back. Then it moves laterally to the right and delivers a side punch with the forearm rubbing on the body (fig. 147). The elbow is retrieved again as if to deliver an elbow blow to the back. The arm is extended and moved out to the left side and to the back, to deliver the fourth blow behind the body with the back of the fisted hand. The exhalation ends as the hand opens (fig. 148).

18. Forging the Knees of the Energy Body

This magical pass has two facets. In the first facet the left knee is bent and raised to the level of the hips, or if possible even higher. The total weight of the body is placed on the right leg, which stands with the knee slightly bent forward. Three circles are drawn with the left knee, moving it inward toward the groin (fig. 159). The same movement is repeated with the right leg. 

In the second facet of this magical pass, the movements are repeated again with each leg, but this time, the knee draws an outward circle (fig. 160).

19. Forging the Thighs of the Energy Body

Beginning with an exhalation, the body bends slightly at the knees as the hands slide down the thighs. The hands stop on top of the kneecaps, and then they are pulled back up the thighs to the level of the hips with an inhalation, as if they were drag. ging a solid substance. There is a slight quality of a claw to each hand. The body straightens as this part of the movement is executed (fig. 161). With the opposite breathing pattern, the movement is repeated, inhaling as the knees bend and the hands go down to the tops of the kneecaps, and exhaling as they are pulled back. 


20.Stirring Up Personal History by Making It Flexible 

This magical pass stretches the hamstring and relaxes it by bringing each leg, one at a time, bent at the knee, to strike the buttocks with a gentle tap of the heel (fig. 162). The left heel strikes the left buttock, and the right heel strikes the right one. Shamans put an enormous emphasis on tightening the muscles of the backs of the thighs. They believe that the tighter those muscles, the greater the facility of the practitioner to identify and get rid of behavioral patterns that are useless.

21. Stirring Up Personal History with the Heel to the Ground by Tapping It Repeatedly

The right leg is set at a ninety-degree angle with the left. The left foot is placed as far as possible in front of the body as the body almost sits on the right leg. The tension and contraction of the back muscles of the right leg are maximum, as is the stretching of the back muscles of the left leg. The left leg taps the ground repeatedly with the heel (fig. 163). The same movements are then executed with the other leg.

22. Stirring Up Personal History with the Heel to the Ground by Sustaining That Position

The same movements are executed in this magical pass as in the previous one, again with each leg, but instead of tapping with the heel, the body is kept at an even tension by holding the stretch of the leg (fig. 164). The following four magical passes, since they entail deep inhalations and exhalations, have to be done sparingly.


23. The Recapitulation Wings

A deep inhalation is taken as both forearms are raised to the level of the shoulders, with the hands at the level of the ears, palms facing forward. The forearms are held vertically and equidistant from each other. An exhalation follows as the forearms are pulled back as far as possible without slanting them in any direction (fig. 165). Another deep inhalation is taken. Within the duration of one long exhalation, both arms each draw a winglike semicircle, beginning with the left arm moving forward as far as it can be extended and then laterally, drawing a semicircle to the back as far as possible. The arm makes a curve at the end of this extension and returns to the front (fig. 166) to its initial resting position by the side of the body (fig. 167). Then the right arm follows the same pattern within the same exhalation. Once these movements are completed, a deep abdominal breath is taken. 


24. The Window of Recapitulation 

The first part of this magical pass is exactly like the preceding one; a deep breath is taken with the hands raised to the ear level, with the palms facing forward. The forearms maintain a perfect verticality. This is followed by a long exhalation as the arms are pulled backwards. A deep inhalation is taken as the elbows are extended laterally at the level of the shoulders. The hands are bent at a ninety-degree angle in relation to the forearms, the fingers pointing upward. The hands are slowly pushed toward the center of the body until the forearms cross. The left arm is held closer to the body and the right arm is placed in front of the left. The hands create in this fashion what don Juan called the window of recapitulation: an opening in front of the eyes that looks like a small window, through which, don Juan affirmed, a practitioner could peer into infinity (fig. 168). A deep exhalation follows as the body straightens; the elbows are extended laterally and the hands are straightened out and kept at the same level as the elbows (fig. 169). 


25. The Five Deep Breaths 

The beginning of this magical pass is exactly like the previous two. At the second inhalation, the arms go down and cross at the level of the knees as the practitioner adopts a semi-squatting position. The hands are placed behind the knees; the right hand grabs the tendons in back of the left knee, and the left hand, with the left forearm on top of the right, grabs the tendons in back of the right knee. The index and middle fingers grab the outer tendons there and the thumb is wrapped around the inner part of the knee. The exhalation ends then, and a deep inhalation is taken, accompanied by pressing the tendon (fig. 170). Five breaths are taken in this fashion. 

This magical pass causes the back to be straight and the head to be in alignment with the spine, and is used to take deep breaths that fill the top as well as the lower part of the lungs by pushing the diaphragm downward. 

26. Drawing Energy from the Feet 

The first part of this magical pass is exactly the same as the beginning of the other three of this series. On the second inhalation, the forearms go down and wrap around the ankles, going from the inside to the outside as the practitioner adopts a squatting position. The backs of the hands rest on top of the toes, and in this fashion, three deep inhalations and three deep exhalations are made (fig. 171). After the last exhalation, the body straightens as a deep inhalation is taken to finish the magical pass. The only glow of awareness left in human beings is at the bottom of their luminous spheres, a fringe that extends in a circle and reaches the level of the toes. With this magical pass, that fringe is tapped with the backs of the fingers, and stirred with the breath.



Don Juan Matus defined dreaming as the act of using normal dreams as a bona fide entrance for human awareness into other realms of perceiving. This definition implied for him, that ordinary dreams could be used as a hatch, that led perception into other regions of energy different from the energy of the world of everyday life, and yet utterly similar to it at a basic core. The result of such an entrance was, for sorcerers, the perception of veritable worlds, where they could live or die, worlds, which were astoundingly different from ours, and yet utterly similar. 

Pressed for a linear explanation of this contradiction, don Juan Matus reiterated the standard position of sorcerers: that the answers to all those questions were in the practice, not in the intellectual inquiry. He said, that in order to talk about such possibilities, we would have to use the syntax of language, whatever language we spoke, and that syntax, by the force of usage, limits the possibilities of expression. The syntax of any language refers only to perceptual possibilities found in the world in which we live. 

Don Juan made a significant differentiation, in Spanish, between two verbs: one was to dream, sonar; and the other was ensoilar, which is to dream the way sorcerers dream. In English, there is no clear distinction between these two states: the normal dreaming, sueno, and the more complex state that sorcerers call ensueflo. 

The art of dreaming, according to what don Juan taught, originated in a very casual observation that the shamans of ancient Mexico made when they saw people who were asleep. They noticed that during sleep the assemblage point was displaced in a very natural, easy way from its habitual position, and that it moved anywhere along the periphery of the luminous sphere, or to any place in the interior of it. Correlating their seeing with the reports of the people who had been observed sleeping, they realized that the greater the observed displacement of the assemblage point, the more astounding the reports of events and scenes experienced in dreams. 

After this observation took hold of them, those sorcerers began to look avidly for opportunities to displace their own assemblage points. They ended up using psychotropic plants to accomplish this. Very quickly, they realized that the displacement brought about by using these plants was erratic, forced, and out of control. In the midst of this failure, nonetheless they discovered one thing of great value. They called it dreaming attention. 

Don Juan explained this phenomenon, referring first to the daily awareness of human beings as the attention placed on the elements of the world of everyday life. He pointed out that human beings took only a cursory and yet sustained look at everything that surrounded them. 

More than examining things, human beings simply established the presence of those elements by a special type of attention, a specific aspect of their general awareness. His contention was that the same type of cursory and yet sustained "look," so to speak, could be applied to the ele- merits of an ordinary dream. He called this other, specific aspect of general awareness dreaming attention or the capacity that practitioners acquire to maintain their awareness unwaveringly fixed on the items of their dreams. 

The cultivation of dreaming attenti . on gave the sorcerers of don Juan's lineage a basic taxonomy of dreams. They found out that most of their dreams were imagery, products of the cognition of their daily world; however, there were some which escaped that classification. Such dreams were veritable states of heightened awareness in which the elements of the dream were not mere imagery, but energy-generating affairs. Dreams which had energy-generating elements were, for those shamans, dreams in which they were capable of seeing energy as it flowed in the universe. 

Those shamans were able to focus their dreaming attention on any element of their dreams, and found out, in this fashion, that there are two kinds of dreams. One is the dreams that we are all familiar with, in which phantasmagorical elements come into play, something which we could categorize as the product of our mentality, our psyche; perhaps something that has to do with our neurological makeup. The other kind of dreams they called energy-generating dreams. Don Juan said that those sorcerers of ancient times found themselves in dreams which were not dreams, but actual visitations made in a dreamlike state to bona fide places other than this world-real places, just like the world in which we live; places where the objects of the dream generated energy, just as trees, or animals, or even rocks generate energy in our daily world, for a seeing sorcerer. 

Their visions of such places were, however, for those shamans, too fleeting, too temporary, to be of any value to them. They attributed this flaw to the fact that their assemblage points could not be held fixed for any considerable time at the position to which they had been displaced. Their attempts to remedy the situation resulted in the other high art of sorcery: the art of stalking. 

Don Juan defined the two arts very clearly one day when he said to me that the art of dreaming consisted of purposely displacing the assemblage point from its habitual position. The art of stalking consisted in volitionally making it stay fixed on the new position to which it had been displaced. 

This fixation allowed the shamans of ancient Mexico the opportunity to witness other worlds in their full extent. Don Juan said that some of those sorcerers never returned from their journeys. In other words, they opted for staying there, wherever "there" might have been. 

"When the old sorcerers finished mapping human beings as luminous spheres," don Juan said to me once, "they had discovered no less than six hundred spots in the total luminous sphere that were the sites of bona fide worlds. Meaning that, if the assemblage point became attached to any of those places, the result was the entrance of the practitioner into a total new world." 

"But where are those six hundred other worlds, don Juan?" I asked. 

"The only answer to that question is incomprehensible," he said, laughing. "It's the essence of sorcery, and yet it means nothing to the average mind. Those six hundred worlds are in the position of the assemblage point. Incalculable amounts of energy are required to make sense out of this answer. We have the energy. What we lack is the facility or disposition to use it." I could add that nothing could be truer than all these statements, and yet, nothing could make less sense. Don Juan explained usual perception in the terms in which the sorcerers of his lineage understood it: The assemblage point, at its habitual location, receives an inflow of energy fields from the universe at large in the form of luminous filaments, numbering in the trillions. Since its position is consistently the same, it stood to sorcerers' reasoning that the same energy fields, in the form of luminous filaments, converge on the assemblage point and go through it, giving as a consistent result the perception of the world that we know. Those sorcerers arrived at the unavoidable conclusion that if the assemblage point were displaced to another position, another set of energy filaments would go through it, resulting in the perception of a world that, by definition, was not the same as the world of everyday life. In don Juan's opinion, what human beings ordinarily regard as perceiving is rather the act of interpreting sensory data. He maintained that from the moment of birth, everything around us supplies us with a possibility of interpretation, and that with time, this possibility turns into a full system by means of which we conduct all of our perceptual transactions in the world. He pointed out, that the assemblage point is not only the center where perception is assembled, but also the center where the interpretation of sensory data is accomplished, so that if it were to change locations, it would interpret the new influx of energy fields in very much the same terms in which it interprets the world of everyday life. The result of this new interpretation is the perception of a world which is strangely similar to ours, and yet intrinsically (inherent) different. Don Juan said that energetically, those other worlds are as different from ours as they could possibly be. It is only the interpretation of the assemblage point which accounts for the seeming similarities. Don Juan called for a new syntax that could be used in order to express this wondrous quality of the assemblage point and the possibilities of perception brought about by dreaming. He conceded (admited), however, that perhaps the present syntax of our language could be forced to cover it if this experience became available to any one of us, and not merely to shaman initiates. Something related to dreaming that was of tremendous interest to me, but which bewildered me to no end, was don Juan's statement that there was really no procedure to speak of that would teach anyone how to dream. He said that more than anything else, dreaming was an arduous effort on the part of the practitioners to put themselves in contact with the indescribable all-pervading force that the sorcerers of ancient Mexico called intent. Once this link was established, dreaming also mysteriously became established. Don Juan asserted that this linkage could be accomplished following any pattern that implied discipline. When I asked him to give me a succinct explanation of the procedures involved, he laughed at me. 
"To venture into the world of sorcerers," he said, "is not like learning to drive a car. To drive a car, you need manuals and instructions. To dream, you need to intend it." 

"But how can I intend it?" I insisted. 

"The only way you could intend it is by intending it," he declared. "One of the most difficult things for a man of our day to accept is a lack of procedure. Modern man is in the throes of manuals, praxes, methods, steps leading to. He is ceaselessly taking notes, making diagrams, deeply involved in the 'know-how.' But in the world of sorcerers, procedures and rituals are mere designs to attract and focus attention. They are devices used to force a focusing of interest and determination. They have no other value." 

What don Juan considered to be of supreme importance in order to dream is the rigorous execution of the magical passes: the only device, that the sorcerers of his lineage used to aid the displacement of the assemblage point. The execution of the magical passes gave those sorcerers the stability and the energy necessary to call forth their dreaming attention, without which there was no possibility of dreaming for them. Without the emergence of dreaming attention, practitioners could aspire, at best, to have lucid dreams about phantasmagorical worlds. They could perhaps have views of worlds, that generate energy, but these would make no sense to them whatsoever in the absence of an allinclusive rationale, that would properly categorize them. 

Once the shamans of don Juan's lineage had developed their dreaming attention, they realized that they had tapped on the doors of infinity. They had succeeded in enlarging the parameters of their normal perception. They discovered that their normal state of awareness was infinitely more varied than it had been before the advent of their dreaming attention. From that point on, those sorcerers could truthfully venture into the unknown. 

"The aphorism," don Juan said to me once, "that 'the sky is the limit' was most applicable to the sorcerers of ancient times. They certainly outdid thernselves." 

"Was it really true for them that the sky was the limit, don Juan?" I asked. 

"This question could be answered only by each of us individually," he said, smiling expansively. "They gave us the tools. It is up to us individually to use them or refuse them. In essence, we are alone in front of infinity, and the issue of whether or not we are capable of reaching our limits has to be answered personally."


27. Getting the Assemblage Point Loose

The  left arm, with the palm of the hand turned upward, reaches over the area behind the shoulder blades, as the trunk leans a bit forward. Then the arm is brought in an underhanded motion from the left side of the body to the front, moving in an upward thrust in front of the face, with the palm of the left hand turned to face the left. The fingers are held together (figs. 172, 173). 

This magical pass is executed by each arm in succession. The knees are kept bent for greater stability and thrusting force.


28. Forcing the Assemblage Point to Drop Down

The  back is kept as straight as possible. The knees are locked. The left arm, fully stretched, is placed at the back, a few inches away from the body. The hand is bent at a ninety-degree angle in relation to the forearm; the palm faces downward and the fully stretched fingers point backward. The fully stretched right arm is placed in front in the same position: with the wrist bent at a ninety-degree angle, the palm facing downward, the fingers pointing forward. 

The head turns in the direction of the arm that is kept at the back, and a total stretch of the tendons of the legs and arms takes place at that instant. This tension of the tendons is held for a moment (fig. 174). The same movement is repeated with the right arm in back and the left in front.

29. Enticing the Assemblage Point to Drop by Drawing Energy from the Adrenals and Transferring It to the Front 

The left arm is placed behind the body at the level of the kidneys, as far to the right as it can reach; the hand is held like a claw. The clawed hand moves across the kidney area from right to left as if dragging a solid substance. The right arm is held in its normal position by the side of the thigh. 

Next, the left hand moves to the front; the palm is held flat, on the right side, against the liver and gallbladder. The left hand moves across the front of the body to the left, the area of the pancreas and spleen, as if smoothing the surface of a solid substance; at the same time the right hand, held like a claw behind the body, moves from left to right over the kidneys as if dragging a solid substance. 

Then the right hand is placed on the front of the body; the palm is held flat against the area of the pancreas and spleen. The hand moves across the front of the body to the area of the liver and gallbladder, as if smoothing a rough surface, while the clawed left hand moves again across the area of the kidneys from right to left as if dragging a solid substance (figs. 175, 176). The knees are kept bent for greater stability and force.


30. Playing Out the A and B Types of Energy 

The right forearm, bent in a vertical position, at a ninety-degree angle, is centered in front of the body, with the elbow almost at the level of the shoulders, and the palm of the hand facing left. The left forearm, bent at the elbow and held in a horizontal position, is placed with the back of the hand underneath the right elbow. The eyes, without focusing on either forearm, keep a peripheral view of both of them. The pressure of the right arm is downward, while the pressure of the left arm is upward. The two forces act simultaneously on both arms; they are kept under this tension for a moment (fig. 177). Then the same movement is executed by reversing the order and position of the arms. 

The shamans of ancient Mexico believed that everything in the universe is composed of dual forces, and that human beings are subjected to that duality in every aspect of their lives. At the level of energy, they considered that two forces are at play. Don Juan called them the A and B forces. The A force is employed ordinarily in our daily affairs, and is represented by a straight vertical line. The B force is ordinarily an obscure one which rarely enters into action, and it is kept lying down. It is represented by a horizontal line drawn to the left of the vertical one, at its base, making in this fashion a reversed capital letter L. 

Shamans, men and women, were the only ones who, in don Juan's view, had been capable of turning the force B, which is ordinarily lying down horizontally, out of use, into an active vertical line. And consequently, they had succeeded in putting force A to rest. This process was represented by drawing a horizontal line at the base of the vertical one, to its right, and making, as a result, a capital letter L. Don Juan portrayed this magical pass as the one which best exemplified this duality and the effort of the sorcerers to reverse its effects.

31. Pulling the Energy Body to the Front

The arms are kept at shoulder level with the elbows bent. The hands overlap each other, and they are turned with the palms down. A circle is made with the hands rotating around each other; the movement is inward, toward the face (fig. 178). They rotate three times around each other; then the left arm is thrust forward with the hand in a fist, as if to strike an invisible target in front of the body, an arm's length away from it (fig. 179). Three more circles are drawn with both hands, and then the right arm strikes in the same fashion as the left one. 


32. Hurling the Assemblage Point Like a Knife over the Shoulder 

The left hand reaches over the head to the area behind the shoulder blades and grabs, as if holding a solid object. Then it moves over the head to the front of the body, with the motion of hurling something forward. The knees are kept bent for hurling stability. The same movement is repeated with the right arm (figs. 180, 181). 

This magical pass is an actual attempt to hurl the assemblage point, in order to displace it from its habitual position. The practitioner holds the assemblage point as if it were a knife. Something in the intent of hurling the assemblage point causes a profound effect toward the actual displacement of it. 


33. Hurling the Assemblage Point Like a Knife from the Back by the Waist 

The knees are kept bent as the body leans forward. Then the left arm reaches to the back, from the side, to the area behind the shoulder blades, grabs onto something as if it were solid, and hurts it forward from the waist, with a flick of the wrist, as if hurling a flat disk, or a knife (figs. 182, 183). The same movements are repeated with the right hand. 


34. Hurling the Assemblage Point Like a Disk from the Shoulder 

A deep rotation of the waist is made to the left, which propels the right arm to swing to the left side of the left leg. Then the motion of the waist, moving in the opposite direction, propels the left arm to swing to the right side of the right leg. Another motion of the waist propels the right arm to swing again to the left side of the left leg. At this point the left hand reaches back instantly with a circular motion to grab onto something as if it were solid, from the area behind the shoulder blades (fig. 184). The left hand takes *it in a swinging circular motion to the front of the body and up to the level of the right shoulder. The palm of the clenched hand faces upward. From this position, the left hand, with a flick of the wrist, makes a hurling motion, as if to hurl forward something solid, like a disk (fig. 185). 

The legs are kept bent slightly at the knees and a great pressure is exerted (exercise, put into vigorous action) at the back of the thighs. The right arm, with the elbow slightly bent, is extended behind the body to give stability to the act of hurling a disk. This position is held for a moment, while the left arm maintains the position of having just hurled an object. 

The same movements are repeated with the other arm.


35. Hurling the Assemblage Point Like a Ball Above the Head

The left hand moves back quickly to the area behind the shoulder blades and grabs something, as if it were solid (fig. 186). The arm rotates twice in a big circle above the head as if to gain impulse (fig. 187) and makes the motion of hurling a ball forward (fig. 188). The knees are kept bent. These movements are repeated with the right hand. 


THE  Fourth Group: Inner Silence 

The Don Juan said that inner silence was the state most avidly sought by the humans of ancient Mexico. He defined it as a natural state of human perception in which thoughts are blocked off and all of man's faculties operate from a level of awareness which doesn't require the utilization of our daily cognitive system. 

Inner silence has always been associated with darkness, for the shamans of don Juan's lineage, perhaps because human perception, deprived of its habitual companion, the internal dialogue, falls into something that resembles a dark pit. He said that the body functions as usual, but awareness becomes sharper. Decisions are instantaneous, and seem o stem from a special sort of knowledge which is deprived of thought, verbalizations. 

Human perception functioning in a condition of inner silence, according to don Juan, is capable of reaching indescribable levels. Some of hose levels of perception are worlds in themselves, and not at all like he worlds reached through dreaming. They are indescribable states, inexplicable in terms of the linear paradigms that the habitual state of human perception employs for explaining the universe. 

Inner silence, in don Juan's understanding, is the matrix for a gigantic step of evolution: silent knowledge, or the level of human awareness where knowing is automatic and instantaneous. Knowledge at this level is not the product of cerebral cogitation or logical induction and deduction, or of generalizations based on similarities and dissimilarities. There is nothing a priori at the level of silent knowledge, nothing that could constitute a body of knowledge, for everything is imminently now. Complex pieces of information could be grasped without any cognitive preliminaries. 

Don Juan believed that silent knowledge was insinuated to early man, but that early man was not really the possessor of silent knowledge. Such an insinuation was infinitely stronger than what modern man experiences, where the bulk of knowledge is the product of rote learning. It is a sorcerers' axiom that although we have lost that insinuation, the avenue that leads to silent knowledge will always be open to man by means of inner silence. 

Don Juan Matus taught the hard line of his lineage: that inner silence must be gained by a consistent pressure of discipline. It has to be accrued or stored, bit by bit, second by second. In other words, one has to force oneself to be silent, even if it is only for a few seconds. According to don Juan, it was common knowledge among sorcerers that if one persists in this, persistence overcomes habit, and thus, it is possible to arrive at a threshold of accrued seconds or minutes, which differs from person to person. If the threshold of inner silence is ten minutes for a given individual, for instance, then once this threshold is reached, inner silence happens by itself, of its own accord, so to speak. 

I was warned beforehand that there was no possible way of knowing what my individual threshold might be., and that the only way of finding this out was through direct experience. This is exactly what happened to me. Following don Juan's suggestion, I had persisted in forcing myself to remain silent, and one day, while walking at UCLA, I reached my mysterious threshold. I knew I had reached it because in one instant, I experienced something don Juan had described at length to me. He had called it stopping the world. In the blink of an eye, the world ceased to be what it was, and for the first time in my life, I became conscious that I was seeing energy as it flowed in the universe. I had to sit down on some brick steps. I knew that I was sitting on some brick steps, but I knew it only intellectually, through memory. Experientially I was resting on energy. I myself was energy, and so was everything around me. I had cancelled out my interpretation system. 

After seeing energy directly, I realized something which became the horror of my day, something that no one could explain to me satisfactorily except don Juan. I became conscious that although I was seeing for the first time in my life, I had been seeing energy as it flows in the universe all my life, but I had not been conscious of it. To see energy as it flows in the universe was not the novelty. The novelty was the query that arose with such fury that it made me surface back into the world of everyday life. I asked myself what had been keeping me from realizing that I had been seeing energy as it flows in the universe all my life. 

"There are two issues at stake here," don Juan explained to me, when I asked him about this maddening contradiction. "One is general awareness. The other is particular, deliberate consciousness. Every human being in the world is aware, in general terms, of seeing energy as it flows in the universe. However, only sorcerers are particularly and deliberately conscious of it. To become conscious of something that you are generally aware of requires energy, and the iron-hand discipline needed to get it. Your inner silence, the product of discipline and energy, bridged the gap between general awareness and particular consciousness."

Don Juan stressed, in every way he was able, the value of a pragmatic attitude in order to buttress the advent of inner silence. He defined a pragmatic attitude as the capacity to absorb any contingency that might appear along the way. He himself was, to me, the living example of such an attitude. There wasn't any uncertainty or liability that his mere presence would not dispel. 

He reiterated every time he could that the effects of inner silence were very unsettling, and that the only deterrent to this condition was the pragmatic attitude which was the product of a superbly pliable, agile, strong body. He said that for sorcerers, the physical body was the only entity that made any sense to them, and that there was no such thing as a dualism between body and mind. He further stated that the physical body involved both the body and the mind as we knew them, and that in order to counterbalance the physical body as a holistic unit, sorcerers considered another configuration of energy which was reached through inner silence: the energy body. He explained that what I had experienced at the moment, in which I had Stopped the World, was the resurgence of - my Energy Body, and, that this configuration of energy was the one, which had always been able to See Energy as it flowed in the Universe. 


36. Drawing Two Half-Circles with Each Foot 

The total weight of the body is on the right leg. The left foot is placed half a step in front of it, and it slides on the floor, drawing a half-circle to the left; the ball of the foot comes to rest almost touching the right heel. From there, it draws another half-circle to the back (fig. 189). These circles are drawn with the ball of the left foot. The heel is kept off the ground, in order to make the movement smooth and uniform. 

The movement is reversed and two more halfcircles are drawn in this fashion, starting from the back and going to the front. 

The same movements are executed with the right foot after the whole weight of the body is transferred to the left leg. The knee of the leg that supports the weight is bent for strength and stability. 

37. Drawing a Half Moon with Each Foot 

The weight of the body is placed on the right leg. The left foot goes half a step in front of the right one, drawing a wide semicircle on the ground around the body from the front, to the left, to the back of the body. This semicircle is drawn with the ball of the foot (fig. 190). Another semicircle is drawn from the back to the front, in the same fashion. The same movements are executed with the right leg, after transferring the weight to the left leg. 


38. The Scarecrow in the Wind with the Arms Down

The arms are kept extended laterally at the level of the shoulders with the elbows bent and the forearms dangling downward at a strict ninety-degree angle. The forearms swing freely from side to side, as if moved by the wind alone. The forearms and the wrists are kept straight and vertical. The knees are locked (fig. 191).

39. The Scarecrow in the Wind with the Arms Up 

Just as in the preceding magical pass, the arms are extended laterally at the level of the shoulders, except the forearms are turned upward, bent at a ninety-degree angle. The forearms and wrists are kept straight and vertical (fig. 192). Then they swing freely downward to the front (fig. 193) and upward again. The knees are locked. 


40. Pushing Energy Backward with the Full Arm

The elbows are acutely bent and the forearms held tight against the sides of the body, as high as possible, with the hands held in fists (fig. 194). As an exhalation is made, the forearms are fully extended downward and backward as high as possible. The knees are locked, and the trunk bends slightly forward (fig. 195). As an inhalation is made, the arms are then brought forward to the original position by bending the elbows. 

Then the breathing is reversed as this movement is repeated; instead of exhaling as the arms are pulled backwards, an inhalation is taken. An exhalation follows as the elbows are bent and the forearms are brought upward against the axilla.

41. Pivoting the Forearm

The arms are held in front of the body with the elbows bent and the forearms vertical. Each hand is bent at the wrist, resembling the head of a bird, which is at eye level, with the fingers pointing toward the face (fig. 196). Keeping the elbows vertical and straight, the wrists are flipped back and forth, pivoting on the forearms, making the fingers of the hands move from pointing at the face to pointing forward (fig. 197). The knees are kept bent for stability and strength. 


42. Moving Energy in a Ripple

The knees are kept straight, and the trunk stoops over. Both arms are kept dangling at the sides. The left arm moves forward with three ripples of the hand, as if the hand were following the contour of a surface with three half-circles on it (fig. 198). Next, the hand cuts across the front of the body in a straight line from left to right, then from right to left (fig. 199), and moves backward at the side of the body with three more ripples, drawing in this fashion the thick shape of an inverted capital letter L-at least six inches thick. 

The same movements are repeated with the right arm.


43. The T Energy of the Hands

The two forearms are held at right angles right in front of the solar plexus, making the shape of a letter T. The left hand is the horizontal bar of the letter T with the palm turned upward. The right hand is the vertical bar of the letter T with the palm turned downward (fig. 200). Next, the hands turn back and forth at the same time with considerable force. The palm of the left hand is turned to face downward, and the palm of the right hand is turned to we upward, both hands maintaining the same letter T shape (fig. 201). These same movements are executed again, placing the right hand as the horizontal bar of the letter T and the left hand as the vertical one.


44. Pressing Energy with the Thumbs

The forearms, bent at the elbows, are held right in front of the body in a perfectly horizontal position, maintaining the width of the body. The fingers are curled in a loose fist, and the thumbs are held straight, cradled on the curled index fingers (figs. 202, 203). An intermittent pressure is exerted (exercise, put into vigorous action) between the thumb and the index finger and the curled fingers against the palm of the hand. They contract and relax, spreading the impulse to the arms. The knees are kept bent for stability.


45. Drawing an Acute Angle with the Arms Between the Legs

The knees are locked, with the hamstrings as tight as possible. The trunk is bent forward, with the head almost at the level of the knees. The arms dangle in front and, moving repeatedly forward and backward, they draw an acute angle with its vertex between the legs (figs. 204, 205).


