Carlos Castaneda - 10. Magical Passes - The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico

8/13/2019 Carlos Castaneda - 10. Magical Passes - The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico

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INTRODUCTION

Don Juan Matus, a master sorcerer, a nagual , as master sorcerers are called when they lead a group ofother sorcerers, introduced me to the cognitie world of shamans who lied in Me!ico in ancient times" DonJuan Matus was an Indian who was #orn in $uma, %ri&ona" 'is father was a $a(ui Indian from )onora,Me!ico, and his mother was presuma#ly a $uma Indian from %ri&ona" Don Juan lied in %ri&ona until hewas ten years old" 'e was then ta*en #y his father to )onora, Me!ico, where they were caught in theendemic $a(ui wars against the Me!icans" 'is father was *illed, and as a ten+year+old child don Juan endedup in )outhern Me!ico, where he grew up with relaties"

%t the age of twenty, he came in contact with a master sorcerer" 'is name was Julian Osorio" 'eintroduced don Juan into a lineage of sorcerers that was purported to #e twenty+fie generations long" 'ewas not an Indian at all, #ut the son of uropean immigrants to Me!ico" Don Juan related to me that thenagual Julian had #een an actor, and that he was a dashing person-a raconteur, a mime, adored #y eery+ #ody, influential, commanding" In one of his theatrical tours to the proinces, the actor Julian Osorio felunder the influence of another nagual , lias Ulloa, who transmitted to him the *nowledge of his lineage ofsorcerers"

Don Juan Matus, following the tradition of his lineage of shamans, taught some #odily moements whichhe called magical passes to his four disciples. Taisha %#elar, /lorinda Donner+0rau, Carol Tiggs, and myself'e taught them to us in the same spirit in which they had #een taught for generations, with one nota#le

departure. he eliminated the e!cessie ritual which had surrounded the teaching and performance of thosemagical passes for generations" Don Juan1s comments in this respect were that ritual had lost its impetus asnew generations of practitioners #ecame more interested in efficiency and functionalism" 'e recommended tome, howeer, that under no circumstances should I tal* a#out the magical passes with any of his disciples orwith people in general" 'is reasons were that the magical passes pertained e!clusiely to each person, andthat their effect was so shattering, it was #etter 2ust to practice them without discussing them"

Don Juan Matus taught me eerything he *new a#out the sorcerers of his lineage" 'e stated, asserted,affirmed, e!plained to me eery nuance of his *nowledge" Therefore, eerything I say a#out the magical passes is a direct result of his instruction" The magical passes were not inented" They were discoered #y theshamans of don Juan1s lineage who lied in Me!ico in ancient times, while they were in shamanistic states ofheightened awareness" The discoery of the magical passes was (uite accidental" It #egan as ery simple

(ueries a#out the nature of an incredi#le sensation of well+#eing that those shamans e!perienced in thosestates of heightened awareness when they held certain #odily positions, or when they moed their lim#s insome specific manner" Their sensation of well#eing had #een so intense that their drie to repeat thosemoements in their normal awareness #ecame the focus of all their endeaors"

3y all appearances, they succeeded in their tas*, and found themseles the possessors of a ery comple!series of moements that, when practiced, yielded them tremendous results in terms of mental and physical prowess" In fact, the results of performing these moements were so dramatic that they called them magica passes" They taught them for generations only to shaman initiates, on a personal #asis, following ela#oraterituals and secret ceremonies"

Don Juan Matus, in teaching the magical passes, departed radically from tradition" )uch a departureforced don Juan to reformulate the pragmatic goal of the magical passes" 'e presented this goal to me not somuch as the enhancement of mental and physical #alance, as it had #een in the past, #ut as the practica possi#ility of redeploying energy" 'e e!plained that such a departure was due to the influence of the twonaguals who had preceded him"

It was the #elief of the sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage that there is an inherent amount of energy e!istingin each one of us, an amount which is not su#2ect to the onslaughts of outside forces for augmenting it or fordecreasing it" They #elieed that this (uantity of energy was sufficient to accomplish something which thosesorcerers deemed to #e the o#session of eery man on arth. #rea*ing the parameters of normal perception"Don Juan Matus was coninced that our incapacity to #rea* those parameters was induced #y our culture andsocial milieu" 'e maintained that our culture and social milieu deployed eery #it of our inherent energy infulfilling esta#lished #ehaioral patterns which didn1t allow us to #rea* those parameters of norma perception"

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56hy in the world would I, or anyone else, want to #rea* those parameters75 I as*ed don Juan on oneoccasion"

53rea*ing those parameters is the unaoida#le issue of man*ind,5 he replied" 53rea*ing them means theentrance into unthin*a#le worlds of a pragmatic alue in no way different from the alue of our world ofeeryday life" Regardless of whether or not we accept this premise, we are o#sessed with #rea*ing those parameters, and we fail misera#ly at it, hence the profusion of drugs and stimulants and religious rituals andceremonies among modern man"5

56hy do you thin* we hae failed so misera#ly, don Juan75 I as*ed"

5Our failure to fulfill our su#liminal wish,5 he said, 5is due to the fact that we tac*le it in a helter+s*elterway" our tools are too crude" They are e(uialent to trying to #ring down a wall #y ramming it with the headMan neer considers this #rea*age in terms of energy" /or sorcerers, success is determined only #y theaccessi#ility or the inaccessi#ility of energy"

5)ince it is impossi#le,5 he continued, 5to augment our inherent energy, the only aenue open for thesorcerers of ancient Me!ico was the redeployment of that energy" /or them, this process of redeploymen #egan with the magical passes, and the way they affected the physical #ody"5

Don Juan stressed in eery way possi#le, while imparting his instruction, the fact that the enormousemphasis the shamans of his lineage had put on physical prowess and mental well+#eing had lasted to the present day" I was a#le to corro#orate the truth of his statements #y o#sering him and his fifteensorcerer+companions" Their super# physical and mental #alance was the most o#ious feature a#out them"

Don Juan1s reply when I once as*ed him directly why sorcerers put so much stoc* in the physical side ofman was a total surprise to me" I had always thought that he himself was a spiritual man"

5)hamans are not spiritual at all,5 he said" 5They are ery practical #eings" It is a well+*nown facthoweer, that shamans are generally regarded as eccentric, or een insane" 8erhaps that is what ma*es youthin* that they are spiritual" They seem insane #ecause they are always trying to e!plain things that cannot #ee!plained" In the course of such futile attempts to gie complete e!planations that cannot #e completed underany circumstances, they lose all coherence and say inanities"

5$ou need a plia#le #ody, if you want physical prowess and leelheadedness,5 he went on" 5These are thetwo most important issues in the lies of shamans, #ecause they #ring forth so#riety and pragmatism. the onlyindispensa#le re(uisites for entering into other realms of perception" To naigate, in a genuine way, in theun*nown necessitates an attitude of daring, #ut not one of rec*lessness" In order to esta#lish a #alance #etween audacity and rec*lessness, a sorcerer has to #e e!tremely so#er, cautious, s*illful, and in super#

physical condition"553ut why in super# physical condition, don Juan75 I as*ed" 5Isn1t the desire or the will to 2ourney into the

un*nown enough755Not in your pissy life95 he replied rather #rus(uely" 5Just to conceie facing the un*nown-much less

enter into it-re(uires guts of steel, and a #ody that would #e Capa#le of holding those guts" 6hat would #ethe point of #eing gutsy if you didn1t hae mental alertness, physical prowess, and ade(uate muscles75

The super# physical condition that don Juan had steadily adocated from the first day of our association,the product of the rigorous e!ecution of the magical passes, was, #y all indications, the first step toward theredeployment of our inherent energy" This redeployment of energy was, in don Juan1s iew, the most crucialissue in the lies of shamans, as well as in the life of any indiidual" Redeployment of energy is a processwhich consists of transporting, from one place to another, energy which already e!ists within us" This energy

has #een displaced from centers of itality in the #ody, which re(uire that displaced energy in order to #ringforth a #alance #etween mental alertness and physical prowess"

The shamans of don Juan1s lineage were deeply engaged with the redeployment of their inherent energyThis inolement wasn1t an intellectual endeaor, nor was it the product of induction or deduction, or logicaconclusions" It was the result of their a#ility to perceie energy as it flowed in the unierse"

5Those sorcerers called this a#ility to perceie energy as it flowed in the unierse seeing ,: don Juane!plained to me" 5They descri#ed seeing as a state of heightened awareness in which the human #ody iscapa#le of perceiing energy as a flow, a current, a windli*e i#ration" To see energy as it flows in theunierse is the product of a momentary halt of the system of interpretation proper to human #eings"5

56hat is this system of interpretation, don Juan75 I as*ed"5The shamans of ancient Me!ico found out,5 he replied, 5that eery part of the human #ody is engaged, in

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one way or another, in turning this i#ratory flow, this current of i#ration, into some form of sensory input"The sum total of this #om#ardment of sensory input is then, through usage, turned into the system ofinterpretation that ma*es human #eings capa#le of perceiing the world the way they do"

5To ma*e this system of interpretation come to a halt,5 he went on, 5was the result of tremendousdiscipline on the part of the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico" They called this halt seeing , and made it thecornerstone of their *nowledge" To see energy as it flowed in the unierse was, for them, an essential toolthat they employed in ma*ing their classificatory schemes" 3ecause of this capacity, for instance, theyconceied the total unierse aaila#le to the perception of human #eings as an onionli*e affair, consisting of

thousands of layers" The daily world of human #eings, they #elieed, is #ut one such layer" Conse(uently,they also #elieed that other layers are not only accessi#le to human perception, #ut are part of man1s naturalheritage"5

%nother issue of tremendous alue in the *nowledge of those sorcerers, an issue which was also aconse(uence of their capacity to see energy as it flowed in the unierse, was the discoery of the humanenergetic configuration" This human energetic configuration was, for them, a conglomerate of energy fieldsagglutinated together #y a i#ratory force that hound those energy fields into a luminous ball of energy" /orthe sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage, a human #eing has an o#long shape li*e an egg, or a round shape li*e a #all" Thus, they called them luminous eggs or luminous balls" This sphere of luminosity was considered <eythem to he our true self-true in the sense that it is irreduci#le in terms of energy" It is irreduci#le #ecause thetotality of human resources are engaged in the act of perceiing it directly as energy"

Those shamans discoered that on the hac* face of this luminous ball there is a point of greater #rillianceThey figured out, through processes of o#sering energy directly, that this point is *ey in the act of turningenergy into sensory data and then interpreting it" /or this reason, they called it the assemblage point , anddeemed that perception is indeed assem#led there" They descri#ed the assemblage point as #eing located #ehind the shoulder #lades, an arm1s length away from them" They also found out that the assemblage poinfor the entire human race is located on the same spot, thus giing eery human #eing an entirely similar iewof the world"

% finding of tremendous alue for them, and for shamans of succeeding generations, was that the locationof the assemblage point on that spot is the result of usage and sociali&ation" /or this reason, they consideredit to he an ar#itrary position which gies merely the illusion of #eing final and irreduci#le" % product of thisillusion is the seemingly unsha*a#le coniction of human #eings that the world they deal with daily is the onlyworld that e!ists, and that its finality is undenia#le"

53eliee me,5 don Juan said to me once, 5this sense of finality a#out the world is a mere illusion" Due tothe fact that it has neer #een challenged, it stands as the only possi#le iew" To see energy as it flows in theunierse is the tool for challenging it" Through the use of this tool, the sorcerers of my lineage arried at theconclusion that there are indeed a staggering num#er of worlds aaila#le to man1s perception" They descri#edthose worlds as #eing all+inclusie realms, realms where one can act and struggle" In other words, they areworlds where one can lie and die, as in this world of eeryday life"5

During the thirteen years of my association with him, don Juan taught me the #asic steps towardaccomplishing this feat of seeing " I hae discussed those steps in all of my preious writings, #ut neer hae Itouched on the *ey point in this process. the magical passes" 'e taught me a great num#er of them, #ut alongwith that wealth of *nowledge, don Juan also left me with the certainty that I was the last lin* of his lineage"%ccepting that I was the last lin* of his lineage implied automatically for me the tas* of finding new ways to

disseminate the *nowledge of his lineage, since its continuity was no longer an issue"I need to clarify a ery important point in this regard. Don Juan Matus was not eer interested in teaching

his *nowledge= he was interested in perpetuating his lineage" 'is three other disciples and I were the means-chosen, he said, #y the spirit itself, for he had no actie part in it-that were going to ensure that perpetuation" Therefore, he engaged himself in a titanic effort to teach me all he *new a#out sorcery, orshamanism, and a#out the deelopment of his lineage"

In the course of training me, he reali&ed that my energetic configuration was, according to him, so astlydifferent from his own that it couldn1t mean anything else #ut the end of his line" I told him that I resentedenormously his interpretation of whateer inisi#le difference e!isted #etween us" I didn1t li*e the #urden of #eing the last of his line, nor did I understand his reasoning"

5The shamans of ancient Me!ico,5 he said to me once, 5#elieed that choice, as human #eings understand

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it, is the precondition of the cognitie world of man, #ut that it is only a #eneolent interpretation ofsomething which is found when awareness entures #eyond the cushion of our world, a #eneolentinterpretation of ac(uiescence" 'uman #eings are in the throes of forces that pull them eery which way" Theart of sorcerers is not really to choose, #ut to #e su#tle enough to ac(uiesce"

5)orcerers, although they seem to ma*e nothing else #ut decisions, ma*e no decisions at all,5 he went on"5I didn1t decide to choose you, and I didn1t decide that you would #e the way you are" )ince I couldn1t chooseto whom I would impart my *nowledge, I had to accept whomeer the spirit was offering me" %nd that person was you, and you are energetically capa#le only of ending, not of continuing"5

'e maintained that the ending of his line had nothing to do with him or his efforts, or with his success orfailure as a sorcerer see*ing total freedom" 'e understood it as something that had to do with a choicee!ercised #eyond the human leel, not #y #eings or entities, #ut #y the impersonal forces of the unierse"

/inally, I came to accept what don Juan called my fate" %ccepting it put me face to face with anotherissue that he referred to as locking the door when you leave" That is to say, I assumed the responsi#ility ofdeciding e!actly what to do with eerything he had taught me and carrying out my decision impecca#ly" /irstof all, I as*ed myself the crucial (uestion of what to do with the magical passes. the facet of don Juan1s*nowledge most im#ued with pragmatism and function" I decided to use the magical passes and teach themto whoeer wanted to learn them" My decision to end the secrecy that had surrounded them for anundetermined length of time was, naturally, the corollary of my total coniction that I am indeed the end ofdon Juan1s lineage" It #ecame inconceia#le to me that I should carry secrets which were not een mine" Toshroud the magical passes in secrecy was not my decision" It was my decision, howeer, to end such acondition"

I endeaored from then on to come up with a more generic form of each magical pass, a form suita#le toeeryone" This resulted in a configuration of slightly modified forms of each one of the magical passes" I haecalled this new configuration of moements Tensegrity, a term which #elongs to architecture, where it means5the property of s*eleton structures that employ continuous tension mem#ers and discontinuous compressionmem#ers in such a way that each mem#er operates with the ma!imum efficiency and economy"5

In order to e!plain what the magical passes of the sorcerers who lied in Me!ico in ancient times are, Iwould li*e to ma*e a clarification. 5ancient times5 meant, for don Juan, a time ten thousand years ago and #eyond, a figure that seems incongruous if e!amined from the point of iew of the classificatory schemes ofmodern scholars" 6hen I confronted don Juan with the discrepancy #etween his estimate and what Iconsidered to he a more realistic one, he remained adamant in his coniction" 'e #elieed it to #e a fact that

people who lied in the New 6orld ten thousand years ago were deeply concerned with matters of theunierse and perception that modern man has not een #egun to fathom"

Regardless of our differing chronological interpretations, the effectieness of the magical passes isundenia#le to me, and I feel o#ligated to elucidate the su#2ect 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 dealwith them" 6hat I am presenting in this wor* is an intimate reflection of that influence"

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M%0IC%@ 8%)))

The first time don Juan tal*ed to me at length a#out magical passes was when he made a derogatorycomment a#out my weight"

5$ou are way too chu##y,5 he said, loo*ing at me from head to toe and sha*ing his head in disapproal5$ou are one step from #eing fat" )ear and tear is #eginning to show in you" @i*e any other mem#er of yourrace, you are deeloping a lump of fat on your nec*, li*e a #ull" It1s time that you ta*e seriously one of thesorcerers1 greatest findings. the magical passes"5

56hat magical passes are you tal*ing a#out, don Juan75 I as*ed" 5$ou hae neer mentioned this topic tome #efore" Or, if you hae, it must hae #een so lightly that I can1t recall anything a#out it"5

5Not only hae I told you a great deal a#out magical passes,5 he said, you *now a great num#er of themalready" I hae #een teaching them to you all along"5

%s far as I was concerned, it wasn1t true that he had taught me any magical passes all along" I protestedehemently"

5Don1t he so passionate a#out defending your wonderful self,5 he 2o*ed, ma*ing a ridiculous gesture ofapology with his eye#rows" 56hat I meant to say is that you imitate eerything I do, so I hae #een cashingin on your imitation capacity" I hae shown you arious magical passes, all along, and you hae always ta*enthem to #e my delight in crac*ing my 2oints" I li*e the way you interpret them. crac*ing my 2oints9 6e aregoing to *eep on referring to them in that manner"

5I hae shown you ten different ways of crac*ing my 2oints,5 he continued" 5ach one of them is amagical pass that fits to perfection my #ody and yours" $ou could say that those ten magical passes are inyour line and mine" They #elong to us personally and indiidually, as they #elonged to other sorcerers whowere 2ust li*e the two of us in the twenty+fie generations that preceded us"5

The magical passes don Juan was referring to, as he himself had said, were ways in which I thought hecrac*ed his 2oints" 'e used to moe his arms, legs, torso and hips in specific ways, I thought, in order tocreate a ma!imum stretch of his muscles, #ones, and ligaments" The result of these stretching moementsfrom my point of iew, was a succession of crac*ing sounds which I always thought that he was producingfor my ama&ement and amusement" 'e, indeed, had as*ed me time and time again to imitate him" In achallenging manner, he had een dared me to memori&e the moements and repeat them at home until I couldget my 2oints to ma*e crac*ing noises, 2ust li*e his"

I had neer succeeded in reproducing the sounds, yet I had definitely #ut unwittingly learned all themoements" I *now now that not achieing that crac*ing sound was a #lessing in disguise, #ecause themuscles and tendons of the arms and #ac* should never #e stressed to that point" Don Juan was #orn with afacility to crac* the 2oints of his arms and hac*, 2ust as some people hae the facility to crac* their *nuc*les"

5'ow did the old sorcerers inent those magical passes, don Juan75 I as*ed"5No#ody inented them,5 he said sternly" 5To thin* that they were inented implies instantly the

interention of the mind, and this is not the case when it comes to those magical passes" They were, rather,discoered #y the old shamans" I was told that it all #egan with the e!traordinary sensation of well+#eing thatthose shamans e!perienced when they were in shamanistic states of heightened awareness" They felt suchtremendous, enthralling igor that they struggled to repeat it in their hours of igil"

5%t first,5 don Juan e!plained to me once, 5those shamans #elieed that it was a mood of well+#eing thatheightened awareness created in general" )oon, they found out that not all the states of shamanisticheightened awareness which they entered produced in them the same sensation of well+#eing" % more carefulscrutiny reealed to them that wheneer that sensation of well+#eing occurred, they had always #een engagedin some )pecific *ind of #odily moement" They reali&ed that while they were in states of heightenedawareness, their #odies moed inoluntarily in certain ways, and that those certain ways were indeed thecause of that unusual sensation of physical and mental plenitude"5

Don Juan speculated that it had always appeared to him that the moements that the #odies of thoseshamans e!ecuted automatically in heightened awareness were a sort of hidden heritage of man*indsomething that had #een put in deep storage, to #e reealed only to those who were loo*ing for it" 'e portrayed those sorcerers as deep+sea diers, who without *nowing it, reclaimed it"

