Interview 1998 Castaneda, Mausi Boehm

Google Translate from French (source)

By Mausi Boehm

In view of the Munich seminar of May 1998

The book on Tensegrity is the first of your books presenting the reader with practical exercises. What made you decide to make all this accessible to the public?

The shamans of ancient Mexico who discovered the magical passes forming the basis of Tensegrity protected these movements with the greatest secrecy and wrapped them in rituals. Thus these movements were taught to Don Juan Matus, and he himself taught them to his four disciples, Florinda Donner-Grau, Taisha Abelar, Carol Tiggs, and myself. A process of opening began among the shamans of Mexico, we were told, in a time that was shortly before the Spanish conquest. Apparently, the Spaniards were the catalyst that accelerated to the utmost the destruction of secrecy among shamans. Under the domination of the Spaniards, survival became the essential goal of the shamans of that time. We were told that, in the face of this threat, rather than promoting isolation, shamans became more open because of this situation, as they realized that the secret nature of their knowledge and actions gave them no chance to survival as an individual. We represent the culmination of this process of openness in the particular case of Don Juan Matus' lineage. He made us realize that nothing that a man does should be kept secret or shrouded in esotericism and mystery. We firmly believe that man as a whole today faces a terrifying problem of survival. In other words, for us, this is certainly not the time to make secrets.

When did you organize the first seminar on this topic? And how have seminars evolved?

Tensegrity seminars and practice courses began in 1984, as part of an attempt to reach people with something extremely pragmatic: the magical passes. These first efforts never had a fruitful result. Unfortunately for us at this time, the Tensegrity seminars we were giving not only in the United States but also in Mexico and Argentina were free. Everyone could participate. The result was that instead of coming to practice Tensegrity, resentful people came to the seminars and always found fault with everything we wanted to do. It was then that the process experienced a complete reversal, it was decided by all the practitioners related to the four disciples of the old nagual. Their idea and their unanimous decision were that the seminars should be paid. Their argument was that a doctor was being paid for his knowledge, just like a lawyer or a judge; they do not work for free and must be paid for their efforts to teach something of inestimable value to the modern man. In 1991, more than seven years after the initial launch, we organized the first paid seminar. The result of this daring change was astounding for all Shamanism practitioners and Tensegrity instructors. For the first time in seven years, people were attentive and they really learned the movements with extraordinary momentum. Their momentum was so powerful that they created a force that has since become the driving force of all the seminars. Practitioners of shamanism called this "the human mass," something that don Juan's shamans of the lineage never experienced. The ease with which the magical passes are learned and the depth of perception of the seminar participants, have reached such a level that they have become an impeccable force, practicing for the pleasure of practicing and for the well-being provided by them. magic passes.

Is your presence at the seminar essential?

No, the presence of Carlos Castaneda is in no way essential to anything. The teachers of Tensegrity are all directly connected to Carlos Castaneda and they draw from this connection all the elements necessary to function on their own with the utmost efficiency and determination.

Who runs the seminars and how can we verify their authenticity?

Infinity runs the seminars and there is no way to verify their authenticity. In the end, we must all respond to infinity in a personal way. At a more down-to-earth level, the authenticity of Tensegrity is indisputable because Tensegrity has not been invented by any of the instructors or practitioners. Nor even by the four disciples of the old nagual. There is nothing that can be added to this except the fact that it is to be taken or left. If you take it, you will undeniably experience well-being and balance. If you leave it, you will live a life as you have lived so far, prey to doubts and discomfort.

Your German readers would very much like to welcome you to Germany from time to time. Are the Germans not ready for this?

It's not that you are ready or not. I'm done. I'm already on the other side and it's impossible for me to escape. I will always be the voice or the presence behind the stage. In other words, the time for me to appear and speak has come to an end.

Do you need to read all your books to attend a seminar?

No it's not necessary. Participants can read the book on Tensegrity to practice movements.

The book on Tensegrity gives for the first time a direct point of view on the magical passes. Can this book alone be a guide or do you recommend that practitioners attend a seminar?

Yes, this book alone can be a guide but practitioners are strongly advised to attend a seminar and learn the details of the Five Points of Interest series called Westwood Series.

What distinguishes non-do's from other magical passes, as they are described in the book Passes Magiques? Can you explain that?

Their action is different. The difference between sets of magic passes in general and magic passes for non-doing is their immediate action. All series affect the body by revealing the hidden resources of human consciousness. Magic passes for non-doing focus on one point: the intrinsic energy flow that keeps us as a conglomerate of energy fields.

In the context of your cognitive system, what does it mean to be free?

In the context of my cognitive system ... it is not my cognitive system ... in the cognitive system of the shamans of ancient Mexico, to be free means to free oneself from the bonds of socialization and syntax.

What is your relationship with Florinda Donner-Grau, Taisha Abelar and Carol Tiggs?

My connection with them is the fact that we were all four apprentices of don Juan Matus. They were, like me, the witnesses of don Juan Matus's actions. He used different approaches to teach them what he taught me. The combination of the approaches and views that each of us holds forms an indivisible unity in its essence but in practice has four aspects in the world of everyday life. We can say that what connects us is an extraordinary connection, which makes us impotent as an individual. We are complete on the warrior's path only as a whole.