Los Angeles - August 1995
To: alt.dreams.castaneda
Culver City High Lecture - Sunday, August 6th
Carol Tiggs, Taisha, and Florinda are here, along with a large contingent
of the Cleargreen people. There are several men who are sitting in the
second row behind the women. There is a young girl in the front row,
who fits the description we have been given of the orange scout,
sitting next to an ethereal young woman who fits the description
we have been given of the blue scout. There is a woman with red
hair in the front row sitting next to Carol (I'm not sure who that is).
The Chacmools came in last flanking Carlos, who was dressed
in a suit. Carlos took the stage.
"What are you doing way back there?", he said. I wanted to be
right over you. "Now I will have to SHOUT."
Finally, we all scooted our chairs forward, crowding toward
the stage. Carlos began by saying he wanted to talk
about the warriors way, and answer questions about it.
He said that he did not want to answer questions that are
have only personal relevance. He wanted us to ask
questions that have to with the general PRACTICE
of sorcery techniques.
Let me say before going forward that I did not take all
that many notes. Carlos lectured, speaking rapidly,
for two hours, and answered questions for an hour
after that. What I say is going to be very sketchy.
Many of my notes are just fragments, but several times
I tried to get exact quotes. I left out many of the
anecdotes completely. For a more complete version,
read Rich's notes.
"Dreaming is a very serious affair."
It comes to all of us provided we involve our discipline.
Lucid dreaming deals with self-reflection (as opposed
to a sorcerers dreaming). Personal comment: he did
not define what he meant by "lucid dreaming", and
personally I took him to mean "vivid dreaming where
one is aware that one is dreaming, and plays around
with the dreaming scene". A sorcerer's dreaming,
by contrast, is very purposeful, and disciplined,
and consists of performing specific volitional acts.
(At least, this is how I get it)
"Sorcerers curtail the ego." He said that if we start
getting into our ME, ME, ME routine, that he might
say something to us that seems a bit harsh.
"If I do something to you, it's designed to make you
stop for a second...DJ was an artist of the maneuver
of stopping us".
He talked about how, as Joe Cortez, he went to see
an astrologer, and was told that he was a mess,
and that he would need his chakra's aligned or
some such thing. He came back about 6 months
later as Carlos Castaneda, and this time the
astrologer went on and on about his beautiful,
spiritual aspects, and his brilliance, comparing
him to her guru, etc.
He talked about some of the letters he has received.
An example: "My spiritual advisor told me my energy
is just like yours. You want me?"
He talked about when he went to give a lecture
to a group of "Spaniards", who confronted him
with a very serious demeanor, set stone-faced
through his best jokes, etc. One man stood up
and asked him: "What do you see?" Carlos
is like..."what?". The man repeats: "What do
you see!?". Carlos finally says: "Um, I see you."
The man says: "Don't you see that I'm just like
you---you have three compartments (of energy),
and I have five!". Carlos quips: "How could I
be so dumb to only see a turd (?)?"
He talked about how nothing personal has relevance,
and went on about "the encumbering weight of ME".
By focusing on this, "we have let something win
by default", and will never actualize our possibilities.
He told us: "you took the trouble of coming
all this way; make it worthwhile...". Go back
with the sensation that it is worthwhile to get
rid of this encumbering weight. "Make this
time in this world extraordinary".
He talked some about reincarnation. He said,
"that's putting too much emphasis on us".
He said that the idea of coming back over and
over until we are "perfect" is absurd.
"Perfect for what?", he asked. "Enjoying
forever the presence of God? Absurd."
He also noted that reincarnation
"puts too much emphasis on man",
as other species are thought merely
to evolve into us. Besides, he said
DJ used to ask him: "Where is this
perfect man? Where?" pointing out
that if it were true, there ought to be
at least a few men running around
who are very nearly "perfected".
He said that the "fleeting images" many
people have of past lives "come from
your genetic frame". Why couldn't they
be coming from your grandmother's life,
for example?
