The Syntax of Sorcery
 PART ONE: The New Syntax

As a result of some ongoing discussion on another forum, I'd like to talk a bit about what I have come to call "the super-position of the assemblage point." A few of you whom I've spoken to privately about this seem to "get it" without too much difficulty, but it has been brought to my attention that others see it as "just words, meaning nothing." Perhaps true - as these are my words and so they are meaningful to me even if incomprehensible to anyone else. So it goes.

Before getting to the discussion itself, I would also like to comment just briefly on the notion of bringing new syntax and new terminology to "old concepts". Again, this arises from a discussion on another forum, yet I feel it has relevance to anyone who is on this path not just to "follow" the works of someone else, but to actively create one's owsn path toward freedom.

Over the years, I have found that the works of Carlos Castaneda have provided something of a background to my own work, but I must say that I do not really "follow" Castaneda to the letter. What worked for CC worked for CC. That was his path. This is mine. And as my own double, Orlando, pointed out to me about a year ago, there comes a time when even the most enlightening and uplifting material can become "stale" if we don't bring new life to it through our own individual efforts. We start to hear only the words and may forget the actual energy the words are attempting to describe. For example, I've heard the term "recapitulation" so many times, it runs the risk of becoming just a series of grunts and clicks. Ditto for "dreaming body" or "higher self" or "stalking" or "the double". After awhile, particularly after many years on a path, some sense of "renewal" is required, or we run the risk of falling into the trap of hearing the words alone.

When I was working toward become a professional writer, one thing that was oft-repeated was simply this: "Find your own voice." While you might be influenced by Ray Bradbury or Stephen King or Anne Rice, attempting to emulate those writers will only result in a cheap imitation. And though this may invoke the ire of some, I have come to the conclusion after many years on this path, that attempting to recreate the journey of Castaneda (or Buddha or Christ or anyone else) will only result in the same cheap imitation. We can learn from their journey, but attempting to duplicate it would be like trying to step in the same river twice. Simply not possible.

Sorry - no offense intended to anyone - but the real joy of the journey is that it is personal and it is unique to each of us. And at some point along the way, it becomes our responsibility (yes, our responsibility!) to take the instruction manual beyond where we found it, make it unique unto ourselves as individuals. It is then that we begin to expand and create our own "voice" - not to change the original song, but to enhance it and make it our personal muse, in the same way a maestro might play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but with new inflection, fresh energy, and - hopefully - inspired passion. Any competent student can play Beethoven. And, yes, much may be learned from doing so. But at some point - if we have learned what is most important of all from our instruction manuals - we become a new musician with our own special voice, and our own unique song.

So, with that said, I think it stands to reason that, as my own journey has progressed, I have actively sought new ways of looking at old material. CC's words still inspire me, but can be limiting of taken at face value alone. As our understanding of our world has increased over the last 40 years, so has our use of language. At the time CC was writing his most important works, quantum physics was in its infancy. CC couldn't talk about "the superposition of the assemblage point" because the language itself didn't exist at that time - or, if it did, it existed in such a tiny group of scientists that it was not readily available for a layman to research. There was no internet back then - no Google! - and so CC wrote in the language of his time, and did a phenomenal job of putting together a new synatx which many of us still use to this day.

However... my feeling here is that as new language becomes available to describe some of these things CC spoke about, we would be negligent not to consider that maybe - just maybe! - science is finally catching up to what shamanism has always known & seen, and by looking at things with a quantum eye as well as a shamanic eye, we might just run the high risk of empowering ourselves through a deeper understanding of our own "magical" nature.

So, when I use terms like "the superposition of the assemblage point" or "a singularity of consciousness" or "bilocation of awareness as a quantum duality", it is because this is how I have personally come to *see* some of the things CC was talking about. The new syntax isn't really for anyone other than myself - my own voice. If it gives someone else some expanded understanding of something, so much the better. If not, then the old syntax works just fine, I suppose, but for me, as I said without any intent to offend anyone, it can grow stale if we hear it so often that it becomes background noise.

As a result of my website, Quantum Shaman, I receive a lot of emails asking how one might gain a deeper understanding of "how these things work". How do these things really work? A common question.

