Customer Reviews

Tensegrity Series 1, 2, & 3

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DVD is a compilation of three previously released VHS tapes of awareness shifting exercises, or movements (think Tai Chi, or martial arts). There is a wide range of material here, from the mundane to the bizarre. To constructively sort through the different movements, you wil need the perspective of previous experience in awareness and energy work. ( I would suggest Castaneda's" Magical Passes" DVD, and Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" book as a sufficient introduction).

Some of these movements can have very powerful effects, so ease your way into them. Be careful not to get caught up in the jargon or appearances. Apply yourself to correct execution of the movements. You should carefully monitor your inner space and thought patterns for several days after doing any of the movements.

I have found only four or five of the twenty five or so movements to be useful to me at this time. They are so effective that they have easily justified the purchase price. Well being is priceless. This is truly a unique resource.

For readers of Carlos Castaneda and the philosophy of don Juan, this DVD offers a practical and entheogen-free way to unlock alternative realms of perception. While esoteric to some, the philosophy of don Juan is a great way to relieve the tension and stress that defines the modern lifestyle. Similar to traditional Chinese movements that deal with the energy body, such as Tai Chi, Tensegrity is a movement form that will awaken one's senses and heighten one's awareness, oftentimes leaving one feeling mildly euphoric and calm. The goal of these movements is to aid the practitioner in silencing the inner monologue, move energy from the periphery to the center of the energy body, and create an overall sense of well-being. The DVD itself contains some informative material, however brief, that explains the origins of the movements and the purpose of them to the ancient Shamans of mexico. For those that haven't read Carlos Castaneda, the movements and philosophy may come across as somewhat odd, and as I previously mentioned, esoteric. But, for those that have already been exposed to the philosophy and find themselves aligning with it's teachings, this video is a valuable resource and a fantastic set of movements that will provide the practitioner with results after the very first practice. From a physical standpoint, I would say these movements are great for people of all ages, as they are no-impact, and simply require concentration, controlled breathing, and the tensing and relaxation of specific muscle groups. If one hasn't been exposed to the books, I recommend reading the first three before practicing the movements, in order to give oneself the proper perspective and framework of mind with which to learn Tensigrity. These books are,

The Teachings of don Juan, a Yaqui Way of Knowledge
A Separate Reality, Further Conversations with don Juan
Journey to Ixtlan, the Lessons of don Juan

*Note - while the first two books deal with the use of psychoactive entheogens as the primary pathway to knowledge, off-putting to some, Castaneda retracts these directives in the 3rd book and instead promotes the value of the 'tensegrity' movements. This is because the entheogens are simply a means-to-an-end of heightened-awareness, which is to say they can 'force' a person to experience alternative forms of perception that their rational mind would typically resist, but through abuse could ultimately alter one's personal and physical life beyond repair. Therefor, while they could be used to prove to oneself that alternate realities exist, they should be treated with reverence and respect as an aid in learning. Ultimately, through the movements of Tensegrity, the same awareness and knowledge attained through the plants, should be available to the advanced practitioner.

I was introduced to these sacred passes by the Huichol master teachers in Mexico. The instructions and demonstrations in the DVD are excellent. The passes provide energetic adjustments that remove rigidity held within the mind, body, and spirit. Removing these blocks promotes heightened awareness in meditation, healing, and spiritual quests.

I've had this dvd for 3 weeks and I have been practicing some of the positions everyday. The poses worked instantly and effectively. I reccommend this to anyone who needs to strengthen themselves on all levels.

Peace.

I reviewed quite a few of CC's books elsewhere, so I don't think there s a need to go into what that stuff is about...

The DVD presenting the Westwood series is a powerful media of knowledge transmission. The presentation is awesome. Performed by Kylie Lyndhal and two younger accomplices, one gets to see the passes from different angles and with the precise and clear narrative about what these movements are for. Needless to say, it helps to except a few premises of the Nagual Don Juan's system/non-system of knowledge. The world is energy, or eagle's emanations that we percieve through the luminous organ called the assemblage point. No new energy is being created, but it IS possible to access and redistribute the energy that we already have - and that is one way of looking at the basic philosophy of Tensegrity.