He talked again about how our ideologies
are absurd, and said that sorcerers have
"the desire to really think, not merely
repeat empty ideologies". Sorcerers
"Come down to earth." They are "pragmatic",
and "sober".
Then he talked about people who are "bored fucks".
He said that if you were conceived in "passion"
then you have lots of energy, but if you were
conceived in other circumstances (and he went
into several humorous scenarios here), you
will not have much energy. He said that you will
have lots of energy "especially if the mother
is excited". He said: "if she has an orgasm,
you are in great shape". DJ told Carlos that
he (Carlos) was a bored fuck. And Carlos
said that when he began to think about his
parents, "he got desparate". His parents
seemed so dull that he thought: "wow,
I was done for!" But don Juan told him:
"Don't spend your energy. Hold on to it
and a moment will come when your power
is equal to the best." Nothing is final in
the sorcerers world. "But the first stand
is to know which you are."
He talked about how we always wind up
doing what our parents want, one way
or another, no matter how much we may
petulantly protest against our parents.
He said that anger is the idiotic way
of protesting. The sorcerer has:
"the refusal to surrender". He said that
even if you are a bored fuck, "there is
enough".
He said that DJ told him sorcerers seek
"a chance to go through". Go through what?
Here he mentioned "the force that lends
us awareness---the moment we die it
reclaims it", and that "it has lent you
energy to enhance it." Then he talked
about how this force just wants the
enhanced energy from the experiences
of our lives, but "that doesn't mean it
has to take our life force". He said:
"life experience and life force don't
go together; it's not necessarily so."
The sorcerers maneuver for taking advantage
of this is the recapitulation, where sorcerers
"relive their life experiences". In doing this,
"they are giving the force that lends us energy
what it wants".
He spoke briefly about just where a sorcerer
goes instead of dying the way most people do.
He always asked don Juan where sorcerers
went when they take this option.
"Where?" He said: "I don't know...But don't
be an idiot, take it!".
He talked about how most of us don't really
live the dreams of our lives, and said that
most of us live "sitting in our chair". He gave
us some example stories of people who
had dreams of doing things and going places,
who only READ all about it, and then did
not even want to do it. He said that wasn't
the way for sorcerers, and that
"we have to be there". He said don't sit
and hesitate, wondering what is in it for
you, and what about this and that, that
"when a new door opens, take it!". None
of this endless procrastination with:
"Why should I do this?" "Where will this
get me?" What's next?" Rather, he said:
"just take it".
Speaking of just what it is that a sorcerer "gets"
out of doing this, he said:
"whatever you gain is indescribable".
He said that for sorcerers:
"the recapitulation is mandatory."
In doing this it is important that
"he creates a facsimile of life,
that is accepted by that force."
In doing his own recapitulation, Carlos said
that "it put me face to face with my repetition",
and "I had very few maneuvers at my disposal".
Don Juan said something along the lines of
"Hey, don't give up! You have two tricks;
most only have one". Carlos said that his main
trick was his "poor baby" routine. He talked
about how his grandfather sponsored this in
him, but he had forgotten about it, and adopted
it as if it were his own. He said that he had
also forgotten "all the barbarities that went
with that maneuver", and emphasized how
astounding it was to see himself so repetitive.
The recapitulation forces the assemblage point
to move ever so slightly. This eventually
"lends it a great fluidity".
In doing the recapitulation, first
"set up the image in your mind".
Just take a person and get all the details of
the interaction. Set up the scene first...
Get the general scene...the door...the
walls...pictures on the walls?...carpeting?
windows?...etc. This is called "setting up
the scene". Then "breathe in everything
that you left in there" and "exhale everything
that is not yours". First "breathe in the scene",
and "then tackle the people---get what they said---
what you said". Get everything you felt.
Carlos said that in recapitulating he
"got back in time to the first time I ever felt
(a particular feeling)". He said that eventually
he reached the ability to get "inconceivable detail".
