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Stories of Power Tools and Tips

What Carlos Castaneda Taught Me About Time

Time it is like a thought, or a wish.

Time is measured by the intensity of the moment you are living.

Time suspends when experiencing inner silence.

Time is a form of attention.

Time is not measured by the clock.

Time bends when you pay attention.

It is 5 to 12, I am running out of Time!

I am living in no Time. I am facing the oncoming Time.

These are some of the phrases I heard Carlos Castaneda expressed from the moment I met him. He expressed his concerns about time; he re-defined his relationship with time, and hechallenged the idea of time, daily.

Castaneda was on time for each appointment; he didn’t like other people waiting for him. And he was not expecting anyone. Time, how to handle it, how to stretch it, how to experience non-linear time was an intrinsic part of my training with it.

In a calm and sober way, he spoke about his own death as if it were something imminent that would happen in a matter of days or minutes. And yet he acted as if he had all the time in the world.

He was never in a rush or hurry, relaxed at ease, enjoying his meals, there was no hurry in his mood, even when under the pressure of his books presentations or the pressure of delivering a talk in a conference to hundreds of people. He took his time to walk to the stage to deliver his thoughts, with his hands on his pockets and an open expression of ease and cool. He took his time to feel the audience laughter at his jokes and remarks, to answer questions, to engage eye to eye as if truly connecting with people.

Every day of my training with him was filled with the intensity of learning to stop unconscious habits and new ways of behaving, of being. My days felt long, as if stretched out by the intention to arrive to “enlightment” as soon as I could, before he died.

In the early mornings I went to school to learn English, then I worked at his company, then I engaged in physical training at his studio for another 3 or 4 hours, for the rest of the evening. But my routines were not regulated by time, or my time was not regulated by routines, or by the handles of my watch, as it was while living in Argentina. During my apprenticeship I had no routines, since Castaneda would change schedules often and I learned to flow with the daily events, as if facing the oncoming time.

Because I was in a new country, learning a new language, eating unfamiliar foods, and living with people I barely knew, I felt as if suspended in time.

I gave myself permission to ‘disappear’ for a while from the ‘real world,’ like some writers do to write a novel, or some people do after retiring to grow spiritually, and I relinquished my time to follow a different time.

I experienced suspension of time during the long hours of practicing sequences of movements, like martial arts, and long hours of sitting in silence. After overcoming my initial resistance, both physically with my muscles trembling and being out of breath, and mentally with self-defeating thoughts “I can’t do this’, ‘this is way too long,’ ‘I want to go home, sleep, eat tacos, etc”, I experienced states of extasis.

A rush of well being and vitality would flow through my body renewing the joy of my joints moving in unison, the happiness of my lungs fully expanding, the fresh blood oxygenated running through all the blood vessels and cells in my body, removing waste, detoxifying, revitalizing my right to belong here, in this planet at this time.

After long periods of exercises practiced in slow motion, I could experience the tasteful sweetness of calm, and the assurance that I was loved.

Later I started to experience those states when pruning the tress and working in the garden. Or when having lunch with friends, or even at the movies. Or when awakening into the morning, aware of the uniqueness of the day, gratefully aware, sitting at the edge of my bed, closed eyes, taking in the first inhalations of the day, feeling my heart beating, my skin soft and warm, some birds singing at the distance, the honk of the neighbors car, the newspaper throw of the street, the smell of toast, the children laughter passing by on the way to school, the splash of water my husband in the shower, my son at the piano playing Ode to Joy.

The experience of awaken vitality keeps flowing through me as if my teacher had create a vortex through which all experiences are one and Time is just a small part of the constant flow of life that keeps happening in and out of me.

CARLOS CASTANEDA’S NEW YEAR’S RITUAL

Here is the ceremony that our teacher Carlos Castaneda taught us:

It starts during the last days of December, and finishes after the clock strikes midnight on January 1st. Castaneda would tell us that, at midnight, the light of Spirit or the Universe comes and “watches us”—a force descends upon us, forged by the combined intent of the planet over millennia, and this is a very powerful moment to be present and aware—to feel and become acquainted with.