46. Drawing an Acute Angle with the Arms in Front of the Face 

The knees are locked, with the hamstrings as tight as possible. The trunk is bent forward, with the head almost at the level of the knees. The arms dangle in front of the body and, moving repeatedly from the back to the front, they draw an acute angle, with its vertex in front of the face (figs. 206, 207).


47. Drawing a Circle of Energy Between the Legs and in Front of the Body 

The knees are kept locked, with the hamstrings as tight as possible. The trunk is bent forward, with the head almost at the level of the knees. The arms dangle in front of the body. The two arms cross at the wrists, the left forearm on top of the right one. The crossed arms swing back between the legs (fig. 208). From there, each one makes an outward circle in front of the face. At the end of the circle, the arms point forward, the left wrist on top of the right one (fig. 209). From there, they draw two inward circles that end between the legs, with the wrists crossed once more in the initial position. 

Then the right wrist is made to rest on top of the left one, and the same movements are repeated. 


48. Three Fingers on the Floor 

The arms are brought slowly over the head as a deep inhalation is taken. A slow exhalation begins while the arms are brought all the way down to the floor, keeping the knees locked and the hamstrings as tight as possible. The index and middle fingers of each hand touch the floor a foot in front of the body, and then the thumb is also brought to rest on the floor (fig. 210). A deep inhalation is taken while that position is held. The body straightens, and the arms are raised above the head. The air is exhaled as the arms come down to the level of the waist.

49. The Knuckles on the Toes

The arms are raised above the head as a deep inhalation is taken. As the air is exhaled, the arms are brought all the way down to the floor, keeping the knees locked and the hamstrings as tight as possible. The knuckles are brought to rest on top of the toes as the exhalation ends (fig. 211). A deep inhalation is taken while that position is held. The body straightens, and the arms are raised above the head. The exhalation begins when the arms are brought down to the level of the waist.

50. Drawing Energy from the Floor with the Breath

A deep inhalation is taken as the arms are raised above the head; the knees are kept bent. The exhalation begins as the trunk turns to the left and bends down as far as possible. The hands, with the palms down, come to rest around the left foot, with the right hand in front of the foot and the left hand behind it; they move back and forth five times as the exhalation ends (fig. 212). A deep inhalation is taken then, and the body straightens as the arms move over the head. The trunk turns to the right, and the exhalation begins as the trunk bends down as far as possible. The exhalation ends after the hands move back and forth five times by the right foot. Another deep breath is taken, and the body straightens up as the arms move above the head and the trunk pivots to face the front; then the arms come down as the air is exhaled.


Don Juan taught his disciples that for the shamans who lived in Mexico in ancient times, the concept that a human being is composed of two complete functioning bodies, one on the left and one on the right, was fundamental to their endeavors as sorcerers. Such a classificatory scheme had nothing to do with intellectual speculations on the part of those sorcerers, or with logical conclusions about possibilities of distribution of mass in the body. 

When don Juan explained this to me, I countered that modern biologists had the concept of bilateral symmetry, which means "a basic body plan in which the left and right sides of the organism can be divided into approximate mirror images of each other along the midline."

"The classifications of the shamans of ancient Mexico," don Juan replied, "were more profound than the conclusions of modem scientists, because they stemmed from perceiving energy directly as it flows in the universe. When the human body is perceived as energy, it is utterly patent that it is composed not of two parts, but of two different types of energy: two different currents of energy, two opposing and at the same time complementary forces that coexist side by side, mirroring, in this fashion, the dual structure of everything in the universe at large."

The shamans of ancient Mexico accorded each one of these two different kinds of energy the stature of a total body, and spoke exclusively in terms of the left body and the right body. Their emphasis was on the left body, because they considered it to be the most effective, in terms of the nature of its energy configuration, for the ultimate goals of shamanism. The shamans of ancient Mexico, who depicted the two bodies as streams of energy, depicted the left stream as being more turbulent and aggressive, moving in undulating ripples and projecting out waves of energy. When illustrating what he was talking about, don Juan asked me to visualize a scene in which the left body was like half of the sun, and that all the solar flares happened on that half. The waves of energy projected out of the left body were like those solar flares-always perpendicular to the round surface from which they originated. 

He depicted the stream of energy of the right body as not being turbulent at all on the surface. It moved like water inside a tank which was being slightly tilted back and forth. There were no ripples in it, but a continuous rocking motion. At a deeper level, however, it swirled in rotational circles in the form of spirals. Don Juan asked me to envision a very wide, peaceful-looking tropical river, where the water on the surface seemed barely to move, but which had shattering riptides below the surface. In the world of everyday life, these two currents are amalgamated into a single unit: the human body as we know it. 

To the eye of the seer, however, the energy of the total body is circular. This meant to the sorcerers of don Juan's lineage that the right body was the predominant force. 
"What happens in the case of left-handed people?" I asked him once. "Are they more suitable for the endeavors of sorcerers?"
"Why do you think they should be?" he replied, seemingly surprised by my question. 
"Because obviously, the left side is predominant," I said. 

"This predominance is of no importance whatsoever for sorcerers," he said. "Yes, the left side predominates in the sense that they can hold a hammer with their left hand very effectively. They write with their left hand. They can hold a knife with their left hand, and do it very well. If they are leg shakers, they can certainly shake the left knee with great rhythm. In other words, they have rhythm in their left body, but sorcery is not a matter of that kind of predominance, The right body still rules them with a circular motion."

"But does left-handedness have any advantages or disadvantages for sorcerers?" I asked. I was driven by the implication built into many of the Indo-European languages of the sinister quality of left-handedness.

"There are no advantages or disadvantages to my knowledge," he said. "The division of energy between the two bodies is not measured by dexterity, or the lack of it. The predominance of the right body is an energetic predominance, which was encountered by the shamans of those ancient times. They never tried to explain why this predominance happened in the first place, nor did they try to further investigate the philosophical implications of it. For them, it was a fact, but a very special fact. It was a fact that could be changed."

"Why did they want to change it, don Juan?" I asked. 
"Because the predominant circular motion of the right body's energy is too friggin' boring!" he exclaimed. "That circular motion certainly takes care of any event of the daily world, but it does it circularly, if you know what I mean."
"I don't know what you mean, don Juan," I said. 

"Every situation in life is met in this circular fashion," he replied, making a small circle with his hand. "On and on and on and on and on. It's a circular movement that seems to draw the energy inward always, and turns it around and around in a centripetal motion. Under these conditions, there's no expansion. Nothing can be new. There is nothing that cannot be inwardly accounted for. What a drag!" 
"In what way can this situation be changed, don Juan?" I asked. 

"It's too late to be really changed," he replied. "The damage is already done. The spiral quality is here to remain. But it doesn't have to be ceaseless. Yes, we walk the way we do, we can't change that, but we would also like to run, or to walk backward, or to climb a ladder; just to walk and walk and walk and walk is very effective, but meaningless. The contribution of the left body would make those centers of vitality more pliable. If they could undulate instead of moving in spirals, if only for an instant, different energy would get into them, with staggering results." 
I understood what he was talking about, at a level beyond thought, because there was really no way that I could have understood it linearly. 

"The sensation that human beings have of being utterly bored with themselves," he continued, "is due to this predominance of the right body. The only thing left for human beings to do, in a universal sense, is to find ways of ridding themselves of boredom. What they end up doing is finding ways of killing time: the only commodity no one has enough of. But what's worse is the reaction to this unbalanced distribution of energy. The violent reactions of people are due to this unbalanced distribution. It seems that from time to time, helplessness builds furious currents of energy within the human body, which explode in violent behavior. Violence seems to be, for human beings, another way of killing time." 

"But why is it, don Juan, that the sorcerers of ancient Mexico never wanted to know why this situation happened?" I asked, bewildered. I found what I was feeling about this inward motion to be fascinating. 
"They never tried to find out," he said, "because the instant they formulated the question, they knew the answer." 
"So they knew why?" I asked. 
"No, they didn't know why, but they knew how it happened. But that's another story." He left me hanging there, but throughout the course of my association with him, he explained this seeming contradiction. 

"Awareness is the only avenue that human beings have for evolution," he said to me once, "and something extraneous to us, something that has to do with the predatorial condition of the universe, has interrupted our possibility of evolving by taking possession of our awareness. Human beings have fallen prey to a predatorial force, which has imposed on them, for its own convenience, the passivity which is characteristic of the energy of the right body." 

Don Juan described our evolutionary possibility as a journey that our awareness takes across something the shamans of ancient Mexico called the dark sea of awareness: something which they considered to be an actual feature of the universe, an incommensurable element that permeates the universe, like clouds of matter, or light. Don Juan was convinced that the predominance of the right body in this unbalanced merging of the right and left bodies marks the interruption of our journey of awareness. What seems for us to be the natural dominance of one side over the other was, for the sorcerers of his lineage, an aberration, which they strove to correct. Those shamans believed that in order to establish a harmonious division between the left and the right bodies, practitioners needed to enhance their awareness. Any enhancement of human awareness, how. ever, had to be buttressed by the most exigent discipline. Otherwise, this enhancement, painfully accomplished, would turn into an obsession, resulting in anything from psychological aberration to energetic injury. 

Don Juan Matus called the collection of magical passes which deal exclusively with the separation between the left body and the right body The Heat Group: the most crucial element in the training of the shamans of ancient Mexico. This was a nickname given to this collection of magical passes because it makes the energy of the right body a little more turbulent. Don Juan Matus used to joke about this phenomenon, saying that the movements for the left body put an enormous pressure on the right body, which has been accustomed from birth to ruling without opposition. The moment it is faced with opposition, it gets hot with anger. Don Juan urged all his disciples to practice the Heat Group assiduously, in order to use its aggressiveness to reinforce the weak left body. 

In Tensegrity, this group is called The Heat Series, in order to make it more congruous with the aims of Tensegrity, which are extremely pragmatic on the one hand and extremely abstract on the other, such as the practical utilization of energy for well-being coupled with the abstract idea of how that energy is obtained. In all the magical passes of this series, it is recommended to adopt the division of left and right bodies, rather than left and right sides of the body. The end result of this observance would be to say that during the execution of these magical passes, the body that doesn't perform the movements is kept immobile. However, all its muscles should be engaged, not in activity, but in awareness. This immobility of the body that is not performing the movements should be extended to include its head; that is to say, to the opposite side of the head. Such immobility of half of the face and head is more difficult to attain, but it can be accomplished with practice. 

The First Group: Stirring Energy on the Left Body and the Right Body
The Second Group: Mixing Energy from the Left Body and the Right Body
The Third Group: Moving Energy of the Left Body and the Right Body with the Breath
The Fouth Group: The Predelection of the Left Body and the Right Body

The first group comprises sixteen magical passes, that stir the energy of the left body and the right body, each independently from the other. Each magical pass is performed with either the left arm or the right arm, and in some cases with both at the same time. The arms never go, however, beyond the vertical line, that separates the two bodies. 

1. Gathering Energy in a Ball from the Front of the Left and the Right Bodies and Breaking It with the Back of the Hand 

With the palm of the hand slightly curved and facing the right, the left arm circles inward twice in front of the body (fig. 213). All the muscles of the arm are held tense as this circular motion is executed. Then the back of the hand strikes forcefully to the left as if breaking the top of a ball gathered with the movement of the arm (fig. 214). 

The hand strikes a point an arm's length away from the body above the shoulders, at a forty-five-degree angle. While this strike is being executed, all the muscles are kept tense, including the muscles of the arms, a tension that permits controlling the strike. The impact is felt on the areas of the pancreas and spleen and the left kidney and adrenals. 

The same movements are repeated on the right side, and the impact is felt on the areas of the liver and the right kidney and adrenals.


2. Gathering Energy of the Left and Right Bodies in a Circle Which Is Perforated with the Tips of the Fingers 

The left forearm is held in front of the body, at a ninety-degree angle in relation to it. The wrist is kept straight. The palm of the hand faces to the right as the fingers point to the front. The thumb is kept locked. As in the previous magical pass, the forearm circles twice, going from the left up to the level of the shoulder and turning toward the center of the body (fig. 215). The elbow is then quickly pulled all the way back, and the circle drawn by the forearm is perforated by the tips of the fingers in a forward thrust (fig. 216). The elbow is moved all the way back once more in order to gain striking power, and then the hand shoots forward again. 

The same sequence of movements is performed with the right arm. 


3. Hoisting Left and Right Energy Upward 

Both knees are slightly bent. The left knee is then raised to the level of the pancreas, fully bent, while the foot is held with the toes pointing to the ground. At the same time that this movement is performed, the left forearm shoots upward until it reaches a point at a forty-five-degree angle with the body; the elbow is kept tight against the body. Both the leg and the arm move in total synchronicity, jolting the midsection (fig. 217). 

The same movements are repeated with the right leg and the right arm. 

The tendency of energy is to sink, and it is of great importance to spread it upward to the midsection of the body. It is the belief of shamans that the left body is ruled by the area of the pancreas and spleen, and the right body by the area of the liver and gallbladder. Shamans understand this process of hoisting energy as a maneuver to energize those two centers separately. 

4. The Up-and-Down Pressure 

The left elbow is raised in front of the body to the level of the shoulder, bent at a ninety-degree angle with the forearm. The hand is clenched in a fist, and the wrist is bent toward the right as acutely as possible (fig. 2 18). Using the elbow as a pivot by keeping it at the same position, the forearm is bent downward until it reaches the area right in front of the solar plexus (fig. 219). The forearm then returns to the upright position. The same movement is performed with the right arm. 

This magical pass is used to stir up the energy that exists in an arc between a point just above the head and in line with the left shoulder and a point right above the solar plexus. 


5. The Inward Turn 

The first part of this magical pass is exactly like the first part of the preceding one, but instead of bending the forearm downward, it is made to rotate inwardly, making a complete circle, pivoting on the elbow at a forty-five-degree angle with the body. The top of the circle is at a point just above the car and in line with the left shoulder. The wrist is also made to rotate as the circle is drawn (fig. 220). 

The same movement is performed with the right hand. 

6. The Outward Turn 

This magical pass is almost identical to the preceding one, except that instead of turning the left forearm to the right to make a circle, it turns to the left (fig. 221). It makes what don Juan called an outward circle, as opposed to the circle made in the previous magical pass, which he called an inward circle. 

The same movement is performed with the right hand. 

In this magical pass, the energy stirred is part of the arc of energy dealt with in the two preceding magical passes. The fourth, fifth, and sixth magical passes of this group are performed together. Shamans have found out, by means of their seeing, that human beings have enormous caches of unused energy lying around inside their luminous spheres. They have also found out, in this manner, that these magical passes stir the energy dispersed from the respective centers of vitality-the one around the liver and the one around the pancreas-which stays suspended for quite a while before it begins to sink down to the bottom of the luminous sphere. 


7. A High Push with the Fists 

The arms are held in front of the body at the level of the shoulders. The hands are fisted with the palms turned toward the ground. The elbows are bent. The left hand strikes forward with a short punch, without first retrieving the elbow to gain strength. The left hand is retrieved to its initial position; the right hand follows with another similar punch and is then retrieved to its original position (fig. 222). The strike of the fists comes from the contraction of the muscles of the arms, shoulder blades, and abdomen. 

8. A Low Push with the Fists 

The elbows are bent at a ninety-degree angle and kept at the level of the waist. They don't touch the body, but are kept an inch or two away from it. The hands are clenched in fists with the palms facing each other. The left forearm moves to strike in a short punch, driven by the muscles of the stomach, which contract in unison with the muscles of the arm and the shoulder blade (fig. 223). After striking, the forearm is retrieved instantly, as if the punch has generated the force to push the arm back. The right arm moves immediately afterward in the same fashion. just as in the preceding pass, the elbows don't move back to gain striking strength; the strength is derived solely from the muscular tension of the abdomen, arms, and shoulder blades. 


9. A Wheel with the Fingers Contracted at the Middle Joints 

The elbows are kept at the level of the waist over the areas of the pancreas and spleen, and the liver and gallbladder. The wrists are kept straight; the palms of the hands face each other while the fingers are tightly clenched at the second knuckle. The thumbs are locked (fig. 224). The elbows move forward and away from the body. The left hand circles in a vertical rasping motion, as if the bent knuckles were rasping a surface in front of the body. Then the right hand does the same. The two hands move in an alternate fashion in such a manner (fig. 225). The muscles of the abdomen are kept as tight as possible in order to give impetus to this movement. 

10. Smoothing Energy Out in Front of the Body

The flat palm of the left hand, which faces forward, is raised to a level just above the head, in front of the body. The palm slides downward in a slanted line and comes to the level of the pancreas and spleen, as if it were smoothing out a vertical surface. Without stopping there, it continues moving to the back; the body rotates to the left to allow the arm to come fully over the head. The hand, with the palm facing downward, then comes down with great force, as if to slap a rubbery substance in front of the area of the pancreas and spleen (fig. 226). 

Exactly the same movements are performed with the right arm, but using the area of the liver and gallbladder as the striking point. 


11. Hitting Energy in Front of the Face with an Upward Thrust of the Fist 

The trunk turns slightly to the left in order to allow the left arm two full backward rotations going first to the front, above the head, then to the back, where the palm turns slightly inward as if to scoop something from the back (fig. 227). The movement ends at the second turn with an upward thrust of the fisted hand in front of the face (fig. 228). This magical pass is repeated with the right arm in exactly the same sequence. 


12. Hammering Energy in Front of the Left and Right Bodies 

One and a half forward circles are made with the arm, followed by a downward strike; the body rotates slightly in order to allow the left arm a full rotation starting from its initial position by the side of the thigh to the back, above the head, to the front, and again to the side of the thigh. As this circle is made, the palm is made to rotate at the wrist as if the hand were scooping up some viscous matter (fig. 229). From its initial position, the arm moves again to the back and above the head, where the hand turns into a fist that strikes down, with great force, at a point in front of and above the pancreas and spleen, using the soft edge of the hand like a hammer as the striking surface (fig. 230). 

The same movements are repeated with the right arm. 


13. Drawing Two Outward Circles of Energy and Smashing Them by the Navel 

Both arms move in unison up the front of the body, out to the sides, and around, like a swimming stroke, to draw two winglike circles at forty-five-degree angles to the front of the body (fig. 231). Then the circles are broken at the bottom, at the level of the navel, with a forceful strike of both hands. The hands are bent at a ninety-degree angle in relation to the forearms, with the fingers pointing forward. The force of the strike makes the palms of the hands come within a few inches of each other (fig. 232). 


14. Drawing Two Circles of Energy Laterally with the Index and Middle Fingers Extended 

The index and middle fingers of both hands are fully extended, while the third and fourth fingers are held by the thumbs against the palms. 

The arms circle in unison from their normal position at the sides to above the head and then laterally to the sides of the body at forty-five degree angles toward the back (fig. 233). When the full circle is nearly completed, the fingers contract into fists, leaving the second knuckles of the middle fingers protruding. The movement ends as the fists, with the palms facing the body, strike forward and upward, to the level of the chin (fig. 234). 


15. Stirring the Energy Around the Temples 

A long inhalation is taken. An exhalation begins as the arms are brought to a point above the head, where they clasp into fists; the palms of the fisted hands face the front of the body. From there they strike downward with a back-fist blow to a point right above the hips (fig. 235). The fisted hands move to the sides of the body, drawing lateral half-circles that bring the fists to an area a few inches in front of the forehead and five or six inches away from each other. The fisted palms face outward (fig. 236). While the exhalation still lasts, the fists are brought to rest on the temples for an instant. The body leans backward a bit by bending slightly at the knees to gain spring and momentum, and then the arms are brought forcefully down, without straightening the elbows, to strike behind the body on either side with the backs of the fisted hands (fig. 237). The exhalation ends there. 


16. Projecting a Small Circle of Energy Out in Front of the Body 

From its natural position by the side of the thigh, the left arm moves outward laterally; the palm of the hand faces the right. It draws a small circle as the palm turns downward, comes to the area of the pancreas and spleen, and continues moving left to the level of the waist. The elbow protrudes acutely (fig. 238a); the hand turns into a fist. The palm of the fisted hand faces the ground. The fist strikes with a short blow to the front, as if to pierce the circle it has drawn (fig. 238b). The movement is continuous; it is not interrupted when the hand turns into a fist, but stops only when the punch has been delivered. The blow gives an intense jolt to the center of vitality located around the pancreas and spleen. The same movement is executed with the right hand, the strike of which jolts the liver and gallbladder. 


The second group consists of fourteen magical passes that mix the energy of both bodies at their respective centers of vitality. The shamans of ancient Mexico believed that mixing energy in this fashion makes it possible to separate the energy of both bodies more readily by dropping unfamiliar energy into them, a process which they described as exacerbating the centers of vitality. 

17. Bunching Necessary Energy and Dispersing Unnecessary Energy 

This magical pass entails movements that could best be described as pushing something solid across the front of the body with the palm of the hand, and dragging it back across the front of the body with the back of the hand. 

It starts with the left arm kept close to the body, by the waist, with the forearm bent at a ninety-degree angle. The forearm is brought closer to the body as the movement begins, and the hand is bent back at the wrist. The palm of the left hand faces right; the thumb is locked. Then, as if a great force were opposing it, it moves across the body to the extreme right, without the elbow losing its ninety-degree angle (fig. 239). From there, again as if a great force were opposing it, the hand is dragged as far left as it can reach without losing the ninety-degree angle of the elbow, with the palm still facing the right (fig. 240). 

During this entire sequence of movements, the muscles of the left body are contracted to the maximum, and the right arm is held immobile against the right leg. The same sequence of movements is repeated with the right arm and hand. 

18. Piling Energy onto the Left and Right Bodies 

The weight is placed on the right leg. The knee is slightly bent for support and balance. The left leg and arm, which are kept semitense, sweep in front of the body in an arc from left to right, in unison. The left foot and the left hand end at a position just to the right of the body. The outer edge of the left foot touches the ground. The fingertips of the left hand point down as the sweep is made (fig. 241). Then both the left leg and the left arm return to their original positions. 

The exact sequence is repeated by sweeping the right leg and arm to the left. 


19. Gathering Energy with One Arm and Striking It with the Other 

Don Juan said that with this magical pass, energy was stirred and collected with the movement of one arm and was struck with the movement of the opposite arm. He believed that striking, with one hand, energy which had been gathered by the other, allowed the entrance of energy into one body from sources belonging to the other body, something which was never done under normal conditions. 

The left arm moves up to the level of the eyes. The wrist is slightly bent backwards; in this position, going from left to right and back again, the hand draws the figure of an oval, about a foot and a half wide and as long as the width of the body (fig. 242). Then the hand, with the palm facing down, moves across at eye level from left to right as if cutting through, with the tips of the fingers, the figure which it has drawn (fig. 243). 

At the moment that the left hand reaches the level of the right shoulder, the right hand, which is held at waist level with the cupped palm turned upward, shoots forward, striking with the heel of the hand, to hit the spot in the middle of the oval drawn by the left hand, as the left hand is slowly brought down (fig. 244). As it strikes, the palm of the right hand is facing forward, and the fingers are slightly curved, permitting in this fashion the necessary contour of the palm to strike a round surface. The strike ends with the elbow slightly bent, to avoid overstretching the tendons. The same movements are performed beginning with the right arm. 


20. Gathering Energy with the Arms and Legs 

The body pivots slightly to the right on the ball of the right foot; the left leg juts out at a forty-five-degree angle, with the knee bent to give a forward slant to the trunk. The body is made to rock three times, as if to gain momentum. Then the left arm scoops downward as if to grab something at the level of the left knee (fig. 245). The body leans back, and with that impulse, the lower part of the left leg, from the knee down, is brought close to the groin, almost touching it with the heel; the left hand swiftly brushes the vital area of the liver and gallbladder, on the right (fig. 246). 

The same sequence of movements is repeated with the right leg and arm, which bring the gathered energy to the center of vitality located around the pancreas and spleen, on the left. 


21. Moving Energy from the Left and the Right Shoulders 

The left arm moves from its natural position hanging by the left thigh to the right shoulder, where it grabs something, and the hand turns into a fist. This movement is propelled by a sharp twist of the waist to the right. The knees are slightly bent to allow this turning movement. The acutely bent elbow is not allowed to sag, but is kept at the level of the shoulders (fig. 247). Propelled by a straightening of the waist, the fist is then moved away from the right shoulder in an upward arc, striking, with the back of the hand, a point slightly above the head and in line with the left shoulder (fig. 248). The hand opens there as if to drop something that is held in the fist. 

The same sequence of movements is repeated with the right arm. 


22. Gathering Energy from One Body and Dispersing 

It on the Other Beginning from its natural position by the left thigh, the left arm draws an are from left to right, crossing in front of the pubis, until it reaches the extreme right. This movement is aided by a slight turn of the waist. From there, the arm continues moving in a circle above the head, to the height and level of the left shoulder. It cuts across then to the level of the right shoulder. There, the hand turns into a fist, as if grabbing something, with the palm down (Fig. 249). Next, the fist hits a point at the height of the head, an arm's length away from it. The blow is delivered with the soft edge of the hand, using the hand as if it were a hammer. 

The arm is fully extended, but slightly curved at the elbow (fig. 250). The same movements are repeated with the right arm. 


23. Hammering Energy from the Left Shoulder and the Right Shoulder on the Midpoint in Front of the Face 

The left arm is moved above the head. The elbow is bent at a ninety-degree angle. The hand turns there into a fist, with the palm facing upward. Then it strikes from the left, with the soft edge of the hand, the division line of the left and right body, in front of the face. The body leans slightly to the left as this strike is made (fig. 251). The fisted hand keeps on moving until it almost touches the right shoulder; the palm turns there so that it faces downward. Then it makes a similar strike, this time from the right; the body leans to the right (fig. 252). 

This same sequence of movements is repeated with the right arm. 

A reservoir of neutral energy can be built by this magical pass, meaning energy which can easily be used by either the left body or the right body. 


24. A Strike with the Hand Fisted at the Second Knuckle 

Both arms are lifted to the level of the neck, the elbows held at ninety-degree angles. The hands are held with the fingers bent at the second knuckle and held tightly over the palm (figs. 253, 254). From this position, the left hand strikes. The strike is a powerful swing made to the right, across the line of the right shoulder, but without greatly moving the arm. The arm is driven by a powerful rightward twist of the waist (fig. 255). 

The right arm moves in the same fashion beyond the line of the left shoulder, driven by an instantaneous leftward twist of the waist. 


25. Grabbing Energy from the Shoulders and Smashing It on the Centers of Vitality 

The left arm moves to the right shoulder, and the hand turns into a fist, as if grabbing something (fig. 256). The elbow is kept bent at a ninety-degree angle. Then the fist is forcefully brought back to the left side by the waist (fig. 257). It stays there for an instant to gain impulse, and then the fist shoots across the body to the right, the fisted palm facing the body, to strike through a point by the area of the liver and gallbladder (fig. 258). The same movement is repeated with the right arm, which strikes across the area of the pancreas and spleen. 


26. Pushing Energy to the Sides with the Elbows 

Both arms are brought to the level of the shoulders, the elbows bent sharply and protruding straight out. The wrists are crossed making a letter X, the left forearm on top of the right one. The hands, clenched into fists, touch the pectoral muscles at the edges of the axillae; the left fist touches the edges of the right axilla and the right fist the edges of the left axilla (fig. 259). The elbows are then forcefully brought out to the sides in line with the shoulders, as if to give an elbow blow to the sides (fig. 260). This movement is repeated with the right arm on top of the left. 


27. Drawing Two Inward Circles of Energy in Front of the Body and Crushing Them Out to the Sides 

As a deep breath is taken, the arms circle in unison from their natural position at the sides of the thighs, to the line that separates the left and the right bodies. This movement ends with the forearms crossed over the chest. The fingers are kept tightly together, pointing upward, the thumbs locked; the wrists are bent at ninety-degree angles. The left arm is on top of the right one. The locked thumb of the left hand touches the pectoral muscle of the right body, and the locked thumb of the right hand touches the pectoral muscle of the left body (fig. 261). The inhalation ends there. A quick exhalation is made as the arms are spread apart forcefully with the hands clenched into fists, each striking, with the back of the hand, a point on the respective sides above the head (fig. 262). 

The same movements are repeated with the right arm on top of the left. 


28. Striking Energy in Front of the Body and on the Left and Right with Both Fists 

The hands are clenched into fists at the level of the waist. The palms of the fists face each other. Both hands are lifted to the level of the eyes and strike forcefully downward in unison at two points in front of the groin; they hit the target with the soft part of the fists (fig. 263). From there, the arms swing in unison, making an upward arc to the left as the whole trunk leans toward the left, following the impulse of the arms. The fists strike with the knuckles (fig. 264). The fists return to deliver another blow to the same points in front of the groin. From there, the arms swing in unison, making an upward arc to the right as the whole trunk leans toward the right, following the impulse of the arms. The fists strike with the knuckles. The fists move one more time to deliver a blow with the soft edge of the hands to the same two points in front of the groin. 


29. Striking Energy in Front of the Body with Both Fists and on the Left and the Right 

The beginning of this magical pass is exactly like the preceding one (fig. 265). Once the strike is completed, both arms are lifted like hammers to the level of the head, and the trunk is made to turn sharply to the left. The two fists strike two points in front of the left hip (fig. 266). The arms lift again to the height of the head, the palms of the hands are opened, and they descend to strike the same two points (fig. 267). The arms are raised again to the level of the head. The hands rum into fists to strike the same points once again. The forearms are raised to the level of the head, the body turns to face the front, and the fists are slammed down on the same points in front of the groin. 