At the end, "you are not the same person".
He warned us that you will "get tired, disgusted",
but to "keep at it". The mind gets fatigued and
will start whining "quit, quit!" But "just keep at it".
In the end, "the fluidity you acquire is really indescribable".
With regard to DJ, Carlos said that eventually
he got to a pragmatic level, and said:
"I'm following this man's assertions to the
best of my ability", because he wanted to
fight this force that is destroying me
(or something to that effect). Carlos said:
"unless you dedicate every beating of your
heart...it will get you." He said that anything
less than this is a bunch of horsefeathers.
He praised don Juan's impeccability, saying
that he still feels "I could never be like him---
he will forever be a lifetime ahead of me."
Following the warriors way will allow you to
make "a probe, a query". It will at very least
"allow you to get old with more style".
The sorcerer is "the only being that doesn't
leave a single stone unturned." On the other
hand, science: "will not cure us from self-reflection."
Don Juan used to ask Carlos:
"What have they done to you?"
Carlos spoke of what bad shape we are in
and of how we are supposed to "love ourselves",
and noted: "what a terrifying contradiction!"
"The sorcerers first line of attack is self-reflection."
"It has to be stopped or minimized."
"Your 'wonderfulness' is not congruous with a
journey to infinity." This is why "questions must
refer to what we are doing." DJ "demanded
that I pay attention to every detail of the world
and what we were doing." If we talk about an
event, "make the event the main character,
not you." For a sorcerer, "the man no longer
exists", and "the others are feeding material
for the flyers."
What we are trying to do with Tensegrity is
to "entice a different kind of physical force."
He spoke of generating "the energy that
makes you shake". Carlos said "it's not the
muscle; it's something else", and related
how he has asked physiology experts about
this "something else" without getting a
satisfactory answer. He showed us in
motions the difference between ordinary
muscle actions and the quick tensing
movements of Tensegrity.
Carlos began to exhort us to try harder,
saying "really go all the way". He claimed
that "most of us know that the world will not
get better". He spoke of how there might
be younger people still harboring dreams
of "love", but that most of us are old enough
to know that things really won't get any
better as we are. So...he said to:
"execute the movements to perfection".
If we do, this will "create a state of
profound physical and mental amenity".
Then we can "take a tiny...just a minor...jump",
to where he is (did I get this right?).
The two main items are:
He simply spelled it out.
If you do these things, "avenues, doors begin
to open...mysterious doors." He said "I needed
don Juan because I needed to explain to you..."
but you don't need anyone.
Fragment: Carlos said: "my mind doesn't wander, ever."
(My mind must have been wandering)
Then Carlos talked about the "twenty eight generations"
of warriors in his line, and how he "must close it".
He said: "I must lock it." He emphasized that this is
something he takes totally seriously.
This came about when don Juan was pointed to him
by the spirit, and had to take him. They found out
that he was not of the proper configuration for
a nagual to pass on the rule as given. He said that DJ
was "stuck with him" and "had to do with what he had."
"Destiny, the spirit, had put in front of him the last link
of the chain...he poured on me everything he had."
The main issue is "impeccability---
the decision to act the best way we can
and a little bit more". If "nothing is too much"
you are in the realm of impeccability. In this
realm, "no matter what comes", you take it
as a challenge. If it defeats you, "waste no
time in laments", and "go to the next one".
Impeccability is "fluidity". It is "no regrets".
To do your ultimate best you have to know
who you are. Hence: the recapitulation.
And you have to be in good shape:
the magical passes. The passes entail
"years of labor, thought, and intent."
"I'm closing the line. This is my way of
locking the door...Otherwise only a few
will experience it."
"Perhaps we will do more than don Juan
ever dreamed...who knows?"
"We will talk more as you do the exercises
and see what I can tell you next week."
Question and answer period. My notes are even more limited here.
Q: "Why are there no men in your party?"