We have been practicing this ritual without failure for the last 23 years and it has brought us, and countless practitioners around the world, a sense of direction, purpose and inspiration to unfold our goals and intentions for the New Year, as well as a sense of connection with the cycles of nature and the entire planet.

We hope that the benefits ripple out through your life, your relationships, your community and the world.

The steps are these:

  • Clear out the old before the New YearRenew from the inside out. From December 28 onwards, and even throughout the day of December 31, clear up space in your home. Remove clutter, donate clothing that you aren’t using anymore, clean out and organize cabinets and drawers, and vacuum your floors; water your plants—all with a feeling of openness and readiness. The aim is to clean your home, physically and also energetically, to clean your psyche from negative thoughts and feelings accumulated during the year so that you can be receptive for the New to come in.
    • Throw things away that are not needed any longer or that are not bringing you joy
    • Write down all negative thoughts in a piece of paper, writing in a flow and without reading back what you wrote. When you feel you have put all out, burn the piece of paper and wash you hands.
    • Practice affirmations out loud, of appreciations for your life, for you belongings, for your friends and family
  • On December 31, before midnight, attend to your desk or personal space. Organize your books and papers, and clear space so that you can comfortably sit to write a list of Intentions, affirmations, dreams and projects you want to manifest or co-create in 2019. Sit in Silence and call onto the light of Spirit, to clear your mind and body and to connect deeply with yourself.
  • Next, take a pen or pencil and piece of paper, and get ready to LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
    • Recapitulate the most salient experiences that happened in your life during the year, and appreciate what you learnt in 2018. What challenges did you experience? What was the outcome? What new friends did you make? What new things did you learn, for example, a new recipe, a new skill, a new language? And what would you like to learn in 2019? You may choose to divide your year in basic areas, such as family, work, health, relationships and personal development:
    • How was your health in 2018 and what would you like to intent for 2019?
    • What about your work? What experiences did you have? What new projects you have in mind for 2019?
    • And in your family and relationships? What new relationships have you established? What came to a close? What needs to be healed?
    • What about your legacy? Write a paragraph describing what you would like your legacy for 2019 to be.
    • And about the larger community of planet earth, what dreams for a better world would you like to intend?

Listen to your heart, and follow with your pen the wisdom of your heart.

  • Around 11:30 p.m. (it’s almost midnight!)Sit in silence with your hands in your heart and appreciate your life. You can put your attention on items from your 2019 Intentions—those things that you want to experience in the next year. Sit with it as long as you like, making sure by the time the clock strikes midnight it finds you engaged in some practical aspect of your intentions (researching something, preparing some initial plans, etc) and that you feel connected with them, with your personal life path, and with the Universe.

At midnight, during the first minutes of the New Year, let the wave of your dreams bathe over you with a sentiment of peace, love and gratitude.

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Community Tools and Tips

Forgive and Set Up Intentions while Welcoming the New Year

“Intent is what sends shamans through a wall, to space, to Infinity”~ Carlos Castaneda

Dear friend: A New Time has arrived. We are living in a new era of interconnection, worldwide, where information is shared instantly across the globe, where we must stand together to protect our planet, where we need new collective agreements of energy renewal and creative ways of getting along. We feel lucky to witness a new consciousness in a large number of people that are working for the betterment of all. A new Spiritual awakening is piercing through all beings, no longer in the hands of a few privileged teachers.

This new movement of daring is saying YES to nature, to women in power, to integration of cultures, to community, to shifting from fear and domination to Love. It is saying NO to the selfish in power that keeps trying to divide people. It is too late for the old ways of right and left extremes, for the pyramidal structures of power. Our time today is the time of shared, interdependent intent.

We are now aware that we are not our thoughts or feelings. We know now that we can question our thoughts and question what are we consuming. We can make choices for healthier eating and healthier being, something that was unavailable to the world at large before. We know that we feel better after practicing movements, after a yoga class, after gardening. We have in our hands a new description for ourselves, and the power to make decisions that can change our perception of ourselves completely.