At the time those words were written, perhaps it was true to say "No one knows how it happens." But as our understanding of energy has increased, so has our potential to truly understand the nature of the double. And is it not through a better understanding that we might begin to be better able to use the tools with which we (literally) create our own reality? In other words, through a quantum comprehension of the nature of energy, we empower ourselves to Intend a movement of energy in a quantum universe - a movement of energy which could only be seen as "magic" at a time before the language existed with which to further our own personal comprehension. We empower ourselves through information, and transform that information into Knowledge through the path of experience.

There are a couple of very good books written in layman's terms, which I have found extremely helpful in developing a better understanding of our quantum universe. THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS (Gary Zukav) is perhaps the most easily understandable of the two books. The second book which I would highly recommend is THE TAO OF PHYSICS. Either of these will provide a delightful foundational background which doesn't destroy the world of shamanism & mysticism, but actually enhances it and validates it in ways that are, ultimately, amazing.

My advice to anyone on this path, though, is the same advice that was given to me many times over the years. Find your own voice. Find your own unique frequency of understanding. When you do, you may write your own language and wander well off the map, but isn't that where the journey really begins? 

PART TWO: A Quantum Look at Sorcery

What I'm going to do here is basically toss out some of the terms I have come to use over the years, and provide a brief explanation of what it means to me. There is also a fairly decent GLOSSARY on my website, if anyone wants to explore this further. None of this is carved in stone, of course. It's just an expression of my own voice, my personal attempt to take the instruction manuals beyond where I found them.

Let's start with a premise...

"All things exist within the realm of possibility, but only some things will be forced to go through the motions of actually occurring." (Quantum theory)

That being the case, we must ask ourselves, what is the force which causes something to go through the motion of actually occurring? Many times, that force is us - whether we call it intent or will or magic.

Everything begins with a thought.

SINGULARITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS – The self made Whole, the evolution of consciousness which results in a cohesive field of awareness existing ubiquitously and non-locally, infinitely and eternally. The cohesive, fully integrated I-Am consisting of all components of the mortal self and the eternal double, brought together under a single assemblage point.

Ultimately, the singularity exists within the realm of possibility for every human being. However, from a Toltec perspective, it is generally accepted that not every human being will choose a path which would lead to the formation of a singularity of consciousness. It is stated in terms such as to say one who is not cohesively aware will be consumed by the eagle. In other words, the elements of one's consciousness would simply be rendered back into their natural state - energy-in-waiting. From a quantum perspective, it is known that energy fields may become cohesive through a variety of means. It is also seen (both quantumly and shamanically) that consciousness is an energetic field.

From that perspective, it is also possible to *see* (to use Toltec terminology) that for those who do choose a path toward freedom, the goal (term loosely applied) would be to take one's awareness with them when departing this earthly plane. To do so, in essence, would invoke what the Toltecs refer to as "inhabiting the totality of oneself". And yet, I've been asked so many times, "What does that mean? What does it mean to inhabit the totality of oneself?" Simply put - it is to become the singularity of consciousness... the intersect point where the experiences of the mortal self and the experiences of the double combine totally - an assemblage point where one would have full access to the All of one's combined awareness.

In cases of Dreaming, OBE (out of body experience) and NDE (near-death experience), just to name a few, it has been observed that the mortal human self is capable of projecting an "energy body" beyond the confines of the physical form. In the world of the shaman and the sorcerer, this dreaming body or energy body may be consciously cultivated (we create the double through dreaming, to use Toltec terminology), so that it has what amounts to energetic autonomy. If viewed from a perspective entirely ubiquitous, however, it would be seen that the double is not "autonomous" at all - the double is the self, but it is our definition of "self" that bears some consideration. Through our ability to project the double beyond our physical form (and beyond our mental comprehension), we become "greater than the sum of our parts", at least from a humanform perspective.

The purpose of this is to utilize our quantum ability to essentially project our awareness into otherworlds and othertimes (or other dimensions, if one prefers that term). Some of these otherworlds may be experienced as what we (mistakenly) refer to as "past lives" - but in a quantum universe might be seen as movements of our energetic awareness in other realms.

These other states of being are not isolated from us, as we have been taught to believe. Instead, as the warrior/sorcerer develops the ability to access her own personal gnosis (silent knowing), s/he begins to be able to draw upon the vast experience of the double even while in mortal form (the double begins dreaming you). Put simply, we are beings with a dual nature - the mortal self and the immortal/eternal "other". And, in my opinion, based on many years on this path, it appears to me that this is simply our nature as human beings. It may even be the manner in which we evolve, grow and develop - much like a chick inside an egg or a caterpillar in the process of metamorphosis. I have said at times that "life" is the egg in which we gestate. If that is the case, then the singularity of consciousness is the fully-developed being which emerges when the egg itself "hatches".