Carlos has all the men rise (there are
6 or 7 of them---I don't know them all).
Q: "You have all this help...we don't.
How can we do this by ourselves?"
You don't need anyone. You need "intent".
You need a "sense of desperation". That is
what you need "in order to move". You need
to feel "this is your last chance", "your last call".
DJ said: "you are facing infinity". He gave us
a "rule of thumb":
"if you have no place to go except onward in
the warrior's path...then you face infinity."
You have to feel "what would I do?"
(without the warrior's way). Feel the "despair".
"Where are you going to go?" Without it...
you are heading toward your heart attack.
Your only real choice is to
"impeccably remain within this warrior's path."
Otherwise, "what are you looking forward to?"
Q: What happened to the old party
(the genaro's, the little sisters...)?
"They were not congruous with me.
He explained that "whoever is with me will have
to learn to read" (serious reading). The others
thought he was insane and told him to "blow
his barracks". They tried to get him to come
with them. They were simply taught to be
pragmatic sorcerers. But Carlos said that
DJ "brought a revolution, and you have to
be very sharp to grasp it." Evidently, Carlos
kept trying to pull them in his direction,
and they kept trying to pull him in theirs,
and Carlos "spent years in this stupid
battle trying to pull them toward him".
In the end, "they gave up---and don Juan
scooped them up". He swooped down like
an eagle and just took them. "Where?"
"I have no idea. I have all kinds of speculations."
Possible: "in another of the thousands of skins"
(of the onion). Wherever they are, they are
"infinitely better off than my grandfather".
Q: We are constantly living. Should we continually
recapitulate all our experiences as we live them?
YES! "Constantly recapitulate what you have done---
at the end of every day"---in a matter of half an hour---
do it "compulsively"---"religiously every day"---then
"carry on with the main event" (your formal recap
of the past).
Re: the details of the procedure: The favorite trick of the mind is:
"I'm so confused."
Q: Someone asked about Dreaming...
"If you have enough energy, you could acquire
dreaming awareness. Dreaming is:
"the intelligent utilization of a natural disposition
of the assemblage point to move in normal sleep."
Sorcerers "do not control where the A.P. moves,
they simply control the vision at the new position.
This "requires discipline---to maintain the vision
of that new world." It requires "balls of steel".
"Shift---and keep it there, and see what
the hell happens."
"Maybe someday we'll have a dreaming seminar."
The ultimate act of sorcery is: "dreaming ourselves."
Q: Someone asked something about what we
should do with our intellect...
He said to use the intellect, write papers. He said
to write intellectually about whatever it is that
you do. He described a scenario of using the
intellect carefully and diligently every day from
8:00-5:00 and then "at five o'clock, you are the
being who is going to die."
Q: Another question about him being the end
of his line...
He said that DJ "read my energy to be the end
of his line", and that "it is the natural condition
of order to come to an end, and that "his
lineage, as an order, came to an end."
Carlos noted that it often made him "feel like weeping",
and told us not to mind if he did that, that it is really
good for you, and gets rid of toxins and such.
In response to questions, Carlos talked about the
flyers, and how they eat our awareness rather
systematically, as if we are chickens in coops
(organized conveniently in cities for them), and
he reemphasized how it is the flyers that give
us our ideals, and how terrible this is.
He talked a bit about DJ's conception of "heaven".
And he told us about "the pace of heaven" - and
mimicked the way everyone must walk in a slow
and peaceful dream "for eternity". He talked
about how no one must make any noise, and
must keep very quiet, "just like here".
He described how it could be compared to
"Jewish store", where the storekeeper had
two sons: One was St. Peter, the "good son"
who kept the books and such, while the other
was out on the streets selling (this would be
Lucifer).
Again, he is illustrating the absurdity of the
ideologies man has been fixating on for
centuries, due to the flyers. He notes, that
with such ideals, we have "no time to ponder
anything else".