Don Juan said that those sorcerers arduously #egan to piece together some of the moements they

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remem#ered" Their efforts paid off" They were capa#le of re+creating moements that had seemed to them to #e automatic reactions of the #ody in a state of heightened awareness" ncouraged #y their success, theywere capa#le of re+creating hundreds of moements, which they performed without eer attempting toclassify them into an understanda#le scheme" Their idea was that in heightened awareness, the moementshappened spontaneously, and that there was a force that guided their effect, without the interention of theirolition"

Don Juan commented that the nature of their findings always led him to #eliee that the sorcerers ofancient times were e!traordinary people, #ecause the moements that they discoered were neer reealed in

the same fashion to modern shamans who also entered into heightened awareness" 8erhaps this was #ecausemodern shamans had learned the moements #eforehand, in some fashion or another, from their predecessors, or perhaps #ecause the sorcerers of ancient times had more energetic mass"

56hat do you mean, don Juan, that they had more energetic mass75 I as*ed" 56ere they #igger men755I don1t thin* they were physically any #igger,5 he said, 5#ut energetically, they appeared to the eye of a

seer as an o#long shape" They called themseles luminous eggs" I hae neer seen a luminous egg in my life%ll I hae seen are luminous balls" It is presuma#le, then, that man has lost some energetic mass oer thegenerations"5

Don Juan e!plained to me that to a seer, the unierse is composed of an infinite num#er of energy fields"They appear to the eye of the seer as luminous filaments that shoot out eery which way" Don Juan said thatthose filaments crisscross through the luminous balls that human #eings are, and that it was reasona#le toassume that if human #eings were once o#long shapes, li*e eggs, they were much higher than a #allTherefore, energy fields that touched human #eings at the crown of the luminous egg are no longer touchingthem now that they are luminous balls" Don Juan felt that this meant to him a loss of energy mass, whichseemed to hae #een crucial for the purpose of reclaiming that hidden treasure. the magical passes"

56hy are the passes of the old shamans called magical passes, don Juan75 I as*ed him on one occasion5They are not 2ust called magical passes,5 he said, 5they are magical9 They produce an effect that cannot

#e accounted for #y means of ordinary e!planations" These moements are not physical e!ercises or mere postures of the #ody= they are real attempts at reaching an optimal state of #eing"

5The magic of the moements,5 he went on, 5is a su#tle change that the practitioners e!perience one!ecuting them" It is an ephemeral (uality that the moement #rings to their physical and mental states, a *indof shine, a light in the eyes" This su#tle change is a touch of the spirit " It is as if the practitioners, through themoements, reesta#lish an unused lin* with the life force that sustains them"5

'e further e!plained that another reason that the moements are called magical passes is that #y meansof practicing them, shamans are transported, in terms of perception, to other states of #eing in which they cansense the world in an indescri#a#le manner"

53ecause of this (uality, #ecause of this magic,5 don Juan said to me, 5the passes must he practiced notas e!ercises, #ut as a way of #ec*oning power" 5

53ut can they #e ta*en as physical moements, they hae neer #een ta*en as such75 I as*ed"5$ou can practice them any way you wish,5 don Juan replied" 5The magical passes enhance awareness,

regardless of how you ta*e them" The intelligent thing would #e to ta*e them as what they are. magical passes that on #eing practiced lead the practitioner to drop the mas* of sociali&ation"5

56hat is the mas* of sociali&ation75 I as*ed"5The eneer that all of us defend and die for,5 he said" 5The eneer we ac(uire in the world" The one that

preents us from reaching all our potential" The one that ma*es us #eliee we are immortal" The intent ofthousands of sorcerers permeates these moements" !ecuting them, een in a casual way, ma*es the mindcome to a halt"5

56hat do you mean that they ma*e the mind come to a halt75 I as*ed"5erything that we do in the world,5 he said, 5we recogni&e and identify #y conerting it into lines of

similarity, lines of things that are strung together #y purpose" /or e!ample, if I say to you fork , thisimmediately #rings to your mind the idea of spoon, *nife, ta#lecloth, nap*in, plate, cup and saucer, glass ofwine, chili con carne, #an(uet, #irthday, fiesta" $ou could certainly go on naming things strung together #y purpose, nearly foreer" erything we do is strung li*e this" The strange part for sorcerers is that they seethat all these lines of affinity, all these lines of things strung together #y purpose, are associated with man1sidea that things are unchangea#le and foreer, li*e the word of 0od"5

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5I don1t see, don Juan, why you #ring the word of 0od into this elucidation" 6hat does the word of 0odhae to do with what you are trying to e!plain75

5erything95 he replied" 5It seems to #e that in our minds, the entire unierse is li*e the word of 0od.a#solute and unchanging" This is the way we conduct ourseles" In the depths of our minds, there is achec*ing deice that doesn1t permit us to stop to e!amine that the word of 0od, as we accept it and #eliee itto #e, pertains to a dead world" % lie world, on the other hand, is in constant flu!" It moes" It changes" Itreerses itself"

5The most a#stract reason why the magical passes of the sorcerers of my lineage are magical,5 he went

on, 5is that in practicing them, the #ody of the practitioner reali&es that eerything, instead of #eing anun#ro*en chain of o#2ects that hae affinity for each other, is a current, a flu!" %nd if eerything in theunierse is a flu!, a current, that current can #e stopped" % dam can #e put on it, and in this manner, its flu!can #e halted or deiated"5

Don Juan e!plained to me on one occasion the oerall effect that the practice of the magical passes hadon the sorcerers of his lineage, and correlated this effect with what would happen to modern practitioners"

5The sorcerers of my lineage,5 he said, 5were shoc*ed half to death upon reali&ing that practicing theirmagical passes #rought a#out the halt of the otherwise uninterrupted flu! of things" They Constructed aseries of metaphors to descri#e this halt, and in their effort to e!plain it, or reconsider it, they flu##ed it" Theylapsed into ritual and ceremony" They #egan to enact the act of halting the flu! of things" They #elieed thatif certain ceremonies and rituals were focused on a definite aspect of their magical passes, the magical passesthemseles would #ec*on a specific result" ery soon, the num#er and Comple!ity of their rituals andceremonies #ecame more encum#ering than the num#er of their magical passes"

5It is ery important,5 he went on, 5to focus the attention of the practitioner on some definite aspect ofthe magical passes" 'oweer, that fi!ation should he light, funny, oid of mor#idity and grimness" It shouldhe done for the hell of it, without really e!pecting returns"5

'e gae the e!ample of one of his cohorts, a sorcerer #y the name of )ilio Manuel, whose delight and predilection was to adapt the magical passes of the sorcerers of ancient times to the steps of his moderndancing" Don Juan descri#ed )ilio Manuel as a super# acro#at and dancer who actually danced the magical passes"

5The nagual lias Ulloa,5 don Juan continued, 5was the most prominent innoator of my lineage" 'e wasthe one who threw all the ritual out the window, so to spea*, and practiced the magical passes e!clusiely forthe purpose for which they were originally used at one time in the remote past. for the purpose of

redeploying energy"5The nagual Julian Osorio, who came after him,5 don Juan continued, 5was the one who gae ritual the

final death #low" )ince he was a #one fide professional actor who at one time had made his liing acting inthe theater, he put enormous stoc* into what sorcerers called the shamanistic theater " 'e called it thetheater of infinity, and into it, he poured all the magical passes that were aaila#le to him" ery moementof his characters was im#ued to the gills with magical passes" Not only that, #ut he turned the theater into anew aenue for teaching them" 3etween the nagual Julian, the actor of infinity, and )ilio Manuel, thedancer of infinity, they had the whole thing pegged down" % new era was on the hori&on9 The era of pureredeployment 95

Don Juan1s e!planation of redeployment was that human #eings, perceied as conglomerates of energyfields, are sealed energetic units that hae definite #oundaries which don1t permit the entrance or the e!it of

energy" Therefore, the energy e!isting within that conglomerate of energy fields is all that each humanindiidual can count on"

5The natural tendency of human #eings,5 he said, 5is to push energy away from the centers of itality,which are located on the right side of the #ody, right at the edge of the ri# cage on the area of the lier andgall#ladder= on the left side of the #ody, again, at the edge of the ri# cage, on the area of the pancreas andspleen= on the hac*, right #ehind the other two centers, around the *idneys, and right a#oe them, on the areaof the adrenal glands= at the #ase of the nec* on the spot made #y the sternum and claicle= and around theuterus and oaries in women"5

5'ow do human #eings push this energy away, don Juan75 I as*ed"53y worrying,5 he replied" 53y succum#ing to the stress of eeryday life" The duress of daily actions

ta*es its toll on the #ody"5



5%nd what happens to this energy, don Juan75 I as*ed"5It gathers on the periphery of the luminous ball ,5 he said, 5sometimes to the point of ma*ing a thic*

#ar*li*e deposit" The magical passes relate to the total human #eing as a physical #ody, and as a conglomer+ate of energy fields" They agitate the energy that has #een accumulated in the luminous ball and return it tothe physical #ody itself" The magical passes engage #oth the #ody itself as a physical entity that suffers thedispersion of energy, and the #ody as an energetic entity which is capa#le of redeploying that dispersedenergy"

5'aing energy on the periphery of the luminous ball ,5 he continued, 5energy that is not #eing

redeployed , is as useless as not haing any energy at all" It is truly a terrifying situation to hae a surplus ofenergy stashed away, inaccessi#le for all practical purposes" It is li*e #eing in the desert, dying ofdehydration, while you carry a tan* of water that you cannot opens #ecause you 6on1t hae any tools" In thatdesert, you can1t een find a roc* to hang it with"5

The true magic of the magical passes is the fact that they cause crusted+down energy to enter again intothe centers of itality, hence the feeling of well#eing and prowess which is the practitioner1s e!perience" Thesorcerers of don Juan1s lineage, #efore they entered into their e!cessie ritualism and ceremony, hadformulated the #asis for this redeployment " They called it saturation, meaning that they inundated their #odies with a profusion of magical passes, in order to allow the force that hinds us together to guide thosemagical passes to cause the ma!imum redeployment of energy"

53ut don Juan, are you telling me that eery time you crac* your 2oints, or eery time I try to imitate you,we are really redeploying energy75 I as*ed him once, without really meaning to #e sarcastic"

5ery time we e!ecute a magical pass,5 he replied, 5we are indeed altering the #asic structures of our #eings" nergy which is ordinarily crusted down is released and #egins to enter into the orte!es of itality ofthe #ody" Only #y means of that reclaimed energy can we put up a di*e, a harrier to contain an otherwiseuncontaina#le and always deleterious flow"5

I as*ed don Juan to gie me an e!ample of putting a dam on what he was calling a deleterious flow" I toldhim that I wanted to isuali&e it in my mind"

5I1ll gie you an e!ample,5 he said" 5/or instance, at my age, I should he prey to high #lood pressure" If Iwent to see a doctor, the doctor, upon seeing me, would assume that I must #e an old Indian, plagued withuncertainties, frustrations, and had diet= all of this, naturally, resulting in a most e!pected and predicta#lecondition of high #lood pressure. an accepta#le corollary of my age"

5I don1t hae any pro#lems with high #lood pressure,5 he went on, 5not #ecause I am stronger than the

aerage man or #ecause of my genetic frame, #ut #ecause my magical passes hae made my #ody #rea*through any patterns of #ehaior that result in high #lood pressure" I can truthfully say that eery time I crac*my 2oints, following the e!ecution of a magical pass, I am #loc*ing off the flow of e!pectations and #ehaiorthat ordinarily result in high #lood pressure at my age"

5%nother e!ample I can gie you is the agility of my *nees,5 he continued" 5'aen1t you noticed howmuch more agile I am than you7 6hen it comes to moing my *nees, I1m a *id9 6ith my magical passes, I put a dam on the current of #ehaior and physicality that ma*es the *nees of people, #oth men and women,stiff with age"5

One of the most annoying feelings I had eer e!perienced was caused #y the fact that don Juan Matusalthough he could hae #een my grandfather, was infinitely younger than I" In comparison, I was stiffopinionated, repetitious" I was senile" 'e, on the other hand, was fresh, inentie, agile, resourceful" In short,

he possessed something which, although I was young, I did not. youth" 'e delighted in telling me repeatedlythat young age was not youth, and that young age was in no way a deterrent to senility" 'e pointed out thatif I watched my fellow men carefully and dispassionately, I would #e a#le to corro#orate that #y the time theyreached twenty years of age, they were already senile, repeating themseles inanely"

5'ow is it possi#le, don Juan,5 I said, 5that you could #e younger than I755I hae an(uished my mind,5 he said, opening his eyes wide to denote #ewilderment" 5I don1t hae a

mind to tell me that it is time to #e old" I don1t honor agreements in which I didn1t participate" Remem#er this.It is not 2ust a slogan for sorcerers to say that they do not honor agreements in which they did not participate"To #e plagued #y old age is one such agreement"5

6e were silent for a long time" Don Juan seemed to #e waiting, I thought, for the effect that his wordsmight cause in me" 6hat I thought to #e my psychological unity was further ripped apart #y a clearly dual

E



response on my part" On one leel, I repudiated with all my might the nonsense that don Juan waser#ali&ing= on another leel, howeer, I couldn1t fail to notice how accurate his remar*s were" Don Juan wasold, and yet he wasn1t old at all" 'e was ages younger than I" 'e was free from encum#ering thoughts andha#it patterns" 'e was roaming around in incredi#le worlds" 'e was free, while I was imprisoned #y heaythought patterns and ha#its, #y petty and futile considerations a#out myself= which I felt, on that occasion, forthe first time eer, weren1t een mine"

I as*ed don Juan on another occasion something that had #een #othering me for a long time" 'e hadstated that the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico discoered the magical passes, which were some sort of hidden

treasure, placed in storage for man to find" I wanted to *now who would put something li*e that in storagefor man" The only idea that I could come up with was deried from Catholicism" I thought of 0od doing itor a guardian angel, or the 'oly )pirit"

5It is not the 'oly )pirit,5 he said, 5which is only holy to you, #ecause you1re secretly a Catholic" %ndcertainly it is not 0od, a #eneolent father as you understand 0od" Nor is it a goddess, a nurturing mother,watching oer the affairs of men, as many people #eliee to #e the case" It is rather an impersonal force thathas endless things in storage for those who dare to see* them" It is a force in the unierse, li*e light orgraity" It is an agglutinating factor, a i#ratory force that 2oins the conglomerate of energy fields that human #eings are into one concise, cohesie unit" This i#ratory force is the factor that doesn1t allow the entrance orthe e!it of energy from the luminous ball "

5The sorcerers of ancient Me!ico,5 he went on, 5#elieed that the performance of their magical passeswas the only factor that prepared and led the #ody to the transcendental corro#oration of the e!istence ofthat agglutinating force"5

/rom don Juan1s e!planations, I deried the conclusion that the i#ratory force he spo*e a#out, whichagglutinates our fields of energy, is apparently similar to what modern+day astronomers #eliee must happenat the core of all the gala!ies that e!ist in the cosmos" They #eliee that there, at their cores, a force ofincalcula#le strength holds the stars of gala!ies in place" This force, called a 5#lac* hole,5 is a theoreticalconstruct which seems to #e the most reasona#le e!planation as to why stars do not fly away, drien #y theirown rotational speeds"

Don Juan said that the old sorcerers *new that human #eings, ta*en as conglomerates of energy fieldsare held together not #y energetic wrappings or energetic ligaments, #ut #y some sort of i#ration thatrenders eerything at once alie and in place" Don Juan e!plained that those sorcerers, #y means of their practices and their discipline, #ecame capa#le of handling that i#ratory force once they were fully conscious

of it" Their e!pertise in dealing with it #ecame so e!traordinary that their actions were transformed intolegends, mythological eents that e!isted only as fa#les" /or instance, one of the stories that don Juan tolda#out the ancient sorcerers was that they were capa#le of dissoling their physical mass #y merely placingtheir full consciousness and intent on that force"

Don Juan stated that, although they were capa#le of actually going through a pinhole if they deemed itnecessary, they were neer (uite satisfied with the result of this maneuer of dissoling their mass" Thereason for their discontent was that once their mass was dissoled, their capacity to act anished" They wereleft with the alternatie of only witnessing eents in which they were incapa#le of participating" Their ensuingfrustration, the result of #eing incapacitated to act, turned, according to don Juan, into their damning flaw.their o#session with uncoering the nature of that i#ratory force, an o#session drien #y their concreteness,which made them want to hold and control that force" Their ferent desire was to stri*e from the ghostli*e

condition of masslessness, something which don Juan said could not eer #e accomplished"Modern+day practitioners, cultural heirs of those sorcerers of anti(uity, haing found out that it is not

possi#le to #e concrete and utilitarian a#out that i#ratory force, hae opted for the only rational alternatieto #ecome conscious of that force with no other purpose in sight e!cept the elegance and well+#eing #roughta#out #y *nowledge"

5The only permissi#le time,5 don Juan said to me once, 5when modern+day sorcerers use the power ofthis i#ratory agglutinating force, is when they #urn from within, when the time comes for them to leae thisworld" It is simplicity itself for sorcerers to place their a#solute and total consciousness on the #inding forcewith the intent to #urn, and off they go, li*e a puff of air"5

F



TN)0RIT$

Tensegrity is the modern ersion of the magical passes of the shamans of ancient Me!ico" The wordTensegrity is a most appropriate definition, #ecause it is a mi!ture of two terms, tension and integrity. termswhich connote the two driing forces of the magical passes" The actiity created #y contracting and rela!ingthe tendons and muscles of the #ody is tension" Integrity is the act of regarding the #ody as a soundcomplete, perfect unit"

Tensegrity is taught as a system of moements, #ecause that is the only manner in which the mysteriousand ast su#2ect of the magical passes could he faced in a modern setting" The people who now practiceTensegrity are not shaman practitioners in search of shamanistic alternaties that inole rigorous discipline,e!ertion, and hardships" Therefore, the emphasis of the magical passes has to #e on their alue as moements,and all the conse(uences that such moements #ring forth"

Don Juan Matus had e!plained that the first drie of the sorcerers of his lineage who lied in Me!ico inancient times, in relation to the magical passes, was to saturate themseles with moement" They arrangedeery postures eery moement of the #ody that they could remem#er, into groups" They #elieed that thelonger the group, the greater its effect of saturation, and the greater the need for the practitioners to use theirmemory to recall it"

The shamans of don Juan1s lineage, after arranging the magical passes into long groups and practicingthem as se(uences, deemed that this criterion of saturation had fulfilled its purposes, and they dropped it

/rom then on, what was sought was the opposite. the fragmentation of the long groups into single segments,which were practiced as indiidual, independent units" The manner in which don Juan Matus taught themagical passes to his four disciples-Taisha %#elar, /lorinda Donner+0rau, Carol Tiggs, and myself-wasthe product of this drie for fragmentation"

Don Juan1s personal opinion was that the #enefit of practicing the long groups was patently o#ious= such practice forced the shaman initiates to use their *inesthetic memory" 'e considered the use of *inestheticmemory to #e a real #onus, which those shamans had stum#led upon accidentally, and which had themarelous effect of shutting off the noise of the mind. the internal dialogue"

Don Juan had e!plained to me that the way in which we reinforce our perception of the world and *eep itfi!ed at a certain leel of efficiency and function is #y tal*ing to ourseles"

5The entire human race,5 he said to me on one occasion, 5*eeps a determined leel of function and

efficiency #y means of the internal dialogue" The internal dialogue is the *ey to maintaining the assemblage point stationary at the position shared #y the entire human race. at the height of the shoulder #lades, an arm1slength away from them"

53y accomplishing the opposite of the internal dialogue,5 he went on, 5that is to say inner silence practitioners can #rea* the fi!ation of their assemblage points, thus ac(uiring an e!traordinary fluidity of perception"5

