Tensegrity Seminars

Los Angeles (5) - August 1997 [ 1997 Index | Previous | Next ] To:   The Ixtlan Mailing List Date:   Mon, 6 Oct 1997 12:13:23 -0400 (EDT) LA WORKSHOP, August 23 to 27, 1997 by Vincent Sargenti and Randy Stark DAY Five (morning) Wednesday . . . Everyone's Day Florinda and Taisha walked out to enthusiastic applause on the morning of the fifth and final day. They told attendees that they were there to answer questions. Two chairs had been placed on either side of the podium. Taisha sat in the one stage right as Florinda stood behind the podium and fielded the first question. "Is the glow of awareness on the inside or the outside of the cocoon?" Florinda became animated and began to speak very rapidly, driving the translators crazy. She repeated how don Juan called the glow of awareness El Condoncito and described it as a tight covering over the luminous cocoon. She made a few more comments, then said, "Let me answer the question with another question. Do you guys wear your condoms on the inside or the outside of your penis?" "What is the difference between energy and awareness?" "Awareness is conscious of itself," Florinda explained. "Energy is simply present everywhere and is not necessarily conscious. Sorcerers do not want to get involved in taxonomizing. They work their tails off to be free of the forces that draw us into categorizing and taxonomizing everything in the first place. When you can enter into silent knowledge your questions will answer themselves." "What made it possible for you to go public?" Florinda responded that they did not want to keep secrets that didn't even belong to them. Their going public had to do with the return of Carol Tiggs. That event had made energy available to them that would not have been otherwise. They decided, based on seeing energy as it flows in the universe, that they would make the passes available to anyone who wanted to learn them. In order to accomplish this, they distilled the passes down into a form that made them readily useable by anyone of any body type or energetic configuration. "How should we do the passes; how much and when?" "You don't want to go from one obsession in daily life to another obsession," Florinda replied. "You don't want to replace your usual set of obsessive behaviors by obsessively practicing Tensegrity. That would run counter to the purpose of Tensegrity. The passes interrupt the flow of the ME." "Could you define the difference between the Dark Sea of Awareness and Intent?" Taisha described both as 'energetic facts' that were discovered by the ancient seers. The Dark Sea of Awareness is something that we are connected to, something that surrounds us and affects us. It is something that everything we see emerges out of, and at the same time we are a part of. She also called it 'spirit'. She said that intent is more abstract, but that it is present in everything. It is something that directs the flow of events and works on us in inconceivable ways. It is the inconceivable force that guides our lives, yet to a certain degree we can learn to direct or beckon it. "The humanero," Taisha said, "is the wall of socialization. When we lose the human form, it is the same as breaking the bonds of socialization." Florinda continued on the subject by talking about the manner in which babies learn. Babies mold themselves energetically to their models. She referred again to the cloning of sheep discussion in her previous lecture, then went into an uncanny explanation of how socialization is initialized in infants. She explained it from the ground up, saying that infants learn by mimicking their energetic models. "Okay, now where is that assemblage point?" they ask. Then, "Okay, there it is," and try to imitate it from shortly after birth until the time they are completely socialized. "But you don't have to stay there," she went on. "We weren't there when that agreement was made. [The agreement that this one assemblage point position has to be the dominating position of our lives.] So, we don't have to adhere to it." "From the assemblage point," Florinda said later, "there is a beam that goes straight down to the place between the toes. We are trying to move that beam. What not-doing gives is a choice not to go into our social patterns." There was another question or two, then Taisha came back to the subject of childhood socialization. "It takes us six years, basically, as children to become socialized," she said. "Kindergarten kids are still fairly uninhibited and free. Bobby has not really gotten a hold of them," Taisha said, smiling (her smile gave the feel of a light, open, childlike mood). "Their socialization has not really taken hold." She described the process from the first and second grades, and how children are still fairly free of socialization. She said they start