He talked about how the people down in Mexico
were worried that he was going to drain
their energy to make himself stronger.
He said that this really is not possible.
He spoke of how "we are contained units"---
thus a sorcerer's "attempt to transcend
those boundaries". He said that "energy
can only come via you", and to "clear the
debris, and allow the energy to stand on
it's own, noting that if you clear out 90%
of the "horseshit" you do, you will have
90% more energy.
Q: Someone asked about intending ourselves
forward, ala the Death Defier...
He said that we are going to talk more about
the Death Defier, and that we are even going
to learn two of the Death Defier's magical passes.
Q: Someone asked why they would still have to work
normal jobs as a sorcerer?
"Why still work?" "Your impeccable gesture."
"We would like to pass by without being noticed."
It is just "a gesture with this exquisite world" to work.
He made some fun of this question, as it is
"from the toes".
Q: About cyclic beings...
"All of us are united with others by a single strand
of energy". This "makes us so homogenous that
we are one and the same person". Carlos said
it is difficult to find who are those beings.
He recounted a story from a Separate Reality
where he went to plant a plant he was given
and was acosted by three "entities" who were
assuming the form of people. I believe he then
made the point that those entities were cyclic
beings for him, "attached to the same wheel"
as he was.
He said: "some of us know where we belong to".
He related that: "the lines of cyclicity transcend
this world---they go into infinity".
Cyclic beings are like: "one mind in two persons".
At this point he asked if we would like to see two
cyclic beings, and he had the two people that we
think are the orange and the blue scout stand up,
and face the crowd. There was a definite
similarity somehow, even though they are
also quite different.
Q: A person asked a long question about the
fear of leaving behind the familiar world...
Carlos said yes, that this is "frightening for the ego".
He said that one can "suppress the self-reflection,
and there is no fear."
A fragment: "chuck it all---let the movements flow".
Q: about the inorganic beings...
He avoided this question, saying that we are
going to talk extensively about them later.
He did mention that DJ promoted "an aversion
to the inorganic beings".
Q: about seeing animals, and what they are like
and what they share or don't share with man...
Carlos said that in animals, the sheen of awareness
is different, so sorcerers can't completely SEE it.
He said he used to ask DJ questions like that, and
DJ always said he couldn't answer them. He said
that "he could see the bulk of energy, but not
the details". Carlos said that it would require
greater "mass" to SEE across lines of speciation
like that. Here followed a detailed discussion of
how through the ages sorcerers have never had
enough mass (owing to their being so few of them),
to do many things. Carlos said: "if enough mass
was involved, we could cut across lines of
speciation---mass is of essence."
He said that DJ could never do this, and noted
that perhaps he "left it up to me" (he noted
how we may be gathering the mass now, as
after all there are 250 or so people in the room).
He went back to talking about the movements,
and said: "do them impeccably, over and over
and over". "That's the challenge; that's the
test" (and here I am typing this monumental
thing, damn).
Carlos said that "our biological mandate
is to reproduce", but now it is "time to turn
it into another mandate equally powerful:
to evolve". He spoke of how we are "being
stopped as a race", and of how we would
need to evolve FIRST, and then reproduce.
He told us to "examine the social order",
saying "the social order is our shield",
but "it no longer protects us as a race".
Therefore: "it is time to evolve".
Fragment: "The Flyers are the Lord".
This is..."a terrifying position".
Q: How much Tensegrity is enough?
Do "as much as you can". Carlos told us to
"use the mass" (of all the people doing it together),
observing that "we are cushioned" (in this group).
Here, together, we are "oozing this millieu of energy---
but go home and you are alone."
Q: about the spirit...
The spirit is something you "cannot see" and
"cannot feel". You can say that "something
allows you to use some unseen force", and
you can notice when it acts, as "the effects
of the spirit are palpable." Carlos said,
"sorcerers can't see it as energy---only the
results." He speculated that if our large
gathering here leaves some major result
at the end: "that would be a manifestation".
