Magical Passes (23 page)

29. Cutting a Circle of Energy

The hands are clasped by the right shoulder to begin this magical pass (fig. 460). Then they are pushed forward as far as the right arm can go without fully extending the elbow. From there, the clasped hands cut a circle the width of the body from right to left, as if they were indeed holding a cutting instrument. In order to perform this movement, the left, leading hand, which is on top, must reverse positions when it reaches the turn of the circle on the left; with the hands still clasped, they flip at the turn of the circle so that the right hand takes the lead by being on top (fig. 461) and finishes drawing the circle.

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

30. The Back-and-Forth Slash

The hands are clasped on the right, with the left hand in the lead. A powerful blow pushes the hands forward, about two feet away from the chest. Then, they slash, as if they were holding a sword, as far to the left as the arms allow them without completely extending the elbows (fig. 462). There, the hands change positions. The right hand becomes the leading hand on top and a counterslash is performed, which takes the clasped hands all the way to a point on the right side, a few inches to the right of where this magical pass started (fig. 463).

The same sequence of movements is repeated, starting on the left, with the right hand in the lead.

THE    SIXTH    SERIES

Devices Used in Conjunction with Specific Magical Passes

As previously stated, the shamans of ancient Mexico put a special emphasis on a force they called tendon energy. Don Juan said that they asserted that vital energy moves along the body via an exclusive track formed by tendons.

I asked don Juan if by tendon he meant the tissue that attaches the muscles to the bones.

"I am at a loss to explain tendon energy," he said. "I'm following the easy path of usage. I was taught that it's called tendon energy. If I don't have to be specific about it, you understand what tendon energy is, don't you?"

"In a vague sense, I think I do, don Juan," I said. "What confuses me is that you use the word tendon where there are no bones, such as the abdomen."

"The old sorcerers," he said, "gave the name of tendon energy to a current of energy that moves along the deep muscles from the neck down to the chest and arms, and the spine. It cuts across the upper and lower abdomen from the edge of the rib cage to the groin, and from there it goes to the toes."

"Doesn't this current include the head, don Juan?" I asked, bewildered. As a Western man, I expected that anything of this sort would have originated in the brain.

"No," he said emphatically, "it doesn't include the head. What comes from the head is a different kind of energetic current; not what I am talking about. One of the formidable attainments of sorcerers is that in the end, they push out whatever exists in the center of energy located at the top of the head, and then they anchor the tendon energy of the rest of their bodies there. But that is a paragon of success. At the moment, what we have at hand, as in your case, is the average situation of tendon energy beginning at the neck at the place where it joins the head. In some cases tendon energy goes up to a point below the cheekbones, but never higher than that point.

"This energy," he went on, "which I call tendon energy for lack of a better name, is a dire necessity in the lives of those who travel in infinity, or want to travel in it."

Don Juan said that the traditional beginning in the utilization of tendon energy was the use of some simple devices which were employed by the shamans of ancient Mexico in two ways. One was to create a vibratory effect on specific centers of tendon energy, and the other was to create a pressure effect on the same centers. He explained that those shamans considered the vibratory effect to be the agent for loosening the energy which has become stagnant. The second effect, the pressure effect, was thought to be the agent that disperses the energy.

What seems to be a cognitive contradiction for modern man - that vibration would loosen anything that was stuck, and that pressure would disperse it - was deeply emphasized by don Juan Matus, who taught his disciples that what appears to be natural to us in terms of our cognition in the world is not at all natural in terms of the flow of energy. He said that in the world of everyday life, human beings would crack something with a blow, or by applying pressure, and disperse it by making it vibrate. However, energy which had become lodged in a tendon center had to be rendered fluid through vibration, and then it had to be pressed, so that it would continue flowing. Don Juan Matus was horrified at the idea of directly pressing points of energy in the body without the preliminary vibration. His contention was that energy that was stuck would get even more inert if pressure were applied to it.

Don Juan started off his disciples with two basic devices. He explained that the shamans of ancient times used to search for a pair of round pebbles or dry round seed pods, and use them as vibratory and pressure devices to aid in manipulating the flow of energy in the body, which they believed becomes periodically stuck along the tendon track. However, the round pebbles that shaman practitioners normally used were definitely too hard, and the seed pods too fragile. Other objects that those shamans searched for avidly were flat rocks the size of the hand or pieces of heavy wood, in order to place them on specific areas of

DEVICES  USED  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  SPECIFIC  MAGICAL  PASSES   » 219

tendon energy on their abdomens while they were lying flat on their backs. The first area is just below the navel; another is right on top of the navel, and another yet, on the area of the solar plexus. The problem with using rocks or other objects is that they have to be heated or cooled to approximate the temperature of the body, and besides, these objects are usually too stiff, and they slide and move around.

