Magical Passes :Magical Passes :
Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico
by Carlos Castaneda
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published by Harpercollins
Publication date: February 1998
ISBN: 0060175842
Synopsis:
Carlos Castaneda learned that for us to perceive any of the worlds that
exist beside our own, not only do we have to covet them, but we need to
have sufficient energy to seize them. Magical Passes offers readers for
the first time the key to this energetic conditioning. In his revolutionary
new book, Castaneda reveals a series of body positions and physical movements
that enabled sorcerers, and their apprentices, to navigate their own sorceric
journeys. The magical passes described in this unusual volume allow those
who practice them to gather and redeploy energy, reaching optimal states
of vitality and alertness, as well as the opportunity to travel the same
road as the Mexican sorcerers.
Reviews:
I.G., 7/27/98
When I first brought this book home, I eagerly read the introducton to every series for more gleanings of don Juan's stark insight into the nature of perception and personal power. And then I closed the book and let it sit on the bookshelf, its main content -- the magical passes -- glanced at and mostly unread and untried. But the book waited for me. It seemed every time I walked past it I was acutely aware of the book sitting on the bookshelf.
A growing dissatisfaction with the largely sedentary routines of my daily life finally goaded me into picking up the book again and begin working with the magical passes. I started with the Masculinity Series, looking for a way to more deeply connect with and restrengthen what don Juan refers to as the vital centers, focal points of energy that seem to correspond generally with the solar plexus. I've been taking my time, adding a new pass in the series every day or two, and have only now completed the first group of the series. Even with this simple level of practice, I usually feel an almost tangible charge of energy flowing through my system for an hour or two after completing the group.
These magical passes seem to have the subtle, energetic goals of yoga, but often have the aggressive, even explosive movements evocative of martial arts. One of the advantages I find in practicing these magical passes is their lack of association. By that, I mean I don't enter my practice each day with a preconceived idea of what they really are. When I approach martial arts, images of everything from street fights to Bruce Lee movies usually run through my head. When I practice hatha yoga, I have the sense that I am stretching, breathing, and in some vague sense trying to tap into higher states as understood through Hindu/yogic teachings. But with magical passes I have none of these contexts. As a result, I just begin them every day with an attitude, "Let's see what the passes mean today." This seems to open up pathways otherwise hidden by all the preconceived ideas.
Certainly worth exploring further...
T.P. from California, USA
, 01/19/98, rating=9: Onwards To Infinity
Magical Passes the book is out, 486 photos with a woman called Kylie - she
appears on the tensegrity tapes, and a man called Miles, both showing throughout
the book how to execute a series of novel movements to promote energy and
well-being. The black and white photos are of the highest quality in all
respects. The only critique to the entire book is that the publishers should
had given copies of the book beforehand to several selected people who had
never seen these movements in their lives, write down and add their suggestions
on how to make the descriptions of the movements more clear. Therefore I
give the book a nine. The other critique is to the usage of the word tensegrity
itself. Tensegrity is a term borrowed from architecture. It is a vast discipline
today involving civil, structural and mechanical engineering, mathematics,
calculus, algebra and geometry, applied to the design and engineering of
primarily space structures, eg, bridges. First concocted by Buckminster
Fuller back in the forties at the prompt of one of his cohorts Ken Snelson's
sculpture, which he very convinientely ignored, it is two words glued together,
tension and integrity, to form tensegrity. I personally hate the connection
because Bucky is no more than a gigantic egomaniacal grand prima donna nincompoop
character with the vanest, emptiest wish that "his" triangles
and "his" geometry and "his" architecture would someday,
somehow change the world, which he thought was "his", no doubt,
just the type of thing that makes me literally sick and run away from. Sorry,
the world is not the actions of man, buddy. Period. I think just Magical
Passes would do very nicely indeed, thank you. The series for preparing
intent, womb, westwood, heat, left and right body and masculinity series,
and at the very end the devices, balls and paper-weight, used in conjunction
with specific magical passes are covered. Nothing on not-doings or the sorcerer's
code. None of the passes shown on the tapes are mentioned. Lots of info
on what each pass is for and detailed descriptions on how to do them which,
as mentioned before the publishers could have learned enourmously by providing
copies beforehand to physical instructors, gymnasts, tai-chi, anatomy folks,
etc., for syntax, movement and taxonomy review in order to make the descriptions
easier and clearer to understand. Often with more than one photo for each
pass, the book's short intro is great, packed with Don Juan's unequaled
prose and incredible sense of timing. This is exciting. If this works humans
can for the first time from this point on in history easily do away with
all leaders, bosses, tutors, instructors, gurus, presidents, popes, over
the shoulder nerds and other self-appointed cooks, you name it, any ape
with a stick, to freely and willingly plot their way into their own evolution,
and into infinity. Keep all your fingers tensely crossed, and good luck
to y'll. Mandatorily recommended. Yes, this is a dictartorship.