One can not say "there that is the spirit,
right there", rather one notices "post facto---
after it happens" and says "this is the spirit
---it's unavoidable".
The intent of the passes is to "displace
the assemblage point to ideal locations
within the luminous egg. He talked of how
there are other positions obtainable that
are actually outside the egg, but maintained
that what we are interested in with Tensegrity
is to "remain truthful to what we are, but grow
in strength, in sobriety."
Q: about disabilities or injuries in relation
to Tensegrity...
He reiterated what the Chacmools had said,
not to strain. He said that if one body part is
injured or incapacitated, to use another part.
If you can't move one thing, move something else.
He went back to talking about "mass", and
about how if you have "total conviction",
then "all you need is presence---then something
inconceivable will happen. He gave the example
of research that has been done on ant colonies,
where when there were 50 ants together, they
all just wandered around, but when there were
52, they metamorphosed into an intelligent
working system. Sorcerers of the past have
never been able to gather much mass.
Working with the rule, and accepting only
those pointed out by the spirit, their numbers
have always been small. Carlos left me with
distinct impression that no one really knows
what the possibilities are, should we actually
succeed in attaining "mass".
That is all I wrote down, and I didn't write even half of it. Whew.
- David
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To: alt.dreams.castaneda
At the workshop, Carlos mentioned that the man who first
brought him to don Juan had died not too long afterwards,
and he told us that don Juan had *seen* that the man
was about to die. This was related to us as being the
first in a series of what Carlos said were many omens
and discoveries that led don Juan to the *inescapable*
conclusion that Castaneda was to be the end of his lineage.
So, it was there even in the beginning...and cannot by
any means be attributed to the actions or personality
of Carlos, as it was don Juan who first made the
discovery, long ago. Carlos told us this early in the
workshop, saying: "don Juan read my energy to be the
end of his line", and "it is the natural condition
of order to come to an end". And because it is the
end, he has an intense drive to give the knowledge
to as many people as he possibly can, so that it
doesn't just end with them.
It was revealed publicly, as long ago as the Eagle's Gift,
that don Juan knew that Carlos was not the right energy
configuration for a Nagual man of their lineage, and for
this reason could not lead the party that had been gathered
for him. At the workshop, Carlos said that don Juan knew
by then that the spirit had put the last link of the chain in
front of him.
Carlos has described his and don Juan's intent for the
end of this lineage as being like an "open-ended explosion".
Now, thinking about it, this has *always* been evident.
Witness the long series of best-selling books, which are
truly unprecedented in the world of sorcery. From the
beginning, Carlos created a huge opening into that world.
Carlos has reported that behind that obvious gesture
was don Juan, who had him write those books, as acts
of sorcery. But why publish them far and wide? For the
few who could jump at a chance to have a chance.
And so, it was known for many years that Carlos was
to be the end. The spirit had spoken, and don Juan's
task to Carlos clearly reflects what had been said:
"Take it to the masses".
At the workshop, Carlos related that, since don Juan
knew he was to be the end, "he poured on me everything
he had". And Carlos has, to a large extent, poured it on us.
First with all those books, and now with Tensegrity.
Tensegrity is fully consistent with this thrust, with this
attempt to go out "with a bang".
This is something never tried before. And if it works,
it will be, Carlos said, "something never seen before".
At one point he wondered aloud, "who knows,
we may do things don Juan never dreamed of".
We were told at the workshop that Tensegrity is a gate.
A door. If you would make a bid for the sorcerers'
world, it is an avenue. Carlos said to those who came,
"this is your bid". To do Tensegrity, he said, "is the test".
If you do it, and if you succeed in raising your
awareness, then he will find you, and he made it
clear that in this case, he is "obligated to do everything
in his power for you".
Sound good? Yeah. But to walk through that door
will require us to work harder than we could
ever have imagined. Will we? Carlos reported
that don Juan said he would "remake himself
ten times over for the chance to have a chance".