The same sequence of movements is repeated with the trunk turned sharply to the right. 


30. Smashing Energy with the Wrists Above the Head and on the Left and the Right 

Both hands are raised above the head, with the wrists touching and the palms curved as if holding a ball (fig. 268). Then the trunk turns to the left, as both arms move sharply to the left of the waist without disengaging the wrists, which rotate on each other to accommodate the new position of the hands. The palm of the left hand faces upward, and the palm of the right hand faces downward (fig. 269). Both arms are moved to the point above the head again, still without disengaging the wrists, which rotate to adopt their initial position. 

The same sequence of movements is performed by bringing the hands sharply to a point to the right of the waist. The movement ends by bringing the hands back to their starting position above the head. 


The third group consists of nine magical passes that employ inhalations and exhalations as their driving force to either further separate or join the two bodies. As already stated, in the view of the sorcerers of don Juan's lineage, putting a dab of energy from one body into any vital center of the other creates a much sought-for momentary agitation in that center. The sorcerers of ancient Mexico, according to what don Juan taught, considered this mixing to be extremely beneficial because it breaks the fixed, routine input of those centers. Those sorcerers felt that breathing is a key issue in the separation of the left body and the right body. 

31. The Breath for the Upper Fringe of the Lungs 

The arms, with the hands clenched into fists, are raised to the forehead with a deep inhalation; the palms of the fisted hands face down. The fists are three or four inches from each other, right in front of the forehead, as the inhalation ends (fig. 270). An exhalation is made as the arms spread forcefully to two lateral points to the sides and even with the shoulders (fig. 271). The hands relax and open. The wrists cross in front of the head and a deep inhalation is taken as the arms make two big circles the length of the arms, going from the front, up over the head, and to the sides. The inhalation ends as the hands come to rest by the waist, with the palms up (fig. 272). A slow exhalation is made then, while the hands are raised along the edges of the rib cage, to the level of the axillae. The exhalation ends as the shoulders are pushed up, as if the force of the hands were making them rise (fig. 273). 

This breath is a true bonus because it allows the mobilization of the upper part of the lungs, a thing which hardly ever happens under normal conditions. 


32. Offering the Breath 

The left arm draws a circle as a deep inhalation is taken. It moves from the front to above the head, to the back, to the front again; as the arm rotates, the trunk turns to the left, to allow the arm to move in a full circle. The inhalation ends when the circle is completed. The palm of the hand is held at the level of the chin; it faces up, and the wrist is bent at a ninety-degree angle. The posture of the practitioner is that of one who is offering something which is placed on the palm. The trunk is bent forward (fig. 274). The palm of the hand is then turned to face down, and an exhalation begins while the arm moves slowly and powerfully downward (fig. 275) to rest on the left side by the thigh; the palm is still facing down, and the back of the hand maintains the ninety-degree angle in relation to the forearm. 

The same sequence of movements is executed with the right arm. 


33. Moving Energy with the Breath from the Top of the Head to the Vital Centers 

The wrists of both arms are slightly bent; the palms of the hands are semicurled. With the hands in this position, the tips of the fingers brush upward along the front of the body and over the head as a deep inhalation is made (fig. 276). When the arms reach their full extension above the head, the hands are straightened and the wrists are turned back at a ninety-degree angle. The inhalation ends there. While the hands are brought down, the air is held, and the index finger of each hand is raised; the other fingers are held against the palm, bent at the second knuckle, and the thumbs are locked. Both arms are retrieved to the level of the chest, with the back of the hands against the axillae. 

A deep exhalation begins then as the arms are slowly extended straight forward until the elbows are gently locked. A deep inhalation then is taken as the hands are retrieved back to the position against the axillae, still with the index fingers raised, the wrists bent backwards, the palms facing forward. A slow exhalation begins while the hands move upward in a circle that first reaches above the head and then continues downward, making a complete forward circle without changing the position of the index fingers. The hands come to rest by the sides of the rib cage (fig. 277). The exhalation ends as the hands are pushed downward to the sides of the hips. 


34. Shattering Energy with the Breath 

As a deep inhalation is taken, the left hand moves in a wide side circle from the front, to above the head, to the back. The trunk turns to the left to facilitate the full rotation of the arm. The inhalation ends when the arm has made a full rum and stops at a place to the side of the head and above it. The palm of the hand faces forward; the wrist is slightly turned back (fig. 278). A slow exhalation begins then as the arm makes another wide side circle in the opposite direction, going from the front down to the back, then above the head, and to the front again. When the circle is completed, the arm is brought to a point just in front of the right shoulder as the exhalation continues. The palm is facing the body and lightly touches the right shoulder (fig. 279). Then the arm shoots out laterally with the hand clenched in a fist and strikes, with the back of the hand, a point an arm's length away from the left shoulder at the height of the head (fig. 280). The exhalation ends there. 

The same sequence of movements is repeated with the right arm. 


35. The Monkey Breath 

The knees are slightly bent. The arms are lifted slowly over the head as the upper part of the lungs is filled with air. Then the knees become locked and the body is fully extended upward. This breath can be taken either with the heels on the ground, or on the tips of the toes. 

The breath is held as the arms move downward and the body stoops lightly forward, contracting the diaphragm; the knees are bent again. The exhalation begins when he hands reach the level of the waist. At the same time, the index fingers are extended and point to the round;, the other fingers are contracted over the )alms of the hands. The hands continue moving downward as all the air is exhaled (fig. 281). While exhaling, the diaphragm is held tight in order to avoid pushing it downward with the exhaling air. 

36. The Altitude Breath 

The legs are held as straight as possible. An inhalation begins while the shoulders slowly rotate from he front to the back with the arms bent at the elbows. When the rotation and the inhalation end, the arms are kept in the initial position (fig. 282). The exhalation begins by raising the hands to the level of the shoulders and extending the arms as far forward as possible with the palms facing the ground. 
Next, an inhalation is taken as the palms of the hands are turned upward. The elbows are bent and pulled all the way back, and the shoulders are raised. The inhalation ends with the maximum upward stretch of the shoulders (fig. 283). 
An exhalation is made as the palms are turned to face the ground and the hands and shoulders push downward; the hands are bent backward at the wrists as far as possible, and the arms are held straight at the sides of the body.


37. The Lateral Breath 

As an inhalation begins, the arms move from their natural position by the sides of the thighs in a circle toward the center of the body, ending with the arms crossed; the palms face outward, and the wrists are fully bent so that the fingertips point upward (fig. 284). The inhalation continues while the two arms are pushed out laterally. As the arms move, the palms of the hands first face forward; when the movement ends, they face away from each other. The inhalation ends at the maximum extension of the arms. The body is kept as erect as possible (fig. 285). 

An exhalation is made by bending the arms at the elbows as the palms of the hands, with the fingertips raised upward, come toward the center of the body, pass it, and cross to end at the opposite edges of the body. The left forearm is on top of the right. The body is contracted at the midsection, and the knees are bent (fig. 286). 


38. The Butterfly Breath 

The arms are bent at the elbows and held in front of the chest. The left forearm is held above the right one without touching it; the wrists are straight and the hands are clenched into fists. The knees are bent, and the body stoops forward markedly (fig. 287). As an inhalation begins, the arms separate and move up over the head and out to the left and right. As the inhalation continues, the arms straighten as they circle, going down, to the sides, and around the shoulders, and then fold back to their initial position over the chest. Maintaining their position, the arms are raised over the head, as the breath is held and the body straightens at the waist (fig. 288). Then the arms are brought down to the level of the umbilical region as the body goes back into the initial stooped-forward position, with bent knees. 

The body holds that stooped-forward position steadily, and an exhalation is made by repeating the same movements of the arms done for the inhalation. As the air is expelled, the diaphragm is kept in a tight position. 


39. Breathing Out Through the Elbows 

At the beginning of this movement, the legs are kept straight. As a deep breath is taken, the arms make outward circles above the head and around the sides of the body. The inhalation ends with the arms pointing straight out to the front, elbows bent, at the level of the waist. The palms are held straight and facing each other; the fingers are together. 

An exhalation begins as the hands point to the ground at a forty-five-degree angle. The knees are bent and the body leans forward (fig. 289). The exhalation continues while the arms, bent at the elbows in a ninety-degree angle, are raised over the head. The body straightens and leans backward slightly. This is achieved by bending the knees, rather than arching the back. The exhalation ends with the abdominal muscles tensed to the maximum; the head is tilted slightly backward (fig. 290). 

Practicing this breath creates the sensation that air is being expelled through the elbows. 


This group is composed of five magical passes for the left body executed in a sequence, and three magical passes for the right body. According to don Juan Matus, the predilection (preference) of the left body is silence, while the predilection (preference) of the right body is chatter, noise, sequential order. He said that it is the right body which forces us to march, because it likes parades, and it's most delighted with choreography, sequences, and arrangements that entail classification by size. 

Don Juan recommended that the performance of each movement of the magical passes for the right be repeated many times, as the practitioners count, and that it is very important to set up beforehand the number of times in which any given movement is going to be repeated, because prediction is the forte of the right body. If the practitioners set up any number beforehand and fulfil it, the pleasure of the right body is indescribable. 

In the practice of Tensegrity, however, both the magical passes for the left body and the magical passes for the right body are performed in complete silence. If the silence of the left body can be made to overlap onto the right body, the act of saturation can become a direct way to enter what don Juan called the most coveted state that the shamans of every generation sought: inner silence. 

The magical passes for the left body have no individual names. Don Juan said that the shamans of ancient Mexico called them just magical passes for the left body. 

The first magical pass consists of fifteen carefully executed brief movements FOR THE LEFT BODY . Since the magical passes for the left body are done in a sequence, they are going to be numbered sequentially. 

1. The left arm moves laterally about a foot away from its natural position by the thigh (fig. 291). 

2. The palm is turned sharply to face the front as the elbow is slightly bent (fig. 292). 

3. The hand is raised to the level of the navel and cuts across to the right (fig. 293). 

4. The hand is turned sharply until the palm faces down (fig. 294). 

5. The hand cuts across from right to left with the palm of the hand facing down (fig. 295). 

6. The wrist turns sharply to the right; the hand is cupped, as if to scoop something, and the movement of the wrist makes it move upward with a jolt (fig. 296). 

7. The arm is raised in an arc in front of the line dividing the two bodies to the level of the eyes, a foot away from it, with the palm of the hand facing left (fig. 297). 

8. The wrist turns, making the hand face forward (fig. 298). 

9. The arm goes out over the head, draws a lateral circle, and returns to the same position in front of the eyes with the palm of the hand facing left (fig. 299). 

10. The wrist moves again to make the palm of the hand face forward (fig. 300). 

11. The hand moves down toward the left, in a slight curve to the level of the shoulders, with the palm facing the ground (fig. 301). 

12. The wrist is turned so the palm faces up (fig. 302). 

13. The hand cuts to the right, to a point in front of the right shoulder (fig. 303). 

14. The wrist moves again, turning the palm down (fig. 304). 

15. The hand sweeps down to a position about a foot in front of the left hip (fig. 305). 


The second magical pass is composed of nine movements FOR THE LEFT BODY . 

16. The hand is retrieved and touches the crest of the hip (fig. 306). 

17. The elbow moves out laterally, and the wrist, by a sharp down, ward movement, turns the palm to face the left. The palm of the hand is cupped, the fingers slightly spread (fig. 307). 

18. The arm makes a full circle, going over the head from front to back. The hand returns to the crest of the hip with the palm facing up (fig. 308). 

19. The elbow moves out laterally again, and another quick movement of the wrist turns the palm to face the left again (fig. 309). 

20. The hand moves to the side to make a circle as if scooping some, thing. At the end of the movement, the hand returns to a position at the crest of the hip with the palm facing up (fig. 3 10). 

21. The bent elbow moves sharply to the left at the same time that a quick turn of the wrist turns the hand back; the fingers, slightly curved, point to the back; the palm is hollowed and faces up (fig. 311). 

22. Then the elbow is fully extended to the back while the palm of the cupped hand still faces up (fig. 312). 

23. While the arm is still fully extended, the wrist turns over slowly, making a full rotation, until the palm faces up again (fig. 313). 

24. This movement resembles pulling the arm out of a sleeve. Leading with the elbow, the arm draws a circle from back to front, and the movement ends with the palm of the hand up, at the level of the edge of the rib cage, and the bent elbow touching the edge of the ribs (fig. 314). 


The third magical pass is made up of twelve movements FOR THE LEFT BODY . 

25. The hand moves in an are to the right with the palm facing up, as if cutting something with the tips of the fingers, stopping a foot past the right edge of the rib cage (fig. 315). 

26. The palm of the hand is turned to face the ground (fig. 316). 

27. The arm moves in an arc to the left and then all the way to the back (fig. 317). 

28. The palm of the hand is hollow, the arm is fully extended, and the turn of the wrist makes the hand into a scoop (fig. 318). 

29. The hand moves above the head, following a diagonal course from the back to the front that ends above the right shoulder at the level of the head (fig. 319). 

30. The hand is straightened out and the wrist is contracted to place it in a ninety-degree angle with the forearm. The hand descends this way from above the head to the right of the waist (fig. 320). 

31. The palm is turned briskly downward (fig. 3 2 1). 

32. The arm swings in a half-circle all the way to the left and to the back (fig. 322). 

33. The palm turns up (fig. 323). 

34. The arm swings to the front, to the same position on the right, a foot away from the rib cage (fig. 324). 

35. The hand is turned so the palm faces the ground again (fig. 325). 

36. The arm swings to the left and returns to the same point behind the back on the left side (fig. 326). 

The fourth magical pass consists of fifteen movements FOR THE LEFT BODY . 

37. The arm swings in a big circle to the front, above the head, and to the back, and ends at a point about a foot away from the left thigh (fig. 327). 

38. The head is turned to the left. The elbow is bent sharply and the forearm is raised to the level of the eyes, with the palm of the hand facing outward, as if shielding the eyes from light glare. The body stoops forward (fig. 328). 

39. The head and trunk rotate slowly all the way to the right, as if to look in the distance with a shield over the eyes (fig. 3219), 

40. The head and trunk rotate again to the left (fig. 330). 

41. The palm of the hand is quickly turned to face up as the head and trunk move to look straight forward (fig. 331). 

42. Then the hand cuts a line in front of the body from left to right (fig. 332). 

43. The palm is turned to face down (fig. 333). 

44. The arm sweeps to the left (fig. 334). 

45. The wrist is turned again in order to have the palm facing up (fig. 335). 

46. The arm cuts another are in front of the body to the right (fig. 336). 

47. The position of the hand is changed again; the palm faces down (fig. 337). 

48. The arm sweeps again to the left (fig. 338). 

49. The palm is turned to face upward (fig. 339). 

50. The arm makes a line across the front of the body to the right (fig. 340). 

51. The palm is turned to face down (fig. 341). 


The fifth magical pass is made up of twenty-five movements FOR THE LEFT BODY . 

52. The hand draws a large circle in front of the body, with the palm of the hand facing forward as the circle is drawn. The movement ends at a point in front of the right shoulder; the palm is facing up (fig. 342). 

53. The elbow turns up as the wrist and hand turn to face down. The palm of the hand is slightly hollowed (fig. 343). 

54. The hand draws an oval-shaped line from right to left as if scooping a chunk of matter. When it comes to the position where it started, the palm is facing up (fig. 344). 

55. The hand drops to the level of the groin, fingers pointing to the ground (fig. 345). 

56. The palm of the hand is turned to face the body (fig. 346). 

57. Then it moves, following the contour of the body, fingers pointing toward the ground, to a place four or five inches away from the left thigh (fig. 347). 

58. A quick turn of the wrist makes the palm face the thigh (fig. 348).

59. The head turns to the left as the hand is raised, as if rubbing the fingers along a straight surface, to the level of the eyes (fig. 349). 

60. From there, it descends at an angle to a point slightly to the left side of the groin. The head follows the movement of the hand (fig. 350). 

61. The hand is raised again to the level of the eyes, at an angle. It reaches a point exactly on the division line of the left and right bodies, right in front of the eyes, a foot and a half away from them (fig. 351). 

62. The hand descends again at an angle, to a point in front and slightly to the right of the groin (fig. 352). 

63. The hand is raised again, drawing another slanted line, to a point in front of the eyes in line with the shoulders; the head follows the movement to the right (fig. 353). 

64. The hand descends in a straight line to a point a foot away from the right thigh (fig. 354). 
In the seven preceding movements, three peaks have been drawn, the first one on the left, the second one on the very center dividing line, and the third to the right. 

65. The hand changes position so the palm faces left (fig. 355). 

66. The hand is raised to draw a curved line that fits exactly in between the right and center peaks drawn before (fig. 356). 

67. There the palm of the hand is made to face the right (fig. 357). 

68. The hand descends to the level of the groin and stops at the dividing line between the left and the right bodies (fig. 358). 

69. The palm changes directions there again and faces left (fig. 359). 

70. The hand is raised to a point between the middle peak and th left peak at the level of the eyes (fig. 360). 

71. The palm is turned to face right (fig. 361). 

72. The hand descends all the way down to the point in front of th thigh where it began (fig. 362). 

The peaks drawn in the eight movements of this second phase ar slightly round, as opposed to the very angular peaks drawn before. 

73. The hand is turned once more to have the palm face forward (fig. 363) 

74. The arm moves over the head as if to pour on the right face and body an invisible substance (fig. 364). 

75. The hand is dropped down (fig. 365). Making a half-circle, the elbow rotates to the back (fig. 366). 

76. As if it were a knife going into its sheath, the hand slides over the center of vitality around the pancreas and the spleen (fig. 367). 


The first magical pass for the right body consists of five movements FOR THE RIGHT BODY . 

1. The right hand, at a ninety-degree angle to the forearm and with the palm facing front, makes a complete circle from left to right, to the level of the right car, and comes to rest at the same position that it started, about a foot in front of the waist (fig. 368). 

2. From there, the arm moves in a sharp arc at the level of the chest by acutely bending the elbow. The palm faces the ground; the fingers are held together and straight with the thumb locked. The index finger and thumb nearly touch the chest (fig. 369). 

3. The forearm moves briskly away from the chest so that the elbow is bent at a forty-five-degree angle (fig. 370). 

4. The hand rotates on the wrist; the fingers point to the ground for an instant and then flip up above the head, as if the hand were a knife (fig. 371). 

5. The hand descends. Using its outer edge as if it were a cutting tool, it cuts to the level of the navel (fig. 372). 


The second magical pass for the right body consists of the following twelve movements FOR THE RIGHT BODY . 

6. From the side of the waist, the hand shoots out to a point in front of the body. At the arm's maximum extension, the fingers separate (figs. 373, 374). 

7. The arm is retrieved to the level of the waist. The elbow protrudes back, sharply bent (fig. 375). 

8. The hand is turned so that the palm faces up (fig. 376). 

9. The arm is extended forward with the palm open and facing up (fig. 377). 

10. With the palm still facing up, the arm returns again to the level of the waist (fig. 378). 

11. The palm is turned to face downward (fig. 379). 

12. The arm makes a full side circle, going to the back, above the head, and to the front, and ends in front of the navel by slamming the palm down as if it were hitting something solid (fig. 380). 

13. The palm is turned toward the body, in a movement that resembles the action of gathering something on the right body (fig. 381). 

14. The arm is raised above the head as if the hand were a knife that is being wielded (fig. 382). 

15. It makes a diagonal cut to the midpoint in front of the body, a foot and a half away from it. The palm is facing left (fig. 383). 

16. The hand, with the palm straight, is raised to the level of the face, in a straight line (fig. 384). 

17. It makes a diagonal cut with the palm slightly slanted downward to a point in front of the edge of the right body, a foot and a half away from it (fig. 385). 


The third magical pass for the right body is made up of twelve movements FOR THE RIGHT BODY . 

18. The right arm, with the elbow sharply bent toward the right and the hand held with the palm toward the body, moves in an are from the right side to a point in front of the solar plexus (fig. 386). 

19. Pivoting on the elbow, the forearm makes a quarter of a circle downward, turning the palm to face the right side (fig. 387). 

20. The arm makes a small outward circle, from left to right, going up, then down again, and ending with the palm by the waist, facing up (figs. 388a, 388b). 

21. Another circle from the front to the back is made. It ends up at the point where it started, with the palm of the hand facing up (fig. 389). 

22. The palm is turned to face down (fig. 390). 

23. The hand then moves slowly to the front (fig. 391). 

24. The wrist is turned so the palm faces the left. With a straight palm, fingers held tightly together, and thumb locked, the hand is raised straight up as if it were a knife (fig. 392). 

25. Then it draws a small convex arc to the left, so that the palm flips to face right, and cuts straight down just to the left of the line drawn previously, to the level of the navel (fig. 393). 

26. With the hand still facing right, it moves upward and retraces the same line it drew before (fig. 394). 

In the preceding three movements, a long oval figure has been drawn. 

27. Then the hand cuts down, as if to cut off one-third of the long figure (fig. 395). 

28. The palm turns to face right again (fig. 396). 

29, It scoops whatever it has cut and has turned into a ball, and splashes it on the front of the right body (figs. 397, 398). 

30. The hand is dropped down to the crest of the right hip (fig. 399). 

31. The hand rotates as the arm makes a half-circle going from the front (fig. 400) to the back, stopping behind the right shoulder (fig. 401). 

32. As if it were a knee going into its sheath, the hand slides over the energy center around the liver and gallbladder (figs. 402, 403). 



Masculinity was the name given to a specific group of magical passes by the shamans, who first discovered and used them. Don Juan thought that perhaps it was the oldest name given to any such group of magical passes. This group was practiced originally for generations only by male shaman practitioners, and this discrimination in favour of male shamans was done not out of necessity, but rather for reasons of ritual and to satisfy an original drive for male supremacy. Nevertheless, this drive was soon terminated under the impact of enhanced perception.

The well-established tradition of this group of magical passes being practiced only by men persisted in a pseudo-official way for generations while it was being practiced on the sly by female practitioners as well. The old sorcerers' rationale for including females was that for reasons of strife and social disorder around them, the women needed extra strength and vitality, which they believed was found only in males who practiced this group of magical passes. Therefore, women were allowed to execute the movements as a token of solidarity. In don Juan's time, the division lines between males and females became even more diffused. The secrecy and exclusivity of the old sorcerers was completely shattered, and even the old rationale for allowing women to practice these specific magical passes could not be upheld. Female practitioners performed these magical passes openly.

The value of this group of magical passes the oldest named group in existence - is its continuity. All of its magical passes were generic from the beginning, and this condition provided the only instance in don Juan's lineage of sorcerers in which a whole party of shaman practitioners, whatever their number may have been, were allowed to move in unison. The number of participants in any party of sorcerers, through out the ages, could never have been more than sixteen. Therefore, none of those sorcerers were ever in the position to witness the stupendous energetic contribution of human mass. For them, there existed only the specialized consensus of a few initiates, a consensus which brought in the possibility of idiosyncratic preferences and more isolationism.

The fact that the movements of Tensegrity are practiced in seminars and workshops by hundreds of participants at the same time has given rise, as stated before, to the possibility of experiencing the energetic effects of human mass. Such an energetic effect is twofold: not only are the participants of Tensegrity performing an activity that unites them energetically, but they are also involved in a quest delineated in states of enhanced awareness by the shamans of ancient Mexico: the redeployment Of energy. Performing these magical passes in the setting of seminars on Tensegrity is a unique experience. It permits the participants to arrive, pushed or pulled by the magical passes themselves and by the human mass, at energetic conclusions never even alluded to in don Juan's teachings.

The reason for calling this set of movements Masculinity is its aggressive quality, and because its magical passes are very brisk and forcefully executed, characteristics easily identified with maleness. Don Juan stated that their practice fostered not only a sensation of well-being, but a special sensorial quality, which, if not examined, could easily be confused with strife and aggressiveness. However, if it is carefully scrutinized, it is immediately apparent that it is, rather, an unmistakable sensation of readiness that places the practitioners at a level from which they could strike toward the unknown.

Another reason that the shamans of ancient Mexico called this group of magical passes Masculinity was because the males who practiced it became a special type of practitioner who didn't need to be taken by the hand. They became men who benefited indirectly from everything they did. Ideally, the energy generated by this group of magical passes goes to the centers of vitality themselves, as if every center made an automatic bidding for energy, which goes first to the center that needs it the most.

For don Juan Matus's disciples, this set of magical passes became the most crucial element in their training. Don Juan himself introduced it to them as a common denominator, meaning that he urged them to practice the set unaltered. What he wanted was to prepare his disciples to withstand the rigors of journeying in the unknown.

In Tensegrity, the word Series has been added to the name Masculinity to put it on a par with the other series of Tensegrity. The Masculinity Series is divided into three groups, each consisting of ten magical passes, The goal of the first and second groups of the Masculinity Series is the tuning of tendon energy. Each of these twenty magical passes is short, but extremely focused. Tensegrity practitioners are seriously encouraged, as the shamanistic practitioners of ancient times were, to get the maximum effect from the short movements by aiming to release a jolt of tendon energy every time they execute them.

"But don't you think, don Juan, that every time I release this jolt of energy, I'm actually wasting my tendon energy, and draining it out of me?" I asked him on one occasion.

"You can't drain any energy out of yourself," he said. "The energy that you are seemingly wasting by delivering a jolt to the air is not really being wasted, because it never leaves your boundaries, wherever those boundaries may be. So what you're really doing is delivering a jolt of energy to what the sorcerers of ancient Mexico called our 'crust,' our 'bark.' Those sorcerers stated that energetically, human beings are like luminous balls that have a thick peel around them, like an orange; some of them have something even harder and thicker, like the bark of an old tree."

Don Juan explained carefully that this simile of human beings being like an orange was somehow misleading because the peel or the bark that we have is located inside our boundaries, just as if an orange had its peel inside the orange itself. He said that this bark or peel was the crusted. down energy that had been discarded throughout our lifetime from our vital centers of energy, because of the wear and tear of daily life.

"Is it beneficial to hit this bark, don Juan?" I asked.

"Most beneficial," he said. "Especially if the practitioners aim all their intent at reaching that bark with their blows. If they intend to shatter portions of this crusted-down energy by means of the magical passes, that shattered energy could be absorbed by the vital centers of energy. The magical passes of the third group of the Masculinity Series are broader, more extensive. What practitioners need in order to execute the ten magical passes of the third group is steadiness of the hands, the legs, and the rest of the body. The aim of this third series, for the shamans of ancient Mexico, was the building of endurance, of stability. Those shamans believed that holding the body steadily in position while executing those long movements gives the practitioners a foothold from which they can stand on their own. What modem practitioners of Tensegrity have found out through their practice is that the Masculinity Series can be executed only in moderation, in order to avoid overtiring the tendons of the arms and the muscles of the back.

The First Group: Magical Passes in Which the Hands are Moved in Unison but Held Separately
The Second Group: The Magical Passes for Focusing Tendon Energy
The Third Group: The Magical Passes for Building Endurance


1. Fists Above the Shoulders

The hands are held by the sides, clasped into fists, the palms facing up. They are raised then to a point above the head by bending the elbows so the forearms are at a ninety-degree angle with the upper arms. The driving force of this movement is equally divided between the muscles of the arms and the contraction of the muscles of the abdomen. As the fists are raised and the muscles of the front of the body are tensed, the body leans slightly backward by bending the knees (fig. 404). The arms, with hands fisted, are brought down to the sides of the thighs by straightening the elbows a bit; as the arms move down, the body leans forward, contracting the muscles of the back and the diaphragm (fig. 405).


2. Using a Cutting Tool in Each Hand

The hands are made into fists, with the palms facing each other at the level of the waist (fig. 406). From there, they move in a downward strike to the level of the groin, a foot and a half away from it, always keeping the width of the body as the distance between the fists (fig. 407). Once the fists strike, they are retrieved to the position where they started by the edge of the rib cage.


3. Polishing a High Table with the Palms of the Hands

The arms are raised to the level of the axillae. The palms of the hands face down. The elbows, acutely bent, protrude sharply behind the back (fig. 408). Both arms are brought briskly, forward to the maximum extension, as if the palms were actually polishing a hard surface. The hands are kept at a distance which equals the width of the body (fig. 409). From there, they are retrieved with equal force to the position where the movement begin (fig. 408).


4. Tapping Energy with Both Hands

Both 'arms are raised to the front, at the level of the shoulders. The hands are held in angular fists, meaning that the position of the fingers slants down heavily as they are held against the palm of the hands. The thumbs are held on top of the outer edge of the index fingers (fig. 410). The palms of the hands face each other. A sharp jolt of the wrists makes the fists go down slightly, but with great force. The level of the wrists never changes; in other words, only the hand pivots down on the wrists.

The counter movement is to raise the fists with a jolt without changing the position of the wrists (fig. 411).

This magical pass is, for shamans, one of the best sources for exercising the tendon energy of the arms, because of the number of energy points that exist around the wrists, the backs of the hands, the palms, and the fingers.


5. Jolting Energy

This magical pass is the companion to the preceding one. It begins by raising both arms to the front at the level of the shoulders. The hands are held in angular fists, just as in the preceding magical pass, except that in this one, the palms of the hands are turned to face downward. The fists are moved in toward the body by a jolt of the wrists. Its counterbalancing movement is another jolt of the wrists that sends the fists outward so that the thumbs make a straight line with the rest of the forearm (fig. 412). In order to execute this magical pass, it is required that the muscles of the abdomen are intensely used. It is the action of those muscles which actually directs the jolting of the wrists.