So, ride on your power my friend, on your beauty and on vision. BE YOU and stop trying to be someone else. YOU is what the world needs now: vulnerable, honest and aware.

As you welcome the new light of the New Year, and follow the steps below, dance to the glory of your journey, with its ups and downs, and know without any doubts, that you have been loved, that you are loved right now, and that YOU ARE LOVE.

May your light radiate out to your friends, your families, your community, and to the whole world.

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Stories of Power Tools and Tips

What Carlos Castaneda taught me about FOOD

By the time I met Carlos Castaneda he was very disciplined with food. He emphasized that food had a direct impact in our emotions and our thought processing. It influenced our perceptual capabilities.

“Es muy simple señorita,” he used to tell me in Spanish, “si comes mal, te sientes mal y ves todo mal.” In other words, if you eat crap, you feel like crap, and perceive the world like crap.

I met Castaneda in 1995 in Los Angeles, at one of his events where he taught sequences of movements to revitalize the mind and body. I had read all of Castaneda’s books in Argentina in my young teen years. His bestseller books from the 70’s described the possibility of mysterious, unfathomable parallel worlds laying beneath the ordinary, repetitive and boring mundane world of everyday life. He described how he gained purpose in his life and found meaning even in daily affairs. He had found a new description for himself, and, he said, and it was available to all.

I was imbued with a longing for gaining, meaning and direction at the time. I wanted to learn to live like a warrior: effectively and with daring. I wanted to experience strength, confidence, and above all, to know that my life had meaning and purpose, that I mattered. Meeting him was like meeting a mystic, a legend like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, or the Pope.

At his event, he walked to the stage wearing dark jeans and a yellowish polo style shirt. He was short and, as I heard someone saying behind me, he was in his early 70’s. However, the fluidity and precision in his movements and the lack of wrinkles in his face made him look much younger. He stood up and looked around at the large group of more than 300 people.

“I would like to invite you all to suspend judgment he said with a large smile. “Don Juan Matus, my mentor, told me new ideas and concepts about the world that were hard for me to grasp, because they contradicted what I knew as a Western man. So I warn you, that the practices that you will experience in this class will challenge your perceptions and the ideas of who you are and of the world around you.”

‘For example”, he continued, “if you come from Argentina, and you had a capuchino this morning, it would be harder for you to remain calm and focused. Caffeine accelerates mental activity and digestion in your intestines. And you may need to run to the bathroom as I speak and miss the lecture,” he said mocking and gesturing as if holding the need to pee. Everyone laughed, including me.

A second later I realized he may be talking about me, even though there were a group of 25 Argentinians. I had had a capucchino in the morning, and a croissant, the typical traditional Argentinian breakfast. And I was holding from going to the bathroom! In the break before his lecture, there had been a large waiting line in the women’s restroom and I had opted for what was familiar for me, holding. Constipation was one of the issues I had as a child, since my basic diet consisted of meat and dairy, with low fiber and green intake. My diet made it challenging for me to digest and eliminate.

“Stimulants, including sugar and salt, weaken your energy systems and for that I urge you all to avoid them, while taking this class. Imperative for those of you suffering from hypoglycemia,” he added. And, again I felt he was talking to me. Low blood sugar was my default state that made my moods swing and my thoughts foggy. I was also used to living on a low-budget, so food was not something that important; if I ate once a day, that was enough.

Castaneda continued walking on the stage with his hands on his pockets as if he was dancing, with ease and largesse, making jokes and joining the laughter with all. For moments he embodied the joy and warmth of a child, and for moments he seemed detached and reflective.All in all, he made us feel like he was one of us, making remarks and jokes, even about himself.

“When I met Don Juan I was chubby and stubborn. I was an intellectual, I did not exercise and I smoked like a pipe. I was a true addict. Don Juan had to trick me to stop,” Castaneda continued. Uncomfortable, I changed the crossing of my legs and straightened my back. Sitting on the floor was hard for me. I was in my early twenties but my back hurt often. I was also a ‘social’ smoker” and I crunched thinking about quitting smoking, yet another thing on my list that I needed to change.