The movements are powerful and create quite a stir!(get it? stir?)
p.s. I know that there is a tendency to compare Tensegrity to Taijiquan - this is definitely not Tai Ji though.

If the way of knowledge is your path, this will certainly help you get there! It's a great companion to 'Magical Passes'. It is what it claims to be.

Very good DVD if your into Carlos. This DVD walks you through step by step . You will love it if you are into meditative movements like magical passes.

The movements are effective (see review of Magical Passes). I would definitly recommend this to someone looking for that "something else" , that feeling of "something's missing". Especially if you've read , and re-read the Carlos Castaneda books and want more. Possibly a feeling of well being is a good place to start.

IF feral/alien is the evolutionary direction you are interested in becoming. . .

They describe, in the third title, how the matter-realm rendition of what the Toltec seers were doing,
with the Magical Passes they discovered,
is . . changing one's energy-form to a form more /arthropod/ in nature.

Which means, of course, changing one's energy-nature to being more like
crustaceans/insects/arachnids/tardigrades. . .

Which explains why the energy-change feels so profoundly feral/strange/alien. . .

In this Tensegrity recording is the claim that the Toltec seers "invented" these magical-passes, but
Carlos was /quite/ specific in stating that they were /discovered/ Magical-Passes, not invented.

The seers simply discovered that when they
moved in a particular energy-shape-change,
that they felt alive-er, or
their energy was manipulated in particular ( beneficial/healing/capability-increasing ) ways. . .

. . . and set-about systematically gaining all these magical-passes, and practicing 'em,
to undo the energy-form harm done by /matter/-centred living
( like walking, for instance,
which clumps one's energy beneath one's feet like taffy/mud ).

IF you do the human-healing mode of Yoga ( particularly the foundation of mind-yoga, the R-Mind shift that Betty Edwards'

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

gives, and /in that mode/ do the body-yoga of Beryl Bender Birch's

Power Yoga (book)
Power Yoga: The Practice (DVD)

), you'll then have a profoundly and vastly healing foundation for your soul's remaining entire eternity.

IF you mix that profound human foundation with this semi-alien one,
you can get progress much quicker,
though the ride might be in a direction you don't want to deal-with,
or maybe you do want it. . .
-shrug-

Doing these alien trainings /without/ mind-yoga and form-yoga
I consider to be insane, but some want that path. . .

4-stars because *IF* you do the yoga
it gives you leverage & quick progress, but
not-5 because of its alienness in nature.

( the Toltec tradition was utterly certain in assuming that
Enlightenment cannot occur,
so their "Answer" seems slightly off-base in some deep ways . .
/effective/ in getting results,
but the results may be surprising,
if you see what the consequences of their assumption are. . . )

PS: if you've cancer, do all three.
1st R-Mind to get shifted into right-brain Totality mind, then
2nd Yoga *IN* R-Mind mode ( hugely powerful ), and then
3rd this, too, in that order, every session.
( 2 or 3 short sessions / day is better than one huge one )

( I say that because Mom stuck with pills,
until it was too late to counter. )

This practice is quite potent, but
hold to your heart's balance in doing it, or the costs. . .

-me

PS: Linux users. . .
the mplayer commandline
mplayer -cache 8192 dvd://2
will give you "movie" 2 on the DVD, and
mplayer -zoom -xy 2 -cache 8192 dvd://2 -chapter 3
will double-size the display ( the -zoom & -xy 2 ),
and jump you directly to one of the lessons/movements in that particular "movie".
there are 3 "movies" on the disc, and the first is the basic-basics for healing.

OpenSUSE 10.0 *cannot* be rigged to play this disc ( no matter what you replace or upgrade, no matter what country you live-in ),
SUSE 9.3, with removing the crippled xine libs ( and xine-ui and kaffeine etc ) & installing the good xine, and/or installing mplayer, may well get you there.

I paid for this disc, it's legal for me to view it where I am
( which is in Canada ),
and I don't have a TV ( nor am I getting one of the loathesome things ),
so that's the solution.
Search for Plainfaqs and SUSE to get the step-by-step
for viewing this disc, if you need to.