6. Pulling a Rope of Energy

The hands are held in front of the body, at the line that separates the left and the right bodies, as if they were holding a thick rope that hangs from above; the left hand is on top of the right (fig. 413). The magical pass consists in jolting both wrists and making the hands jerk down in a short, powerful movement. As this movement is executed, the muscles of the abdomen contract, and the arms drop down slightly by bending the knees (fig. 414).

Its counterbalancing movement is a jerk of the wrists that jolts the hands upward as the knees and the trunk straighten up a bit (fig. 413).


7. Pushing Down a Pole of Energy

The hands are held to the left of the body, the left hand at the level of the ear, eight or nine inches above the right hand, which is held at the shoulder. They are held as if they were grabbing a thick pole. The palm of the left hand faces the right; and the palm of the right hand faces left. The left hand is the leading hand, by virtue of being on top, and guides the movement (fig. 415). The muscles of the back by the area of the adrenals and the muscles of the abdomen contract, and a powerful push sends both arms downward to the side of the right thigh and the waist, as if they were indeed holding on to a pole (fig. 416). The hands change, position there; the right hand moves to a place by the right ear and becomes the leading hand, and the left moves below, by the shoulder, as if the hands were changing poles. The same movements are repeated.


8. Cutting Energy with One Hand at a Time

The fists are raised on the sides until they touch the edge of the rib cage; the palms of the fists face each other (fig. 417). The left arm moves down in a diagonal line to a point two feet away from the thigh (fig, 418); then it is retrieved (fig. 417). The right arm immediately performs the same movements.


9. Using a Plane of Energy

The left hand is raised to the level of the navel and made into a fist; the elbow is bent at a ninety-degree angle and is held close to the rib cage (fig. 419). The right palm moves as if to slam on top of the left fist. The right hand stops an inch away from the left (fig. 420). Then it moves four or five inches in front of the fist, in a sharp, cutting movement, as if cutting with the edge of the hand (fig. 421). The left arm is retrieved all the way back by making the elbow protrude backward as far as it can, while the right hand is also retrieved, following the left hand and keeping the same distance (fig. 422). Then, maintaining the same distance between the hands, both the left and the right arm shoot forward to a point a foot and a half or two feet away from the waist.

The same movements are repeated with the fist of the right arm.


10. Striking Energy with a Spike of Energy

The left arm is raised to the level of the shoulders with the elbow bent at a ninety-degree angle. The hand is held as if it had the hilt of a dagger in its grip; the palm faces down. The elbow strikes backward in an arc to a point at the height of the left shoulder, at a forty-five-degree angle behind it (fig. 423). Then the arm returns with a strike along the same arc to its initial position.

The same movement is repeated with the other arm.



11. Clasping Hands

Both forearms are brought forward in front of the navel. The bent elbows almost touch the rib cage. The hands are made to clasp, the left hand on top. The fingers of each hand grab the other hand forcefully (fig. 424). All the muscles of the arms and the back are contracted. Then the tense muscles are relaxed and the hands change positions so that the right hand is on top of the left, without letting go of each other, using the hard part of the palm at the base of the fingers as a pivoting surface; the muscles of the arms and back are contracted again.

The same movements are repeated, beginning with the right hand on top.

12. Left and Right Body Clasp

The forearms are brought in front of the body, again at the level of the navel. This time, however, the right forearm is held extended out in a straight line with the hip. It is held close to the rib cage while the left forearm, with the elbow away from the body, puts the left hand over the right one in a clasping position. Great pressure is applied to the palms and the fingers of each hand by the tension of the muscles of the arms, the back, and the abdomen. The tension is relaxed, and the hands are made to pivot on each other's palms, as they move across the body from right to left. There, they are forcefully clasped again, using the same muscles, this time with the right hand on top (fig. 425).

The same movements are repeated from this position.


13. The Sharp Turn of the Two Bodies

The hands are clasped at the level of the waist, to the right. The left hand is on top of the right. In this magical pass, the squeeze of the hands is not as pronounced as the one in the two preceding ones, because what is sought is a sharp rum of the two bodies, rather than the sharp strikes of the two preceding passes.

The clasped hands are made to draw a small circle to the right that goes from the front to the back, and ends in the same position where it started. Since the leading hand is the left hand, by the fact that it is on top, the circle is drawn following the impulse of the left arm, which pushes the hands out first to the right, and around in a circle to the right of the body (fig. 426). Then the clasped hands move across the front of the body to the left side. Another circle is drawn Figure 426 there, again following the impulse of the left hand. Being on top, it pulls the other hand to make a circle that goes to the back first, out to the left, and back to the place where it started (fig. 427).

The same sequence of movements is performed with the right hand in the lead, starting at the left by the waist. This time, the impulse of the right arm is followed in order to draw the circle, which goes to the left first, and then back to the same place where it started (fig. 428). The clasped hands move across the front of the body to the right side by the waist. There, following the impulse of the leading hand, they are pulled back, then to the right, and back where they started, making a circle (fig. 429). It is important that as the circles are drawn, the trunk of the body is turned sharply to the side. The legs remain in the same position, without compensating for the turn by letting the knees sag.


14. Pushing Clasped Energy with the Elbow and Forearm

The hands are clasped by the right side at the level of the shoulder. The upper part of the right arm is held tight against the chest, and the elbow is sharply bent with the forearm held in a vertical position. With the palm of the right hand facing up, the back of the hand is held in a ninety-degree angle with the forearm (fig. 430).

The elbow of the left arm is extended in front of the left shoulder, held at a ninety-degree position. The two hands clasp forcefully (fig. 431). The right arm slowly pushes the left one forward by straightening the elbow quite a bit. At the same time that the clasped hands are pushed forward, the left shoulder and shoulder blade are also pushed forward to maintain the ninety-degree angle of the left elbow (fig. 432). The right arm retrieves the left hand to the initial position.

The clasped hands are shifted to the left side by pivoting on the palms, and the same movements are repeated there.


15. The Short Stab with the Hands Clasped

The hands are clasped at the right side, just as in the preceding magical pass. This time, however, the hands are at the level of the waist, and the right arm, instead of slowly pushing the left one forward, stabs fast (fig. 433). It is a powerful movement that requires the contraction of the muscles of the arms and the back. The clasped hands are brought forcefully to the left, as if to augment the driving force of the left elbow, which is pushed all the way to the back (fig. 434). The clasped hands move around the front of the body to the right, as if to aid again a powerful movement of the right elbow which is thrown all the way to the back.

The same sequence of movements is performed by starting it on the left side with the right hand in the lead.

It is important to note that when the clasped hands are stabbed to the front, the hand at the bottom gives the direction, but the force is supplied by the leading hand, which is on top.


16. Jolting Energy with Clasped Hands

The hands are clasped to the right; the right elbow and upper arm are held against the side of the rib cage. The elbow of the right arm is at a ninety-degree angle with the extended right forearm. The left elbow is also held at a ninety-degree angle, at a straight line away from the left pectoral muscle (fig. 435). The right arm lifts the left one, changing the position of the elbows from a ninety-degree angle to a forty-five. The clasped hands reach the level of the right shoulder (fig. 436). Then they are made to jolt with a very short movement in which only the wrist is involved. The clasped hands hit down, but without changing the level at which they are held (fig. 437). From there, the clasped hands are retrieved to the left near the waist, in a forceful movement that makes the left elbow protrude at the back (fig. 438). The wrists are rotated and the hands made to pivot on each other, reversing their position. The same movements are repeated on the left.


17. Jolting Energy by the Knees

The hands are clasped to the right by the thigh. They change positions slightly by the supporting right hand, which is on the bottom, becoming slightly more vertical with a twist of the wrist, held in check by the pressure of the left hand (fig. 439). Both hands swing to the left, following the contour of the knees, and deliver a strike, the potency of which is enhanced by a downward pull of the wrists (fig. 440).

The hands change position by rotating on each other's palms, and the same movements are repeated from left to right.

18. Driving Down a Spike of Energy

The hands are clasped vertically with the left hand in the lead, at a point about a foot from the navel, right on the division line between the left and right bodies. Both hands are lifted a few inches with a slight jolt made by bending the wrists without moving the forearms. Then they are brought down with the same jolt of the wrists (fig. 441).

This magical pass engages the deep muscles of the abdomen. The same movements are performed with the right hand in the lead.


19. Using the Hands Like a Hatchet

The hands are clasped at the right. Both are lifted to the level of the shoulder (fig. 442). Then they deliver a diagonal strike that takes them to the level of the left hip (fig. 443).

The same movements are done on the left.

20. Hammering a Spike of Energy

The hands are clasped at the right. They swing to the level of the shoulders, aided by a rotation of the trunk to the right. Making a small vertical circle in front of the right shoulder, the hands are brought to the division line between the two bodies and down to the level of the waist as if to hammer a spike of energy there (fig. 444).

The same movements are done on the left side.


В ПРИСУСТВИИ НАГУАЛА, ТЫ МОЖЕШЬ ВИДЕТЬ СВОЕГО ДВОЙНИКА ('THE OTHER') СПЯЩИМ БЕЗ ПРОБЛЕМ, НО КОГДА ДВОЙНИК В ДЕЙСТВИИ, ТО ЛУЧШЕ В ПРИСУСТВИИ  НАГУАЛА: ОН ЭТОМУ ПОМОГАЕТ.

"...He said, that mold of human was like a gigantic die (stamping device - штамповочная машина), that stamps out (штампует) human beings endlessly, as if they were coming to it on a mass-production conveyor belt. He vividly mimed the process, by bringing the palms of his hands together with great force, as if the die molded a human being each time its two halves were clapped. He also said, that every species has a mold of its own, and every individual of every species molded by the process shows characteristics particular to its own kind. But these accounts, however beautiful, are flawed by the gross and despairing mistake of believing the mold of human to be an omnipotent, omniscient creator; and so is the interpretation of the old Seers, who called the mold of human a friendly spirit, a protector of human. He said, that the new Seers are the only ones, who have the sobriety to See the mold of human and understand, what it is. What they have come to realize is, that the mold of human is not a creator, but the pattern of every human attribute, we can think of, and some, we cannot even conceive. The mold is our God, because we are, what it stamps us with, and not, because it has created us from nothing and made us in its image and likeness. Anyone, who Sees the mold of human, automatically assumes, that it is God. He called the mystical experience, a chance Seeing, a one-shot affair, that has no significance whatsoever, because it is the result of a random movement of the assemblage point. He asserted, that the new Seers are indeed the only ones, who can pass a fair judgment on this matter, because they have ruled out chance Seeings and are capable of Seeing the mold of man as often, as they please. They have Seen, therefore, that, what we call God, is a static prototype of humanness without any power. For the mold of human cannot under any circumstances help us by intervening in our behalf, or punish our wrongdoings, or reward us in any way. We are simply the product of its stamp; we are its impression. The mold of man is exactly, what its name tells us it is, a pattern, a form, a cast, that groups together a particular bunch of fiberlike elements, which we call human. What he had said, put me in a state of great distress. But he seemed unconcerned with my genuine turmoil. He kept on needling me with, what he called the unforgivable crime of the chance, Seers, which makes us focus our irreplaceable energy on something, that has no power whatsoever to do anything...He called me pious and careless and said, I would make a great priest; now I could even pass for a spiritual leader, who had had a chance Seeing of God. He urged me, in a jocular (jolly) way, to start preaching and describe, what I had Seen, to everyone. In a very casual, but seemingly interested manner, he made a statement, that was part question, part assertion. "And the man?" he asked. "You can't forget, that God is a male. Very cozy, eh?" don Juan added, smiling. "God is a male. What a relief...He thought, that if I were a woman, I would See the mold of human, as a woman."
"...For instance, the Nagual Julian got the Gait of Power (from the Death Defier). With it, he could activate or make dormant the emanations inside his cocoon, in order to look young or old at will. Don Juan explained, that the Death Defiers, in general, went as far, as rendering (give or make available) dormant all the emanations inside their cocoons, except those, that matched the emanations of the Allies. In this fashion, they were able to imitate the Allies in some form. Each of the Death Defiers we had encountered at the rock, don Juan said, had been able to move his assemblage point to a precise spot on his cocoon, in order to emphasize the emanations, shared with the Allies, and to interact with them. But they were all unable to move it back to its usual position and interact with people. The tenant, on the other hand, is capable of shifting his assemblage point to assemble the everyday world, as if nothing had ever happened. Don Juan also said, that his benefactor was convinced (and he fully agreed with him), that, what takes place during the borrowing of energy, is that the old Sorcerer moves the Nagual's assemblage point to emphasize (stress) the Ally's emanations inside the Nagual's Cocoon. He then uses the great jolt of energy, produced by those emanations, that suddenly become aligned, after being so deeply dormant. He said, that the energy locked within us, in the dormant emanations, has a tremendous force and an incalculable scope. We can only vaguely assess the scope of that tremendous force, if we consider, that the energy, involved in perceiving and acting in the world of everyday life, is a product of the alignment of hardly one-tenth of the emanations, encased in human's cocoon.
"What happens at the moment of death is, that all that energy is released at once," he continued. "Living Beings at that moment become flooded by the most inconceivable (unbelievable) Force. It is not the Rolling Force, that has cracked their gaps, because that Force never enters inside the Cocoon; it only makes it collapse. What floods them is the Force of all the emanations, that are suddenly aligned, after being dormant for a lifetime. There is no outlet for such a giant Force, except to escape through the gap. He added, that the old Sorcerer has found a way to tap that energy. By aligning a limited and very specific spectrum of the dormant emanations inside the Nagual's cocoon, the old Seer taps a limited, but gigantic jolt.
"How do you think he takes that energy into his own body?" I asked.
"By cracking the Nagual's gap," he replied. "He moves the Nagual's assemblage point, until the gap opens a little. When the energy of newly aligned emanations is released through that opening, he takes it into his own gap."
"Why is that old Seer doing, what he's doing?" I asked.
"My opinion is, that he's caught in a circle, he can't break," he replied. "We got into an agreement with him. He's doing his best to keep it, and so are we. We can't judge him, yet we have to know, that his path doesn't lead to freedom. He knows that, and he also knows, he can't change it; he's trapped in a situation of his own making. The only thing he can do is, to prolong his Ally-like existence as long, as he possibly can."


"Tensegrity is an art: the art of adapting to one’s own energy, and to each other’s energy in a way, that contributes to the integrity of the community, that we are" - Carlos Castaneda

THIS EXTRACT ABOUT MAGICAL PASSES IS FROM CASTANEDA'S BOOK "MAGICAL PASSES", WHICH YOU CAN FIND ON THIS PAGE :

"It is very important," he (Don Juan, the teacher of Carlos Castaneda) went on, "to focus the attention of the practitioner on some definite aspect of the MAGICAL PASSES. However, that fixation should be light, funny, void of morbidity and grimness. It should be done for the hell of it, without really expecting returns."

He gave the example of one of his cohorts, a Sorcerer by the name of Silvio Manuel, whose delight and predilection (preference) was to adapt the magical passes of the Sorcerers of ancient times to the steps of his modern dancing. Don Juan described Silvio Manuel as a superb acrobat and dancer, who actually danced the magical passes.
"The Nagual Elias Ulloa," don Juan continued, "was the most prominent innovator of my Lineage. He was the one, who threw all the ritual out the window, so to speak, and practiced the magical passes exclusively for the purpose, for which they were originally used at one time in the remote past: for the purpose of Redeploying Energy (redeploy - to move from one combat zone to another). The Nagual Julian Osorio, who came after him," don Juan continued, "was the one, who gave ritual the final death blow. Since he was a bona fide professional actor, who at one time had made his living acting in the theater, he put enormous stock into, what Sorcerers called the shamanistic theater. He called it the theater of Infinity, and into it, he poured all the magical passes, that were available to him. Every movement of his characters was imbued to the gills with magical passes. Not only that, but he turned the theater into a new avenue for teaching them. Between the Nagual Julian, the actor of Infinity, and Silvio Manuel, the dancer of Infinity, they had the whole thing pegged down. A new era was on the horizon! The era of pure Redeployment !"
"How do human beings push this energy away, don Juan?" I asked.
"By worrying," he replied. "By succumbing to the stress of everyday life. The duress of daily actions takes its toll on the body."
"And what happens to this energy, don Juan?" I asked.
"It gathers on the periphery of the Luminous Ball," he said, "sometimes to the point of making a thick bark like deposit. The magical passes relate to the total Human Being as a physical body, and as a Conglomerate of Energy Fields. They agitate the energy, that has been accumulated in the Luminous Ball and return it to the physical body itself. The magical passes engage both the body itself, as a physical entity, that suffers the dispersion of energy, and the body as an Energetic Entity, which is capable of redeploying that dispersed energy. Having energy on the periphery of the Luminous Ball," he continued, "energy, that is not being redeployed, is as useless, as not having any energy at all. It is truly a terrifying situation to have a surplus of energy stashed away, inaccessible for all practical purposes. It is like being in the desert, dying of dehydration, while you carry a tank of water, that you cannot open, because you don't have any tools. In that desert, you can't even find a rock to bang it with."
The true magic of the magical passes is the fact, that they cause, crusted-down energy, to enter again into the centers of vitality, hence the feeling of well-being and prowess, which is the practitioner's experience. The Sorcerers of don Juan's lineage, before they entered into their excessive ritualism and ceremony, had formulated the basis for this redeployment. They called it saturation, meaning, that they inundated their bodies with a profusion of magical passes, in order to allow the force, that binds us together, to guide those magical passes to cause the maximum Redeployment of Energy.
16
"But don Juan, are you telling me, that every time you crack your joints, or every time I try to imitate you, we are really redeploying energy!" I asked him once, without really meaning to be sarcastic.
"Every time we execute a magical pass," he replied, "we are indeed altering the basic structures of our Beings. Energy, which is ordinarily crusted down, is released and begins to enter into the vortexes of vitality of the body. Only by means of that reclaimed energy can we put up a dike, a barrier to contain an otherwise uncontainable and always deleterious flow."
I asked don Juan to give me an example of putting a dam on what he was calling a deleterious flow. I told him, that I wanted to visualize it in my mind.
"I'll give you an example," he said. "For instance, at my age, I should be prey to high blood pressure. If I went to see a doctor, the doctor, upon seeing me, would assume, that I must be an old Indian, plagued with uncertainties, frustrations, and bad diet; all of this, naturally, resulting in a most expected and predictable condition of high blood pressure: an acceptable corollary of my age. I don't have any problems with high blood pressure," he went on, "not because I am stronger, than the average man or because of my genetic frame, but because my magical passes have made my body break through any patterns of behavior, that result in high blood pressure. I can truthfully say, that every time I crack my joints, following the execution of a magical pass, I am blocking off the flow of expectations and behavior, that ordinarily result in high blood pressure at my age. Another example I can give you is the agility of my knees," he continued. "Haven't you noticed how much more agile I am, than you?
When it comes to moving my knees, I'm a kid! With my magical passes, I put a dam on the current of behavior and physicality, that makes the knees of people, both men and women, stiff with age."
One of the most annoying feelings I had ever experienced was caused by the fact, that don Juan Matus, although he could have been my grandfather, was infinitely younger than I. In comparison, I was stiff, opinionated, repetitious. I was senile. He, on the other hand, was fresh, inventive, agile, resourceful. In short, he possessed something, which, although I was young, I did not: youth...


20 to 22 June 1997
http://ttzlibrary.yuku.com/topic/492/Barcelona-June-1997#.WAntI-h96Uk
Before going on, I have to mention that I was influenced by three factors when writing this report. First, it was my first workshop, a workshop I waited for years. The expectation of participating to one, when I first heard about it in 94, has evolved from urgency, along with personal obligation, to a quite expecting hope. Now, I do no longer put an emphasis on the idea of following a workshop. Consequently, I started here in Barcelona with the intention of not doing. No notes, nor attention to the schedule or other printed papers. Just enjoy being here, and let other personal concerns hidden. Second, I did somewhat doubt how time had evolved during the seminar. It was like being out of time. I'm not sure anymore when exactly this or that were told. Therefore I will try to arrange the different speeches and explanations in the order we attended them. The third thing, is the way our ego do filters our experiences. This account is in fact more my personal view of the workshop.

The Workshop
The workshop was taking place in a huge sport hall, located near the beach. Around 700 people were attending the seminar. I was dazzled to notice that they were coming from all horizons. It was like looking at crowd in the street: a mixture of young, old, fat, slim, outsiders, cultivated, distressed, fortunate. No common sign linked to nagualism's interest. We were really representing the human races. At least half were Spanish, many Italian, and people from all of Europe, including Russia. I met some American veterans as well. I noted that most of the workshop participants weren't aware at all of the companions of Castaneda, the books of Florinda and Taisha, nor have they heard about former Tensegrity workshops in USA. Some of them were a little confused, and were looking for some link from the content of CC books to the actual teaching trend (end of lineage, new sorcerer paradigm, etc...). I can understand them. We already found much contradiction in the whole series of CC books. Their moods are implacable, frightened and somewhat somber. And now, the witches told us different things. Like, we can do it by our own, even with our family, and Sex is not strictly forbidden. If the workshop had started with some explanation of the current affair, many attendees could have better followed it. Seminar language was Spanish. Translation was available, in form of small personal devices, linked by radio to the translator. It was the first time I used such devices. I spent the workshop half hearing French with my left ear, and the right one interpreting the original Spanish. It gave me some dual sound's view of the workshop. Thus, I enjoyed this new sensorial dimension a lot. Organization was a la American, enough staff to coordinate pragmatically the seminar. Security guard were controlling access with metal detector. I do not forget, the Information desk, the shop selling T-shirts, books and videos, sandwiches and drinks during breaks. All the staff was smiling and willing to help. They all were very concerned of the good timing of the workshop, crunching time from lecture, if we were late. The workshop was evolving in four phases: small lecture, teaching of Tensegrity movement, breaks and show of the Theater of Infinity. The Element (3 young men, Brandon, Miles and ?) and the Energy tracker (6 women, divided in three group of two, Talia, Kylie...) were teaching us Tensegrity movement. To follow them better, they were divided on three small platforms. Each session was lasting between 1hr to 1h30, and sometimes more. Florinda and Taisha were never present during the practice. The two witches were holding lectures between the Tensegrity session. The Element and Energy tracker got also timeslot for short speech. They were performing certainly most of the seminar work. It seems that the Castaneda group is putting on the new young breed of sorcerers. The Element and the Energy tracker seem to be confident for explaining us Sorcerer Truth. Florinda was apparently the real figure, fading out Taisha Abelar's appearance. They are both small, very thin and chest less. Florinda is both young and old, full of energy, stepping back and forth across the small platform, staring at us, smiling, punctuating her story with mimics and humorous expressions. Taisha performed in total two lectures seated in front of a table, which was put for the occasion on one of the platform. She's as smiling and as easy in words than Florinda. After having read many workshops accounts and heard friends talking about her, I believed that she was younger looking and energetic. Maybe, she was here in Barcelona not really with us, doing some witches tricks....

Introduction Lecture. The Nature of the Magical Passes
"My name is Florinda. I know that you know my name. I'm not silly. Sorcerers state their names out loud when facing the unknown. We are beings who are going to die. By stating our name. We build a bridge to eternity. This bridge, or link to the infinity is built with the intent of the sorcerer. This act implies taking total responsibility, building an inflexible intent. There is nothing personal in this act. It's a pure statement. We are a group, not a group sharing personal concerns. We are a unit linked energetically. We do have the same goal, the same purpose, a common embedded intent. It's not linked to everyday life, where people think as individual. We are a group, but we live apart. We only come together to practice."

"Castaneda is empty, he's here and not here, most of the time in the second attention. He's acting like a channel. 30 years ago, when we were under Don Juan influences we witnessed the same emptiness of the Nagual. He was an Illusion, not existing in the daily life. For some of us, it was likewise a ghost. We were afraid of this reality. It was above our comprehension. Nowadays, we do experience it, and realize and experiment what Don Juan has accomplished. It took us 30 years."

Florinda then explains us the truth of the energetic cocoon and the assemblage point (I will shorten this part, as it's already well explains in CC's literature). "We are a luminous cocoon. The outside border is roughly at arm's distance from our physical body." Florinda moves her arm around her to virtually display the cocoon. "Seers see on the surface of the cocoon a bright spot, the size of a tennis ball, the assemblage point. This spot is where the perception takes place. Everyone has the assemblage point at roughly the same spot, an arm distance behind us, at the level of our shoulder. The assemblage point allows us to perceive a consistent world. It collects and assembles the filament of energy that flow through the universe." She added that awareness is a glow shinning along the luminous cocoon. Ideally the whole luminous sphere should be shining, like the sorcerer's ones. Socialization, language and our ego do keep awareness at a minimum. The awareness shine at the level of our feet (it means at the lower portion of our luminous cocoon). The inner dialogue is the most responsible factor. It makes us perceive a limited world. A consequence is that understanding is not enough. Everything is filtered through the Me. What we understand, think or judge is our inner talk. As long as we rely on Me, there is nothing to talk about, nothing to understand. Real understanding is a matter of raising our energy level. Everything in sorcery is a question of energy level.
"Sorcery is in fact to navigate. We aren't gurus, nor masters, even not spiritualists. Spiritualists are people working through the Me. We are perceivers. We don't know where we are going, it's above our intellectual level. We are after Freedom, something very abstract. We are navigators of the unknown. We have summarized the sorcerer practice into Recapitulation and Tensegrity. The goal of Tensegrity is to simply attain inner silence. The numbers of movements saturate our memory, which help us stopping our inner dialog and attain inner silence. We do have to cumulate many inner silences, until a threshold is reached, where our energy level raises. This stage is stopping the world, where the assemblage point starts to move. Then we are able to see the energy, as it flows through the universe. As we practice this awareness, we enhance manifold our capacity to evolve. Direct knowledge is a gift available, which gives us the real potentiality to evolve by our own, without any help from teacher or master."
Florinda then talked about the Eagle, this universal forces which lead everything and specifically life. Florinda continued that the Eagle is only a representation. "For sure something exists out here, an abstract forces which dispense life, and disintegrate it when we die. This force dispenses life, and is after the growing awareness or experiences. However, the disintegrating force doesn't need the vital energy. The way to separate the vital energy from experience is recapitulation. Recapitulation is to relive the life experience, and in remembering, repeating and reliving them, to give to the force what it wants, the experiences."

A woman asked about how to breathe for the Recapitulation. Florinda said it is not that important.
"Do not attach at details. Do it ! Recapitulation can be done at every moment, everywhere. It's a huge task, which never end. The Recapitulation is mandatory. Another good point is that it forces the assemblage point to move slightly, to the place where it was in the moment you are recapitulating. It's a good exercise to dislodge the assemblage point. Recapitulation is a way to attack self-importance. The Recapitulation and Tensegrity sorcerer passes are practices we can use to enhance our Awareness, our Energy level. The Recapitulation trains us to remember more and more about our past interactions with people. We then see our old familiar patterns, our behaviors, which are endless, repeated throughout our life. Being aware of these patterns help us to remove the Me, to be more fluid and free. Recapitulation does as well recapture all the energy we spent in past interactions. When practiced together with Tensegrity passes, which are body manoeuvers intended to move energy, we begin to realign our energy and reduce our self-concerns, then we will be able to attain inner silence, and see how the energy flow through the universe.

Mini-lecture entitled the effect and the mood created by the Magical Passes. This lecture was very short. The Element told us the same topics, when teaching us the movements, which were completed during this talk by Florinda.
"We are insular energy beings, born with a certain amount of energy. This energy is what we have all our life. We don't loose this energy, nor do we gain more. Nothing in our daily life can steal us energy. When we feel tired, it is not that we loose energy outside, rather our energy leaves our vital center, then disperses to the inside border of our cocoon, at the extreme limit of it. For seers it's looks like orange peel or wood bark. This happens mainly due to the activity of our current daily life, and definitely due to our self-importance and our inner babbling. The more we loose energy from our vital center, the more it agglutinates to the inside border of the luminous cocoon. With time, this energy forms a hard membrane. After a while during the course of our life, it causes decrepitude of our physical bodies. We then become more and more weak until we die. One of the Tensegrity goals is to bring back the external energy to were it belongs, into our vital center. Tensegrity movement breaks down the crust of the energy accumulated to the border of the cocoon and brings back this energy to our vital center. Punch or shot with hand, motion's style breaks the outside energy. Massage or incoming movement to the body release freeing up energy to our center. The six vital centers are:
-- The womb, only for woman. (The man's sexual organ is not a vital center)
-- Around the pancreas and the spleen
-- The liver
-- Around the kidney and adrenals
-- The V-spot which is the small indentation at the base of the throat
-- And the top of the head

I didn't understand if the organs are the vital center, or if they are linked to it. I heard as well that we have other vital centers, which are minor, and mostly linked to the six mentioned above. Tensegrity does not deal with the center on the top of the head. The energy on this center moves back and forth. I know from previous workshop notes, that this center is in possession from entities, named Flyers. At the Barcelona workshop, this subject wasn't brought up.

Evolution
We are no longer evolving. They decided to give us Tensegrity and Recapitulation to give a chance to the humanity to evolve. Humanity will disappear, because we do not evolve anymore.
One of the reasons for humanity not evolving anymore is that we are bored fucks and because woman has lost the second function of her womb. By bored fuck they mean that most of the humanity was born during annoyed conception. Our parents, we, all humans, do not take love as a magical act. The mother should have an orgasm during the love act, in order to conceive high-energy children.

