Would like more info on recapitulating.

I would definitely like support in the practice of the recapitulation! There are many unanswered questions about the practice including the ones you mentioned [in the advertisement for the newsletter]. ... Personal experience with the recapitulation has imbedded a longing to investigate the depth of it. Already I feel gratitude for the clarity and lightness I feel which is directly proportionate to the recapitulation.

Source: Riverside, CA

Editor: The best support we can provide is to point you to the books with the info. The Eagle's Gift, by Carlos Castaneda has some very detailed instructions in the chapter entitled "Florinda". You may notice that the author of the article last month took his instructions from that book. The Sorcerers' Crossing has a lot about it and The Art of Dreaming has a little. The phone interview related by a reader last month had a wealth of good information. Beyond that, the newsletter can't say much. Practicing it is the best way to learn.

My personal interpretation of everything I've seen so far is that the exact details are not that crucial. Pick the instructions you like best and be sure to make a written list.

An interesting note is that the author of last month's article on recapitulating chose not to change his breathing technique even though Taisha implied he might be better off to do the breathless sweeping breath more often. It was working well for him and he said he enjoyed the additional oxygen. He said he'll do another in a tree when he's done and increase the sweeping breaths. It all boils down to this: you are the captain of your own ship.

Not a visual kind of guy.

I don't think of myself as a visually oriented person. In NLP jargon I'd be classified as auditorally centered. However, recapitulation is more than just imageless thoughts. A certain amount of interior images are involved, the quality of which varies. Why we can clearly visualize certain events and can't even remember others is unclear, it's probably something to do with emotional intensity.

Source: Otisville, NY

Unsolicited advice.

... Mostly I think about scenes being recapitulated, but at times I actually visualize and experience some of the past feelings and sensations. I have not yet learned to shut off my internal dialogue.

Source: Little Rock, AR

Editor: It's certainly not my place to give advice, so don't consider this as such. Think of it as one teenager telling another about a new drug high.

It's worth the effort to get concentrated practice shutting off the internal dialog. Recapitulating builds energy, stalking helps us keep it and find more, dreaming expands our horizons, but shutting off the internal dialog triggers things. Without it, it's like having a bank account without a teller card. Besides, it's easy to learn, just do it all day long. It doesn't interfere with other activities very much.

Electric shocks.

...I have had dreams of cells. Or what appeared as cellular activity. Also, I'd like to hear if any readers have experienced electric shocks thru the body and buzzing in the ears during recapitulation. An out-of-body experience usually follows these effects for me. I know I'm rambling a bit here, but it's hard to express in words what comes to me in symbols during dreaming and recapitulation. I have a feeling that all outer events are the "tip of the iceberg" of inner events. Maybe your readers can provide some insight on similar experiences...

Source: Represa, CA

Editor: There have been mentions of electric shocks during dreaming, but so far not during recapitulating.

Has a crate.

...I have been into the teachings since 1971 when I began reading the books - awaiting patiently or not so patiently, for each new transmission. I have been guided to reread all of the books - as well as the women's books - and it has turned up the volume tenfold - I have a crate to recapitulate in - I have the beginnings of the list & also, I have spent some time working at the recapitulating of all past lovers. This has been a difficult task, and I feel in many ways, that I have just taken the first run at the process. I would Love to hear from others in the same vein. And I too have questions... Have any of you found other people who fit the rule in any way - or who want to live in the configuration of a warrior's party of sorcerers?

What are your dreaming experiences? And have you ever seen humans as luminous eggs?...

Source: Seattle, WA

Editor: Some of your questions are easy to answer: I believe that everyone reading this newsletter (for the most part) would like to be a part of a real Nagual's party. A few readers say they already are. This month there is a Marilyn Tunnestende claiming to have taken over Pablito's party after Carlos left. There are lots of dreaming experiences detailed in each newsletter (my personal favorites). Seeing energy takes a lot of energy when you have no Nagual to borrow it from. Readers sometimes accidentally see things like this, but no one claims to be sure. I think that about a year or two from now we'll have lots of reports of this. I hope you are the very first. Keep writing in!

Pieces in living color.

... As for how clearly I can see the scenes in recapitulation: Internal visualization is strong for me, and after about five or so minutes of breathing and focusing the mind, I can recreate the scene in most recap topics within a few seconds. In some, the actual scene is more or less indistinct, but the person or persons concerned are clear, sharp and bright. In others, I find that it is an insignificant piece of the background scenery (a picture on the wall, for example) that is sharp and well defined, but it is the voices and sounds that are more heavily loaded with energy, and as I breathe, the sounds begin to fade as the visual imagery begins to fill in with more detail...

Source: Wilbraham, MA

The voice of effort.

... I feel that recapitulating for short lengths of time is not effective. One must lose oneself in the memories of those involved, and an emotional response is necessary to initiate any true insights. Twenty minutes is in most cases only a reverie, and not as forceful as a longer period of time. However I must add that this may vary with the individual.

... There must be a deep emotional response in order to cleanse the inner self of the effects that have clung to us as a result of our interaction with others. This cleansing for whatever length of time, must have as a by product a deep emotional release...

Source: VA. Beach, VA

Sleepless dreaming.

...Another benefit of longer [recapitulating] times is the tendency to enter into the second attention. I'm not talking about seeing the scene, it's something else. I'd describe it as "sleepless dreaming". I don't know if it's something all recapitulaters experience. It's very strange, I liken it to the descriptions of the third attention in the Eagle's Gift. The dreaming is bathed in something that is both light and wind, and is vaguely conscious. The dream is for viewing, not something one steps into. Most of the dream is incomprehensible on returning to normal. For me, it seems to come only during the longer sessions. I can't imagine what Taisha must have experienced by recapitulating for six hours a day!

Source: Withheld by request

Editor: "Sleepless dreaming" sounds like "dreaming awake".

The women of Carlos' party have spoken about the male tendency to cone towards knowledge versus the female ability to take it in directly, as into a funnel. Being male, I keep picturing a dunce cap on my head.

This view seems to be supported by the letter submissions. Most of the men are fanatics and are proud of the fact that they have read each of the books many times. Some are interested in the first three books and view this as a search for "power". Others, having analyzed all of the books, are trying to keep an "open mind". Most of the men can rattle off, from memory, the details of each book. Given an event, they can probably state the book in which it occurred and in some cases even the general page number. It kind of makes one think we should add the stories from the books to our recapitulation list. Despite having invested a great deal of their time, most men admit to serious doubts.

The women on the other hand, have rarely mentioned reading all of the books. Many indicate they were bored reading Carlos' books and imply they were unable to finish them. They all rave about the female members' books. They are unlikely (so far) to respond a second time with input to the newsletter. They have fewer doubts, but they wonder if it's worth their time. 

Nagualist Newsletter and Open Forum / Issue 2 Aug. /Sept. 1994