“One afternoon,” Castaneda continued, “Don Juan took me on a long walk to the desert. I needed to buy cigarettes and a new notebook and was walking toward my van with my keys in hand, when he announced he knew a short cut into town. I hesitated but then I agreed. After having a big lunch, it was a good idea to take a walk. As we walked, Don Juan was teaching me about the life in the desert and I didn’t realize that hours had passed until nighttime was upon us. Don Juan told me he was lost and that we needed to spend the night in the desert. We were lucky that he had brought in his backpack some dry meat, covers and water.

I was upset at myself for accepting his invitation, but I didn’t have any other choice. I had no idea where I was and besides, the information Don Juan was sharing with me was invaluable and I enjoyed his company immensely. I couldn’t sleep well that night neither the following nights. We spent the next two-days walking lost and by the fourth day I knew he had tricked me. We finally reached the road, and I realized we had been walking in circles. In town, I was so hungry that I forgot about the cigarettes. And I quit smoking,” he opened his arms to the sides in a triumphal smile.

“I used to carry the cigarette pack on my left pocket” he continued, “and Don Juan suggested to remove all pockets from my shirts to erase the habit of reaching for them. Still, once in a while” –he said bringing his right hand to the left side of his chest, — “I automatically reach for my pockets,” he said laughing with humbleness as admitting the things he couldn’t change.

“But of the things that we can change, are the “auto-pilot” interpretations we made about food,” he explained.

He further said that food was energy, and as such, was meant to not only sustain our body’s energy systems, our health and vitality, but also food was directly related to our states of consciousness, how we experience and feel about ourselves and the world around us.

“When you cut down the stimulants you can sustain mental focus and alertness.” He was now standing still, looking directly to each person in the group, “the real work starts. The question is, What is eating you? What is it inside you that stops you from reclaiming your vitality, your daring, uh? What is it that makes you forget that you are a being that is going to die? Who is eating you?”

I felt so moved and inspired to change my habits and to find out what, inside, was stopping me from feeling vital and strong. After he finished his lecture, he taught movements that resembled martial arts. He said the movements would return the energy back to where it belongs, to the internal organs in the body that he called centers of life and vitality.

After the workshop, I was invited to the lecture he offered to Spanish speakers, and from there to the first, of many lunches with him. I changed my return flight and stayed in Los Angeles with a group of friends. I practiced the movements, the meditations and all what he suggested, and I became part of his inner circle. I learned to use food as energy. I learned to eat food with CHI, energy, to sustain mental alertness and balance my moods. I healed my hypoglycemia and swinging moods. And, most importantly, I learned to OBSERVE thoughts and emotions and not identify myself with them.

In the last year of his life, Castaneda shifted his diet to a plant based one. And that inspired me to shift my diet also to a more plant based one, which supports detoxification at all levels, including addictions. I have been teaching what I learned from him in my classes, and what I have learned from my experience of more than 22 years practicing movements for vitality and increased awareness. But now my question is towards you, my dear reader, what is eating you?

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Community Tools and Tips

How to Prepare for New Year’s Eve

“The world is unfathomable. And so are we. And so is every being that exists in this world” ~ Carlos Castaneda

What a powerful moment this is: we are crossing to a new year cycle filled with gratitude and awe for our lives. What lessons did you experience in 2017? What triumphs? What failures? 

We have been recapitulating and reflecting upon our 2017 experiences and we just had a wonderful FREE ONLINE CELEBRATION last Saturday.

Also, we are sending you below the NEW YEAR’s RITUAL our teacher Carlos Castaneda taught us many years ago. It is a ceremony that starts during the last days of December, and finishes when the clock strikes midnight on January 1st. Castaneda would tell us that, at midnight, the light of the Spirit or Universe comes and “watches us”—a force descends upon us, and this is a very powerful moment to be present and aware—to feel it and become acquainted with it.