Saturation
This theme was expressed many times throughout the workshop and apparently applies not only to Tensegrity. We were taught around 200 movements. I have been completely saturated with these numerous passes, most of them short. Complete attention was required. This is by itself a good sorcerer practice, not easy for us, poor baby shrouded in our concern and our ego. I confess to have completely loose my attention the last hour on the first day, thus I apparently missed the Serie of Left and Right body. Saturation was the main topics of this workshop. We were taught that learning a huge amount of movements do flood our memory. This constrains the inner dialogue and helps to interrupt it. I do understand what they mean with this concept. We were taught so many movements, which induce at least, to me, a complete saturation of my capacity to keep my mind in control. I stopped to try remembering the good order and orchestration of the 6 Tensegrity series. At the end of the workshop, during the exercises, instead of being somewhat upset not being capable to keep up with the movements, I let myself go, release my inner dialog and feel very good. I was very frivolous, ready to laugh when looking at other participants, imitating, as they were able the passes. I saw how we were all concerned with our ego. I saw frustration on some people's faces. I was like them the first day. I do understand why Lectures are so short. Practice is more important. I believe this workshop was not intended to hear what is already in books or to ask questions. It was intended to give us a glimpse of Inner silence through saturation. Anyway, I have now (back at home) real sorcerers challenge : Since my mind does not remember, I rely on my body knowledge to recover the passes we learned during this stupendous workshop.

Lecture: The role of dreaming and stalking in the discovery and development of the Magical Passes.
Taisha started her talk with the interpretation system, which is also designate as the human mould. This system allows intersubjectivity to take place: we, all humans perceive the same world, because we share the same position of the assemblage point. The assemblage point moves in sleep, but always returns to the same spot, unless you practice the art of dreaming, which is the utilization of dreams as an practice to enter other realms.Taisha continue on with the origin of the art of Tensegrity:
"10000 years ago, the old sorcerers discovered during journeys in Dream that certain movements, involving positions of the arms and legs produced a feeling of well being. These movements came spontaneous without any act of will from them, induced by some direct link to knowledge. The old sorcerers spent a stupendous effort to reproduce these movements in the daily awareness. After many efforts they succeeded. These passes were very powerful, so effective, they named them: The Magical passes. From generation to generation, they began to surround the Magical passes with a somber mood, with mystery, with ritual. They kept this practice very secret. As time was passing, more and more ritual and ceremony was shrouding around this secret knowledge. The original mood of the passes was lost."
Taisha told us that women did most of the movements, men were not allowed to assist these ceremonies. Only recently men started to practice Tensegrity.
"The new practitioners have removed the rituals, refined the movements to meet modern mood. Modern sorcerers are seeking purposes, efficacity and pragmatism. That's why we decided to teach Tensegrity to anyone who wanted to learn.
What is necessary is not ritual, somber manoeuver but agility of the body and the mind. The original intent of the magical passes is intact and here, present, available to all who practice to produce well-being, harmony and strength, and to achieve the highest goal to enter other realms."

Energy redeployment
Florinda talks about strategic choices in the shamans world. She first tells us a story. She explained that in Venezuela she was very adulated. Not only she was delightful and intelligent, but in addition she was a woman driving cars like men. She loved cars. She was the best concerning driving. She raced with one of the best race champion of her time. She didn't want to say her name so not to figure out her actual age (this was a joke, to punctuate the woman's age obsession).
She said : "I was the best. I received from my father a Porsche, and I was very good at it. I was very touchy concerning car. I never wanted Castaneda or friends to drive me, for I didn't want them to know where I was going. I was told that I didn't have to use a car in LA. There were buses. Buses are pussy, slow. How can we travel in the city of LA ? We need a car in LA....!! One day, I bought a new car, didn't have the time to take an insurance, and went to the old Florinda. We drove together to the nearby mountains. The old Florinda asked me if she could have a try. Reluctant, I gave her the key. The old Florinda managed then to run off the road down a small ravine. The car was completely destroyed."
Florinda told us she was so ill to see her new car useless, no insurance to get her money back. And no more money to buy a new one. "I was crazy, upset. My life broke down. After a while, something happened to me. I began to use collective transport, to be driven by other, and not drive anymore. I saw the life in another angle. Since then, I never drove again. 15 years now. This was a strategically move. This is an example of what we have to do to move out from our daily preoccupations. Each one of us has something, which can be used as a strategically manoeuver."

After the workshop while waiting for my airplane to return home, I recollected this talk; and an inspiration suddenly came to my mind. Personally, I never wear watch, an old habit fostered when I was an adolescent outsider. Watch is for people glued in the active life. I'm cool. Clock is not for me. Clock does influence the energy as it flows along our arms. During the workshop, I was internally reproaching people to do movement with their big watch. How can they do Tensegrity with watch, was I asking. Years ago, when I started to work, I was always looking after the time. I have not to be late at work, may not forget a rendezvous. Unaware, I spent a lot of energy seeking for the time. When I left the workshop Sunday afternoon, I decided to buy a watch. I've found a tiny strategically manoeuver.

Men and Women
We have 6 main energetical centers. Men lack one, the sixth one, the womb, which belongs to Women. This center gives women a better link to the Spirit, therefore it is easier for our sisters to progress. Men have to give a lot more effort to be a shaman than women. This gives them in balance, when reaching the shaman level a definitive advantage, due to the effort to be put on. Men have more awareness of the different steps it takes to evolve. Florinda told us that Men spent their time on details to understand. That's why they build marvelous things found in our daily world. Men are overwhelmed with what they have built. Women due to their facilities to understand (to have a direct link to the knowledge) have more and more hidden this facility, because it's easy for them. With time, they have completely lost their talent. Socialization does restrict women to use the second function of their Womb. Florinda was very humoristic on this subject, as well as with other topics. She spoke in small sentences, often punctuating her talk with a succession of single words, like a burst of image. I remember when she was describing herself under the time with Don Juan:
"I was the most important person. You know how women are ! I'm beautiful. Nice ! The best ! Once, I thought that Don Juan was impotent. I was very concerned for this. He was strong, still good looking despite his age. He was always alone, no girlfriend. I decided to advise him. With my best knowledge, very confident, proud of myself, I asked Don Juan to see a psychanalyst, a doctor, who could take care of him. Don Juan laughed a lot, he put his pants down to show me his attribute, which were apparently very functional (he was able to erect his penis immediately). I was so upset, so angry ! Furious ! He put me really in place. Afterward I started to change about what women think of themselves."
Florinda told us that the second function of the womb is to a great extend very active during menstruation. Traditionally, in our society, the woman is isolated during that period. Some culture fasten women in a dark room. Women are dirty, they do smell bad. Women are bizarre, and those men throughout ages have alienated this cycle feature of women. During this state woman have an enhanced capacity to Dream, to move their assemblage point, a direct link to knowledge. Certain cultures in some ways admit this truth, like for example the Yaquis, when a group of women were having menstruation at the same time, they came together to decide important matters of the tribe.

Shamanistic Theater
The two youngest girl made two performances of shamanistic theatre, in which they danced, among others, some Spanish folk songs with spanish dresses and, executing magical passes in such an volatile manner that the passes were the dance itself. This performance was very appealing, funny and ingenious. The rest of the Trackers, Brandon and Miles, in pairs, performed long magical passes, one particularly was exceptional, an exhibition with knives. Tensegrity does reveal many aspects, this one was very warrior like.
At the end of the workshop, just after the show, Florinda started to dance as well, quickly followed by all the audience. The workshop ended with an explosion of joy, people dancing all over the place.

Mixed notes
Throughout the workshop, we were told many remarks and comments, to reiterate concept already explained during lectures, or to punctuate many facets of the art of Tensegrity. Saturday night, Florinda and two young men belonging to the Element were as well available for a short Q&A session. One of the girls of the Energy tracker told us that Castaneda has already finished his new book. Translations are currently ongoing. Date release should be end of 97 or early 98
(what I understand is that they wait until the translations are done, in order to release the new book).

I noticed that water supply got significant rules during orations. Before any speech, they drank a gulp of water. Water supply in bottles or cans was available everywhere in the area of the workshop. And if during a talk water was absent the witches asked by sign to the Tensegrity staff for it. During discourse, when concluding a topic, or moving to another point of the discussion, they paused to satisfy their thirst. It was done naturally, remarking their action with diverting comments about being thirsty or droughty. I heard somewhere at the end of the workshop, that drinking water often is important. It's very important for sorcerers. I surely agree, seeing them by my eyes pursuing this rule.

"You can remember all the moves you have learned if you reach inner silence. Do the passes as you remember, don't look for details. It's not that important. Do it each day. Extreme concentration should be applied. Passes should be performed with great precision, with the whole body. Movements involving strike, blow or a la karate kick, must be done with great force, hence the move should stop before the end of the course. Harm can result if we do not pay attention. You must avoid the exercises to become routine. You can practice in group, however be careful of socialization. Do not wait for results. Change is a slow process. The body with time, will grow up, be more flexible and stronger. The passes do give a well being, a better concentration, vigilance and attention. Some movement's deal with the left energetical body, these passes are done with the left arm or legs. Someone asked what about left-handed. The reply was very clear, we deal with the left area of the energetical body. What counts is the physical interaction with the left area, so I do understand that left and right-handed doesn't matter with Tensegrity. One question was what should we eat. Florinda replied that sorcerers eat everything.
We aim not to eat sugar, alcohol, tea, coffee, etc..."Everyone should find his own balance. It's up to you to take yourself in charge, to find what is good for you. Don Juan from time to time used to drink a beer. Well, we don't have to get drunk... Alcohol is bad, coffee is bad, sugar is bad, ... chocolate is good!"

A woman asked in an hysterical and laborious manner, what about the Eagles devouring us, children being killed in accidents, war devastating many innocent. Why they have not a chance, etc... Florinda laughed, and just passed by to another question. Later, to a similar question, Brandon told us, it us up to us to experiment how the Energy flow through the Universe. Then we will be able to interpret on our own the universal forces, which dissolve us when we die. Someone else asked if we could manage with our relationships, families, etc... while pursuing sorcery ? Florinda said absolutely not, just start where you are: "Do Tensegrity during one year, then start recapitulation."
A woman asked what happened with women that had been operated on and the uterus removed. Florinda answered that those women have to follow the same long and laborious way as men, who also do not have a womb.
Another woman asked how Brandon and the other Elements and Energy Trackers are here and now involved in sorcery ? If they are entail completely in Tensegrity and sorcery. Florinda, which was in the middle of the two young men, replied:"No, all of them do work and live like anyone. They don't live together. I don't know were these young men do live, and what they do, which jobs. They do Tensegrity, and because they do it impeccably, they are here with us in this workshop. We do need an interpretation system. We are perceptors, and such without an interpreting system we would not be able to assemble a complete world. When seeing the energy flowing through the universe, we would not be able to arrange our perception. Perception will be chaotic."

Tensegrity due to it's nature can heal sickness and pain.

Personal summary
I met an old friend at the workshop who abandoned everything for Tensegrity. This person moved out from Europe and settled in LA. I was impressed of such a radical choice. After what I heard at the workshop I do understand that the Elements and Energy Trackers have done more or less similar choices. The possibility to reach the level of CC's clan, is not an illusion, it's real. We can attain Freedom. We can intent to be like the new followers, and be like them. I would like to perform similar moves. Hence, my life has taken another turn: I have a family in charge, and such move implies being selfish ! I struggled since years with this paradox: How to evolve in Nagualism and be responsible for a family ? During the workshop, due to a rise of my energy level I found a solution: why to not use my life as it is actually ? This is a form of stalking. Others can say Controlled Folly. I do not like this term. I prefer to say I want to enjoy, learn and be aware of what is happening around me, or be aware how I'm acting or re-acting with my fellow men. I intent to be aware of my inner structure in order to perfect my act, to temper my mood and to better look after my family. Florinda once said acting impeccably is to pull your energy out of the social order. I find another answer in Taisha's book: When you act impeccably you aim to your energetical body, because perfection is already a quality of our double. If your act is impeccable then your action in the society doesn't affect you: the energy balance is at your side. Everything is possible. We are born in a magical world, and we are already magicians ! Daniel


http://ttzlibrary.yuku.com/topic/493/Westwood-July-1996#.WAsbreh96Uk
A note on the notes: I wrote this stuff down after getting home from the seminar. I left a lot out but still, it seemed that someone else might like to read them. I did not write them verbatum this time so please for give the lack of detai and any errors you might perceive. There is some irrelevant personal comments so don't pay attention to them. Sincerely V.

CARLOS CASTANEDA'S TENSEGRITY -- THE WESTWOOD SEMINAR
On July 20, 1996 a group of about 700 persons met for a week long seminar with the nagual Carlos Castaneda and his group which included Carol Tiggs, Florinda Donner, Taisha Abelar and the Energy Trackers - a group of 8 women and 6 men who would lead the seminar's movement sections. Each day would usually begin with a lecture of about 1 to 2 hours though on one occasion Carlos talked for 3 hours until lunch, a welcome gift. Each of the women seers gave lectures that outlined their particular orientation into the sorcerers' world. Carol conceptualized the seers realm as the capacity to see energy as it flows in the universe. Florinda, a phenomeno
nally direct being discussed our unalterable position and the need for the utilization of the fact that we are beings that are going to die. Carlos stated that we are, at our cores, perceivers of energy and that through silence we can break the ties that bind us to our habitual interpretation system and on our habitual self reflection. Taisha Abelar presented to us the possibility of entering into other worlds, other peels of the onion. She outlined the ways, in which this is done and provided the realization of this as a bona-fide possibility. The auditorium was arranged with four platform stages. Four, according to Carlos is a number representing permanence. On each stage were two energy trackers. The women formerly known as the chacmools were there as well as the blue scout (Brett) and two new members. They were all very lean and thin with short hair. Their movements were very powerful and were executed with their best effort. Carlos said, that we would cover five core areas during the seminar. These five areas he said held all that was necessary to reach the desirable state of inner silence and to encourage the regrowth of the energy body. The five areas are:
1.TENSEGRITY
2.DECISIONS (area for)
3.THE RECAPITULATION
4.DREAMING
5.INNER SILENCE.

Carlos Castaneda spoke about the differences between men and women. Women have a straight bar of energy running from back to lower center by the womb. Men, unlike women, have a swanlike curvy bar of energy, which relates to their complexity and vulnerability. In both men and women, however, this bar of energy appears to Seers, to be damaged. They have been broken or mangled (mutilated, disfigured). In women the break is uniform and about eight inches in length. It was pointed out, that in all women wherever they may live i.e USA, Japan, Russia, the South Pole, wherever, all (except Argentinians {a joke}), had this problem, this break in their energy bar. The question then is why and what or who, is responsible. In men also there is damage and the breaks in this bar of energy can be seen.
In a later lecture, as Carlos discussed the flyers, entities, that consume our sheen of awareness, the breaks in our energy bar were further explained. Carlos said that it was due to the maneuvers of the flyers, that the damage was universal. He said, that once someone asked him about, whether or not he should be celibate, and Carlos replied, that he already was. He said, that most of us are only masterbators. The damage to that bar keeps us from having real orgasms, real jolts of energy. He pointed out, that we do the same thing, the flyers do to us, to our own pets. We castrate them, we fix them so they won't go outside the yard and will like us. They are controllable, until they die. Those breaks in our energy are one of the means the flyers "fix" us. The results from these breaks are lowered energy and frigidity in men and in women. Carlos Castaneda reported, that their are so many women haters. Women hate other women and men hate women too, a comment, that caused a great deal of laughter. He talked about the TV show, where two cops just love each other to death and the woman is put in the show as a hooker or dies or something, and everyone loves it. Women are insignificant or incidental in the movies, he said. And he said, that the break in women results in women being frigid. Carlos said, that sex was for procreating. It is our bodies one best shot and that people, as a result of a cogent (powerful, forcibly convincing) leap or shift, do it for deleterious reasons i.e.., recreation. This results in energy being lost. Carlos says it does not matter, if one has sex, unless you have made the decision (see V spot) to become a warrior/sorcerer. Carlos Castaneda stress a number of times and with vehemence, that we suspend judgment. He implored us to not heal anybody (joking), lend energy, do yoga or chi kung, etc. for just the next few days and said, that after the seminar they could get as mad or upset, as they wanted, and hate Carlos Castaneda. But for the length of the seminar he requested, we refrain from our judgments and criticisms. I feel it is important, that I state that before coming to the seminar, I had resolved to do, just what he had asked regarding judgment. Last year at the three week encounter with Carlos and his people, I feel, I was incapable of getting the most out of the seminar. I could list many reasons and variables and yet they would all point to a single reason. I was battling the "me" problem. On the one hand there would be a part of me that knew Carlos was right on target. Another part of me wanted to hurt them, to discredit or disprove them. It was as if there was a voice in my mind which sounded like my mind itself that was doing everything possible to inject doubt, hate, whatever it took to block out their efforts. This to me, after a year of fighting, I would not go there with my "know-all" attitude. Carlos himself stated at the beginning of the seminar that the energy was not as bad as it had been in the past. He said our loud ME!!! was now a more quiet and subdued "me" and would, if we kept it up, become a tiny little "me". So it seemed that I was not the only one who was leaving their greatness, their wonderfulness, their uniqueness, at the door this time. People stress their "ME" idealities in their acts, Carlos stressed. This occurs as the sheen of awareness that should, right fully cover our luminous cocoons, is eaten down below our toes. It is this area, this last vestige of our sheen of awareness, where the focus on our self-reflection occurs. The new nagual said that now, a year after Culver City, that persons big "ME" had been reduced to a little "me" and that it would get smaller and that many persons energies were in a position to shift to something else. Carlos talked about the assemblage point and the band of man, a strip of energy that is about a foot wide running down the luminous egg. He talked about alignment of new worlds and the force that holds us and galaxies together. He talked about psychology and developmental psychology and the socialization process along with what it does to us. Examples included the little girl who, at five years old says "Mommy I'm bored". He talked about what "audacity" really was to him, that holding the little flame of one's awareness against that immense and terrifying universe was true audacity. He said that Don Juan would say "because its all I have". That, he said is real audacity. The idea of some absolute "Word of God" or the like, was terrifying to him. Finalities were something he abhorred. Carlos said that we are in a universe that is changing every second.
A humorous story was told about a class he was once teaching in an auditorium-like classroom. There were three girls in there that fidgeted a lot. He said their dogs, which they took with them there, were the perfect students not moving during the entire class. He said that they were or thought they were witches. Some guy came up to Carlos and said "Carlos, what if I told you that someone was fucking with your mind?" Carlos replied "Well, I think, I, I, I,,, I think I'd like it". The guy tried to convince Carlos that they were doing something and told him, no matter what, not to scratch his ear. So Carlos started scratching his ear in class finally going bananas. Once someone, maybe that same guy asked Carlos "Carlos, what do you think about eeevill?" Carlos replied "I, well, I, I don't know, I think I like it". Finally Carlos told us that there is no good and no evil. There is only energy out there and a predatorial universe. It is useless to get mad at it.
Another very humorous story involved Don Juan's maneuvers to get Carlos to quit smoking. Don Juan told Carlos that they were going for a trip to the desert and that he (Carlos) should take plenty of cigarettes. Carlos wrapped up a magnificent bundle of cigarettes in foil because the old nagual told him that coyotes would smell the tobacco and carry them off. The first night the coyotes carried off Carlos' bundle and the next day they spent looking for it. Carlos was going crazy for a cigarette. Don Juan told him that there was a town nearby and they could go there and get some cheap Mexican cigarettes there if Carlos did not mind smoking them. Carlos, at that point would have smoked anything and was reduced to making noises, hardly able to talk at all. Unfortunately, somehow Don Juan lost their way and they could not find the town. By then quite a number of days went by and their concern turned to simply staying alive. In the light of that new development, Carlos eventually forgot about his craving and finally told Don Juan "you know, I don't even want a cigarette now". With that, don Juan said "its time to go home". The highway was only a mere twenty feet away. They had gone in circles. The center of energy between the toes is where we all are" don Juan told Carlos. "But for men it depends on which way their dick is pointing". "It could be a little to the right or the left" Carlos actually tried to determine where his was. Carlos laughed recounting this and the other ways Don Juan would amuse himself. Carlos also joked about, how people think, they can "lend and heal" with their energy. "Carlos, let me heal you with my energy".
"Your energy is weak Carlos. I can Heeaal you". Stupid ideas all relating to our insane beliefs, that we are unique and special. Carlos said, that he was well on his way to becoming a professor. He had his hush puppies, his jacket with the patches on the sleeves, as well, as a pipe. To top it all off, he had a leather briefcase. When he told Don Juan, he said
"You look ridiculous". We all have this weird tendency and obsession to "look for love" Carlos said. We sell ourselves. If someone says "I love you", that's it, we give them everything. Carlos said his mother was a communist and that she freed him by dying when he was 5 years old. He said that because of her, he would never be able to stay in the penthouse. It was this social mentality that influenced his consideration that for only four or five mortals to escape in the way of Don Juan's lineage, was unacceptable for him...Carlos talked about youth being related not to age but to vitality. He told us how Don Juan was infinitely younger than him. He, Carlos, was chubby and don Juan said
"You're kind of chubby. Why don't you do the magical passes?". Carlos replied "what magical passes. What are you talking about don Juan?' Don Juan reminded Carlos of the way he taught him to crack his joints. That was his entrance into the realm of the magical passes. Carlos said that the idea that he and Kylie sat around thinking up the movements was absurd. He explained that the passes, Tensegrity, were a generic form of the sorcerers' ancient magical passes previously shrouded in secrecy. In ancient times the passes were designed for specific temperaments and body types. Carlos Castaneda stated to us, that he is closing shop and that don Juan never got to deal with mass like he was doing with us. This meeting, this mass was an explosion for him, an explosion of something else. He told us that this person (referring to the image of Carlos Castaneda on the stage) was an apparition. He said "I'm already gone. All I have to do is shut my eyes". He talked about his appointments with Infinity and said that he and the rest were not even friends with one another. They just got together for the seminars and sometimes they went to the movies. He was only the chauffeur, the bus boy. Carlos talked some about violence and movies with stars like Arnold Swartzenegger who never got hit by all the high tech. machine gun bullets and weapons fired at him. Carlos pointed out that in the movies of today they obligatorily say "let's kick ass!" and "Fuck you". In his time, he said, all they could say was "gee wiz!". A member of the Spanish speaking audience said to Carlos something to the effect that it made her sad, that the lineage was ending. Carlos replied, that it made him sad too. Carlos told us, that he used to eat 17 bacon sandwiches a day and he smoked, since he was eight. He joked about, how he would say "let me catch my breath". Panting, he would lite up a cigarette and puff madly on it. Carlos said, that rituals obscured the real issues.
Taisha Abelar talked about Inorganics and the fact, that we have the capacity to move into other layers of the onion, so to speak. For Carlos it is the fact that - we are perceivers, for Florinda that - we are beings, that are going to die - and for Carol that - we can stop the world to see energy as it flows in the Universe.Taisha mentioned Glovis and Flebis (sp?), two allies or inorganic beings, who she says, have accompanied her or attached themselves to her awareness, not as leeches though. She said, that they are impeccable and are dealing with her world which, for them, is the unknown. Taisha said they would hover outside the jet plane on the wings discovering its speed. But now she gets them to go inside, just, they will not put on their seatbelts. Taisha described three ways to move in and out of the cousins world (inorganic realm). The cousins, she said are very much like us, but inorganic, slower and infinitely older. their world is as is our own, a layer of the onion. The three ways are dreaming (a natural hatchway), internal silence, and finding cracks in the world. Florinda in her lecture said that all of them had a mini-breakdown before Taisha's lecture. Taisha wanted to bring this huge pigeon, one with no legs, to the lecture. Florinda said during her evening lecture, that Taisha got it in some other world and it was as big as a dog. She said that we, or some of us, might not even have been able to see it but that they had at least left it in the car. She said, it moved by waddling on its belly. Taisha spoke of a place, where there are three legged dogs. Florinda said, that those things are very sophisticated and never to make fun of a three legged dog. In that world it is not nonsensical. It is a part of that world. Taisha said, that in the sorcerers house, that they always talked about another wing of the house and that she, with her reporter mentality of the time, was interested in the how, what, where, why, factual questions and in finding no wing, believed that the sorcerers in their house in northern Mexico were referring to a potential or maybe a past wing. She took her tools and looked, tapping on walls for secret passageways and digging outside for an old foundation, etc. She concluded, finding nothing, that they were all cracked or lying. But one day she was pushed by one of the sorcerers of don Juan's party into this room, a room without four walls and yet it was a room where the walls were undulating. There was a man on the floor moving like a marionette and besides him were two disc like things which were trying to imitate him. Her body or her awareness told her this, since the discs had no head or limbs. The man was don Genaro and she said the floor was pristine like it had never been walked on. For them, the sorcerers, the room was their entrance to the other world. Taisha said there were cracks, vortices of sorts into the other world, all over the place, even on there in the San Bernadino mountains and near the botanical gardens at UCLA. She joked about almost making us a map to the spot. Taisha described how she was going up this hill there where the water no longer flowed. The energy, the flowing energy was still there however, making cars go much faster than normal. She ended up in another layer of the onion and finally left. She said that, finding oneself in such a position i.e., having gone through a crack, one has to be sober and use the tools of a warrior when doing this kind of thing. One can choose to look around or one can return by simply sitting still or staying put Taisha said warriors do not lose their minds, that that is a result of obsession with the self. One needs energy though. Taisha told the story of how once she and Carlos were driving to the airport and they found themselves placed far away from there, even though they had been close. Carlos used to be a cab driver before and did not get lost so they concluded that something had happened. Taisha, during the incident had said "We flew! We flew!" and Carlos just said something like "You did it again Taisha!"
Two friends of theirs, a microbiologist and an insurance salesman, two ordinary persons, came to Carlos with a story of, what had happened to them. They had been driving on the highway. The landscape seemed wrong or different to them after a while and they tried to turn back found, that they could not find the way. They were on this gravel road and decided to go to this cottage, they saw, and ask. As they drove up to the cottage a monstrous looking and very tall man was at the door and his voice was weird. He was saying "Go back". Go back". They were so frightened, that they just backed up out of there and out of that other layer of the onion. Taisha said there was a front door and a back door into that realm. One door was dreaming and she joked about having to get in line and say "Get out of my way!" Dreaming was one of those doors then. Taisha talked about the third way of entering these worlds, which is Inner Silence. She talked about a blackness, that would occur, when one's inner threshold was reached anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. One could find oneself in another layer, as she and Florinda had done. Florinda wanted to leave the mall, they had found, but couldn't, until Taisha had finished her inspection shopping. Taisha spoke of other worlds, infinite worlds out there, perceivable and potential via shifts or movements of the assemblage point. In one world people would sit in a sort of gallery to watch the Sunrise, as it took up two thirds of the horizon. There was already a Sun in the sky and the giant rising Sun did not burn anything or affect in ways, like our own Universe would. Taisha mentioned, that that early on in her apprenticeship, the sorcerers would say the other world(s) were not in "this space". But she, with her mentality, thought they meant, that the other worlds were in another galaxy or something. She found out though. She talked about a new technology of another world, where people, working for a company there, named Soni, were watching what, at first, looked like a drive in movie picture, but turned out to be a projected image; projected from some distance behind. Many worlds to go to, when one gains the energy and the control and the sobriety. Taisha told us, that we each had to take these individual journeys and then, maybe, we'd all leave together.
Florinda talked about the fact, that we are beings, that are going to die. We act immortal, so we don't do anything. She told the story of, how old Florinda told her not to drive a car and how she drove her car off a cliff. Her brand new car with no insurance. How they locked her out of the house and she cried, since it had never been locked on her. And then how she had found it open. How her hammock was gone and she cried again. Florinda discussed practical actions, such as old Florinda's dramatic actions or how speaking her name "my name is Florinda Donner" were gestures for It. This reminded us of this or towards the feeling of the sorcerers' world. She talked about her car, John Tuma, Genaro, finding the perfect husband, energy, family and no kids, awareness is physical, men sublime joke but... knowing knowledge, so one can't let it go. Professors, egomania, a weird apparition of a woman in her house, sobriety, not loosing one's mind. She said "oh hell, another navigator". Taisha said, they gave her a nickname "Wow wow". It meant, she thought, either, that she whined like a baby, or barked like a dog. She said, she'd rather be the dog. Florinda mentioned, how they, the four of them, were not real for the sorcerers, unless they were standing right in front of them. Carlos, she said, is not there anymore. Florinda said, that it was fascinating to see the change. The old Nagual was like that, when she met him. But to see it happen, to Carlos, was very weird. Florinda said, that warriors do think, ponder, consider... but when they act, they don't care about outcomes. Sometimes they forget, why they are doing, what they are doing. Carol Tiggs' song: "I've been bad, I've been bad, I should be punished, until I am dead, and when I am dead, I should be punished some more."
A song we sang a few times with Carol, the Nagual Woman tonight. She was dressed in black, seemingly overflowing with energy. Like the others, she had short cropped hair and was lean, catlike. She looked better, than last year. After a few words she brought out the starlight trackers. They were the blue scout and the mother of the little girl. The blue scout is CC's daughter and the other is the cyclic being from last year, I think. They had leather gloves with silver tips on each finger as well, as mod looking, mirrored sunglasses (snake eyes). They were strange looking and serious about the form they did, which, we were told, was the snake. Then Renata and Nyie Murez did the crab set. They were the pre-dawn trackers and squeaked, as they did their strange set. Carol spoke after they were done. Oh, by the way, Florinda and Taisha seemed very delighted with the sets. Anyhow, Carol said that properly, the order should have been that set, the Crab first and then the snake and then the next, which was a knife set, but that costume changes necessitated the order. The knife set involved double daggers and was very beautiful, and was Carol indicated, originally done with human bones, rounded on one end for the V-spot, with writing. The Nagual Luhan designed them as attempts to kinesthetically get to the state of Internal Silence and to the abstract, he substituted metal knives. Carol later in the lecture said, that the sets gave some energy for the things she would say and do that night. Carol talked about her absolutely terrible "me", when she first met don Juan. She said he'd make up derogatory nick names for her, but she would always try and make them into something admirable. Names like "Prickwithears", or "Seven Layer Butt", or "Fat Butt". Ultimately, Carol pointed out, that our minds, no matter our perceived notions, are all alike. Carol described the Flyers, the awareness, that consume us as food. She said, that they should be called the Leapers or the Jumpers, because that's what they do. She said their awareness is so heavy, that it sinks right through us like lead. She was repulsed by them. When their friend, Tony gave her a picture to show CC, she thought, that to see one in a photo was very horrible. The Flyers keep us in Humaneros (pro:Umaneros), like we keep chickens in galleneros. Those humaneros are cities. She said it was strange, how we thought, it was "that's stupid", that there could be such entities. Even stranger, how weird, that we viciously cling to beliefs like gods, god, and guilt (thus the song), that have nothing to do with us or our wellbeing. She told a joke about the god Thor (I'm Thor). The Flyers give us our minds - one size fits all - Carol said, which she really did not like. It was, as she said this, that I realized my suspicions about the vibrating plate over the heads of people.