The practice of Tensegrity has #een arranged around the performance of the long groups, which inTensegrity hae #een renamed series to aoid the generic implication of calling them 2ust groups, as don Juancalled them" In order to accomplish this arrangement, it was necessary to reesta#lish the criteria of saturationwhich had prompted the creation of the long groups" It too* the practitioners of Tensegrity years ofmeticulous and concentrated wor* to reassem#le a great num#er of the dismem#ered groups"

Reesta#lishing the criteria of saturation #y performing the long series gae, as a result, something whichdon Juan had already defined as the modern goal of the magical passes. the redeployment of energy" DonJuan was coninced that this had always #een the unspo*en goal of the magical passes, een at the time ofthe old sorcerers" The old sorcerers didn1t seem to hae *nown this, #ut een if they did, they neerconceptuali&ed it in those terms" 3y all indications, what the old sorcerers sought aidly and e!perienced as asensation of well+#eing and plenitude when they performed the magical passes was, in essence, the effect ofunused energy #eing reclaimed #y the centers of itality in the #ody"

In Tensegrity, the long groups hae #een reassem#led, and a great num#er of the fragments hae #een*ept as single, functioning units" These units hae #een strung together #y purpose-for instance, the purpose of intending , or the purpose of recapitulation, or the purpose of inner silence, and so on-creatingin this fashion the Tensegrity series" In this manner, a system has #een achieed in which the #est results are

4G



o#tained #y performing long se(uences of moements that definitely ta! the *inesthetic memory of the practitioners"

In eery other respect, the way Tensegrity is taught is a faithful reproduction of the way in which donJuan taught the magical passes to his disciples" 'e inundated them with a profusion of detail and let theirminds #e #ewildered #y the num#er and ariety of magical passes taught to them, and #y the implication thateach of them indiidually was a pathway to infinity"

'is disciples spent years oerwhelmed, confused, and a#oe all despondent #ecause they felt that #einginundated in such a manner was an unfair onslaught on them"

56hen I teach you the magical passes,5 he e!plained to me once when I (uestioned him a#out thesu#2ect, 5I am following the traditional sorcerers1 deice of clouding your linear iew" 3y saturating your*inesthetic memory, I am creating a pathway for you to inner silence"

5)ince all of us,5 he continued, 5are filled to the #rim with the doings and undoings of the world ofeeryday life, we hae ery little room for *inesthetic memory" $ou may hae noticed that you hae none6hen you want to imitate my moements, you cannot remain facing me" you hae to stand side #y side withme in order to esta#lish in your own #ody what1s right and what1s left" Now, if a long se(uence of moementswere presented to you, it would ta*e you wee*s of repetition to remem#er all the moements" 6hile you1retrying to memori&e the moements, you hae to ma*e room for them in your memory #y pushing other thingsout of the way" That was the effect that the old sorcerers sought"5

Don Juan1s contention was that if his disciples *ept on doggedly practicing the magical passes, in spite oftheir confusion, they would arrie at a threshold when their redeployed energy would tip the scales, and theywould #e a#le to handle the magical passes with a#solute clarity"

6hen don Juan made those statements, I could hardly #eliee them" Neertheless, at one moment, 2ust ashe had said, I ceased to #e confused and despondent" In a most mysterious way, the magical passes, sincethey are magical, arranged themseles into e!traordinary se(uences that cleared up eerything" Don Juane!plained that the clarity I was e!periencing was the result of the redeployment of my energy"

The concern of people practicing Tensegrity nowadays matches e!actly my concern and the concern ofdon Juan1s other disciples when we first #egan to perform the magical passes" They feel #ewildered #y thenum#er of moements" I reiterate to them what don Juan reiterated to me oer and oer. that what is ofsupreme importance is to practice whateer Tensegrity se(uence is remem#ered" The saturation that has #een carried on will gie, in the end, the results sought #y the shamans of ancient Me!ico. the redeploymenof energy, and its three concomitants-the shutting off of the internal dialogue, the possi#ility for inner

silence, and the fluidity of the assemblage point "%s a personal assessment, I can say that #y saturating me with the magical passes, don Juan

accomplished two formida#le feats. One, he #rought to the surface a floc* of hidden resources that I had #utdidn1t *now e!isted, such as the a#ility to concentrate and the a#ility to remem#er detail= and two, he gently #ro*e my o#session with my linear mode of interpretation"

56hat is happening to you,5 don Juan e!plained to me when I (uestioned him a#out what I wase!periencing in this respect, 5is that you are feeling the adent of inner silence, once your internal dialoguehas #een minimally offset" % new flu! of things has #egun to enter into your field of perception" These thingswere always there, on the periphery of your general awareness, #ut you neer had enough energy to #edeli#erately conscious of them" %s you chase away your internal dialogue, other items of awareness #egin tofill in the empty space, so to spea*"

5The new flu! of energy,5 he went on, 5which the magical passes hae #rought to your centers of italityis ma*ing your assemblage point more fluid" It1s no longer rigidly palisaded" $ou1re no longer drien #y ourancestral fears, which ma*e us incapa#le of ta*ing a step in any direction" )orcerers say that energy ma*es usfree, and that is the a#solute truth"5

The ideal state of Tensegrity practitioners, in relation to the Tensegrity moements" is the same as theideal state of a practitioner of shamanism in relation to the e!ecution of the magical passes" 3oth are #eingled #y the moements themseles into an unprecedented culmination" /rom there, the practitioners ofTensegrity will #e a#le to e!ecute, #y themseles, for whateer effect they see fit, without any coaching fromoutside sources, any moement from the hul* of moements with which they hae #een saturated = they wil #e a#le to e!ecute them with precision and speed, as they wal*, or eat, or rest, or do anything, #ecause theywill hae the energy to do so"

44



The e!ecution of the magical passes, as shown in Tensegrity, doesn1t necessarily re(uire a particularspace or prearranged time" 'oweer, the moements should he done away from sharp currents of air" DonJuan dreaded currents of air on a perspiring #ody" 'e firmly #elieed that not eery current of air was caused #y the rising or lowering of temperature in the atmosphere, and that some currents of air were actuallycaused #y conglomerates of consolidated energy fields moing purposefully through space"

Don Juan was coninced that such conglomerates of energy fields possessed a specific type of awareness, particularly deleterious #ecause human #eings cannot ordinarily detect them, and #ecome e!posed to themindiscriminately" The deleterious effect of such conglomerates of energy fields is especially prealent in a

large metropolis, where they could #e easily disguised as, if nothing else, the momentum created #y the speedof passing automo#iles"

)omething else to hear in mind when practicing Tensegrity is that since the goal of the magical passes issomething foreign to 6estern man, an effort should #e made to *eep the practice of Tensegrity detachedfrom the concerns of our daily world" The practice of Tensegrity should not he mi!ed with elements withwhich we are already thoroughly familiar, such as conersation, music, or the sound of a radio or Tnewsman reporting the news, no matter how muffled the sound might he"

The setting of modern ur#an life facilitates the formation of groups, and under these circumstances, theonly manner in which Tensegrity can #e taught and practiced in the seminars and wor*shops is in groups of practitioners" 8racticing in groups is #eneficial in many aspects and deleterious in others" It is #eneficia #ecause it allows the creation of a consensus of moement and the opportunity to learn #y e!amination andcomparison" It is deleterious #ecause it fosters the reliance on others, and the emergence of syntacticcommands and solicitations dealing with hierarchy"

Don Juan conceied that since the totality of human #ehaior was ruled #y language, human #eings haelearned to respond to what he called syntactic commands, praising or deprecatory formulas #uilt intolanguage-for e!ample, the responses that each indiidual ma*es, 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 thebest , I'm the worst in the world , I could live with that , I'm coping , verything's going to be okay, etc", etcDon Juan maintained that what sorcerers hae always wanted, as a #asic rule of thum#, is to run away fromactiities deried from syntactic commands"

Originally, as don Juan descri#ed it, the magical passes were performed #y the shamans of ancient Me!icoindiidually and in solitariness, on the spur of the moment or as the necessity arose" 'e taught them to hisdisciples in the same fashion" Don Juan stated that for the shaman practitioners, the challenge of performing

the magical passes has always #een to e!ecute them perfectly, holding in mind only the a#stract iew of their perfect e!ecution" Ideally, Tensegrity should #e taught and practiced in the same fashion" 'oweer, theconditions of modern life and the fact that the goal of the magical passes has #een formulated to apply to agreat num#er of people ma*e it imperatie that a new approach #e ta*en" Tensegrity should #e practiced inwhateer form is easiest. either in groups, or alone, or #oth"

In my particular case, the practice of Tensegrity in ery large groups has #een more than ideal, #ecause ithas gien me the uni(ue opportunity of witnessing something which don Juan Matus and all the sorcerers ofhis lineage neer did. the effects of human mass" Don Juan and all the shamans of his lineage, which heconsidered to #e twenty+seen generations long, neer were capa#le of witnessing the effects of human massThey practiced the magical passes alone, or in groups of up to fie practitioners" /or them, the magical passes were highly indiidualistic"

If the num#er of Tensegrity practitioners is in the hundreds, an energetic current is nearly instantaneouslyformed among them" This energetic current, which a shaman could easily see, creates in the practitioners asense of urgency" It is li*e a i#ratory wind that sweeps through them, and gies them the primary elementsof purpose" I hae #een priileged to see something I considered to #e a portentous sight. the awa*ening of purpose, the energetic #asis of man" Don Juan Matus used to call this unbending intent " 'e taught me thatunbending intent is the essential tool of those who 2ourneyed into the un*nown"

% ery important issue to consider when practicing Tensegrity is that the moements must #e e!ecutedwith the idea that the #enefit of the magical passes comes #y itself" This idea must #e stressed at any cost" %the #eginning, it is ery difficult to discern the fact that Tensegrity is not a standard system of moements fordeeloping the #ody" It indeed deelops the #ody, #ut only as a #y+product of a more transcendental effect"3y redeploying unused energy, the magical passes can conduce the practitioner to a leel of awareness in

4;



which the parameters of normal, traditional perception are canceled out #y the fact that they are e!pandedThe practitioner can thus #e allowed een to enter into unimagina#le worlds"

53ut why would I want to enter into those worlds75 I as*ed don Juan when he descri#ed this post+effectof the magical passes"

53ecause you are a creature of awareness, a perceied li*e the rest of us,5 he said" 5'uman #eings are ona 2ourney of awareness, which has #een momentarily interrupted #y e!traneous forces" 3eliee me, we aremagical creatures of awareness" If we don1t hae this coniction, we hae nothing"5

'e further e!plained that human #eings, from the moment their !ourney of awareness was interrupted

hae #een caught in an eddy, so to spea*, and are spinning around, haing the impression of moing with thecurrent, and yet remaining stationary"

5Ta*e my word,5 don Juan went on, 5#ecause mine are not ar#itrary statements" My word is the result ofcorro#orating, for myself, what the shamans of ancient Me!ico found out. that we human #eings are magica #eings"5

It has ta*en me thirty years of hard discipline to come to a cognitie plateau in which don Juan1sstatements are recogni&a#le and their alidity is esta#lished #eyond the shadow of a dou#t" I *now now thathuman #eings are creatures of awareness, inoled in an eolutionary !ourney of awareness, #eings indeedun*nown to themseles, filled to the #rim with incredi#le resources that are neer used"

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)IH )RI) O/ TN)0RIT$

The si! series which are going to #e discussed are the following.

4" The )eries for 8reparing Intent ;" The )eries for the 6om#>" The )eries of the /ie Concerns. The 6estwood )eries?" The )eparation of the @eft 3ody and the Right 3ody. The 'eat )eriesA" The Masculinity )eriesB" The )eries for Deices Used in Con2unction with )pecific Magical 8asses

The particular magical passes of Tensegrity that comprise each of the si! conform with a criterion ofma!imum efficiency" In other words, each magical pass is a precise ingredient of a formula" This is a replicaof the way in which the long series of magical passes were originally used= each series was sufficient in itselfto produce the ma!imum release of redeployable energy"

In e!ecuting the magical passes, there are certain things that must #e ta*en into consideration in order to perform the moements with ma!imum efficiency.

4" %ll the magical passes of the si! series can #e repeated as many times as desired, unless otherwise

specified" If they are first done with the left side of the #ody, they must #e repeated an e(ual num#er of timeswith the right side" %s a rule, eery magical pass of the si! series #egins with the left side"

;" The feet are *ept separate #y a distance e(uialent to the shoulders1 width" This is a #alanced way todistri#ute the weight of the #ody" If the legs are spread too far apart, the #alance of the #ody is impaired" Thesame thing happens if they are too close together" The #est way to arrie at this distance is to #egin from a position where the two feet are close together fig" 4" The tips of the feet are then pioted on the fi!ed heelsand opened in a letter shape fig" ;" )hifting the weight to the tips of the feet, the heels are pioted out tothe sides an e(ual distance fig" >" The tips of the feet are #rought into parallel alignment, and the distance #etween the feet is roughly the width of the shoulders" /urther ad2ustment may #e necessary here in order toreach that desired width and to get the optimal #alance of the #ody"

>" During the e!ecution of all the magical passes of Tensegrity, the *nees are *ept slightly #ent, so that

when one is loo*ing down, the *neecaps #loc* the iew of the tips of the feet figs" ?, A, e!cept in the caseof specific magical passes in which the *nees hae to #e loc*ed" )uch cases are indicated in the description ofthose passes" To hae the *nees loc*ed doesn1t mean that the hamstrings are in2uriously tense, #ut rather thatthey are loc*ed in a gentle way, without unnecessary force"

This position of #ending the *nees is a modern addition to the e!ecution of the magical passes, one thatstems from influences of recent times" One of the leaders of don Juan Matus1s lineage was the nagual @u2ana sailor from China whose original name was something li*e @o+3an" 'e came to Me!ico around the turn ofthe nineteenth century, and stayed there for the rest of his life" one of the women sorcerers in don JuanMatus1s own party went to the Orient and studied martial arts" Don Juan Matus himself recommended thathis disciples learn to moe in a disciplined fashion #y ta*ing up some form of martial arts training"

%nother issue to consider in reference to the slightly #ent *nees is that when the legs are moed forwardin a *ic*ing motion, the *nees are neer whipped" Rather, the whole leg should #e moed #y the tension ofthe muscles of the thighs" Moing in this fashion, the tendons of the *nees are neer in2ured"

?" The #ac* muscles of the legs must #e tensed fig" B" This is a ery difficult accomplishment" Most people can learn (uite easily to tense the front muscles of the legs, #ut the #ac* muscles of the legs stillremain flaccid" Don Juan said that the #ac* muscles of the thighs are where personal history is always storedin the #ody" %ccording to him, feelings find their home there and get stagnant" 'e maintained that difficultyin changing #ehaior patterns could #e easily attri#uted to the flaccidity of the #ac* muscles of the thighs"

A" 6hile performing all these magical passes, the arms are always *ept slightly #ent at the el#ows-neerfully e!tended-when they are moed to stri*e, preenting, in this manner, the tendons of the el#ows from #ecoming irritated fig" "

B" The thum# must always #e *ept in a locked position, meaning that it is folded oer the edge of the

4?



hand" It should neer stic* out fig" E" The sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage considered the thum# to #e acrucial element in terms of energy and function" They #elieed that at the #ase of the thum# e!ist pointswhere energy can #ecome stagnant, and points that can regulate the flow of energy in the #ody" In order toaoid unnecessary stress on the thum# or in2ury resulting from 2olting the hand forcefully, they adopted themeasure of pressing the thum#s against the inside edges of the hands"

" 6hen the hand is made into a fist, the little finger is raised to aoid an angular fist fig" F in which themiddle, fourth, and fifth fingers droop" The idea is that in ma*ing a s(uare fist fig" 4G, the fourth and fifthfingers hae to #e raised, thus creating a peculiar tension in the a!illa, a tension which is most desira#le for

general well+#eing"E" The hands, when they hae to #e opened, are fully e!tended" The tendons of the #ac* of the hand are

at wor*, presenting the palm as an een, flat surface fig" 44" Don Juan preferred a flat palm to counteractthe tendency esta#lished, he felt, through sociali&ation to present the hand as a hollow palm fig" 4;" 'esaid that a hollow palm was the palm of a #eggar, and that whoeer practices the magical passes is a warriornot a #eggar in the least"

F" 6hen the fingers hae to #e contracted at the second *nuc*le and #ent tightly oer the palm, thetendons on the #ac* of the hand are tensed to the ma!imum, especially the tendons of the thum# fig" 4>"This tension of the tendons creates a pressure on the wrists and forearms, areas which sorcerers of ancientMe!ico #elieed were *ey in promoting health and 6ell#eing"

4G" In many Tensegrity moements, the wrists hae to #e #ent forward or #ac*ward to an appro!imatelyninety+degree angle #y contracting the tendons of the forearm fig" 4?" This #ending must #e accomplishedslowly, #ecause most of the time the wrist is (uite infle!i#le, and it is important that the wrist ac(uire thefle!i#ility to turn the #ac* of the hand to ma*e a ma!imum angle with the forearm"

44" %nother important issue in the practice of Tensegrity is an act which has #een termed turning thebody on" This is a uni(ue act in which all the muscles of the #ody, and specifically the diaphragm, are con+tracted in one instant" The muscles of the stomach and a#domen are 2olted, as are the muscles around theshoulders and shoulder #lades" The arms and legs are tensed in unison with e(ual force, #ut only for aninstant figs" 4A, 4B" %s practitioners of Tensegrity progress in their practice, they can learn to sustain thistension for a while longer"

Turning the body on has nothing to do with the state of perennial #odily tension that seems to #e themar* of our times" 6hen the #ody is tense with preoccupation or oerwor*, and the muscles of the nec* areas hard as they can #e, the #ody is not in any way turned on" Rela!ing the muscles or arriing at a state of

tran(uillity is not turning the #ody off, either" The idea of the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico was that with theirmagical passes, the #ody was alerted= it was made to #e ready for action" Don Juan Matus termed thiscondition turning the body on" 'e said that when the muscular tension of turning the body on ceases, the #ody is turned off naturally"

4;" 3reath and #reathing were, according to don Juan, of supreme importance for the sorcerers of ancienMe!ico" They diided #reath into #reathing with the tops of the lungs, #reathing with the midsection of thelungs, and #reathing with the a#domen figs" 4, 4E, 4F" 3reathing #y e!panding the diaphragm they calledthe animal breath, and they practiced it assiduously, don Juan said, for longeity and health"

It was don Juan Matus1s #elief that many of the health pro#lems of modern man could #e easily corrected #y deep #reathing" 'e maintained that the tendency of human #eings nowadays is to ta*e shallow #reathsOne of the aims of the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico was to train their #odies, #y means of the magical passes

to inhale and e!hale deeply"It is highly recommended, therefore, in the moements of Tensegrity that call for deep inhalations and

e!halations, that these #e accomplished #y slowing down the inflow or outflow of air, in order to ma*e theinhalations and e!halations longer and more profound"

%nother important issue concerning the #reathing in Tensegrity is that #reathing is normal whilee!ecuting the Tensegrity moements, unless otherwise specified in the description of any gien magical pass"

4>" %nother consideration in performing the Tensegrity moements is the reali&ation that has to come to practitioners that Tensegrity is in essence the interplay #etween rela!ing and tensing the muscles of choice parts of the #ody in order to arrie at a most coeted physical e!plosion, which the sorcerers of ancientMe!ico *new only as the energy of the tendons" This is a erita#le e!plosion of the neres and tendons #elowor at the core of the muscles"

4A



0ien that Tensegrity is the tension and rela!ation of muscles, the intensity of the muscle tension and thelength of time that the muscles are *ept in that state, in any gien magical pass, depends on the strength ofthe participant" It is recommended that at the #eginning of the practice, the tension #e minimal and the lengthof time as #rief as possi#le" %s the #ody gets warmer, the tension should #ecome greater and the length oftime e!tended, #ut always in a moderate fashion"