Practicing this ritual without failure for the last 22 years has brought a sense of direction, purpose and inspiration to unfold our goals and intentions for the New Year, as well as a sense of connection with the planetarian phenomena. We hope that the benefits ripple out through your life, your relationships, your community and the world. 

The steps are these:

1. Clear out the old before the New Year.  From December 27 onwards and even throughout the day on December 31, clear up some space in your home. Remove clutter, donate clothing that you aren’t using anymore, clean out and organize cabinets and drawers, and vacuum your floors; clean your windows and water your plants—all with a feeling of openness and readiness. The aim is to clean your home physically and energetically. There are four essential ways to do this:

Throw things away that are not needed or that are not bringing you joy

Give things away to charity, with the intention of benefit others while freeing you of any energetic bondings to the objects

Pay your bills, including utilities, credit cards, etc. Do you best to cross to the New Cycle without pending debts

Dust off, wipe and wash your home, or at least a selected part of it, such as your kitchen, your bedroom and desk area

Rearrange things; change the placement of furniture, artwork and/or other objects to revitalize the energy flow of your space(s)

2. On December 31, before midnight, attend to your desk or writing space. Organize books and papers, and clear space so that you can comfortably sit to write a list of Intentions, projects and dreams you want to manifest in 2018.

3. Next, take a pen or pencil and piece of paper, and get ready to make a list.

  • Mentally review what dreams and projects you were able to accomplish in 2017. What things stood out? What new relationships have you established? What came to a close? What new things have you learned, or insights have you gained with respect to your:
  1. Health
  2. Emotions
  3. Thoughts
  4. Your work or job
  5. Family and community

6. Larger global community of planet Earth

Now list all of these on a piece of paper labeled 2017. The idea is to review and distill what 2017 brought to you, and write it down so that you can be consciously aware of these experiences going into the New Year. Notice as you write if new insights or ideas come to you.

4. Take a second piece of paper to start a new list. Name the list 2018, and write down what you want to accomplish or see unfold in this New Year. It might help to think of the categories of:

Personal development: What new things do I want to learn, what do I want to accept about myself, what do I want to heal in myself at the physical, mental, emotional and energetic levels?

Family and friends: What relationships do I want to commit to, what relationships do I need to let go of, what relationships do I need to heal?

Work: Am I loving what I do? What can I change in 2018 to thrive?

Health: How do I plan to take better care of myself in 2018, what specific actions will I take to restore my energy?

My legacy and contribution to the larger world: What ONE action can I do to help others in need.

5. Take a pause. You’ve cleared space, reviewed the year that’s passing and set forth dreams and goals for the year ahead. Now that you have your lists, take a little break to attend to any responsibilities or other commitments. You may want to add music to the atmosphere or dance for a while.

6. At around 11:30 p.m., return to your writing space (it’s almost midnight!) Sit in silence for a moment and put your attention on the things on your 2018 list—those things that you want to see unfold in the New Year. You may even want to write an outline of what you would like to do, or draw a picture of yourself getting the job of your dreams, etc. Sit with it as long as you like, making sure you feel connected with it all, with your personal life path, and with the Universe by the time the clock strikes midnight.

7. At midnight, on this first moment of the New Year, let the wave of your dreams wash over you.

As we set our collective intentions, we hold best wishes for you all—for your joy and growth; for your freedom; for your daring, for your creation of new, inspiring projects; and for your kindness to all those around you. We celebrate together your becoming!

May the Spirit light and love radiate out to your friends, families, communities, and to the whole world.

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Tools and Tips

What is Eating You?

One of the first questions I had for Carlos Castaneda was about food. He placed so much emphasis on wellbeing, on gathering one’s energy, and on being vital, that I was wondering what type of diet he followed.

“What shall I eat to stay vital?” I asked him during one of the many lunches we had together at that time. His answer was unexpected. “The question first is, what is eating you?” he said with a smile in his eyes.

What was eating me, at that time, were negative thinking patterns, heavy moods, fear and anger.