Carlos in the morning had said, that there was a center of energy, unlike the swirling centers of liver/pancreas, spleen, adrenals (and womb for women), at the top of our heads, which moves side to side faster than our heart beats. I realized that that was the energy center or false mind we identify with the "me", given to us by the Flyers. Carol said that we imitate our captors and impose horrible fates on our pets. That we castrate and fix, declaw and defang and descent them so they will be docile and like us until they die. So they won't try and leave. She said sorcerers of old found this out and that don Juan hated them, as they had sold out to that they themselves wouldn't be eaten. He said, that they were the caretakers of this knowledge and sold out to them for personal gain and power. The picture of the Flyer was the omen, they needed for them to tell more about the Flyers. Carol said, that like a cheap B movie, she had said to CC, "but what do they want with us?"
She said, that they all were skeptical and did not do anything about them for a long time (as apprentices). But when they finally 'saw' them they were horrified. Those things with their heavy awareness sunk right through us. Carol's conclusion to the question of whether or not they ate other organic beings was no, because of the unique nature of the human energy, which was like a giant cutout or machine stamp, something like clear edges. "Why?" How the hell should I know why? They just do it seems. The sorcerers did know and discover one thing the Flyers detested, which was and is awareness grown via discipline. The magical passes do this. The recapitulation does this. Inner silence does this. Mankind, said Carol, could possibly return to his pre-sentient state, as a brilliant and fully covered entity, luminous, and escape the cosmic manglers (those, who mutilate). Carol was being funny, singing and joking, obviously pleasing her cohorts a great deal. A great deal of her information was vital and struck home. Bullseye! Besides the critical jumper information, was the horrible sense of self-importance we maintain, wasting gobs and gobs of energy. Who loves me? Who will see and tell me how special and wonderful I am, when or how can I get picked? One day they'll see, how much I've changed, and apologize. They'll see how wonderful I am!" It really is disgusting and not our fault, according to CC and Carol. But it would be our fault, since we know, not to do anything about it. At one point in the lecture Carol said "no, I'm not going to talk about it", obviously talking to someone on the stage, that we could not see. She told the story about her and some man, a musician and how she supported him, looking for love, I think.There are beings in the Universe(s), that are predators and they go throughout the Universe looking for food. Carol picked four people and made them look into her eye before having them fall backwards into a state of silence. Her act plunged the whole audience into silence. The group got up and left. That silence was palpable and stayed with me for the rest of the night. It was great.."


http://ttzlibrary.yuku.com/topic/491/Mexico-City-May-1995#.WAxWBOh96Uk

A Tensegrity seminar was given this past weekend in Mexico City (19-21 May) at the Sheraton Maria Isabel hotel in the heart of the city the three Chaacmools were present along with Florinda, Taisha and Carol Tiggs. The event draw 1,000 people. and it consisted of three evening talks (Friday Carol, Saturday Taisha and Sunday the event was closed by Florinda), and two Tensegrity sessions one on Saturday for 500 people and another session on Sunday for the other 500 people. This sessions started at 9 am and ended at 6 pm following the conferences at 8 pm. To keep the reports short i'm going to start with the event that took place on Friday 19th, which corresponded to Carol Tiggs talk. The big ballroom that was rented at the hotel for the ocassion was packed full with over a thousand people because they let in people without tickets this day. The gruop (Florinda, Taisha, Carol, Kylie, Renata, Nyei and a couple more associates) arrived at 8:30 Carol and a translator sat on the stage and the others remained in the first two rows, which were reserved for them just in front of the stage. Carol started the talk presenting herself to the people and then recited a 'poem' in spanish and then in english wich draw everybody's attention...Then she spoke about when she first meet CC (Carlos Castaneda) at the Alameda park in Mexico City and how DJ hooked her first with a loud 'burp' and then with his eyes, and let her know that she was a 'double' woman and that CC was energetically the same as her. Then she told us about her disappeareance for more than ten years from this world and she said that for her it had been like a dream, but that time lost it's significance during that event. "When i was back from these place i found myself in Tucson Arizona ten years later, it was hard for me even to recognize the place, but i'm sure that DJ knew beforehand, that this was going to happen, because he made me hide plastic packs with money in different parts of this and other towns, which at the time seemed to be absurd for me, but at this moment i understood perfectly, so i went and retreived one of these packs and with this money i went to L.A. and lurked there for a while like in a zombie state, until i found out, that CC was going to give a lecture at the Phoenix bookstore at Santa Monica and i went. CC saw me and he talked for two hours without knowing, what he said, because he was astonished to see me there. Carlos and i used to find ourselves in Dreaming laying in bed naked in a strange room, there was also this little girl, that came into the room shouting 'not again mummi'. When things were getting out of hand in this weird world Carlos had me jump into the bed and shouted 'twirl Carol twirl', and we both started twirling, until we woke up in our bed". She also mentioned an american actor from the 30's or 40's, who smoked a pipe and this character also became a regular in that world, where she and CC went in Dreaming. This old man, who spoke with a certain accent, used to call Carol "honey" and also used to call Carlos "shorty".
Carol: "...like any other visit to this world, it started when we found ourselves naked in that bed, suddenly we heard someone coming, Carlos got himself inside a closet, that was in the room, he wanted to hide from whoever was coming, but he was not able to shut the door from the inside. At that moment the little girl came into the room shouting as ever 'not again mummi', she went directly to the closet and shut the door closed right on Carlos's nose. At that moment i heard the footsteps of the old man with the pipe, he entered the room and said "whats up honey", i noticed, that he had a newspaper in his hand and i became intrigued with it, i tried deperately to catch a glimpse of it trying to figure out in what language was it written or what was the date on this publication, i knew, that Carlos will be very interested in this newspaper, because since he is scientifically oriented, he would love to corroborate whatever info from this world in "our real world". So i dont know where i got the nerve to snatch the paper from his hand, as the old man was leaving the room and hurried to lay it flat on the bed to see its contents. There were color pictures of people, but when i fixed my attention to the text i noticed, that the characters were not the alphabet we use, they where some sort of "symbols" like spirals, triangles and circles. I was so excited, that i wanted Carlos to see it, so i went to the closet to let him out, but i noticed that there was no door knob or anything to open it, i started to get anxious, that the old man would come back when i heard Carlos voice comming from inside the closet instructing me about a dark spot on the floor, that i had to step on. I looked down at the floor and i saw the dark spot, which looked like a button, i steped on it and the door opened and Carlos jumped out with feline agility. I showed him the newspaper and he was perplexed. All he told me was "this is real Tiggs... this is real". We heard footsteps again and we jumped into the bed and started to twirl like the other times, until we woke up in our beds...in order to get in and out of these "other worlds" one must be very sober and in control, because if you "hooked" to something in that world (like the newspaper), you will be lost in that world, because you will forget, where you come from, and you will end up living and dying in this world. That is why the path of the warrior needs to be impeccable, because when you become a navigator, you can not afford any mistake. This world was very similar to ours, because people also got old and died. Actually we saw the little girl grow up."
Carol also revealed, that CC is writing another book, when she said, that "Carlos is naming a chapter of the book, he's now writting "The return of Carol Tiggs".
"...Energetically CC and I have been very distant for the past three years. Some time ago Carlos made an energetic jump and maybe this is, what has kept us apart (energetically), but three weeks ago I again woke up in this strange world...we are (energetically) a strand of energy, that is cyclic and it expands through the different worlds, which are like the layers of an onion, and it seems, that in this other layer of the onion, we (CC and Carol) have found a couple of beings, that share this other world, as we share this world, and we see ourselves in this world like humans, but this is due to our tendency to "anthropomorphisize", but maybe the creatures on this world have a different mold, than ours. The point is, that our "perception" goes with us even, when we go to other "layers of the onion"".
This day the Tensigrity Workshop got started for half of the people, enrolled in the workshop (total of 1,000). It consisted of one morning session from 9am to 1:30pm hours and an afternoon session (3:30pm-6:00pm) for review of the exercises, taught in the morning session. The chacmools arrived alone (Florinda dropped in later just to watch) and started a series of warming up exercises and then begun teaching 14 new passes, which they said "where specially intended for the peolple, who lives in the Valley of Mexico at this particular time". When people started asking questions about this matter, Kylie responded with the next story.
"...life is like a river with cristaline water, people keep on picking up the stones at the bottom of the river and treasure them without knowing, that the most precious part of it is its water, which can not be held or kept. All you can do is flow with it. The water is the Nagual and the stones are the Tonal, we must learn to let the Tonal in its place, so we can go with the Nagual...". After this story people gave a good thought, before asking a question. The 14 passes shown were:
1- Using Energy with the Foot
2- The Gate to Stars
3- The Gait of Power
4- Defining the Width of the Energy Body
5- Circle Within a Circle
6- Axing the Energy
7- Up and Low Blow of Energy
8- Amassing Energy
9- The Energy House
10- Storing Energy
11- The Animal Step
12- The Pyramid of Energy
13- The Sorcerers Breath
14- The Sorcerers Window

They finished the afternoon session with a superb performance of four parts of the "Tensigrity of Affection" by Reni and Nyei Murez. Evening talk by Taisha Abelar:
"When Seers "see" they See, that "stalkers" have like a "shawl" of luminous fibers, hanging down from their shoulders, and "dreamers" look like, if they had a "hawaiian skirt" of luminous fibers hanging down from their waist.... I am a "stalker". My teachers were a woman named Clara and a man called Emilito, in order to start my apprenticeship i had first to stop the "voladores" (flyers) from eating my Awareness. Don Juan used to say, that as we, humans, keep the chickens in "gallineros" (henhouses), the voladores keep the humans in "humaneros" to do the same thing, that we do to chickens.... according to the old Nahual (DJ), when we are born, our luminous ball shines brightly with the light of Awareness, but as we grow old and enter the social world, creatures, who share our world, are called by the "Seers" the "voladores". They feed of our Awarness, until they only leave the shine in our luminous egg to the height of our heels (so, they eat us down to our heels), DJ said that this awarness is enough for living in the social world because it is the Awarness of self-reflection. The problem for the Man of Knowledge is to find a way to stop the "voladores" from eating whatever new Awarness grows on top of the heels (yes, it does grow back). This Awareness is so easy to eat by the voladores, because of self-pity and a "poor-baby" attitude towards life and ourselves, so one way to stop the "voladores" is thrugh disciplined acts like Recapitulation and Tensegrity. By doing these disciplined acts we generate a kind of Awareness, that is not the kind of what the voladores like, so now you can begin to grow your Awareness higher than your heels without worry, that the "voladores" will "eat" it, as long, as you behave impeccably as a warrior. Carlos is always on the look for people, that have developed their Awareness over the heels, and one day somebody told him, that there was a "guruess" (a woman guru), that lived in LA, she was very popular and had "lots" energy. She was having success recruiting many people for meditation. Carlos took the three of us (Carol, Florinda and I) to see this woman, and when we "saw" her we noticed, that her Awareness was just like everybody else's. The brightness was only up to her heels, the only different thing, that we "saw" was that this woman had a larger, than normal, assemblage point (Perception Point) and this resulted on a big big EGO, that made her into an egomaniac, so that she could belive and also make others believe, that she had powers of "enlighting" people." Then with the help of Kylie, Taisha showed a picture of a "volador" taken at the Teotihuacan piramids during the equinox ceremony last year by a friend of theirs. It looked like a  flying humanlike shadow on top of the crowd). This is a particular good place for "voladores" to feed, because it is filled with "self-importance". Everybody there is feeling, that "his/her energy" is been used to who knows what (like "saving the world" purpose). Or maybe they feel so important, because they are the receptacles of the "cosmic energy", that is sent by the gods through the heavens to the "choosen ones", that are there for the taking. Also other good places to find "voladores" are funeral homes, where people gather to indulge in self-pityness and "poor-baby" attitude. It is not their fault, it is just the way it is. That's why when we come across a situation like this, we must be "aware" (through the continuos practice of Recapitulation) of what is going on, and not fall prey to our own "self-importance" or "self-pity", which will make us vulnerable to the "voladores". That's why we do not need rituals, "cleansings", "protections", "amulets", "talismans", etc. The best possible protection and offering to the spirit, that you can get rid of your "self-importance" and to follow and impecable path "a path with a heart". I lived on top of trees at the sorcerers' house for two years as part of my training as a stalker. The stalker is a master on the fixation of the assemblage point into a different position. When you sleep the AP moves naturally, unless you start "Dreaming", for which you need to store some energy through the techniques we've already mentioned, you will not be aware of this movement. Now after you are aware, that your AP has moved in order to get advantage of its new position, you need to fix it there, and that's Stalking. When i lived up in the trees, one of the most unusual things that moved my AP to a new position was the fact, that i lost the reference point of the "horizon". All i could perceive was the folliage and the sky, the ground was always "down". Whereas we normally move when we are stuck to the ground in a four directions system, living in the top of the trees you enter a six directions moving system, because i was not allowed to touch the ground. This made my AP to move and to be fixed in a new position. The AP, as the "Seers" see it, has a brilliant side, which in men is oriented towards the inside of the "luminous ball" and in women this bright side of the AP is pointing outward. Due to my living in the top of the trees my AP started to twist inward to man's orientation, when DJ "saw" that, he made me do another stalking in order to correct this. He sent me to live to a mexican town, where Nelida lived as a wealthy high society woman, very well known in this town. I was to became her niece, who came to live with her to find a husband. So they taught me everything about being "feminine", the art of make-up, cooking, good manners, knitting, dancing, to play the piano and even i had french lessons. We used to go to all of the high-society parties and i was displayed as a well educated girl in search of the right man, until one day after six months of arriving to this town, i met an excommunicated priest, who was having deep emotional troubles. All I had to think was to hung him from a tree to try to help him. This was a big scandal in town, so DJ "saw", that it was time to change the strategy and he told me, that since i still wanted to have "everybodies attention" he was going arrange Stalking for me, that will either cure me or will kill me, so he set me up to be a beggar. They started by changing my nice white dress for a "rag", then they put all kind of sticky things in my hair. I remember, that Emilito came with the idea of putting chewing gum in my hair, while Nelida put grease on my skin, so i will look darker and dirty. After they had "dress me" to be a beggar, DJ called a woman called "Alfonsina", who was a beggar in town, he told her, that i was crazy and that they could not have me any more with them, so DJ gave this woman some money and told her to take care of me. I left with this woman and i remember she told me "you don't seem to talk much eh...that's good i think, that we will get along fine..." so we arrived at her home and i was terrified. It was the worst dirtiest and smelliest place i ever saw. She lived in a 6 by 6 room made of cardboard and tin, on the dirt floor there were two straw mats, crawling with insects. It was so horrible, that i was compelled to leave. I ran to the house, but when i got there the servants told me, that everybody had gone to a long trip, but that it might be possible to still find them in downtown. I immediatelly ran to downtown and to my relief i saw Nelida's car stopped in a corner waiting for the red light to change, i got to the car and saw DJ, who was driving and begged him to let me off this crazy stunt, i told him, that i did not want to be a beggar and that all this was going too far, that Alfonsina's house was a "shit-hole" and that i did not want to spend a night there. DJ looked at me with fixed eyes and told me, that it was the design of the Spirit for me to do that, so that i either succeded or i will not see any of them again. He reached into his pocket and threw me a coin and said: "Go and find what you have to find. You will see, that people will give you their money, but they will despise you for what you are. There's always the other side of the coin: if you find somebody that really cares for you, then you will have succeded in your task, and you will learn not to be seeking attention for yourself anymore".
The light changed and they left, i stood there at the main plaza thinking, that i had no option, but to go back to Alfonsina and play the roll of a beggar impeccably without any expectation or concern about when it is going to end or what is going to happen. I was prepared to be a beggar for the rest of my life, if that's what the Spirit wanted for me. I arrived to Alfonsina's house, she was kneeling down in front of the wood stove and was preparing some corn "tortillas" to eat. Without saying a word she handed me a "tortilla" and i sat down quietly and started to eat. Since we were in a small town i needed to have a history behind me, so this is what Alfonsina told the people. I was her crazy daughter, that used to live in the big city with her father, but now the father died and they sent her to me. So i started calling Alfonsina "mama" and everyday i came back to the house i will say "hello mama this is what i collected today" and i gave Alfonsina everyday whatever i got from the day of begging. Life was hard as a beggar, i had to fight other beggars for a good corner to beg. Alfonsina told me, that the best places to beg were outside restaurants or sport clubs (gyms). She said, that when people had a good meal or well exercise, they will give to the poor. Also she said, that churches were not good places, because people already gave to church and that they would prefer to give to the church, than to the beggars. Alfonsina also taught me to carry always a small pack of wood to use it as a shield when i was attacked by other beggars, because i was invading their territory, this little pack of wood happened to be very useful for this purpose. I always liked to go to church, not to beg, but to see a very beautiful woman, that came everyday, she had something, that draw my attention to her. As i became more in depth with my beggar role, i started to hear "people's thoughts" and i could hear things happening a block from where i was. One day i was begging outside church and this beautiful lady came out and spoke to me, she wanted to take me to her home to wash me and to give me clean clothes, but i refused for sometime, until one day i remembered what DJ told me about "genuine concern" and i accepted to go to her house. The lady immediatelly put me into the shower and got rid of the rags i was wearing. As water started to fall on my body and the dirt dissapeared from my skin, the lady was horrified, that i was a "white girl".
She screamed "What have they have done to you?" I was speechless, the lady then gave me a "cardigan" dress and a big sum of money and told me to go back to wherever a came from, but to get off the streets. I went back to Alfonsina and handed her the money. I told her as always "mama, mama look what i collected today". When she looked at me, she fainted, when she got back, she said "you've been touched by an angel". She became ill and i took her to Nelida's house. There i found DJ, Nelida and all the others. Nelida took Alfonsina to her bedroom to give her attention. I stayed at the living room with DJ, i was anxious about what was going to happen to Alfonsina, because at that time i knew, that i loved her unconditionally, up to this time i did not know what love was. I tried to relay this to DJ, but it seemed, that he already knew my feelings and he told me, that i had succeded in my task and that i don't need to go with Alfonsina anymore, that Alfonsina had a daughter, that loved her truly, but to Alfonsina this daughter had died today. At this time i knew, that in the sorcerers' world things come and things go and one has to flow without attachments.
Guillermo.


These note were taken after Zaia Alexander lecture at the Omega workshop on 10/11/97. Zaia Alexander gave a short explanation of the male/female configuration known as "Awareness through harmony". She stated that it was not possible for Carlos Castaneda and Carol Tiggs to have a harmonious relationship, as she and Miles Reid share, because Carol Tiggs would dominate Carlos Castaneda. Zaia explained, that she and Miles were very similar energetically and they had found the line, that connected them. She stated, that she had been going through a most trying time in her life when she found Miles. She also elaborated on the fact, that human beings can find their counter parts and can discover great strength when finding that being. In Ancient times females dominated the males and were very powerful, but because they have lost their sobriety, they fell from power and the males kicked them out physically. Since that time the value of the male/female relationship has never been explored. Zaia said, that there are currently two pairs of practitioners, who are in a position to take advantage of the "Awareness through harmony", yet whenever they are near each other they despise each other. This delights Carlos Castaneda to no end for he takes advantage of this and keeps them together for long periods of time. Zaia stated, that those practitioners are so alike, that they even beads of sweat form on their faces in the same place. The shamans code is a series of 18 not-doing magical passes. Instead of naming those passes, the Shamans of olden times would give them numbers and would scramble the order to give themselves great awareness. Zaia made a comment at this point about self-proclaimed teachers teaching Tensegrity. She gave an example of a man, who she had heard had been to two practice groups and was now teaching Tensegrity, and of a woman in Mexico, who was teaching a magical pass, that Zaia tried to replicate for the audience. It involved sticking your finger in your mouth and then pulling it out making a POPING noise. Zaia's attempt was unsuccessful yet utterly funny. These self-proclaimed teachers where trying to be teachers. Zaia explained the difference between a Teacher and Practitioner. A teacher is someone, who teaches something they learned ages ago, but a Practitioner is someone, who shows what they have learned and they themselves practice and live by. These so called teacher, who were trying to be recognized as the 'best.' "Noone is the best" she stated with authority. "Infinity is the best!!" She said, that the Shamans' Code could not be done outside this workshop. That it would be futile to replicate what we were going to do. Those magical passes were going to be peformed "for our awareness only, one could be selfish in such situations, but it was a different kind of selfishness."


Mexico City Workshop - 1/27-29/96
(A brief impression, by someone who actually attended)
Six to seven hundred people gathered Friday night in a large ballroom at the Centro Asturiano (next to the Hotel Nikko) in Chapultapec Park to hear the Nagual's first lecture.
It was scheduled to run from 8 to 10 PM, but most of the crowd was already in their seats by 6:45 PM, and the lecture and questions ran considerably over, until about 10:40 PM.
Castaneda covered a lot of the same ground, that those of us who have been to prior workshops have heard before, and he appeared to be just as funny and commanding in Spanish as he is in English. The crowd, however, was different in attitude from a typical U.S. workshop. During the question period, a few people shouted their questions at Castaneda, sometimes before he finished answering a prior question. And the same kinds of questions seemed to be asked repeatedly with only slight variations in wording (e.g., "Why should I do Tensegrity?" and "How should I do Tensegrity?"). Sample answer: "The only way to do Tensegrity is to _do_ it." Other sample questions: "Is don Juan now a UFO?" "Are the Witches like UFOs?"
It was fascinating to watch how Castaneda handled an aggressive, sometimes edgy crowd without once losing his cool or raising his voice. He managed to dispense with even the most obnoxiously phrased question with light, yet pointed, humor. A drawback for the non-Spanish-speaking participants, of whom there were apparently more than the organizers anticipated, was that there was an insufficient number of official translators, and that the few translators who were available were not native English speakers. Fortunately a number of us had varying degrees of proficiency in Spanish and were able to correct the translators' errors. And the translations seemed to get better as the weekend wore on.
Saturday morning at 9 AM, Castaneda spoke again briefly to a smaller crowd, approximately 400. He prepared us for the movements and suggested that we suspend judgment and try them. As he left the stage, he spotted many of us from the States, who have attended the workshops in Los Angeles, and greeted us warmly. There was some surprise in the room, and, I sensed, delight, when the five women, the Energy Trackers -- who took to the three raised stages to trade off demonstrating the movements -- included Nyei and Reni Murez and Kylie Lundahl. Joining them were two young women, one of whom was called Erin (who apparently hails from Argentina), and the other, whose name I didn't catch, who is Italian. They taught us eight passes that morning, which were intended to strengthen the legs -- "our base." We did multiple repetitions of all the passes, and were told that we could do as many reps as we wanted in our own practice, as long as we stopped after 20 or so at a time to do a finishing movement (like the one used throughout the first video) to settle the energy back through the whole body. Each of these passes was a fairly simple movement, and no names were given for any of the passes. Contrary to a prior report from a non-eyewitness, the Trackers patiently took lots of questions from the crowd on how to do each pass. Also contrary to that "report," neither Nyei nor Reni ever struck me as having any difficulty keeping up with the other Trackers. In my view, all five seemed well prepared and hugely energetic, although the new Italian Tracker seemed a bit nervous initially and was presumably less accustomed than the others to instructing huge crowds. At some point that morning, Philip, who prior workshop participants will remember as a translator for the Spanish speakers, joined Kylie on the center stage to help translate instructions (which Kylie, Nyei and Reni gave in English, and Erin gave in Spanish), and to help demonstrate the movements. (By Saturday afternoon a number of women around me were commenting on how well Philip performed the passes and that it was "nice to have a guy up there" for a change.)
After the lunch break, Castaneda again came to speak and to respond, apparently, to a report he'd had of the angry departure of an Italian participant during the morning session. He reminded us that it's not the warrior's way to get angry and that it is only a manifestation of self-importance to become angry and leave in a huff. Tensegrity instruction then continued, and we reviewed the morning's passes and then learned four additional passes, that involved a few more steps than the morning's simple movements. The Saturday night lecture was moved to 8:30 PM. Castaneda started taking questions early on, and seemed to captivate the audience with his stories, jokes. Since Castaneda mentioned at one point that the Valley of Mexico (in which Mexico City is situated) is the "epicenter," a few questioners asked what made this area special. As I understood it, the Nagual explained that since the "energy ceiling" [related to the altitude?] of the area was so high, unusual perceptions and events often happened on their own. He also reported that his vision clears up there, whereas after two days back in Los Angeles it's bad again. As he has previously explained, his vision problem is the result of the injury he suffered in one eye as a result of spinning to perceive in the 360-degree-world that he has described in prior workshops. (Interestingly, he also indicated that he never experiences the 360 degree world in his dreaming when he is in Mexico City.) The Nagual also answered a lot of questions about the Flyers, and acted out a wonderful story of an encounter he had in Mexico City with a witch of another lineage shortly after La Gorda's death that suddenly brought him clarity as to what had happened and where to go from there.
[Back at my hotel room Saturday night, after an intense day of Tensegrity instruction, and then running through the day's passes on my own before going to bed, I experienced a high degree of the visual distortions that I sometimes get after a long set of Tensegrity here. This experience gave me some feel for what the Nagual had said about the Valley of Mexico being a place where anything could happen.]
Castaneda cited this as an example of how our Flyer-installed minds make us lumbering and heavy, weighing us down with "mental masturbation." He said that a Chinese word for this was "manfifa," and he then used that word several times as a more gentle way to point out this activity...the Energy Trackers were indicating that they would try to spend the In the few minutes remaining, instead of taking questions, Kylie led a fast and vigorous run through of several of the passes we had learned. I stayed in Mexico for an additional few days, traveling to Tula and visiting several sites in Mexico City that I'd read about in Castaneda's books. I continued to have a number of experiences that reminded me of the Nagual's comments about the effect of the energy ceiling in that area. All in all, it was the most vivid and unusual short vacation I've ever had. Genrich
P.S.: The Spanish word for Tensegrity, that appears on my Mexico City T-shirt is "Tensigridad."


"I am Florinda Donner-Grau," Florinda said as the applause died down. She welcomed us to the 33rd Tensegrity seminar and workshop, the first of which was held in 1994. Before that they had met with people in informal groups but hadn't gotten anywhere, so they decided to teach in a more formal, regimented fashion. She went on to give a short history of how the teaching of Tensegrity had come about. It all started when Carol came back and changed everything. Her return was an unprecedented occurrence in the lineage of the sorcerers up to that point. She had apparently left with don Juan's party ten years before, thus fulfilling her role as the Nagual woman of Castaneda's party. Carol's sudden reappearance was quite a shock and threw open doors energetically for all of them as far as what was possible. It also confirmed once and for all that the four of them -- Florinda, Taisha, Carlos and Carol -- were in fact the end of don Juan's lineage. Carol's return is what gave them the energy and motivation to publicly open up and reveal the secrets of the sorcerers' world, which they had been so meticulously taught by don Juan and his party of warriors. Carol's return meant there was no longer reason to keep their knowledge of the magical passes veiled in secrecy. The challenge for them had been to take the four separate individualized lines of passes they had been taught and render them usable to anyone, while removing a certain morbid aspect that lingered from the mood of the sorcerers of ancient Mexico, who had originally discovered the passes in their dreaming practices. This is where the Energy Trackers and Elements came in. Their work over several years is what enabled a transformation of the passes into what we now know as Tensegrity, and allows them to be taught to anyone who is interested. There's currently a new configuration of two instructors, that will be teaching the not- doing passes, in addition to Miles and Zaia. Their names are Nuri Alexander and Haley Alexander Van Austin. These two are the same, not because they look alike but because their energy is exactly the same. The team of Miles and Zaia are referred to as 'Awareness through Harmony'. The team of Nuri and Haley are referred to as 'Awareness through Sameness'. We believe the ancient sorcerers knew of such an occurrence, but don't think that don Juan or the 27 generations of sorcerers before him ever saw it," Florinda said concerning Nuri and Haley. "The effect of these two is so powerful, that we guarantee that everyone will feel the effects of the not-doing passes, because of them. If not today, then after you leave the workshop." Even Carlos feels the impact of Nuri and Haley leading the not-doing passes. When he is with them they apparently have a dramatic effect on his awareness. He says they take him and smash his head into the ceiling again and again, until it goes into the attic and he reaches a new level of Awareness. He has gone into fits of rage over their effect on him. because he's too old to be affected by these young people! Florinda thinks what Carlos is really mad about is change, though. None of us really like to change. She went on to say, that they had thought the not-doing passes taught in August were the final versions, but, as happened to don Juan and Julian before him, the more they focused on remembering the not-doing passes in order to teach them, the more complete versions of the forms slowly emerged. In the past, the not-doing passes were taught to disciples in order for them to reach a new level of awareness. After this enhanced level of Awareness was achieved, the not-doing passes were immediately forgotten, until the need arose for them to be recalled and taught to others in turn by the next generation. Florinda commented, that The Series of the Five Concerns, which we were about to learn, nicknamed the Westwood Series for where it was originally taught, was a very important series, one which was extremely complementary to the practice of the not-doing passes. It stirred up energy in all directions. The sorcerers of ancient Mexico, and those, who came after, all considered the unique saturation engendered by the Westwood Series to be vital in performing the passes for not-doing. After Florinda concluded her short lecture, which she read primarily from notes (much to all the translators' relief: they only had to ask her to slow down once, she departed through the side entrance to enthusiastic applause. The almost one thousand attendees then spread out across the huge room after a short break and took their places around the three platforms. Three Elements -- Brandon, Jules and Gavin -- walked out and took their places. Brandon, on the center platform with the live mic, then led in the instruction of the individual Westwood Series passes as portrayed in the book, Magical Passes. After lunch and a few words from Lorenzo, some of which were about the availability of a Vivaldi CD at the bookstore tables in back that participants would really appreciate after this evening, Taisha came out to speak. She introduced herself by saying, "I am Taisha Abelar." She went on to explain that for the last six months, since the August workshop, she's been Ann Marie Carter, one of three stalking personalities. The other two are Anna Maria Cordova and Sheila Walters. Taisha wanted to give us an example of the all inclusive world, that is created when a stalker enters into another persona. She told a story of what had happened to her recently.