Will we? Or is playing "net personalities" arguing
possibilities really much more appealing than
working our balls off every day of our lives?
(Aside in speculation mode: Regarding the
daily practice of Tensegrity...
Since the techniques were discovered in
Dreaming, and were intended to bring the
well-being of Dreaming into the daily life,
it follows that the lives of those who practice
it will become more and more "like Dreaming".
One of the noticeable effects of this should
be arriving at states of internal silence,
since in Dreaming one is much more silent.
Carlos also mentioned that if you do
Tensegrity, "the crazy thoughts will come".
I think I have experienced a couple of times
what he is talking about. One simple way
of describing it would be to say that
something like the Dreaming attention
starts to function in conjunction with one's
normal thought processes, i.e. you start
having lapses of dreamlike states in the
middle of full waking consciousness.
Another way of describing what I have
experienced would be to say that I started
feeling like I was somehow becoming
extended into the environment around
me, and thinking, as if from the point of
view of other parts of the environment,
in strange *bodily feelings*.
For example, to *feel* like a lamp would
*think* about light flowing out of me, or to
*feel* like the air would *think* after just
passing through a fan, maybe in the form
of a funny little song, or...well they are kind
of crazy. Expansive *bodily thoughts*.
Lightening fast. One after another, as if
one is melting into the environment.
As fast as you realize one has happened,
another one is upon you.
Hmmm...that was a long one.)
There were hundreds of people who attended
this latest intensive workshop, and Carlos came
to them *every day* to pour himself upon them,
plainly doing just what he said: bypassing his mind
to bypass their minds, to speak with his energy
body directly to theirs. It jibes. He is deadly serious.
He is looking for "mass". He is trying to actively
foster this "open-ended explosion".
And think of it! What if it worked! Try to imagine
what *hundreds* of sorcerers might be capable of!
He gave us examples of ancient cities where
whole populations had flown away into the
second attention.
(Aside in speculation mode: It even follows that some
of these sorcerers *might* be Naguals themselves.
Who knows, there might be half a dozen Nagual
men and women involved in such a mass exodus.
But there would be no traditional party gathered
for them, and their presence would *not* change
the open-ended nature of the end of Carlos'
direct lineage, because it was dictated by the
spirit long ago that it is to be blown wide open.)
One other factor here makes it very apparent that
this really is the end of their lineage...
The Death Defier, who had taken energy from their lineage
for many generations, also came to realize that Carlos was
to be the end of this lineage, and this was his reason for
"merging" with Carol (see the end of the Art of Dreaming).
At the workshop, Carlos explained that the Death Defier
knew that his source of energy was running out, and that
he would have to put his money on them. It makes sense.
If they are not the end, then why is even the Death Defier
packing his bags and jumping on the train?
In the last chapter of the Art of Dreaming, don Juan tells
Carlos that due to what the Death Defier has done,
he would eventually arrive at "another time, in another
world; a more vast world, open-ended; a world where
the impossible might even be feasible." That time
may be coming soon.
(Aside in speculation mode: Thinking about it, it now
seems very clear that Carol Tiggs didn't leave with
don Juan's party at all, and at the end of the Art
of Dreaming, when don Juan said: "she's gone from
the world", well, she was! So Carol left *before*
don Juan's party, when she merged with the Death
Defier and flew forward on the Wings of Intent,
only to shock the hell out of Carlos by "landing"
10 years later, then finding him in the old Phoenix
bookstore in LA. I only call this "speculation"
because I don't recall it being explicitly stated
in this way. )
The end of the Art of Dreaming contains other clues
to the possible nature of the "open-ended explosion":
Carlos, to Carol:
Carol, to Carlos:
Both of those quotes are from the time when
they were "intending in the second attention",
of which Carol said: "you and I are dreaming
ourselves in another time. In a time yet to come."
Notice that this is fully consistent with their
current statement that Carol's return opened
up a whole new arena of action.