to show a thin veil of adult-like concerns, but not a lot. "It's a thin veil," she smiled. "But by the third and fourth grades they are little adults, and you can see the shift. They have adult concerns for the self, having succumbed by that age to socialization." "Nowadays it seems," Taisha noted in a serious tone, "they are succumbing earlier and earlier. Second graders are now getting the mask of socialization, and by the time they are in the third and fourth grades, whew boy, they are completely caught up in it." There was a question concerning the passes for Not-Doing. Florinda responded that one should keep practice on a not-doing level. Incorporate the passes into one's inventory very carefully, realizing that there is something outside of our cognitive system at work. She commented on the fact that women have an innate link to the Dark Sea of Awareness, but because of their inherent lack of sobriety they don't give a damn. She said the nagual, because he is male, and because of his discipline, has the sobriety and energy to deal with not-doing and to enter the Dark Sea of Awareness. His sobriety helps to keep them focused. "Where's Carlos?" a man shouted from the back of the audience. Taisha and Florinda did not respond to his inquiry at first, but it was a burning question for many attendees. The man shouted the question till they answered him. Taisha and Florinda appeared to be baffled and unsure of how to respond. The question had been voiced very aggressively. "His energy and awareness are out there," Taisha said. "He is the reason why we are all here." "We're trying to pull him back," Florinda said quietly. Taisha began to talk about grasping knowledge directly. She was speaking in reference to bringing the energy body back. She said that there must be a line of intent that goes from us to our energy body. "Discipline brings the energy body closer," she stated. "Discipline and intent are what attract the energy body back to us. Calling the energy body back can only be accomplished by intending it through discipline. If we want our energy body to come back, we must call it. And the only way we can call it is through discipline." Questions were coming in like a flood on little white pieces of paper that were handed forward till they reached the stage. Florinda and Taisha would open the papers and decide which ones they wanted to address. "Do you have sex?" was one. Florinda seemed slightly perturbed by the sheer audacity of it. "I don't know, I guess it's just the way I was raised," she said sternly. "Two things you never ask a lady. One, never ask a lady what her age is, and two, never ask a lady if she is having sex. These are very personal issues. I will respond to this simply by saying that we use sexual energy to navigate infinity." Eventually they returned to the subject of child rearing. "Children learn from our actions," Florinda said, "whatever we do they imitate. We have to teach them by example or they will be just like us regardless. So example is the only way to teach them. We teach them by example whether we like it or not. We can tell them things until we are blue in the face but all we will do is set up a conflict between our words and our actions, and in the end set ourselves up for a loss of respect. Children don't really listen to what we say to them as much as they model themselves after us energetically. So the only way we guide them is by our example, be that good or bad." "How do we change?" "Choose not to go into your usual patterns of behavior," Florinda replied. "Can the magical passes cure disease?" "Yes," Taisha said, "the passes remove encrusted energy and redistribute it back to the vital centers. The encrustation is like a bark on the outer portion of the inside of our luminous cocoon. The passes bring oxygen and blood flow to the vital organs and energetic centers. That actually helps to regenerate the vital organs and bring vitality and vigor to the body. This in itself is enough to help dispel disease. Do the passes everyday," she said. "ME is a set of concerns that gives us an overabundance of worry, tension and concern. All of this combines, and with the years sets us up to fall prey to disease." (She stressed 'disease' as two words: dis-ease.) Florinda at one point, talking about her father the General and about her German heritage, joked that if she were taller and had balls she'd have a whip right now and would be a commander. But since she was a 'mushroom' she'd ended up on the sorcerers' path, which in the end was very fortunate for her. Florinda introduced some of the sixteen people who formed the 'shamanistic unit', primarily the Elements since they were the ones in the audience at the time. As she introduced each by name and they stood up, she made reference to their academic credentials and respective