4B





impression of a clear+cut sphere of luminosity" Ta*en in this sense, energy is descri#ed #y shamans as ai#ration that agglutinates itself into cohesie units" )hamans descri#e the entire unierse as #eing composedof energy configurations that appear to the seeing eye as filaments, or luminous fi#ers that are strung in eerywhich way without eer #eing entangled" This is an incomprehensi#le proposition for the linear mind" It has a #uilt+in contradiction that can1t he resoled. 'ow could those fi#ers e!tend themseles eery which way andyet not #e entangled7

Don Juan emphasi&ed the point that shamans were a#le only to descri#e eents, and that if their terms ofdescription seemed inade(uate and contradictory, it was #ecause of the limitations of synta!" $et their

descriptions were as strict as anything could #e"The shamans of ancient Me!ico, according to don Juan, descri#ed intent as a perennial force that

permeates the entire unierse-a force that is aware of itself to the point of responding to the #ec*oning orto the command of shamans" 3y means of intent , those shamans were capa#le of unleashing not only all thehuman possi#ilities of perceiing, #ut all the human possi#ilities of action" Through intent , they reali&ed themost far+fetched formulations"

Don Juan taught me that the limit of man1s capa#ility of perceiing is called the band of man, meaningthat there is a #oundary that mar*s human capa#ilities as dictated #y the human organism" These #oundariesare not merely the traditional #oundaries of orderly thought, #ut the #oundaries of the totality of resourcesloc*ed within the human organism" Don Juan #elieed that these resources are neer used, #ut are *ept insitu #y preconceied ideas a#out human limitations, limitations that hae nothing to do with actual human potential"

Don Juan stated, as categorically as he was a#le to, that since perceiing energy as it flows in the unierseis not ar#itrary or idiosyncratic, seers witness formulations of energy that happen #y themseles and are notmolded #y human interference" Thus, the perception of such formulations is, in itself and #y itself, the *eythat releases the loc*ed+in human potential that ordinarily has neer entered into play" In order to elicit the perception of those energetic formulations, the totality of human capa#ilities to perceie has to #e engaged"

The )eries for 8reparing Intent is diided into four groups" The first is called Mashing nergy for IntentThe second is called )tirring up nergy for Intent" The third group is called 0athering nergy for Intent , andthe fourth group is called 3reathing In the nergy of Intent "

The /irst 0roup.Mashing nergy for Intent

Don Juan gae me e!planations which coered all the nuances of eery group of magical passes, whichare the core of the long Tensegrity )eries"

5nergy which is essential for handling intent ,5 he said when he was e!plaining to me the energeticimplications of this group, 5is continuously dispelled from the ital centers located around the lier, pancreas,and *idneys, and settles down at the #ottom of the luminous sphere that we are" This energy needs to #econstantly stirred and rerouted" The sorcerers of my lineage were ery emphatic in recommending asystematic and controlled stirring of energy with the legs and feet" /or them, long wal*s, which were anunaoida#le feature of their lies, resulted in an e!cessie stirring of energy which did not sere any purpose"@ong wal*s were their nemesis for this reason, and the inflow of e!cessie energy had to #e #alanced #y thee!ecution of specific magical passes performed while they were wal*ing"5

Don Juan Matus told me that this set, which consists of fifteen magical passes whose function is to stirenergy with the feet and legs, was considered #y the shamans of his lineage to #e the most effectie way ofdoing what they called mashing energy" 'e stated that each of the steps is a magical pass which has a #uilt+incontrol for the mashing of energy, and that practitioners can repeat these magical passes hundreds of times, ifthey so desire, without worrying a#out an e!cessie stirring of energy" In don Juan1s iew, energy forintending that was stirred up e!cessiely ended up further depleting the centers of itality"

1. Grinding Energy with the FeetThe #ody piots on the #alls of the feet from left to right and right to left in unison for a moment in order

to gain #alance" Then the weight of the #ody is shifted to the heels, and the pioting is done on them fromthen on, with the toes slightly off the ground while swieling, and touching the ground when the feet reach

4E





*nee, alternating then #ac* and forth"

*. +!shing the Energy Stirred with the )nees into the Tr!nk This magical pass is the energetic continuation of the preceding one" The left *nee, #ent to the ma!imum

is pushed up as far as possi#le into the trun*" The trun* is #ent slightly forward" %t the moment the *nee is pushed up, the tip of the foot points to the ground fig" ;E" The same moement is performed with the rightleg, alternating then #etween the two legs"

8ointing the foot to the ground ensures that the tendons of the an*les are tense, in order to 2olt minutecenters there where energy accumulates" )hamans consider those centers to #e perhaps the most important inthe lower lim#s, so important that they could awa*en the rest of the minute energy centers in the #odythrough the performance of this magical pass" This magical pass and the preceding one are e!ecuted togetherfor the purpose of pro2ecting the energy for intending gathered with the *nees up into the two centers ofitality around the lier and the pancreas"

,. )i-king Energy in Front and in a-k of the ody% front *ic* of the left leg is followed #y a hoo* *ic* to the #ac* with the right leg figs" ;F, >G" Then

the order is reersed and a front *ic* is made with the right leg, followed #y a hoo* *ic* to the #ac* with theleft leg"

The arms are *ept to the sides, #ecause this magical pass engages only the lower lim#s, giing themfle!i#ility" The aim is to lift the leg that *ic*s to the front as high as possi#le, and the leg that *ic*s to the #ac* also as high as possi#le" 6hen e!ecuting the #ac* *ic*, the trun* should #end slightly forward tofacilitate the moement" This slight #ending forward of the trun* is used as a natural means of a#sor#ing theenergy stirred with the lim#s" This magical pass is performed to aid the #ody when pro#lems of digestionarise, due to a change in diet, or when there is a need to trael oer great distances"

1/. 'ifting Energy fro" the Soles of the FeetThe left *nee is #ent acutely as it is lifted toward the trun*, as far up as possi#le" The trun* is #ent slightly

forward, almost touching the *nee" The arms 2ut down, ma*ing a ise that gra#s the sole of the foot fig" >4The ideal would #e to gra# the sole of the foot in a ery light fashion, releasing it immediately The footcomes down to the ground as the arms and hands, with a powerful 2olt that engages the shoulders and

pectoral muscles, lift up along the sides of the legs to the leel of the pancreas and spleen fig" >;" The samemoements are performed with the right foot and arm, lifting the hands from the feet to the leel of the lierand gall#ladder" The moements are performed alternating #etween the two legs"

%s in the case of the preious magical pass, #ending the trun* forward allows the energy from the solesof the feet to #e transferred to the two ital centers of energy around the lier and the pancreas" This magical pass is used to aid the attainment of fle!i#ility, and to reliee pro#lems of digestion"

11. +!shing 0own a all of EnergyThe left foot, with the *nee acutely #ent, is lifted to the height of the hips= then it pushes forward with the

tip of the foot arched upward, as if pushing away a solid o#2ect fig" >>" %s soon as the foot is #roughtdown, the right foot is lifted in the same fashion and the moement is repeated, alternating the feet"

12. Ste&&ing $er a arrier of Energy The left leg is nim#ly lifted as if going oer a hurdle which is located edgewise in front of the #ody" The

leg ma*es a circle from left to right fig" >?, and once the foot lands, the other leg is lifted to perform thesame moement"

13. )i-king a 'ateral GateThis is a *ic*+push with the soles of the feet" The left leg is lifted to midcalf and the foot pushes to the

right of the #ody as if to hit a solid o#2ect, using the total sole of the foot as a stri*ing surface fig" >A" Thefoot is retrieed then to the left side, and the same moement is repeated with the right leg and foot"

;G



14. ra-king a !gget of EnergyThe left foot is lifted with the tip pointing acutely to the ground" The *nee protrudes straight forward,

deeply #ent" Then the foot descends with a controlled motion, stri*ing toward the ground as if it were crac*+ing a nugget fig" >B" Once the tip of the foot stri*es, the foot is returned to its original standing position andthe same moement is repeated with the other leg and foot"

1. S-ra&ing ff the M!d of EnergyThe left foot is lifted a few inches a#oe the ground= the entire leg is #rought forward and then pushed

#ac*ward sharply, with the foot lightly #rushing the ground as if it were scraping something off the sole ofthe foot fig" >" The weight of the #ody is carried #y the opposite leg, and the trun* leans a #it forward inorder to engage the muscles of the stomach as this magical pass is e!ecuted" Once the left foot returns to itsnormal position, the same moement is repeated with the right foot and leg"

K K K)hamans call the last fie magical passes of this group "teps in Nature" They are magical passes that practitioners can perform as they wal*, or conduct #usiness, or een as they are sitting, tal*ing to peopleTheir function is gathering= energy with the feet and using it with the legs for situations in whichconcentration and the (uic* use of memory are re(uired"

The )econd 0roup .)tirring up nergy for Intent

The ten magical passes of the second group hae to do with stirring up energy for intending from areas 2ust #elow the *nees, a#oe the head, around the *idneys, the lier and pancreas, the solar ple!us, and thenec*" ach of these magical passes is a tool that stirs up e!clusiely the energy pertinent to intending , whichis accumulated on those areas" )hamans consider these magical passes to #e essential for daily liing, #ecausefor them, life is ruled #y intent " This set of magical passes is perhaps for shamans what a cup of coffee is formodern man" The slogan of our day, 5I1m not myself until I drin* my cappuccino,5 or the slogan of a pastgeneration, 5I1m not awa*e until I drin* my cup of 2aa,5 is rendered for them as 5I am not ready for anythinguntil I hae performed these magical passes"5 The second group of this series #egins #y the act that has #eentermed turning the body on" )ee page >?, figs" 4A, 4B"

1#. Stirring !& Energy with the Feet and the 5r"s%fter the #ody has #een turned on# it is held in a slightly stooped+oer position fig" >E" The weight is

placed on the right leg while the left leg ma*es a complete circle, #rushing the ground with the tips of thetoes, and landing on the #all of the foot, in front of the #ody" The left arm, in synchroni&ation with the legma*es a circle, the top of which goes a#oe the leel of the head fig" >F" There is a slight pause of the legand arm and they draw two more circles in succession, ma*ing a total of three fig" ?G" The rhythm of thismagical pass is gien #y counting one, slight pause, one+one, then a ery slight pause, two, pause, two+two,then a ery slight pause, and so on" The same moement is performed with the right leg and arm"

This magical pass stirs energy at the #ottom of the luminous ball with the feet, and pro2ects it with thearms to the area 2ust a#oe the head"

1(. 6olling Energy on the 5drenalsThe forearms are placed #ehind the #ody, oer the area of the *idneys and adrenals" The el#ows are #ent

at a ninety+degree angle and the hands are held in fists, a few inches away from the #ody, without touching itThe fists moe downward in a rotational fashion, one on top of the other, #eginning with the left fist moingdownward= the right fist follows, moing downward as the left fist moes #ac* up" The trun* leans slightlyforward fig" ?4" Then the moement is reersed, and the fists roll in the opposite direction as the trun*leans slightly #ac*ward fig" ?;" @eaning the #ody forward and #ac*ward in this fashion engages the musclesof the upper arms and the shoulders"

This magical pass is used to supply the energy of intending to the adrenals and *idneys"

1*. Stirring !& Energy for the 5drenals

;4



The trun* is #ent forward, with the *nees protruding #eyond the line of the toes" The hands rest a#oe the*neecaps, the fingers draping oer them" The left hand then rotates to the right oer the *neecap, ma*ing theel#ow protrude as far forward as possi#le in alignment with the left *nee fig" ?>" %t the same time, the rightforearm, with the hand still a#oe the *neecap, rests its full length oer the right thigh, while the right *nee isstraightened out, engaging the hamstring" It is important to moe only the *nees, and not to swing the rearend from side to side"

The same moements are performed with the right arm and leg fig" ??"This magical pass is employed for stirring up the energy of intending around the *idneys and adrenals" It

#rings the practitioner long+range endurance and a sensation of daring and self+confidence"

1,. F!sing 'eft and 6ight Energy% deep inhalation is ta*en" % ery slow e!halation #egins as the left forearm is #rought in front of the

shoulders, with the el#ow #ent at a ninety+degree angle" The wrist is #ent #ac*ward as acutely as possi#lewith the fingers pointing forward, and the palm of the hand facing to the right fig" ?A"

6hile the arm maintains this position, the trun* is #ent forward sharply until the protruding left armreaches the leel of the *nees" The left el#ow must #e *ept from sagging toward the floor, and must #e main+tained away from the *nees, and as far forward as possi#le" The slow e!halation continues, as the right armma*es a full circle oer the head and the right hand comes to rest an inch or two away from the fingers of theleft hand" The palm of the right hand faces the #ody and the fingers point toward the floor" The head is facingdownward, with the nec* held straight" The e!halation ends, and a deep #reath is ta*en in that position" %llthe muscles of the #ac* and the arms and legs are contracted as the air is slowly and deeply inhaled fig" ?B"

The #ody straightens up as an e!halation is made, and the complete magical pass is started again with theright arm"

The ma!imum stretch of the arms forward permits the creation of an opening in the energetic orte! of thecenter of the *idneys and adrenals= such an opening allows the optimal utili&ation of redeployed energy" Thismagical pass is essential for the redeployment of energy to that center, which accounts, in general terms, foran oerall itality and youth of the #ody"

2/. +ier-ing the ody with a ea" of EnergyThe left arm is placed against the #ody in front of the nael, and the right arm 2ust #ehind the #ody at the

same leel" The wrists are #ent 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" ?" The fingertips of #oth hands are raised #ris*ly to point in a straight line forward and #ac*ward" The whole #ody is tensed and the *nees are #ent at the instanthat the fingers point forward and #ac*ward fig" ?E" The hands are *ept in that position for a moment" Thenthe muscles are rela!ed, the legs are straightened, and the arms are swieled around until the right arm is infront and the left #ehind" %s at the #eginning of this magical pass, the fingertips point to the floor, and areraised again #ris*ly to point in a straight line forward and #ac*ward, again with a slight e!halation= the *neesare #ent"

3y means of this magical pass, a diiding line is esta#lished in the middle of the #ody, which separates leftenergy and right energy"

21. Twisting Energy $er Two enters of 7itality

It1s a good idea to #egin #y placing the hands facing each other, as a deice to *eep the hands in line" Thefingers are *ept open and clawed, as if to gra# the lid of a 2ar the si&e of the hand" Then the right hand is placed oer the area of the pancreas and spleen, facing the #ody" The left hand is placed #ehind the #ody,oer the area of the left *idney and adrenal, also with the palm facing the #ody" 3oth wrists are then #ent #ac*ward sharply, as the trun* turns as far to the left as possi#le, *eeping the *nees in place" Ne!t, #othhands piot at the wrists in unison, in a side+to+side moement, as if to unscrew the lids of two 2ars, one onthe pancreas and spleen, and the other on the left *idney fig" ?F"

The same moement is e!ecuted #y reersing the order, putting the left hand in the front, at the leel ofthe lier and gall#ladder and the right arm in the #ac* at the leel of the right *idney"

6ith the aid of this magical pass, energy is stirred on the three main centers of itality. the lier andgall#ladder, the pancreas and spleen, and the *idneys and adrenals" It is an indispensa#le magical pass for

;;



those who hae to he on the loo*out" It facilitates an all+around awareness and it increases the practitioners1sensi#ility to their surroundings"

22. The Half8ir-le of Energy% half+circle is drawn with the left hand, commencing in front of the face" The hand moes slightly to the

right until it reaches the leel of the right shoulder fig" AG" There the hand turns and draws the inner edge ofa half+circle close to the left side of the #ody fig" A4" The hand turns again in the #ac* fig" A; and drawsthe outer edge of the half+circle, then returns to its initial position fig" A>" The complete half+circle is slanted

from the leel of the eyes, in front, to a leel #elow the rear end, in the #ac*" It is important to follow themoement 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 #ody in this fashion with two half+circles" These two half+circles are drawn to stir energy andto facilitate the sliding of energy from a#oe the head to the region of the adrenals" This magical pass is aehicle for ac(uiring intense, sustained so#riety"

23. Stirring Energy 5ro!nd the e-k The left hand, with the palm facing upward, and the right hand, with the palm facing downward, are

placed in front of the #ody, at the leel of the solar ple!us" The right hand is on top of the left, nearlytouching it" The el#ows are #ent sharply" % deep #reath is ta*en= the arms are raised slightly as the trun* ismade to rotate as far to the left as possi#le without moing the legs, especially the *nees, which are slightly #ent in order to aoid any unnecessary stress on the tendons" The head is *ept in alignment with the trun*and shoulders" %n e!halation #egins as the el#ows are then gently pulled away from each other to a ma!imumstretch, *eeping the wrists straight fig" A?" %n inhalation is ta*en" %n e!halation #egins when the head isturned ery gently to the #ac* to face the left el#ow, and then to the front to face the right el#ow= therotation of the head #ac* and forth is repeated two more times as the e!halation ends"

The trun* is turned to the front, and the hands reerse position there" The right hand is made to faceupward while the left hand is made to face downward, on top of the right one" %n inhalation is ta*en againThe trun* is then turned to the right, and the same moements are repeated on the right"

)hamans #eliee that a special type of energy for intending is dispersed from the center for decisionslocated in the hollow spot at the #ase of the nec*, and that this energy is e!clusiely gathered with thismagical pass"

24. )neading Energy with a +!sh of the Sho!lder lades3oth arms are placed in front of the face, at the leel of the eyes, with the el#ows #ent enough to gie the

arms a #owli*e appearance fig" AA" The trun* is #ent forward slightly, in order to allow the shoulder #ladesto e!pand laterally" The moement #egins #y pushing the left arm forward while it is *ept arched and tensefig" AB" The right arm follows= and the arms moe in an alternating fashion" It is important to note that thearms are *ept e!tremely tense" The palms of the hands face forward and the fingertips face each other" Thedriing force of the arms is created #y the deep moement of the shoulder #lades and the tenseness of thestomach muscles"

)hamans #eliee that energy on the ganglia around the shoulder #lades gets easily stuc* and #ecomesstagnant, #ringing a#out the decay of the center for decisions, located on the spot at the #ase of the nec*"

This magical pass is employed to stir that energy"

2. Stirring Energy 5bo$e the Head and ra-king %tThe left arm moes in a rela!ed fashion, ma*ing two and a half circles a#oe and around the head fig"

A" Those circles are then crac*ed with the outer edge of the forearm and the hand, which comes downforcefully, #ut ery slowly fig" AE" The impact is a#sor#ed #y the stomach muscles, which are tensed at thatmoment" The muscles of the arm are *ept tight, in order to aoid in2uries to the tendons which could occur ifthe muscles of the arm were loose, or if the arm were whipped" %ir is e!haled lightly as the arm stri*esdownward" The same moement is repeated with the right arm"

The energy stirred and crac*ed in this fashion is allowed to seep downward oer the entire #ody" 6hen practitioners are oertired, and can1t afford to go to sleep, e!ecuting this magical pass dispels sleepiness and

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#rings forth a sensation of temporary alertness"

The Third 0roup .0athering nergy for Intent

The nine magical passes of the third group are employed to #ring to the three centers of itality around thelier, the pancreas, and the *idneys the speciali&ed energy which has #een stirred up #y the magical passes ofthe preious group" The magical passes of this group must #e performed slowly and with ultimate

deli#eration" )hamans recommend that the state of mind on e!ecuting these passes #e one of total silence andthe unwaering intent to gather the energy necessary for intending "

%ll of the magical passes of the third group #egin with a fast sha*e of the hands, which are held at thesides of the #ody, with the arms hanging at a normal position" The hands sha*e as if the fingers were i#rat+ing downward, ta*en #y a tremor" % i#ration of this nature was thought to #e the means to stir energyaround the hips and also the means to stimulate minute centers of energy where energy could get stagnant onthe #ac*s of the hands and the wrists"