Tensegrity practitioners have found a much better equivalent to the devices of the shamans of ancient Mexico: a pair of round balls and a small, flat, circular leather weight. The balls are the same size as the ones used by those shamans, but they are not fragile at all; they are made of a mixture of Teflon reinforced by a ceramic compound. This mixture gives the balls a weight, a hardness, and a smoothness which are thoroughly congruous with the purpose of the magical passes.

The other device, the leather weight, has been found to be an ideal device for creating a steady pressure on centers of tendon energy. Unlike rocks, it is pliable enough to adapt itself to the contours of the body. Its leather cover makes it possible to be applied directly to the body without needing to be warmed or cooled. However, its most remarkable feature is its weight. It is light enough not to cause any discomfort, and yet heavy enough to aid some specific magical passes that foster inner silence by pressing centers on the abdomen. Don Juan Matus said that a weight placed on any of the three areas mentioned above engages the totality of one's energy fields, which means a momentary shutting off of the internal dialogue: the first step toward inner silence.

The modern devices used in conjunction with specific magical passes are divided by their very nature into two categories.

The First Category

This first category of magical passes that use the help of a device consists of sixteen magical passes aided by the Teflon balls. Eight of these magical passes are performed on the left arm and wrist, and eight on the points of the liver and gallbladder, the pancreas and spleen, the bridge of the nose, the temples, and the crown of the head. The sorcerers of ancient Mexico considered the first eight magical passes to be the first step toward the liberation of the left body from the unwarranted dominion of the right body.

1. The first movement pertains to the outer side of the main tendon of the biceps of the left arm. A ball is applied to that hollow spot and made to vibrate by moving it back and forth with a slight pressure (figs. 464, 465).

2. In the second movement, a ball is held in the hollow palm of the right hand, with the thumb holding it securely (fig. 466). A firm but light pressure is applied to the ball, which is made to rub from the left

wrist to a point one hand's width away from the wrist (fig. 467). The ball is rubbed back and forth in the canal created by the tendons of the wrist (fig. 468).

3. The ball is lightly pressed at a point on the left forearm a hand's width away from the wrist (figs. 469, 470).

4. A moderate pressure is applied at the wrist of the left arm with the index finger of the right hand on a spot next to the head of the forearm bone (fig. 471). The right thumb anchors the hand on the inside of the wrist (fig. 472) and moves the hand back and forth (figs. 473, 474).

5. The ball is applied to the inner side of the tendon of the left biceps, and it is made to vibrate with a slight pressure (figs. 475, 476).

6. A vibration is applied to the hollow spot at the back of the elbow to the left of the elbow proper. The palm of the left hand is twisted and turned outward to allow maximum opening of that area (fig. 477). The ball is rubbed there.

7. Moderate pressure is applied to a spot in the middle of the upper left arm, on the hollow spot where the triceps joins the bone (figs. 478, 479).

8. The left elbow is bent sharply and is rolled forward, engaging the left shoulder blade, to disperse tendon energy to the whole left body (fig. 480).

The remaining eight magical passes of this first category pertain to the upper body and three centers of energy: the gallbladder and liver, the pancreas and spleen, and the head.

9. The balls are held with both hands, pressed and pushed deeply upward, but with only slight pressure, just under, the sides of the rib cage by the liver and the pancreas (fig. 481). Then they are made to vibrate firmly but lightly on those areas.

10. The ball held with the right hand is applied then with a slight pressure to the area just above the sinus, between the eyebrows, and is made to vibrate there (fig. 482).

11. Both balls are applied to the temples and made to vibrate lightly (fig. 483).

12. The ball held with the right hand is applied to the very top of the head and is made to vibrate there (fig. 484).

13-16. The same sequence is repeated, but instead of being made to vibrate, the balls are pressed against those centers of energy. During this second set of movements, both balls are pressed on the sides of the rib cage, by the liver and the pancreas. Then the ball held with the left hand is pressed on the area above the sinus. Both balls are pressed on the temples, and then the ball held with the left hand is pressed on the top of the head.

The Second 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 conjunction with the leather weight.

The hand positions for both of these magical passes are shown here with the practitioner standing. The actual practice of these magical passes is performed lying flat on the back with the leather weight

pressing right above the navel or on either of the other two choice spots on the abdomen: below the navel, or above it by the solar plexus, if placing the weight on them is more comfortable.

17. The Five Points of Silence Around the Chest

The little fingers of both hands are placed on the edges of the rib cage about two inches from the tip of the sternum, and the thumbs are extended as far up on the chest as possible. The remaining three fingers fall evenly spread in the space between the thumb and the little finger. A vibratory pressure is exerted with all five fingers of each hand (fig. 485).

18. Pressing the Midpoint Between the Rib Cage and the Crest of the Hipbone

The little finger and the fourth finger of each hand rest on the crests of the hips while the thumbs rest on the lower edge of the rib cage on each side. Slight pressure is applied on those two points. The index and middle fingers automatically press points midway between the crests of the hips and the edge of the rib cage (fig. 486).