professional fields. It seemed that she did this in order to evoke a sense that within the social order these people were tremendously accomplished and disciplined individuals. She apparently wanted us to know that we were not dealing with a bunch of high school kids. The six Elements: Miles is an MD. Brandon has a masters degree in psychology and is a practicing psychologist specializing in domestic violence. Gavin has two Ph.D.s -- one in biology, and one in the Earth sciences. Fabrizio is an investment banker/consultant. Lorenzo is a writer/producer, and Julius is a producer/director. The ten Energy Trackers: The Alexanders are Nuri (Blue Scout), Zaia (photographer) -- both currently pursuing Ph.D.s -- and Nyei. Reni and Nyei Murez, the cousins, are English teachers. Reni is finishing law school, Nyei is pursuing a career in editing. Talia Bey is the president of Cleargreen. And last but not least, the current pursuits of Kylie, Erin, Darien and the newest Energy Tracker, Haley, were not mentioned. (Some of the above information may not be entirely accurate. Not all of it was derived from Florinda's comments.) After Florinda and Taisha's Q/A period, and a short break, the Elements quickly reviewed the Unbending Purpose and The Legs Rule Vitality series. The Energy Trackers then came out and quickly reviewed, On the Run and The Wheel of Time. DAY Five (afternoon, evening) After the review session ended at noon there was a ten minute break in which nothing much seemed to be happening. Participants had been asked to stay half an hour later for a special session to 'arm' the passes of Silvio Manuel and Juan Tuma. Suddenly it became apparent that everyone was gathering around the stage, but in an unusual way. There was a large area left clear in front of the stage that was perhaps the size of a dance floor. Taisha, Florinda and Carol entered the room with a group of Energy Trackers and Elements. Florinda took the stage with a beaming smile, as if she had a cat in a bag. She laughed and asked the group to quiet their wild, energetic applause. She said they had a special treat for everyone and that they had a special guest with them who was going to introduce us to the idea of the shamanistic theater as well as demonstrate not-doing for us. Among Silvio Manuel's many talents, Florinda said, perhaps the most breathtaking was his unbelievable agility as a dancer. "There has never been anyone before or since who could dance with such flair, such passion, who could move with such speed and such unbelievable grace," Florinda said admiringly, her smile bright as the sun. "The others have told you their stories about how Silvio Manuel affected them, what he was like for them. To them he was an awesome, terrible figure who struck fear and terror into them. He was a sorcerer of inconceivable power and mystery, someone who, for them the mere mention of his name brought about the quintessence of fear. For me, he was not like that at all. I loved Silvio Manuel. To me, he was like a rich uncle who doted on his niece with tremendous affection. I shared a special affinity with and had immense affection for Silvio Manuel. He was someone I grew to adore. Nobody could dance like Silvio Manuel. Nobody." Florinda spoke as if she were truly and utterly enamored of the man. "He used to entertain don Juan and his cohorts, and of course us, to no end with his incredible ability to move and to dance. These songs that we have played here for you were the songs that Silvio Manuel himself used to play over and over again. They were particular favorites of his. The reason we play them over and over for you is that we want you to have a taste of what it was like to have been around him. This is a taste of the mood of Silvio Manuel. This is the music he would fill the air with for entire afternoons, and there would be dancing and much laughter. We want to steep you in the mood of Silvio Manuel. "The useless hope is something that a warrior feels in his heart. He dances his movements of impeccability in the presence of infinity and his dance is his expression to the infinite, his display of his impeccability. His dance is a show of his gratitude to the infinite for his having had the opportunity to live. He dances his dance with all the flair and passion and precision that he can muster. He knows his dance is a dance of useless hope . . . but he has no other way, no other course for his expression. So he dances his expression to the infinite. He knows that he is up against inconceivable odds and realizes that he may never be able to find his freedom. So he dances before infinity to this useless hope." At this point, Florinda introduced the only person she had ever met in her lifetime who captured the power, flair and passion with which Silvio Manuel had once danced. She said, "Ladies