The oerall effect of the first three magical passes of this group is one of general itality and well+#eingsince energy is carried to the three main ital centers in the lower part of the #ody"

2#. 6ea-hing for Energy Stirred elow the )nees% small 2ump forward is made with the left leg, which is propelled #y the right one" The trun* is #ent

mar*edly forward, and the left arm is stretched out to gra# something that is almost at the floor leel figAF" The left leg is then retrieed to a standing position, and the left palm #rushes immediately oer the italcenter of energy on the right. the lier and gall#ladder"

The same moement is repeated with the right leg and arm, #rushing the palm oer the ital center on theleft. the pancreas and spleen"

2(. Trans&orting Front Energy to the 5drenals% deep inhalation is ta*en while the hands sha*e" Then the left arm shoots straight in front of the #ody at

the leel of the shoulders with the palm of the hated turned toward the left, as all the air is sharply e!haledfig" BG" Ne!t, a ery slow inhalation #egins while the wrist rotates from left to right, ma*ing a completecircle, as if scooping a #all of solid matter fig" B4" Then the inhalation continues while the wrist rotates #ac*

again to its initial position with the palm facing to the left" Ne!t, as if carrying the #all, the left arm ma*es asemi+circle, *eeping the same shoulder leel= this moement ends when the #ac* of the #ent wrist is placedoer the left *idney" It is important that the continuous inhalation he made to last for the duration of theswinging of the arm from front to hac*" %s this swinging moement is e!ecuted, the right arm ma*es acircular moement to the front of the #ody, ending when the hac* of the #ent wrist is #rought to touch thearea 2ust a#oe the pu#is" The head is turned to the left to face the #ac* fig" B;" Ne!t, the left hand, whichis holding the #all, turns to face the #ody and smashes the #all against the left *idney and adrenal" The palm isthen gently ru##ed oer that area as an e!halation is made"

The same moement is e!ecuted #y reersing the arms and turning the head to the right"

2*. S-oo&ing Energy fro" the 'eft and the 6ight

The arms are moed to the sides of the #ody and then raised with the hands curled inward toward the #ody, #rushing upward against the torso to reach the armpits, as a deep inhalation is ta*en fig" B>" Ne!t, thearms are e!tended laterally, with the palms down, as the air is e!haled forcefully" % deep inhalation is ta*enthen as the hands are cupped and made to rotate on the wrists until the palms face up, as if scoopingsomething solid fig" B?" Ne!t, the hands are #rought #ac* to the shoulder leel #y #ending the el#owssharply as the inhalation continues fig" BA" This moement engages the shoulder #lades and the muscles ofthe nec*" %fter holding this position for a moment, the arms arc e!tended laterally again, with a sharpe!halation" The palms face front" The palms of the hands are cupped and made to rotate #ac*ward, again as ifscooping a solid su#stance" The slightly cupped hands are #rought #ac* to the shoulder leel as #efore" Thesemoements are repeated one more time, for a total of three" The palms then ru# gently oer the two italcenters around the lier and around the pancreas as the air is e!haled"

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2,. ra-king the ir-le of Energy% circle is made #y moing the left arm to the right shoulder fig" BB, then close around the front of the

#ody to the #ac* fig" B and out again to in front of the face fig" BE" This moement of the left arm iscoordinated with the same moement done with the right arm" 3oth arms moe in an alternate fashioncreating a slanted circle around the total #ody" Then a #ac*ward step to the left is ta*en with the right foot,followed #y a step to the right ta*en with the left foot, so as to turn around to face the opposite direction"

The left arm is arched then around the left side of the circle, as if the circle were a solid o#2ect which the

left arm presses against the armpit and chest area" The right arm then performs the same moement on theright side, treating the circle as if it werc a solid o#2ect fig" BF" % deep #reath is ta*en, and the circle iscrac*ed from #oth sides #y tensing the whole #ody, especially the arms, which are #rought together to thechest" The palms then ru# gently on the respectie centers of itality on the front of the #ody as the air ise!haled"

The uses of this pass are (uite esoteric, #ecause they hae to do with the clarity of intent needed fordecision ma*ing This magical pass is used for spreading the energy of decisions accumulated around thenec*"

3/. Gathering Energy fro" the Front of the ody9 6ight 5bo$e the Head% deep inhalation is ta*en as the hands sha*e" 3oth arms are #rought to the leel of the face with clenched

fists, crossed in an H, with the left arm closer to the face, and the inside of the fisted palms toward the faceThe arms are then e!tended a few inches to the front as the wrists are made to rotate on each other until thefisted palms are facing down fig" G" /rom this position, the left shoulder and shoulder #lade are e!tendedforward, an e!halation #egins" The left shoulder is pulled #ac* as the right one comes forward" Ne!t, thecrossed arms are lifted a#oe the head and the e!halation ends"

% slow, deep inhalation is ta*en as the crossed arms ma*e a complete circle, moing to the right aroundthe front of the #ody, almost to the leel of the *nees, then to the left, and #ac* to their initial position, righta#oe the head fig" 4" Then the amps are forcefully separated as a long e!halation #egins fig" ;" /romthere, the arms moe as far #ac* as possi#le, as the e!halation continues, drawing a circle which isCompleted when the fists are #rought to the front to the leel of the eyes, with the inside of the fisted palmstoward the face fig" >" Then the arms are crossed again" The wrists piot on each other as the hands areopened and are placed against the #ody, the right hand on the area of the pancreas and spleen, and the left

hand on the area of the lier and gall#ladder" The #ody #ends forward at the waist, at a ninety+degree angleas the e!halation ends fig" ?"

The use of this magical pass is twofold. /irst, it stirs energy around the shoulder #lades and transports it toa place a#oe the head" /rom there, it ma*es the energy circulate in a #road circle that touches the edges ofthe luminous sphere" )econd, it mi!es the energy of the left and the right #y placing it on the two centers ofitality around the pancreas and the lier, with each hand on the opposite center"

Mi!ing energy in such a fashion proides a 2olt of great magnitude to the respectie centers of itality" %sthe practitioners #ecame more proficient in their practice, the 2olt #ecomes more acute, and ac(uires the(uality of a filter of energy, which is an incomprehensi#le statement until this pass is practiced" The sensationthat accompanies it could #e descri#ed as #reathing mentholated air"

31. Stirring and Grabbing Energy fro" elow the )nees and 5bo$e the Head%n inhalation is ta*en as the hands sha*e" 3oth hands are #rought up #y the sides of the #ody to the leel

of the waist, and held rela!ed" The *nees are #ent as the left hand is pushed downward with the wrist turnedso that the palm faces outward, away from the #ody, as if it were reaching into a #uc*et full of li(uidsu#stance" This moement is performed at the same time that the right hand shoots up a#oe the head withe(ual force= the right wrist is also turned so that the palm faces outward, away from the #ody fig A % slowe!halation #egins when #oth arms reach their ma!imum e!tension" The wrists are returned with great force toa straight position at the same time that the hands clasp into fists, as if gra##ing something solid" <eeping thefists clenched, the e!halation continues while the right arm is #rought down and the left arm is #rought up tothe leel of the waist, slowly and with great strength, as if wading through a heay li(uid fig" B" Then the palms ru# gently on the areas of the lier and gall#ladder and the pancreas and spleen" The *nees are

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straightened and the e!halation ends at this point fig" "The same moement is e!ecuted #y shifting the arms= the right arm plunges downward while the left arm

pushes upward"The energy for intending that is e!tracted from #elow the *nees and a#oe the head in this magical pass

can also #e ru##ed on the areas of the left and right *idneys"

32. Mixing Energy of the 'eft and the 6ight%n inhalation is ta*en as the hands sha*e" The left arm reaches diagonally to the e!treme right a#oe the

head and in line with the right shoulder as an e!halation #egins fig" E" The hand gra#s as if clasping ahandful of matter, yan*s it out, and #rings it to a position a#oe the head and in line with the left shoulder,where the e!halation ends" The left hand remains clasped, and a sharp inhalation is ta*en as the left armcircles #ac*ward fig" F, ending in a fisted position at the leel of the eyes" The fist is then #rought downwith an e!halation to the ital center around the pancreas, slowly, hut with great force, and the palm ru#ssoftly on that area fig" EG"

The same moement is repeated with the right arm, #ut instead of moing in a #ac*ward circle, the rightarm moes in a frontward circle"

In the #elief of shamans, the energy of the two sides of the #ody is different" The energy of the left is portrayed as #eing undular, and the energy of the right as #eing circular" This magical pass is used to applycircular energy to the left and undular energy to the right in order to strengthen the centers of itality aroundthe lier and pancreas #y the inflow of slightly different energy"

33. Grabbing Energy fro" 5bo$e the Head for the Two 7ital enters)tarting at the leel of the ear, the left arm circles forward twice fig" E4 and is then e!tended oer the

head, as if to gra# something fig" E;" %s this moement is e!ecuted, a deep #reath is ta*en, which ends atthe moment that the hand gra#s upward as if to fetch something a#oe the head" Don Juan recommended thatthe eyes select, with a (uic* glance upward, the target for the hand to gra#" 6hateer is selected and gra##edis then yan*ed forcefully downward and placed oer the ital center around the pancreas and spleen" The airis e!haled at this point" The same moement is performed with the right arm, and the energy is placed oerthe center around the lier and gall#ladder"

%ccording to shamans, the energy of intent tends to graitate downward, and a more rarefied aspect of thesame energy remains in the area a#oe the head" This energy is gathered with this magical pass"

34. 6ea-hing for Energy 5bo$e the HeadThe left arm is e!tended upward as far as possi#le, with the hand open as if to gra# something" %t the

same time, the #ody is propelled upward with the right leg" 6hen the 2ump reaches its ma!imum height, thehand turns inward at the wrist, ma*ing a hoo* with the forearm fig" E>, which then slowly and forcefullyscoops downward" The left hand ru#s immediately around the ital center of the pancreas and spleen"

This moement is performed with the right arm in e!actly the same fashion as it was done with the leftThe right hand immediately #rushes across the ital center around the lier and gall#ladder"

)hamans #eliee that the energy stored around the periphery of the luminous sphere that human #eings arecan #e stirred and gathered #y 2umping forcefully upward" This magical pass is used as a help to dispe pro#lems #rought a#out #y concentrating on a gien tas* for long periods of time"

The /ourth 0roup .3reathing In the nergy of Intent

The three magical passes of this group are for stirring, gathering, and transporting energy for intent fromthree centers-around the feet, on the an*les, and right #elow the *neecaps-and placing it on the centers ofitality around the *idneys, the lier, the pancreas, the wom#, and the genitals" The recommendation to practitioners on the e!ecution of these magical passes is that since they are accompanied #y #reaths, theinhalations and e!halations should #e slow and profound= and that there should #e a crystal clear intent on the part of the practitioners that the adrenals receie an instantaneous #oost while the deep #reaths are ta*en"

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3. 0ragging Energy fro" the )nee-a&s 5long the Front of the Thighs% deep inhalation is ta*en as the arms hang #y the sides and the hands waer in a continuous tremor, as if

stirring a gaseous matter" %n e!halation #egins as the hands are lifted to the waist, and the palms of the handsstri*e down in unison, on each side of the #ody, with great force fig" E?" The arms are only slightly #ent, sothat the palms of the hands are a few inches #elow the stomach" The hands are three or four inches apart,held at ninety+degree angles with the forearms, the fingers pointing forward" )lowly and without touchingthe hands ma*e one circle inward toward the front of the #ody= the muscles of the arms, stomach, and legsare fully contracted fig" EA" % second circle is drawn in the same fashion as the air is totally e!pelled

through clenched teeth"%nother deep inhalation is ta*en, and the air is slowly e!haled as three more inward circles are drawn in

front of the #ody" The hands are then retrieed to the front of the hips, and they slide down the front of thethighs with the heels of the palms, fingers slightly turned up, all the way to the *neecaps" The air is fullye!haled then" % third deep inhalation is ta*en while the tips of the fingers press the #ottom of the *neecapsThe head is held facing downward, in line with the spine fig" EB" Then, as the #ent *nees are straightened,the hands, with the fingers clawed, are dragged up the thighs to the hips, as the air is slowly e!haled" 6iththe last portion of the e!halation, the hands are then #rushed on the respectie centers of itality around the pancreas and the lier"

3#. 0ragging Energy fro" the Sides of the 'egs% deep inhalation is ta*en as the hands, held #y the sides of the #ody, sha*e with a continuous tremor" The

hands stri*e down e!actly as in the preious magical pass" %n e!halation #egins there, while the hands draw,in a similar fashion, two small outward circles #y the sides of the holly" The muscles of the arms, stomach,and legs are tensed to the ma!imum" The el#ows are held tight #ut slightly #ent fig" E"

%fter the two circles hae #een drawn, all the air is e!pelled, and a deep inhalation is ta*en" Three moreoutward circles are drawn as the air is slowly e!haled" The hands are then #rought to the sides of the hipsThe fingers are slightly raised as the heels of the hands ru# all the way down the sides of the legs until thefingers reach the outside *no#s of the an*les" The head is facing downward, in line with the #ody fig" EE"The e!halation ends there, and a deep inhalation is ta*en with the inde! and middle fingers pressing the #ottom of the *no#s fig" EF" % slow e!halation #egins as the hands, with the fingers clawed, are dragged upthe sides of the legs to the hips" The e!halation is completed while the palms are #rushed on the tworespectie centers of itality"

3(. 0ragging Energy fro" the Front of the 'egs%gain, a deep inhalation is ta*en as the hands, held #y the sides of the #ody, are sha*en" 3oth arms ma*e

a circle #y the sides of the #ody, #eginning toward the #ac*, and going oer the head fig" FG to stri*eforcefully in front of the #ody with the palms down and the fingers pointing forward" % slow e!halation #egins there, while the hands, starting with the left, moe forward and #ac*ward three times in alternatingsuccession, as if sliding oer a smooth surface" The e!halation ends when the heels of #oth hands aretouching the ri# cage fig" F4" % deep inhalation is ta*en then" The left hand moes in a sliding motion to theleft followed #y the right hand sliding to the right= this se(uence is e!ecuted a total of three times inalternating succession" They end with the heels of the palms against the ri# cage, the thum#s nearly touchingeach other fig" F;" Ne!t, #oth hands are made to slide down the front of the legs until they reach the

tendons on the front of the an*les fig" F>" The e!halation ends there" % deep inhalation is ta*en as thetendon is tensed #y lifting the #ig toe until the tendon seems to pop up= the inde! and middle fingers of eachhand i#rate the tendons #y pressing on them fig" F?" 6ith the fingers clawed, the hands are dragged up thefront of the legs to the hips as a slow e!halation #egins" The palms are gently ru##ed on the centers of italityas the e!halation ends"

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T' )COND )RI)The "eries for the $omb

%ccording to don Juan Matus, one of the most specific interests of the shamans who lied in Me!ico inancient times was what they called the liberation of the womb" 'e e!plained that the li#eration of the wom#entailed the awa*ening of its secondary functions, and that since the primary function of the wom#, undernormal circumstances, was reproduction, those sorcerers were solely concerned with what they considered to #e its secondary function. eolution" olution, in the case of the wom#, was, for them, the awa*ening and

full e!ploitation of the wom#Ls capacity to process direct *nowledge-that is to say, the possi#ility oapprehending sensory data and interpreting it directly, without the aid of the processes of interpretation withwhich we are familiar"

/or shamans, the moment in which practitioners are transformed from #eings that are sociali&ed toreproduce into #eings capa#le of eoling is the moment when they #ecome conscious of seeing energy as itflows in the unierse" In the opinion of shamans, females can see energy directly more readily than males #ecause of the effect of their wom#s" It is also their opinion that under normal conditions, regardless of thefacility that women hae, it is nearly impossi#le for women or for men to #ecome deli#erately conscious thatthey can see energy directly" The reason for this incapacity is something which shamans consider to #e atraesty. the fact that there is no one to point out to human #eings that it is natural for them to see energydirectly"

)hamans maintain that women, #ecause they hae a wom#, are so ersatile, so indiidualistic in theira#ility to see energy directly that this accomplishment, which should #e a triumph of the human spirit, ista*en for granted" 6omen are neer conscious of their a#ility" In this respect males are more proficient" )inceit is more difficult for them to see energy directly, when they do accomplish this feat, they don1t ta*e it forgranted" Therefore male sorcerers were the ones who set up the parameters of perceiing energy directly andthe ones who tried to descri#e the phenomenon"

5The #asic premise of sorcery,5 don Juan said to me one day, 5discoered #y the shamans of my lineagewho lied in Me!ico in ancient times is that we are perceivers" The totality of the human #ody is aninstrument of perception" 'oweer, the predominance of the isual in us gies to perception the oerallmood of the eyes" This mood, according to the old sorcerers, is merely the heritage of a purely predatorialstate"

5The effort of the old sorcerers, which has lasted to our days,5 don Juan continued, 5was geared toward placing themseles #eyond the realm of the predator1s eye" They conceied the predator1s eye to #e isual pare!cellence, and that the realm #eyond the predator1s eye is the realm of inure perception, which is not isuallyoriented"5

On another occasion, he said that it was a #one of contention for the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico thatwomen, who hae the organic frame, the wom#, that could facilitate their entrance into the realm of pure perception, hae no interest in using it" Those shamans iewed it as a woman1s parado! to hae endless power at her disposal and no interest whatsoeer in gaining access to it" 'oweer, don Juan had no dou#tthat this lac* of desire to do anything wasn1t natural= it was learned"

The aim of the magical passes for the wom# is to gie the female practitioners of Tensegrity an in*ling,which has to #e more than an intellectual titillation, of the possi#ility of canceling out the effect of thisno!ious sociali&ation that renders women indifferent" Neertheless, a warning is in order= don Juan Matus

adised his female disciples to proceed with great caution when practicing these magical passes" The magical passes for the wom# are passes that foster the awa*ening of the secondary functions of the uterus andoaries, and those secondary functions are the apprehension of sensory data and the interpretation of them"

Don Juan called the wom# the perceiving bo%" 'e was as coninced as the other sorcerers of his lineagethat the uterus and oaries, if they are pulled out of the reproductie cycle, can #ecome tools of perception,and #ecome indeed the epicenter of eolution" 'e considered that the first step of eolution is the acceptanceof the premise that human #eings are perceiers" It was not redundancy on his part to insist ceaselessly thatthis has to #e done #efore anything else"

56e already *now that we are perceiers" 6hat else can we #e75 I would say in protest eery time heinsisted"

5Thin* a#out it95 he would reply eery time I protested" 58erception plays only a minute role in our lies

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and yet, the only thing we are for a fact is perceiers" 'uman #eings apprehend energy at large and turn itinto sensory data" Then they interpret these sensory data into the world of eeryday life" This interpretation iswhat we call perception"

5The shamans of ancient Me!ico, as you already *now,5 don Juan went on, 5were coninced thatinterpretation too* place on a point of intense #rilliance, the assemblage point , which they found when they saw the human #ody as a conglomerate of energy fields that resem#led a sphere of luminosity" The adantageof women is their capacity to transfer the interpretation function of the assemblage point to the wom#" Theresult of this transfer function is something that cannot #e tal*ed a#out, not #ecause it is something

for#idden, #ut #ecause it is something indescri#a#le"5The wom#,5 don Juan continued, 5is erita#ly in a chaotic state of turmoil, #ecause of this eiled

capacity that e!ists in remission from the moment of #irth until death #ut which is neer utili&ed" Thisfunction of interpretation neer ceases to act and yet it has neer #een raised to the leel of fulconsciousness"5

Don Juan1s assurance was that the shamans of ancient Me!ico, #y means of their magical grasses, hadraised among their female practitioners the interpretie capacity of the wom# to the leel of consciousness,and #y doing this, they had instituted an eolutionary change among them= that is to say, they had turned thewom# from an organ of reproduction into the tool of eolution"

olution is defined in the world of modern man as the capacity of different species to modify themselesthrough the processes of natural selection or the transmission of traits, until they can successfully reproducein their offspring the changes #rought a#out in themseles"