Anne Marie promised a friend of hers, that she would put up some kitchen cabinets. She got involved in the measuring, figuring of angles (few of which were 90 degrees), figuring the height of the cabinets, collecting and computing a long list of numbers. She then went to a giant cabinet wholesaler and worked through the dizzying array of cabinets they had available. After all this was done, Ann Marie wanted to treat herself to lunch. Taisha at this point explained that Ann Marie treats herself very, very well. She used to go out and Carlos would wonder what Ann Marie was treating herself to now. "If he only knew!" Taisha exclaimed. Ann Marie went to a very nice restaurant down by the ocean, and was seated at a table. The hurried waitress ran over, gave Ann Marie a menu and said, "It doesn't matter how bad my day is, a sorcerer walks in and I'm walking on a cloud." The waitress was gone in a flash to wait on another table. Ann Marie thought to herself, 'What? Who is she talking about?' She looks around and sees a man behind her and wonders if that is the sorcerer the waitress is talking about, but decides, 'No, he doesn't have the lean look of a sorcerer.' As Taisha related this part of the story she gestured around her lower midsection to indicate a paunch or a big ass. When the waitress comes by again, Ann Marie says, "Excuse me, what was it you said to me before?" The waitress again says, "It doesn't matter how bad my day is, a sorcerer walks in and I'm walking on a cloud."
All of a sudden, as if through a haze, Ann Marie remembers something. She remembers Taisha Abelar as if Taisha is a dream. Ann Marie asks the waitress if she has ever been to a seminar (not mentioning what type of seminar she is talking about). The waitress says, "Oh yes, I've been to two of them." The waitress then starts asking Ann Marie questions about recapitulation, but Ann Marie is clueless to help her. She knows that Taisha knows all about it and is desperately trying to bring Taisha back but because she is so deeply 'in' Ann Marie, she can hardly remember anything, and ends up being of little help to the waitress. She doesn't want to disappoint the waitress and tries to be Taisha. She skips desert because Taisha never eats sugar, and even ends up picking at some lettuce and a hamburger patty when what she really wanted, and the whole reason she had gone to that restaurant, was the hazelnut torte. Taisha went on to explain that what we need to move the assemblage point from one persona to the other is DETACHMENT, FLUIDITY, ENERGY
She said the reason they all called don Juan the old Nagual is that he had four separate personas, one of which was unique to each disciple. Taisha believed that he could live an entire lifetime in one of those personas, but he was fluid and switched between them as he saw fit. For Taisha he was John Michael Abelar, for Carol he was Melchior Yowkeeskay, for Carlos he was Juan Matus, and for Florinda he was Mariano Aureliano. Taisha went on to talk about our names, how we learn to identify with them, how they pin us down. She pointed out that many of us are named after someone else, and with that name often come expectations to be like the person we're named after. She said that we are stuck in the persona we create for ourselves, that we are attached to our names and family history. We will go to great lengths to explore our family tree and talk proudly of great uncle Omar, the pioneer. Taisha told us that there is a company, that will for a fee guarantee finding royalty in your family tree.

'Doña Perfecta' by Benito Perez Galdos is a novel Taisha went on to talk about. It's been translated into English, but the Spanish version is better. Cleargreen wanted to get it to offer at the bookstore but it's out of print. They're looking at re-publishing it so they can have it available in the future. It's the story of a 'perfect woman'. A woman who, in her own eyes, can do nothing wrong. Everyone around her makes mistakes and it is doña Perfecta's self-appointed responsibility to 'help' these people, trying to get them to behave in her 'perfect' way. Taisha says she keeps a copy of the book by her bedside and reads it every night (sparingly, of course, because it's painful to see oneself). Taisha also read from notes during her short lecture, but not quite as much as Florinda had (which Florinda mainly did for the benefit of the translators). Her notes were more of an outline, which she glanced at from time to time while pacing around behind the podium telling stories. Florinda had started things out on a somewhat concrete level, then Taisha launched off from her foundation into the abstract. Taisha concluded her short lecture and left through the side entrance. After her talk, the three Elements completed showing the individual Westwood passes, then led us in the long form version, which had been changed slightly since it was last shown at Omega in October and LA in August. After repeating the long form several times we took a break, after which a serious spreading out of the participants began. It was dim-the-lights, roll-out-the-mats, time! The six huge video projection screens came alive, and shortly thereafter Nuri and Haley walked out to the center platform. When everyone was settled in, like a bunch of extras on some strange movie set, the lights in the arched ceiling dimmed and light shown on the center platform revealing on-screen the image of Nuri and Haley laying down wearing dark sunglasses. Nuri gave a short talk. She spoke eloquently and passionately, in a calm sort of way, about what had become the Elements and Energy Tracker's primary motivation -- the enhancement of awareness. Everything else in their daily lives was secondary to this single-minded pursuit. It was their purpose.

"This is how we live. We don't do one thing and say another. This is our life." She then led instruction of The Legs Rule Vitality.
The next not-doing series to be taught, Unbending Purpose, was led by Haley. Before doing so she spoke briefly about vitality and awareness and how enhanced awareness heralds true behavioral change. She also spoke of the explosive, eruptive nature of the revised versions of the passes, saying they were more appropriate to our time.
As participants filed out for the dinner break, there was little doubt that this was going to be an 'intensive' seminar/workshop. People walked off in different directions looking for food; some to the van pulled up on the right side of the building, some to the Sheraton for its restaurant, or Cleargreen sponsored buffet set up in nearby rooms, others drove off to points unknown as the sun slowly set on a graying southern California sky. During the dinner break it began to rain. The Los Angeles area was catching the southern part of yet another El Niño inspired storm. Workshop attendees walked and trotted back into Building 5 with umbrellas, coats and other things over their heads, or in some cases, nothing at all. The sound of rain on the roof from inside the large hall was soothing. As participants settled down on their mats, mostly thin blue ones, Nuri and Haley came out and got situated on the center platform, which was being projected onto the six video screens. After a few minutes, the lights were dimmed. On the handout attendees had been given, there were three series of not-doing passes listed. Nuri and Haley had been teaching them in reverse order from the list, so the first one on the list was now being taught -- The Running Man. Nuri made a few comments about the series before beginning. She said The Running Man series was sufficient in and of itself, that of the different not-doing series it was the most important and could be practiced by itself. She said the shamans of ancient Mexico had discovered that what they considered 'filler' passes, ones that they were done in between the others, like the 'back' pass where one pulled one's feet back and held them tense to a count of 20, were actually the most powerful. The ancient sorcerers had hence collected them together in The Running Man series. Nuri said that performing The Running Man series delivered a weird, mysterious punch. She went on to make a few comments about coveting awareness and vitality, then she and Haley, wearing sunglasses as before, lay down and began instruction. Very few words were used and very few questions were asked, perhaps two or three. The mood was amazingly quiet for as many people as there were, all laying down moving their legs and feet to the sound of rain in the dimly lit hall. Looking up into the three-story high bowed ceiling, there was a certain tensegrity-like feel to its construction.  After going through The Running Man series a few times, Nuri sat up and explained that in ancient times The Running Man would sometimes be performed to sounds, whether sounds of nature, such as wind or rain, or the sound of music. The speed and rhythm at which the passes were executed would be determined by the sound. The execution of the passes would then become non-volitional, she said, and dictated by the sounds of nature or whatever music was being played. Nuri went on to say that we were now going to do The Running Man series one last time to the music of Vivaldi's Four Seasons*. She made comments about the feet not often having a chance to experience joy and freedom, and that they would be ending The Running Man series on the next to the last piece so that we could listen to the end in silence and let our feet exult! She also sang a bit of verse from the song, 'Tomorrow'. Some participants later commented that they weren't into classical music, or that it was too loud, but the sound quality in that cavernous space was superb. The music mixing with the steady down-pour of rain pounding on the roof was mesmerizing. A certain non- volitional movement indeed seemed to take over, and during the motionlessness of the last movement almost a thousand pairs of feet exulted in the beauty of it all. Sometime during the evening, a thousand-year-old oak tree in Encino fell over in the pouring rain. The next day dawned mostly clear and fair. A podium was set up on the center platform when attendees arrived, so they settled in on the floor in front and to the side of it. Lorenzo came out and made a few brief announcements, then left abruptly. One participant was heard asking, "What the hell did he say?" Shortly thereafter, Carol walked in to an enthusiastic standing ovation. She introduced herself then said, "You brought the roof down last night!" She explained that she was standing against the wall in back by the entrance watching us practice The Running Man series when suddenly a chunk of the ceiling fell on one of the participants. He jumped up and started brushing himself off. Someone next to him turned and said, "Wow, what kind of omen was THAT?"
Carol quickly and mischievously said to the audience, "I'm not going to go into that." Carol commented that it was weird to see people she loved up on the screens looking so strange and foreign, as if they were floating in the air with their dark sunglasses. (The not- doing pass instructors wore dark sunglasses because of the strong spotlights that were on them.) She went on to talk about Miles and Zaia, and the energetic configuration that they shared, which made it possible for them to present the 'On the Run' series as a harmonious team. She called them Mila and Zaio and said that it was rare that a man and a woman could work together with no underlying need for one to assert themselves over the other. To illustrate her point she performed a quick skit, where she played both the man and the woman talking to one another. She said that as soon as a man and woman are put in a room together, something like the following takes place.
Woman: "Does he like me?"
Man: "I wonder if she notices me? Hey baby, you going with anyone?"
Woman: "No . . ."
Man: "Oh yeah? Really?"
Woman: "Yes, I've been saving myself for you."
On and on. Such deep-seated roles leave little room for getting away from a social competitiveness, that always seems to lurk just below the surface. What Miles and Zaia represent are a team, that has done just that. They don't try to out-do each other or take control, that's why they're referred to as 'Awareness through Harmony'. Carol said, as Florinda had regarding Nuri and Haley, that what Miles and Zaia were going to teach us later, the On the Run series of not-doing passes, would have a long lasting and powerful effect -- if not now, later. Carol went on to say that it was amazing to see the participants learn the passes so quickly. Talk about mass!
"The four of us could never remember what don Juan showed us," she said. "He said that we were incapable of not only remembering, but also of even thinking. The old Nagual would show us a long pass and then say, 'Okay, now you do it.' We four would hem and haw and one of us, who was very articulate, I'm not going to mention names, but HE would try to save us by buying time asking questions about the pass. He would say, 'Don Juan, when you did that last movement, were you using your forearm or your wrist?' Don Juan would look at him and say, 'I was using my arm, my wrist and my dick. Now do it!'" Carol said that all she used to remember were don Juan's insults. Don Juan's contention was, that they couldn't remember anything. They couldn't conceive a complete thought or hold anything in their minds. Not only couldn't they remember the passes, they couldn't concentrate long enough to think. This state of scattered attention is due to a lack of energy, which is what the magical passes help restore. At one point Carol said, "You people must be sore."
She said it was okay to smile at your muscles. After that you could even smile at your liver, your adrenals, etc. [Here are some interesting comments, after-the-event:

"It's called the Inner Smile meditation. Begin by getting a smiling feeling around the eyes, then the mouth, then let it spread down through the body -- first down the front line, through the thyroid, thymus, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys/adrenals, spleen/pancreas, bladder and genitals (there are a couple of alternate sequences, that could be done -- slightly different order of organs). Then the middle line through the entire alimentary tract, then down the back line through the brain and spine. The purpose is to cultivate the positive virtues associated with those organs according to five-element theory. Also, it's to cultivate health in all the organs by sending them positive thoughts, i.e. to focus one's intent on health and feeling good rather than on sickness, as a way of changing unconscious negative internal dialogue. Also consider -- 'The qi follows the yi' (classical saying) -- the energy goes wherever you focus your attention and intent, so you can bring healing energy to any of your organs."
Carol said they live minute-to-minute and see each day with awe and wonder; each moment is precious. "Even if it is a bad day," she said, "it is a splendid day, and we love it."
Carol said they always thank those, who are important to them. "Because each day is so precious," she said, "we thank those around us, who we may never see again. Thank you. Sorcerers also say good bye. Another corny saying - Aufwiedersehn." With this sentiment, Carol concluded her short lecture and walked out the side entrance. When the applause died down and attendees had spread out once again, the three Elements returned and reviewed the Westwood series passes. Following that, Nuri and Haley came out and reviewed The Legs Rule Vitality and Unbending Purpose till the lunch break. After lunch, the remaining part of the afternoon which concluded the workshop, consisted of Miles and Zaia teaching the 18 unnamed On the Run series, or Run of the Running Man passes. These passes would later be broken up into groups of three, each of which would be book-ended by a set of 'opening and closing' passes. The twelve 'opening and closing' passes were taught at once, as were the 18. In the end, the 18 were performed not in the order they were taught, but in the order of the Sorcerers' Code with the 'opening and closing' passes bracketing them into groups of three. This series of 30 passes was then performed four times through, vocal cues alternating in each round between Miles and Zaia, till 4pm or so rolled around..

Bидео о книгах Кастанеда, Магических Пассах и Остановке Внутреннего Диалога на русском :

КАРЛОС КАСТАНЕДА - Искусство сновидения /АУДИОКНИГА (неполная)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtc_IzTpAyQ

КАРЛОС КАСТАНЕДА - Безмолвное знание /АУДИОКНИГА  (неполная)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbXbubQM13Q

Кастанеда Карлос - Огонь изнутри, часть 1  Sep 22, 2015. Кастанеда Карлос. Аудиокнига "Огонь изнутри" (неполная) - слушать онлайн. Книга 7. Исполнитель: Илья Бобылев
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIQHb6pvaYQ

Кастанеда Карлос - Огонь изнутри (неполная), часть 2  Sep 22, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ma6MeKICg

Кастанеда Карлос - Второе кольцо силы (аудиокнига - неполная).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUd52tltSWA

Карлос Кастанеда Второе кольцо силы Книга 5 Часть 4  May 4, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XICGaDKZhaA

Карлос Кастанеда Второе кольцо силы Книга 5 Часть 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQMuqpxp8NQ

Карлос Кастанеда Второе кольцо силы Книга 5 Часть 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yqi8Eoo740

Карлос Кастанеда Дар Орла Книга 6 Часть 1      May 4, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9gzXskN9SY

Карлос Кастанеда Дар Орла Книга 6 Часть 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSSgVz1qjU4

Кастанеда Карлос - Путешествие в Икстлан (аудиокнига - неполная). Книга 3   Sep 16, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6k1d3upqIY

Кастанеда Карлос - Отдельная реальность (аудиокнига - неполная) Книга 2  Sep 11, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cClKI2hAhwg

Кастанеда Карлос - Сказки о силе (аудиокнига - неполная).  17, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEduKonK1k

Карлос Кастанеда - Активная сторона бесконечности. Часть 1   Jun 9, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRK9DHs4OBM

Карлос Кастанеда - Активная сторона бесконечности. Часть 2   Jun 9, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-ymRK8YjMA

Карлос Кастанеда - Активная сторона бесконечности. Часть 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeLlvELfoYw

Карлос Кастанеда - Активная сторона бесконечности. Часть 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlDP4e9LMlc

Кастанеда 10 - Активная сторона Бесконечности - Aug 29, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnVeWK7WPFk

Карлос Кастанеда — Хищники  - Aug 28, 2014. Карлос Кастанеда — Активная сторона бесконечности
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsabdQCgO9E

Кастанеда. Неделание  Jan 23, 2014. Практика "Неделания" - великолепный, безупречный инструмент. Он позволит тебе чувствовать, что ты живешь в уникальных преобразованиях и иметь гибкий ум даже при самых тяжелых рутинных загрузах -  Юрий Диоген.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5epb39l93xw

Интервью последователя Карлоса Кастанеда. Sep 1, 2011. Второй шаг в расследовании! Карлос Кастанеда и его невероятные магические методики! Мы ищем людей, которые это попробовали использовать..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkbmIKZV84I


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbdhZZKvA5c

Tensegrity - Twelve Basic Movements #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibi-J74NyTw

1. Helping Flow of Immunity is a minor movement, that stimulates flow of immunity, sites of energy, that keeps one awake; stimulates flow of saliva and glands under the chin; flushes toxins out.

2. Lobster's Strike is a minor movement, reaches layers of sensation prior to sensation of a human; strike has to come all the way from the kidneys; its a vibratory movement, that shakes the entire body; this type of vibration keeps the body in an optimal state of wellbeing.

3. The Ball of Energy - is a major movement.
This movement  rounds up the dispersed energy, that exists around the body, which makes it into a concrete unit, that described as a Ball. This pass exercises glands around pectorial muscles (chest muscles) and axilla (an armpit) and it is essential for priding (thriving, excellent condition) of Immunity System. It starts from the wrists almost touching one another. One is perpendicular to the other. Make sure that each wrist is fully extended backwards; the elbow is mobile, the elbow follows the hand; start with the left hand over the right one and begin counting (5 times). Notice when the movements end, the hands are like claws, that rip the Ball of Energy apart. Do the movement 5 times and rub (the Energy) on upper part of chest around throat; repeat it another 5 times and rub energy on the liver/gallblader areas and pancreas/spleen areas; repeat it another 5 times and rub the energy on the area of the genitals.

4. Teasing the Web (Snapping the Web, Dispersing Energy. Getting Rid of Unwanted Energy).
It is a major movement. This is another very old technique to reach the layer of sensation prior to that of a human. Its function is to excite countless sites on the wrists and hands, which brings general health and wellbeing. There are 3 parts to Teasing the Web.

Snapping the Web. This movement creates kind of itching on the membrane between the fingers. Since humans don't have membrane there, the movement proports (harmonise, balance) to transport one to a very ancient level of sensation by activating vague memory of the membrane. Start from the left hand, notice, that the little finger of the left hand is between the third and the little fingers of the right hand. The left index finger is locked with the thumb of the right hand. Do this movement 5 times with one hand, then do it 5 more times with the other hand.

Dispersing Energy. The energy, that has been awakened in hands by Snapping the Web, then dispersed throughout the arms and body itself by pressing sites of energy on the back of the hands. Press 5 times on the back of the hand, then 5 times on the other one.

Getting Rid of the Excess. Any energy, that is released into the body itself, always has an unpredictable effect, so it's more, than necessary to release any excess. Do this movement 5 times with the left thumb on top, then 5 times with the other hand with the right thumb on top.

5. Rolling Energy is a minor movement.
Rolling the hands forward gives the body its Energy depth. Pushing the hands out to the side, determines its Energy width. The position of the hands to be avoided is the curling up of the palm, the palm means to be straight, flat. Maintain that position. Do 5 short rolls to the front; then 5 long rolls to the front; push out to the sides also 5 times.

6. Massaging the Glands around the Shoulder Blades is a minor movement.
Position of the arm up at the shoulder level. Isolate and squeeze the muscles surrounding the shoulder blades.

7. The Axis Breath is a major movement.
This Magical Pass is of utmost importance, because it moves the Earthly Terminal of invisible Axis of the Energy, that surrounds the body, from its site on the ground and then projects it out to the Infinity (Axis is a  straight line, around which Earth or body rotates). It acts on the Earthly Terminal, so the Energy is floating, rather than grounded. It is a belief, that the Vertical Axis of Energy goes through the ground to a point of just behind the genitals. As the hands begin to come down, the index fingers push against one another into a down position. Once they reach the eye level, the eyes make contact with the finger tips and maintain that gaze for the entire movement. The hand pose at the centre of the body, as the body bends down. Point the fingers that spot on the ground. By keeping the eyes fixed on the fingers, the eyes and the fingers pull the Terminal of that Axis of Energy. Begin to move it up, pulling its bottom end with fingers. Place it then on the centre of the body. Follow the tip of pointed fingers with the eyes to keep the energy there. Bring the hands up then and touch the knuckles of the thumbs with the lips. Rest the tips of the fingers on the forehead. Extend the head back fully with the legs straight and exhale. Inhale as the arms and hands snap upwards. Projecting the earthly Terminal of Energy  out into Infinity. Use the eyes and the stomach to send it out. Inhale as the arms sweep up; exhale as they begin to lower, posing at the eye level. As they pose at the centre of the body, inhale, exhale, as they begin to lower. As forearms rest on the legs, inhale and exhale 3 times; inhale as the hands begin to come up posing at the centre, exhale. Inhale as they come up, exhale, inhale as the arms snap up.
It is almost like on the picture below, only the Vertical Axis of the Earthly Terminal doesn't quite go through the ground to a point just behind the genitals.


8. Forging the Central Power of the Body is a minor movement (forging means slowly advancing, increasing power of the body).
Cradle the crown of the head on the right bent up arm. Keep the back straight and fully extended. This movement brings the Energy of the right side of the body into the head and the Energy of the left half into the adrenals. By shifting arms back and forth, the energy of the adrenals is mixed with the energy of the head.

9. Two Prongs on the Face is a minor movement (prong means sharply pointed part of the body, fingers, to tackle the problem).
This movement promotes youth, it also clears out the toxins, that are held in the face from stress and tension, and it replaces old cells. Place the thumbs up under the chin and push upward. Place the Index and Second Finger next to the eyes and press inwards; hold it and release.

10. Reaching the Energy Hole above the Head is a major movement.
Inward Spirals. Left hand is moving in spirals clockwise (3 times) with right hand moving in spirals anti-clockwise (3 times). This is another one of most important Energy Passes. It has to do with the transfer of Energy from the outside the body to the body itself. There are secret caches of Energy right above the head and on both sides of it. It is believed, that this Energy has two kinds: dark and light, heavy and fluffy. The dark and heavy is above to the right of the head. The light and fluffy is above to the left of the head. The dark and heavy Energy is outward bound; the light and fluffy Energy is inward bound. The aim of this pass is to use these types of Energy for the total revamping of the body (revamping means restoring, patching up).
The first is Inward Spirals. 3 Inward Spirals close to the legs; 5 Inward Spirals - up. Inhale when the arms snap up. Then 5 Inward Spirals - down and press arms to legs, snap the arms up, fists facing each other.The second is Outward Spirals: 3 Outward Spirals close to the legs, 5 Outward Spirals up. Inhale while grabbing outward, fists don't face each other. 5 Outward Spirals down. Arms along the sides, flatten the palms, snap the arms up.

11. Infinity Breath is a major movement.
By concentrating attention on the hands, inhale and bring the Energy from the ground, from bottom of the feet, up the spine and continue at the back, circling it over the head and, finally, posing it over the forehead. Exhale, as one brings the hands and the energy down the front of the body, moving them over the genitals to the ground and from the ground out into Infinity. Inhale in order to bring and place the Energy on the back. This inhalation is for strength. Exhale to bring solidity to the front. The push of the lungs releases things, that are not needed, out into Infinity. This Pass brings fluidity to the front and strength to the back.

12. The Antenna is a major movement.
Another extremely mysterious pass, which has to do with the Level of Awareness prior to humans. The men and women of ancient Mexico maintained, that there is Enormity of Energy in the Universe, coming from the silent and invisible sources - Dead Stars. This pass allows one to utilize it. Of all the many passes, that are known, this one had been selected, because it is believed, that with it one can get the Energy, that is outside the Realm of common sense in the world of everyday life.

In this pass the hands act as antennas, pulling and reaching for that energy. To warm up, the right thumb rubs at the base of the left thumb. The little finger and the thumb pressed together, snap out to the front 3 times. There are 2 positions for the hand: the two middle fingers are pressed against the thumb, the two fingers are pulled back tight. Tension is on the back of the hand, the wrist is either fully extended back or pulled all the way back. Pull the wrists all the way back, straighten them as the arms extend. The wrists remain straight. One and a half circles to the front, and two circles to the back, 3 sets. Wrists extended back, straighten the wrists. Isolate and squeeze the muscle, surrounding the shoulder blades to move the arms. 3 short exhales, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale for the circles in the front, exhale for the two in back. Inhale, exhale as the hands snap out to the front, inhale, exhale, inhale as they pull, exhale.


The movement, that you are about to see, have been taken directly from other movements, which shamans-Seers, who lived in Mexico in ancient times, used to call Magical Passes. Everything we know about those movements was taught to Carlos Castaneda, Taisha Abelar, Florinda Donner-Grau and Carol Tiggs by Don Juan Matus, a Yaque Indian Shaman from the state of Sonora, Mexico. Don Juan 4 disciples in turn taught the 3 of us everything they know about those Magical Passes. The Seers of ancient Mexico performed these Passes in order to condition their bodies and minds for activities pertinent to shamanism. Shamanism was understood by them as the acquired capacity to expand the limits of our normal perception. The peculiarity of the Magical Passes, which is most meaningful to us is, that by practicing them one can become aware of some cohesive force, that binds together the conglomerate (collection into a cohesive mass) of Energy Fields, that we are. This Binding Effect is something similar to what modern day astronomers believe happens at the Core of every Galaxy, that exists in the Cosmos. The believe, that at that Core a Force of incalculable strength holds the Stars of Galaxies in place. This Force, called a Black Hole,  is a theoretical construct, which seems to be the most reasonable explanation of why Stars don't fly away, driven by their own rotational speed. Likewise the conglomerate of Energy Fields, that we are, is kept in place cohesively by a tremendous binding Force, without which, Seers believe, we would explode from within and vanish like a puff of air. The Seers of antiquity were capable of handling that Force once they became conscious of it. Their expertise of in dealing with it became so extraodinary, that their actions were transformed into legends. Mythological events, that can only exist as fables. After years of hard work and dedication, the 3 of us, guided by Don Juan's 4 disciples, were able to rescue the Magical Passes from the esoteric setting and adupt them to more conventional surroundings. The result of this restoration process we have called Tensegrity, which to us is the Art of using the Magical Passes for the purpose of becoming conscious of Binding Force, which holds the human being together as a concrete unit.

In our first volume '12 Basic Movements to Gather Energy and Promote Wellbeing' we dealt with complete Magical Passes and with fragments of Magical Passes, which were used to arrive at a minimum Awareness of what Seers believe is the counterpart of our body. They call it the Energy Body. Seers argue, that we can learn to perceive the Energy directly as it flows in the Universe, and that when we do this, we are capable of perceiving a human being as a conglomerate of Energy Fields, that resembles a Luminous Sphere. The Energy Body is an identical Luminous Sphere, which exists at a very great distance from us.
(I don't believe that, she talks in linear terms. There is no Time and Space, there are no meters/kms/light years. Our Energy Bodies are not 'a great distance away from us', but usually close to us a level up in vibration, unless our Energy Bodies need to go to even higher or lower vibrational levels, LM).
Seers maintained, that we are not complete, until the Energy Body is with us and, that the performing the Magical Passes we can bring the two closer to each other. In this volume we are going to deal with the utilization of internal Energy, that has been dispersed by the wear and tear of daily living. From the Core of the Luminous Sphere to the periphery of it. To make use of our own Energy, that is normally inaccesible to us, is considered by the Seers to be the most important step towards wellbeing and Completion.

1. A STRUCTURE MADE OUT OF ENERGY
With our first Magical Pass 'A STRUCTURE MADE OUT OF ENERGY' we aim at creating a structure in our immediate Energy Horizon. Seers give the name of Energy Horizon to the Energy Fields, which are immediately adjacent to us, when we are perceived as Luminous Spheres. This Magical Pass is basic, Seers say, because it creates a dwelling, sort of speak, for the Energy Body. Their idea is, that our Energy Bodies has been separated from us at birth and pushed away by antagonistic Forces. By creating a Magical Energetic Dwelling, Seers believe, we put out an invitation for the Energy Body to come closer to us. The emphasis of this first Magical Pass is on the area of the kidneys and adrenals. By making the body stoop (bend forward and downwards from the waist), slightly forward we create an adequate pressure on that area, then the body is brought to a vertical position with the upper chest fully extended. The back straight, the eyes looking onward fiercly. The eyes are always kept looking to the front with as much fiercness, as possible. Seers say, that the eyes must reveal our Unbending Intent. The next movement brings even greater pressure to the adrenal area, because the arms shoot out in front, then bend the elbows with tremendous force. The greater the force, the greater the effect on the adrenal area. The trunk's straightened up when the arms are raised above the shoulders, as if carring a tray. The palms are then turned over with great force, the hands cross over one another and the arms are extended laterally. The hands are brought down then, and pressure is brought to bear again on the adrenals by stooping the trunk slightly and bending the knees. The Magical Pass is closed with a quick lateral movement of both arms.