That "time yet to come" may be upon us. Carlos is
still preaching the power of fear. But Taisha let the
cat out the bag, at Omega. And all I see and feel
coming from any of them is affection. A strange,
ruthless affection.
And the "mask of generosity" is no longer a mask.
- David
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To: alt.dreams.castaneda
My first (and so far only) experience of having one of the full-fledged
sorcerers contact me personally in any semi-significant way (as minor and
innocent as it may be), was as follows:
Because I was wearing gym shorts with no pockets for Tensegrity, I had been
carrying my keys around in my hand, and I had left them at Rich's sister's
place, after we had gone over there to share insights on the passes.
When we went back to the Workshop, just as the others were going in I realized
I had left my keys and therefore would not be able to leave, and would just
have to hang out until the session was over (I was only in the A group).
I spent the first 30-40 minutes sitting outside fairly far from the door,
but I could see CC on the stage inside, and I watched from time to time as
he lectured and began to lead everyone in the warmups. Throughout this time
I was intending internal silence, with some small successes. Then I decided
to get up and practice walking for a while (using a combination of "the right
way of walking, and the toes turned in walking"). I did that for 30 minutes
or so, all around the school area.
Meanwhile the sun was going down, and I was wearing only a very thin t-shirt
and gym shorts, and had begun to get rather chilly. Finally, I went back to
the Workshop area, and this time sat down at a table over on the side of the
building nearer the door, where the sea breeze wasn't blowing on me. But I
was still getting colder and colder.
About that time, a tall caucasian man and a shorter Latin looking woman walked
up, and Douglas Parnell seemed to know them and he signaled some of the witches
to come out. Florinda and Carol came out and embraced and kissed these people,
and then they all went inside.
Shortly after that, Carol came back over to the door, and looked out in my
direction, and then seemed to have brief words with Douglas, either about me,
or about something out there in my direction (I looked over my shoulder to
see if there was anyone else out there behind me). Then Kylie came over and
talked to Douglas, and again, they seemed to be talking about me.
A minute later, Carol came walking out the door and right up to me (inner
gasp), and asked me if I was waiting for someone who was inside. I said yes.
She said that I might as well come in, and took me by the arm and led me
inside, and told me to blend in somewhere. I went back toward the very back
of the room, as unobtrusively as possible. When I got back to the back, I
noticed that I had headed right to the same place Taisha was. And Carol
had followed me back there.
Nyei was starting to explain the movement called Pecking for a New Position
of the Assemblage Point. I had learned the movement at the earlier session,
but Carol came and grabbed my hand and started showing me how to hold it.
I had a lot of trouble getting my hand to move because it was very cold,
and Carol was wrestling with it. I didn't want to tell her I knew it,
because the way I was fumbling it looked like I didn't. She noticed that
my hands were very cold, and started chastising me for sitting out there
without proper clothing. I managed to stammer that it wasn't intentional,
and about that time Nyei and Reni started drilling this Pecking Pass over
and over.
So there I was, WOW, with Taisha to the left and Carol to the right... and
after being let in as a special favor, I felt motivated to do the passes
with extra effort! We did that "Pecking Pass" over and over at least 5 or 6
times then (Reni was really drilling it), and within 10 minutes of doing
them at maximum, I was soaked with sweat. Freezing to roasting in about
10 minutes...
When it was over, I felt like thanking Carol, and when I did she asked me
to tell her my name. Then Carlos motioned us to the front, yet before she
broke away Carol managed to chastise me again, telling me I should wear a
sweater or a jacket if I was going to go outside after sweating like that.
Geez, she was practically acting like my mother :-). I brought a jacket to
every session after that, but she just must not have realized...that's the
way this idiot does things here in California...
Carol was totally charming, yet also managed to give me the impression
that she was definitely not someone to mess around with.
Then Carlos got back up on stage and lectured for 30 minutes, going 25
minutes over the scheduled time for the session. What a bonus!
- David
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