The awareness that question brought was a source of inspiration to me, and marked the beginning of a search into how to nourish my body and spirit. Through my apprenticeship with Castaneda, I realized how important food is. Every time he would see me tired or moody, he would ask me: “What did you eat?” Or “Have you had lunch yet?” or “Lets go and eat something.”

Food and the practice of movements were and are key components in my gathering enough energy to tackle deeper issues, heal, and revamp my energy.

Carlos Castaneda was super disciplined about food during my association with him. He took no stimulants of any kind—drank no alcohol and didn’t eat sugar, salt or bread. And even though he enjoyed eating outside, he would suggest that we cook our own food. Actually, he also worked closely only with those who cooked their own food.

I followed Castaneda’s suggestions 100%. My mood swings improved, I got stronger and slimmer and I felt more grounded. I learned to cook my food, and watch for moments when I would eat out of emotional compulsion.

In the last two years of his life, Castaneda shifted his diet and avoided eating meats and animal products. That further inspired me to continue to learn, research and study the effects of different foods and how they influence my emotions and my ability to be in my heart.

Spirituality, and our ability to feel connected to higher forces, is also related to what we eat.

For this reason, Miles and I created a series of Nutrition classes that we’ve named Feed Your Body + Soul. The class series feature guest professionals who specialize in topics such as spirituality, food and addiction and emotional eating, and it include cooking classes! We teach you what we learned with Castaneda and what we’ve learned through cooking and experience with food throughout the years.

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Tools and Tips

What Carlos Castaneda Told Me About Sleep

What? Taking a nap? That is for babies!

I can hear those words coming out of my mouth as if I’d said them yesterday. It was actually in 1995 when I spoke those very words to my teacher Carlos Castaneda when he suggested taking “power naps.” He had watched me yawning in the middle of his lectures more than once. I couldn’t help it. I was in my twenties, studying hard in college, and I felt tired most of the day. I tried so hard to be “alert” during the lectures, only to be told by Castaneda, mockingly , that my eyes were coming out of my eyeballs. “Take a power nap before coming to class tonight,” he said to me as he waved me goodbye on afternoon, after we’d had lunch at Versailles, his favorite local Cuban restaurant.

The meal was light and healthy, and so didn’t dampen my overriding desire to continue to be an A student enough to get me to lay down. I went home and kept typing a paper I needed to turn in for my English 101 class at West LA College.

My cortisol levels were still high 45 minutes before class time when I decided to try the “power nap” recipe. I couldn’t face Castaneda in class if I hadn’t at least given it a try.

“Lay on your belly, face turned to the left, feet hanging out of bed. Breathe in and out,” he’d instructed me. Simple. Easy. “What the hell, I have nothing to loose,” I thought. Except that I fell deeply asleep. My roommate woke me up. “We need to leave now to get to class on time.”

As we drove towards Santa Monica Yoga studio where Castaneda taught his classes, I felt an ease in my body. I was still a bit drowsy, but at ease. It was on my belly for less than 20 minutes, and my whole physiology seemed transformed. I did still yawn in class that night, which elicited a big belly laugh from Castaneda. It took me a few more months of napping to fully rebalance my system.

Besides naps, I also practiced movement sequences and breathing techniques to aid to my wellbeing, focus and mental clarity. But that 20-minute power nap was the beginning of a series of life-changing experiences and processes that I continue to enjoy and practice today.

How to Nap

At Work:

I get it. You probably cannot take a nap at work. But you can cross your arms on your desk and rest your forehead your arms, while sitting during a break. Take a pause. Close your eyes. Breathe into your belly. You are alive. And you are Being.

At Home:

As indicated above, lay down on your belly. If you are pregnant or have a stiff neck, lay on your side, and place a hand on your belly. Breathe. Feel life coming through you. You are alive. And you take a pause to BE with your breath.

More Information and Support For sounder sleep in general, how hormones influence sleeping patterns and personalized tips for getting deep, rejuvenating rest, I invite you to schedule a consultation with me to address your issues in person.