From a Toltec perspective, it could be said that we "slip past the eagle to be free". From a quantum perspective, it may be viewed as "becoming a singularity of conscoiusness." Same thing...

SUPER-POSITION OF THE ASSEMBLAGE POINT Here is where it would help to have a small amount of background understanding of the quantum universe. You can find a somewhat comprehensible explanation on WikiPedia with regard to "Superposition Principle" although a simpler way of looking at it is to realize that "all things exist as probability until they are called forth into manifestation."

Also, a more admittedly fanciful exploration of "the superposition of the assemblage point" may be found on this forum in the thread: Questions for Orlando, Assemblage Point Question

To me, understanding the superposition of the assemblage point was the key to my own journey in so many ways, because it enabled me to finally realize that we are truly infinite beings, and we don't need to wait until we die to experience our infinite selves. It's right here, right now, all around us. It is the double who is the self, who is a duality by nature.

In essence, the superposition of the assemblage point may also be seen as "the realm of all possibility." From our humanform awareness, we perceive (mistakenly) that we are finite beings with a limited scope of awareness. Yet, from the assemblage point of the double, we have an entire universe open to us for our exploration. Orlando has said he has worn a thousand faces, lived a thousand lives, died a thousand deaths. This is not some progression through linear time, but instead a movement of the awareness of the double in the now. And through gnosis, the mortal self may gain insights, information and even direct knowledge. This is what is meant when it is said that "the double is dreaming you." The (so-called) "past lives" or "parallel lives" we experience are not some accidental bumbling of a spirit through time and space, but instead the cohesive and instructional lessons we set for ourselves through the course of our day to day living.

For example, if you are currently having issues with a petty tyrant, chances are that your double is off in a parallel Now living an entire "lifetime" devoted to the idea of learning to deal with petty tyrants. The mortal self, of course, has a limited time on earth - for we are beings who are going to die - but the sorcerer's double is neither mortal nor limited, and so we have at our fingertips an entire multiverse of possibility. The trick, of course, is learning how to open ourselves to it in spirit, even if we never gain direct access to those "memories" (though even that is possible, through gnosis).

What does this have to do with the superposition of the assemblage point? Simply this: Once the sorcerer has dreamed his/her double, the double becomes essentially ubituitous - existing simultaneously everywhere and nowhere - no longer a prisoner of time and space. And it is at that point that it may be said the double has become "the superposition of the assemblage point" - i.e., a non-local points of awareness which can manifest wherever it is needed in order to further the knowledge/education of the mortal self (i.e., "the double is dreaming you", to use Toltec terminology).

Perhaps this is irrelevant to most warriors. I've heard many say, "I just let it happen." That's certainly grand if it works for you! More power to you! Carry on and continue! Throw these words over your shoulder and rejoice. And yet, there are some of us with a stalker's bent, who find it extremely helpful to be able to comprehend the machinations of sorcery through a somewhat more "rational" approach. That is why I have found it helpful to "find my own voice" in this journey, for in doing so, I no longer have to accept on "faith" that "the double is dreaming you." Seeing HOW it works in the world of energy makes it possible, in my opinion, to more fully understand the workings of Intent and Will - both of which are quantifiable forces of energy, stemming from the realization that "All things begin with a thought."

Clearly, this is a work in progress for me, and for all of us, I suspect. Don't follow me, because I may not be going where you want to go. Find your own voice, walk your own path, and always be willing to take the instruction manuals beyond where they left off. The whole purpose of this path for me is an evolution of consciousness - and that is naturally going to include an expansion of awareness to include the lessons we learn along the way. If we followed the Bible to the letter, we'd all be burning witches and running around the desert with long beards, wearing togas. If we followed Castaneda to the letter, we'd all be swinging from trees and sewing the eyes of lizards shut.

These things are all fine and good if they work for you. But I hear from folks all the time who tell me, "I've done everything in the CC books, and I still feel like something's missing." What's missing is often the ingredient of personal spice, personal passion, one's own unique and altogether powerful muse. What's missing may be the You in unique!

Find your own voice and let it sing. And remember: there really is no path at all. The path is always ahead of us and in the power of our own creation. That is where the singularity of freedom is found.

*****

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