The eolutionary theory that has lasted to our day, from the time it was formulated oer a hundred yearsago, says that the origin and the perpetuation of a new species of animal or plant is #rought a#out #y the process of natural selection, which faors the surial of indiiduals whose characteristics render them #estadapted to their enironment, and that eolution is #rought a#out #y the interplay of three principles. first,heredity, the conseratie force that transmits similar organic forms from one generation to another= second,ariation, the differences present in all forms of life= and third, the struggle for e!istence, which determineswhich ariations confer adantages in a gien enironment" This last principle gae rise to the phrase still incurrent use. 5the surial of the fittest"5

olution, as a theory, has enormous loopholes= it leaes tremendous room for dou#t" It is at #est anopen+ended process for which scientists hae created classificatory schemes= they hae created ta!onomies totheir hearts1 content" 3ut the fact remains that it is a theory full of holes" 6hat we *now a#out eolution

doesn1t tell us what eolution is"Don Juan Matus #elieed that eolution was the product of intending at a ery profound leel" In the

case of sorcerers, that profound leel was mar*ed #y what he had called inner silence"5/or instance,5 he said, when he was e!plaining this phenomenon, 5sorcerers are sure that dinosaurs flew

#ecause they intended flying" 3ut what is ery difficult to understand, much less accept, is that wings are onlyone solution to flying, in this case, the dinosaurs1 solution"

Neertheless, this solution is not the only one that is possi#le" It1s the only one aaila#le to us #yimitation" Our airplanes are flying with wings imitating the dinosaurs, perhaps #ecause flying has neer #eenintended again since the dinosaurs1 time" 8erhaps wings were adopted #ecause they were the easiessolution"5

Don Juan was of the opinion that if we were to intend it now, there is no way of *nowing what other

options for flying would #e aaila#le #esides wings" 'e insisted that #ecause intent is infinite, there was nological way in which the mind, following processes of deduction or induction, could calculate or determinewhat these options for flying might #e"

The magical passes of the )eries for the 6om# are e!tremely potent, and should he practiced sparinglyIn ancient times, men were #arred from e!ecuting them" In more recent times, there has #een a tendencyamong sorcerers to render these magical passes more generic, and thus the possi#ility arose that they couldalso #e of serice to men" This possi#ility, howeer, is ery delicate and re(uires careful handling, greatconcentration and determination"

The male practitioners of Tensegrity who teach the magical passes hae opted, #ecause of their potenteffect, to practice them #y #rushing the energy that they generate only lightly on the area of the genitalsthemseles" This measure has proen to #e enough to proide a #eneficial 2olt without any profound or

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T' T'IRD )RI)The "eries of the &ive oncerns( The $estwood "eries

One of the most important series for the practitioners of Tensegrity is called The "eries of the &iveoncerns" % nic*name for this series is The $estwood "eries, gien to it #ecause it was taught pu#licly forthe first time in the 8auley 8ailion at the Uniersity of California at @os %ngeles, which is located in an areacalled 6estwood" This series was conceied as an attempt to integrate what don Juan Matus called the fiveconcerns of the shamans of ancient Me%ico" erything those sorcerers did rotated around fie concerns

one, the magical passes= two, the energetic center in the human #ody called the center for decisions= threerecapitulation, the means for enhancing the scope of human awareness= four, dreaming , the #one fide art of #rea*ing the parameters of normal perception= fie, inner silence, the stage of human perception from whichthose sorcerers launched eery one of their perceptual attainments" This se(uence of fie concerns was anarrangement patterned on the understanding that those sorcerers had of the world around them"

One of the astounding findings of those shamans, according to what don Juan taught, was the e!istence inthe unierse of an agglutinating force that #inds energy fields together into concrete, functional units" Thesorcerers who discoered the e!istence of this force descri#ed it as a i#ration, or a i#ratory condition, that permeates groups of energy fields and glues them together"

In terms of this arrangement of the fie concerns of the shamans of ancient Me!ico, the magical passesfulfill the function of the i#ratory condition those shamans tal*ed a#out" 6hen those sorcerers put together

this shamanistic se(uence of fie concerns, they copied the patterning of energy that was reealed to themwhen they were capa#le of seeing energy as it flows in the unierse" The #inding force was the magical passes" The magical passes were the unit that permeated through the four remaining units and grouped themtogether into one functional whole"

The 6estwood )eries, following the patterning of the shamans of ancient Me!ico, has conse(uently #eendiided into four groups, arranged in terms of their importance as enisioned #y the sorcerers whoformulated them. one, the center for decisions= two, recapitulation= three, dreaming = four, inner silence"

The /irst 0roup.The enter for )ecisions

The most important topic for the shamans who lied in Me!ico in ancient times, and for all the shamansof don Juan1s lineage, was the center for decisions" )hamans are coninced, #y the practical results of theirendeaors, that there is a spot on the human #ody which accounts for decision ma*ing, the * spot+ the areaon the crest of the sternum at the #ase of the nec*, where the claicles meet to form a letter " It is a centerwhere energy is rarefied to the point of #eing tremendously su#tle, and it stores a specific type of energywhich shamans are incapa#le of defining" They are utterly certain, howeer, that they can feel the presence ofthat energy, and its effects" It is the #elief of shamans that this special energy is always pushed out of thatcenter ery early in the lies of human #eings, and it neer returns to it, thus depriing human #eings ofsomething perhaps more important than all the energy of the other centers com#ined. the capacity to ma*edecisions"

In relation to the issue of ma*ing decisions, don Juan e!pressed the hard opinion of the sorcerers of hislineage" Their o#serations, oer the centuries, had led them to conclude that human #eings are incapa#le of

ma*ing decisions, and that for this reason, they hae created the social order. gigantic institutions thatassume responsi#ility for decision ma*ing" They let those gigantic institutions decide for them, and theymerely fulfill the decisions already made on their #ehalf"

The spot at the #ase of the nec* was, for those shamans, a place of such importance that they rarelytouched it with their hands= if it was touched, the touch was ritualistic and always performed #y someone elsewith the aid of an o#2ect" They used highly polished pieces of hardwood or polished #ones of animals,utili&ing the round head of the #one so as to hae an o#2ect of the perfect contour, the si&e of the hollow spoton the nec*" They would press with those #ones or pieces of wood to create pressure on the #orders of thathollow spot" Those o#2ects were also used, although rarely, for self+massage, or for what we understandnowadays as acupressure"

5'ow did they come to find out that that hollow spot is the center for decisions75 I as*ed don Juan once"

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5ery center of energy in the #ody,5 he replied, 5shows a concentration of energy= a sort of orte! ofenergy, li*e a funnel that actually seems to rotate countercloc*wise from the perspectie of the seer whoga&es into it" The strength of a particular center depends on the force of that moement" If it #arely moesthe center is e!hausted, depleted of energy"

56hen the sorcerers of ancient times,5 don Juan continued, 5were scanning the #ody with their seeingeye, they noticed the presence of those orte!es" They #ecame ery curious a#out them, and made a map ofthem"5

5%re there many such centers in the #ody, don Juan75 I as*ed"

5There are hundreds of them,5 he replied, 5if not thousands9 One can say that a human #eing is nothingelse #ut a conglomerate of thousands of twirling orte!es, some of them so ery small that they are, let1s sayli*e pinholes, #ut ery important pinholes" Most of the orte!es are orte!es of energy" nergy flows freelythrough them, or is stuc* in them" There are, howeer, si! which are so enormous that they desere specialtreatment" They are centers of life and itality" nergy there is neer stuc*, #ut sometimes the supply ofenergy is so scarce that the center #arely rotates"5

Don Juan e!plained that those enormous centers of itality were located on si! areas of the #ody" 'eenumerated them in terms of the importance that shamans accorded them" The first was on the area of thelier and gall#ladder= the second on the area of the pancreas and spleen= the third on the area of the *idneysand adrenals= and the fourth on the hollow spot at the #ase of the nec* on the frontal part of the #ody" Thefifth was around the wom#, and the si!th was on the top of the head"

The fifth center, pertinent only to women, had, according to what don Juan said, a special *ind of energythat gae sorcerers the impression of li(uidness" It was a feature that only some women had" It seemed tosere as a natural filter that screened out superfluous influences"

The si!th center, located on top of the head, don Juan descri#ed as something more than an anomaly, andrefrained a#solutely from haing anything to do with it" 'e portrayed it as possessing not a circular or te! ofenergy, li*e the others, #ut a pendulumli*e, #ac*+and+forth moement somehow reminiscent of the #eating ofa heart"

56hy is the energy of that center so different, don Juan75 I as*ed him"5That si!th center of energy,5 he said, 5doesn1t (uite #elong to man" $ou see, we human #eings are under

siege, so to spea*" That center has #een ta*en oer #y an inader, an unseen predator" %nd the only way tooercome this predator is #y fortifying all the other centers"5

5Isn1t it a #it paranoiac to feel that we are under siege, don Juan75 I as*ed"

56ell, may#e for you, #ut certainly not for me,5 he replied" 5I see energy, and I see that the energy oerthe center on the top of the head doesn1t fluctuate li*e the energy of the other centers" It has a #ac*+and+forthmoement, (uite disgusting, and (uite foreign" I also see that in a sorcerer who has #een capa#le ofan(uishing the mind, which sorcerers call a foreign installation, the fluctuation of that center has #ecomee!actly li*e the fluctuation of all the others"5

Don Juan, throughout the years of my apprenticeship, systematically refused to tal* a#out that si!thcenter" On this occasion when he was telling me a#out the centers of itality, he dismissed my frantic pro#esrather rudely, and #egan to tal* a#out the fourth center, the center for decisions"

5This fourth center,5 he said, 5has a special type of energy, which appears to the eye of the seer as possessing a uni(ue transparency, something that could #e descri#ed as resem#ling water. energy so fluid thatit seems li(uid" The li(uid appearance of this special energy is the mar* of a filterli*e (uality of the center for

decisions itself, which screens any energy coming to it, and draws from it only the aspect of it that isli(uidli*e" )uch a (uality of li(uidness is a uniform and consistent feature of this center" )orcerers also call itthe watery center "

5The rotation of the energy at the center for decisions is the wea*est of them all,5 he went on" 5That1swhy man can rarely decide anything" )orcerers see that after they practice certain magical passes, that center #ecomes actie, and they can certainly ma*e decisions to their hearts1 content, while they couldn1t een ta*e afirst step #efore"5

Don Juan was (uite emphatic a#out the fact that the shamans of ancient Me!ico had an aersion that #ordered on pho#ia a#out touching their own hollow spot at the #ase of the nec*" The only way in whichthey accepted any interference whatsoeer with that spot was through the use of their magical passes, whichreinforce that center #y #ringing dispersed energy to it, clearing away, in this manner, any hesitation in

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decision ma*ing #orn out of the natural energy dispersion #rought a#out #y the wear and tear of eerydaylife"

5% human #eing,5 don Juan said, 5perceied as a conglomerate of energy fields, is a concrete and sealedunit into which no energy can #e in2ected, and from which no energy can escape" The feeling of losingenergy, which all of us e!perience at one time or another, is the result of energy #eing chased away, dispersedfrom the fie enormous natural centers of life and itality" %ny sense of gaining energy is due to theredeployment of energy preiously dispersed from those centers" That is to say, the energy is relocated ontothose fie centers of life and itality"5

pp"F> + 4G4

The )econd 0roup.The Recapitulation

The recapitulation, according to what don Juan taught his disciples, was a techni(ue discoered #y thesorcerers of ancient Me!ico, and used #y eery shaman practitioner from then on, to iew and relie all thee!periences of their lies, in order to achiee two transcendental goals. one, the a#stract goal of fulfilling auniersal code that demands that awareness must he relin(uished at the moment of death= and two, thee!tremely pragmatic goal of ac(uiring perceptual fluidity"

'e said that the formulation of their first goal was the result of o#serations that those sorcerers made #ymeans of their capacity to see energy directly as it flows in the unierse" They had seen that there e!ists in theunierse a gigantic force, an immense conglomerate of energy fields which they called the agle, or the dark sea of awareness" They o#sered that the dark sea of awareness is the force that lends awareness to all liing #eings, from iruses to men" They #elieed that it lends awareness to a new#orn #eing, and that this #eingenhances that awareness #y means of its life e!periences until a moment in which the force demands itsreturn"

In the understanding of those sorcerers, all liing #eings die #ecause they are forced to return theawareness lent to them" )orcerers through out the ages hae understood that there is no way for whatmodern man calls our linear mode of thin*ing to e!plain such a phenomenon, #ecause there is no room for acause+and+effect line of reasoning as to why and how awareness is lent and then ta*en #ac*" The sorcerers of

ancient Me!ico iewed it as an energetic fact of the unierse, a fact that can1t #e e!plained in terms of causeand effect, or in terms of a purpose which can #e determined a priori"

The sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage #elieed that to recapitulate meant to gie the dark sea of awarenesswhat it was see*ing. their life e!periences" They #elieed that #y means of the recapitulation, howeer, theycould ac(uire a degree of control that could permit them to separate their life e!periences from their lifeforce" /or them, the two were not ine!trica#ly intertwined= they were 2oined only circumstantially"

Those sorcerers affirmed that the dark sea of awareness doesn1t want to ta*e the lies of human #eings= itwants only their life e!periences" @ac* of discipline in human #eings preents them from separating the twoforces, and in the end, they lose their lies, when it is meant that they lose only the force of their lifee!periences" Those sorcerers iewed the recapitulation as the procedure #y which they could gie the dark sea of awareness a su#stitute for their lies" They gae up their life e!periences #y recounting them, #ut they

retained their life force"The perceptual claims of sorcerers, when e!amined in terms of the linear concepts of our 6estern world

ma*e no sense whatsoeer" 6estern ciili&ation has #een in contact with the shamans of the New 6orld forfie hundred years, and there has neer #een a genuine attempt on the part of scholars to formulate a serious philosophical discourse #ased on statements made #y those shamans" /or instance, the recapitulation mayseem to any mem#er of the 6estern world to #e congruous with psychoanalysis, something in the line of a psychological procedure, a sort of self+help techni(ue" Nothing could #e further from the truth"

%ccording to don Juan Matus, man always loses #y default" In the case of the premises of sorcery, he #elieed that 6estern man is missing a tremendous opportunity for the enhancement of his awareness, andthat the way in which 6estern man relates himself to the unierse, life, and awareness is only one of amultiplicity of options"

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To recapitulate, for shaman practitioners, means to gie to an incomprehensi#le force-the dark sea ofawareness -the ery thing it seems to #e loo*ing for. their life e!periences, that is to say, the awareness thatthey hae enhanced through those ery life e!periences" )ince don Juan could not possi#ly e!plain these phenomena to me in terms of standard logic, he said that all that sorcerers could aspire to do was toaccomplish the feat of retaining their life force without *nowing how it was done" 'e also said that therewere thousands of sorcerers who had achieed this" They had retained their life force after they had gien thedark sea of awareness the force of their life e!periences" This meant to don Juan that those sorcerers didn1tdie in the usual sense in which we understand death, #ut that they transcended it #y retaining their life force

and anishing from the face of the earth, em#ar*ed on a definitive !ourney of perception"The #elief of the shamans of don Juan1s lineage was that when death ta*es place in this fashion, all of our

#eing is turned into energy, a special *ind of energy that retains the mar* of our indiiduality" Don Juan triedto e!plain this in a metaphorical sense, saying that we are composed of a num#er of single nations. the nationof the lungs, the nation of the heart, the nation of the stomach, the nation of the *idneys, and so on" ach ofthese nations sometimes wor*s independently of the others, #ut at the moment of death, all of them areunified into one single entity" The sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage called this state total freedom" /or thosesorcerers, death is a unifier, and not an annihilator, as it is for the aerage man"

5Is this state immortality, don Juan75 I as*ed"5This is in no way immortality,5 he replied" 5It is merely the entrance into an eolutionary process, using

the only medium for eolution that man has at his disposal. awareness" The sorcerers of my lineage wereconinced that man could not eole #iologically any further= therefore, they considered man1s awareness to #e the only medium for eolution" %t the moment of dying, sorcerers are not annihilated #y death, #ut aretransformed into inorganic beings. #eings that hae awareness, #ut not an organism" To #e transformed intoan inorganic #eing was eolution for them, and it meant that a new, indescri#a#le type of awareness was lentto them, an awareness that would last for erita#ly millions of years, #ut which would also someday hae to #e returned to the gier. the dark sea of awareness"5

One of the most important findings of the shamans of don Juan1s lineage was that, li*e eerything else inthe unierse, our world is a com#ination of two opposing, and at the same time complementary, forces" Oneof those forces is the world we *now, which those sorcerers called the world of organic beings" The otherforce is something they called the world of inorganic beings"

5The world of inorganic #eings,5 don Juan said, 5is populated #y #eings that possess awareness, #ut notan organism" They are conglomerates of energy fields, 2ust li*e we are" To the eye of a seer, instead of #eing

luminous, as human #eings are, they are rather opa(ue" They are not round, #ut long, candleli*e energeticconfigurations" They are, in essence, conglomerates of energy fields which hae cohesion and #oundaries 2ustli*e we do" They are held together #y the same agglutinating force that holds our energy fields together"5

56here is this inorganic world, don Juan75 I as*ed"5It is our twin world,5 he replied" 5It occupies the same time and space as our world, #ut the type of

awareness of our world is so different from the type of awareness of the inorganic world that we neer noticethe presence of inorganic #eings, although they do notice ours"5

5%re those inorganic #eings human #eings that hae eoled75 I as*ed"5Not at all95 he e!claimed" 5The inorganic #eings of our twin world hae #een intrinsically inorganic from

the start, the same way that we hae always #een intrinsically organic #eings, also from the start" They are #eings whose consciousness can eole 2ust li*e ours, and it dou#tlessly does, #ut I hae no firsthand

*nowledge of how this happens" 6hat I do *now, howeer, is that a human #eing whose awareness haseoled is a #right, luminescent, round inorganic #eing of a special *ind"5

Don Juan gae me a series of descriptions of this eolutionary process, which I always too* to #e poeticmetaphors" I singled out the one that pleased me the most, which was total freedom" I fancied a human #eingthat enters into total freedom to #e the most courageous, the most imaginatie #eing possi#le" Don Juan saidthat I was not fancying anything at all-that to enter into total freedom, a human #eing must call on his orher su#lime side, which, he said, human #eings hae, #ut which it neer occurs to them to use"

Don Juan descri#ed the second, the pragmatic goal of the recapitulation as the ac,uisition of fluidityThe sorcerers1 rationale #ehind this had to do with one of the most elusie su#2ects of sorcery. theassemblage point , a point of intense luminosity the si&e of a tennis #all, perceia#le when sorcerers see ahuman #eing as a conglomerate of energy fields"

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)orcerers li*e don Juan see that trillions of energy fields in the form of filaments of light from theunierse at large conerge on the assemblage point and go through it" This confluence of filaments gies theassemblage point its #rilliancy" The assemblage point ma*es it possi#le for a human #eing to perceie thosetrillions of energy filaments #y turning them into sensorial data" The assemblage point then interprets thisdata as the world of eeryday life, that is to say, in terms of human sociali&ation and human potential"

To recapitulate is to relie eery, or nearly eery, e!perience that we hae had, and in doing so todisplace the assemblage point , eer so slightly or a great deal, propelling it #y the force of memory to adoptthe position that it had when the eent #eing recapitulated too* place" This act of going #ac* and forth from

preious positions to the current one gies the shaman practitioners the necessary fluidity to withstande!traordinary odds in their 2ourneys into infinity" To the Tensegrity practitioners, the recapitulation gies thenecessary fluidity to withstand odds which are not in any way part of their ha#itual cognition"

