Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico

by Carlos Castaneda

Book Overview

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. In this revolutionary book, Carlos Castaneda offers readers the key to this energetic conditioning for the first time, revealing a series of body positions and physical movements that enabled various sorcerers, and their apprentices, to navigate their own sorceric journeys. By sharing this centuries-old...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060928824
• ISBN13: 9780060928827
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

They work if you do

... I would recommend the movements to anyone willing to put an honest effort into them. If you half-ass them, you won't feel much and be any better for doing them. You are the one creating the tension in these movements and you have to work against your own range of motion to feel and release that tension. The passes really do work if you work at them. ... ...These movements have a powerful effect and they do increase vitality and the connection between mind and body. That means what you believe becomes more real, so if you have a lot of negativity in your head, don't start here.

THE LAST OF CASTANEDA'S LEGACY

Carlos Castaneda's books cannot be properly understood without an understanding of the chakras. This is the only one of Castaneda's books where the topic of the chakras is addressed. Each of the chakras has a specific function in terms of perception. The lower chakras play a role in perception of the world as we know it. The higher chakras play a role in perceptions that are classified as being paranormal such as telepathy, clairvoyance and bilocation. In order to become a sorcerer, one needs to activate these higher chakras. This is where the magical passes come in. These are physical movements that when executed, draw energy in to the chakra system, thereby allowing for the awakening of the perceptual functions of all of the chakras. These are not the only movements that can accomplish the energizing of the chakras. Certain forms of Yoga, and martial arts (T'ai Chi, Chi Kung) are also effective. All of the esoteric paths including those of the Yogin, the Taoists, the Sufi's, the Fourth Way (GI Gurdjieff) and the Theosophists (Rudolf Steiner, HP Blavatsky) involve a physical discipline aimed at the activation of the chakras. All of these paths when followed, allow one to expand one's perceptual capabilities. I recommend reading the Magical Passes for the information contained in the text. This book talks about an energetic force that has "infected" the chakra system of Man, thus preventing Him from accessing the full range of His perceptual abilities. Therefore, in order to become a sorcerer, one must cure oneself of this "infection". For other books that make reference to this negative force: 1) The Active Side of Infinity (Carlos Castaneda), 2) The Path (Esmeralda Arana), 3) Far Journeys (Robert Monroe), 4) In Search of the Miraculous (PD Ouspensky). For information about the chakras and how to activate them: 1) Chakras (Patricia Mercier), 2) Shaman, Healer Sage (Alberto Villoldo).

these exercises are legitimate

When I read these reviews, I was looking for people that had actually tried the exercises and what the results were for them personally. Unfortunately, it does not appear that anyone writing the reviews actually did the exercises on a long-term basis. I tried two series, the dreaming series and the inner silence series. The first night after trying the dreaming series, my dreams were very powerful and tumultuous all night long. After doing the inner silence series for several days, I noticed the nature of my thoughts changing. Since both of these results were somewhat disturbing to me, I terminated the exercises, with the intention of trying them again at a later time. I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has continued to do the exercises and what the results have been.

Castaneda's Legacy

This book, the separate two video set (also entitled "Magical Passes") and Carlos's "Wheel of Time" book constitute Castaneda's legacy of "abstract sorcery" for the general public. CC's extended apprenticeship with Don Juan is detailed in the 8 or 9 books beginning with "Don Juan" and ending with the "Art of Dreaming." In the Nagualist Newsletter, privately published by Daniel Lawton, fans of the series reported how they had gleaned "not doings" and "dreaming techniques" from the Don Juan books. Then two of CC's cohorts, Donner and Abelar, gave bookstore lectures on practical application of the materials, such as recapitulation, and then began teaching movements they called the Magical Passes or later, Tensegrity. Most people who tried the Passes in the various workshops that followed reported a feeling of energy, or well being, and of a reduction in the "internal dialog." The public materials on Tensegrity consist of the three videos released before this book, this book, and the two video set that is based on this book. This book contains some complex and some simple movements. Some sets are easier to learn on your own than others. Some feel better to different people than others. In between the various sets described in the book are snippets of explanation written in the "Don Juan" style, that is ascribed to Don Juan with most of the wit and humor, and insights, that make the Don Juan series so interesting. Some of these exercises are more vigorous than they sound, and beginners are cautioned to work through them gently at first until they find their limits. The best description of these passes (to compare them with something else) is that they are a cross between qi gong movements, martial arts movements and Gurdjieffian body movements. Whatever they are, they do produce results.

It's a WORK-BOOK

This book by Carlos Castaneda is different then those before (9). Older books one can simply "read", this is a *REAL* Work-Book, and in order to benefit from it, one must do the work, the magical passes. For those out of the arm-chair and wanting to navigate infinity there is a way(s), and the magical passes may take you there, or not. Sorcery is a solo flight/fight. Don't get this book for a quick read, remember, it's a WORK-BOOK, so get to work! ..... Paul