2. THE SEERS WINDOW
Our second Magical Pass 'THE SEERS WINDOW'is performed to create an Energetic Opening to the outside of the Luminous Egg. Seers maintain, that by executing this Magical Pass we are actually capable of manufacturing, sort of speak, a momentary Opening for peering into Infinity. This Opening, Seers maintain, is a crucial value to establishing contact with the Force, that sustains our lives and gives us nurturance, purpose, vitality, name it. A Force, Seers call, Intent. Upon creating this Opening, Seers yell the word 'Intent', which, they say, is laid as a bridge from a human being over Infinity to Intent. Intent !!!

The hands come together gently at the centre of the body. The thumbs are held firmly over the palm and only the edges of the hands touch. Next, both hands are moved to the sides, as if touching a flat surface, that extends to the end of the arm's aperture and closes again to the centre of the body. The left arm does the same movement alone or the right one is kept at the same level at the middle of the body. The same movement is executed with the right hand. The hands are then moved from the centre, until they are the width of the body apart, held in a vertical position with the palms facing each other. The left palm moves, as if feeling the exterior edge of the window's frame. Then the right hand does the same thing. The left hand moves in an arc, pivoting on an elbow of interior edge of invisible window frames inward, upward and downward once. The right hand does the same movement. Then both hands are raised above head with the palms facing the sky. The hands come together at the inner edges and both are extended to the side, as if facing the interiour upper edge of a window's frame. They are held in the centre point again and the left hand performs the same movement, then the right hand. Both hands join each other again, the hands draw a small circle until the palms are down, and as if resting on the invisible window seal. The upper trunk stoops forward, holding the kidneys area as the pivoting centre, as if one were peering through a window and the word 'Intent' is shouted. Immediately afterwards a step back is quickly taken. Intent !!!

3. RALLYING DISPERSED ENERGY

The third Magical Pass 'RALLYING DISPERSED ENERGY' is performed in order to rally (assemble) the Energy, that has been dispersed by the wear and tear of interactions in daily life. This Rallying can get us from lethargic state to one of great alertness. Rallying Dispersed Energy means to move it by making it rotate, in order to place it on a projection of the solar plexis, which is situated in arm's length in front of us on the periphery of a Luminous Sphere. Seers believe, that Storing the Energy there is the surest way to make it available at a moment's notice.

Both hands are brought together with Great Force over the right shoulder with the left hand on top of the right. Then they are bought diagonally across the body, as if one is holding an invisible axe to the area above the left knee. Dispersed Energy is sturred with the round counter-clockwise movement of both hands held together. Both hands, fluxed (fused) together, are pulled back to the area of liver and gallbladder and then they are shut out to the point directly in front of the solar plexis. Notice, that the arms strike out with the knuckles of the right hand in a gesture of delivering a blow.

4. PIECING THE TWO COLUMNS OF ENERGY

The fourth Magical Pass, called 'PIECING THE TWO COLUMNS OF ENERGY', rallies dispersed Energy by deliberately poking it at centres, that Seers consider to be - Key Spots.
In other words, the dispersion of Energy to the periphery of a Luminous Sphere results in a formation of definite pockets of Energy, which Seers poke in order to allow it to diffuse (disperse) and be rallied more easily. Poking is not done with the hands, although the hands and the arms are used, but it is done with the Energy he call 'tendon energy', for lack of a better name, which streams out of the limbs, when they are projected out with sufficient force.

The fourth Magical Pass begins with the vibratory movement of both hands. Vibration's generating from the axis of the forearm, the left arm turns in front of the body, sturring dispersed Energy and then pokes high into the Column of Energy to the right of the body. A Column, the Seers say, resembles the dripping of a candle. The right hand moves backwards, in order to allow the left hand a maximum explosion of tendon energy. The left arm rotates backwards one and a half times in the opposite direction and pokes low at the same Column of Dispersed Energy. The same movements are repeated with the right arm, poking high and low at the other Column of Dispersed Energy on the left side, that looks like the one on the right. The right hand with the fingers, pointing to the ground, draws a circle around the body from the left to right, followed by the left one. Then the left hand draws the same circle, followed by the right hand. Right forearm rolls the Ball from top to bottom, followed by the left hand. Both hands hold the Ball of Energy on solar plexis and, first, push it in, then pull it out forcefully and push it on into projection of the solar plexis on the outer edge of the Luminous Sphere.

5. AWAKENING THE CENTRE OF FEELING

The Seers' idea, that sustains our particular series of Magical Passes, is that, due to the effect of daily life, our internal Energy, which is a must around the area of the kidneys and adrenals, is dispersed to the periphery of our Luminous Spheres. This dispersion doesn't mean in any way a loss of Energy, but rather a loss of our facility to gain excess to it.

The fifth Magical Pass 'AWAKENING THE CENTRE OF FEELING' has to do with the deliberate calling of the dispersed Energy on the periphery of the Luminous Sphere in order to bring it to a specific centre of feeling. This centre is located on the left side, right above the edge of the ribcage at the height of the upper tip, on the pancreas and spleen. A Spot, which Seers believe, is the upper centre of feelings. With this movement we are preparing the bond of indisputable affection, that must exist between the body that we know, and the Energy Body, that we don't know, but which every one of us intuits. In our fifth Magical Pass we keep the knees slightly bent, in order to allow the body stability. The hands join in a forceful, yet very controlled movement, they come together and pierce the dispersed Energy, accumulated right in front of us. They rip it upwards and they turn it clockwise to stur it. The hands come down to midsection to the stomach level, then they are turned over with the right hand on top. They cut upwards in a  ripping movement and then they are brought to the area of the pancreas and spleen. From there the hands push out to the sides and they rip, what Seers consider to be the heaviest concentration of Dispersed Energy, the Energy, that accumulates next to the left and right side of the body. Seers refer to that concentration as Columns of wasted Energy, that give you impression of dried up drippings of gigantic candles. The hands are brought again to the centre of the body, they rip upwards, they stur the Energy once again in a clockwise direction and they brought once more to the pancreas and spleen areas and then they are projected out to the front of the body.

6. TRANSFERRING ENERGY TO THE ASSEMBLAGE POINT

Our sixth pass 'TRANSFERRING ENERGY TO THE ASSEMBLAGE POINT' deals with the transfer of dispersed Energy from the frontal area to the back in order for this force to serve as a crutch (support) for the Assemblage Point
(which is really Sun Energy Point of your Spirit, Assemblage Point feels like a conveyor belt at a plant. We can only perceive with the help of the Sun Energy in us! There is no any other way! I need to say, that some sentences in her speech I couldn't understand, because of the use of rare and complex words, which I find unnecessary. The truth needs simple and short explanations, easily perceivable by everyone.
I had a hell of translating numerous complicated words, while reading Castaneda books and now again, the same trouble. LM).
When Seers perceive human beings as Luminous Spheres, it becomes evident to them, that there exist, on already Luminous Sphere, a spot of even more intense Luminosity, the size of a tennis ball, habitually located at the height of the shoulder blades an arm's lenght behind them. Seers are thouroughly satisfied with their conclusion, that it is there, on that spot, that perception is assembled, and that is why they call that spot the Assemblage Point. By deliberately displacing the Assemblage Point to another place away from its habitual position, Seers did prove to themselves, that it is there that Perception is assembled. The end result of this manuver is the perception of a world, that is quite different, than the world of daily affairs. Seers have explained its difference by their observation, that when the Assemblage Point is on its habitual position billions of Energy Fields from the Universe at large converge there, giving, as a result, the world we know. But when the Assemblage Point is displaced to another location on the periphery or the inside of the Luminous Sphere, other sets of billions of Energy Fields, that resemble luminous fibres, converge there, giving as a result the perception of another world. Transferring Energy from the front to the back, Seers believe, solidifies the position of the Assemblage Point in all of us. Especially in the case of extremely sensative persons, whose Assemblage Point shifts irratically and who are incapable of disciplining themselves. As they gain more Awareness, however, the same Energy, that served as a crutch, serves as a factor, that expedites (facilitates) the peaceful and deliberate displacement of the Assemblage Point.

The Magical Passes are always begun with the left arm. The reason for us is, that the left side of the body is always lagging (fall behind) behind the right one in terms of power and prosperity (?). For the Seers of antiquity the reason was, that we are inexterebly (?) heading for by a lateral die-cemetry (what?). The left body is being unavoidably shrunk by the right one, if we don't engage our conscious effort to bounce us (why to bounce?). This pass 'TRANSFERRING ENERGY TO THE ASSEMBLAGE POINT' begins by raising the left arm with the palm facing the ground. The palm turns sharply upwards as the elbows pull backwards. Next, the left arm shoots out with the palm facing upwards and the wrist held immobile as straight, as possible, keeping the elbow bent. The left forearm is raised to the level of the eyes, as if it was a mirror, in which we can see ourselves. We stare at the palm of the hand for a moment, then the hand closes into a fist, that pivots 45 degrees to the right. The elbow is raised, until the upper arm is parallel to the ground and the fist points downwards still twisted at an angle. The right hand had been placed over the left shoulder as a support or buttress of sorts, while the left arm pivots, as it is twisted, until the fist reaches the area of the right adrenals. At the count of three the right hand dislodges itself from the shoulder and in an elegant arc it moves to the front of the body while the left arm straightens and joins the right at the same height and they are both retrieved to the sides of the body. The exact same movements are repeated with the right side of the body.

7. BRINGING ENERGY DOWN FROM ABOVE THE HEAD TO THREE DIFFERENT AREAS ON THE FRONT PART OF THE BODY

Our seventh Magical Pass 'BRINGING ENERGY DOWN FROM ABOVE THE HEAD TO THREE DIFFERENT AREAS ON THE FRONT PART OF THE BODY' brings dispersed Energy from the top of a Luminous Sphere to 3 areas on the body: the chest, the stomach area and the groin. Seers say, that this is the most direct way to arrive at a quick charge of Energy. Energy, that has been dispersed to the area just above the head, is, according to Seers, an extremely active, extremely agressive Energy, or rather the fact, that Energy from other parts of the Luminous Sphere had been transfered to the area above the head, makes that Energy extra volatile (explosive), highly charged. To place that Energy on those 3 areas of the body, Seers say, ensures a quick and effective reaction on our part.
This movement 'BRINGING ENERGY DOWN FROM ABOVE THE HEAD TO THREE DIFFERENT AREAS ON THE FRONT PART OF THE BODY' begins with the raising both hands with the arms stretched downward and the arms are raised at the elbows, until the hands almost touching the shoulders. The index finger and thumb are kept extended, while the other fingers are bent nearly touching the thumb. All the air from the lungs is exhaled, and the deep breath is taken while the left arm extends totally in front of the body, and the right arm, bent at the elbow, is thrust (pushed) backwards. A full extention of the shoulders is obtained in this manner. All the air is exhaled then and as the left arm is retrieved all the way to the back and the right arm is extended fully onward. Another breath is taken while the right arm is retrieved to the shoulder and the left one is pushed to the same level. With both arms at the level of the shoulders, the left arm is extended straight upwards with the index finger pointing to the zenith (highest point above). All the air of the lungs is expelled (forced out) at this point, an inhalation is taken as the arm is lowered to the shoulder. The exact movement is repeated with the right hand. Then all of the fingers are  extended upwards. The left arm shoots up again as the fingers point to the zenith. All the air in the lungs is exhaled, the fingers claw as if grabbing a handle and a deep inhalation is taken as the arm is pulled downward, until the hand, still holding an invisible handle, is lowered to the level of the shoulder. The same movement is executed with the right arm. And when both hands are held together at the same level, the air, inhaled with the last movement, is held in the lungs. While the left and the right hands come together twice, as if mixing a paste. The hands slide over the breast with a deep exhalation. The hands move to the midsection, fingers touching, a deep inhalation is taken. Then the hands slide over the midsection from the centre to the sides of the body as all the air is exhaled from the lungs. The hands go to the groin area, fingertips touching, another inhalation is taken and then hands slide over the groin to the hips, as all the air is once again expelled from the lungs. Notice that the elbows are kept full backwards and the chest is fully extended.

8. PULLING AND WRAPPING THE INTERNAL FIBERS OF ENERGY

Our eighth pass is called 'PULLING AND WRAPPING THE INTERNAL FIBERS OF ENERGY'. Seers support the idea, that the Totality of the Universe is composed of Energy Fields, that could be described almost in a visual sense as resembling luminous threads of infinite length. Seers say, that such Energy Fields can never be broken, that they could only be stretched and bent. With this, rather complex, Magical Pass Seers aim at pulling and stretching thread-like Energy Fields, that exist inside the Luminous Sphere in order to buttress (support) areas, which they consider to be essential for withstanding the redirection of dispersed Energy. Such as the areas around the shoulder blades and the shoulders, where ganglia (any centre of power, nerves' bundle, cystlike tumour) are heavily concentrated. Another area of equal value is the area of the knees and ankles, on which all the physical support of the body rests.
First both arms are raised, as if they were holding two thin vertical fibers. The left arm is placed on the right shoulder and the right arm is immediately placed behind on the right adrenal. Notice, that both hands must be kept, as if they are pulling two invisible vertical cords. The first is a tug onward, and another one is a backward tug, that counterbalances the first one. A deep breath is taken with the first, and an exhalation is made on the second. Then the left hand wraps the invisible cord around the back of the neck and comes down to rest on the area of the pancreas and the spleen. Then the right hand wraps the invisible cord around the back of the neck and comes to stop at the left clavicle. The back of the left fist touches the left adrenal and the same movement of tugging forward with an inhalation and pulling backwards with the inhalation is done. The right fist is holding the invisible cord, moves around the back of the neck and come to rest over liver and gallbladder. The left fist and its invisible cord wrap around the back of the neck from the left to the right and come to rest over the pancreas and spleen. The arms are brought down and forearms are raised again, holding another set of invisible vertical cords. And the same movements are performed again, starting with the right arm, pulling the invisible cord, that goes over the left shoulder to the adrenals. When the four movements have been repeated and the fists are held over the pancreas and liver, they are pulled forward to the initial beginning position. The right leg is raised with the bent knee and the invisible cord is tied over the knee once from the outside to the inside of the leg. One more time from the inside to the outside of the foot and it ends with the final turn from the inside to the outside of the raised knee. The right hand is helding the initial position of this movement, while the left ties the invisible cord on the left knee in a mirror image of what was done with the right leg. When the clenched hands are in initial position, they are brought together over the solar plexis, forcefully interlocking the knucles and creating the pressure in the hands over the solar plexis. A deep breath is taken. The pass ends by exhaling and bringing the open hands to the sides with the palms up.

9. THE STELLAR HATCH

Our last Magical Pass called 'THE STELLAR HATCH' is the final stage of our Energy Manipulation. Seers believe, that our basic Energy can not be diminished or augmented (increased). It can only be transfered from one area to another. One of the most remarkable accomplishments of the Seers, who lived in Mexico in ancient times were, that they found methods to stur all the Energy accumulated on the periphery of the Luminous Sphere. This statement examined in light of our logical reasonableness of everyday life is non sensical, but it was not non sensical for the Seers in question. They claimed, that by opening themselves to the influence of the Energy from the Stars, they were creating a condition, by which the external forces bore on (weight on, conduct) them. Their Energy was not increased in any measure by external forces, but those external forces exerted (put into a vigorous action) a specific pressure on the periphery of their Luminous Spheres, a pressure, that was translated into sturring to the maximum their dispersed Energy, crusted through the years on that periphery, and rendering it ready for Energetic Manipulation. Buttressing (supporting) a body to withstand the effect of this redistribution is to Seers something of Key Importance, hence (as a result) the value of our preceding (coming before the time) Magical Pass, which achieves this purpose. This movement is begun by looking down, as if one were perched in a high place, looking at a spot on the ground, located between the feet many stories below. The hands are kept at the sides of the body. The eyes begin to pull up invisible pumped (gained, moved up) Energy, perhaps the size of a tennis ball. It is raised to the chest at the level of the chin. The head is kept lowered with the chin to the chest. The invisible Ball of Energy is held on that position on the chest, by a jutting (projecting, protruding) movement of the head. Then it is taken by the chin, raised to the level of the eyes and the eyes push it to the zenith as the head moves backward. Once that Ball of Energy is held to the zenith, the arms proceed (create) the kind of Opening in the Energy Ceiling above the head. The left arm moves with the edge of the hand like a knife and cuts an Opening. The right hand is pushed down when at the same time to help create a slicing force. The left hand moves down as the right hand is raised to produce the same cutting effect.
Then the left hand is raised and both hands go through the slits in an Energy. Next, the right hand moves back as the left hand moves to the front in the circular motion, propelled by a twisting of the torso. This is completed by the movement of the right hand to the front and the left hand to the back. In this manner a Hatch is opened in an Energetic Ceiling. The lid to that Hatch is lowered and comes to rest on the chest. The Ball of Energy then shoots out, pushed by the eyes through the Opening into Infinity. Three seconds are counted for the Ball to reach its destination and three seconds more are counted, until it returns and lands with an impact (collision) on the back of the neck. Air is inhaled as the shoulders are lifted and an exhalation is made as the shoulders drop. Then the lid is picked up from the chest, placed back in its position and Opening is sealed by moving the hands and the torso from right to left, and then left to right, and then to the centre. The next movement is to lower hands to the sides of the body.
The Ball of Energy, that is held on the back of the neck is unhooked by pushing it forward. This is done with another jutting movement of the head. Then the Ball drops all the way down to its original position on the ground several stories below. A count of 3 seconds is taken, then a deep inhalation is taken by raising the shoulders and the tops of the lungs as the arms with the hands, bent at the wrist, extend outwards from the sides of the body, creating a pressure behind the ears, that gives the sensation of breathing through gills (fish lungs). This is followed by an exhalation, and the arms come back to the sides of the body.


Tensegrity to us is an Art, an Art in utilising in a modern setting, some Magical Passes, discovered and developed by Seers, who lived in Mexico in ancient times. The performance of the Magical Passes was and still is the mean to allow our Consciousness to focus on a Binding Force, that consolidate the different components of Energy Fields of a Human Being into a concrete and definite unit. Modern men has found out through the research of scientists, that there is a Binding Force, that holds together the component element of an atom. By the same token, the component element of cells are held together by a similar force, and are driven to combine themselves in the tissues and organs. The Seers, who lived in Mexico in ancient times belived, that Human Beings taken as Conglomerates of Energy Fields are held together by some Energy, some Force, some Power, that cements those Energy Fields into one single energetic unit. Those Seers taught from generation to generation up to the present day, that enhanced Awareness is the end result of cancelling out our system of interpreting energy as sensory data. This system, which is taught to us from the moment we are born up to the time when we become experts in handling it, gives us, as a consequence, the coherent perception of the world we know. To cancel it out means, that we can perceive energy directly as it flows in the Universe instead of interpreting it as sensory data. And now Seeing the Energy directly, as it flows in the Universe, is the perception of a Human Being as a Luminous Sphere, that is to say as a conglomerate of Energy Fields, held together as a Luminous Ball. The interest of those Seers of Antiquity was the pragmatic utilisation of whatever Force is holding the Luminous Sphere together. They said, that the Sphere was not held together by wrappings or energetic bindings, but by some sort of vibration, that rendered everything at once alive and in place. Their obsession to find out the nature of that Vibratory Force, was tinted by the concretness, that made them want to hold and control it. Modern day practitioners of the Art of those Seers of Antiquity have found out, that it is not possible to be concrete and utiliterian about that Vibratory Force. They have opted for the only rational thing, that one can do:  nearly to become concsious of that Force with no other purpose inside except the elegance and wellbeing, brought about by Knowledge. The Movements, that we are going to present are an orderly sample of attempt, made by Seers of Ancient Times to catch a glimpse from a different angle of the Force, that binds us together. We have reinterpreted their manuver in basing ourselves on a modern day taxonomy of the  animal kingdom. We have concluded, that those Seers attemped to leave the Phylum pour data, to which Human Beings belong and enter into the Phylum arthrobite (?)...
(Too many words! At times I find it frustrating, extremely difficult to understand what she is trying to say. I also find the language she uses too academic, unnecessarily complex. She seems to address only men, not women, brushing off the Females' efforts in all that. It could be done with more simple, popular words! Don Juan had no education and yet with simple words and examples he could teach his students for years! The whole presentation is too gloomy! LM.)

1. Opening Oneself to Intent

This is a basic Magical Pass, which is been altered minimally for presentation. It's called Opening Oneself to Intent , because that is what is literally accomplished with this Pass. The idea of Seers is, that Intent is a perennial Force, that exists in the Universe like Gravity or Electromagnetism, and that this Force obeys solicitations (thoughtfulness) of men, if they are made with determination and persistence. The cognitive mood of those Seers of ancient Mexico seems to have preceded the agricultural revolution and the advent (arrival) of applicants. To proficiate in order to seek help was not part of their cognitive system. For them the only possible approach was to order Intent, to tell it what to do. Their artistry however, (to be continued)...

2. Pouring Intent into 2 pouches of the Body

3. Breaking the Alignment of the Left and Right Bodies

4. Realigning the Left and the Right Bodies

5. Stabbing Energy in Search of a New Position of the Perception Point (Assemblage Point)

6. Preparing to Cross Over

7. The Butterfly

8. The Female and Male Winged Being

Ниже видео о книгах Кастанеда, о Магических Пассах и Остановке Внутреннего Диалога на русском . Почему нужно дать отдых голове от всяких мыслей, образов, звуков, внутренних разговоров с самой собой или с другими? Да потому, что на это бессмысленное занятие уходит вся наша жизнь, уходит вся наша энергия, все наши эмоции, ведь создать даже одну мысль инопланетянам нелегко, а мы создаём горы мыслей, которые повторяются, часто мучают нас и сводят нас с ума. Что нас толкает на это? Чужеродное Внедрение, часть нашего мозга, которая совсем не наша. 

Tensegrity Constellation Group Тенсегрити Карлоса Кастанеды  Feb 25, 2014
Tensegrity - Modern version of ancient knowledge developed by Carlos Castaneda
(subtitles: Azerbaijani, German, French, Estonian, Croatian, Polish, Spanish, Georgian, English)
Мы стоим на пороге новой эпохи, которая положила свое начало 21.12.2012 и хотим поздравить
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mFHepLtYE8

Тенсегрити Карлоса Кастанеды. 12 основных движений тенсегрити.  Apr 29, 2013. Больше познавательного видео смотрите на сайте http://infodoza.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYwJCPqffUk

Тенсегрити. 12 базовых движений  Jun 10, 2015ю Тенсегрити - это cистема телесных движений, дыханий и позиций тела, называемых магическими пассами.
Согласно утверждениям Карлоса Кастанеды магические пассы открывали шаманы древней Мексики, находясь в состоянии повышенного осознания. Они выполнялись с целью дости
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONVAcJyQJ2E

Тенсегрити Карлоса Кастанеды. 12 основных движений тенсегрити.  Apr 29, 2013 Комплекс упражнений тенсегрити развивает и собирает у практикующего необычайно высокий уровень энеригии и осознаности, что неизменно возвращает человеку здоровье и порождает ощущение избытка сил. Именно энергия является основой здоровья человека, его жизни, возможностей и судьбы в целом. Долгое время Карлос Кастанеда, по указанию дона Хуана Матуса, представителя толтеков - линии магов древней Мексики, отбирали наиболее эффективные магические пассы из тех, что были открыты древним магам. В итоге все отобранные движения были упорядочены Карлосом в полноценную технику психологической и энергетической подготовки, которая получила название ТЕНСEГРИТИ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYwJCPqffUk

Tensegrity - The Butterfly #4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OySbaRR7eI

Tensegrity - The Vibration Of Intent #5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVIkt30AUM

Tensegrity first series - preparation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyuPVBwJp10

Tensegrity: The Wheel of Time - Dec 3, 2014. Magical Passes, performed by Ukrainian and Russian Tensegrity Facilitators & Friends. For many ancient traditions, time is like a wheel, which we can turn with our intent---to live a new dream, a new experience of reality. Practicing this series helps us to subtly, consistently make that turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fI-mEe5D

Active Side of Infinity Carlos Castaneda audio book  (book is not full - книга не полная)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS_9B8q76v4

Carlos Castaneda Interview with Theodore Roszak 1969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymylx-nrldc&t=309s

The Sorcerers' Crossing A Woman's Journey - Taisha Abelar - Audiobook (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRsUAWs08Eo

Taisha Abelar radio Interview. Aug 14, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aej8oHv9F74&app=desktop

The Witch's Dream A Healer's Way of Knowledge - Florinda Donner Grau – Audiobook (full book) - FlorindaDonnerGrauTheWitch'sDream.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEhEdvMI70U

Florinda Donner Grau - Being in Dreaming: An Initiation into the Sorcerers' World- Audiobook (full book), Jan 8, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpbv8WtD5fU

THE ART OF DREAMING By Carlos Castaneda Audiobook (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksnj_hMuHks

Carlos Casteneda The Active Side of Infinity audiobook, (not full book), 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VUHGgQJRjc&t=505s

The Teachings of Don Juan a Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda Audiobook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJLJXDRP_58

A Separate Reality, Carlos Castaneda - Conversations with Don Juan Audiobook (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EbOl5qc9Zg

The Power of Silence by Carlos Castaneda Audiobook, (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5t7wG4BaWA

Eagle's Gift by Carlos Castaneda Audiobook, (full book) Oct 21, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0rWWhltfQ0

Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda. Audiobook (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sInUoPsAxDQ

The Fire From Within by Carlos Castaneda Audiobook, (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YWG8J4iL0

Tales of Power by Carlos Castaneda Audiobook, (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwexf4lDd0E

The Second Ring of Power, Carlos Castaneda, Audiobook, (full book)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFRkz8wO27w

THE WHEEL OF TIME: THE SHAMANS OF ANCIENT MEXICO, THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE, DEATH AND THE UNIV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc3pUANpZbQ


tensegrity first series - preparation - by Dmitry - Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyuPVBwJp10

tensegrity forms 12,9,8 by Dimk - by Dmitry - Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R30eRlgiBzE


Magical passes: the heat series 4. The fourth group: The predilection of the left body (preference) and the right body. Jun 2, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkrigsTW0E0

carlos castaneda's tensegrity vol 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8PVXRL26g

Carlos Castaneda's Tensegrity Vol 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td1qx8-bLTw

SERIES OF THE WOMB - PRACTICE FOR AWAKENING OF THE ENERGY OF THE WOMB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xziT5uhDXao

Magical passes: the center for decisions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbRaqQPj6mw

Tensegrity: The Wheel of Time. Magical Passes performed by Ukrainian and Russian Tensegrity Facilitators & Friends. For many ancient traditions, time is like a wheel, which we can turn with our intent - to live a new dream, a new experience of reality. Practicing this series helps us to subtly, consistently make that turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LukImQbfTCY

Magical passes: the earth form
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9YporAlD04

Magical passes: the source form
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7Udq3-R2M

Magical passes: hearing energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbpi0VUn6lo

Magical passes: stalking the self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lw8IFRxZwQ

Magical passes: a warrior's gesture of magical intent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q11KfhO554

Magical passes: the sun form
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHeIrz0p5hI

Magical passes: the binding and unbinding form
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmSqsVvuYfk

Magical passes: the wheel of time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYQLD70oZII

Magical passes: opening our world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SObYHUr7sPw

Magical passes: the cubic centimeter of chance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-UEyPG1PBw

Magical passes: the wings of affection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZKV4AZL4ak

Magical passes: Mapping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L08PpfL1Sfs

Magical passes: jumping into the abyss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azw0HaUnre0

Magical passes: mixing galaxy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPLISyoC7Cc

Magical passes: Running man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAkMZ5i-ZLA

Magical passes: the dolphin form
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmeSEBSRWZ

Magical passes: South wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2UOMLZcSlU

Сarlos Сastaneda's Тensegrity vol. 2 - yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8PVXRL26g

Сarlos Сastaneda's Тensegrity vol. 3 - yes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td1qx8-bLTw

SERIES OF THE WOMB - PRACTICE FOR AWAKENING OF THE ENERGY OF THE WOMB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xziT5uhDXao&app=desktop

Magical passes: jumping into the abyss. The sequence presented at the "What is your nightmare?" workshop, 2007 in Bath UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azw0HaUnre0

Magical passes: The Wheel of Time. The sequence presented at the “Experience your place in the lineage - Following the trail of the plumed serpent: OLMEC” workshop, April 2018 in Mexico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYQLD70oZII

Magical passes: South wind. Jul 19, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2UOMLZcSlU

Magical passes: stalking the self. Jan 20, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lw8IFRxZwQ

Magical passes: the wings of affection. Jan 8, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZKV4AZL4ak

Magical passes: steps in nature. Aug 31, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV6Gre8F9kM

Magical passes: the heat series 4. The fourth group: The predilection of the left body preference) and the right body. Jun 2, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkrigsTW0E0

3 Magic Passes for Dreaming. Nov 8, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vpyoMCQADk&app=desktop

Magic passes for the face
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7lidkvPpRk&app=desktop