and gentleman, it is my tremendous pleasure to introduce to you, Maricio Caballero. The quintessential ballroom dancer. Beware, he is a terrible womanizer and he is extremely seductive." At this point, one of the Energy Trackers emerged from the side of the room. But wait, it wasn't one of the Trackers, it was indeed Maricio Caballero. He was sporting greased back, jet-black hair and a leisure suit. Carrying his sport coat over his shoulder, he swaggered in with a handful of long-stemmed cornflowers, throwing them and kisses to all the ladies. He was the epitome of machismo and male seductiveness. At the same time he was imbued with an utter sense of confidence and skill. As the music began, the audience was given a taste of something that defies description, something that stirred the very depths of the heart and displayed the essence of the Warrior's Way. A dance of incalculable power and beauty followed, one that took the audience completely by surprise and utterly by storm. The movements were ones we had been learning, yet suddenly they were displayed before us with all the spirit and flair and infinite heart that you could ever imagine being in the path of don Juan's lineage of sorcerers. A great number of the participants were moved to tears, others to laughter, some to dismay. One of the high points of the workshop came when, as the song 'Useless Hope' played, all the participants were invited to join in the dance and share in the mood of Silvio Manuel and Juan Tuma. Taisha, Florinda and Carol jumped to their feet and joined in the dance as Maricio Caballero took a woman at random from the audience and began to show her how to Lambada. Then, in an instant, every participant was on their feet and moving freely around the room, dancing the passes with the sorcerers as the music of 'Useless Hope' played on. When the music stopped, attendees filed out of the LA Convention Center into a bright, warm southern California afternoon for a long lunch break. At 4pm, when they returned, everything had changed. The entrance had shifted to the left, to another area of the hall. Walking in now through security was more like entering a theater. Chairs and a larger, higher stage had been set up. Adjacent to the stage was a room-like area enclosed with thin black, semi-see-through material. Two rooms had been unfolded with moveable conference center walls on either side of the entrance. The black enclosed space by the stage adjoined one of these rooms. When attendees had settled into their chairs, Carol walked up steps to the stage from the black enclosed space. She was now Prunella Fitz-Moritz. Dressed in black and wearing a black wig with a reddish outer sheen to it, she told the audience that the Theater of Infinity was not about 'acting' but about veritable change. What participants were about to see this afternoon and this evening were the result of actual transformations. She was no longer Carol, but Prunella (which was the name of some mountain fungus or other). Prunella Fitz-Moritz was a wild but very precisely spoken lady, and she would be one of the Emcees for the afternoon and evening's events. What took place that afternoon was just a glimpse of what was to come in the evening after the dinner break -- a magnificent series of performances, dances and passes by the Energy Trackers, Elements and Carol. We are not going to even attempt to describe these events. Suffice it to say that it was with The Theater of Infinity that the workshop was brought to a close. What follows is a reprint of the evening's program. Thank you, and good night . . . THE THEATER OF INFINITY August 27, 1997 1. Alien Invocation, or Ode to Air     with the three Energy Trackers of the Light of the Stars 2. The Girl is Mine      with She-La, the two Brothers Gibraltar and Sudan Johnson,     and Jack Abilene, the Cowboy from Texas 3. The Burden of Decision-Making     with Trini and Kiki 4. Farleys' Day     with Bob Farley and Robert Farley, Senior 5. Nosferatu, Mon Amour     with Lunitica Nosferatu and Morbidita Nosferatu 6. The Hunter and the Hunted     with Manny, Mo, and Bobby 7. The Marionettes     with Death from Above and Death from Below 8. Love Among Insects     with Two Entomologists, E1 and E2 9. A Lesson for the Unenlightened Ones     with Damian Choo, the Master and Johnny Lee, the Chela 10. Space Pyrates       with don Pedro Sadista, Pieter van der Queer, Sebastian St. Savage 11. The Orchard       with The Draggers, and Those Who are Dragged 12. The Cogitations of Dr. Gerhard Blumenfinkle 13. The Arab Dancer, Yamida Fazin The Emcees of Infinity:   Prunella Fitz-Moritz; Cleopatra; Seymour; Lorenzo Drake, directly from the Palladium of London, on his way to Budapest; Sebastian St. Savage. [ 1997 Index | Previous | Next ]

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