The recapitulation as a formal procedure was done in ancient times #y recollecting eery person the practitioners *new and eery e!perience in which they had ta*en part" Don Juan suggested that in my case,which is the case of modern man, I ma*e a written list of all the persons that I had met in my life, as amnemonic deice" Once I had written that list, he proceeded to tell me how to use it" I had to ta*e the first person on the list, which went #ac*wards in time from the present to the time of my ery first life e!perienceand set up, in my memory, my last interaction with that first person on my list" This act is called arrangingthe event to be recapitulated "

% detailed recollection of minutiae is re(uired as the proper means to hone one1s capacity to remem#er"This recollection entails getting all the pertinent physical details, such as the surroundings where the eent #eing recollected too* place" Once the eent is arranged, one should enter into the locale itself, as if actuallygoing into it, paying special attention to any releant physical configurations" If, for instance, the interactiontoo* place in an office, what should #e remem#ered is the floor, the doors, the walls, the pictures, thewindows, the des*s, the o#2ects on the des*s, eerything that could hae #een o#sered in a glance and thenforgotten"

The recapitulation as a formal procedure must #egin #y the recounting of eents that hae 2ust ta*en place" In this fashion, the primacy of the e!perience ta*es precedence" )omething that has 2ust happened issomething that one can remem#er with great accuracy" )orcerers always count on the fact that human #eingsare capa#le of storing detailed information that they are not aware of, and that that detail is what the dark seaof awareness is after"

The actual recapitulation of the eent re(uires that one #reathe deeply, fanning the head, so to spea*,

ery slowly and gently from side to side, #eginning on one side, left or right, whicheer" This fanning of thehead was done as many times as needed, while remem#ering all the details accessi#le" Don Juan said thatsorcerers tal*ed a#out this act as #reathing in all of one1s own feelings spent in the eent #eing recollectedand e!pelling all the unwanted moods and e!traneous feelings that were left with us"

)orcerers #eliee that the mystery of the recapitulation lies in the act of inhaling and e!haling" )ince #reathing is a life+sustaining function, sorcerers are certain that #y means of it, one can also delier to thedark sea of awareness the facsimile of one1s life e!periences" 6hen I pressed don Juan for a rationale!planation of this idea, his position was that things li*e the recapitulation could only #e e!perienced, note!plained" 'e said that in the act of doing, one can find li#eration, and that to e!plain it was to dissipate ourenergy in fruitless efforts" 'is initation was congruous with eerything related to his *nowledge. theinitation to ta*e action"

The list of names is used in the recapitulation as a mnemonic deice that propels memory into aninconceia#le 2ourney" )orcerers1 position in this respect is that remem#ering eents that hae 2ust ta*en place prepares the ground for remem#ering eents more distant in time with the same clarity and immediacy" Torecollect e!periences in this way is to relie them, and to draw from this recollection an e!traordinaryimpetus that is capa#le of stirring energy dispersed from our centers of itality, and returning it to them")orcerers refer to this redeployment of energy that the recapitulation causes as gaining fluidity after giingthe dark sea of awareness what it is loo*ing for"

On a more mundane leel, the recapitulation gies practitioners the capacity to e!amine the repetition intheir lies" Recapitulating can conince them, #eyond the shadow of a dou#t, that all of us are at the mercyof forces which ultimately ma*e no sense, although at first sight they seem perfectly reasona#le= such as #eingat the mercy of courtship" It seems that for some people, courtship is the pursuit of a lifetime" I hae

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personally heard from people of adanced age that the only ideal that they had was to find a perfectcompanion, and that their aspiration was to hae perhaps one year of happiness in loe"

Don Juan Matus used to say to me, oer my ehement protests, that the pro#lem was that no#ody reallywanted to loe any#ody, #ut that eery one of us wanted to be loed" 'e said that this o#session withcourtship, ta*en at face alue, was the most natural thing in the world to us" To hear a seenty+fie+year+oldman or woman say that they are still in search of a perfect companion is an affirmation of somethingidealistic, romantic, #eautiful" 'oweer, to e!amine this o#session in the conte!t of the endless repetitions ofa lifetime ma*es it appear as it really is. something grotes(ue"

Don Juan assured me that if any #ehaioral change is going to #e accomplished, it has to #e done throughthe recapitulation, since it is the only ehicle that can enhance awareness #y li#erating one from the unoiceddemands of sociali&ation, which are so automatic, so ta*en for granted, that they are not een noticed undernormal conditions, much less e!amined"

The actual act of recapitulating is a lifetime endeaor" It ta*es years to e!haust the list of peopleespecially for those who hae made the ac(uaintance of and hae interacted with thousands of indiidualsThis list is augmented #y the memory of impersonal eents in which no people are inoled, #ut which haeto #e e!amined #ecause they are somehow related to the person #eing recapitulated "

Don Juan asserted that what the sorcerers of ancient Me!ico sought aidly in recapitulating was thememory of interaction, #ecause in inter action lie the deep effects of sociali&ation, which they struggled tooercome #y any means aaila#le"

T' M%0IC%@ 8%))) /OR T' R -PIT./-TI0N

The recapitulation affects something that don Juan called the energy body" 'e formally e!plained theenergy body as a conglomerate of energy fields that are the mirror image of the energy fields that ma*e upthe human #ody when it is seen directly as energy" 'e said that in the case of sorcerers, the physical #ody andthe energy body are one single unit" The magical passes for the recapitulation #ring the energy body to the physical #ody, which are essential for naigating into the un*nown"

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The Third 0roup. )reaming

Don Juan Matus defined dreaming as the act of using normal dreams as a #ona fide entrance for humanawareness into other realms of perceiing" This definition implied for him that ordinary dreams could #e usedas a hatch that led perception into other regions of energy different from the energy of the world of eerydaylife, and yet utterly similar to it at a #asic core" The result of such an entrance was, for sorcerers, the per +ception of erita#le worlds where they could lie or die, worlds which were astoundingly different from ours,and yet utterly similar"

8ressed for a linear e!planation of this contradiction, don Juan Matus reiterated the standard position ofsorcerers. that the answers to all those (uestions were in the practice, not in the intellectual in(uiry" 'e said

that in order to tal* a#out such possi#ilities, we would hae to use the synta! of language, whateer languagewe spo*e, and that synta!, #y the force of usage, limits the possi#ilities of e!pression" The synta! of anylanguage refers only to perceptual possi#ilities found in the world in which we lie"

Don Juan made a significant differentiation, in )panish, #etween two er#s. one was to dream, so1ar = andthe other was enso1ar which is to dream the way sorcerers dream" In nglish, there is no clear distinction #etween these two states. the normal dreaming, sue1o, and the more comple! state that sorcerers callensue1o"

The art of dreaming , according to what don Juan taught, originated in a ery casual o#seration that theshamans of ancient Me!ico made when they saw people who were asleep" They noticed that during sleep theassemblage point was displaced in a ery natural, easy way from its ha#itual position, and that it moedanywhere along the periphery of the luminous sphere, or to any place in the interior of it" Correlating their

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seeing with the reports of the people who had #een o#sered sleeping, they reali&ed that the greater theo#sered displacement of the assemblage point , the more astounding the reports of eents and scenese!perienced in dreams"

%fter this o#seration too* hold of them, those sorcerers #egan to loo* aidly for opportunities todisplace their own assemblage points" They ended up using psychotropic plants to accomplish this" ery(uic*ly, they reali&ed that the displacement #rought a#out #y using these plants was erratic, forced, and outof control" In the midst of this failure, nonetheless they discoered one thing of great alue" They called itdreaming attention"

Don Juan e!plained this phenomenon, referring first to the daily awareness of human #eings as theattention placed on the elements of the world of eeryday life" 'e pointed out that human #eings too* only acursory and yet sustained loo* at eerything that surrounded them" More than e!amining things, human #eings simply esta#lished the presence of those elements #y a special type of attention, a specific aspect oftheir general awareness" 'is contention was that the same type of cursory and yet sustained 5loo*,5 so tospea*, could #e applied to the elements of an ordinary dream" 'e called this other, specific aspect of generaawareness dreaming attention or the capacity that practitioners ac(uire to maintain their awarenessunwaeringly fi!ed on the items of their dreams"

The cultiation of dreaming attention gae the sorcerers of don Juan1s lineage a #asic ta!onomy ofdreams" They found out that most of their dreams were imagery, products of the cognition of their dailyworld= howeer, there were some which escaped that classification" )uch dreams were erita#le states ofheightened awareness in which the elements of the dream were not mere imagery, #ut energy+generatingaffairs" Dreams which had energy+generating elements were, for those shamans, dreams in which they werecapa#le of seeing energy as it flowed in the unierse"

Those shamans were a#le to focus their dreaming attention on any element of their dreams, and foundout, in this fashion, that there are two *inds of dreams" One is the dreams that we are all familiar with, inwhich phantasmagorical elements come into play, something which we could categori&e as the product of ourmentality, our psyche= perhaps something that has to do with our neurological ma*eup" The other *ind ofdreams they called energy2generating dreams" Don Juan said that those sorcerers of ancient times foundthemseles in dreams which were not dreams, #ut actual isitations made in a dreamli*e state to #ona fide places other than this world-real places, 2ust li*e the world in which we lie= places where the o#2ects of thedream generated energy, 2ust as trees, or animals, or een roc*s generate energy in our daily world, for a seeing sorcerer"

Their isions of such places were, howeer, for those shamans, too fleeting, too temporary, to #e of anyalue to them" They attri#uted this flaw to the fact that their assemblage points could not #e held fi!ed forany considera#le time at the position to which they had #een displaced" Their attempts to remedy thesituation resulted in the other high art of sorcery. the art of stalking "

Don Juan defined the two arts ery clearly one day when he said to me that the art of dreaming consistedof purposely displacing the assemblage point from its ha#itual position" The art of stalking consistedolitionally ma*ing it stay fi!ed on the new position to which it had #een displaced"

This fi!ation allowed the shamans of ancient Me!ico the opportunity to witness other worlds in their fule!tent" Don Juan said that some those sorcerers neer returned from their 2ourneys" In other words, theyopted for staying there, whereer 5there5 might hae #een"

56hen the old sorcerers finished mapping human #eings as luminous spheres,5 don Juan said to me once,

5they had discoered no less than si! hundred spots in the total luminous sphere that were the sites #ona fideworlds" Meaning that, if the assemblage point #ecame attached to any of those places, the result was theentrance of the practitioner into a total new world"5

53ut where are those si! hundred other worlds, don Juan75 I as*ed"5The only answer to that (uestion is incomprehensi#le,5 he said, laughing" 5It1s the essence of sorcery,

and yet it means nothing to the aerage mind" Those si! hundred worlds are in the position of theassemblage point " Incalcula#le amounts of energy are re(uired to mat sense out of this answer" 6e hae theenergy" 6hat we lac* is the facility or disputation to use it"5

I could add that nothing could #e truer than all these statements, an yet, nothing could ma*e less sense"Don Juan e!plained usual perception in the terms in which the sorcerers of his lineage understood it. The

assemblage point , at its ha#itual location, receies an inflow of energy fields from the unierse at large in the

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form of luminous filaments, num#ering in the trillions" )ince its position is consistently the same, it stood tosorcerers1 reasoning that the same energy fields, in the form of luminous filaments, conerge on theassemblage point and go through it, giing as a consistent result the perception of the world that we *nowThose sorcerers arried at the unaoida#le 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, #ydefinition, was not the same as the world of eeryday life"

In don Juan1s opinion, what human #eings ordinarily regard as perceiing is rather the act of interpretingsensory data" 'e maintains that from the moment of #irth, eerything around us supplies us with possi#ility of

interpretation, and that with time, this possi#ility turns into a full system #y means of which we conduct all ofour perceptual transactions in the world"

'e pointed out that the assemblage point is not only the center where perception is assem#led, #ut alsothe center where the interpretation of sensory data is accomplished, so that if it were to change locations, itwould interpret the new influ! of energy fields in ery much the same terms in which it interprets the worldof eeryday life" The result of this new interpretation is the perception of a world which is strangely similar toours, and yet intrinsically different" Don Juan said that energetically, those other worlds are as different fromours as they could possi#ly #e" It is only the interpretation of the assemblage point which accounts for theseeming similarities"

Don Juan called for a new synta! that could #e used in order to e!press this wondrous (uality of theassemblage point and the possi#ilities of perception #rought a#out #y dreaming " 'e conceded, howeer, that perhaps the present synta! of our language could #e forced to coer it if this e!perience #ecame aaila#le toany one of us, and not merely to shaman initiates"

)omething related to dreaming that was of tremendous interest to me, #ut which #ewildered me to noend, was don Juan1s statement that there was really no procedure to spea* of that would teach anyone how todream" 'e said that more than anything else, dreaming was an arduous effort on the part of the practitionersto put themseles in contact with the indescri#a#le all+perading force that the sorcerers of ancient Me!icocalled intent " Once this lin* was esta#lished, dreaming also mysteriously #ecame esta#lished" Don Juanasserted that this lin*age could #e accomplished following any pattern that implied discipline"

6hen I as*ed him to gie me a succinct e!planation of the procedures inoled, he laughed at me"5To enture into the world of sorcerers,5 he said, 5is not li*e learning to drie a car" To drie a car, you

need manuals and instructions" To dream, you need to intend it"553ut how can I intend it75 I insisted"

5The only way you could intend it is #y intending it,5 he declared" 5One of the most difficult things for aman of our day to accept is a lac* of procedure" Modern man is in the throes of manuals, pra!es, methods,steps leading to" 'e is ceaselessly ta*ing notes, ma*ing diagrams, deeply inoled in the 1*now+how"1 3ut inthe world of sorcerers, procedures and rituals are mere designs to attract and focus attention" They artdeices used to force a focusing of interest and determination" They hae no other alue"5

6hat don Juan considered to #e of supreme importance in order to dream is the rigorous e!ecution ofthe magical passes. the only deice that the sorcerers of his lineage used to aid the displacement of theassemblage point " The e!ecution of the magical passes gae those sorcerers the sta#ility and the energynecessary to call forth their dreaming attention, without which there was no possi#ility of dreaming for them6ithout the emergence of dreaming attention, practitioners could aspire at #est, to hae lucid dreams a#out phantasmagorical worlds" They could perhaps hae iews of worlds that generate energy, #ut these would

ma*e no sense to them whatsoeer in the a#sence of an all+inclusie rationale that would properly categori&ethem"

Once the shamans of don Juan1s lineage had deeloped their dreaming attention, they reali&ed that theyhad tapped on the doors of infinity" They had succeeded in enlarging the parameters of their norma perception" They discoered that their normal state of awareness was infinitely more aried than it had #een #efore the adent of their dreaming attention" /rom that point on, those sorcerers could truthfully entureinto the un*nown"

5The aphorism,5 don Juan said to me once, 5that 1the s*y is the limit1 was most applica#le to the sorcerersof ancient times" They certainly outdid themseles"5

56as it really true for them that the s*y was the limit, don Juan75 I as*ed"5This (uestion could #e answered only #y each of us indiidually,5 he said, smiling e!pansiely" 5They

>E



gae us the tools" It is up to us indiidually to use them or refuse them" In essence, we are alone in front ofinfinity, and the issue of whether or not we are capa#le of reaching our limits has to #e answered personally"5

pp"4;G + 4;

The /ourth 0roup. Inner "ilence

Don Juan said that inner silence was the state most aidly sought #y the shamans of ancient Me!ico" 'edefined it as a natural state of human perception in which thoughts are #loc*ed off and all of man1s facultiesoperate from a leel of awareness which doesn1t re(uire the utili&ation of our daily cognitie system"

Inner silence has always #een associated with dar*ness, for the shamans of don Juan1s lineage, perhaps #ecause human perception, depried of its ha#itual companion, the internal dialogue, falls into somethingthat resem#les a dar* pit" 'e said that the #ody functions as usual, #ut awareness #ecomes sharper" Decisionsare instantaneous, and seem to stem from a special sort of *nowledge which is depried of thought+er#ali&ations"

'uman perception functioning in a condition of inner silence, according to don Juan, is capa#le ofreaching indescri#a#le leels" )ome of those leels of perception are worlds in themseles, and not at all li*ethe worlds reached through dreaming " They are indescri#a#le states, ine!plica#le in terms of the linear paradigms that the ha#itual state of human perception employs for e!plaining the unierse"

Inner silence, in don Juan1s understanding, is the matri! for a gigantic step of eolution. silent knowledgeor the leel of human awareness where *nowing is automatic and instantaneous" <nowledge at this leel isnot the product of cere#ral cogitation or logical induction and deduction, or of generali&ations #ased onsimilarities and dissimilarities" There is nothing a priori at the leel of silent knowledge, nothing that couldconstitute a #ody of *nowledge, for eerything is imminently now" Comple! pieces of information could #egrasped without any cognitie preliminaries"

Don Juan #elieed that silent knowledge was insinuated to early man, #ut that early man was not reallythe possessor of silent knowledge" )uch an insinuation was infinitely stronger than what modern mane!periences, where the #ul* of *nowledge is the product of rote learning" It is a sorcerers1 a!iom thatalthough we hae lost that insinuation, the aenue that leads to silent knowledge will always #e open to man #y means of inner silence"

Don Juan Matus taught the hard line of his lineage. that inner silence must #e gained #y a consistent pressure of discipline" It has to #e accrued or stored, #it #y #it, second #y second" In other words, one has toforce oneself to #e silent, een if it is only for a few seconds" %ccording don Juan, it was common *nowledgeamong sorcerers that if one persists in this, persistence oercomes ha#it, and thus, it is possi#le to arrie at athreshold of accrued seconds or minutes, which differs from person to person" If the threshold of inner silence is ten minutes for a gien indiidual, for instance, then once this threshold is reached, inner silencehappens #y itself, of its own accord, so to spea*"

I was warned #eforehand that there was no possi#le way of *nowing what my indiidual threshold might #e, and that the only way of finding this out was through direct e!perience" This is e!actly what happened tome" /ollowing don Juan1s suggestion, I had persisted in forcing myself to remain silent, and one day, whilewal*ing at UC@%, I reached my mysterious threshold" I *new I had reached it #ecause in one instant, I

e!perienced something don Juan had descri#ed at length to me" 'e had called it stopping the world " In the #lin* of an eye, the world ceased to #e what it was, and for the first time in my life, I #ecame conscious that Iwas seeing energy as it flowed in the unierse" I had to sit down on some #ric* steps" I *new that I wassitting on some #ric* steps, #ut I *new it only intellectually, through memory" !perientially, I was resting onenergy" I myself was energy, and so was eerything around me" I had canceled out my interpretation system"

%fter seeing energy directly, I reali&ed something which #ecame the horror of my day, something that noone could e!plain to me satisfactorily e!cept don Juan" I #ecame conscious that although I was seeing for thefirst time in my life, I had #een seeing energy as it flows in the unierse all my life, #ut I had not #eenconscious of it" To see energy as it flows in the unierse was not the noelty" The noelty was the (uery thatarose with such fury that it made me surface #ac* into the world of eeryday life" I as*ed myself what had #een *eeping me from reali&ing that I had #een seeing energy as it flows in the unierse all my life"

>F



5There are two issues at sta*e here,5 don Juan e!plained to me, when I as*ed him a#out this maddeningcontradiction" 5One is general awareness" The other is particular, deli#erate consciousness" ery human #eing in the world is aware, in general terms, of seeing energy as it flows in the unierse" 'oweer, onlysorcerers are particularly and deli#erately conscious of it" To #ecome conscious of something that you aregenerally aware of re(uires energy, and the iron+hand discipline needed to get it" $our inner silence, the product of discipline and energy, #ridged the gap #etween general awareness and particular consciousness"5

Don Juan stressed, in eery way he was a#le, the alue of a pragmatic attitude in order to #uttress theadent of inner silence" 'e defined a pragmatic attitude as the capacity to a#sor# any contingency that might

appear along the way" 'e himself was, to me, the liing e!ample of such an attitude" There wasn1t anyuncertainty or lia#ility that his mere presence would not dispel"

'e reiterated eery time he could that the effects of inner silence were ery unsettling, and that the onlydeterrent to this condition was the pragmatic attitude which was the product of a super#ly plia#le, agilestrong #ody" 'e said that for sorcerers, the physical #ody was the only entity that made any sense to them,and that there was no such thing as a dualism #etween #ody and mind" 'e further stated that the physical #ody inoled #oth the #ody and the mind as we *new them, and that in order to counter#alance the physica #ody as a holistic unit, sorcerers considered another configuration of energy which was reached throughinner silence. the energy body" 'e e!plained that what I had e!perienced 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 onewhich had always #een a#le to see energy as it flowed in the unierse"

pp"4>G + 4>E

?G



T' /OURT' )RI)The "eparation of the /eft 3ody and the Right 3ody( The 4eat "eries

Don Juan taught his disciples that for the shamans who lied in Me!ico in ancient times, the concept thata human #eing is composed of two complete functioning #odies, one on the left and one on the right, wasfundamental to their endeaors as sorcerers" )uch a classificatory scheme had nothing to do with intellectualspeculations on the part of those sorcerers, or with logical conclusions a#out possi#ilities of distri#ution ofmass in the #ody"

6hen don Juan e!plained this to me, I countered that modern #iologists had the concept of #ilateralsymmetry, which means 5a #asic #ody plan in which the left and right sides of the organism can #e diidedinto appro!imate mirror images of each other along the midline"5

5The classifications of the shamans of ancient Me!ico,5 don Juan replied, 5were more profound than theconclusions of modern scientists, #ecause they stemmed from perceiing energy directly as it flows in theunierse" 6hen the human #ody is perceied as energy, it is utterly patent that it is composed not of two parts, #ut of two different types of energy. two different currents of energy, two opposing and at the sametime complementary forces that coe!ist side #y side, mirroring, in this fashion, the dual structure ofeerything in the unierse at large"5

The shamans of ancient Me!ico accorded each one of these two different *inds of energy the stature of atotal #ody, and spo*e e!clusiely in terms of the left #ody and the right #ody" Their emphasis was on the lef

#ody, #ecause they considered it to #e the most effectie, in terms of the nature of its energy configurationfor the ultimate goals of shamanism" The shamans of ancient Me!ico, who depicted the two #odies asstreams of energy, depicted the left stream as #eing more tur#ulent and aggressie, moing in undulatingripples and pro2ecting out waes of energy" 6hen illustrating what he was tal*ing a#out, don Juan as*ed meto isuali&e a scene in which the left #ody was li*e half of the sun, and that all the solar flares happened onthat half" The waes of energy pro2ected out of the left #ody were li*e those solar flares-always perpen+dicular to the round surface from which they originated"

'e depicted the stream of energy of the right #ody as not #eing tur#ulent at all on the surface" It moedli*e water inside a tan* which was #eing slightly tilted #ac* and forth" There were no ripples in it, #ut acontinuous roc*ing motion" %t a deeper leel, howeer, it swirled in rotational circles in the form of spirals"Don Juan as*ed me to enision a ery wide, peaceful+loo*ing tropical rier, where the water on the surfaceseemed #arely to moe, #ut which had shattering riptides #elow the surface" In the world of eeryday life,these two currents are amalgamated into a single unit. the human #ody as we *now it"

To the eye of the seer, howeer, the energy of the total #ody is circular" This meant to the sorcerers ofdon Juan1s lineage that the right #ody was the predominant force"

56hat happens in the case of left+handed people75 I as*ed him once" 5%re they more suita#le for theendeaors of sorcerers75

56hy do you thin* they should #e75 he replied, seemingly surprised #y my (uestion"53ecause o#iously, the left side is predominant,5 I said"5This predominance is of no importance whatsoeer for sorcerers,5 he said" 5$es, the left side

predominates in the sense that they can hold a hammer with their left hand ery effectiely" They write withtheir left hand" They can hold a *nife with their left hand, and do it ery well" If they are leg sha*ers, they cancertainly sha*e the left *nee with great rhythm" In other words, they hae rhythm in their left #ody, #ut

sorcery is not a matter of that *ind of predominance" The right #ody still rules them with a circular motion"553ut does left+handedness hae any adantages or disadantages for sorcerers75 I as*ed" I was drien #y

the implication #uilt into many of the Indo+uropean languages of the sinister (uality of left+handedness"5There are no adantages or disadantages to my *nowledge,5 he said" 5The diision of energy #etween

the two #odies is not measured #y de!terity, or the lac* of it" The predominance of the right #ody is anenergetic predominance, which was encountered #y the shamans of those ancient times" They neer tried toe!plain why this predominance happened in the first place, nor did they try to further inestigate the philosophical implications of it" /or them, it was a fact, #ut a ery special fact" It was a fact that could #echanged"5

56hy did they want to change it, don Juan75 I as*ed"53ecause the predominant circular motion of the right #ody1s energy is too frigginL #oring95 he e!claimed"

?4





accustomed from #irth to ruling without opposition" The moment it is faced with opposition, it gets hot withanger" Don Juan urged all his disciples to practice the 'eat 0roup assiduously, in order to use itsaggressieness to reinforce the wea* left #ody"

In Tensegrity, this group is called The 4eat "eries, in order to ma*e it more congruous with the aims ofTensegrity, which are e!tremely pragmatic on the one hand and e!tremely a#stract on the other, such as the practical utili&ation of energy for well+#eing coupled with the a#stract idea of how that energy is o#tained" Inall the magical passes of this series, it is recommended to adopt the diision of left and right #odies, ratherthan left and right sides of the #ody" The end result of this o#serance would #e to say that during the

e!ecution of these magical passes, the #ody that doesn1t perform the moements is *ept immo#ile" 'oweerall its muscles should #e engaged, not in actiity, #ut in awareness" This immo#ility of the #ody that is not performing the moements should #e e!tended to include its head= that is to say, to the opposite side of thehead" )uch immo#ility of half of the face and head is more difficult to attain, #ut it can #e accomplished with practice"

The series is diided into four groups"

The /irst 0roup.)tirring nergy on the @eft 3ody and the Right 3ody

The first group comprises si!teen magical passes that stir the energy of the left #ody and the right #odyeach independently from the other" ach magical pass is performed with either the left arm or the right arm,and in some cases with #oth at the same time" The arms neer go, howeer, #eyond the ertical line thatseparates the two #odies"

pp"4?? + 4F>

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T' /I/T' )RI)The Masculinity "eries

Masculinity was the name gien to a specific group of magical passes #y the shamans who firstdiscoered and used them" Don Juan thought that perhaps it was the oldest name gien to any such group ofmagical passes" This group was practiced originally for generations only #y male shaman practitioners, andthis discrimination in faor of male shamans was done not out of necessity, #ut rather for reasons of ritualand to satisfy an original drie for male supremacy" Neertheless, this drie was soon terminated under the

impact of enhanced perception"The well+esta#lished tradition of this group of magical passes #eing practiced only #y men persisted in a

pseudo+official way for generations while it was #eing practiced on the sly #y female practitioners as wellThe old sorcerers1 rationale for including females was that for reasons of strife and social disorder aroundthem, the women needed e!tra strength and itality, which they #elieed was found only in males who practiced this group of magical passes" Therefore, women were allowed to e!ecute the moements as a to*enof solidarity" In don Juan1s time, the diision lines #etween males and females #ecame een more diffusedThe secrecy and e!clusiity of the old sorcerers was completely shattered, and een the old rationale forallowing women to practice these specific magical passes could not #e upheld" /emale practitioners performed these magical passes openly"

The alue of this group of magical passes-the oldest named group in e!istence-is its continuity" %ll of

its magical passes were generic from the #eginning, and this condition proided the only instance in donJuan1s lineage of sorcerers in which a whole party of shaman practitioners, whateer their num#er may hae #een, were allowed to moe in unison" The num#er of participants in any party of sorcerers, throughout theages, could neer hae #een more than si!teen" Therefore, none of those sorcerers were eer in the positionto witness the stupendous energetic contri#ution of human mass" /or them, there e!isted only the speciali&edconsensus of a few initiates, a consensus which #rought in the possi#ility of idiosyncratic preferences andmore isolationism"

The fact that the moements of Tensegrity are practiced in seminars and wor*shops #y hundreds of participants at the same time has gien rise, as stated #efore, to the possi#ility of e!periencing the energeticeffects of human mass" )uch an energetic effect is twofold. not only are the participants of Tensegrity performing an actiity that unites them energetically, #ut they are also inoled in a (uest delineated in statesof enhanced awareness #y the shamans of ancient Me!ico. the redeployment of energy" 8erforming thesemagical passes in the setting of seminars on Tensegrity is a uni(ue e!perience" It permits the participants toarrie, pushed or pulled #y the magical passes themseles and #y the human mass, at energetic conclusionsneer een alluded to in don Juan1s teachings"

The reason for calling this set of moements Masculinity is its aggressie (uality, and #ecause its magica passes are ery #ris* and forcefully e!ecuted, characteristics easily identified with maleness" Don Juan statedthat their practice fostered not only a sensation of well+#eing, #ut a special sensorial ,uality, which, if note!amined, could easily #e confused with strife and aggressieness" 'oweer, if it is carefully scrutini&ed, it isimmediately apparent that it is, rather, an unmista*a#le sensation of readiness that places the practitioners at aleel from which they could stri*e toward the un*nown"

%nother reason that the shamans of ancient Me!ico called this group of magical passes Masculinity was #ecause the males who practiced it #ecame a special type of practitioner who didn1t need to #e ta*en #y the

hand" They #ecame men who #enefited indirectly from eerything they did" Ideally, the energy generated #ythis group of magical passes goes to the centers of itality themseles, as if eery center made an automatic #idding for energy, which goes first to the center that needs it the most"

/or don Juan Matus1s disciples, this set of magical passes #ecame the most crucial element in theirtraining" Don Juan himself introduced it to them as a common denominator, meaning that he urged them to practice the set unaltered" 6hat he wanted was to prepare his disciples to withstand the rigors of 2ourneyingin the un*nown"

In Tensegrity, the word "eries has #een added to the name Masculinity to put it on a par with the otherseries of Tensegrity" The Masculinity )eries is diided into three groups, each consisting of ten magical passes" The goal of the first and second groups of the Masculinity )eries is the tuning of tendon energy" achof these twenty magical passes is short, #ut e!tremely focused" Tensegrity practitioners are seriously

??



encouraged, as the shamanistic practitioners of ancient times were, to get the ma!imum effect from the shortmoements #y aiming to release a 2olt of tendon energy eery time they e!ecute them"

53ut donLt you thin*, don Juan, that eery time I release this 2olt of energy, I1m actually wasting mytendon energy, and draining it out of me75 I as*ed him on one occasion"

5$ou can1t drain any energy out of yourself,5 he said" 5The energy that you are seemingly wasting #ydeliering a 2olt to the air is not really #eing wasted, #ecause it neer leaes your #oundaries, whereer those #oundaries may #e" )o what you1re really doing is deliering a 2olt of energy to what the sorcerers of ancientMe!ico called our 1crust,1 our 1#ar*"1 Those sorcerers stated that energetically, human #eings are li*e

luminous balls that hae a thic* peel around them, li*e an orange= some of them hae something een harderand thic*er, li*e the #ar* of an old tree"5

Don Juan e!plained carefully that this simile of human #eings #eing li*e an orange was somehowmisleading #ecause the peel or the #ar* that we hae is located inside our #oundaries, 2ust as if an orange hadits peel inside the orange itself" 'e said that this #ar* or peel was the crusted+down energy that had #eendiscarded throughout our lifetime from our ital centers of energy, #ecause of the wear and tear of daily life"

5Is it #eneficial to hit this #ar*, don Juan75 I as*ed"5Most #eneficial,5 he said" 5specially if the practitioners aim all their intent at reaching that #ar* with

their #lows" If they intend to shatter portions of this crusted+down energy #y means of the magical passes,that shattered energy could #e a#sor#ed #y the ital centers of energy"5

The magical passes of the third group of the Masculinity )eries are #roader, more e!tensie" 6hat practitioners need in order to e!ecute the ten magical passes of the third group is steadiness of the hands, thelegs, and the rest of the #ody" The aim of this third series, for the shamans of ancient Me!ico, was the #uilding of endurance, of sta#ility" Those shamans #elieed that holding the #ody steadily in position whilee!ecuting those long moements gies the practitioners a foothold from which they can stand on their own"

6hat modern practitioners of Tensegrity hae found out through their practice is that the Masculinity)eries can #e e!ecuted only in moderation, in order to aoid oertiring the tendons of the arms and themuscles of the #ac*"

The /irst 0roup.Magical 8asses in 6hich the 'ands %re Moed in Unison #ut 'eld )eparately

1. Fists 5bo$e the Sho!lders

The hands are held #y the sides, clasped into fists, the palms facing up" They are raised then to a pointa#oe the head #y #ending the el#ows so the forearms are at a ninety+degree angle with the upper arms" Thedriing force of this moement is e(ually diided #etween the muscles of the arms and the contraction of themuscles of the a#domen" %s the fists are raised and the muscles of the front of the #ody are tensed, the #odyleans slightly #ac*ward #y #ending the *nees fig" ?G?" The arms, with hands fisted, are #rought down to thesides of the thighs #y straightening the el#ows a #it= as the arms moe down, the #ody leans forwardcontracting the muscles of the #ac* and the diaphragm fig" ?GA"

2. :sing a !tting Tool in Ea-h HandThe hands are made into fists, with the palms facing each other at the leel of the waist fig" ?GB" /rom

there, they moe in a downward stri*e to the leel of the groin, a foot and a half away from it, always

*eeping the width of the #ody as the distance #etween the fists fig" ?G" Once the fists stri*e, they areretrieed to the position where they started, #y the edge of the ri# cage"

pp"4FE+;4B

?A



T' )IHT' )RI) )evices .sed in on!unction with "pecific Magical Passes

%s preiously stated, the shamans of ancient Me!ico put a special emphasis on a force they called tendonenergy" Don Juan said that they asserted that ital energy moes along the #ody ia an e!clusie trac*formed #y tendons"

I as*ed don Juan if #y tendon he meant the tissue that attaches the muscles to the #ones"5I am at a loss to e!plain tendon energy,5 he said" 5I1m following the easy path of usage" I was taught that

itLs called tendon energy" If I donLt hae to #e specific a#out it, you understand what tendon energy is, don1tyou75

5In a ague sense, I thin* I do, don Juan,5 I said" 56hat confuses me is that you use the word tendonwhere there are no #ones, such as the a#domen"5

5The old sorcerers,5 he said, 5gae the name of tendon energy to a current of energy that moes alongthe deep muscles from the nec* down to the chest and arms, and the spine" It cuts across the upper and lowera#domen from the edge of the ri# cage to the groin, and from there it goes to the toes"5

5Doesn1t this current include the head, don Juan75 I as*ed, #ewildered" %s a 6estern man, I e!pected thatanything of this sort would hae originated in the #rain"

5No,5 he said emphatically, 5it doesn1t include the head" 6hat comes from the head is a different *ind ofenergetic current= not what I am tal*ing a#out" One of the formida#le attainments of sorcerers is that in the

end, they push out whateer e!ists in the center of energy located at the top of the head, and then theyanchor the tendon energy of the rest of their #odies there" 3ut that is a paragon of success" %t the momentwhat we hae at hand, as in your case, is the aerage situation of tendon energy #eginning at the nec* at the place where it 2oins the head" In some cases tendon energy goes up to a point #elow the chee*#ones, #utneer higher than that point"

5This energy,5 he went on, 5which I call tendon energy for lac* of a #etter name, is a dire necessity in thelies of those who trael in infinity, or want to trael in it"5

Don Juan said that the traditional #eginning in the utili&ation of tendon energy was the use of somesimple deices which were employed #y the shamans of ancient Me!ico in two ways" One was to create ai#ratory effect on specific centers of tendon energy, and the other was to create a pressure effect on thesame centers" 'e e!plained that those shamans considered the i#ratory effect to #e the agent for looseningthe energy which has #ecome stagnant" The second effect, the pressure effect, was thought to #e the agentthat disperses the energy"

6hat seems to #e a cognitie contradiction for modern man-that i#ration would loosen anything thatwas stuc*, and that pressure would disperse it-was deeply emphasi&ed #y don Juan Matus, who taught hisdisciples that what appears to #e natural to us in terms of our cognition in the world is not at all natural interms of the flow of energy" 'e said that in the world of eeryday life, human #eings would crac* somethingwith a #low, or #y applying pressure, and disperse it #y ma*ing it i#rate" 'oweer, energy which had #ecome lodged in a tendon center had to #e rendered fluid through i#ration, and then it had to #e pressed,so that it would continue flowing" Don Juan Matus was horrified at the idea of directly pressing points ofenergy in the #ody without the preliminary i#ration" 'is contention was that energy that was stuc* wouldget een more inert if pressure were applied to it"

Don Juan started off his disciples with two #asic deices" 'e e!plained that the shamans of ancient times

used to search for a pair of round pe##les or dry round seed pods, and use them as i#ratory and pressuredeices to aid in manipulating the flow of energy in the #ody, which they #elieed #ecomes periodically stuc*along the tendon trac*" 'oweer, the round pe##les that shaman practitioners normally used were definitelytoo hard, and the seed pods too fragile" Other o#2ects that those shamans searched for aidly were flat roc*sthe si&e of the hand or pieces of heay wood, in order to place them on specific areas of tendon energy ontheir a#domens while they were lying flat on their #ac*s" The first area is 2ust #elow the nael= another is righton top of the nael, and another yet, on the area of the solar ple!us" The pro#lem with using roc*s or othero#2ects is that they hae to #e heated or cooled to appro!imate the temperature of the #ody, and #esides,these o#2ects are usually too stiff, and they slide and moe around"

Tensegrity practitioners hae found a much #etter e(uialent to the deices of the shamans of ancientMe!ico. a pair of round #alls and a small, flat, circular leather weight" The #alls are the same si&e as the ones

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used #y those shamans, #ut they are not fragile at all= they are made of a mi!ture of Teflon reinforced #y aceramic compound" This mi!ture gies the #alls a weight, a hardness, and a smoothness which are thoroughlycongruous with the purpose of the magical passes"

The other deice, the leather weight, has #een found to #e an ideal deice for creating a steady pressureon centers of tendon energy" Unli*e roc*s, it is plia#le enough to adapt itself to the contours of the #ody" Itsleather coer ma*es it possi#le to #e applied directly to the #ody without needing to #e warmed or cooled'oweer, its most remar*a#le feature is its weight" It is light enough not to cause any discomfort, and yetheay enough to aid some specific magical passes that foster inner silence #y pressing centers on the

a#domen" Don Juan Matus said that a weight placed on any of the three areas mentioned a#oe engages thetotality of one1s energy fields, which means a momentary shutting off of the internal dialogue. the first steptoward inner silence"

The modern deices used in con2unction with specific magical passes are diided #y their ery nature intotwo categories"

The /irst Category

This first category of magical passes that use the help of a deice consists of si!teen magical passes aided #y the Teflon #alls" ight of these magical passes are performed on the left arm and wrist, and eight on the points of the lier and gall#ladder, the pancreas and spleen, the #ridge of the nose, the temples, and thecrown of the head" The sorcerers of ancient Me!ico considered the first eight magical passes to #e the firststep toward the li#eration of the left #ody from the unwarranted dominion of the right #ody"

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The )econd Category

The second category comprises the uses of the leather weight for the purpose of creating a steady pressure on a larger area of tendon energy" There are two magical passes used in con2unction with the leatherweight"

The hand positions for #oth of these magical passes are shown here with the practitioner standing" Theactual practice of these magical passes is performed lying flat on the #ac* with the leather weight pressing

right a#oe the nael or on either of the other two choice spots on the a#domen. #elow the nael, or a#oe it #y the solar ple!us, if placing the weight on them is more comforta#le"

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Documents

Carlos Castaneda - 10. Magical Passes - The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico